I knew my sister truly loved me when she tortured her kid in order to capture a video that pimps out my website.  This makes up for the time she dropped my Strawberry Shortcake doll from the upstairs balcony.

Two best parts in this video of my niece:
1. How she airs her tongue out because the taste is so nasty.
2. My sister laughing hysterically in the background.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Take a look:

It doesn’t get more clear than that folks.  Green beans are evil. 

Walker is so smart to recognize this when his taste buds are so young.  He’s also a rock star when it comes to other things.  Like fighting cancer. 

About four months ago, I received a Facebook message from Walker’s parents.  Missy and Chad informed us that their precious little boy had been diagnosed with a malignant Rhabdoid Tumor. 

The strength that Missy, Chad and their immediate family all possess is humbling to read.  As I complain daily about about how my knee hurts when I bend it, they are faithful that God’s plan for Walker’s life is a perfect one and are prayerful that He will perform a miracle on his little body.

When this YouTube clip was included in Missy’s latest update, I emailed her and basically said she was not expressing true Pi Phi sisterhood qualities if she didn’t let me post it on my website. 

Her only request was that I include their family website so others could be encouraged by Walker’s amazing story. 

See what I mean?  They choose to be faithful.  They choose to fight.  That’s their family way. 

Please feel free to visit www.prayforwalker.com and read about story.  Prepare to be inspired. 

And let’s all send up a little prayer for Walker…my green bean hatin’ buddy!

My Mama LOVES Elvis Presley. In honor of her being his biggest fan, I’ve included her favorite Elvis moment of all time.

The King + a tight, white bedazzled jumpsuit + the cool instrumental opening + Hawaii = GREATNESS!

We decided we needed a little music to help us with our chores.  Their TV has that section of the guide where you can choose from 500 different music channels.  An avid believer of NO CHRISTMAS MUSIC BEFORE THANKSGIVING, my Dad turned it to the only channel he knew by heart — classic country.

We were humming along to Waylon, Willie, Johnny and George.  And then an old favorite by Holly Dunn came on…”Daddy’s Hands.”

I always thought that song was so sweet.  Because it’s exactly how I remember my Daddy’s hands.  I was sort of tearing up when I turned to look at my Daddy at that moment to watch his hands.

He was picking his nose.

The song will never be the same.  And I think that is awesome!

Especially my 93-year-old grandmother. 

Me:  “Hi Mimi!  You look so pretty in purple!”

Mimi:  “Thank you honey.  You look good too.  Have you lost weight?”

Me:  “I have!  Thanks for noticing!”

Mimi:  “I thought so.  You looked a little porky at the re-enactment a few months ago.”

Needless to say, I skipped the lemon icebox pie for dessert.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

You may know Vince as the morbidly obese man from last season of “House.”  He also won an Emmy for his role as a serial killer from an 80’s thing.

The movie is “Cameraman.”  Make sure to see it and support SGT Cole’s future trust fund so he can lend me enough money to write my award-winning book that allows me to travel the world, meet all the Green Beaners and sit in Ellen’s guest chair.  She will fall in love with my quit whit and stellar sense of humor and make it her life goal to find me a man that can make me laugh for the rest of my life.

Clearly, my future happiness is in your hands.  DON’T BLOW IT.

Happy Veteran’s Day Daddy.  I’m so proud that you served our country in Vietnam.  I love you!

(Please feel free to remember loved ones serving in the military by leaving an encouraging word in the comments section.)

Finally, I suggested the only thing I knew that would work under the time crunch.

Lincee:  “We could recycle my costume from last year if you are interested.”

Jamie:  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

A few snips, tucks and modifications, and we were ready for trick-or-treating.

Her face is red and splotchy because she HATED the tulle.  She pitched the biggest fit of her life when we plopped her into the bath tub.  Thank the Lord for that rubber ducky. 

My Mother and I kept telling her that if she expects to be a treasured member of this family, she better get used to tulle.  And sequins.  And fringe.  And movie musicals.  And large bows on her bald head.

Because that is who we are.  Embrace it Addison.  It’s in your blood.

We’ve been waiting and waiting for my niece to sit up on her own, and she finally did!  It’s a milestone that should be celebrated with a fun new outfit.  And everyone knows that nothing says team spirit like an embroidered onesie and a matching tutu.  Go Lobos!

Of course this lasted five seconds before she started eating the tutu.  But to her defense, we were playing dress up right around lunch time.

Then she decided she wanted to eat the camera and we figured we were done.

I’m a little worried about a Halloween outfit.  When your Mom’s a drill team director and you wear tutus on a regular basis, there is a bit of pressure when it comes to costume options. 

My vote is for a cupcake because I could just eat her up!

David and I are PowerPoint “co-captains” at church and I recently asked him for his September schedule so I could figure out who we need to bring up from JV while we are away doing various activities this semester.

He was quick to respond with all the dates in the fall that he will not be able to serve.  There was a wedding.  Texas Tech vs. A&M football weekend.  And this little nugget on September 6…

World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off.

Huh.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen those words connected together before in my life.  One might think that I would go off on some sarcastic tangent, but coming from a girl who is scheduling her pending knee surgery around Hallsville Western Days’ Civil War Re-Enactment…well…you all know that this Goat BBQ Championship thing sounds all sorts of AWESOME to me.   Let’s hope DQ takes pictures and sends in a report on who wins the big prize. 

I’d blog about it.  I’m just saying.

The goat championship BBQ sentence did tickle me though.  I started to think about all the random things I had heard on the phone, or read in an email/text or heard from friends and family the last week.  I have to say, I lead a pretty interesting life.  Or I surround myself with crazies.  Probably a mixture of both.

Example #1:

My friend Jill has a 16-month old little boy.  The other day we were on the phone and I heard this:  “No…no Sam…Sam…no…SAM!  Lincee I have to go.  Sam’s eating dog food.”

Not your typical run-of-the-mill sentence that acurately describes your kid’s diet. 

Example #2:

My other friend Rebecca has a brand new baby.  I hear her three-year-old in the background:  “Mommy!  Baby Sam needs you!”

What is wrong with that sentence you ask?  Yes…it is very normal.  However, the baby’s name is not Sam.  The three-year-old has named him Sam because the only other boy baby he has known is Jill’s Sam.  It’s been five days now.  The siblings are still calling him Sam.  The parents call him by his real name.  My Mom used to call the dog’s name when she was yelling for me.  I think this family is going to be okay.

Example #3

My Mom and I are watching the traveling Broadway production of Mamma Mia this past weekend in Dallas.  When the curtain rises, we find Sophie on the Greek island singing to herself about how she has a dream.  Mom leans over and says, “Why is her hair red?”  I look at her funny and she says, “It’s supposed to be blond.”

I explain to her that this isn’t Cinderella and that she needs to get over it.  Different actors play different characters on the stage.  Sophie’s hair color means nothing to the story line.  She rolled her eyes and was bitter for the rest of the show. 

Example #4

I was on the phone with Sergeant Cole last night (yes he’s back!) and he is telling me how he got from Iraq to the US.  In the middle of a very dramatic moment, I hear a bugle playing in the background.  He pauses and says, “Let me call you back.  They are lowering the flag.”

Oh how that warms my heart!  God bless the USA!

Example # 5

I drove in from Dallas on Saturday night and arrived back at my apartment around 1:30 in the morning.  I fell asleep immediately and woke up a few hours later to my phone ringing.  As you can imagine, there is a split second that is a mixture of figuring out where the weird noise is coming from, trying to find my phone and registering who is on the other side, because nothing good can come from a 3:00 a.m. phone call.

It was my boss.  Who is currently in the Middle East. 

I click the green button and yell “HELLO?” about 30 times.  Nothing.  I get panicky and start wondering if he is in trouble or stuck in a holding cell at an airport or in JAIL!  I text as fast as my fingers could fly and wait for the familiar BING to answer me back.

BING!  “I forgot it is 3:00 AM in Houston.  Going to tell you about rig in Oman.  Sorry to disturb you.  Go back to bed.”

Don’t you think that merits a free personal day?  One that corresponds with the World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off maybe?