When the little guys came over to spend the day Saturday they had the best time playing in Pop's tractor. We're so lucky to have happy and healthy little guys! They're such a treat to have around, always giggling and enjoying the great outdoors. Lucky for us we had an over nighter with them and they were here Sunday morning too!

Sharing Tractor Time

Here's a layout I created with a little pic of the boys playing in Pop's tractor on Saturday. Man did they ever have a good time! They love that thing! All scrap design materials from Shabby Miss Jenn kits!

Blissfully Happy

I'm so happy about how this layout came out. Blissfully! Everything is by Shabby Miss Jenn Designs. Click on the layout to see credits!

Introducing Cutie Pie

She's got a new little Webkinz lamb and loves it so! Click on the layout to see a larger version and credits in my Shabby Miss Jenn Designs gallery!

Goodies from J!!

Every time I get together with my sweet friend Janey... there's a gift fest that ensues! She's got super great taste and always knows just the sort of things that I love and that will go with my dishware and home decor! She also brought along some yummy items from Jefferson, Texas that I'm going to spotlight in a post very soon! Just look at these goodies!

This Morning with Kali

Kali came over for a few hours while Krista went to school to pick up her grades from this semester. She did wonderfully and all of her grades were above 93s!! Congrats Krista. Kali and Kris will be spending the day with Brie (Taunte' to Kali). They're going to lunch and then shopping a little bit! Here are some cute pics of Kali that I shot after she got dressed for the day! More to come a little later, I shot some closeups that need editing!

Swamp Spirits Reception

It was a beautiful night, made more special because I had sweet friends and loving family who came to support me at the reception. Dave and the girls all came, my sister in law Chandra with her daughter Natalie and her precious little grandbaby AnnaClaire showed up too! Joe Pons and his lovely wife along with Claudia and Bob Morgan from my photographic society also came out to see the beautiful works of art created by the Acadiana artists. I want to thank all of you for making it a memorable and fun night. After the reception Dave and I took Janey and the girls, including little Kali to dinner at Shucks. Chan, Nat and AnnaClaire also joined us for a delightful meal and a fun visit. Janey got to know our girls better and in her words "I could SO hang with your daughters...they are a hoot!!" Here are a few photos from the reception.

She's Engaged!

So... after three years of dating, Zach asked Krista to be his wife this afternoon while they danced in her living room to the Beatles song "Something in The Way She Moves". They came over shortly after to show us the ring and share the happy news. We're having supper tonight with my parents, sister Robin, sister Deb and her whole family and celebrating! She's got friends who live all over the country, so I had to take the time now, in the midst of the partying to post these photos and share our happy news!

Sleeping Angels

Yesterday morning Kali went to Lafayette with all the girls in our family along with Natalie, Mimi, Riley and Anna Claire. We just have to show you a sweet photo of her all dressed up in her pretty dress Nanny Joyce made for her!

After a long day on the farm and a yummy supper they shared with Kali, Alex and Eli went to sleep and slept like hibernating bears. We never heard a sound from them... from 8:45 PM until 7:00 this morning. They're watching curious George right now and I'm going to make blueberry waffles for them in a minute! We're going to have a wonderful Sunday... we hope you do too! Alex is on top and Elijah is on the bottom.

Progress on the Homefront!

We had a lot of activity this week on the house construction. Early in the week the builder and his crew finished building the exterior foundation forms, then the plumber and electricians came and did their thing, after that the post tension guys came out and whipped up their part of the foundation in a little over half a day. On Thursday evening the construction crew made the forms for the showers in the master and office baths and finished with the elevator form, these all have to be recessed into the concrete so that the floors are flush with the natural floor of the house. Friday we were on schedule for pouring the concrete slab. Early on Friday morning I went out and blessed the foundation forms with Holy Water, put a little blessed Cross in the doorway entrance of the house and prayed for good weather.



The pump truck showed up first, right around 4:45 with one of Baldwin Concrete company's reps, Ben arriving shortly after him. The finishers came rolling in by 5:45 and by 6 AM everyone was in place for the trucks to begin. There were about 20 trucks in all who rolled into the site to drop their concrete into the pump truck bin and by about 11 they had it pretty much wrapped up. The finishers remained on the job working the concrete for another few hours. By the time 2:15 Dave took his first careful steps across the slab. I arrived just a half hour after and we walked around for another hour, just amazed at how it all came together. I said a prayer of thanks for the great weather we had and how smoothly everything went the first few weeks. In another five days the post tension people will come back to do the last part of their job, and after another week or so, Shannon and his crew will come back to begin working on the framing of the house.

A note about our builder:
The concrete company rep came out on Thursday evening and commented on how nice the forms all looked, a very professional and neat job. We had no doubt that we chose the right carpenter and construction company to build our home. Shannon Hebert of Hebert Construction is top notch in every way. Very dedicated to building high quality homes and he's a perfectionist. Dave and I feel blessed to have this young man, who has great work ethic in charge of the whole project. He's trustworthy and honest and from the looks of things extremely reliable. We waited a good long time for him to finish up with his other projects before he was able to start on our home, he's worth it. He came highly recommended and we see why. And although its early in our progress, we're looking forward to the next phase of construction.

Vermilion Arts Council Show

The reception and opening of the show for Swamp Spirits is TONIGHT from 6 - 8 PM at 200 North Magdalen Square, Abbeville, Louisiana. Everyone is welcome, I would love to see you there!

Butterfly Catcher

Kali went out to the garden the other day to pick cucumbers and she found a lovely little green butterfly. She picked it up and it stayed on her finger all the way back to the house so I could take a photo of her with it. She was so excited! She also noticed that the butterfly matched the green in her dress and commented on it. It sure did make a pretty photo! Layout coming soon!

Trailer Park Kit

Shabby Miss Jenn created this adorable little kit called Trailer Park and I've designed three little layouts using it and some of our summer photos. Click my SMJD Gallery link on the sidebar to see larger versions of these layouts!

Antiquing with Dee and the kiddos

Every time I go on an antiquing adventure I try to find a good cookbook. Debbie eyed this one and told me she had it and loved it, so I'm sure its a good one!

We made a little trip to Opelousas to Crossroads Antiques and after a quick stop by our friend Missy's house near Cecelia we trekked into Breaux Bridge. I had quite a good day and found some awesome things! (Even something for a friend, betcha can't guess which item and which friend! Hahaha!) Here are some pics of my goodies. The cook book is a very good basic Cajun cookbook with classic recipes, I'll be trying out a bunch soon I'm sure! Will share the ones that are super! Stay Tuned! The other book is a little novel set in New Orleans, I collect these old stories!
I started off with the pitcher shown in this image below, then found a cute little syrup dispenser, the napkins and the little pyrex dish. I think this will make an adorable breakfast tablescape. When we hopped over to a Dollar Tree for the kiddos to get a snack or treat of their choice I spotted the dinner plates! What a great find, huh? huh? Some days a girl just gets lucky! I just adore the blue, aqua and green in the pitcher and napkins!I had three Bailey's cups at home and knew I'd eventually find more of them, today I hit jackpot with one in a booth, then two, then two more, ALL in different booths at two different places! The light blue Fire King dishware was all found in great condition and at super prices! Nothing I bought today was over $10! Talk about super deals in Breaux Bridge!

Great Big Accomplishment

Layout created using Shabby Miss Jenn's little French Attic kit at Shabby Miss Jenn Designs.

Summertime Fun

With Kali, Alex and Eli!

Earlier this summer Kali went to a dance camp at Catholic High School in town and won the big spirit stick for her age division. She did a great job learning the dances they taught and was a super spirited camp kid. This past week she completed her second week of swimming lessons. She is Red Cross certified in Level 1 and Level 2, having completed a battery of tests and accomplished a whole lot in just two short weeks with her swim coach who is Red Cross Certified Lifeguard and Swim Coach, Phillip.

Saturday the cutest boys in the world came over to spend the day. They got to wear their new boots which were a gift from Brooke and Breyton for their first birthday. They fit them well and they love them! They went walking out in the pasture to the barn and around. It was a little bit muddy and wet but that didn't stop them from having a blast! Here are a few pics of the cuties in their boots!

You're Welcome and Thank You...

Dave and I took my sister Deb and her husband Normand on a little adventure in June to Staniel Cay, Exuma, Bahamas. This weekend when we had a little party to celebrate the beginning of our new home construction they showed up with an adorable gift. Deb knows all too well of my dishware obsession and she found adorble pieces that will always remind me of the wonderful vacation we were all so fortunate to share together. The real thanks goes to Dave for his generosity and love. I adore you! Enjoy the images!~

Click on the image below to join us for Tablescape Thursday!

One More Early Morning Layout

I just had to do something special with these adorable beach photos. Kali, Eli and Alex together in the sand. Just three of my very favorite people... hangin out on vacation. Enjoy! SMJ Designs ... various kits. Check her out!

I love our vacation photos of the boys in the water with Davey and Claire. Here's a layout with all of them enjoying the pool. Shabby Miss Jenn Designs little Splish Splash kit is perfect with all of its pool toy elements and fresh water colors! Click on the layout to see a larger version of it in my SMJD Gallery.