My "haert" is pounding...

As a mother, you know that there will be one day when your son finds a new "love". Of course we all know that he will never find anyone to replace his mother, but, yep, someone else will come along and steal his heart.

But, wait a minute, should it be in first grade?!?!? Is this precious or what?


Fortunately, Riley's (the other woman) mom and I are friends, so she filled me in on this love note. I had no clue!!! He did this at school and sent it home with Riley on her birthday!


Sam and Riley at Sam's birthday party.

Love is a many splendored thing!!! That's what my "haert" says!


I love my little Romeo~
Laurie

This post wrote itself!

So, SEVENTEEN years ago today, I married the love of my life!

We started dating back in 1987, and believe me, he was not the type of guy who I would have normally dated. What do I mean by that? Well, unfortunately, I don't have a picture to prove it, but "this guy" had hair longer than mine and being 1987, of course it was a mullet! Picture Joe Elliott of Def Leopard and you have the right picture. Better yet, take a look at this and imagine me bringing him home to Mom and Dad!
(At least he didn't wear these kinds of clothes!)

So, fast forward 17 years and here we are! Still happy, still silly and still in love! Of course, after 17 years, things have changed a bit, but we've remained true to ourselves and to each other and so very much in sync! How "in sync", you ask? Well, here's where the post wrote itself! We are so "in sync" that we both picked out the same anniversary card for each other at two different stores! I found this quite amazing!


So, how could I not post the endearing words that drew us both to think of each other!?!?


As parents and partners
we share everything-
Each joy and each challenge
that family can bring.

As partners we live
and we love side by side,
As parents we give
with our hearts open wide.

And that's why there's nothing
that I'd rather do
Than spend my forever
together with you!

After 22 years together, we have spanned the status' of single crazy college kids, a dating couple, fiances, newlyweds, DINKS (Double Income, No Kids), new parents, and now the future is ahead of us! These 17 years of marriage have been incredible and I know it's because of who I've traveled these 17 years with!



John, I love you!

Lovin' our life together~
Laurie

Missing

Today, my "lost and found" ad is looking like this:

Missing:
Tiny bundle of joy. Born on Earth Day, April 22, 2002. The towheaded, blue-eyed, drooling, cooing, baby is no where to be found! He answers to the name of Sam. If you see him, please send him my way; my arms feel empty. Here's a picture to help:



Found:
Big, seven year old boy. Loves baseball, legos and girls! (say what?!?!) He still answers to the name Sam and "Buddy". And most importantly, he still cuddles and loves to snuggle with his mom!



He's a keeper! Oh, how it amazes me to think of these past seven years! What a miracle a child is and what a job it is to raise them; but it could never be traded for anything!

Happy Birthday, Sam! You're one special boy!

One proud Mama~
Laurie

Spring Break Recap...

I know, I know, I haven't posted anything in a long time. It seems that I've been real busy, but I'm not sure exactly with what, so I can't even offer up an excuse. Anyway, here's an update on what we've been doing!

The kids had Spring break the second week of April and we went on a road trip to see as many family members as possible! First, we journeyed to Alabama and got to have all of the cousins together for the first time in a long time! My brother did an excellent job acting as entertainment coordinator and had the kids hiking, playing baseball and dodge ball. Believe me, these kiddos were pooped by the time Sat. evening came along. And what was amazing was watching seven kids ranging from ages 3 to 15 get along and enjoy each others company!

After the first trip, we came home and enjoyed one day with John before he had to go out of town for business. Then, while he was gone, we had our friends, the Schusters, join us for a slumber party! Again, the kids had a blast and it was nice to have a "girly night" with Cheri while was John was gone!


Next, we headed to Chattanooga to see John's parents. We had a super visit and got to take in the Aquarium and had a wonderful picnic in the park!



We came back on Friday and got ready for the big Easter weekend! We had the church egg hunt on Sat. and the kids got loaded down with lots of sugar and treats! It was a hunting frenzy!

Easter Sunday was beautiful and I just couldn't believe how cute the kids looked! (And John looked quite dapper, too, if I do say so myself!)







All in all, Spring Break was a busy, fun-filled week...family, friends and a holiday to celebrate rebirth! How perfectly wonderful!

Whew~
Laurie

P.S. And what does Easter also kick-off?!?! White shoe season, of course!!!! Could these feet be any more darling?

This day in history...

April 4, 1969 ...

Time Magazine Cover


Headline ...

Dr. Denton Cooley implants first temporary artificial heart. (Is there a hamster in that thing making it run?)


Hottest news of the day?!?!?

Laurie Michelle Givens was brought into the world in Mobile, AL! (Loud rumble of applause!)

Yes, today I turn 40. The big 4-0! And you know what...I'm fine with it. As a matter of fact, I think it's great! Lately, I've heard so many people say things like "Oh, to be 18 again" or "I can't believe I'm this old. Where did all of the years go?" Well, I'm looking at "all those years" and see the many different experiences that have made me ME!

Moving between 5 different states, going to college, making some wonderful friends and dating the man that I will eventually marry, getting married, traveling to so many exotic places, becoming a mother of two and living a settled life full of family and friends. That sums up my forty years! Yes, I've had bumps; yes, some experiences have given me bruises and yes, tears have been shed. But smiles, laughter and love have prevailed!

Turning 40 is just another day to me (except for all of the balloons, gifts, cakes, etc that people may want to lavish upon me!!!). But, I will soak it all in and feel fabulous.

My sister-in-law gave me this for my big day (It is just screaming for it's first fill of Folgers):


It's gonna go great with this t-shirt I already have!


“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” ~ Henri Bergson

Forty and Fabulous~
Laurie

Happiness!

Inspiration, for me, comes from so many things... music, t.v., eavesdropping on strangers conversations (just kidding - o.k., maybe not), etc. So, in mentioning how I was motivated for this post, I'll admit that I'm embarrassed and I'll have to justify it to make myself feel better. My inspiration...the Oprah Winfrey Show. Let me clarify, Michael J. Fox on the Oprah Winfrey Show. (I lost lots of respect for Ms. Winfrey after the election, but that's a whole other post.) My justification is to let everyone know that I do not sit and watch t.v. all day. Proof-

Today's schedule

5:15 a.m. - wake up and exercise for 1 hour and 15 minutes
7:00 a.m. - take Sam to bus stop
7:40 a.m. - Lily Clare awakens and wants to cuddle (warm fuzzies)
8:00 a.m. - Lily Clare requests pancakes for breakfast (how can you say no!?!?)
misc. dressing of Lily, dressing of me and start load of laundry
9:30 a.m. - gymnastics class
10:45 a.m. - misc errands
12:00 p.m. - lunch, swap loads of laundry
1:00 p.m. - hang three shelves in play room, pack away some unused decorating accessories, hang surf board decal in kids playroom
2:30 p.m. - pick up Sam from bus stop
3:00 p.m. - help Sam with homework
3:30 p.m. - finish decorating the playroom
4:30 p.m. - sit down and turn the channel off cartoons and onto adult t.v.

So here I am. Normally, I would be working on dinner, but we're grilling tonight and that takes a lot of prep work off of me. So on to "happiness"!

First, Michael J. Fox discussed his struggles having Parkinsons disease, then he turned his story to what gets him through the day. He said it's a choice whether to focus on his disease and all of the issues that go along with it or if he wants to focus on the good things that are in his life. He said a quote that I loved: "My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations. Acceptance is the key to everything."

I believe everyone can use this quote in their lives. Because truthfully, if you can accept where you are and who you are, then you have time to focus on the happiness and blessings in your life. If you are not happy, then you are too distracted to see "the good".

I think I do a pretty good job of accepting where we are and who we are, but still, I am going to hold this quote close to my heart and strive to always remember to accept what is given to me. Then I'll focus on all of the blessings that surround me! And believe me...I have a ton!







Happy~
Laurie

Only her hairdresser knows for sure...

O.K., I'll let out a little secret...are you ready?!?!? My sister-in-law and I color our hair. ~~Loud gasp of surprise from my reading audience~~ Yep, we didn't get these luscious locks from Mother Nature, we have to spend hard earned cash for our tresses to shimmer!

O.K., so that wasn't such a shocker, but something that will surprise you (and maybe make you a little envious) is that we are lucky enough to have a wonderful hairstylist/friend who came to my house to have a Girl's Hair Night! Our sweet Amanda has returned from a 6 month mission trip to Australia, Thailand and Cambodia. Incredible, to say the least! But, she's not back in her salon yet, so she offered to come "work her magic" at my house!



What a fun, fun evening! And even better, at the end of the night, our hair never looked better!

Thanks Amanda and welcome home!


**As all tribeswomen do, we allowed Lily Clare to witness the ritual. We all know that inner-beauty is most important, but the outer-beauty needs a little help along the way!

Can't help but look in the mirror~
Laurie