A GREAT DAY

42 years ago today my Momma got the joy of her life. ME

She didn't tell me that I am just assuming, ya know I am sure that is how she felt. She told me today that I would always be her baby. That sounds funny coming from a 42 year old but I guess that is how Mommas always feel.

I have had a wonderful birthday!

Scott and Coco met me for lunch at Olive Garden.

When I got home I opened the door to SURPRISE and beautiful voices singing Happy Birthday to me. Scott, Coco and our neighbors Diane and Joann. Scott had ordered the cake above and had it ready with ice cream so we had dessert before dinner tonight.

Our wonderful neighbors Joann and Diane ! So nice of them to come celebrate and surprise me.

My gift from Scott and Coco. I can't believe he remembered. I just made a comment one day in Walmart that I wanted a firepit. He is so wonderful.

This is my chocolate silk pie that my inlaws got me when we had my birthday dinner with them on Sunday. Were just making it a week of celebrations. I sure don't mind getting older when I am treated so well.

I am very blessed that is for sure!

UPDATE: I JUST REALIZED THIS WAS MY 400TH POST! SINCE I WAS TREATED SO WELL I AM GOING TO TREAT Y'ALL TO A GIFT TOO. I WILL BE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING GREAT TO GIVEAWAY SOON.

OUR WEEKEND IN REVIEW

I spent most of the weekend in Little Rock at the Girl Scout Service Unit Conference. I have been a troop leader for 5 years and was asked to join our local service unit this year. I will be helping as the Event Coordinator. More on that later.

Friday morning before I left Coco and I got a special gift ready for the mail. When our friend Darleen past away Coco wanted to do something for her daughter Stephanie so she used her birthday money to make her a Build a Bear. When we got there she needed one too. This is her with both bears before one got mailed.

Now to my trip to Little Rock. One of the ladies that went was able to get us a executive apartment for the weekend. Which was awesome! Thanks Tammy.

When I unpacked I found this little guy in my bag. Coco didn't want me to feel alone.

These are the ladies I went with. Me always behind the camera which is not a bad thing. We had a ton of fun getting to know each other more than just through our monthly Leader meetings. They all have a great sense of humor so there was lots of laughter going on.

We each had different workshops that we went to. My first one was on Best Practices and Networking. The leader did a fun thing with yarn. She handed a ball of yarn to one girl and we through it around the room while holding onto our section which in the end showed us networking looks. Kinda of like the AT&T commercial. I will have to use this with my troop.

Another workshop I took was Girl Scout traditions. We did alot of singing and talking about bringing back the singing, service, flag ceremonies, etc. The leader of that class was hilarious, she did all these songs with actions and she was from South arkansas so her accent was really cute. I can't wait to teach my girls some of the songs I learned. The photo below is a Kaper Chart that I thought was cool. In our troops this is how we assign jobs for the girls. I have used several over the years and this is the best one for a small meeting place. And in GS you need small since I have to store all this stuff at my home when not in use.

We left Little Rock at 5pm on Saturday and drove home. The time flew by as we were all talking about the things we learned and ideas we gathered. This made my weekend at home to short but it was well worth it. I am eager to begin our troop year next month but have many things to get planned and ready before then.

Scott and Coco went to Oklahoma with his parents to look at a table for my mother in law. They visited the Frank Phillips Museum (the founder of Phillips 66 gas) in Bartlesville while they were there. Wished I could have gone with them as it sounds like a really cool place.

Today we slept in and didn't make it to church :( but I did get some cleaning caught up and then we had my birthday dinner at my in-laws tonight. She cooks whatever you want for birthdays so I asked for a taco dinner. It was delish as always. She gave me a beautiful Brighton ring with a cross on it. Love it.

Coco went to VBS at a new church tonight. She had a great time and can't wait to go back tomorrow. Please join me in praying that the LORD will speak to her heart this week. She has talked about accepting Christ before but I don't think she has really understood the importance of doing this so if you will just pray that she will be guided this week. Thanks in advance for lifting her up in prayer.

Tomorrow is back to the office. By the way I am loving my new job. I can't believe that tomorrow I will begin my 6th week there. It must be good because time is flying by.

This has ended up being a very long post. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Have a extraordinary week!

DO YOU BELIEVE

Recent converstation with Coco

Coco- Mom do you believe in gazebos?

Me- a gazebo like in Katies yard, a wooden structure?

Coco- no like when you take a sugar pill instead of the real thing.

Me - Oh you mean a placebo

Coco yea I guess thats it. Do you believe in them.

Me- Yea I suppose I have never taken anything like that

Coco- It's kind of like when mom's kiss your booboo's, it really doesn't help but you believe so it does.

Me - Yea kinda like that. Where did you hear about this?

Coco- TV

Of course we learn many things from tv!!!

I love these conversations with her. Even at 10 she is still learning. Precious memories!!!! I hope she always believes that momma's kisses will cure all!

SIMPLE WOMAN'S DAYBOOK

Today is... Tuesday, July 20, 2010

"PAM'S DAYBOOK"

Outside my window...hot hot and hot

I am thinking...children in Uganda, a family I know just went and I listened to there testimony and haven't been able to forget it.

I am thankful...for a wonderful spouse!

I am wearing...a maxi dress

I am remembering...Cancun and our honeymoon after watching worlds greatest beaches on the travel channel

I am creating...homemade pizza's for dinner

I am going...to Little Rock this weekend for Girl Scout training

I am reading...Refuting Evolution, Crazy Love and One Season of Sunshine

I am hoping/praying... for children in Uganda that don't have enough food

I am hearing...  Coco jumping in her room, probably on her bed

On my mind...Getting my laundry hung up and getting to bed early tonight

From the learning rooms...Creation vs Evolution. Want to be able to "refute" evolution.

From the kitchen...

Monday: Leftover goulash

Tuesday: Personal pizzas on hoagie rolls

Wednesday: Chicken Stirfry

Thursday: Smothered pork chops

Friday: Eating out

Saturday: FFY

Sunday: undecided

Around the house...several projects need to be completed

One of my favorite things...Talking to Coco when she is in the mood to snuggle and converse about the ways of the world

Photo of the day... Coco playing on the computer outside

Blessings,

Pam

WEEKEND REVIEW

Friday night after work we went out to eat at Dixie Cafe. Coco and I love it, Scott would rather eat McDonalds than Dixie but he gave in to our desires. Good man

When Coco and I were talking about our friend Darleen passing away. She had the idea that she wanted to take the money she had left over from her birthday and go make Stephanie (her bff and Darleens daughter) a build a bear for something to sleep with and a reminder of her momma. This was totally her idea and I am so proud of her for thinking of it. After eating we went to Build a Bear to make a bear. We ended up making 2 so that they would have matching ones. Except we put a heartbeat and I Love You sounds in Stephanies bear. We will be mailing it to her this week.

I had a small list of items we needed from the grocery store so we went by Walmart before going home. They had the school supplies lists out.

Coco's list was not long this year. It was kind of sad, she didn't need GLUE this year. That is another reminder that she is growing up. I love buying school supplies and it look forward to it each year with Coco. She was even excited this year. We got her backpack at Target today.

Saturday we spent lounging at home, cleaning and resting. Coco went to her friend Maggie's birthday party at the Arkansas Naturals baseball game. She didn't get home until after 11pm and waiting up for her made us think about what it will be like when she starts going out on Saturday nights. Scott and I drove into Wendys to get a burger , we got it to go and just ate in the car. We had both been working and didn't feel like getting all dressed up to go out. Even though it was just an hour we enjoyed that time talking just the 2 of us.

Today we visited a new church. Some friends invited us to hear a special speaker on Creation. We invited my sister and her family to come with us because we knew my nephew would enjoy the dinosaur part of the presentation. We ended up seeing several friends there. We ate lunch at Backyard Burger.

I came home and took a 3 hour nap while Scott and Coco went to Nana's to ride the 4wheeler. They ended up taking a nap over there too.

I have to tell you how God works so amazingly. Friday I had a conversation with a coworker that doesn't believe in God. I felt very frustrated when I got home because I felt ill equiped to discuss the science that she believes. I was so caught off guard and this is not something I have encountered before. Anyway the speaker at church today was a man from Creation International out of Atlanta. We bought a couple of books, Answers to the most common questions on Creation vs Evolution and Refuting Evolution. God knew I needed this after the conversation on Friday.

Pam

GIRL SCOUT DAY CAMP

A few weeks ago Coco spent the week going to Girl Scout Day Camp. Even though the heat was horrible that week, they were kept well hydrated and had a blast.

Here she is on fishing day.

They walked to a nearby water treatment plant. This was not their favorite adventure. She did learn alot about how and where our water and sewage goes.

Like I said it was super hot that week. Here Gwendo and Coco were cooling off

One of the badges they worked on was Adventure sports. Springdale Jones Center has a great ropes course. This is Gwendo going up the rock wall. I didn't find a photo of Coco but she said she paniced near the top and they had to bring her down.

Another climbing adventure.

Of course they ate nutrional food while they were there. A big bowl of watermelon sounds so good right now.

Only Coco and Gwendo went to camp from our troop. I think all the girls should go next year. The last night they camped out and Friday was only half day of water play. Coco won the All Around Camper Award. So proud of her, unlike her Momma she adapts well to different situations. I would have bailed due to the heat.

One more checked off her Summer List!!!

FRIENDSHIP

A wonderful friend went to be with Jesus this past week. She had battled cancer for the past 3 years. The last time I saw her was in December 2009 when she was in my town for her Father in Law's funeral. She looked great said she was feeling good. We spent some time with them, visiting and going out to eat.

Darleen and I met when our girls first joined Girl Scouts back in 2005. They lived in our small town but were originally from St. Louis Missouri. Over the next couple of years as our girls became closer and closer friends so did Darleen and I. She started coming to my church during that first year upon my invitation. Coco spent alot of time at there house just as her daughter Steph did with us. She treated Coco just like a daughter while she was with her. The summer of 2007 they decided to move back to St. Louis, right before the actual move Darleen found out she had cancer. We prayed together and talked on the phone alot that first year. We kept up with each other. We all met in Springfield to surprise the girls. Neither knew that we would be seeing each other until they ran into each other in front of the restaurant Lamberts. We spent the day visiting a museum and Bass pro with lunch and dinner thrown in there. Darleen had had her first surgery to remove the tumor and was back to her old self by then. A few months later the cancer was back. To make a long story short she had some major surgeries, was on a colostomy bag but in December 09 she told me that some spots had shown up again and she was undergoing chemo again.

During the past 6 months we hadn't talked often, just little bits on Facebook. She liked to play the games on FB more than anything so I would get Pokes from her or a comment here and there. Her daughters birthday was on June 27th and Coco's was on the 30th. We sent each other messages of Happy Birthday that week with me making a comment that Coco and I would call them in a few days as we were out with ball games and such. We never made that call. Darleen's husband called on this past Thursday morning and left a message for me to call him. My immediate thought was he wants to do something to surprise Darleen. It was almost 11pm so I waited until Friday morning to call. When I got up Friday I turned on FB and found several messages on Darleen's page that told me she was gone. I called Steve and she had past away last Monday morning the 5th. I totally understand how he didn't have time to think of me until later in the week. It hit me hard that she was gone. I have been sad all weekend.

I am filled with guilt over not calling her more, of not being there for her, for not knowing!!! Even though she wasn't right here in town anymore, I should have done more. I feel the loss of our friendship. I miss her deeply. This has made me realize how important our friendship was to me, even though I took it for granted. I knew she was sick, I was off work at home for 14 weeks why didn't I take the few minutes every now and then to call her, to keep in touch more than just through FB. I can't change it now but I can change how I do things from now on.

Don't take your friendships for granted. Take the time to call or write or invite them over for dinner. Our lives are much better when we do these things.

Rest in Peace my dear friend. You were loved. You made an impact on my life and I won't ever forget you!

NEW SHOES

Last week Scott took the day off to spend it with Coco on her birthday. He took her to the pool.

He calls me at work to tell me we have to get in shape. Apparently all those skinny people at the pool gave him a kick in the pants to want to get in shape and I must be on board too.

I kinda of laughed it off and didn't think anything else about it.

A couple of hours later he calls and wants to know what size shoes I wear.

When I got home I had these! He plans for me to get in shape too. He also loves the Saucony brand and thought we all needed new shoes... Which would be nice except his reason was for me to walk!!!

I like the shoes but then I found the same brand at TJ Maxx for $20 less! I didn't bother to tell him that.

Who knows maybe the shoes will encourage me to get out and burn some calories!

Its the thought that counts, right?

FOURTH, FAMILY AND FUN

We had a great holiday weekend. We stayed around the house on Saturday until  late when we drove into Rogers to watch fireworks.

It was disappointing. We didn't find

a good place to park so we couldn't see really well.

Sunday, we had some friends camping at the lake. We went out to see them for awhile. The lake level was really down from what it usually is.

He had is fishing boat out there and took us for a ride. Coco did not like it and he didn't even go that fast. It was because the boat sits right on the water. I loved it.

We went to Scott's sisters for dinner and fireworks that night.

Nana brought yummy donuts for dessert. I made my first ever coleslaw and baked beans. Both were semi homemade. I got compliments on both. I always worry when I make something for other people.

It wasn't quite dark when we started shooting fireworks and they were not anything big. I think Scott spent $10 bucks on everything for Coco and then her cousin Jack had about the same. It was fun to see them get excited. They were more worried about lighting the sparklers and finding the parachutes than watching the pretty colors.

I haven't mastered picture taking of fireworks and always end of with some ghostly images. I like this one of the sparklers.

Great weekend with family and friends. I missed getting to see my side of the family so we'll make up for that next weekend.

PRAYER WARRIORS NEEDED

I know there are some prayer warriors that read my blog and I am asking you to lift the Kauffman Family up in prayer. This is a sweet family that lives next door to my aunt in Huntsville Ar. Mr Kauffman was in a farm accident a few days ago and is now in a trauma unit in Springfield MO.

You can read all about it at the caring bridge link above or go here http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kenkauffman.

Thank you and God Bless
Pam

END OF A SEASON

This past week Coco played in the end of year softball tournament. It was the first year of girl fast pitch for 10 and under age group. Her team played very well all year. I was very proud of them. I was never the "athlete" so I am glad that Coco got those genes from her Dad.

Oh so close to an out!!!

Ready for another one!

I think this ended up being a foul ball, cool sunset though

You can see the sunset even better in this photo. It was beautiful that night

Not in the strike zone COCO! She still hit into the outfield on this run, look at her she is on her tippy toes to hit it. I guess she really wanted it. This was their last game and they ended up losing by 2 I think. It was fun game. Even got me out of my seat on a few hits....

We will rest for a couple of months before Fall ball begins. I love watching her play but by the time the season is over I am ready for it to be over. Running to practices and games several times per week gets tiring. I can't imagine how you Mothers with 2 or 3 children in activities do it. Bless your hearts.

Tonight we went into Rogers to watch fireworks. It was a disappointment, we didn't find a good place to park where we could see until the very end of it. But at least we can say we went... Tomorrow we will shoot some off for Coco, maybe hit a cookout or 2 after church.

SOMEONE HAD A BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK

My baby is now a decade old. She turned 10 on Wednesday.

She asked for a IPOD Touch.

She got it!!!!

I don't think she has ever been this excited about a gift. She gave us both lots of hugs and kisses!

She is not a fan of birthday cake. I know, maybe she was switched at birth...

So anyway, I ordered cookies for her. It was also softball tournament week, we played Monday and Tuesday and I was sure we would win and play again on Wednesday so I ordered 36 cookies. WE LOST!  We made due and shared with family and our neighbors. These came from Harps. They tasted good but I was a little disappointed in the decoration. I wanted the monogram to be in script. Live and learn.

When it is your birthday Nana always cooks whatever you want. Coco wanted chocolate pie. Nana baked the crust into letters. She is not answering her phone in case Ricks calls her for a job.......

Coco also asked for Chili. End of June and this is what she asks for. Silly kid. She had the same thing last year. I always want salmon on the grill.

It has been a wonderful FULLLLLLLL week! I am so ready for the 3 day weekend and my house looks like it to.

Blessings,

Pam