I'm a Sucker for a Good Redneck Joke

A Redneck passed away and left his entire estate
to his beloved widow
but she can't touch it 'til she's 14.

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Redneck Cooler

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How do you know when you're staying
in a Redneck hotel?
When you call the front desk and say,
"I gotta leak in my sink," and the
clerk replies, "Go ahead."

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Redneck Cellar

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Redneck Garden


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Did you hear that they have raised the minimum
drinking age for Rednecks to 32 ?
It seems they want to keep alcohol
out of the high schools.

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Redneck Limo


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Two reasons why it's so hard to solve a
Redneck murder . .
1) The DNA is all the same
2) There's no dental records

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Redneck Mailbox


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Who invented the toothbrush ?
A Redneck.
(If it had been invented by anyone else,
it would have been called a teeth brush.)

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A State Trooper pulls over a pickup on Highway 16
and says to the driver, 'Got any I.D. ?' . .
and the driver replies 'Bout wut?'

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Redneck Time Out


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Did you hear about the $3 million Redneck Lottery ? . .
The winner gets $3.00 a year for a million years.

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Redneck Weenie Roast


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A new Redneck law was just recently passed .
When a couple gets divorced, they are STILL cousins.

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Redneck Wheelchair



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Did you hear that the Redneck governor's
mansion burned down ?
'Yep. Prit'near took out the whole trailer park. The library was a total loss too. Both books went poof... up in flames, and the governor hadn't even finished coloring one of them.'
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A Redneck Thanksgiving
(if Norman Rockwell was a Redneck)

This last picture actually reminds me of what my Thanksgivings probably looked like when I was a baby based on some of the pictures I have seen from back in the day.

Happy Birthday TW!

Happy Birthday to my sweet TW! I feel blessed by your love more and more everyday! In honor of your golden birthday...

28 things we love about TW (the kids helped me out)

1. Your heart for God.
2. Your belief in me.
3. Your desire to learn more about yourself to become the best you that you can be!
4. Your big, brown (root beer colored) eyes.
5. The way you flex your bicep in rapid movements...very impressive!
6. Your dancing skills.
7. Your dedication to our family.
8. Your willingness to work hard to provide for us.
9. Your relationship with our kiddos.
10. Your butt!
11. Your willingness to help me around the house.
12. Your spiritual guidance in our family.
13. Your silliness.
14. Cuddle time. (AA)
15. Playing board games together. (AA and AK)
16. Daddy and daughter dance. (AA and AK)
17. The way you smell.
18. Your safety and protection.
19. You are nice. (AA)
20. The way you work hard for us. (AA)
21. Wrestling (AA, AK, JD)
22. Your desire to do the right thing.
23. I like when you say "Live Up" (AA)
23. I like when he saves me. (AK)
24. Your smile!
25. Feedback rich.
26. Teaches us to do things. (AA, AK, JD)
27. You pick good movies for Family Move Night. (AA)
28. Your unfailing love!
29. Good bedtime! (AK)

So, we did 29...one too grow on!

Who Do You Date?

This week I was at the hospital for an EEG, a test for my migraines, and I was sitting in the waiting area listening to my daughter's IPod to try and focus my thoughts on God and not on the anxiety that I was having about the test. As I sprawled myself out and tried to relax, an older couple slowly made their way to the waiting area as well. She was in a wheel chair and he was walking with a cane. The nurse that was pushing her instructed them to wait there until they came out for the Mrs. test to be done. As they sat there I tried to picture TW and I in our 80's and what we might look like. I then began thinking about everything that him and I had already conquered together and again tried to imagine adding 50 more years of joys and troubles to that to get a full feeling of what this couple may have experienced in their lives together. I noticed that they didn't do much talking. I recently heard or read (can't remember which) that instead of being sad when you see an older couple not speaking (thinking that they no longer have anything to talk about) you could rejoice in their silence knowing that they have grown to one another so well and that they are so intimately close that they have become one and need not share many words. I know that is what this couple was experiencing. As that thought came over me I realized her hand wasn't resting on her lap or on the arm rest on the wheel chair. Instead, she was reaching over towards her Groom. I even stood up to see if what I inferred was true, and it was...they were holding hands. It melted my heart. Something about an older couple holding hands just gets me. And, it wasn't just me that this small act of love touched. I noticed that everyone that walked past them gave them a smile with a little twinkle in their eye. I then thought, "I bet they have no idea why everyone is so giddy and cheerful towards them. I bet the simple fact that they are holding hands doesn't even come across their minds as something unique." Isn't it true. Or at least I think in my little bubble of the world, I find it unique to see a healthy, strong marriage. And, to see this one that had stood the test of time with two people who were still affectionate towards one another really got my attention. That is what I want! I don't just want my marriage to last a lifetime; I want it to be a fulfilling partnership that lasts a lifetime! This is something that takes effort and purposefulness on our part! It is so easy to get used to the daily grind of waking up, going to work, taking care of the kids, going to bed, and repeat. TW and I have made it a habit to make the time once a week to date each other. Thursdays are usually our date nights and we don't let hardly anything get in the way of our night together! If their is a major conflict then we switch it to a different night. It used to be our goal to go on a date night once a month...well that never happened. Then one week we just said WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS! And, we haven't missed it since. We don't let the kids' schedules get in the way. Sitters or Grandparents can get them to dance or to different activities that they might have. We try to remember that we were together first and we must prioritize each other first. Not always easy, but we do it. Now I don't want to paint some perfect, blissful picture! Some dates are great loaded with tons of conversation and lots of laughter and others are filled with the tough discussions that need to happen. But, either way we are building intimacy. Disagreements, when worked through properly, can bring us closer together than a night full of laughs. The key is the time together! My challenge to you is to carve out some time for your spouse or special loved one! Begin with the end in mind! Don't get stuck in the daily grind of life! Date one another! Take the lead if hubby doesn't! I think that in the end of our lives we will all be glad we did this!

Nature vs. Nurture

I would say that some things in life just come naturally!

Wordless Wednesdays

My New Nephew

My sister and her boyfriend got a new puppy! They flew to pick him up this morning! I am such a proud Aunt...wonder how I am going to act when they have a baby! His name is Chi and he is an English Bulldog. He is absolutely adorable! And, actually resembles Bubby in some ways. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Police Answering Machine

My Dad forwarded me an email with this attachment and I found it hilarious! Maybe because one of TW's best friends is a police officer?! I laughed out loud...literally.

You will need to pause the music player that I have on my website down in the lower left side of the page before opening this link...

Police Answering machine

TW Gets Down!

Saturday night we had 15 girls at our house for AA's birthday party. AB, my sis, and her boyfriend helped me transform our house into a movie set for High School Musical. The girls walked in on the red carpet to the "green room" where they were able to get their hair done and some glittery makeup applied. They then walked down the red carpet to the basement which was transformed into a stage for them to dance and sing to their favorite HS Musical songs. It was fun! TW was the Director, I was the Producer, AB was the stylist, and my two cousins were Wardrobe and Set Designers. We all dressed in black for our rolls and wore nametags that had our role on them. :) Yes, I went a little over board. Really setting the bar high for myself aren't I? Anyways, thought I would share the following video of my cousin and I singing and TW dancing with the girls. I told you he could move...

Happy Birthday AA!

Today is our oldest kiddo's birthday! I can't believe she is seven years old! It seems like it has gone so fast but at the same time there has been a lot of life lived in those seven years!

She is growing to be such a charming young lady. Her heart for her sister and brother amaze me, she is learning to be a great leader, she is making good choices, and she has a heart for the Lord!

We have struggled every year with what to buy her for her birthday for two reasons...one being she has anything she ever needs and two being her birthday is right after Christmas. We had decided last year that it would be the last time that she would receive presents at her birthday party. Instead, she would collect money for a charity or collect toys for kids in need! This has really fit in with our whole theme of Christmas, which was "The only things that you really keep are the things that you give away." Like I mentioned in My Christmas Top 5, we did many things as a family to help out others who are less fortunate than us. While doing some research in the internet AA and TW came across a site http://www.compassion.com/ it is a charity that "releases children from poverty in Jesus' name." AA and TW watched several videos on the site and AA got very interested in the cause. So, when it was time to pick a charity to collect money for, it was no surprise that this was her pick. On her invitations, made by Gama, we requested no gifts and instead explained that she would be collecting money for Compassion. She also decided that one of her gifts from us would be sponsoring a child monthly from the website. It should be a neat experience for her. She will get pictures from the child and she will be able to write back and forth with the child. It has been a whole new educational process for us as we teach her about poverty and AIDS. We did get her a couple of other things as well, but not nearly as much as she usually gets! When she walked in the door from school and saw the two presents on the table she asked who they were for and AK told her that they were for her for her birthday. AA simply stated, "Oh I didn't need that. But, thank you!" Uhhhh, melted my heart. In a world where we fight materialism daily and the media telling us that we "need" this or that to make us happy I was so pleased to hear those words come out of her mouth!

We try, daily, to teach our kiddos to live for God and to do his will and work in this world. One thing is for sure, His will is not always the popular thing but it is ALWAYS the right thing! To see this reflected in her heart, even it was just for a moment, was heartwarming to me!

Hypocritical???

A new season of Biggest Loser has started and we watched it last night. We have never really watched a full season of this show, but for some reason we have decided we are going to this season. We have it set to record the whole season on our DVR. After we got the kids to bed we snuggled up and watched the show...but we weren't empty handed. Instead we had big bowls of Mocha Brownie Trifle that I had made for our New Years Eve festivities. As I watch the teams on TV busting their butts to workout and get healthy I am stuffing my face with the most delicious dessert. It made me feel kind of guilty, but I guess not guilty enough to put the bowl down. :)

With the new year here people have asked that same question, "What is your New Years resolution?" This year I don't really have one. It seems that if I make one it just gets broken. Probably not a good excuse to at least try to make one work. I do know that I want to lead a healthier lifestyle in terms of exercise and eating. Since October I have really gone hog wild on the desserts. I am not much of a snacker; I usually don't have snacks between meals. Instead I just enjoy dessert after every meal. I know that sugar is addictive so that is one thing I will have to fight off! I made some progress in the physical activity area, I made a trip to the gym today. It has been a while since I did that. It always feels good after going, half the trouble is just getting there. We have definitely been donating money to the gym more than we have been consumers. I am hoping to make some new habits so that will change.