Luci May meets Billy Ray...

Pretty much daily Lulu gets comments from strangers about her hair. It is, undeniably, fabulous. Even when rockin' a mullet.

we drove in

it sounded really fun to see cars 2 at a drive-in with friends. and it was. kind of. the friends were very fun...

unfortunately, the drive-in part was a bit romanticized in my mind (surprise, surprise). instead of my imagined feel good experience, it was crowded and inconveinent. it smelled like beer (they might drive in sober, but i don't know if they drive out that way) and it felt like camping. do you know how i feel about camping? about the same way i feel about oral surgery. only oral surgery is better because you can be knocked out for it.

the movie was just okay for me. but to find a movie that all 3 older kids want to can be rare, so cars 2 was a good choice as far as that goes. tate loved it. em seemed mildly interested. and bill seemed completely disinterested...

jack fell asleep. and lulu wouldn't fall asleep. but she also wouldn't watch the movie either...

though i am glad we did it, i think we will stick to redbox for our movies and sonic as our drive-in.

sharing isn't all it's cracked up to be

not only did i have to turn 40-stinkin'-one, but i also had to share my birthday with father's day. yes, i know at 40-stinkin'-one i should be mature enough to not have that bother me, but i guess i am an adolescent girl stuck in a middle-aged woman's body. emma even told her friends, "yeah, my mom's kind of being a baby about having to share her birthday with my dad."the truth hurts.

but here's the real truth: i didn't mind sharing even the "high holy day" of my birthday with father's day. i have always loved father's day because i had an amazing daddy...

and now my kids get to have an amazing daddy...

i may not be very good at sharing, but i am pretty good at knowing a good thing when i see it. and bill, well, he is a good thing. so it was a joy to have a weekend celebrating both bill as a father and god's faithfulness to me throughout lo, these many years of life. and let me tell you, i may be as immature as an adolescent girl sometimes, but i ate like an adolescent boy this weekend!

first we celebrated with deb and her family on saturday...

then with my own sweet little fam on sunday...

festivities included getting mani's and pedi's with em...

his and hers meals out (thai food for me and all you can eat pizza for bill) and froyo with the lewis family...

and a little trip to the park with the obligatory photo shoot...

it was a great day, despite the fact that i woke up looking noticeably older. see what i mean...

oh well. happy birthday to me. and happy father's day to my billy. we love you...

i love sharing all of my life with you, so i'm happy to share even my birthday as well.

Brush with Greatness

There are a lot times when I am proud to be an American...

And there are many times when I am proud of Americans...

The day we welcomed home our friend from his year long deployment in Iraq, I was both...

Especially of those who serve our country and sacrifice for our freedom. I cannot describe the beauty and intensity of the experience, but I hope these pictures tell the story.

The story of a family reunited...

The story of a mother's relief...

The story of the brave who go...

And the brave who stay behind...

There's a name for the characters in this kind of story: heroes. But we have another name for them: friends...

Welcome home.

Thank you.

We love you.

days to remember

June 14 is a day I will always remember. The day my sweet Mommy died. I had a dream night before last that I was able to talk to her again. I held her face in my hands and said through tears "I just miss you so much!" She didn't say anything, she just smiled with a look a love I will never forget. Much like the last interaction I ever had with her. Only in that moment, she was the one cradling my face in her weak little hand. But it was the same look of love.

Today I am remembering that day, but more than that I am remembering her...

Today I am singing the song Yesterday by Switchfoot you can listen to it here). The lyrics that capture my heart today are as follows...

Flowers cut and brought inside

Black cars in a single line

Your family in suits and ties

And you're free

The ache that I feel inside

Is where the light has left your eyes

I'm alone for our last goodbye

But you're free

I remember you like yesterday, yesterday

I still can't believe you're gone

I remember you like yesterday, yesterday

And until I'm with you, I'll carry on

Adrift on your ocean floor

I feel weightless, numb and sore

A part of you in me is torn

And you're free

I woke from a dream last night

I dreamt you were by my side

Reminding me I still had life

in me

I'll carry on

Every lament is a love song

yesterday, yesterday

I still can't believe you're gone

So long, my friend, so long

My lament today is a love song. A love song for my Mommy. A love song to my God.

Emma asked if we could use this day to celebrate that Gunga is in heaven instead of being sad that she is gone. Good idea, sweet girl. I know Gunga would approve.