Locks of Love

The day finally arrived. After months (years?) of growing out her hair, Rebecca had a ponytail that was long enough to cut for Locks of Love. Locks of Love is an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients. Hair must be at least 10 inches to be accepted as a donation. And, it takes approximately 6 ponytails to create one wig. Rebecca's hair had been long enough for awhile, but she did not want her hair to be too short once the 10-inch ponytail was cut. Hence, the long time between haircuts.

BEFORE

The measurement and the actual cut! I think Rebecca was a little nervous. Rann did a wonderful job. The final measurement of the ponytail was 11 inches! That's a lot of hair.

AFTER - SO CUTE!

All that is left now is to put the ponytail in a bag and put it in the mail. I think someone will be very fortunate to have Rebecca's hair as their own.

Any Beach but South Beach

I love the beach! Blue-green water, white sands, balmy breezes...what's not to love? I would be happy to vacation at the beach every year. Well, any beach but South Beach. Three weeks ago I decided to kick start some weight loss by following the South Beach Diet Plan. I'd done it before with great results. My first two weeks were great -- five pounds down. Third week? Not so much. No pounds lost -- none, zero, nunca, nada...zip! In one part of my brain I think that should be good, because I did have that giant corn dog at the rodeo on Saturday. It's the rodeo. What else could I have? A loaded baked potato? (South Beach's version of evil) Well, I did have that small nibble of Abigail's funnel cake. Nirvana! Oh yeah, and a couple handfuls of Rebecca's cotton candy. OK, so maybe I haven't been as good as I could have this week. It would probably be easier if I just didn't care about health, and feeling good, and fitting into the clothes in my closet. But, I do. Back to the "no sweets - no carbs" drawing board for me. I can do it! I know I can. Really. Probably. Maybe. Sigh...

Next in Our "Fun Animals" Series...

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is a picture of a grasshopper on a leash. Jeff took this photo on his recent trip to Peru. I truly cannot imagine an insect large enough to walk on a string. (What's more...my mind wonders about how big the cockroaches must be...shudder...)

The second photo compares the grasshopper to a very large man's hand. Jake is around 6 ft. 8 inches, I think. I did notice how nicely the bright fuschia string contrasts with the lovely green coloring.

It's interesting how we compare tall/large things with the Amazon, i.e. She's an Amazon! Actually the Yagua people in the Amazon Basin are very small. I'm thinking the Amazon referral must be talking about the bugs!

Snuggly Bunny

It was much too cold outside for Bubbles to spend the day outside on Wednesday, even though he has a wonderfully warm fur coat. Abigail brought him inside and spent most of the day in his fence, just playing with him and reading. He loved picking up the towels and getting them fixed just right around him. Of course, he also loved eating the towels as well -- one little nibble at a time.

At one point, he stretched out on Abigail's legs and
went to sleep. It was so cute. However, when I made
the slightest move to get my camera, he would
wake up and hop off.

After all this rubbing and attention, I need a bath.

Katherine and Rebecca came home and took their turns
playing with him. He curled up in Katherine's lap
and went sound asleep.

Did you know rabbits can sleep with their eyes open? We "googled" that because we all wondered. If their eyes are open, but their nose isn't twitching, they're probably asleep. Stay tuned for next week's bunny "fun facts." You'll never have to turn on Animal Planet again!

Stock Show Art Contest

We attended the Stock Show Art Contest lunch this morning. Katherine brought along her "art buddy," Sarah, to enjoy the awards ceremony. While Katherine was disappointed about a 5th place finish, she really should not have been. Her picture is fantastic and there were many really good pictures that didn't have a ribbon on them at all. One of the best parts of winning is the $50.00 check they give you along with the ribbon. Of course, her dad says the check should go to him for art lessons, gasoline, etc.

Happy Birthday, Barb!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

DEAR BARB,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!



Best part of this day? When Bro. Al tells all the young
folks to stand (say, 30 and younger?) you get to
stay seated with us old folks. (Told you this day
would come.)

Answered Prayer

Thank you, God. I can hardly fathom the feeling and relief of a previously unanswered prayer, now answered. All in God's timing, I truly believe, but I've never been a particularly patient person.

From a song on Sunday that has run non-stop through my head..."Lord, your mercy is so great that you look beyond our weakness, and find purest gold in miry clay..."

Awesome.
Incredible.
Powerful.
Freeing.

Thank you.

It Was a Beastly Day

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that you can ditch schoolwork for a day and go to the zoo! Or, as we call it in homeschool lingo, a "field trip." I think Abigail chose the most perfect day to go, sunny and breezy, right before all this cold, wet stuff came along. At times it was like we were the only two people in the zoo. Our initial plans were just to visit a couple areas, but it was so nice we went through the whole zoo. Oh, and because we walked so much, we also counted that as P.E. Yea, that's how it works.

Abigail on her shell phone. Hah!
Fun Fact: The American White Pelican can hold up to 3 gallons of water in its bill.

This mountain lion was crazy. He kept pacing back and forth in his cage.
Every time he would turn, his eyes would scrape the fence.
You can see the blood above his eyes in this photo.

Oh, how we love the white tiger. Incredibly beautiful and so big!
Also pacing...makes you wonder what they're thinking.

The lion was awesome. Usually he lies up on the rocks and sleeps.
On this visit, we could hear him roaring when we
were still in the parking lot. So cool!

The flamingos were so fun. We loved watching them stand on their spindly legs, and fight, and scoop the water with their funny bills. The most hilarious thing was how they were caged. We decided that these birds are segregated. The light pink birds were on one side of the sidewalk and the dark orange ones were on the other side. I'm keeping their pictures separate here, too.


We talked about how God must have a sense of humor, with all the funny, odd, weird-looking animals that He created. And, how creative He really is, to think of so many patterns and designs for fur, skin and feathers.

Not a bad way to spend a school day.

I May Never Use Hairspray Again

My girls were introduced to the movie "Hairspray" during our mother-daughter retreat last weekend. It was a cute show, and I enjoyed watching it -- ONCE. Due to the kindheartedness of Michele, the movie's owner, we kept the movie to watch again, and Again, and AGAIN! I'll have to do something to (I mean, for) Michele the next time I see her. Really. Thanks, Michele. I really can't thank you enough. Truly. Words cannot express. We watch the movie, we sing the movie, we REALLY sing the movie. We sing it so much that it gets into our heads and we cannot sleep at night because we are singing, "When I was Miss Baltimore Crabs..." and "Good Morning, Baltimore!" Aaagggghhhhh!!! Make it stop!!

So, here are a few reasons why I may never use hairspray again:

1. John Travolta as a woman -- ewwwww...
2. Christopher Walken - just creepy (and married to Travolta -- double ewwww...)
3. the songs -- they slither into your brain and won't go away
4. Did I mention John Travolta as a woman in pink sparkles?
5. When Rebecca was complaining about her hair this morning, I found myself recommending that she use "Ultra Clutch" hairspray. What's that all about?
6. John Travolta in red sequins with gold tassles -- 'nuff said

I will say that I absolutely loved Michelle Pfeiffer and James Marsden. Fantastic performances! I even thought Zac Efron sang well (better than High School Musical anyway). The dancing was fun. Wait...I feel a song coming on...NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Thought for the Day

The only time that "housework" comes before "scrapbooking" is in the dictionary.

My Life is a Cliche

Have you heard it said, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you?" I've spent the better part of today trying to get one of my children to understand this very thing. Why would unnamed child want to fight/cry/get mad at me when I am trying to help them? I can understand frustration...boy, do I ever...but that doesn't help the situation. I am not against them, I am "for" them and it will be a happy day when unnamed child realizes that.

Have you also heard, "When it rains, it pours?" I received phone calls today from both my mother and my dad.

Dad's Call: my great aunt has fallen and broken her hip for the second time, my dad found his neighbor unconscious in his house the day after that, my brother and sister-in-law are having problems again and, of course, no one is speaking to anyone else.

Mom's Call: She is waiting for an ambulance to transport her mother-in-law to a nursing home, and after she is settled, Mother will go to Houston where my grandpa is suffering from a serious infection and dementia.

Can anyone say, "Stop the bus. I want to get off?"

So, I would appreciate a few prayers for my family today. We are a seriously dysfunctional, needy bunch, but thankfully I know that God is sovereign in all situations. Pray for peace of mind and comfort for my parents. Oh, and I'm kinda ready for Jeff to come home safely from Peru, too. (4 days!)

On a lighter note, can anyone give me the history of this recent cliche we heard from Jeff's brother? "We just need to make sure they are kissing the same cow." Uh, o.k. Anyone?

I'm Not Psycho Blogger

Just had a really fabulous girls weekend in. Melissa and Michele Davis spent the weekend with us and we held the 1st Annual Davis-Holmes Mother Daughter Retreat. Several comments have been made in the recent past that I only take pictures of events so I can blog them. Not true. I blog, and then scrapbook them!

Seriously, I was accused of this horrible crime. So, in order to prove that I am not only "living life, just to blog it" I have stated that not a single photo of the fantastic retreat will appear on this blog. Hah! So there. The events of this secret mother daughter meeting will have to remain unknown to the general public -- FOREVER!

Unless Melissa wants to post some on her blog??? (But not the ones of me with no makeup, unbrushed hair, and living in my Tweety Bird pajamas for 2 days, ok?)

**This special note for retreat attendees only: I still have a plain, brown picture frame. Yep.