The Bright Eyed Brunette

Me and my girls enjoying some quality river time. Makena helped out a lot with maneuvering the boat while Carl was getting the tube ready. Mr. Studly  The three best kids.. ever! Check this out...it is truly a summer miracle, Carlie and Trey rode the tube and didn't kill each other!! And one more! Makena got to be the lookout El Cap-i-tan and Carlie We had a fun afternoon at the river even if we did get a late start and it rained a few times. We stuck it out and made it work because we knew this would be the last time for a while, at least, that we would be going out on the boat all at one time. With camp next week, then Makena's surgery, and Carlie starting school on July first, this was going to be it for a good while.  We are hopeful that Makena's surgery goes well and we are able to make a quick trip to the beach from a Thursday thru Sunday in August (so Carlie can go with us). It may not be ideal, and heck, it may not ...

Happy Father's Day to my two favorite men! Words can never Express how much I love them. My dad has taught me so many valuable lessons in life. He also tried to teach me and my sister how to change a tire and push mow the yard but we weren't very interested in trying. Many words of advice went unheeded but hindsight is 20/20 and I wish I had listened more.  He always taught me that if you put Jesus first, everything else would fall into place. When he was diagnosed with cancer last year I was scared to lose him. It has been a rough year, but thankfully he is cancer free. That little six letter word has a way of changing you forever. I am thankful to still have him!  Carl is such a good dad. He steps up to do whatever we need him to do. He loves with such a big heart. He keeps us laughing and can fix pretty much anything.  He would do anything for his babies and  works so hard to give us everything we have. This has been a rough year for us but with God's...

My Makena Faith About three weeks ago she reinjured her back diving off of the diving board. We went for another MRI and discovered that her L4 and L5 disks were back out. That same week they scheduled surgery for the following week. She has been in considerable pain that is only relieved when she is asleep (with the help of pain meds) but as soon as she wakes up, she is hurting again. Well Carl, Trey, and Carlie were all sick with something during this time and you guessed it..Makena came down with it 2 days before surgery. We had to reschedule it and the next date available was June 28th. Since it is so far away we elected to have an epidural steroid injection last Friday (hoping that it would give her some relief...it has not!). Just pray for my sweet girl, please! She is tired of the pain and it kills me to watch her go through it. We have been blessed to have Carlie rejoin our family! Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating but I am glad she has been around more over the past ...

It's that time of year again: piano recital!! May is one of those months like December. All the things crammed into one month....only I get no gifts and there is no Christmas bonus!! Trey-man did an awesome job playing "All My Hope" and some song I had never heard before. He memorized both of his pieces and he was gifted with a trophy, a shirt that said "piano is my sport" and some music to work on this summer (Stairway to Heaven). I am thrilled that he likes piano so much and that he enjoys playing in church. I hope he will always use his talents for the Lord. Eliie Kate got to be Trey's Cheerleader  My mind is still spinning with the events that I was talking about in my previous post. I'm doing my best to be present, but more times that not it just feels like I'm going through the motions. Today it was nice to keep my mind on other things.  Good job, Trey Landon! Much Love, Beth

I'm going to start this post with a disclaimer: I am coming off of one of the worst weeks of my adult life. Just about everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. I am "preaching " to myself here and I am only sharing this in my blog for two reasons: 1. I pray that God will be able to use my story to help someone. 2. I want to be able to look back on this time and see how God was working (because I know he is) things out for our family. So like I said, terrible, awful week. I am not going to share the first event because I am just not ready to talk about it. The second one is equally as awful but not as personal. Makena will be having her second back surgery in 4 1/2 months. Yeah....let that sink in. The pain is unbearable for her. Last Monday she jumped off of the diving board and immediately knew it was bad. Her description was that it felt like she "hit a brick wall". We were finally able to get her an appointment to see her neurosurgeon on Thursday. He...

She was one of 105 graduates, graduating on this day. Walking across the stage and getting that hard-earned diploma! She was ecstatic. The Five Mungers Sista, Sista And little bro had to get in on the action. Carl, baby Mattox, Carlie, and Aunt Wendy Aunt Jeannie and Carlie Papaw TR, Carlie, and Nana Carlie's favorite person....Brent! My parents were at the graduation, they just left as soon as it was over to get us a table at The Rock House, which wouldn't take reservations, so we just had to hurry and get there. My niece and one of my nephews also came. Jamie had to stay home with Eli because he had the stomach virus. Our whole crew. We love these people more than they know. What a week! Carlie had to go to the doctor at the beginning of the week because her tonsils were the size of golf balls and she couldn't swallow. Turns out she had a bad case of strep. The doctor said it was one of the w...

Ah, Mother's Day...a time when we go out shopping for that one special gift that is supposed sum up the amount of love and gratitude we have for our mothers. There is no gift that could even come close to showing how much I love my mom. Meet my mom: She is the best. She is the most selfless person I know. Not long after I was born, my parents separated and eventually got a divorce (but got back together and remarried within a year). My mom has taken care of me from day one. She made sure I was fed, clothed, bathed, and had all of the love and attention I needed. She also took me to church so I could hear how much Jesus loves me and eventually accept Him as my Savior.  Her mothering didn't stop with me and my sister though. She loves my kids well. She has always been more than willing to help out in any way she could. Now she is also taking on a new role of helping "mother" her own mom. It isn't anything full time but I know that she will do whatever she...