OH HAPPY DAY AND A GIVEWAY, NO TWO

IF you know me at all you know I am very GOOD FRIENDS with THE MOUSE. As in madly in love, always have been. It has been almost a year since I have seen him and that's a long time for me to go between visits. And I have grandchildren and they really need MOUSE TIME.

If you know me at all, you know I am MADLY in LOVE with this little man. Parker was the first and our only grandchild for 7 years. We have traveled a lot with him and those trips have been some of the best days of our lives. We just LOVE spending time with him. He is 10 going on 20 and I think travel has a lot to do with that. BUT, I know our days are numbered when he will not want to go with just Grammy and POP. HE IS A TWEEN NOW. Our love language has been the same for 11 years! I tell him daily that he is the best thing that ever happened to me...You can read his story here. His story is the reason for the name of this blog. We have other little ones coming along to go on trips with us, but TODAY I BOOKED A DISNEY CRUISE for just PARKER and THE GRANDPARENTS...to celebrate his 11th BIRTHDAY. AND TO MAKE it even BETTER, we are leaving in less than a month. OH HAPPY DAY! Something must be wrong with me....I cannot stand it if I am NOT GIVING SOMETHING AWAY. I bought these books today and then bought extra copies to GIVEAWAY.
I love Dr. Oz and have heard his wife speak several times. So BOOK ADDICT THAT I AM, I am giving away 2 books. I will draw Sunday night for both books. Just leave a comment on this post and tell me one blogger that you shared this post with . Then tell me which book you would like. I never dreamed when I wrote this post that I would have such a response. I am convinced after reading the comments (and you should read some of them) that it is a story that needed to be told. What if snail mail really did make a difference in a man's life? What if a little boy named Jack gave a man a reason to HOPE! I am filling out my paperwork tonight and some day soon I am going to meet Barry. I hope there will be many more chapters in this story.

On a side note, I have two very close friends that are both expecting their first granddaughters in the next few days. I think I am as excited as them...and am planning to get some rocking time. AND YES, I am still walking and got in 4 miles tonight. OK, sorry for another RANDOM POST! My life is filled with lots of RANDOM STUFF right now. Have a wonderful weekend.

THE SWEETEST NOTE and THE VALUE OF SNAIL MAIL

I am going to leave the MIRACLE POST up on my
main blog for a few more days. Besides the comments, everyday I have received 5-10 emails from bloggers telling me of their own situation and that this post has given them the courage to make some changes. Many of you have written that it was my writing Micah's Dad that was instrumental in the reunion. This really was Micah's decision and if you knew MICAH, you would know that I could not talk him into anything. I am so proud of him and just today received a note from his DAD, telling me that last Sunday was the best day he has had in eight years. And yet, his situation has not changed, he still lives behind bars, but his words sounded so happy and so hopeful. I am hoping I will get to meet him sometime this summer. I will keep you posted...

Changing subjects....SNAIL MAIL! You know my passion for it.....I have not been able to talk to this friend, but I am sure that she will not mind me sharing this. This is a lady that I met at a Beth Moore Siesta event in San Antonio two years ago, knew her through her blog and we had some mutual friends. Beverly was diagnosed with breast cancer, they had just moved to Austin and had a multitude of problems going on in their life. Her diagnosis was one day one thing and then another doctor thought something else, just a nightmare. I just knew I was suppose to encourage her often through cards. So for over a year I have. I have never seen her again, but have hurt for her over and over. IT seems like one thing would get settled and then something else would happen. We talked some through Facebook and comments on our blogs, but that was the extent of our relationship. This week I received a card from her and what it was, was the inside of a card I had sent her. I am going to use her words here...
"Teresa, I always tear off the beautiful front of your cards and write a message and verse on the back and mail it to my friend who has stage 4 cancer and only has a short time to live. She calls me with tears and she is so grateful. I wouldn't be able to buy her cards like that. So your cards mean a double lot!" Bev
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF A CARD....

Another neat RANDOM THING that happened on EASTER. We had all been to church and after stopping at our favorite restaurant and seeing an hour and half wait, we decided to try a new place. We were seated in the back and Micah overheard the girl at the table next to us, telling her husband that she read my blog....She then ask if I was Teresa? I am pretty sure JACK gave me away...IT was such a nice treat and we had a visit and got a few pictures of Lindsey and
her family....husband Neill and little boy Bennett.


Below are a few RANDOM EASTER PICTURES..

Not a HAPPY CAMPER
BUT IRRESISTIBLE!!!!

PARKER IS REALLY GETTING TO COOL FOR ME TOO MAKE PICTURES.

GRAYSON and AUSTIN

HAVE AN IDEA

Well actually I have a lot of ideas...Most of them are just that..good intentions and I never get them done....I want to leave up the post on my main blog for a week or so. I have not only received lots of comments, but more personal emails than on any other post I have ever written...One day I want to share some of the miracles in others lives that are a result of that post. I want to keep this blog current because in just a couple of months I will be going to Christmas market and tree season will begin again.....BUT FOR NOW....there are so many wonderful blogs out THERE. I found so many new ones during the BLOG PARTY. Plus, there are so many new bloggers that need traffic. ....Here's my plan...for the next month or so, if you would like for me to display your button on this blog, maybe I can generate some traffic. I love connecting people with people. If you are interested just leave it in the comments and I will get your button off your blog and we will have a blog fest on the sidebar of this blog...

Tomorrow I will probably be away from the blog as I have about a 3 hour dentist appointment... my dentist friend and I will be up close and personal...along with some laughing gas....no a lot of laughing gas. Not my favorite thing to do...Broke a bridge and a crown and its just time for a REDO. $$$

On a more fun note, I am going to be visiting the MOUSE soon. SMILE! He makes everyone feel better.

Today I had all four little's here when I got home from a lunch with a dear friend...That made the day really special. Two are still here and sound asleep, dreaming of donuts with Pop in the morning. And you have to look at one cute picture....This was the first time Jack had tried the jeep and if you have never seen a cheesy smile, take a look.

A RARE POST

There will be very few times and this may be the only time I will post the same thing on both blogs. I am so humbled and flat out dumbfounded at all the sweet comments. The Blog Party was fun last year, but this year between my two blogs I got 449 comments. PLEASE do not take that as bragging...I visited lots of blogs, but no where near that many. So many of the comments were long, thoughtful and very personal...And I would guess that well over half of them were from blogs I had never heard of before. It really left me speechless, which my kids would say happens far too rarely.
On top of the comments, it looks like there are over 150 new followers, whatever that is. I am still not sure I GET THAT, but then there is a lot in life I don't get. I am in AWE of all the GREAT blogs that are OUT THERE in BLOG LAND. I almost skipped the party, as I had several things going on this week, but at the last minute, decided to JUMP IN. I am just a really new one year old blogger that knows very little about blogging. There is really nothing spectacular about my blogs..the Christmas blog may be a little unique, because you probably don't know many people that do what I do as a business. But other than that and really cute grandkids, I cannot fathom why anyone would read my random ramblings.

I don't cook, so you will never get a recipe from me. I don't sew,I don't work in the yard, I don't set a beautiful table, mainly because my table is usually covered with books and paper work, I don't home school, I don't teach a Bible study, I rarely ever post anything very spiritual. I don't have any big CAUSES, I am a LOVER of DISNEY and FOOTBALL and those two things really don't even go together. I don't show a lot of my home because it's full of STUFF and the older I get the less STUFF matters. I love to look at your stuff, but over the years mine has become more kid friendly and less formal...My kids will so laugh over that statement. Their favorite story to tell is as they were growing up, I vacuumed everyday and I would vacuum or have them vacuum us out the door so there would be no foot prints on the carpet, just in case we were in an accident and someone came in. Now I am laughing...as that sounds so DUMB! With the little men in my life now, its a totally different story...I still make sure everything is picked up at night before I go to bed, but during the day balls, trucks and little Star Wars people can be any and everywhere. That's called GRAMMY! Whatever makes them HAPPY. It's a standing joke that they don't have to take a bath EVERY day when they are here. They can EAT when and IF they want to and they can eat in their rooms; JACK at 2 CAN have a bottle or anything else he wants. PARKER can stay up as late as he wants to. Get the picture...with the grandkids LIFE IS DIFFERENT. My kids remind me of that OFTEN. So my only claim to fame in the blog world is that I am head over heels in love with my family and ESPECIALLY my grandkids. I thought I was an OK Mom, but I am positive I am a good GRAMMY. It's my mission in life. My BOY and MY GIRL are BOTH HAPPILY MARRIED to 2 of my FAVORITE PEOPLE, so that makes ME and MY MAN happy beyond words. That's when you feel like your days of parenting were successful. BUT please don't get the idea that we have always had the happily ever after fairy tale family. WE have had the same bumps in the road as some of you and if you read the beginning of my blog, you will read about some of them.
NOW to the PRIZE, it is going to take me a day or two to get all the names together to draw from. ONE PRIZE is NOT ENOUGH, so there are going to be SEVERAL and maybe more than SEVERAL!I will do my best to post the winners by the end of the weekend. I had a SUPER FUN day today, and will post about it next week. I also got something in the mail today that is an ENTIRE post in itself. I need to get permission from the person that sent it to me to share it. I still need to post our EASTER pictures and tell our lunch story from that Sunday, so next week I will try and post everyday and do a little catch up. PLUS the football draft is coming up and maybe there is one other person out there that cares...but I'll admit I WATCH IT. And of course I am on FAVRE WATCH and hoping to hear him say the first GRANDFATHER IN THE NFL is going to PLAY one more year.
So the sincerest of thanks to each one of you that stopped by. I am going to do my very best to stop by EVERY blog that commented. Please stop by anytime as I record our family DOING LIFE. Some days that's easy, some days tough, but I am so glad to be doing it with the people I write about. We laugh a lot, we play a lot, and we make GREAT MEMORIES. BLOGGING is just a great way of recording them.

I CRIED OVER GOLF TODAY

My party post is below... hope you will read it,as there is a BIG GIVEAWAY in it. Tonight I needed to post something that is fresh and making me smile. Today I saw something beautiful. I am laughing as I type, as it seems like I have used this blog for anything that might be controversial. But since it's my BLOG and my feelings its OK. There is great freedom in being able to put them in writing. Really I write very few controversial posts, so don't be scared away. I need to preface this by saying I do not play golf, don't even particularly like it, have a son-in-law that is a very good golfer, but my knowledge of the sport is next to none. I do love a good love story. I do love a big game.

I DID NOT want Tiger to win today. If you did,that's certainly your call. I just didn't. For the first time ever, I watched almost all of the Masters. I have kept up with Phil and Amy Mickelson's story this past year. It was not a fun year and I had so much admiration for him when he took the year off to be at Amy and his Mom's side, as they BOTH battled breast cancer. If you missed the WIN today and the sweet embrace of Phil and Amy and their little girls at the Master's, and you did not shed a tear, I am wondering about you. It was a Kodak moment. It was one of those WINS that I think was meant to be.I want to believe that a good man was being honored for being a good man! Some days that seems to be a real rarity in the sports world, maybe in the WORLD period.
And if you missed it check it out on You Tube. Sorry I don't know how to add them....Maybe some sweet blogger would tell me how.

THE ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY AND A $100 GIVEAWAY

First off I want to let EVERYONE KNOW that at the end of the BLOG PARTY, everyone that has visited this blog or GRAMMY GIRLFRIEND and leaves a comment will be eligible for a Gift BASKET valued at $100.00. I have owned a gift basket business for 19 years, so I promise it will be SPECIAL.
I am really looking forward to making some new friends. I think that is what makes the blogging community SO SPECIAL!This BLOG PARTY came at a PERFECT TIME. My new blog design on GRAMMY GIRLFRIEND is finally FINISHED. I love it, but I will say I am one that loves a new look often. Welcome to A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING. You are always welcome here and there are giveaways every week, just because I like to GIVE. I don't post on this blog every week during this part of the year, but with summer coming new CHRISTMAS posts will begin.
I am a HOLIDAY DECORATOR in Shreveport, La. That has been my main business for 20 years. This past season was such a fun time of PAYING IT FORWARD. I had a chance to give tips, show pictures and answer questions on how to create BEAUTIFUL TREES..

I am a GRAMMY first and foremost. I am a wife of almost 38 years to the SAME MAN. I am the Mom to Greg and Amanda and the MIL to Micah and Dana. BUT my most favorite job ever is being GRAMMY to Parker, Jack, Austin and Grayson. My blogs are full of the joys of our everyday life, travels and FUN. There are pictures of the little's that I ADORE on my sidebar of GRAMMY GIRLFRIEND. If you read my blog often, you will know these little men well. We are DISNEY ADDICTS, so there are lots of DISNEY TRIPS. I am a lover of FOOTBALL, AKA BRETT FAVRE, so there are lots of football posts.
We are a pretty ordinary family that is doing LIFE TOGETHER. I said it in my profile and it REALLY is the TRUTH.

I love our family and could be stranded on an island with just them and be perfectly happy forever.

I have blogged for one year and began by thinking I would write one post, then two and now a year later I have written over 250 posts and have over 750 followers on the two blogs....I began writing wanting to document our lives in journal form and along the way have made the most fun and interesting friends. Totally blows me away. I do not have a clue why bloggers come back. And to make it a tad funnier, I know how to do VERY few things. I am learning, but how I envy all of you that really get blogging and know all the techniques.

So that's my story and I am looking forward to reading yours.
I LOVE A STORY and WE ALL HAVE ONE. Leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by and I will make a visit to your blog....
You can read about my family in the posts about each family member.
My Man, My Boy, My Girl (and that's a story in its self and the title of this blog.

This post has been long enough...LET'S PARTY. I would love for you to follow my blog. I am going to give some random prizes all through the week.

RANDOM DOZEN and RANDOM

I have started to blog several times in the last week and was in such a funk over this that a post never made it to the blog. I have a great Easter story with some pictures that I am going to post on my main blog in the next few days. The new design is 95% finished. This has been a long labor,because I change my mind so much and see something I like better and have no clue how hard it is to change things...I will introduce you to the designer that has hung in there with me and probably wishes she had NEVER taken me on. So many big milestones are coming up on my main blog and along with that some big prizes....I am close to 500 followers on my main blog ! How in the HECK that happened, I will NEVER KNOW. PLUS the first OFFICIAL WEEK the blog is finished, there is going to be a prize everyday. The Post Office Loves ME. I am so happy that this post took you to so many new blogs and friends. For today I am going to join in on the Random Dozen. Join us at 2nd Cup of Coffee

1. Define a great relationship. TWO PEOPLE THAT CARE MORE ABOUT THE OTHER, THAN THEMSELVES. MY husband is a GREAT EXAMPLE.

2. Why is it called a "drive-through" if you have to stop? (Real question: What was the last food/drink you purchased at a drive-through?) a drink at Sonic. I do NOT eat FAST FOOD!

3. As I type this, the Butler Bulldogs are getting ready to play in the NCAA championship game. Every Hoosier is hysterical about this except me. So in honor of the Bulldogs ... what is your favorite breed of dog? (I tried.)

Cocker Spaniel

4. If you had to move to a state besides the one you currently live in, where would you move? Florida or California

5. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? Too many to name...That there would have been HUGS, been some "you did good", that there had been love.

6. Who's the funniest person you know? A friend has twin 6 year old boys and they are the TWO FUNNIEST PEOPLE I KNOW...

7. Did you get enough sleep last night? YES, I strongly BELIEVE in that. It makes the difference in my day.

8. What's the first thing you thought about this morning? MY TO DO LIST and COFFEE

9. Grilled or Fried? --HONESTLY REALLY BOTH

10. Are you afraid of the dark? No, NEVER have been. Since I am a night owl, it is not unusual for me to go to the mailbox or take out trash at 2AM..

11.When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? a private detective and still do..

12. If you had one word to describe yourself , what would you choose? RIGHT NOW, SAD

TOMORROW IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT

ANOTHER RANDOM...I JOINED the BLUE FROG, but really don't get it. Send me some feedback in the comments about whether you like or dislike it and how it helps your blogging.

I AM SO ANGRY

If you have been on my main blog in the last few days you will see that we are almost finished with my new design. My next post will be my 150th post and I wanted it to be special, new design and all. It will come in a few days, but tonight if I don't write, I may explode.
I have spent the last 24 hours grieving and now I am just ANGRY. You may have read or seen on the news, where an innocent little 12 year old boy, that looks so much like my Parker, and lived not fifteen minutes from my house, was abducted in the middle of the night on Monday night. The last time his buddies had seen him was on the couch at 3AM..He was lured outside with someone else's cell phone, thinking it was someone he knew.

His body was found yesterday afternoon not 100 yards off a main highway close to his house and far too close to mine. His Mom is a well known and loved lady in Shreveport, a good mother, that because it was spring break, let Justin spend the night with friends. I cannot even imagine what that family is feeling. I don't know in detail enough to tell you exactly how it happened, but a two time convicted sex offender and multiple times arrested ANIMAL lured him out of the house in the middle of the night, took him to his house close by and only God knows what he did to him, then killed him and threw his body in a little pond like a piece of trash. It has rocked our city to the core. Personally I think they should just allow several Grammys in his cell and let us torture him to death. If it sounds like I am bitter, I am. We have drilled our little ones on STRANGER DANGER, abduction, the whole drill more times than I can count. Just a week ago Parker and I had the long discussion as we were riding down the road. He knows exactly what to do, but the fact is at 10, if an adult grabbed him under the right circumstance's, he would have no chance. I am sure that in thousands of homes last night, Mother's and Daddy's went over all the things to do, just like we did. None of us really know who lives next door or on the next street or in our neighborhood. This little guy lived in a nice neighborhood. Predators strike ever where.. And TONIGHT, I think there are a lot of judges that have blood on their hands. I pray that the outrage does not go away. I want to find some way I can make a difference. I guess nothing gets to me like crimes against innocent kids. Amanda had heard the Amber Alert when she left for lunch Monday. She called me and then in just a matter of hours called me back to tell me the child was found and who it was. I literally could not stop crying for four hours. Everyone I talked to was just physically sick. The man had been stalking him and just waiting to grab his prey. I even know the wife of the sick animal that did this. And I don't need to be told that he is innocent until proven guilty. Within hours they had arrested him and charged him with murder and in the last 24 hours have found plenty of evidence. You may totally disagree with this and that is your choice, but this is my blog and I DO NOT believe SEX OFFENDERS are rehabilitated. I think it is just a matter of time and they do it again. SO LOCK THEM UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY.

This precious child had just gotten his braces, was loved by kids and adults, funny, fun, all these things are how I have heard him described today. If I SOUND like I AM ON A SOAPBOX, I AM! I am not a violent person at all, but in the last 24 hours, I won't even tell you the thoughts I have had. My adult son said to me last night, "Mom, HOW can anyone hurt a child?" My answer was Greg I have no idea, but I believe that sin may be sin but there are some things that I just don't think God will look at in quite the same way. There may be nothing Biblical about that, but don't tell me. That's what I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART.

My son-in-law was here this afternoon helping me install a printer and Parker and Jack were playing at our feet. We talked about the predators and what we would do if anything was EVER done to one of our kids and we thought about googling torture. This animal would say nothing when he was arrested and within an hour he had a lawyer and he had a smirk on his face as they loaded him into the cop car. The laws need to be changed, the judges need some backbones and these animals should never be given a second chance. That's my rant....and as my heart is breaking for Amy tonight, I pray that this time next week I will still be trying to be proactive. When you say your prayers, please remember Amy and her family. Justin had two little brothers that are hurting. He had grandparents...he had little friends that will never be the same...