The Elrod Update: June 2007

Completely Random

These are just some random pictures that I took over Memorial Day weekend....

A tree by the pond in my brother's backyard.

My feet... going for abstract art here... HA!!

My brothers, Phillip and David Lee, doing a little pickin' and singin' on the front porch.

I just love this old swing on my brother's front porch... our grandad found it for him at a garage sale.

We were able to pet the horses that were in the field by my cousin Laura's house.

My dad (Pawpaw) and the boys on Sunday after church.

Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day weekend last month, we went to Arkansas and had a Miller Family Gathering at my cousin Beth's house. She and her husband are always so gracious to allow us all to invade their home whenever a family get-together is planned. We had relatives from Colorado and Wyoming that were able to come down to visit, there were plenty of burgers/hotdogs and other good treats to eat, and everyone had a nice time of chatting and catching up.

Splish! Splash!

Some of the Miller clan

Uncle Dennis and my brother David Lee

Grant sure enjoyed playing on this swing!

The Gun

First there was the BB gun. Next came the pellet gun. Now it's getting big-time... the .22 rifle. Yep... a .22 rifle. Matthew received that as a 9th birthday present this year from Uncle Phillip, Uncle David Lee and Pawpaw. What pure-bred, good-ol' Southern country boy doesn't get his first rifle at a young age? I wasn't terribly thrilled with the idea but got overruled by Chris and Uncle Phillip. Matthew was so excited!

He immediately began target practicing in Uncle Phillip's backyard. I tried my hand at shooting, too, but, not surprisingly, missed the target. Oh well... a sharp-shooter I am not! Here are some pictures of Matthew and the rest of us target practicing in the backyard.

End of the Year Kindergarten Program

A week or so before school was out, we were invited to attend Grant's kindergarten program. It was at 8 in the morning at his school. Each kindergarten class took the stage and sang a song while a slideshow of their class played in the background. Grant bravely stood in front of a large crowd of parents and sang his song. Afterwards, all parents went back to their child's classroom for refreshments. There were cupcakes, nuts, and punch in Grant's room. Each child was given their award/diploma for completing kindergarten. Mrs. Jones (his teacher) had also prepared Memory Folders that included pictures and work that they had done through the year and she also made each child a DVD of classroom events. It was a nice way to wrap up the end of their first year of school. Grant had a great teacher and we are so thankful that he was blessed to be in her class.

Grant receiving his certificate from Mrs. Jones

Enjoying refreshments at his assigned table where he sat all year long

One year down... 11 more to go! :)

Cakes

I've always made my boys birthday cakes and have always tried to do something special and creative with each one of them. It's something that I really enjoy doing, though by no means am I a professional. Over the past few months, I've had the occasion to make several cakes. I made one for Bunko at my house, one for Mother's Day and then our anniversary, and one for each of the boy's birthdays. My friend knows that I make cakes and recently asked me to make a cake for her son's 3rd birthday. I was a little nervous because I had never been asked to make a cake for a specific occasion... much less be paid for my work!! From that cake, I've had 2 more birthday cake orders with a possible 3rd one coming up. Like I said, I'm not a professional, but I get a little better and learn something new each time I make another cake. Have a look...

Grant's 6th Birthday cake

Mother's Day cake

10 Year Anniversary cake

Connor's 3rd Birthday cake (Thomas the Train)

Matthew's 9th Birthday cake

Abby's 2nd Birthday cake

Davis's 6th Birthday cake

Bunko cake

Who wants a homemade cake??? :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is always bittersweet for me now that my own mother is no longer here. I'm so happy and grateful to be able to celebrate my special position as "Mom" with my children, but I'm also sad that I'm not able to celebrate the day with my own mother. If you have your mother with you still, give her a hug. Call her. Send her a card. Tell her you love her. Make good memories. Our mothers love us so much more than we ever really know.

This year, Chris's mother came out to the house for dinner after church. I don't like going to a restaurant on Mother's Day... way too crowded and I don't have the patience to wait in line for an hour just to eat. Sooo.... we came home and ate fajitas. I made an angel food cake with pineapple filling and lime whipped topping. Very tropical and light.... yum!!