birthdays in July…..

We have SO many birthdays to celebrate in July…..This July, Shawn Michael Corley turned 40 - i can't believe it…..i don't feel old enough to have a 40 year old baby but i DO!  SO very proud of our boy and the man he has become.  Shawn is so much like his daddy…..quiet and not much into being the center of attention…..opinionated…..somewhat of a loner in a room full of people…..but in the right situation, he can truly be the life of the party.  He so funny…..he can tell stories like nobody else.  I love that lately it seems his heart is softening quite a bit….we talk to him more often and he and his dad are really getting closer……He's a precious son and a wonderful father to our Avery Grace.  He's creative - and ONE day soon, one of his ideas is going to take off like gangbusters……He's so talented.  SO proud of him.

We all met on Sunday to celebrate his 40th…..and Angie's birthday and Angie's mom's birthday…..

It was a family affair in Frisco….and we had such a good time.  Pork butt tacos (thank you Chase Corley) yummy cilantro rice (thank you Angie Corley) and i made desserts for the birthday peeps….strawberry cake for Angie and Deb Deb and cheesecake for Shawn…There was swimming….yummy food and family and more swimming…..it was such a fun day!  This coming Friday, Shawn, Avery, Addy, Michael and i will travel to Portofino Island for a little vacation….Chase will fly in and meet us there.  They guys are going deep sea fishing and the girls are going to play in the sand and kayak in the cove…..it's to celebrate Shawn's 40th.

Let's back up to Saturday tho…..and on SATURDAY, we celebrated a special little boy turning FOUR!  Oh my goodness, cannot believe our baby boy is FOUR!  What a precious little gift he is!

We showed up about an hour before the party was suppose to begin.  We were greet at the door by a butt naked Hayden Michael Corley.  How fitting - his birthday suit!  Our arms were full of goodie bags, food and his gifts….we made our way into the kitchen to put everything down and before we know it, i look down at Hayden (someone suggest he get underwear on and he did) and he is grinning ear to ear with one of his gifts in his hands!  "Oh Yook, It's power ranger morpher blah blah blah" - i can't remember the name of it but he sure did…..He's SO excited.  I am still situating food and stuff and before i know it i look down and he's opened the second gift - soooo excited about it….and then he's reaching for the third one and i think why not….he's going to have soooo many gifts to open later.  That little boy was SO happy - "mimi, can you open it for me?" - so i open the boxes and i truly think that little boy would have been just happy to stay there and play with his gifts…..several guests came and were already in the pool and he was still there in the kitchen playing with his toys.  A friend said don't you know Christ would LOVE for us to be that way with the gifts He has for us…..to open them with such abandon and to be SO happy with what we receive?  

Well, on to the party.  The party, BTW, was a beach themed party….not exactly what Hayden wanted…..he wanted a power ranger party, "No DIRLS" and NO SWIMMING…..but once he finally wrapped his head around the beach thing, he got into it.  EVEN with the DIRLS!

Ava is a dear little friend of Hayden's!

It was a huge party…..SO many family and friends there to celebrate our little man turning FOUR!

There were lots of presents…..and of course Chase couldn't help but play…..

And let them eat cake…..his cake was a beach ball….and he was SO serious when we sang to him….

And then blowing out the candles….

It was such a fun day celebrating our little man…..and in the end, he did get an "ire man cake on the actual day of his birthday which was Monday…..

Happy Birthday sweet Hayden Michael Corley…..we can't wait to see what God has planned for your precious life.  We pray daily for HIS guidance and protection over you.  You are precious in our lives and we are SO very thankful God gave us YOU!

The end =)

Father's day…..

We had a little time to spend with Addy and Hayden right before Father's day…..Time with our grandkids always SO much fun…..

DUCK FACE =)))

super power lunch at mimi's

Father's day at our house has become a tradition and i just LOVE it.  The Frisco Corley's and the Lake Highland Corley's pack up and come for the weekend…..it's cooking out, it's way too much dessert….it's staying up late….it's swimming and then more swimming…..it's such a fun time and i love having our family all under one roof.  This first two pictures crack me up…..A little chaos at the house….naked boys and too many dogs…..Hayden loves to run free….and when i say free, i mean FREE.  Late night swimming is always fun too.

We missed have Audrey with us tho.  Our time was cut short this year because of preparations for Sky Ranch and the Frisco bunch leaving early Sunday afternoon to take Haley to Van…..but we had a great time. The boys smoked a pork shoulder over night and we had THE BEST TACOS EVER (that's a Corley saying in case anyone wonders) WE HAVE EVER HAD…..Oh my goodness, the best tortillas Chase and Angie found, on a griddle (Chase was so excited we had a griddle on our stove =) and then you put cheese, smoked pork, drizzle with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, sweet hot peppers and then this slaw Angie makes with Jalapeño Ranch dressing…..gotta say - it was YUM!!.  More swimming on Sunday and Chase (my boy that never grows up) found the big blow up thing in the garage - and they had SO much fun in that thing…..Avery and Hayden found a lady bug and played with it forever too…..

Thank you Lord for Michael and the daddy he is to our boys!  It's so good to see their relationships growing as the boys have become men and as Michael is getting older.

 I see friendships emerging, and that's so cool.  Especially with Shawn - Shawn has always been quite the loner (just like his daddy) and in the past few years their relationship has taken on a closer bond.  And I am so thankful my boys have become precious daddies…..even tho so different - can you say night and day? - they are both such good daddies and our kids are so lucky to have Shawn and Chase in their lives.

I am also reminded of the precious daddy God gave me.  He was hand picked by God to be my daddy and i sure can't thank God enough for the man that loved me with all of his heart.  He was a provider….he was my first love…well, he and momma…..he was my hero…..he was such a Christian example and the way he cared for us….for momma in the last years of her life - his heart was just as big as Texas.  A man of integrity…..a man of immense love and i am so proud that there are parts of me that people say remind them of my daddy.  I am thankful too for Michael's daddy…..Mat the hat.  In Michael's later years he's becoming a replica of his daddy…..not only in looks, but in his wit and sense of humor…..also in his stubbornness and the way he's just jumping into old age head first……SO like his daddy.  Never cared what anyone else thought either.  Michael's daddy was a mess….but he was a sweet mess.  I am so glad that early in our marriage, dad quit drinking and became so much a part of life.  His sense of humor cracked us up.  His sense of fashion he's passed down to his son too =)

After a wonderful weekend of family, Addy and Haley were off to Sky Ranch….what a precious time they had exploring and confirming their relationship with Christ.  Angie asked me to go with her to pick them up and for the closing ceremony.  This is Haley's last time and it was quite emotional for her….and for us.  SO sweet of Angie to include me on things like this….Coming home, the stories flowed freely….both SO excited and full of sweet memories!

We also watched our little Addylou graduate elementary school in June.  Oh my gosh, where has the time gone?  Just yesterday i looked into those precious newborn eyes and now she's going into MIDDLE school!

Time is flying…..but i am so proud of Addison Lane Corley.  She's made awesome grades…..and i guess the greatest thing this year has been her asking Jesus to be her Savior…..she prayed that prayer with her daddy and Lord….oh LORD how happy we are that she's YOUR child.
I made teacher gifts for Addy to give her teachers and the principal…..they really turned out pretty cute!

She had her last play day ever too…..

Little Avery Grace still will have another year in elementary because in Dallas 6th grade doesn't move to middle school.  Avery has become quite the little artist.  Shawn set up a fruit bowl and asked her to draw it….

Pretty awesome huh?  Just like her daddy…..he is quite the artist too.

She also is in gymnastics and this year we have been to quite a few of her meets…..she is very good and we so enjoyed watching her perform.

Avery and Addy have become so different in the last year or so…..Avery still so young, loves playing with dolls and make believe…..Addy so grown up - into dance and making videos.  It makes me sad just a bit because now when we get together, they don't mesh as well.  Before, the minute they hit the door together at our house we never saw them unless it was time to eat.  They played and played and played.  But now, Addy wants to hang out with us….with Haley and Avery still wants to go to the "little girl's room" and play dolls and make up stories and plays and dances.  I hope as they grow older, their little personalities will come back together and that they will always be close and be friends.

Addy is taking dance and in June we got to go to her dance recital.  She was amazing…..as she did her ballet piece tho i just cried through it.  She's becoming such a young lady…..growing up WAY too fast!

To thankful for our family…..the times we get together, all under one roof….crazy and some personalities are just as different as can be….but there's love there…..we are family and we love our time together.

Thank you Lord for my family……thank You for the times we can spend together.  I pray your protection over us all…..your guidance and your grace paving the way so that each of us will spend eternity with You.

p.s.  The boy that will never grow up plays on a volleyball team now……i am so glad he's still boy….love the man he's become but he will forever have that competitive little boy running around inside him!  And so glad he has a little boy to play with =)

Going through some emails, i found this note today about a camp Mimi we had years ago…..girls were so young - but wanted to include these little notes so i won't forget one thing!

last night Avery and Addy made cards for each of the people we will be taking food to for Meals on Wheels this morning.....they are SO excited about doing this....I can't remember which one said it, but when i told them in the car yesterday that one of the things we would be doing at Camp Mimi is delivering food to the elderly.....one of them said "oh i am so excited.....i have always wanted to be a waitress....and now i can!"
so last night, they were making their cards and Addy was asking what to put on the inside of the card.....i told her you can put "God Bless you" - and she gave me this weird look and said 'WHAT?"  and i repeated it.....and she said "because you want him to sneeze?????"  Then we got into this huge discussion if it was God Bless you or God Blush you.

Later when Shawn sent me the text "don't forget she sleepwalks" - and we got into a huge conversation about sleep walking - Addy told me about finding Avery on the pot one morning, sound asleep......Avery saying "I DON"T HAVE A PROBLEM!!!"  each not wanting to have to sleep downstairs (as Shawn suggested) - finally we got it all taken care of.....no sleeping downstairs - everyone doing okay and then Addy says " I don't sleepwalk....but i sleep talk.....and i talk about MUFFINS" - They cracked me UP!!!

They have had so much fun....and so have i =)  They just woke up......Camp Mimi resumes!!!

I will add this to the posting also…..just in case it's not in my earlier ramblings - As they  made the cards for each of the Meals on Wheels clients, they asked me about the personalities of each one…..our first stop was Papaw….and i told the girls how precious he was and that he just has a little twinkle in his eye.  The next morning as we were leaving his house, i asked the girls if they caught the twinkle in his eye….. Avery replied "Oh yes, Mimi….i SAW it…..it was in his left eye!"