Speaking of Change......

well, as it turns out, it is a historic day at the House of Bowling as well. I am finally getting around to dismantling the Christmas Tree. Oh, don't judge me......don't say you weren't, I heard you.

• Anyway, so, historically speaking, I think it is safe to say this is the longest we have ever left the tree up. Oh and there also remains feather trees and a leaping moss covered deer on the mantle. :) I put away all the rest of the Christmas decor a couple of weeks ago. In fact, my kitchen is in complete confusion because upon her table is sparkly heart shaped valentine plates atop silver chargers.....and through her opening you still see the Christmas tree.

I am not alone in my tight grip to hold on to the Christmas spirit. Sadie is having a hard time giving up her candy cane toy as well.

• Alas, I couldn't stand it any longer, so I took to packing away the ornaments today. Basically, it came down to the fact that I was limited in my options of household chores that could be accomplished while watching the scarved people be announced and then parade down the red carpet stairs to embrace the frigid cold. I've said it before, and am not ashamed, I love a good human interest story, when I have the time.

Back to the ornaments being packed away.....so I found this, pictured below, while plucking a few snowmen, shiny glass balls, AU items, santas, and dozens of handmade paper offerings from the children that have been globbed with glitter (is globbed a word? If not, I think it should be.) off the tree.....

• Why, would you look at that? Another one. What in the Sam Hill? (by the way, do you know Sam Hill?) Anyway....it seems that my boys thought better of my idea to leave Christmas up on over into late January. And they took it upon themselves to try to take down the tree themselves. Boys, boys,....you are gonna have to come up with something better than a half dozen nerf bullets to attack a 14 foot tree adorned with colorful netting and tons of haphazardly placed ornaments. Tsk. Tsk. Have I not raised you better?
  

• Change, it's in the water today....apparent whether you drink the kool-aid or not.....and so, I am officially taking down Christmas decorations. Aren't you so proud? Before you comment, remember what your momma always said....."if you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all". Or maybe it was...."if you can't say anything nice about someone, call me, and we'll talk about them together." :) No, my momma didn't really say that!

Inauguration Day

"This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." ~~Psalm 118:24

• Did you read that? sometimes that verse can be rather hard to swallow. But if it's written in the word, then you must believe it to be truth--every day---even if you didn't vote for him, today is a day to be glad---because it is a day, that the LORD has made.

January, 20, 2009---it is another day on the calendar....although this is one that definitely goes down in the history books in ALL CAPS. A historical day indeed. Nope, I didn't vote for him. But that didn't stop me from watching the coverage. I saw Aretha in her big ol' hat, and I saw Michelle in her glittery dress and green gloves, and I saw former President George H. Bush with his Northern Exposure-esque fur head covering (I used to love that show), and I saw about a million people with scarves....because hey, the scarf?--it is in. Add that to the fact that it was like 25 degrees...and BOOM, everyone showed up with one wrapped around their neck, in some form or fashion.

• Anyway, last evening, Temple and I were talking about the big inauguaration day. I said I wouldn't mind being there to enjoy the moment. Maybe not the man taking over the helm so much, but the whole pomp and circumstance of it all---all 175 million dollars worth---that's a lot of pomp, if you ask me. I am all about some good party food, it is a deep love of mine. Couple that with all the balls, dancing is always fun---honey, I could do a mean roger rabbit back in the day---and sign me up for a ticket to DC. Then Temple reminded me that I would have to share a port-a-john with several thousands of my fellow Americans. And the whole, "I have a dream....to go to the historical inauguration" left me in a flash. You see, me and the sharing of a bathroom, are non-negotiable. I thought it very odd to be asked to do it at the dorm every summer for cheerleader camp back in the 80's. And I even liked those girls.

So, I didn't go to DC. I just watched as much pomp and circumstance as I could on the telly. Besides, I didn't even get a chance to buy a new scarf, and I would have felt completely out of place with my old ones.

• So, I was thinking of some thoughts about today. And these verses come to mind. For in everything, God has a word to bestow on my heart.

"It is better to put trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." ~~Psalm 118:8

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."~~Proverbs 19:21

So, I didn't vote for him. But he is my president. Because I am an American. And therefore, I give respect to the office he has taken. And will pray he allows the Lord to guide his steps.

But above all of that, I still know who's really in charge.....and believe me, one day when I get to HIS big party.....there will be lots of dancing (can you not wait to see Moses doing the twist?) and honey, the party food, I can't even imagine....I think they call it a feast!

Now, excuse me, I need to see about getting me a new scarf. You know, just in case I get invited to an outdoor gala sometime soon.

Does anyone know of a good dr. for elbow replacements?

Yea, so last weekend Temple came home with the Wii thing. Did you catch that? It's January....and he's coming home with gifts. Like, Christmas wasn't just a mere couple of weeks past. In fact, he could have wrapped it up and placed it underneath the Christmas tree, called the kids in and let them pretend we forgot to give it to them 18 days back with the rest of their gifts. Because, hey, I've still got the tree up and everything.

I just looked at him with disdain when he proudly brought his purchase in to surprise the kids. And then, in a childish act of protest, I refused to play the first night they set it up. Okay, I didn't really refuse to play, I was busy doing laundry and had rather read in between the beeps and buzzers of the washer and dryer, so I let the boys (all 3 of them) play it alone.

Well, today the kids are out of school, and Temple is at work. So, I decided to bring out my inner Wii, so to speak. The boys and I have played countless frames of bowling, and I have even beat them, once. I am improving greatly with each throw of the arm, wrist, and shoulder socket. I may become "pro" very soon.

Jealous? Oh, don't be. Fame often comes with a side of pain............Which leads us back to my original question........concerning the elbow replacements, how much do you think that will cost me? And should I just ask Temple to consider a massage appointment as part of the whole "Wii--after Christmas gift special?"

SATURDAY SHOWCASE.....

PINK LEMONADE SUNSETS.....

Because absolutely nothing can compare with a beautiful sunset......I wanted to share these photos I took on Friday with you.

• Tyner Beth actually brought my attention to it while we were driving (shortly after the Kentucky-ese discussion). She was looking out at the sunset and said "Momma, look! Part of that sunset looks like pink lemonade." I had been driving straight toward the horizon, never looking at the sunset before me. When you stop to think about it......life is a lot like that.

You know how, very often, day to day, we are faced with so many trials and tribulations. We feel so overwhelmed with life and all it's demands.

• Sure, the mountainous trials are set before us. Tribulations, big and small, are there for all of us to endure. But did you know that all along, there is beauty and goodness and peace and mercy....right before our very eyes, SURROUNDING us and we fail to see it. Why? Because we stay so caught up in the negatives.....get out of the negatives! If we were to just stop and BE STILL, in the presence of our Creator ....well, we would be able to see a lot more sunsets.

I am so grateful for that sunset my little girl pointed out to me. For that moment in time, when I was forced to stop and be still and take in all that God is giving to us, daily. Only HE could make colors like the ones we saw on Friday afternoon. Colors that just so happen to make a very gorgeous, "pink lemonade" sunset.

This conversation with Tyner Beth was too funny to me.....hope you get a chuckle yourself....& above all else I hope you can speak the native language too. :)

While traveling in the car to a basketball game, Tyner Beth started her usual barrage of questions......where they come from? Who the heck knows?

TB: "Hey, Momma, can you speak Chinese?"

Me: "No, Tyner Beth I can't"

TB: "No, I just mean, you know, do you know any words in Chinese?"

Me: "No, I don't think I really know any words in Chinese"

TB: "Oh, well what about Japanese, do you know any words in Japanese?"

Me: "No, baby, I don't think I know any words in Japanese, either?"

TB: "Well, what about........"

and at this point I'm thinking to myself, okay, now I've got her, she's gonna ask if I can speak any Spanish and I'm gonna start rolling out words like crazy...... uno, dos, tres, blanco, rojo, denada, gracias, mi casa su casa, que pasa?....etc.etc.etc. My spanish, it's serious stuff.....I mean, hey, I didn't take two years of it for NADA.

But no, here's her question.....

TB: "Well, what about Kentucky?"

Me: "Did you say Kentucky?"


TB: "Yea, do you know any words in that?"


Me: with a huge smile..."yes, I do, they speak the same language we do, English. So, you know lots of words in Kentucky, too."


I have no idea where youngsters come up with their curious questions....but I love them all....especially the ones that make me laugh inside! However, it may have come from the fact that we have been discussing our upcoming road trip for this spring. We had such a grand time last year on our road trip travels, that we can't wait to go again. We are planning to add more states, that the kids have never visited, to check off the list. One of the states we will be driving through is Kentucky.....so I gues she just wanted to make sure she could speak "Kentucky-ese".

Anna Katherine arrives home.......

Awww....look how sweet her Daddy looks.....he's so proud of his baby girl.

Of course, just moments after Anna Kate made her grand entrance into her new home, her furry friends wanted to check her out. And so they did.


And they looked at her so very intently.....her beauty is just so captivating.....even to a feline.

Oh, and look here....the other cat in the family decides to take a sneak peek at her as well.

I'm sorry, Jonathan, I forget which cat is which.....but I'm sure AK will have no problems getting it all straight. She seems to be a cat lover like Tyner Beth, already. :) Or, at the very least, she seems to tolerate them better than her Aunt. ;)

And just as a disclaimer.....Jonathan, Jackie and myself were all present during these photos....right by Anna Kate's side, ready to take a curious cat down, if needed.

Sweet pic of Mommy and Anna Kate--first night at home

AK resting

She is sacked out! Riding home from the hospital must have made her very tired.

Anna Katherine's first time in her room.

The moment has arrived......we finally know whether we have a nephew or niece!!!

Well, it seems as though the Bowling Family (extended, not immediate) has been blessed with another addition of 10 little fingers and 10 little toes. Temple's brother, Jonathan, and his wife Jackie were blessed with the arrival of their baby in the early morning hours of Saturday.



And I bet you are wondering what all the wait was for.....pink or blue? Yea, we were tired of having to wait too. So, I'm glad that's all over with, ya know? The waiting. Although I love the idea of the surprise, and that is how Temple and I did with all 3 of our children's births, it has still been hard wondering for 9 long months what was growing all along....boy or girl. Niece or Nephew. I mean, what's really important is that the baby is here and healthy and the mom and dad are doing great, nobody passed out during labor, or skipped out during delivery to catch a playoff football game, or anything like that. All is well and we all just couldn't be more pleased. A new baby to hold, to smell, to kiss the buttery skin, to SPOIL like crazy......babies are so sweet. I mean, really, what in the world is more fabulous than holding a newborn. Nothing, that's exactly right.

• Oh, I forgot, I bet you were still wondering what they had........is the suspense killing you, too? Well, I am super excited to announce that Baby Bowling is a.....

~~BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL~~

• And now let me introduce you to the prettiest little chubby cheeked niece I know......

Anna Katherine Bowling

I cannot even tell you how thrilled Tyner Beth is to have "AK" (as Tyner Beth has chosen to call her) to play with.....she will be a grand baby-sitter for Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Jackie.
Oh, the cute faces of a newborn baby....too sweet.

Holding on tight to her cousins' finger.

The kids were all so desperate to see her open her eyes. She finally showed them she could, if and when she wanted to. :)

Tyner Beth wanted her to hold her "first baby doll" that we brought her, but I don't think AK was all that interested in it yet!

And more cute faces....

Y'all will probably tire easily in the next few weeks, months, years, from looking at photos of our new niece, but I just can't stand it, she's so cute. And I end today's session with this last little snapshot I took before we left the hospital......she's smiling....and Temple rolled his eyes when I squealed with delight after snapping it. But, it certainly looked to me like she was, and basically, that is all that mattered.

Coming off vacation is hard.....no matter how cute you look in pink tights.

Here's Tyner Beth around 4 o'clock today. Returning to the school routine was fun for a few brief hours....then the excitement waned into a sluggish, lazy afternoon.

I can't blame her.....if I could have draped myself over the foot of the bed comfortably, I might have tried it myself.

Seriously, do you know how many pillows we have on our bed? But she was so tired, I mean just slap worn out, so a block of wood under-head will do just fine, thanks.

Of course, it doesn't take long for a power rest.....rejuvenation is so simple and quick when your body is only seven years young.....and so, back to flipping, twisting & turning again.....pink tights and all.

"Let's Make a Deal"......remember that gameshow from the 70's?

Well, as it seems, we should have been back into the swing of things by today....school back in session, the holiday break over, back to routine.

However, the good Lord saw that we weren't quite ready to make it back to the grindstone, and sent a flood yesterday. It rained and rained, and then guess what? it rained some more. So much that many of the roads were flooded. Thus, school was cancelled for today, and I assume the county is doing the necessary road work to ensure the safety for the school bus routes, etc., for tomorrow.

We've been making the most of our "day off", which brings me to the gameshow segment. Sadie was our (not-so-willing) contestant this morning in our own version of LETS MAKE A DEAL.

What's behind Curtain #1?

It's those school children, with nothing to do, so they gave Sadie a bath. In my bathroom.

No, it's okay, really. After the rain, the temperature dropped....and we've had to give up the 70 degree weather in January! So, when it was 40, wet and windy outside, I agreed to let them bathe her indoors.

She actually loved the warm water.....as opposed to the cooler garden hose variety.

Of course, you knew what was gonna happen.....they are kids afterall. Walt, stepping into the tub, proudly announced that he had on shorts, so thus, he could get into the tub with Sadie.

Not to be outdone by the brother who had the forethought to sleep in shorts.....(because hey, he's been living in them all winter break, since it's been 70 degrees, why not?).....the little princess took matters (and her pajama bottoms, as it were) into her own hands.

Rolled them up and in she went.....with lots of laughter.

The scrubbing continued, and then the rinsing....and more rinsing.....and even more rinsing, until we finally felt like we had all the suds out. Then for kicks you know what the momma did? I closed the shower curtain with the 2 small children and the dog still inside......why? because Sadie had just been rinsed.....and that meant that she was about to shake all the water off. And I didn't want it on me, Rivers didn't want it on him, and the best way to avoid that was to draw Curtain #1.

I heard lots of squeals and giggles and opened the curtain to find this.....

Then we towel dried her as best we could.....and let her loose. And she did what she ALWAYS does after every bath, even the ones outside. She goes straight to the rug in our bedroom and does what the kids call her "itchy dance". Scrubbing her ears, neck and face on both sides, over and over again against the rug.

Then she moves to her sides and 'dances' around the rug.

And finally ends up on her back for one last little shake.

And here she is basking in what little bit of sunshine she could find coming through the windows. All clean. Smelling like baby shampoo, drying her hind end in the sun. Now, I need to go and vacuum the rugs, and then see what more mischief they may get into before the sun sets........see ya later!

Welcome the arrival of Will and Janie's baby girl.....

yes, this post should have been on here last year (I just like saying that) but, hey, it's been kind of busy around here lately.....



So, as it seems, a couple of weeks ago.......

• one day Hanna was still at work with her mommy, Dr. Kimbrell, at the Vet clinic......

• and then the very next day......WHAM!!! She's out of the womb, ready to take on the world!!

And I was blessed to be there and hold her, on her genuine birth-day......


Welcome to the world, sweet Hanna!

SATURDAY SHOWCASE.....

UPWARD basketball has officially began.....

Rivers had his first basketball game today. They lost, but they played well and I know Rivers had fun. I think he was high scorer for his team with 7 points, but please don't quote me on that.....I did not keep up very well. I was talking to my neighbors for almost the entire game. And on either side of me was the enemy. On my left, a grandmother to Trey, whose family are good friends of ours from Northside. And on my right, the Herrens, very good friends of ours in Berry, whose daughter Hannah was on the opposing team too.

It's not so easy having to guard a girl in the game of basketball.....especially when she also happens to be one of your best friends.
Eventually, you get over that fact, and play hard.....and you go after her and forget about the ponytail swishing at the back of her head......and you steal the ball.....

And then break away back down the court for a score.....hopefully.

Like I said, Rivers had a lot of fun playing, even with a loss. A Saturday morning spent on the basketball court with your best friend, Justin, will be fun either way the ball bounces.

2009.....it's here, already.....

We have been enjoying lots of fun times with family during these holiday weeks. This week we have been blessed to have Pappy and Nana (Temple's parents) and Grandmama and Grandaddy (the kids' great-grandparents) to stay with us since Tuesday!

We all enjoyed ringing in the New Year with lots of food, fun and fireworks! And Aunt Jackie came to stay with us too......baby bump pictures to come soon.....and possibly actual baby pics---he or she is coming sometime this month!!! SO EXCITING!

The neatest part of New Years Day was when my Mom and Dad came over to join us all for supper. Mom had cooked a delicious feast with all the "necessary" foods to be consumed on January 1st.....and brought them hot to our house for the meal. Yum. And while we were all sitting there talking in the dining room and the kids were running around the house, I realized how fortunate they and we really were.....

Our children began the first day of the year 2009, being surrounded by all of their grandparents and great-grandparents (except having Mimi -- their great-grandmother--and we surely missed her, wish she could have been here too!). It was a really special time and we are so thankful for them all.

The kids ringing in the New Year with Grandmama and Grandaddy