My Funny Valentines

Happy Friday! Woo-hoo! What a week it has been. Hello Friday, I am so glad that you are here!

Last weekend Mr. Incredible and I were asked by his parents to sing at their Sunday School Class Valentine Banquet. We adore singing together so we of course said yes. We sang, "When God Made You," and "How Deep the Father's Love for Us," together and he sang, "I Will be Here," to me. It was very romantic and made me have butterflies inside all over again. I love that man of mine!

I also got to act like a semi-professional photographer, yes I am exaggerating that a bit, and take pictures of all of the couples. It was fun. I stood on a chair and everything...you know for a better view point and better lighting. I took my shoes off to stand on that chair...that's how fancy and professional I was. Here are a few of my favorite portraits:
This is my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They have been married for 18 years:

And it is starting to show a bit, don't you think? Ha! Just kidding! I thought this was too funny not to capture and I am so glad that I did:

Our cousins got into the action too. Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day to my beloved," quite like the choker hold. Pose for the camera!

I'm sure that you can tell this was all in fun. They are madly in love with each other and they have 4 of the most beautiful children ever....next to my girls and my nephews, of course!

But speaking of the nephews, after the banquet I found my nephews in the children's area of the church. "Double A," the one who refers to us as his liebs threw his arms around me and said he was so glad to see me. I whispered in his ear, that he should ask his mommy if he and his brother could go home with us for a while. His eyes were as big as saucers, he was excited. After his mommy said yes, the next words out of his mouth were, "Shot-gun!" which in our area means I get the front seat!

No, we didn't let him ride in the front seat, because he is too young for that, but it still cracked me up. The boys giggled all the way home and then they started saying, "Aunt Kiki, remember the last time we were at your house we....Aunt Kiki, do you remember when we....." and then I realized it had been way too long since they had spent some time at Aunt Kiki's house which is the hard part about being so busy. I missed spending time with them I think as much as they missed spending time with us.

We quickly plugged in Mario Cart on the Wii and the games began. The girls have "throw back" hats that they like to wear....why I'm not sure...but a lot of their friends have them and they think they are cool. So, as long as that is as "gansta" as they get, I'm down with that (how's that for my cool gangsta language?). That is what Hannah is wearing in this photo:

You can see Mr. Incredible's new toy in the cabinet. He is so proud of his new tv, it brings him all kinds of joy (I love you, sweetheart!)

I won't tell your Uncle Mr. Incredible what you were just touching:

A quick bite to eat in between games. If you look closely, Rachel still has her wii remote in one hand and her food in the other. She is a bit competitive...I wonder where she gets that!

Cousin love before the mario cart wars begin again:

And then the sugar kicked in and the silliness began:

"A" had fun with Hannah's throw back hat. He is almost cracking a smile...yes I see it....try to keep a straight face cool breeze:

And then my youngest nephew looked up at me and said, "What-up dawg! Peace out!"

But that's not all he said. He talks about his "liebs" in his silly "German voice," with a little help from Aunt Kiki:

He is such a little ham!

I think this video qualifies my post to be included in Kim's Friday Funnies, don't you?

Ya'll have a fabulous weekend...and think of me please....tonight, my home will be taken over by 10 outrageous teenage girls who will be in the mood to "par-tee" as we celebrate Hannah's birthday and not sleep a wink, I'm sure!

When I Grow Up I Want To be A Pioneer Woman!

This book has become one of my most favorite Christmas gifts! I think I may have already blogged about it....which confirms how much I love this book! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

I learned how to make a fantastic breakfast burrito....from scratch:

The BEST chili ever! My man swooned!

Delicious rosemary rolls. (I found these on her website, not the cookbook and modified them a little bit). The smell of rosemary permeates every room of our home with delight:

I made these to take to my mother-in-law's house for Christmas dinner. She is a superb caterer so I'm always a bit less-than-confident about my mere offerings for dinner, but they all loved these and I was so relieved...nothing like trying out a new recipe at someone else's house!

I've made PW's delicious homemade cinnamon rolls for the last 2 Christmases; the recipe is on her blog. I even tried the orange marmalade rolls this year and they were just as delicious!

Oh, don't get me started on her crash hot potatoes...yum!!!

PW's Cookbook may be the only cookbook that I may actually use from cover to cover! It is fantastic! If you haven't tried any of her recipes, check out her blog where she lists many for free. I'm making her homemade salsa and guacamole this afternoon (please, go get the guacamole recipe now!!!).

Her photography is beautiful and her dishes are always divine. Yes, when I grow up, I want to be a Pioneer Woman!

Do you have a favorite PW recipe? So, come on...share it!

Goodbye Forever Swiffers!

Have you seen these little micro-fiber cloths at Sams club? They are made by Rubbermaid. Oh, my goodness these little things are ingenious! They have made me completely enjoy dusting again. Really, they have!

I get all kinds of joy out of dusting a little area and then looking to see all that these little clothes pick up. They are way better than Swiffers! And much more economical too!

Yes, they are a little pricey at first, by Mr. Incredible bought them, so for me they were free! Ha! I'm just kidding his money is our money and my money is....my money! Ha! All kidding aside, these little cloths are so cool and I don't have to dust nearly as often....which is always a good thing!

After dusting, I just plop them in the washer and dryer and they are brand new again. Even Mr. Incredible is enjoying dusting too....and that says a lot!

I am so pleased to be joining Works for me Wednesdays today.

Guess Whooo's 13? Invitations

My baby turned 13 last week, as many of you already know, and her party is this weekend. She is really into the retro/owl kind of things so no ordinary, run of the mill invitations would do.

I've been teaching my high school students Photo shop CS4, so I grabbed my favorite software and started working. This is what I came up with:

I think this owl is so cute...and so very Hannah! She helped me pick the colors. After designing the little owl, I printed out several to make cupcake picks. I'll try to post pictures of the finished cupcakes this weekend.

And a party would not be complete without thank you notes. Please, tell me that you have your children write thank you notes....I'm not the only one...am I?

I believe thank you notes are a lost art but one well worth keeping around. We are not perfect...far from it...and I'm sure we have missed writing a thank you note or three without realizing it, but a thankful heart is something we should purposefully try to instill in our children and thank you notes are a great place to start.

I'm looking forward to the party. I still have so much to do...plan a scavenger hunt, come up with a menu, plan some games, and do laundry! I better run. Have a blessed day!

I am so pleased to list this post at

Kimba's DIY day ,

Get Your Craft On,

Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs

My Birthday Girl

Yes, I am now a momma to 2 teenagers! It's official! And I LOVE it! As a girl, I always hoped and dreamed that I would have a daughter...God doubled my joy and blessed me with two! Oh, how I love my girls!

I thought I would share a few of Hannah's birthday pictures with you. Her fun, teen party is this coming weekend and I'll have more to share, I'm sure.

Here she is opening her gift from us:

Inside was a purity ring that we bought at James Avery. This was what she asked for.

Really, she asked us for one at Christmas, but we already had her gifts and I wanted to make sure that this was something she really wanted and not just because other friends at school had one.

A week before her birthday she said to me, "Momma, I would really like a purity ring. I asked for one at Christmas, but I didn't get one and now I'm asking for one for my birthday. I think this should let you know how much I really want one." That was all the convincing that I needed. We talked once again about the symbolism of this ring and she smiled and explained that she had already made up her mind about this years ago. She wants to be able to give her ring to her husband one day. Wow!

So, no ordinary ring would do. Her daddy and I slipped away to James Avery one evening and found the perfect ring!

It says, "True love waits!" And it is exactly the ring she had hoped for. Thank, you Father for her precious heart!

Since her friends' party is this weekend, we decided to buy an enormous cupcake at Gigi's Cupcakes to help us celebrate. We ate dinner at a place where they cook the food on the table in front of us, and try to throw rice balls into our mouths, Mr. Incredible rules this area, and then we headed home for cupcakes.

I wasn't sure what to do with 13 candles and 1 cupcake, but Hannah knew just what to do. She carefully placed every candle on her cupcake:

Then we sang happy birthday and Hannah blew out the candles and then we blew out her hair! Yes, a lock of those beautiful curls landed on one of the lighted candles and caught fire for a brief moment! Fun times!

The next morning, she put on her "most favorite t-shirt ever" that was a gift from Granny and Grandpa. Remember her typewriter purchase at the estate sale this past summer? The t-shirt is Hannah to a tee! Just look at her gorgeous smile!

My Three Valentines

Once upon a time a girl of only 18 went to Baylor University and met the man of her dreams. He was and continues to be the man she hoped and prayed for. It was a quick romance for sure. They met in September, were engaged by Christmas and married a year and a half later. (It's hard to believe that that was nearly 20 years ago!)

It wasn't long before God blessed them with their first bundle of joy...a daughter named Rachel Ann...and nearly four years later a daughter named Hannah Linn. I loved you before either one of you were born...right from the start! My dreams come true!

What an indescribable gift my family is to me! Not one Valentine....but three. Thank you, Heavenly Father for loving and blessing me!

Valentine's Day Special Delivery!

I have a dear blogging friend named Lea. No, we have never met "for reals" but I feel like I have known her my entire life. She is a precious blessing! Many of you bloggers are blessed to "know" her too. Her beautiful blog is called the Shabby Olde Potting Shed. I always enjoy visiting her blog because it is filled to overflowing with joy and adoration to her Savior and she shines so beautifully for Him.

She let me in on a little secret that when she was shopping last week she "came across something that I literally SQUEALED: KRISTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Me? I felt so honored that she would see something that reminded her of me and that she bought it for me. I was both humbled and curious! So, yesterday I checked the mail and this beautiful box was inside:

She decorated the outside with beautiful robin's egg blue paper, a crisp white doily, a fun dragonfly and her adorable return address label, that is just so Lea! I couldn't wait to see what was inside, but I quickly grabbed my camera so that I could take it all in.

Inside was a card with my blog's name on it.

She even added a matching blue heart to the envelope....I see something peeking out of the envelope.

Inside was this gorgeous hand made card that filled me with all kinds of delight. I so love this verse and every verse that she carefully put on the outside of the box.

She and I like to garden. I like to try to garden, but Lea really gardens! Her beautiful home is blanketed with snow right now, but rest assured beautiful morning glories will soon appear with all kinds of beautiful flowers....and happy chickens, and cows, and a new bull, and kittens, and so much more.

We have been comparing seed companies as we both dream about our gardens this year. I told her about Mr. Incredible's Pappaw. I loved my gardening Pappaw so much. We shared many incredible gardening moments together. I told her in a recent email that he loved to grow gourds and that I never quite learned what to do with gourds but we always planted some and he would delight in their shapes as they grew. I said, "I may have to plant some gourd seeds this year now that I think about it." Guess what was included in my surprise?

Yes, gourd seeds and she named them Papaw seeds...so very thoughtful! I cried right there, yes I did. Precious memories!


Then I found these beautiful seeds too!

I love the name "Morning Glory!" don't you? I try to wake up early each morning to spend time with the Lord and to bask in His great glory. I can't wait to see these beauties!


What could possibly be wrapped in this adorable paper?

I unwrapped this beautiful silver heart

and looked carefully and shouted with glee, "My Lieb!" It actually says, "Lieb" on the heart. This is a term of endearment that my youngest nephew calls all of his girls. We are his "liebs." One day he said, "Aunt Kiki. I have a lot of liebs but Ray-Ray and Hannah are my special liebs."

I told the lieb story on my blog last June and Lea loved it too. I've never seen anything with "lieb" written on it. Lieb means love in German. How did my youngest nephew know the meaning of lieb at only 6 years old?

I love it Lea! Thank you so much for the "joy buzz" as you call it. Yes, your special delivery brought me all kinds of joy and delight....just like your blog! Thank you, thank you, sweet friend!

Now, I'm in search of something that squeals Lea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!