Kindergarten, Mudbugs, Deer Lease and Merle Haggard!

What a fun weekend!!! 

Friday morning started with Kindergarten registration for my baby girl. How can it be that she's already old enough for KINDERGARTEN??? Seriously. I think I cried more registering Macie than Brenna.  But she was so sweet! They had coloring tables set up, and she went right over and kept herself occupied. I was so proud! There were other kids running all over the place and pulling books off the shelves in the library. Macie sat so sweetly. 

Get ready Peaster a Elementary- she's coming your way!!! 

On Friday night, Brenna went to her friend Kinley's house for a sleepover. So Macie and I decided that a date with Graddy was in order! And so were some Crawfish!! It was soooo good!! 

I had the best dinner dates around! 

From Razzoos, we went to Academy. Graddy decided his girls needed fishing shirts! 

Macie picked out everyone's colors! Brenna got pink. Macie got purple and Graddy got turquoise. We will be able to see these three from across the lake in these shirts! 

After we got home, I told Macie she could sleep with me as a special treat. And when I finished brushing my teeth- I found her like this....

Sweet doll baby! 

Saturday we had Brenna's Volleyball tournament. They played so well! But didn't end up winning. I was so proud of them though. This team has come so far! However....I got ZERO pictures. :( oops! 

After the game, Josh and I headed to the deer lease. My first lease trip! Haha! We had a great time just being together. We don't get a ton of time just to be alone. So this was a great time! We drove around the deer lease and moved Josh's feeder. I enjoyed just being out there and taking it all in. The scenery was beautiful. 

Pictures don't even do it justice! 

And no deer lease trip is complete without the essentials....

Beer- guns- and snake boots! Lol! 

The sunset was absolutely beautiful!! 

The next day we loaded up and headed to the hotel to get ready for Merle Haggard!! We were all so excited! 

Nope we didn't plan it... LOL 

I love these two ladies with all my heart. They have helped me get through the last few years and kept me sane. They have supported me, held my hand and listened to me cry. I couldn't have made it through without them. I am blessed. 

It was such a fun day with family. 

And finally- the Hag came on stage! 

It was a great night! Lots of laughs and smiles! Good for the soul! 

FROZEN on ice!

For Brenna's birthday, josh and I have her tickets to Disney on ice presents FROZEN! She was soooo excited! I loved her reaction when she opened it! 

But it's hard when you're 8 to have to wait 2 months to use your birthday present!! But the finally came Wednesday night! 

The girls were soooo excited to ride the train over to American Airlines Center! That may have been the highlight for Macie Claire! 

Doesn't Josh look excited?? Lol! 

Brenna was so excited that she talked 90 miles a minute all the way over there! 

As soon as we got to our seats and the show started, the smiles were worth every penny!! 

Brenna sang at the TOP of her lungs the whole time! I'll even admit- it was the best disney on ice show I've ever been to. Even if we were sitting in the nose bleed section.... 

As soon as intermission hit, the girls were ready for cotton candy and a sno come! Man- the money they charge for sugar and ICE should be illegal! But- they loved it, so that's all that matters. 

That Olaf hat got some good use though....

I love this man!! Best daddy ever! 

But after all of that sugar and being out WAAAY past her bedtime, Macie Clairedidnt last long on the train. 

Thank goodness Daddy was there to carry her to the car! 

And when we got home, this is how she looked...

The definition of tired right there!! 

I wish I had gotten a picture of her eating breakfast the next morning looking sleepy and still wearing the same clothes! Lol! 

But even though we were all dragging on Thursday, memories were made and we had a good time! 

In Honor of MeMawMom..

It has been 3 weeks since we cut Brenna's hair to donate, but we haven't been able to make our schedule work with the doctors at the Center to get by and drop it off. We wanted to be able to see Dr. Young when we took it by, and she only works late on Tuesdays. SO yesterday worked out for us to take it up there since Aunt Emily was picking up Brenna. We met there at 4, and Brenna was so excited to take it in! She marched in there and walked up and waited patiently for Ms. Donna (the sweetest lady you will ever meet!) to get done with another patient.

Then we went back to see Dr. Young and Pam. We actually caught Dr Young at a good time, she was just working on paperwork in the office. Brenna went right in and explained to her why she was there and why she was donating her hair. I was so proud of her!! I didn't quit smiling. Neither did she!

I was so thankful for everyone in the office who showed their pride in Brenna Grace. I think it boosted her pride in herself too!

Me, Dr. Young, Brenna, and Pam, the Patient Navigator. Pam is the sweetest thing and has the best personality! She was there and running the show when we went to the Merry Makeovers with Mom in December. She was so bubbly and sweet to everyone. She can make you feel special even on your worst day. I can't believe that I was in the center, hugging Ms. Donna, Dr. Young, Pam, and the chemo nurses and NOT crying! God sure did surround me with His Grace. I felt pride to be there, not grief. It was strange. That place holds some of our worst moments and memories. However, it also held hope. Every visit held a huge amount of anxiety when we went in for scan results. However no matter what results Dr. Young gave us (and she gave us our fair share of good and bad results) our anxiety always turned into hope. If the results were good, we had hope that we were turning a corner and Mom would beat this. And if the results were bad, then we had hope in the new course of action that Dr. Young was taking. We knew from the beginning that the type of cancer Mom had wasn't good. But we never lost that HOPE. I hoped every time that we entered those doors that our outcome would be different than what it was. But that was not meant to be. Now our job is to carry on Mom's legacy and keep her memory alive. Brenna Grace did just that yesterday. I wish pictures showed the pride that she felt yesterday telling Dr. Young that she was doing this for her MeMawMom! It was beyond precious.

I am so thankful for this center. They did so much for my Mama, and made her feel so loved. (along with the rest of us). They did their best to make her feel better each time she went in. Even though Mom didn't win her battle this side of Heaven, we have full confidence that Dr. Young did everything in her power to help her. I am thankful that she was part of our cancer journey. On our last visit to her office, she was crying with us when we decided it was time to stop treatments and enter hospice care. She was a blessing to our lives, as was the whole staff at the center! I hate to say this- but I miss going there! It was part of our weekly lives, and we grew to love each and every one of the people that work there. I miss them! I may have to find (A NON CANCER RELATED) excuse to go back and visit! :) And while I kept it totally together while I was there, I came totally unraveled when I got in my car. I am thankful that God protected me when I needed to be strong and supportive of my baby girl. And maybe it was in part due to the fact that every time I entered those doors with Mom I put on my "game face". My game face got me through many difficult appointments and treatments. It includes a numb feeling with a big smile and a cheerleader voice! I had to be Mom's cheerleader while I was in there, so I did the same for Brenna. When we got in the car (while I was trying to not let the girls know I was sobbing under my sunshades), Brenna started talking (I know- go figure... Brenna... TALK! LOL) about a fundraiser that they did at her school. They took up donations for kids with cancer. She said it wasn't fair that they only donated it to kids with cancer, they should also take up money for adults with cancer, like MeMawMom!! (don't get me wrong- kids with cancer is an important cause, but to my 8 year old's heart, adults with cancer hits a little closer to home). So she informed me that she had talked to her Aunt Emily on the way to town and she wants to do a fundraiser and donate it to cancer patients! OMG yall- as a friend said on FB, she was born 40 years old! Her heart is so full of love, and I am so proud of her desire to serve. She even told me that she wants to do a garage sale and find toys and things that she doesn't need anymore to sell. (she also told Aunt Emily that she would start with all of her BOWS! But don't worry- this Mama won't let that happen any time soon!) When I made the suggestion one morning that she could donate her hair- I had no idea where it would take us. I foresee us looking for a way to SERVE others in the near future! Especially cancer patients. I'm not sure what that will be yet, but if anyone hears of anything please let me know! I will leave you with a picture of the three cutest munchkins on the planet showing their love for the place that helped us have their MeMawMom as long as we did.

Our weekend

The weekend didn't hold too much excitement for us. And therefore, not a lot of pictures! But we enjoyed our time together as we always do! 

Friday night was dinner with the Riley's, which always brings a lot of fun! Sarah and I got stomped on dominoes, but it was intentional! We wanted to boost the guys confidence!! ;-) 

Saturday was volleyball!! We started with lunch at the Pizza Place because Macie insisted that she needed to see "my Mrs Sara"! Then we went to hang out at Aunt Kim's before the game. 

Kyson and the girls took Abby for a walk! 

Then it was on to watch Miss Brenna do her thing at volleyball! They played two full games, and didn't win either one, but she did her best! So proud of her hard work. 

And these two munchkins enjoyed each other! 

Love them!!! 

And they love Graddy!!! 

Sunday was church followed by JBF tagging. Which was a disaster and ended up with me loading up everything and taking it to my Inlaws to use their computer! Ugh!!! But- I got it done! Now maybe I'll make some money! Summer clothes are needed at our house! 

For dinner Memaw made her famous tacos! It's a Jackson family tradition! They were sooo good! 

And Pops made homemade Sangria! It was a perfect night enjoying fried food, wine, laughter, and the sound of these 3 munchkins playing! 

It was a good weekend, Tater! 

Crazy Sock Day

The most wonderful thing you can do for a young child in school is come up with a theme for dressing. Seriously. Something simple creates so much joy in their lives! Last week- Brenna had pajama day! She was so excited the night before that she couldn't hardly sleep. And the next morning she came running into my room already dressed in her zebra pajamas ready to go! It was starting to

Snow and we were in a hurry- so I didn't get any pictures, but this is the outfit she wore (picture taken the day she got the pj's). 

So today was Crazy Dock day at the Schoolhouse for Macie. She was THRILLED! Picked her socks out last night and decided to go even crazier with two different socks. :) she came running into the kitchen this morning squeezing "it's crazy sock day today!!" I love her enthusiasm about something that is so simple. 

And I think she nailed it!!! 

But no photo session is complete without her requesting to take a silly picture. 

Oh that girl..... She's a dandy. 

Macie and her BFF

For two years of her life, Macie Claire would have NOTHING to do with her Graddy. She loved him as a baby, but at age 2, she changed her mind. Well- in all fairness she didn't like ANYBODY but her Mommy or Mrs. Nikki, so Graddy wasn't singled out. But a few months ago she changed her opinion! And Graddy is now her BFF. She'll even tell you that! 

On Sunday, the girls and I went over to Dad's house to hang out for a while. He was in the shop building a box. Brenna went inside to curl up in front of the TV (which is her nature), and Macie b-lined it to her Graddy! 

I know she asked at least 4,000 questions. And he answered every one of them! What is it about our parents?? Does God grant them some kind of crazy patience as soon as they become grandparents? Because I know mine never had this much patience with me! In fact, I remember walking into my mom's kitchen one day and Brenna was riding her tricycle IN THE HOUSE! I just looked at Mom and said "Who ARE you??" 

Anyway- back to Macie... She and Graddy worked on this box for two hours! She asked questions, and handed him screws. My heart totally melted. Memories were made that she will never forget. And she thought they were just building a box.....