Guess Who Had A Birthday Yesterday?

Our own Brookie Bear!

She is now one year old!

These were pictures taken at her birthday party on Saturday. Kelli was only able to send me a few. I was cameraless, as it was in Montana with Jim. Enjoy!


Opening presents...she was NOT interested!


Touching her cake. Like Davin, she was not sure what to do with a cake set right in front of her...neither did Matt!


She finally figured it out...with icing all over her face!

Sleeping With The Lights On

What a night! I knew it was coming...yet it always catches me off guard.

I crawled into bed just before 11 pm last night. That is a little late for me...but with decorating the dining room table and posting, it wasn't too bad.

I picked up my newest parenting book and read the next chapter before dozing off around 11:30. (Yes, with two grown children and three barely at home, I still read parenting books.)

Just before 2 am I awoke with a start. As I lay there I could feel the fear rising up in my chest. Fear of what? I couldn't really put my finger on it. This happens from time to time...but usually it is brought on by a nightmare. I couldn't remember dreaming anything.

I listened intently to see if I could hear something out of the ordinary. Nothing....but the fear was growing.

I crept from my bed to the bedroom door. I was halfway expecting to see a Jason-like creature standing in my doorway...but nothing. (I don't watch scary movies, by the way. As you can see, I have an active enough imagination without them.)

I walked into the living area of our home. All the lights were left on. I guess Bri thought I would turn them off and I thought she would. I went to our sliding glass doors and peered into the night...nothing.

I turned off the kitchen light, the game room light and went back to my room.

After a stop in the bathroom, I slipped back between my sheets and began to pray for the fear to subside. I repeated the promises that the Lord is my strength and my shield. He is my protector and He never sleeps nor slumbers.

I began to doze back off, when suddenly I was bolted awake again by a strange smell. I was now able to be categorized as 'totally freaked out'. I thought I saw shadows above my bedroom door. The kind I usually see when someone is watching TV late at night. I slid back out of bed. I went back into the living room, I checked the laundry room, I checked the pantry, I checked the kids bathroom, I checked their rooms and then I started looking for my dogs.

I guess I have watched too many mystery movies, because I began to wonder if someone had poisoned them so that they wouldn't bark. (You can laugh....I know how crazy this sounds.) They came running from the other porch when I opened the back door. They were so happy to be paroled from outdoor banishment.

I went back to my room, turned on all the lights...checked every room, closet and corner before climbing back into bed. I left my bedroom door open this time. I would say that it was so I could hear anything going on in the house, but it was mostly because I wanted the light from the living room to shine into my room.

I suddenly felt like a four year old! I don't know why this fear grips me sometimes. It is most noticeable when Jim is gone...though I am not afraid of where we live. But it also happens at times when he is right there beside me, too.

I began to pray again. I drifted off around 4 am reminding myself that nothing can touch me that He cannot redeem and use to His glory.

All of that and I didn't even watch CSI last night!

What I Did Today

Thank you so much for the wonderful comments on our front yard! Ya'll were so gracious! Thankfully when I arrived home this evening the charming crow was still intact. (Sorry, Robin, Hoss didn't rip him apart today...but I promise pictures of the carnage should it happen.)

Either ya'll have created a monster...or I am really bored with Jim still out of town...because today I took on the task of decorating my dining room table for fall. I have to admit that this came to me after a discussion with a dear friend who just happened to mention that her daughter sets her dining room table for the season.

I purchased a few gold chargers last summer as I gathered silver ones for Meagan's wedding. I made a 'sanity' trip to WalMart during my lunch hour. I know; 'sanity' and 'WalMart' do not usually go together...but I knew that I would be able to find decently priced holiday decor and I needed the distraction of 'creating' because it was a highly stressful morning for me. (By the way...I barely found anything with a fall theme. It seems the whole world is preparing for Christmas already!)

I picked up a basic 'chocolate brown' tablecloth and some place mats in traditional fall colors. It took me a little while to piece it together...but knowing that the gold chargers were waiting at home, I decided on plates that are in the shape and color of fall leaves. I chose to use two colors of 'leaf' plates and two complimentary colors of napkins to jazz up the table a bit more.

I wasn't able to find a centerpiece that I liked...not even candles. So, I headed next door to Hobby Lobby and found a gorgeous centerpiece at half off. Actually, I found two that I liked and it was difficult to choose between them. One was in an oblong wooden basket with fall flowers and leaves. The other was made up mostly of faux gourds, berries and feathers. I went with the latter since there were already so many leaves on the table.

So, here is my newest creation:

Look at this centerpiece up close. I love it's glitz!
And finally, a close up of a place setting.

I think I am finished decorating until Christmas. I still need to transplant the bougainvilleas that I removed from the whiskey barrels. Oh, yeah, and I am looking for some sort of lanterns to hang from all those shepherd's hooks we have left after the wedding...then I am finished. At least until Christmas...or until Jim leaves on another hunt without me!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!