Date Night at the Ballpark

A couple of weeks ago Mr. H and I went to the Ranger game. I love going to games - any sport really. Not so much for the sport itself, but for the atmosphere (not to mention catching a glimpse of Hamilton) and most importantly the preservative filled food.  And there was definitely no shortage of that being served up given that it was $1 hot dog night at the ballpark.  In addition to six hot dogs I also needed my fake cheese fix. Two hours later we left happy Ranger fans with bloated bellies. The Rangers won, Hamilton hit a grand slam and I indulged in the truly great American sport of overeating. It was a win-win.

In the pictures you might have noticed that Mr. H has on a new Ranger shirt and that I do not. This is not for lack of effort on his part. He went to get new shirts for us on his lunch break. Mine was supposed to be a surprise. And boy was it. A child's small. Really?? And that went right back to the store the following day. But thank you for thinking of me and for thinking that I could fit into a shirt made for an 8 year old.

On a side note - I always think it is funny when someone realizes they are going to be in your picture and smiles. a. little. creepy. In my opinion. They could just put something in front of their face or run like hell to get out of the picture like I do. Totally normal.

Camp Mimi

There are those special events from your childhood which you can still vividly remember at any age, while other things are lost from your memory forever. I guess God keeps those memories with you that he knows you will need one day. They were both needed and coveted this past week by my family. It's still hard for me to believe that my grandmother, our Mimi, is really gone. Just three weeks ago we were all together celebrating their 60th anniversary and she looked and felt great. In fact, when Michael and I picked her and Papa up to take them to the celebration I asked her how she was feeling. She told me - with a big smile - she felt great and that she planned on being around for many more years. I think we had all planned on that. Yesterday we honored and buried Mimi.  Deep down I know where she is and how wonderful that it must be for her to be healthy and back with her parents and sisters who went home years ago, but as for me - in all of my earthly selfishness - I would prefer that Mimi be right back here with us. Then I could erase the vision I have of her fighting for her life in the hospital. And mend my mother's broken heart. And give Papa back his best friend. And see her hold my children one day. And have them experience Camp Mimi.

This is the memory that kept coming back to me while she was in the hospital and during her funeral.

Camp Mimi was an annual, much anticipated event for Margaret and I growing up. I can remember my mom and dad driving and meeting them halfway between Bossier and Texarkana. From there I would be going home with Mimi and Papa for the week. For a whole week. All by myself. I felt so special. So grown up. Mimi would plan the entire week around us. There were dinners out, shopping sprees, trips to the park, movie night and the list goes one. It was awesome. But now being older, and supposedly wiser, I know what a truly amazing gift it was to have grandparents that were so willing and able to be a part of our lives. Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it.  Sitting at her service yesterday I was reminded of those summers. Reminded of her immense love for my family and for me. What I wouldn't give for another week at Camp Mimi. To go back to that age when life was so carefree and wonderful. To be loading into her car with my suitcase and pillow headed to her house, oblivious to the realities of adulthood and saying goodbye.

I am grateful for the time I had with her and for the many memories that I can continue to carry with me until I see her again.

Hello Worldwide Web!

This is my first blog and to be honest I am not sure my life is all that blog worthy. Correction. I know my life isn't all that blog worthy, but it seems like the next appropriate step in nesting.

In April of 2008 my world was rocked. I met Mr. H.  In March of 2010 we tied the knot in my childhood church and then planted roots here in Dallas. A year later we bought our first home. We are still in the process of painting, furnishing and learning how to keep up with the responsibilities that come with home ownership. A couple of months ago we welcomed Parker into our home - a blue eyed, orange and white Brittany, followed by Cass - a green eyed liver and white Brittany. They are our babies for now so brace yourself for too many pictures of dogs that are treated better than a large portion of children in our society.  Sad, but true. I actually wouldn't mind coming back as Cass when I die. Her feet have barely touched the ground since we brought her home and one whimper will pretty much bring Michael sprinting to her rescue.  I have tried the whimper and it doesn't work for me. This is something I will have to perfect. Anyway. All of these wonderful happenings bring us to this momentous occasion - my first blog. It is official. I am aging. And before everyone tells me how young I am - let me stop you and let you know that I don't think I am elderly, but I sure don't feel 22 anymore. I used to gasp at the thought of being boring like my parents. (I mean this in a loving and positive way, Mom) Going to bed at 10 o'clock. never. Staying in on a Friday night. never. Taking a cat nap after a large meal. never. cooking dinner. um no thank you - I, of course, have always preferred my meals in a bag of some sort with plasticware. and yet here I am. blogging. cooking. refinishing furniture. vacuuming and steaming my hardwood floors obsessively. pruning my own shrubs. going for evening walks. drinking coffee religiously. getting up before the sun. starting to dream about a family of my own. hysterically thinking my dog has Parvo when he only has an upset stomach. I am a full-time adult woman. Domestication won. Who would have thought? Not me. Not in a million years.

Here is a look back at the road to domestication. Mainly the wedding because these are some of my favorites :)

Best Night of My LIfe

It snowed during our reception. Magical.

First Anniversary

 For some strange reason I assumed that the cake might still be halfway decent a year later. I was wrong. While the succulents were frozen in time and looked beautiful, but the cake tasted like old frozen plants. We both gagged and spit it out, but nonetheless it was fun to get it out a year later. Wow, has it really been over a year now? My how time really does fly...

Homeowners

Right after we moved in we decided the fence and shutters needed staining right away. In an effort to save money we stained them ourselves. This is the first and very last time we will do our own staining.

first picture in front of one zero one

Did I mention that two weeks after we moved in there was a hail storm? And not just any ole hail storm. The kind that drew tears - from Mr. H, not me of course. The kind that required prayer and trying to decide quickly which bathroom was best - the one with the window or the one by the gas line. Kind of a big decision. It was so loud, so intense and went on for over 20 minutes. We really thought a tornado was headed our way. Anyway - we always knew that staying calm under stress and pressure wasn't my specialty. Well let's just say this incident definitely reinforced this. So 2 weeks after we moved in - new roof. check. new window beading. check. new window screens. check. new gutters. check. new paint. check. dead hydrangea. check. still mourning that dang thing. it was my pride and joy for 2 short weeks. God must have known that broken windows and water damage would have really sent me over the edge because we were the only house in the neighborhood without a broken window. 

 Parker's first few hours at home with us in July :) 

Cass' first trip to Texarkana last weekend

We took our first trip to Texarkana the day after we picked up Cass.  It was a crazy weekend, but we finally got in the groove. Quick shout out to Marg for the bird pj's. Love them.

Proud Papa H.

Well that's all for now folks. Oh and Sorry for a few of the low quality iphone photos. I am hard at work on that one. Give me just a little more time to sweet talk Mr. H into the new camera :)