Mission Calls.............

Mission calls are so exciting! We got news tonight that the three Lovelace boys got their mission calls. Taylor has been asking every week and I can't wait to tell him. Not long after that, we got an email from our friends the Barton's telling that Bryan had gotten his call! And of course, Andrew goes to the MTC in a couple weeks! We are thrilled for all these boys and know they will all be outstanding missionaries!

Jace Lovelace- Colorado, Colorado Springs -MTC Sept. 3, 08
Eric Lovelace- Idaho, Pocatello -MTC Sept. 3, 08

Clay Lovelace- Washington State -MTC Sept. 3, 08
Bryan Barton- Berlin, Germany -MTC Aug 20, 08

Andrew Coffman- Mesa, Arizona -MTC June 11, 08

We are so proud of all of you!

Extreme Haircut......

Evan has been needing a haircut for quite awhile now! Every Sunday in church I am bothered by it and think, this is the week! (but then things come up and we never got there....) He spent the night at his friend Blake's house last night. He called around 11:00 pm and said that Blake's brother's girlfriend was going to give him a buzz cut. I said "go for it!" That'll save me some cash! I used to love to get the boy's heads almost shaved for the summer. It's so much cooler and once their scalps tan, doesn't look too bad!

So this is Evan before:

And this is Evan now!

Before we saw it, Whitney said "What do you think he'll look like?" I said, "Probably like a tall, skinny bald kid." I was right!

P.S. At least Evan has a little hair, Blake is totally bald

Whitney's Super Sweet 16...............

Today is Whitney's 16th birthday. It is really hard to imagine that she is that old. After all, she is one of my "little kids". I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I went in to the hospital early for a scheduled c-section. Everything went well and she was a beautiful, perfect baby girl. I also remember that it was Johnny Carson's last night to host the Tonight Show! I loved Johnny Carson and had looked forward to watching his last show. I was SO medicated I had a hard time staying awake. Brad was doing his best trying to keep me alert because he knew I really wanted to see it. haha Anyway, 16 years has come and gone since that day.

I think Whitney had a good birthday today. She got up early and opened her presents (a Chi straightener, a Coach bag she's been wanting and a ring). She also had gotten money from her grandparents. She opted to not have a big party this year. Tonight Brad and I, she and Evan went to Steamboat Bill's for some yummy food. Combined we had boiled shrimp, boudin balls, gumbo (both shrimp and chicken & sausage) & etouffe. It was delicious as always!
We decided as we were leaving to head across the highway to the beach to take some pictures. The sand was wet and soggy because it had rained and the wind was blowing like crazy but it was really fun.









After we left the beach we headed home for some cupcakes from Jo's Party House!

Birthday activities are over and now it's time to study for your finals!

Happy Birthday, Whitney! We are so proud of you and love you so much!

Mary & Martha.........

I've had this post in my mind for a week or so now but had this certain picture in mind to post and couldn't find it. Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to my dear mother and my dear mother-in-law. Yes, their names are Mary and Martha, what perfect names for such wonderful, Christian women. They are both such good examples to us. They are sweet, kind, helpful and non-judgemental.

I LOVE this three-generation picture of my mom, Martha Dees, along with me and my two daughters, Ivy (middle) and Whitney. (By the way, aren't they beautiful?? ) This was taken at one of Ivy's wedding showers last year.

My mother is just amazing. She has had MS for 30 or so years now. She's been confined to a wheelchair since 1988. She has the most positive attitude of anyone I know. She never complains but recognizes Heavenly Father's blessings in every aspect of her life. She is pleasant and happy ALL the time and it rubs off on all those around her. She is a huge support to her family and is everybody's biggest fan!

Below is my mother-in-law, Mary Pogue. I am so thankful that she along with her husband, raised up such a righteous son who became my husband. She is a wonderful mother and grandmother. She is smart and always busy working on a project. Whether it is quilting, sewing, painting or doing her Bible study, she is always working on something wonderful. She is a registered nurse (recently retired from many years of working in the ER). She's the first one we call when someone is sick or hurt!

I am so grateful to have these two beautiful women in my life. We love both of you so much!

HAPPY LATE MOTHER'S DAY

First Chair, Baby!

Tonight was Evan's middle school band concert. Thanks Lisa for reminding me that band concerts are "blogworthy". I always forget to blog about things like this. Evan is in the seventh grade and this is his second year to play the trumpet. He really loves band. W. W. Lewis has a wonderful program and an outstanding director, Mr. Tim McMillon.

Ivy was never in band but Taylor played in the middle school band sixth, seventh and eight grade and so did Whitney. They do a Christmas concert and a Spring concert each year. This being Evan's second year, I figure we have now attended 14 concerts. (Whitney and Evan overlapped one year) Nobody has chosen to keep it up in high school but I'm so glad they took advantage of this fun activity! It's always amazing how much they can learn between the beginning of sixth grade and the Christmas concert! From barely being able to blow the horns to making real music.

You can see Evan on stage on the far left. He was first chair in his seventh grade trumpet section. Do you see the white dots above the band in front of the curtain? Right near the end of the concert a huge swarm of termites flew in. They were all swatting at them and the audience was laughing. It was crazy! I guess they were attracted to the stage lights.

Anyway, the 7th graders played Windsor Overture, Day-O and I Will Follow Him (from Sister Act). They did great.

As to not break tradition, after the concert we headed to Sonic for treats. Now it's on to less fun things............like homework!

Taylor's letters.........

I have decided to take Zack's advice and put Taylor's emails on a blog so that everybody can read them if they want to. The Baxter's have one for Christa and I really enjoy reading hers! I might go back later and add in the ones from the MTC but for now, they start last month in France. Please feel free to comment and I'll pass along your best wishes. We are amazed and thrilled at how long they are. At first we were like, "Who are you and what have you done with Taylor?" -but they are consistantly wonderful and informative. If you know Taylor at all you know how miraculous this is already! I have taken it upon myself to add a little punctuation. They are very difficult to read without it and as most of you know, Taylor doesn't "believe" in punctuation or capitalizing! ("it's just a waste of time"......) I'll also take out anything personal that he would not want shared but haven't had to do that yet.

IF you're interested, check it out at http://www.elderpogue.blogspot.com/. If you don't know him or don't care, that's fine too!

Brace-Face No More.........

Whitney got her braces off! Her teeth are beautiful. That's three down and one brace-face to go! Evan's have only been on a few months. We've had kids in braces since 1999. That means a payment to Dr. Paul Perry every month for the past nine years...... I can't let my mind go to what else I could have done with that money. I honestly DO think it's worth it even though I complain about it.

Whitney and Evan before one of his games.

Whitney and Mary Catherine showing off their "new" teeth. MC got hers off recently, too.
Another random self-shot of Whitney

One more shot of the new smile....

I remember how weird it feels to get your braces off! Whitney, enjoy your popcorn, Starbursts, Jolly Ranchers..........................................not that you ever really stopped eating that stuff!

Canton....so fun!

What a great week-end! Way back at scrapbook convention, MaryRuth mentioned that we should get together and met at Canton sometime. It's right outside of Dallas and advertises itself as the "world's largest open-air flea market." Who can resist that?? It is only open the first week-end of each month so we decided that May was the month. Thursday morning after the kids left for school, Andrea and I headed to Dallas. Lily came with us so she could play with her cousins. We stayed at Andrea's sister, Angela's house in Rockwall. We got there at around four, hung around awhile, unpacked then headed to Dallas to meet MaryRuth at the church bookstore. It was so good to see her! We shopped around the bookstore for awhile then headed to eat. We went to a little Italian restaurant in Highland Park. After we ate, we took a walk along the river and then around a very upscale neighborhood. It was right at dusk and it was sure fun to look in the windows and see what we could see. They were just beautiful houses. We then went to another little restaurant and ate dessert, drove around a little bit more then headed back to Angela's. Claire and Kate were kind enough to give their beautiful room to MaryRuth and I for the night. We got up early and got ready to head to Canton. We had on the news and saw that a tornado had just hit Canton. Wow! We wondered if we should even go, then decided to head that way and see what was going on. The parking attendant shared with us the details. Several trees were twisted off, a car or two turned over and a tree had fallen on a motor home. But believe me, the tornado didn't stop the multitude... We shopped from about ten in the morning until they closed at five. I had brought $100 to spend and I am THRILLED with all my purchases!

Here they are........ I have wanted Fiesta dishes for years. We found a booth that had the plates for $4 each. I got 12 of them. Two each of red, green, cobalt, peacock, orange and yellow. They are adorable. Granted, we did have to dig through a filthy trailer to find ones that weren't damaged. They were grimy and dirty but a trip through the dishwasher was all they needed. Next year, I'll plan to go back for the bowls.



MaryRuth also introduced us to "dough bowls". I love mine~ It's a hand carved 'bowl' on a stand that you can put fruit in, use as a bread basket, etc. It's so unique and cool. Also, I found a cute plaque that reminds me to count my blessings. Love it.

Found this great big ironwork thing that I plan to hang over the TV in the living room. It is really cool and not as heavy as it looks. It was comical carrying it around. We had rented a cart for the day for $5 which was well worth the money but this certainly was not going to fit into it.
Ok, this really came from the bookstore but I saw these beautiful wooden Plan of Salvation charts. I thought how pretty they were and too bad they were only in English. After flipping through them, I found one foreign one....and it was FRENCH. Perfect. It will be in the mail to Taylor in Vitrolles Monday.

Next is an incredible smelling Basil Lime candle. I put it in the kitchen window.

We hauled all the loot back to the van and headed back to Angela's house. So sad that MaryRuth had to leave to go home. I was so tired that I collapsed on the couch and slept for awhile while Andrea and Angela went to pick up their little girls from the babysitter. When they got back we went and ate at a cute little Mexican restaurant there in Rockwall. We went to bed early, got up the next morning and headed out by ten. It was such a fun trip. Thank you MaryRuth for introducing me to Canton! Trust me, I'll be back!

Got there and realized I had left my memory card in my computer at home. Somebody took a picture of us all and I'll borrow it and post it later!

Here is what my Fiesta looks like in the dishwasher! Isn't it so cute??