Happy Birthday, Mom!

It was a fun night!  On October 23, family and friends came together to surprise my mother and celebrate her 50th birthday!

I am not good at surprises.  I don't like them and am definitely not good at keeping them.  However, Julie Anne and I, along with my mom's friend Dawn, pulled this one off!  It went great!

Mom's birthday was actually on October 11, but due to schedules and the possibility of her expecting it, we waited until the 23rd to celebrate.  Invitations went out and the strategy began.

Much planning to do.  I wanted it to be a true surprise so with the help of my mom's friend, Dawn, and her husband, it was a surprise indeed.  Russ and I arrived in Martin on Thursday night - my sister came in from Nashville on Friday afternoon, and my mother had no clue!  It was fun, but sneaky.  We quickly realized that lying is NOT easy!!! 

My poor sister told my mother a long story about going to a haunted house in Nashville with her friends as we traveled to Jackson to eat dinner on Friday night.  And I explained the many things we were doing in Evansville to prepare for our last week there as I swept off her back patio.  She seemed to believe everything, however her questions seemed a little more pointed than normal.  We decided it was our guilty conscience.  Lying wasn't easy. 

Saturday morning she and Dawn headed to Jackson to shop and the fun began!  The party was planned to be at my mom's house, and fortunately, my mother is a good housekeeper so there was little work to be done with regard to housework.  We did, however, have lots of setting up to do.  The party was to start at 5:30 with my mom arriving around 5:45. 

Julie Anne gathered several clothing options with the matching accessories and took them to Dawn's house where she would "freshen up" before being taken to the party.  She was simply told that she needed to get ready for an event and was to ask no questions.  They did a great job with her.  They blindfolded her as they drove in a mysterious route to the party. 

In the mean time, many of her family and friends were gathered together awaiting her arrival!  We had 37 in attendance and we are very thankful that they joined us.  It was a windy, but pleasant night.  Our plans for candles on the table, and a warm fall fire in the fire-pit were scratched with the burn-ban.  The fire-pit was on the patio and I had decided it would be fine, but since the mayor was in attendance, I decided to follow the rules. ;)  It was nice, nonetheless. 

-Everyone is waiting for her to arrive-

-Lawson waiting with Aunt Julie-

-Emmitt waiting with Brittany-

SURPRISE!!!!!

Following the surprise, many hugs were shared. 

The traditional color for the 50th birthday is black, but how boring and sad is that?!  I found some party plates with black, purple, and turquoise, and they were a go!  We used all three colors.

Below is the food table.  For dinner we had BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, and potato chips.  It was very good and enjoyed by all.  Above the table, pictures of my mom from the past 50 years were hung for her guests to see.  Thanks to my grandmother and granddaddy for digging those sweet pictures out! :) 

And then the cake... my favorite part of a birthday party... I love birthday cake!  It was another Jerry Joyner cake... Mr. Richard drove me and the boys to Paris on Friday afternoon to pick it up.  The trip from Martin to Paris is much shorter than the one from Evansville, but our little Emmitt is a terrible traveler so to ensure the normal travel time, he drove, and I rode... in the back. :)  Gotta love that baby!

Anyway, I picked it up and he had written me a note on top.  It said, "TRANSPORT THIS CAKE AS IF IT WERE A BOMB!"  I wasn't so sure it would make it as the party was 27 hours away.  Mr. Richard did a great job driving us home, and the cake was just perfect for the party!

Isn't it pretty?!  

And it was scrumptious just as expected!

The following pictures are various shots from the evening. 

A few gifts were given...

Julie, Mom, and Me

Me, Daddy Denton, Mama B, and Emmitt

Daddy Denton and Emmitt

{He loves this baby, I tell ya!}

All of us...

Lawson trying to keep Sophie from jumping into the drink tub

Me and Emmitt with Mrs. Sandy and baby Cadence

Me with Grandmother and Granddaddy

There was a birthday party going on, but tuning in to that TN/Bama game was a must!

Sleepy Emmitt and Ella with Julie Anne

-Baby Cadence-

Debbie with Emmitt, Dawn, and Gary in the background

Granddaddy, Julie Anne, and Emmitt

And a happy birthday night it was!  Thank you, Dawn and Julie Anne, for your help!

Mom...  I am happy that you enjoyed it; we love you!

Happy Halloween!

It was a fun, uneventful night...  we had plans of attending a nice Halloween party, but after a quick trip to Selmer to look at furniture (putting us late to the party), and Russ being out of town, we decided to play it low-key.

Mom helped me dress the boys and we were off!  Lawson is at a fun age with regard to getting into the excitement of events, holidays, etc. 

He wanted to be a baseball player which was an easy pleaser.  A pair of x-small baseball pants from Dick's, and a Cardinals "jersey" from the awesome Super Wal-Mart in Columbia made our Lawson a happy boy!  $14 pants + $15 jersey = $29... I was happy and so was he!  We purchased the pants several weeks ago, and he was less than enthused.  The jersey however, was a fave!  He wore it for approximately 48 hours straight before I washed it and hid it until tonight.  He slept in it and all.  He is sleeping in it right now. :)  Whatever works after a late night with Halloween candy.  He looked cute, and he was happy!

As to Mr. Emmitt... I had not planned to dress him up.  I didn't dress Lawson up for his first Halloween and felt quite guilty when I got to school to see all of his infant friends in costumes.  My practicality certainly did not "shine" as a mom that day and it almost got in the way this year.  Russ and I were at Macy's in Columbia SATURDAY when I spotted a sweet little puppy costume that was 60% off and Russ twisted my arm.  :)  Had the price checked and $9.99 sold me!  I am happy I went for it.  He was adorable and sooo happy!  Daddy Denton asked me at least three times if he was always so happy... not so much, but tonight was a "treat".  So, even though I waited until the very last minute, he was festive and sweet.

As to trick-or-treating, the party would have been a blast I am certain, but the time we spent with my grandparents was very relaxing and enjoyable for all.  We began at Grandmother and Granddaddy's where he scored lots of chocolate.  Reeses' cups were quite enjoyable for him and a Snickers bar for me.  Looking forward to supper at their house tomorrow night; will be delicious, no doubt.

Next was Mama B and Daddy Denton's where he enjoyed Gummi Life Savers, cheese ball and crackers, Hershey kisses, and Dr. Pepper (8 PM eeks!).  Emmitt rolled ALL OVER the living room floor as Lawson played a nice and noisy tune on the piano... fun times!

Mr. Emmitt, the puppy... I am convinced he was wanting me to scratch his belly.

He got stuck... I like this picture because of the wastebasket.  It has been beside Daddy Denton's chair for as long as I can remember.

And our baseball player... I thought he was cute and his happiness is certainly shining!

The Cardinals are #1, Mom!

Emmitt and Granddaddy

A shot with the two of them just wasn't happening and I finally gave up.  This was the best and is far from good, but a memory indeed.  Emmitt was so eager to grab  his pumpkin and you can notice Lawson's grip on his neck preventing him from doing so, as well as the serious look of concern on his face! 

Two pumpkins will be a must next year... and I expect it to be double fun.  Emmitt will be walking (and talking, I am sure!).

Hoping everyone else enjoyed a safe and happy Halloween!

Sweet Hailey

Once again, I am asking for your prayers for sweet Hailey.  She has had a tough past week and her family received more heart breaking news yesterday.  With the regrowth of the tumor, she was to return to Jacksonville, Florida for the special proton beam radiation.  This is not the norm with an AT/RT relapse, however her body's response to previous treatments convinced her doctor that it was worth another treatment although she wasn't sure of the effectiveness or end results.  Hailey has beat the odds and the doctors believe in her fight; they weren't giving up on her just yet.

Last weekend her vomiting became more frequent and she became dehydrated.  They hospitalized her over the weekend and she is still there as her digestive system isn't working correctly.  They (the doctors) were still planning to send her to Jacksonville, although Shauna wasn't so sure it was the right thing.  Before sending her they needed a recent MRI so they performed one yesterday.  The results they received were so sad and unexpected.

The MRI revealed significant growth in the initial tumor, in addition to new growths.  Jacksonville is "off" and the plan to move forward is unclear at this time.  Her last posting indicated they were waiting to hear from her doctor. 

It isn't good.

And it is sad.

She indicated that she could see the light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel. 

Our hearts are breaking for them.

Will you please pray for them?

And if you know others who will pray, will you please pass this along?

I will keep you updated.

You can visit Hailey at her CaringBridge Site.  I would like for you to notice the numbers of visitors. :) So many are loving them and praying for them...

Here is a sweet picture of her right before her last surgery.

Isn't she a doll?

The Pumpkin Patch

It was a BEAUTIFUL day in Evansville today and a perfect day to visit the pumpkin patch!

Lawson's class from his school was going and they invited us to meet them there, wasn't that nice? 

I was excited for him to see his friends and teachers again!

We visited Goebel Farms and it was such a treat for these little people.  There were pumpkins, gourds, squash, mums, corn, corn stalks, straw, and more fruits that I'd never heard of. 

It was a really nice place!

Below are pictures of a few of his little friends...

Here is Mr. Oliver

And Lincoln...

This is one of my favorites of the day... there were a few tractors there and you can guess who found them first!  I don't think the others even noticed them until we got there.

Here he and Sophia are hanging on the tractor wheel!

A quick shot of the three of us!

Lawson and Conner

Lawson on a BIG pumpkin!

The wagons were a big hit!

And so was the slide!

I couldn't believe how brave they were - including Lawson!

It was three levels up and then down!  I believe Lawson was the only one who went down on his tummy!  His comment: "That was fun, mommy!"

And lastly... I'm pretty sure that this three-wheeler was to be OFF-LIMITS.  However, once Lawson spotted it, it was all I could do to keep him away from it.  Finally, after about five minutes, I looked around, saw no one, so I quickly popped him up on there. 

A little bit of rebel in mom = priceless smile! :) 

Since having kids, I more and more find myself asking the question, "what's the big deal?"  That's what I thought today... it's sitting right here... kids are everywhere... there is no key, and I am right here... if someone comes over, I will take him off! 

It was worth the smile!

Wordless... but not on Wednesday

Twinkies sportin' their PJs

Well, I've never dressed Lawson and Emmitt alike, and I honestly don't plan to do so... BUT when I saw these sport pajamas for Lawson, and then noticed they were also in Emmitt's size, I decided they both needed a pair!

Tonight was the first night they've worn them, and they looked cute!  Lawson was very excited because they have balls all over them, but he continued to tell me "Lawson is a big boy" the entire time I was dressing him.  I think he was concerned that he and Emmitt, (who is a baby according to Lawson), had the same PJs... he wanted to be sure that I knew he wasn't a baby like Emmitt although they were wearing the same thing.

Good-night little Twinkies!