They Say It's Your Birthday...

So, it would seem I've had a birthday-filled weekend.  Saturday evening, Bobby took the kiddos to visit the Hardins and I had a girls' night out celebrating my cousin's birthday.  She's only 8 days older than me (hint, hint), so I won't divulge which birthday we actually celebrated.

That's Stephanie and me. What a good-lookin' pair of Leos, huh?

We ate at yummy Cocina Superior.  Our waitress was quite sketch, but the food was great and the pomegranate margaritas were pomeGREAT!!!

Wish I could have had another marg, but #1, I had to drive and #2 I had to wake up waaaaay to early this morning to celebrate another birthday...Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in West End Birmingham, AL!  Today was the first of a year-long series of celebratory masses in honor of the parish's 100th birthday.

It may not look like much from the outside but wait for it...My mother went to grammar school here.  My grandparents and great aunts and uncles were parishoners here. As a child I can remember Easters and Christmases were always celebrated here.  In my opinion, it is THE most beautiful church in Birmingham.  Here's a shot from the altar looking towards the door...notice the balcony choir loft and all the natural light from the ornate stained-glass windows:

Here's a picture I took from the balcony looking towards the altar:

And here's how I remember it at Christmas time:

Lastly, there is a grotto outside that my grandfather built and dedicated to the memory of my grandmother.  This has very special memories for me, too.  For instance, I can remember the Mother's Day that we all stood around for the blessing and dedication.  It was so hot!  Later that day my Aunt Sheri actually gave birth to my cousin Katherine!  Nee-Nee would have been so tickled to have all that family excitement in one day!  Today was similarly hot, but you know me...I simply had to insist on a family picture:

If only this picture looked like the train wreck it actually was, well, let's just say it wouldn't be shared with you!

So, happy birthday Stephanie and a very happy birthday Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church!

Caroline Is 8 Months Old!

 

Weight: 18 lbs

Length: 27 1/4"

Sleeping Patterns: You go to bed about 7:30 PM. You've been a great sleeper, but I'm wondering if you are going through a growth spurt...(likely since you've grown a whole inch and 2 pounds!)  You've been waking up through the night.  I've tried to let you "cry it out" but you just get yourself more stirred up.  All I have to do is go give you pappy again and snuggle you up in your blanket.  But still...would be nice if you would sleep continuously...

 Eating Habits: Girl, you will not miss a meal!  You are a great eater!  You drink 8 oz bottles now about 4 times a day.  You also eat solid foods mid morning and mid afternoon.  You have discoved Gerber Biter Biscuits and you love them!  You have had banana pudding, Papa's pineapple pudding, and when we go out to eat, we'll order you a side of mashed potatoes which you love. 

New Discoveries & Accomplishments: Well, you crawl all over the place.  You are a mover and shaker!  You will literally chase mommy around the house!  You say Bye-Bye and you even wave your hand (though not usually on command).  You say Da-Da all the time even though I practice MaMa with you.  You say Bite sometimes and we're working on someting for Brother.  It usually comes out "Bu'h".  Hmm, guess you have that "B" sound down pat.  The biggest new discovery is the world around you...you are so curious and into everything!  You like to explore things with your mouth...those two bottom teeth are getting quite the workout.

Places You Love:  The floor!  You and your excersaucer seem to have broken ties this month.  You want to be free to crawl and discover.  You spent the day with Stephie this month and you liked it over there, you refused to sleep.  I'm sure Steph wished you didn't like it quite so much (hahaha).

Special Friends: You play well with everyone. You are very outgoing and seem to not be shy at all!  You really like Nona's dog Wesley...good thing, too, b/c no one else does!  I think you can say dog.  Well, there is just this one sound that you always make whenever you see dogs.  Doesn't sound like anything to most people, but I know you know what you are saying.

Current Events: One of Mommy's favorite actors, Mel Gibson, has been in the news lately because he is not being very nice at all and he has been tape recorded using all kinds of bathroom words to his wife.  A federal judge blocks key sections of the Arizona immigration law, including law enforcement's ability to request legal documentation of U.S. citizenship from suspected illegal immigrants, and the requirement for immigrants to carry papers at all times. After 86 days of gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico and several previous attempts to contain the flow, BP caps its leaking oil well. The oil well has leaked hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil—some estimates say millions—since the deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20.

What We Did This Day: On Sunday (Aug 1st) we had a slow morning around the house.  You played and played, then we went to visit Great-MawMaw Williams at her apartment.  Later we took MawMaw to MeeMaw and Granddaddy's house so the big kids and grown ups could enjoy some of his yummy Boston Butt!  Granddaddy knows his way around a grill, that's for sure!  You got to sample some mashed up baked beans and loved them!

Silent Saturday

Introducing Rob and Cargo (the horse)...

Leavin...On a Jet Plane!

Well, only one Morris actually left on that Jet Plane...ROB Morris!!!

Oh, yeah!  He got to go to Phoenix, AZ for 4 days with Nona, Papa, Lauren, and Micah to visit Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tom, and some cousins Anna and Spence.  This shot (below) was taken with Mom's phone-camera at around 6:00 AM:

Now, I was sleeping soundly, but somewhere over the Birmingham skies, you could have seen something similar to this:

According to Mom, Rob did great on the 1st leg from Bham to Dallas/Ft. Worth.  They had a brief layover and then a flight to Phoenix.  On the 2nd flight, Rob got a little antsy and at one point he said, "Whew!  I'm ready to land this bird!"

1st on the agenda once they arrived:

By the way, that is Tom and Kathy's backyard...not a resort!  Beautiful, huh?

I'm sure they're having a great time!  But, gee, Bobby, Caroline, and I miss him already!

More to come!

Prettying Up the Porch

I love my front porch!  Many times the whole family will hang out here.

[By the way, can you tell hubby's hair is growing out?  You do remember his summer new "do", right?]

It is a nice, cozy alcove...somewhat private as 1.) we live on a cul-de-sac and 2.) the porch does not face the road.  My creeping Jasmine has decided to really creep this year and I have a lovely new "Welcome" mat that Rob picked out for me all by himself on Mother's Day.

However, the title of this post is "Prettying Up the Porch", so let's take a closer look:

Can you spot the improvement needs?  Yeah, me too.  Let's start with this eyesore above!  I love this bench.  The darn thing is quite sturdy -- it weighs about 200 lbs.  I would have sold it at 3 different yard sales if I could have single-handedly moved it to the yard but, no...talk about endurance.  I have mentioned once or twice that I like to hold on to things, so the bench is staying...sort of.

First thing I did was sand it, and sand it, and sand it.  In the picture below, look at the before (left) and after (right).

Now just 'cause you're wonderin', yes -- I was absolutely smart enough and prepared enough to do this project in the middle of the day...in the summer...in the South!  Excuse me while I try to rehydrate...

That's quite the glamor self-shot, huh?  This is going to be a labor of love...

Well, at least I have some great, Grade-A help from my little man...(PS check out his "worker-man" boots.)

Okay.  A little varnish will go a long way.  So a lot of varnish should change this baby for good!!!

By the way, it was so hot outside, dead bugs melted into my cute candle on the porch. 

 

But I have a bench to restore and the Bible verse tells me somehow I will survive this...

...and with no further ado (hey, what a pun-coincidence!)...I proudly present my newly restored bench!

Before-and-after shots will come once I'm through prettying up the porch.  Stay tuned for more...