Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Russell Family

 

 

The Fruities...

 

 

And the Cuties!

San Antonio Bolognio

The freaking corporate giant Chesapeake is stealing my baby brother away to the desolate land of south Texas, known as San Antonio with the promise of a big promotion and raise. Jerks.

Here's an un-posed picture of my little punk brother. He hates un-posed pictures and I'm mad at him for leaving me in Oklahoma to deal with my parents alone. Suck on that brother.

 

I am going to endure a 9 hour road trip with my stressed out parents to help him move into the trendy down-town area of San Antonio. I am leaving my husband and kids for 3 nights for him. So here are my thoughts and parting words for Lane:

1) There are many bad choices that I could tolerate from you, Lane. Being a Spurs fan is not one. I will DISOWN you. Forever. I could understand you being a Rockets fan since they stole the beard from us in OKC. Texas is taking everything I love. Haley, Lane, James Harden.....
2) I will never tell anyone you are from Texas. I refuse to believe that or to perpetuate such an ugly thought. I will tell people you live there temporarily. And I expect you to do the same.
3) Since you are temporarily living in Texas I expect that when you come home to visit your HOME in Oklahoma that as a sign of shame and regret for being a Texas resident that you will adopt a proper Texas dress code- a ten gallon hat, a huge ugly belt buckle, and boots with spurs. I will also expect you to talk like Charlie from Sunny in the episode where they try to sell gas door to door.
4) Everything's bigger in Texas? I know youir paycheck will be. I expect bigger gifts for me and my children and checks for taking care of our high-maintenence, aging parents in your absence.
5) You've already made Grannie B cry which is unforgiveable so I expect you to attend John Hagee's church so that Grannie Myrna will be happy. I also expect you to give a facebook re-cap complete with all sermon points and life applications each Sunday after services. If you are moving away from all of our grandparents you gotta pay the piper buddy.
6) YOU CANNOT FALL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS AND STAY FOREVER. You can't. I will die.
7) I would however love to tell the story at your rehearsal dinner of how I predicted that you met and fell in love with a sweet Oklahoma girl when you met and talked about how much you hated the Spurs and couldn't wait to move back to Oklahoma to God's country and your sister predicted just such an event in her blog. Make it happen. There has to be at least one poor, miserable, displaced Oklahomie there.
8) IN seriousness- I love you, Lane. I am so proud of you. And as much as my heart hurts I am so excited for you to have a fresh start in a new place. Enjoy it (but not so much you wanna stay forever), make memories and come home every single chance you can. Go get em' brother.

Cousins

Today is one of those days when I am a little wistful and sad.

 

I am the youngest grand-daughter on one side of my family and I am the middle cousin on the other side. I have so many amazing memories with my cousins: matching mullets, rv camping, Christmases sleeping in the same room, four wheeler rides, long afternoons at the creek, sweet conversations and shared memories.

 

Alas, life has happened. We are all grown and spread across the states, and some days I just miss them. I wish we could see each other more. They are some of my favorite people.

 

 My oldest cousin Chris has always been a hero of mine. Heath and Shawn have always cracked me, up their hijinks are legendary. Jennifer has a contagious laugh and gets stuff done! Haley is sentimental and organized always with humor and quick wit. Riann has such a kind, compassionate heart. Emily has a great sense of style and is a fun mom. Danna is my frugal soul-sister and one of my best friends. My girl cousins are an absolutely beautiful group of women. I could write entire blog posts on each of them, but they would kill me. They have threatened. As long as their secrets are safe, then so is my life.

 

The Harmon Cousins

The Clapp Cousins (minus Shawn)


I also get a little sad for my kids. My cousins were close enough in distance that we saw each other weekly if not daily sometimes. God has blessed us tremendously, I am not complaining, I just wish it were possible for Hope and Isaac to see their cousins more often. Their time together is quality, but I selfishly wish there was more quantity. And my goodness, they are cute in a group.

Little Russell cousins.

Nothing like dead fish watching with your cousins.

Cousin breakfast.

I wouldn't change a thing. I know we are right where God has us in this season. But for a few hours I wish I could be in my grandparents Barnsdall homeplaces and laugh with my cousins. I wish my house could be wrecked with the laughter and mess of my kids' cousins. I'm thankful for the role of each of them in our lives. I hope God blesses and keeps them all until the next time we can be together. Which I hope is soon, and more often.

30

In honor of my 30th birthday and my first 30 days of my 30th year, I am going to attempt to write a few "30" lists. This may be lame, it may be fun, it may be totally random.


To start, I give you, with no further adieu, 30 of my ex-boyfriends....Hmmm......Probably need to make my list longer.......

1. Just Kidding

30 Things I Would Eat All the Time If I Wouldn't Get Fat

30. Banana Pudding
29. Little Debbies
28. Chocolate Tres Leches
27. Chicken Chimichangas with sour cream sauce
26. Chicken and Noodles
25. My Mom's Spaghetti
24. My Mom's chili dogs
23. Indian Tacos
22. Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger
21. Onion Rings
20. Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Chick-fil-A sauce
19. Taco Bell Doritos Loco Taco- I'm so ashamed!
18. Grannie B cookies from her freezer
17. Sweet Tea
16. Stuffed French Toast with strawberries from IHOP
15. Panera Bread's Orange Scones- oh my lawdy
14. Classic Italian Sub from Arby's
13. My MIL's Paula Deen's Chicken and Rice Casserole
12. Creme filled chocolate frosted donut from Krispy Kreme
11. My MIL's Orange Pound Cake
10. Diet Dr. Pepper by the Gallon
9. Loaded Baked Potatoes
8. Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
7. Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls
6. Grannie B's Taco Salad
5. Schlotsky's Chicken and Bacon Club
4. Pizza from Hideaway
3. Tuscan Cheese Bread from Pepperoni Grill with oil and Vinegar
2. Fettuccine Alfredo
1. Cheesecake- any flavor

There you have it. This list could also be called 30 reasons it took me two freakin years to lose my baby weight. Or 30 things I'd like to be eating except I am on a diet. Or 30 Reasons I might be pre-diabetic.Or thirty things I might be fantasizing about when you think I'm listening....

What would you eat if it wouldn't stick to you and make you dough-y?

Hottie in Flight

This is one of my very very favorite photos from our annual family lake vacation in July, during my unintentional blog hiatus. My hubs was jumping from the upper deck of a pontoon. I am not a photographer in any capacity, but I got lucky on this shot with beautiful scenery, unintentional good light, and a cooperative camera that I don't know how to use.

I Did Something Cool Once

Do young'ens even say "cool" anymore?

See, I'm about to turn 30. O-L-D. Wrinkles. Walkers. Arthritis. Social Security. Talking about colon issues in public.

I was born in the stone age known as the 80's.

I have been out of college for many moons now.

I have never watched "Jersey Shore". But I do get excited on laundry Monday when "Boy Meets World" comes on the old MTV. Remember when they used to play music? I do. Cause I'm old.

Anywhoo, I did something young and hip while I was on unintentional blogging hiatus in March. At least, I think it was March. My memory is slipping in my old age.

I went to a midnight premier and saw "The Hunger Games". I have read the books too. Bonus cool points.

It was because my ten-years-younger, beautiful inside and out, much cooler, baby sister-in-law suggested it. I'm glad she did. And she just turned 20, which she thinks is old. Crazy.

I love her a lot. And here is photographic evidence of the one time I did something cool. Hilary was there. And she is cool. She saw me do it.

*The unsung heroes of my one cool night are my in-laws who babysat my kids and let us stay out until 2:30AM. They are very cool*

30 Best Moments From My Cruise

Top 30 Best Memories From Our Cruise.

30. The trip was the perfect length. Not too short, not too long. 

29. Our dining room Maitre D was from Russia and reminded me of the villain from Rocky & Bullwinkle. Was his name Boris? 

28. There was a cute, elderly, Asian man from Canada who sang country songs in the main lobby. He played electric guitar and was terrific! He busted every stereotype that any person could have possibly had about him? 

27. The comedy shows on board were hilarious. I love when my husband goes into his crazy laugh. I saw it many times this trip. 

26. Delicious sit-down dinners every night. 4 date nights! 

25. Turn down service with chocolates on my pillow. I wonder if my kids can be trained to turn our covers down. I guess that would mean they'd have to make our bed first everyday....

24. Spending a morning exploring Galveston with no plans at all. I had almost forgotten what spontaneity felt like. 

23. My parents. They weren't on the trip but they kept my kids so we could go. I'm 95% sure they drank pop and ate too much junk food but they were safe & had a great time. 

22. No election coverage. No reading facebook posts where every idiot feels the need to tell their opinion. Everyone has the right, and I am thankful for that, but I am so OVER election year. Can I please spend the rest of election season on a boat? 

21. Everytime we wore OKC Thunder apparel, foreign people would comment. They all love Kevin Durant. I think he should run for president. He could unite political parties and countries. 

20. Meeting lots of other nice Oklahomies. We're everywhere, and we all yell "boomer" when our presence is made known. We all hate Texas teams, it bonds us together. We even meet some fellow Owassies. So fun! Love my state. 

19. No dieting. I bet I gained 10 pounds at least. Maybe more. I ate everything. 

18. I had a piece of tiramisu that changed my life. Yum. 

17. Beach day. There is nothing in the world more relaxing than hearing the waves wash up on the beach as you sit & rest & read. I am a white sand lover. Sometimes I think I am displaced islander. 

16. We watched a show on the ship that was awesome. Great dancing, singing, lights, and special effects. The quality was amazingly good. It was like broadway in the ocean. 

15. I loved watching the dolphins chase the coast guard boat from our balcony. I had never seen a live dolphin before- I geeked out way more than necessary. 

14. Watching the sunrise from the beach in Galveston. Pure serenity. 

13. Making an all-night road trip from Owasso to Galveston. My husband is still my favorite traveling buddy. We laughed a lot. He's my lobster. 

12. I took naps at all hours of the day. It was glorious. And quiet. And kidless. 

11. I ate snails. Escargot . I wasn't a big fan, but I ate them anyways. All I could think of was the garden snails in Barnsdall. Slimy, yet satisfying. 

10. Being in the elevator with a girl who was minutes from walking down the aisle & hearing her chirp about how excited she was. I hope she has a husband who will still show her new adventures after 7 years and two babies. 

9. Shopping in Cozumel. So much crap, so cheap. 

8. Snorkeling- it is seriously one of my very favorite things in the world. I love that there is a whole gorgeous world underwater. 

7. Getting to sit & read with no interruptions. During the daytime. In the quiet. 

6. I did not change one diaper. Not one. Heaven. 

5. Getting to dress up on formal night. There aren't many occasions for that in my life right now. 

4. Watching the moon cast it's light over the water and seeing no other lights on the horizon from our balcony. It was so beautiful. 

3. Watching my hubby try, and like, alligator. 

2. Buffets all day- fat girl's paradise. 

1. Spending all day every day with my husband and having his undivided attention. 

I am so grateful to God and my husband. This was the best way to spend the last days of my 20's. Here's hoping that my 30's are just as wonderful and full of adventure with my cute best friend. 

You've Got a Friend in Me

 

Isaac's favorite movie right now is "Toy Story 3". If you can't tell, he's a pretty big fan of Buzz Lightyear. Or Buzz Light"hair" as Isaac would tell you.

 

But, he thinks Woody is a fantastic sheriff too.

 

 

And whatever Isaac thinks is cool.... When in Rome......

Naturally, we love the music from Toy Story, especially when sang by the cutest 2 and 3 year olds ever to don spacesuits.

 

So I have declared "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman the official Russell family song.

 

Here are the lyrics:

 

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It's me and you
And as the years go by
Boys, our friendship will never die
You're gonna see
It's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

 

 

I hope my people always know that that they've got a friend in me. And I hope that when I am a grandmother that I'll still be able to hear my kids' voices in my mind singing. And I hope my mind will be able to recall them dancing to this little gem from "Toy Story 3".

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mBo6lOpJuQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mBo6lOpJuQ

First Day of School 2012

 

We start our pre-school "school year" after Labor Day each year. I am beyond blessed to be the music teacher in our school. I absolutely love getting to teach Jesus, letters, shapes, colors, numbers and nursery rhymes in music. Our pre-school does an amazing job at getting our kiddos ready for kindergarten and laying spiritual and educational foundations for our 'graduates". Here we are on our first day!

 

Cruisin

Today I will go on a long car trip to a far away kingdom called Galveston.

Today I will board a cruise liner that I will pretend is the Titanic. Except with a happy ending.

Today I will be Rose and my husband will be Jack and we will fall in love all over again and he'll draw a G-rated picture of me as a stick figure on a napkin, and we will go to steerage and dance a jig with the emmigrants, and then he'll give me a ginormous blue diamond that I'll throw in the ocean when I am old and I won't tell Bill Paxton where it is.

Well, that last part may be stretching the truth a little.

In all truth, I am so excited because my husband, my boyfriend since I was 15, the father of my children, and my best friend ever is taking me on a trip for my 30th birthday.

We are not wealthy people and this trip is such a gift. We have very very little medical debt, we have modest salaries at our jobs that we adore. We have things that need to be fixed/replaced/purchased, but after some creative budgeting, gift from God money, and scrimping and saving, Ryland decided to invest in our marriage. And I am happy to comply with his decision.

We have never been away together without our kids. Sure there have been single nights here and there, but never out of town, road trip, adventure style get-away. It has been 4 years since we have vacationed alone and I am giddy excited.

I am so grateful to God for the gift of my husband. He is more than I deserve and over the last few years my opportunities to lavish him with love and attention have been less. There are two little people who have competed for my attention with their little people needs of dirty diapers, needing to nurse, and just keeping them from harm in general, I haven't always made the time for him that I should. I wouldn't trade the mom life for anything but sometimes my husband has graciously taken the backseat.

Over these four days I plan to enjoy him. I wish I could say that I had the body I had on our last vacation. Babies and gravity have taken a toll on my swimsuit figure, but I am so excited for ocean breezes, sunsets, and the arms of the person I love more than anyone else on this earth. And surely there will be at least one person on the boat squishier than me. Is that mean?

Thank you God for giving us this time! I am pumped!

I'll never let go Jack........

30 Experiences That I Never Want to Have Again

30 Things I Never Want to Experience Again

In honor of my 30th birthday please enjoy my (lighthearted, not serious, not in any way real problems) list of things that I never want to experience again. Feel free to comment on your own!

30. Going to the Social Security building for any reason. 

29. Visiting the recycling center- the smell, oh the smell.

28. The first day of school where I have every bad student I've ever had & I'm not prepared and ohbytheway the bleachers in the gym are your classroom dream. It's brutal.

27. I know it's inevitable, but I don't want to have to attend another funeral for someone I love. 

26. The first _____ after giving birth. You girls know what I'm talking about. It's the nightmare that no one warns you about. Ouch. 

25. Anything at the dentist. Again, inevitable, but still terrifying. 

24. Falling down on front of a crowd. 

23. Introducing someone by the wrong name, or the wrong person altogether. This happened the second time I saw my father-in-law and I wanted to die. 

22. Wearing a bikini in public. My kids wrecked the ole body. 

21. Reading books for a grade. I'm a rebel. 

20. Blow out diapers. 

19. Stomach flu. 

18. Fender benders. 

17. Pimples on picture day. 

16. Living in a town without a Wal-Mart. 

15. Athlete's foot. 

14. My "before" weight. 

13.Dating. 

12. My voice cracking in the middle of singing solo. 

11. Having to put my dogs to sleep. Again, inevitable. 

10. Living away from my husband. 

9. Stitches of any kind. 

8. Verbal confrontations. 

7.Long car rides. 

6.My twenties. They were fabulous, but I prefer to think forward. 

5. Sleeping on a floor. 

4.A day in this world without Ryland, Isaac, and Hope in it. 

3. Sunburns. 

2. Home improvement projects with my hubby. 

1. In all seriousness- my life without my amazing God. The giver of all my experiences, who works them all together for good. I'm grateful. 

Please share an experience that you don't ever want to have again! 

My People in Photo

These are my people.

 

 

 

They shine up well.

 

 

Sometime we have a hard time behaving.

 

 

But if your boyfriend was this cute you'd have a hard time too.

 

 

And my cute boyfriend (who eventually became my husband) gave me these two cuties.

 

 This little lady smiles all the time, except in photos.

 

 This handsome little man absolutely makes me melt.

 

My sweet little Space Rangers.

 

Melt. Melt. Melt.

 

El Mustachio Gang. I love my People.

 

 

All photography by the lovely and talented Cecilia Hibdon

Tunia Turns 2: A Birthday Letter

The day we met.

Hopey Wan-ja-ween Russell,

How is it that 2 years have already happened? How is it possible that my tiny baby is now into full, unquestionable toddlerhood?

My big girl.

2 years ago your daddy and I went to the hospital to meet you and even though I was enduring labor pains I was also smiling. I wanted a daughter so much and I couldn't wait to lay eyes on you. You've never disappointed. Even then you had a mischievous, free-spirited beauty that is magnetic. You make me smile even now. The day you were born ranks with the best days of my life. It is a gift from God that I am celebrating the anniversary of your second birthday- I pray I get to celebrate it with you many, many times in the future.

Little Fashionista.

I think back on this day last year. You were crawling, tiny, not very verbal, and eating baby food. And today you can climb to Bubba's top bunk, while wearing 24month clothes, speaking complete sentences, and have definite preferences in your big girl diet especially "rock-a-roni".

Baby Beauty.

You wear your pretty, baby fine, blonde hair in pigtails most days, you still don't have much hair on top, but no one has ever looked quite as sweet with a baby mullet. And you are very proud of your "tigtails".

First day of school.

You love to watch "Dora the Explorer". In your opinion, there is no other show that is better. We joke about needing to have a Dora-vention because you'd watch all day if we'd let you. Your brother pointed out a bush recently and asked me what I saw under it. You enthusiastically yelled "Swiper!" because he is always lurking in bushes.

You are in your big girl bed and have been for about 2 months now. You have been in trouble only once for playing while you should be sleeping, but you are usually happy to lay down and rest. But only after prayers, hugs, kisses, and a "moochy" shake. You like to sleep with your puppy, Violet, and like the white noise from your giraffe sleep machine. And giggling is usually the last sound I hear you make at night.

Big girl bed.

You have lots of nicknames: Tiki, Tunia, Tot, Sissy, Ladybug, just to name a few. I've heard it said in some random psychological study that people only nickname people that that really love dearly. Well baby girl, you are very loved. No question.



You love your big brother. Whatever he does is cool. Whatever he thinks is cool, is cool. You try do hard to do everything he does. He is so sweet to share with you, and most of the time you two are best buds. You call each other "bubba" and "sis" respectively, and it makes me melt.

Buzz and Baby Buzz.

But sometimes you bite...



I know you'll never remember it but you tend to bite when you are cornered or when someone has something you want. Eek. It makes your momma cringe a little. You haven't done it in several weeks so hopefully the "phase" is over. You've sank your teeth into several little friends at school. ( "I bite Campbell's nose!") Yikes. I've had to bite you a few times and it KILLS me. Please stop. Forever.

You talk like such a big girl. You almost always speak in complete sentences. You also love to sing songs. In the car if there is silence you will yell from the backseat "more songs!" with great passion. You like the songs "Nothing is Impossible" (sangs!!!) and "Baby Bumblebee".

You are showing lots of interest in potty training. I'm in no hurry to walk that road but you seem to like to live life a little ahead of the curve so I'm sure we'll try soon.

You have lots of sweet little friends at church and school. And you talk about them a lot. I see you hug them & try to teach them things at school. I think that you'll be the fun girl everyone loves in a few years.

You are a little bit messy when you eat.

I love that all of life is an adventure for you. You live in fear of missing out and are very adventurous and brave. You do everything full throttle. I love that you have so much passion.



My sweet birthday Tunia.

I am so thankful that God chose to give you to me. You are such an amazingly precious gift, Sissy. You are a sweet little light in a dark world. I'm so proud of how you've grown this year, and as sad as I am that your baby days are over, I am overjoyed at the anticipation of what will be in the next years of your life. There are so many adventures and experiences waiting. I can't wait to share them with you baby!



Happy 2nd birthday dear. Momma loves you more than I could ever tell you. May God bless your life, may you fall deeper in love with him, and may I always point you to him. My prayer for you is that through every milestone and experience, every peak and valley, that you will know God more and more and you will be like him. I'm proud of you Hope. You make my corner of the world so joyful.



All my love,
Momma

My favorite picture of us.