Love Is In the Air

It's that time of year again, time to pull out a few Valentine's Day decorations. I love how they brighten things up again. I only have a few things for the outside and inside but less is more! I started with our mailbox and hung a shiny heart with ribbons on it.

For the front door I used the love banner I have had for a few years.

My pansies are really showing out. It's always nice to see a little life when everything is so brown and dead right now.

I hung this cute burlap owl by the back door again this year.

Here are few other pictures from inside...

Laundry room

Our kitchen...I found the heart banner in the dollar bin at Target.

The flowers are from an arrangement I made for Granny's party using fresh flowering quince,forsythia and corkscrew willow cut from a friend's yard. I plan on trying to root and grow the quince. I love seeing it bloom in late January. I have always wanted one but never had luck finding it at a nursery.

We have already started eating valentine's day cookies and cupcakes from the grocery store. Yum!

Happy Valentine's Day!

90th Celebration

We had such a good time Saturday afternoon at Granny's 90th birthday party. My mama and aunt Betty did a great job of planning it. Marty, Mary Catherine and I helped with different aspects of the party, too. Mary Catherine and Brian hosted it at their home. Everything looked so pretty. Granny had a great time. It was so great to see all these wonderful ladies that I have known all my life come help us celebrate her special birthday.  David was kind to come and take pictures during the party so that we have these great memories to look back on. Here are a few pictures...

These next two are pictures of a couple of our former neighbors so we wanted to get a picture of Betty Byrd and Virginia Perry with the kids!

Winter Weather and Project

We have had some crazy winter weather this week. Of course the kids were loving the idea of maybe getting out of school. School dismissed Monday and Tuesday half days and today we woke up to snow so they got a snow day today. They have really enjoyed themselves!
 When the weather is so cold like it has been this week, I always look for things to cook that will warm us up. One of my favorite, easy recipes is Red Beans and Rice. I have been cooking this for years. I got the recipe many years ago from my Debbie Dabs 5 Ingredient Cookbook. I always cook it in my crockpot for about 5 hours and then serve it on a bed of rice. It is so delicious, especially on a cold, rainy night. Here is the recipe in case you would like to try it. As I said it is super easy. Just throw all the ingredients together (except the rice) and let it simmer. Your house will smell so good but maybe not the next day ha!

3 cans of red beans(not drained)
1 can of mild rotel tomatoes(not drained)
1 pkg. of onion soup mix
chopped green peppers
1(lb.) beef link sausage, cut into small pieces(I use Bryan smoked sausage)

Tomorrow is Matt's 100th day of school. His teacher, Ms. Bowen asked the kids to create a poster using 100 things. So Matt and I got busy making his poster yesterday. We made a snowman using 100 marshmellows. He is so proud of his poster! I think they will be celebrating by doing some fun things in class on Friday. Here are a few pictures...

Someone is turning 90!

Today was a special day for my family. My sweet grandmother aka Granny will be turning 90 this Wednesday. So my mama had the idea for all of us to get together and come to FBC and sit with her at church. Since several family members belong to other churches in town, we knew this would be a treat for her to sit with her family. We had 17 there today. Granny was so surprised to see everyone. We managed to keep it a secret so that made it even better. Mama and Betty had flowers placed in the sanctuary today in honor of her 90th and also being a member of FBC for 76 years! That's a long time!! Bro. Michael was even kind to mention Granny and her birthday during the service. We appreciated that. We are planning her a party at the end of the month so that should be a lot of fun. Mary Catherine volunteered to have it at her home. It seems like yesterday when we had her 80th. McKenzie was a baby. Time has flown! I wish I could have gotten a picture of everyone but everyone was scattering so it wasn't possible. I did manage to take a pic of our kids with Granny and one with my mom in it. I wish I had thought to get in one of them. But oh well. Matt was so sweet to make her a card. In Sunday school they were told to make a card for someone they care about and he chose her. I had to get a picture of it. He was so happy to give it to her. Happy Birthday, Granny! You have always been a very SPECIAL grandmother! Hope your week is fantastic!

Lastest Happenings

This has been a very loooooong week getting back into the swing of things. I believe our Christmas holidays spoiled us! Matt is playing Upward Basketball again this year. David is his coach and the name of their team is the Junior Buffaloes. They played their first game last night. Matt had fun! He made one pass that he threw between the legs of one of the other players!  He thought that was a hoot!  Here are a few pics...

Matt also is really wanting to get a suit and a tie so he can dress up like Daddy.  He found a tie at Walmart today.  We'll have to get him one soon!

Today was the Grenada Middle School beauty review. The 6th grade beauty review which McKenzie was a part of was at 2:00 today. She had so much fun! She has been looking forward to it for weeks. We went to Bonnie's to rent a dress back during Thanksgiving and found a pretty, hot pink dress that was perfect for her. Jordan did her hair and makeup. There were 17 contestants in her division.  McKenzie received Most Photogenic at the Pageant. Way to go McKenzie! We were proud of you today! Here are a few pictures that David took...