I have heard that it can feel like a gyp to have your birthday on a “Holiday” That the child that shares their Birthday with Christmas often feels short changed… and such… Fortunately for Spring and Fall babies…the  Holidays hop around, Spring Babies  might have a few Easter Birthdays in their lifetime or late November… Read More SEPTEMBER 11 BABY

      I have been digging, for letters and pictures, emails and  notes  from my Dad. Pieces of him and who he was to ME…      This one I wrote to the grandparents on the first day of school….4 years ago….. 2008 August 21, 2008 Dear Nannie and Pop Pop,        … Read More LETTERS

My Dad, sent me this when I was a Freshman in College…

My Dad used to love to tell me the story..of when we first met. It was back in the “olden days”, when dads waited out in the waiting room…  probably smoking cigarettes and pacing.  The Moms off somewhere else, having a baby. He was waiting…someone was taking care of my older brother, probably his grandparents. … Read More THE FIRST SUNDAY

A slide show of my Dads life is being put together ….and as the family “photographer”,   I have been asked to share photos of my Dad. I spent much of yesterday, in my bedroom, pulling the boxes of photos down from the closet shelf. Remembering, crying, remembering laughing and crying and remembering. Some of my… Read More LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Toward the end of my Dads life, he had a very difficult time speaking. He could mouth words and spell them out on an alphabet board  but the whole process was  extremely frustrating for him. One day, when I was visiting him he looked at me and he patted the bed next to his side and… Read More PUPPY LOVE – RIGHT BY HIS SIDE

My Dads name was Trevor Gaylord Mallory Smith. I loved his name and that  my middle name  “Mallory” comes from him.  My other middle name “Jean” came from my Mom, Bonnie Jean.   I am helping to write my father’s obituary. I decided to make it a story…he would like that better anyway. ” Anyone that… Read More My DAD and LLBEAN

Monday was such a quiet day.  The kids played and read, we had no obligations and I lay on the sofa and wrote a weeks worth of blog posts.  I was so pleased with myself.  That night I finally booked the flight to visit my high school friends for a girls weekend in Dallas, and… Read More Goodbye

COLLECTIBLE LAMPS FROM TARGET! collectible lamp from Target…. ..I LOVE stumbling upon that PERFECT something that is unique and that can add a touch of personality to a ROOM. I KNEW the second I saw these lamps… ….EXactly what I would do. Having just endured a MAJOR clean out purge… of the KIDS rooms, I… Read More BOYS ROOM LAMPS

  BOYS Those of you with sons and brothers…even husbands and boyfriends… know…boys are pretty easy to please…DECOR wise. Give them a good comforter, some stuff to throw around or at each other…things to roll and build…. …some sports or superhero posters and they are all set. Last week, I FINALLY got around to giving the boys room a… Read More MONDAY MAKEOVER – THE BOYS ROOM