A Year With Leon

Tuesday marked the anniversary of one of the sweetest days in my life. It's hard to believe we've had this baby for a year! Then again, it's hard to believe we've only had him one year. I can't imagine our lives without him. It seems like he's always been a part of us.
I wanted to have this post done early so I could schedule it for his actual birthday, but I spent the weekend before visiting Larry in Texas, got home late last Monday night and drove three hours Tuesday to see him eat his cake. All that traveling didn't leave much time for blogging. So here's his birthday post a few days behind. As sweet as he is, I'm sure he won't mind. :)

Here's my little honey on his original birthday.

And with his momma just 5 days old. Poor little fella was sooo jaundiced.

March--- one month old.

April--- two months old.

May--- three months old.

June--- Four months old.

July--- five months old.

August--- on his 6th month birthday.

September--- Seven months old.

October--- Eight months old and sporting his first tooth.

November 1st--- Eight and a half months.

Just threw this one in because I love it. :)

November--- 9 months old. Poppa

is giving him computer lessons.

December--- Ten months--- Christmas night.

January--- eleven months.

And his first mohawk

courtesy of Aunt Shelbi.

I am so thankful for this year with this little sweetheart. He is one of the greatest blessing in my life and his mommy's. I can't wait to see what God's going to do with the rest of this little one's life. He has already used him to change lives around him in this first year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEON!

WE LOVE YOU!

I am going to post the messy cake covered birthday party pictures soon. I just wanted to be sure I put his birthday post up first, even though it is five days late. Good thing he can't read yet. ;)

A "Happy" Birthday Preview

Guess who's first birthday is coming up??

Leon's pretty excited about it, too!

My favorite pose.

Sweet boy!

The smile lasted until the bib went on. Apparently, wearing a bib while NOT eating is not an option. :)

Last Friday, Shelbi and I decided to try his birthday outfit on. It was a little snug, but I wanted some pictures before I had to exchange it in case I couldn't get it in a bigger size. (Little chunk weighs 21# 10 oz!) Sarah is supposed to take him Monday and get some professional poses.

Anyway, there's you a little sneak preview of the birthday boy. Birthday post coming Tuesday and party pics after that. Oh, how I love first birthdays. =)

I Left My Heart in Texas

I've been meaning to post these pictures of our new (new to us) camper. This is where my husband is residing until Shelbi and I can move to Texas this summer. It's parked in an RV park ironically called Just Like Home. ha

Shelbi and I went up three weeks ago to spend the weekend with Larry. He's only off one weekend a month (thanks to shift work), so he came home this past weekend. I'll go again this coming Friday through President's Day. Due to my work and his schedule, we'll only see each other twice a month until my Spring Break. :(

Look how tiny the bathroom is. I have to step in facing the tub or I have a hard time turning around to sit on the toilet. The tub is the size of a large dishpan. No kidding. I feel like Dorothy in Munchkin Land. =)

The living room/kitchen/dining room.

The master bedroom and Shelbi's "room" (the door is a curtain) below. It has two sets of bunk beds, but there were only two mattresses so Larry is using the other side for storage.

And there's my sweetheart sweeping the floor. He didn't stop grinning the whole time we were there. I think he had missed us a little. The feeling is mutual.

They say, "Home is where the heart is." If that's so, this little RV is my new home.

Inspiration

My friend, Linda, posted this video today on her blog. It is an inspirational story of a little artist that, through her paintings, led her family to Christ (including her atheist mother). What could be more inspirational that that?! If you watch it, please leave me a comment.

The Last Single Digit Birthday for Becca

Rebecca Ashton is nine today, born on her Poppa's 46th birthday. It's hard to believe that it's been that long since Becca made me "Mimi." I wrote a whole post about my feelings on that HERE.

When she was a baby, her daddy was in the Army, stationed 2 to 3 hours away from us. Her Momma Debbie, and her Aunt Leslie were about the only people Rebecca would let hold her. For the first year of her life, her Poppa and I were resigned to be worshippers from afar. Around 15 months or so, all of that changed. Becca decided she loved us and it was intense! She is such a lovable, loving, compassionate girl. At seven, Becca donated her ponytail to Locks for Love. Becca is beautiful, bright, and extremely funny with an infectious giggle. She keeps us all in stitches. I'm pretty sure she was born to be a performer. Hairbrushes become microphones. She invited herself up on the platform one Sunday in church to sing for us. (Not shy.) She is a lover of all things girly; the color pink, Miley Cyrus, High School Musical, jewelry and accessories. Lately, I've been on Facebook only to see my chat pop up. "Hi, it's me Becca." I have that same message on my answering machine from at least a year ago. Can't bring myself to delete it. :) Becca loves to talk and loves to read. Yep, that's MY granddaughter. lol

Here are some pictures of my favorite FIRST granddaughter.

Becca and Mimi having our first talk just an hour after her birth.

This is one of the sweetest two month pictures ever!

Becca at 1 1/2. One of my all time favorite pictures. Her sweet little personality really shines. :)

Two

At three, she became a big sister to Lauren. She was so excited when Lauren was born and has been such a good big sister.

I love this portrait of her at 4 1/2.

Her first official school portraits. Kindergarten- Fall 5 1/2

Spring- 6
This is typical of her silly side. 7th birthday party.

Second grade spring picture- 8
Becca and Lauren sharing secrets. Becca- 8 1/2 and Lauren- almost 5.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REBECCA ASHTON!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

MIMI, POPPA & AUNT SHELBI

PS Hope to see you soon.

Good Things Come in Threes

My first granddaughter, Rebecca, my hubby, Larry, and my best friend, Cristi. All share the same birthday! I took this picture at Larry's 50th birthday party, five years ago. Each of them deserves their own post, and will get one soon. This one is just a quick one size fits all

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THREE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE EVER!

I LOVE YOU,

PENNY

Let's Play Catch

Catch up, that is!

Where do I start? Has it really been over a month since Christmas?! So much has been going on, but I guess I need to post a few Christmas pictures and work my way up to now.

Leon's first Christmas stash!

Mommy (Sarah) helps go through the stocking!

Think Santa came a little too early? ;)

Shelbi got new slippers from MawMaw. Thought this was a pretty good picture of her. She rarely lets me take hers.

Poppa and Mason sharing the love! Aww!

Harlee loves her "Bubba" (Noah)

Her pouts are looking a little gangster rapper. LOL I think Shelbi was aggravating her.

Christmas night Smiley Boy wore his new Sponge Bob pajamas from Aunt Bambi. So sweet!

Two of my favorite guys! Noah spent the night Christmas night and he and Leon enjoyed some male bonding time. :)

Miss Priss decided to model her new clothes her Mommy gave her and her bright green boots Mimi and Poppa gave her for her birthday. What a ham!

Mason and Harlee posing for Mimi.

Harlee is not so sure about this babysitting gig. Look at that staring contest our babies have going on. I forget who won.

Still getting around "commando style" at 10 months. He is not really in a hurry to walk.

Becca and Lauren got to come for New Year's weekend to open presents. This was one of the few pictures we got after they got here. Spent all our time visiting and the camera was put up. Happens a lot--- we live 5 hours apart and haven't seen them since July. Then, when we get together, I don't get pictures because we just focus on them and their Mom. That'll change when Larry and I get settled in Texas. We'll be half as far from them then and should be able to see them a lot more often! That's a huge positive out of this move. We love our nutty, loud little girls and hate to go months without seeing them. This has been a rough, busy year for us, but also for Debbie. She just bought and remodeled a house this fall and is still trying to get settled. We want to go up and see it soon, just rearranging our life right now.... Hoping to get up there to visit and take some pictures!!! They're coming down for sure in May for Shelbi's graduation, so I know we'll see them then if we can't go sooner.

Lauren thoroughly enjoyed being with Leon. They are two really easy kids. Just look at him laying there with her watching cartoons. Doesn't he look like such a big boy there?

Debbie's Belated Birthday Post

My oldest stepdaughter Debbie's birthday was the 13th and I am just now getting her birthday post up. I know, I know---- two weeks late (13 days, to be exact)! Bad stepmom!!! I'm sorry, Debbie!

I'm not sure if Debbie has hit the magic age yet where she wants to stop announcing the years. So... I'll just say that she was thirteen when Larry and I married almost twenty years ago and I'll let you do the math. LOL I hate math, don't you?

If you remember some of my previous posts about Larry's and my marriage, you might recall that I met Larry and his family ten years before we ever dated. So, I've known Debbie since she was two and a half. Yep, met her during her terrible two's (honestly, she was a really good two year old). Then married her dad when she was thirteen. Any potential stepmoms reading this take note!! Thirteen is not the ideal age to gain a stepchild. ;)

As the teen years raged on (and the hormones), battle lines were drawn and crossed many times. However, after maturing and becoming independent, I can honestly say that Debbie became one of my best friends and greatest blessings. I love her with all my heart. These few pictures are some of my favorites taken over the last couple of years.

This one was taken Nov. 2007. Her oldest, Becca, will turn 9 in a few days and Lauren is now 5.

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. All of our girls look so pretty. I took this in our backyard Dec. 2008. They are in birth order from left to right.

Debbie, Stephanie, Leslie, Mallory, Sarah, and Shelbi

HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY, DEBRA KAY!

WE LOVE YOU!

DADDY, PENNY & SHELBI

***Disclaimer: I did not forget Debbie's birthday! I texted, called, mailed her a card and gift, and FaceBooked her! Only the birthday post was this late. Maybe, I'm not a totally terrible stepmom. =)

Meet Marley Nicole

I became a great-aunt this week--- for the second time! My niece, Lindsey, had her first baby Wed. the 6th. Marley Nicole weighed 6 lb. 13 oz. and is perfect. Lindsey had a really long, hard labor. From what I heard, she had quite a few witnesses in the delivery room. Her husband, her mom, and her sister were in there. My stepmother Margie, Lindsey's Granny, was able to be in there also. Lindsey is my brother Ronnie's oldest daughter and the first grandchild in our family.

Lindsey was only 20 when her daddy, my brother, was killed in a car accident almost 6 years ago. He and Lindsey favored a lot, so Marley not only reminds me of her mommy, but also of her grandfather.

Mommy and Marley

This is the picture that reminds me of Ronnie and Lindsey's baby pictures.

She passed out after her bottle.

Isn't she one of the prettiest newborns? She is so tiny and dainty! I can't wait to get a picture of her next to Leon! He'll look like a giant. =)

Lindsey, your daddy would have been so happy over your beautiful little baby girl!

CONGRATULATIONS, LINDSEY AND CORY!

MAY GOD BLESS AND KEEP THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL!

WE LOVE YOU!

AUNT PENNY, UNCLE LARRY, AND SHELBI