Kelly Times Two

Wow, what an amazing video this was from Jason Castro, who was horrible at interviews on last season's American Idol. Click HERE to see Jason Castro talking very eloquently for a few minutes as he shares a little about his deep faith. Loved it.

Inside my pantry doorway, I pencil in the height of the kids as they grow. Christopher has grown an inch in four months. That will be three inches in a year! Today he's going on a field trip to the PAC (Performing Arts Center) with several other elementary school fifth graders to see a presentation by the middle school of the many options he'll have for electives next year in middle school. Will it be band, orchestra, art, athletics, choir or something else that he picks? My boy is getting big! I advised him to consider all the different options that are presented today and to pray about it and see if he can come up with an answer. This is a good opportunity to teach him about the many choices and routes he can go and will be able to choose from for his future. While Christopher begins his middle school year in the fall, his sister will be winding down with high school as a senior. It will be an exciting year for them. I wonder how tall he'll be by then.

Here's what I ended up making for Kelly on Valentine's day. He loved it. Some people think Valentine's Day is silly and that we should not single out one day to show our love to others, but I don't see a single problem with it. I'll in fact, keep it going this week! Here's the combined bouquet of the colorful cheery daisies that Jenn and Shane brought to us paired together with the miniature pink roses that Kelly brought to Lindsey last week for Valentine's Day. What a sweet daddy he is to always remember both of his girls on these occasions. This bright and happy bouquet is in the vase that Linda brought me last month. On Monday, we had a delightful visit from my old teenage crush, Buddy. He's from Oklahoma and lives in Utah with his wife and three kids now and was in town looking at investment property and met us for dinner. Here's Christopher giving him a Texas-sized welcome upon arrival. Buddy and I have known each other since I was about 14 an...

Tonight Kelly and I started watching the first episode of the new season of Amazing Race and yesterday we saw the first Survivor episode of the season. We like the top three in the first night the best. Then there's American Idol that I've been following (and don't even get me started on commenting on that...it would take too long), and add in a Biggest Loser (I like the Polynesian guys the best). I'm a sucker for these shows and don't think I'd watch them if it weren't for the DVR. Lately, we'll wait to watch them on the weekend when we have some free time because we haven't been watching many movies lately. Should be an entertaining new season, then when the weather is good, I'll be out in the pool again!

For several years, I have wanted to host a Valentines dinner party at my house and finally got some interest this year. I kept it to a cozy and manageable group of eight, but it still kept me busy all day. It went really well and here are a few pictures. The floral centerpiece was from my favorite local shop, Lakeline Florist. Michelle and Jim were one of the three couples who attended. She's my son's pediatric dentist. They brought us four bottles of Martinelli's sparkling cider...look out! Things might get a little crazy. Shane and Jenn were also among the guests. They brought me a cheerful bouquet of flowers, something I can always be grateful for. Buddy and Tom also joined the dinner party. Thank you for the very pretty note pad with the black tone on tone cover. Lindsey invited her friend, Jenn, to spend the night and help cook and serve for us. They were a huge help and did an awesome job waiting on us so carefully and thoughtfully. Here's Lindsey preparing for...

Since this is Christopher's last year of elementary school, it will mean the last of the classroom parties (other than the last day of school), so I thought I'd better enjoy the moment! I've never liked the cheap, cheesy valentines sold at the stores and we've nearly always made our own. Here's what we did this year. Several months ago, I bought two packages of note cards that said "hello" on the front from Michael's on clearance for fifty cents a pack. I loved the red and white look, and knew I could embellish them into something better so here's our transformed valentines for Christopher's class. The hello on the right is just printed on the card. The sentiment on the left is stamped on white cardstock, then layered on an oval piece of black cardstock, adhered to the card, then a little gemstone bling added, and topped off with a punched out folk heart. Christopher loved making them. This was the very first year he's ever really been e...

Look what I got from Lorraine today! It's not a TEDDY bear, but a BREADY Bear! I love it. They own the two Great Harvest Bread Company stores in Austin and she's treated us to Apple Scrapple bread, pumpkin bread, pumpkin roll. It's all so tasty. But this cute little Bready Bear just brought a big smile to my face. I love it! I just ate one of his arms, so I had to take a picture first. Thank you, Lorraine! My kids, my husband and I greatly appreciate it! There are little raisins as eyes and buttons. Julie, you could totally make these, miss bread baking queen! UPDATE on the Bready Bear the following day: He doesn't quite look the same and is missing his arms, legs, and ears--poor guy. He's going to be cut open for scientific research today. There's a taste test involved.

They had a blast. Lindsey danced so much that her feet were numb the next day from her high heeled shoes. And since I'm pretty sure she's not reading my blog these days, I'll be frank. I think Sam is really a nice kid, but I just wish some other guys would ask Lindsey out so she could have a variety of young men to date. At least he graduates in May. He's only interested in colleges around here so he can be near Lindsey. I'm crossing my fingers that he'll go to college in Alaska or Vermont--not that he's applied there, because he's totally infatuated with her and needs to get over it. Nobody will ever be good enough for her in my opinion. He's like a puppy dog when he's around her, just totally smitten. He's never had a girlfriend or dated anyone else really, so he thinks Lindsey is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. I'm just warning you friends of mine with daughters who haven't started to date yet, that it's real...