My oldest Daughter

I dont have a good picture of my daughter Lindsey. She is so beautiful inside and out. She lives in Texas with her dad and I miss her terribly. I have good days and bad but I think of her everyday. I took her forgranted and now I wish I could change things to have her here again. I know she is happy with her dad and I know she has made some great friends.

I have a song that reminds me of her by Raschal Flatts - " My Wish For You" I cant listen to that song without thinking of her. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry, But I always end up with a smile on my face when I think of her.

I dont talk to her as much as I would like but what mom does talk to their teenage daughters as much as they would like. I think this time of year is the hardest for me because I see all the girls playing ball and it takes me back. Lindsey loved her softball (like her mom) and I loved watching her play. I miss that.

Fall is also when I miss her because I go by the football field and see the game going on and all the people and her old friends and it just seemed like yesterday when I was watching her cheer and get presented as the homecoming attendant for the freshman class. Its those things I miss but I miss her laugh the most. She had the crazy I dont care attitude and she really didnt care. I remember taking her to school one day and she got up put her hair in a ponytail and when to school in her sleep clothes and her house shoes. No make up, hair was all tangled up and clothes all wrinkled and she still looked beautiful.

She is coming home this summer and we are getting her Senior pictures made. I cant wait to share that with her. I would love to be able to share her Senior year with her. Maybe I keep hoping she will come back and graduate with all her old friends. Keep your fingers crossed.

Anyway I just wanted to tell you about my oldest daughter and how proud I am of her. I will post a picture of her soon.

Dad and his girls

Dad and his girls. I am so lucky to have someone who adores his kids so much. Dan is such a good dad and I never have to worry about whether he will take care of us or not. I hate it when he has to leave and when he is not home but I also know that he is doing it for us. I hope one day he will come off the road and be here with us everyday, but until then I will keep doing what I have to do to make it. Its hard but I will not have a pity party for myself because I cant imagine how hard it is for Dan to be away from his family for such long periods at a time. He brought it to my attention the other night when we were talking he said in 4 years he would have only spent one year with us. That is so sad. I mean if you look at it like this he sees us 8 days out of the month. 8 x 12 = 96 days a year is all he is at home. Man that doesn't seem quite far. But we will live with the hand we are delt and go on. I live by the phrase "If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it!" I know that God does not put anything on you he doesn't think you can handle, I guess he thinks Dan and I are pretty strong.

I just let him do his work and not question it.

Our new house

Here are some pictures of our new house. We love it!! The girls love all the room. There is a picture of the house in the daylight one at night, one of the back of the house and one from our front porch where you can see the long driveway. It is so peaceful and no trains!! ha ha ha !! Everyone keeps their yards looking nice and there are little kids everywhere. Dan and I were watching the kids 2 houses down ride their little motocylce cruisers in their yard Sunday and we kept laughing because the little girl on her pink motorcyle kept passing the little boy. We said that will be Abbie and Mattie in a few more years. Momma Teri you will love sitting on the front porch in the swing at night. Our house sits on the top of the hill so there is a cool breeze. You can see the stars for miles. It is beautiful. I love being at home!!!!

Me and Dan

This is us at the Stage. We came here for Mike Greens birthday, this is also the place where Dan and I met. (course that was about 20 pounds ago)ha ha ha!!

Isn't it funny how when you meet someone and they introduce themselves that is who you know them as......

What I am getting at is he introduced himself as Dan. So to me he is Dan. Just as I am Tommi to him.

However when you talk to his family he is Danny to them. I tried so hard to call him Danny but it didnt feel right. Only because I only knew him as Dan. Same for him. My family all call me Tee. But for Dan that there is no such person. He only knows me as Tommi.

I use to get mad at my sister in law because she called my brother James when we all called him Jamie. Now I understand. She was introduced to him as James therefore that is all she knew him as. So maybe I should apologize to her because now I am in the same place she was. Funny how things work out.

What is in a name? I would say alot !!!

birthday cake !

The top picture is what the cake looked like after Aunt Traci added the singing Elmo she bought on it. the bottom cake is before she put the Elmo on the plate. It was soooo good and the singing Elmo was the hit of the party. The girls can keep the Elmo forever!!! Thank Aunt Traci. Once again you have out done your self. We can thank you enough.

two peas in a pod !!

Brady and Abbie !! She loves her big brother. She reminds me alot of him when he was a her age.

I couldn't ask for a better brother for the girls. He is so good with them and is such a big help when Dan is on the road.

Thanks Brady for being such a good big brother.

bubba is worn out !! busy day for him too!!!

cousins and friends

fun fun fun !!! As you can see there wasnt much left of Matties cake. Abbie is like her mom with cake she closes her eyes and enjoys every bite. ha ha ha !! It was a great day !!

Mattie is waiting patiently for her cake. I think we were trying to get her to play pat-a-cake like Abbie and she just gives us that look like we are crazy.

How is it possible to have twin girls that look nothing like each other however they both look like their daddy?????

more of our birthday

Abbie before everyone gathered around her.

She was playing pat-a-cake. I think she looks like

her daddy more and more everyday.

fun fun fun

The girls got lots of great gifts. Grandma and Grandpa Shumate sent them both $25.00. SO we took a trip to walmart and got a glowing bear and dog. They also got some new shoes. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

They got so many toys and clothes. Mom was happy because they got lots of socks.

Our guest included - Aunt Traci (she made the cakes and bought all the decorations for the party) Thanks Aunt Traci.

Aunt Lori, Maci, Shannon, Uncle Jamie, Lily, Madison,Grammy, Granddad, Nana,Trece, Lexi, Aunt Connie, Hailea, Trent, Jackson 1 and Jackson 2 ,Trimmy, Chassity, Eric, Madison, MacKenzie, Makayla, Libby and Cindy and Kedric. Wow Mom and Dad were busy!!

Daddy grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone!!! We love our daddy.

Mattie

Mattie didnt care, she dug right into her cake and there was no washing her off. Dad and I had to put her in the bath tub for a major cleaning.

abbie

Abbie did not feel well. She is so much like her dad. She does not like alot of people around.

Abbie and Mattie's First Birthday