Gooch's 2012 Part 3

  I got a Nook reader with a purple cover and a facial certificate for my birthday while eating Tutti Frutti from my mom!  And a beautiful Vera Bradley backpack that my nook fits perfectly in the front pocket!  Yea for me!

  We spent Mardi Gras Day with our friends, the Herzog's, on Transcontinental.

   Helped Sydney Sambola celebrate her 1st birthday!

Gooch's 2013 Part 2

    Rebecca was a twirler in her school parade.

   Christian had his first visit to the dentist.

   Our neighbors, Mrs. Heather and Mr. Travis, had a cute baby boy, Carson.

Gooch's 2012 Part 1

  At the beginning of this year, we lost a part of our hearts.  On January 11th, MeMe (Mom Gooch) passed away.  And just one month later, MawMaw Cook celebrated her 96th birthday! 

   MeMe was known to say, 'Bless your heart' to everyone and she meant it!  Rebecca still misses her MeMe pinching her hiney as she walked past her.  We are grateful to have enjoyed being her family.  We miss her so!

   And MawMaw Cook, just amazing . . . some people like to call her 'The Sarge', but I refer to her as 'The Energizer Bunny'.  What a strong lady!  I am grateful everyday that we were able to by 1709 Stanford from her and raise our family in this house of love, memories, and family.


P.S.  Rebecca also lost her Christmas fish, Goldie, the beginning of the year as well.

Jesus loves me . . . and you, too!

My baby girl is 8, as of, 6 days ago, ughhh!  I miss the little baby and toddler that depended so much on me and David, but I love and am so proud of the little lady she is becoming!  She is also out of 2nd grade and going into 3rd grade.  Wow!  She also got a gift from David, Mom, MawMaw and I that will not be topped for a very long time . . . her very own Ipad 2!

Christian is awesome!  Makes us laugh and smile all the time!  He is a typical boy with mud and dirt, climbing and jumping!  He is going to be in the 3 yr. old class again to keep him on schedule with school requirements.  He can reconize letters and write some of them.  He is also coloring really well inside of the lines.  He's favorite color was green, but now it's blue.

A lot has happened this yr already.  Mom Gooch has gone to heaven on Jan. 11, Mawmaw Cook turned 96 in Feb. and had a mastectomy in April for breast cancer, Uncle Armand's mom (Mrs. Ann) and dad (Mr. Armand) died this yr.,  Mr. Walter's cousin, Red, died this yr., a friend from church's daughter only 2 yrs. old has tumors in her brain and spine and now has a trach, port, and g-tube for feeding, a girl in Superchurch has inoperative brain cancer was just baptized last weekend, my cousin, Shelly, had mastectomies for breast cancer, Mrs. Deborah's mom, Mrs. Shirley, had a stroke and is unable to walk, and Bubba's mom, Mrs. Angie, had brain cancer which was removed on Tuesday, but also has kidney cancer and cancer where her kidney was on the other side, and Jesse got rushed to the ER for a ruptured liver and Becky's grandmother died.

But . . . I'm trying to keep my head up, look at the bright side, put a smile on my face,  because I know Jesus loves me, YES, JESUS LOVES ME, YES, JESUS LOVES ME, THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO!  That's what Christian would say.  When I ask Christian . . . how did you get so cute?  He replies, "Cause Jesus loves me!"  . . . how did you get so big?  "Cause Jesus loves me?"  . . . how did you get so strong?  "Cause Jesus loves me?"

My people

Lately, I've noticed, like I've never before, how God has placed people in my life.  Each person has a purpose in my life.  Of course, my parents are an important part . . . they are both very instrumental in who I am and how I raise my children and my marriage.  But within the last few weeks, I have noticed that people that I call friends, we may not even know where each other lives or know their phone numbers, but none the less they are friends, have a big influence / part in my life. 
   This has opened my eyes to the fact that we are all connected.  God is showing me in different ways that even the smallest actions / words / situations are meaningful in His big plan.  Sometimes the outcome supports His big plan and sometimes, well, it supports the world's or ours. 
   I love the people I 'do life' with, even if we disagree.  Those are the 'friends' that help me take a step back and ask myself 'how can I change me' to be more instrumental in God's big plan.  I love 'my people'.

Why I love my mom

Her contagious positive attitude, smile, bright eyes, and laughter!

Her corny-ness!

Her ability to NOT meddle and to love unconditionally!

The way she lives for today!

The way she spoils her grandchildren (and daughter)!

How she protects myself and others from unnecessary negativity!

   How she makes ice box lemon pie, lemonade, and lemon cookies out of lemons!

Sometimes I wish I had more good qualities from my mom, but I am grateful for the ones I did acquire!  Hopefully Rebecca and Christian can extract my best attributes as they grow and mature!  And hopefully they will be able to find a long list of 'why I love my mom' to write one day!

   I love you, Mom!    Love,  Your 1st Angel

Application

What do you think of when I say application?  To apply makeup, to fill out an application, . . .   I am striving, really striving to apply some recently learned skills to achieve a more peaceful, Christ-centered home and family.  It ain't easy.  My approach is to start small (with little changes) and build, but I'm afraid that I will lose my steam and regress or stop all together.  I don't like to fail (who does?), but I have nothing to lose, right?  Only good can prevail.  Anyway, I wanted to document that I am on a mission, a mission of application so I will be accountable.  Lots of 'a' words in this blog, huh!  Things that make you go, hmmmm!