My sweet Oma

I'm leaving for Texas in the am...gonna go love on my Oma!!! Oma??? No, it's not a disease!!! Oma means Grandmother in German...which she is...my grandmother & German!!! She is an amazing woman & still sharp as a tack at her tender age of 93!!! I can't wait to hear her spunk & see her sweet face!! She will amaze you with her mind & feistiness!!! Hmmm? I know she didn't pass that down to me! This woman is a big part of who I am today!!! My brother & I used to spend a great deal of time with her & my Papa, in their sweet little town of Smithville, TX (where Hope Floats was filmed, plus a new movie with Brad Pitt that hasn't been released). My grandparents have loved this town & this town has loved them back. They were quite the movers & shakers in their day and everyone knew/knows them!!!! I am proud to call them my grandparents & so thankful for the many incredible memories that I have for them & this adorable little town. You know the kind...one stop light...maybe. I always found it funny that they had a "Dairy King" & a "Burger Queen". My Oma, however, does not know that I am coming & I hope that she is just as excited by the surprise as I am!!! Plus, I have the bonus of seeing my Mom & brother. My brother just moved to Austin from a multi-year stint in San Diego & now he wants mine & my mom's help decorating his new pad. This should be fun!!!! We 3 Musketeers haven't been together, just the 3 of us in way too many years. I have a feeling there will be plenty of laughter & plenty of movies!!! Can't wait!!!! See ya'll when I get back!!!!!

Oma entered me into their local Jamboree each year & made some amazing costumes! We usually won!!!

Bachelor, baby

Exciting!!!!! How fun was this week? More girls go & fewer stay! I just wish that Jake would've listened to the girl with the green eye shadow (who knew they still made that color)...she knows what she's talking about!!! It was pretty wild to watch so many go home unexpected this week. Maybe he is there for the right reasons!? I'm beginning to say "hmmm?" Is this for ratings? Is it really scripted? I sure hope not!! Say it ain't so!!! I sure hope the spoilers are wrong...however, so far, everything has happened just as predicted. We'll just have to keep watching & see what exciting things happen next at the "most dramatic rose ceremony ever"!!!

Birthin' babies

Today started out with a phone call...the kind of phone call I live for!! Kristi was in labor & I was on my way!!!! Woo Hoo!!

For those of you who know me, know that I am somewhat of a pregnancy stalker. I loved pregnancy & I love pregnant women & their families. I was very thankful that Kristi had removed the restraining order just in time for me to help with the baby. I LOVE birthin' babies!!!! For me, it is such a blessing & an absolute treat that couples allow me to share in this most special of days! I thoroughly enjoy myself!!! The day passes in a flash (for me)...shhh, don't tell the mom in labor I said that!

This day was especially special, as this was one of our very 1st babysitters having her 1st baby! Now my kids can babysit for her...how bizarre is that? Kristi has been in our lives as long as I can remember & she is absolutely precious...we LOVE her!!! Andrew's not too bad either! :0) I love this sweet couple & know they are going to be amazing parents together!!!

Baby Adelaide (Addy) Grace was born today!!!! She weighed 7 lbs & 7 ozs!! And, if you know Kristi...you wonder where in the world did Addy fit??? Congratulations, Kristi & Andrew!!! Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this joyous occasion!! Love ya'll!!!

JDRF awards

This past Tuesday we were invited to the JDRF Awards banquet where we received 2 awards...Best t-shirt & Gold Achievement Award (teams that raised over $5000). We were very excited as this is only our 2nd year to participate & we have won these 2 awards both years. The t-shirt award really belongs to our friend Marian Gilbert, who takes my ideas & turns them into perfection!!! Thank you, Marian!!! We only get braggin' rights...but, hey...braggin' rights is braggin' rights!!! For this competitive girl, I'll take it!!!!

the winning t-shirts on the day of the walk

Why I'm not posting

I know that you have been lying awake at night wondering..."Why hasn't Missy been posting?" "What did she think about this week's Bachelor? American Idol? Chuck?" "Where is she?" Don't fret! Have no fear...I'm here!!! However, a bit banged up!

Last Saturday I was "wrastlin" gators & just before the death roll.....OR, I tripped over one of our ankle height dogs. Whichever you believe is fine! I put the pain off for several days & finally went in for an x-ray on Tuesday. I have what they believe to be a snuff-box fracture. The only bad thing about this particular injury is that the break usually takes 2 weeks to show up on x-ray. My x-ray looked fine initially, but with all the symptoms & the way in which it was injured led them to believe it is, in fact, broken. I will go back in 2 weeks & have it re-evaluated...in the mean time, I get to wear this fun temporary cast. It is hard & molded to my arm, however, I can remove it to take showers & stuff. Don't cry...I'll be fine!

This injury, of course, did not keep me from partaking in my usual television indulgences! I loved Chuck...that show makes me giggle...I LOVE Chuck!!! American Idol made me scratch my head at some of the people who show up for this show...are you kidding me? No more tiptoeing through the tulips for me & I will most definitely not be wearing my pants on the ground!!!! Now, onto Bachelor Hubba Hubba...I applaud you, Jake!!!! You killed 2 birds with one stone...you got rid of the gamer/tease & the bunny boiler all in one fell swoop!!! Yeehaw! Well done!!! I can't wait to see the upcoming weeks...even though I read a spoiler of who wins. I sure hope the spoilers are wrong!!!! This past week has also seen the return of Project Runway...see I told ya, if it's a reality show, I'm probably watching it!!! I have DVR'd 24 & haven't had the chance to watch it yet, but I'm pretty sure Jack Bauer is in some impossible situation in which he only has 24 hours to solve. All this while being disavowed & having to save the world secretly & out of the eyes of the law. Or, something like that! And, I absolutely can't wait for the return of Burn Notice tonight!!! I can't wait to ride along with Michael, Fi, & Sam this season...another show that's cool & makes me giggle!

Just FYI...I don't ignore my family to watch these shows. As most of you know, I am unable to go to bed before 3am (due to diabetes stuff) every night...so, I DVR everything & watch it all after my peeps are in bed. Once again, don't fret!

trouble posting comments

apparently people are having difficulties posting to the blog...1st you need a google account (username, etc) & for some reason you need to submit the comment a 2nd time. for some reason it never takes it the first time, but if you click it again, it takes it. don't ask me...i dunno?!

Frousins

ok, so here goes my first "guest blogger" post on Home Sweet Home! i am cindy, missy's sister-in-law. so, yes, that means i grew up as the little sister of the famous michael avant - the weirdest, funniest brother a girl could have (have you seen his dance moves??). clearly, missy and i are uniquely linked through this guy. sometime i'll tell the story, complete with pictures, about my first impressions of missy and how we became more than family, but friends.

however, today's post started with an after school conversation between me and my 3 kiddos last week. we were talking about friends. my 10 year old daughter tori said, "my very first friend in the whole world was haley". and i got to thinking, she's right!



as you can see by the pic above, tori and haley hit it off right from the start. as they got older, they started calling each other on the phone for long talks, and every visit was filled with LOTs of girl fun. missy and i love it when our families get together because it's so easy for us. the girls disappear and we don't hear from them again until they're hungry! here is a precious shot of T and H reading with papa.



lest we leave out the boys, let me be sure and mention that tate and lee have their own history. an adventure filled history of father/son campouts and many, many games - those are two gamer boys for sure. here is a cute little boy pic of those two. my how they've changed since then!



interestingly, my family and michael and missy's family consists of an oldest boy, followed by 2 daughters. and with their ages close enough to foster friendship, over the years, we have named them The Frousins. more than cousins, more than friends...frousins! it has been so fun to watch the group dynamic change, especially with the girls. first it was just haley and tori. then came julia. you might think the older girls would exclude the newcomer, but i have always been so impressed with the way haley and tori generously include the younger girls.



and the Frousins live on...now completed by emma, who has been welcomed with open arms by H, T, and J. i have heard talk that one day we will eat in a restaurant named Frousins. i've also heard that one day we'll go see a great chick band in concert: The Frousins. for now, i think we'll stick with frousin princess parties, frousin barbie marathons, frousin swimming, frousin mountain trips, frousin beach trips, and so on....but i for one am secretly hoping that the chick band thing works out too!

didn't think cindy would mind, but i just thought i'd add a couple of my favorite frousin pics, too! m

look carefully...how many girls do you see asleep in this bed? hint...4