Is this thing on?

I'm sure that's the question all 3 of my followers have been asking.

Most of you know the month of February has been topsy turvy in the GRITS household with my trip to Nashville for Blissdom that was immediately followed by a week's vacation at Disney World. Which was immediately followed by the acute illness and loss of our dear family pet.

I am finally getting back on the blogging trail and already working on a few upcoming posts (can't you feel the excitement....or maybe it's gas?!).

Anyway, for now I am asking you to keep this very special group of people in your prayers as they have answered the call to serve the Lord on a mission trip to Kenya. Pray for them and for their families they leave behind.


You can follow the entire team through pictures, blog posts and videos here:

This trip includes one of my very favorite bloggers, Kristen from We Are THAT Family. Follow her journey here:

Follow the team on Twitter HERE


Thanks and see y'all real soon.

Wordless Wednesday-- Tea Cup Torture

For more Wordless Wednesday posts click HERE

Unconditional Love

She was born on September 20, 1995.

Her mother was brown. Her father was yellow. However, she and all her brothers and sisters were black.

Our story together began when she was about 8 weeks old. She was hand picked and I brought her home in a box.

I gave her the name "Bailey". She also answered to just "B". Her voracious appetite earned her the nickname "Pigetha".

She quickly became my four legged sidekick, confidant and 70 pound lap dog.

She loved swimming, playing fetch, car rides and neighborhood walks. The squirrels and chipmunks feared her.

She was a gentle giant with my children from the day they came into the world. And she had a knack for keeping their faces clean and helping them finish that one last bite of whatever was in their hand. They loved her and it was more than obvious how much she loved them.

For the last 14 years she has given me and my family sheer joy, affection, and complete unconditional love.

After a sudden illness we had to say goodbye to our dear Bailey, this past Friday. I think it was the hardest decision I've had to make, ever.

As I sit here and type this, I look at the the place where her bed and bowls have always been. Today those places are now empty.

The backyard is empty.

The place she slept in the hall is empty.

Her barking when I pull up in the driveway is silent.

I keep looking and listening for her.....she is not there.



My heart aches.....because Bailey took a piece of it with her on Friday.

(Please pray for our family....we are struggling)

Be back soon

Y'all I went to Blissdom....had a blast, learned a lot, got my picture taken with Harry Connick, Jr.

I will write a post about it soon.

Got home from Blissdom Saturday night and left Sunday morning for here:



So, I've been a bit preoccupied. But stay tuned.....please.

Nash-Vegas Bound

Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Betcha didn't know

How many of you knew that Mario and Luigi, of Nintendo fame, actually lived in early Roman times???

Look, it's right here in Lego-Man's 5th grade history book:






I had NO idea!

It's in the book

I am not a teacher. For a reason.


It's not my calling. I recognized that early and I'm eternally grateful for those who do this job day in and day out. Thank you!

And nothing makes me feel more like a teacher than the dreaded HOMEWORK!

We have been up to our eyeballs in book reports this weekend. I'm not talking about your standard, run of the mill book report. Noooooo, we've had to get all fancy this time.

Lego-Man has a "Cereal Box" book report based on a mystery book; and the Princess has ye ol' diorama from a biography. Just imagine the fun we've been having, if you can. I'm in a fun stupor!

We had to change the boy's book midstream, when we realized the plot of his Hardy Boy's book had to do with smuggling DRUGS. He had his cereal named "Smuggler's Surprise" with the cereal in shapes of bottles and pills. Umm, yea. Fortunately he just finished another Hardy Boy's book, which was about missing coins that were melted. So we are going with that one. Anybody want some "Corn Crunch" Cereal, complete with coin shaped marshmallows that melt in your mouth?!

When I found out the Princess had to do her diorama on a biography, I offered up a list of possibilities......Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, etc. In one fail swoop she shot down all my suggestions with one sentence, "Mom, Taylor Swift is a REAL PERSON too!"

Seriously. I mean, what was I thinking?? Of course, Taylor Swift. Duh. She's lived on the planet 20 years and done what.....made two albums and been dissed on national television by Kanye West.

I was hoping the Princess' teacher might help me with the battle of the biographies, but no such luck. The book was approved, so Taylor Swift it is. Just look for the box with glitter letters, a CD, cowboy boots, guitars and a Barbie doll dressed like Taylor Swift.


I can hardly wait for this week's homework assignments!

Let's Take a Vote

Last week's craze on facebook was changing your profile photo to one that fit into the "blast from the past" category.

Easy peasy.

I produced this fabulous photo from my soccer star days back in the early 80's:



Oh how I miss THAT body.

Moving along.


This week I noticed people changing their profile photos, yet again, with this little note attached:

"This week is 'Doppelgänger Week.' During the week please change your profile picture to someone famous (actor, musician, athlete, etc.) you have been told you look like."

Phhhffft, I've never really been told I looked like any celebrity or musician. However, I *was* told that mine and Michael Jordan's basketball styles were very similar or not.


I thought back to that one time, in college, where one of my friends told me I looked like a certain celebrity from back in the 70's.


Me in Kindergarten (and thank you Mrs. Mayhall for making sure the comb marks in my bangs were just so):




Yep, that's Davy Jones from the Monkees.

Celebrity Match? You decide.

Tick, Tick, Tick....

That is the sound of the clock.....time is ticking away before I leave for the blogging community's party conference of the year, BLISSDOM!

I am getting nervous.

I spontaneously signed myself up to join 499 other bloggers for three days of blogging info overload? Seriously.

Did I fall and hit my head?

Why?

I.Have.No.Idea.

While the people who know me well would disagree, I am an introvert. New places, new situations and mingling with a roomful of people I don't know makes me queasy. Nevertheless, Thursday morning I am headed to Nashville's Opryland Hotel to get my Bliss on. There I will be rooming with one of the fabulous gals I have met online this past year, Dedra.

I will be mingling amongst some of the best bloggers, including one of my personal favorites, Kristen from We Are THAT Family. She's my 'Fro Me to You friend. I hope to meet her and pray I don't just stand there with my mouth open! I'm also looking forward to meeting other of members of the blogosphere and a few of my twitter friends, including Jessica of Muthering Heights and Jill of the Diaper Diaries.

The excitement factor overshadowed the nervous factor last week when I found this little Blissdom "happy" on my doorstep:

Right now my mind is worried about what I will wear and will I find my way there. I'm sure as time gets closer I will be more worried about not having any clue what I have gotten myself into. Oh well.

Stay tuned....

Stuck in My Head

Pants on the ground,
Pants on the ground;

Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground...