SOPHIE SAYS,....

and don't be afraid of............
or....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!

In case you're wondering.....

what Ms. Lilli has been reading lately......Why....................just LOOKY!!
She's been staying with me for two whole days and we are having a blast catching up on the bestseller books!!! heheheheheh!!

Goodies from the party!

Besides roasted pork loin and gravy, jambalaya, stuffed potatoes, fresh green beans wrapped in bacon, homemade yeast rolls, fresh veggie tray and fruit tray with dips....they mostly liked this lil number. Huge seasoned shrimp with remoulade sauce!

and the cupcake table!

A few now...a few later!!

These are some of the pics I got early before the party started. Truly? It became so hectic with the weather, that I got just a lil bit freaked and didn't get all the night shots I wanted, but I did get a few. Will add those later. And yes Jane! I'm owning up to defeat....boo boo hiss hiss! Our LSU tigers got beat Saturday by Jane's Auburn Tigers and I didn't even get to watch. But better Auburn than Alabama in my book.....(sorry to any bama fans out there....I just have a tid bit of dislike for alabama's football leadership!!) And yes.....Auburn's quarterback is awesome!!!! I will be getting to my end of our bet, Jane, by week's end!!

this is where the table set up supposed to be....out in the yard right beyond the food tent......

but this is where it ended up being!

How lucky can a guy get?

We had the most amazing engagement celebration on Saturday night and just look at the new family that josh is becoming a part of!! They are the sweetest and most fun people ever......we feel very blessed that our boy is going to have even more love in his life because of them!Will be back later to add pics from party.......it was really fun, altho as we all know....they seldom go off without a hitch. EX: after being completely set up and me being so happy with how it all looked, 20 min before guests began to arrive, it all had to be moved to a covered carport because of major storms moving in within 30 min! But we did, and the food was delicious and the decorations were wonderful and the kids had a blast together. And really? What really matters most?? The way it was supposed to be? Or the time spent together gathered around sharing the love? We all know exactly what matters the most!! Will put some pics together later when my bones have time to rest!!

It Ain't Purty......

but these are my swollen, dirty, exhausted tired ol' feets tonight!! The yard was mowed and blown and the tent for the party was all done by 9:30 am...which is when I went to work! I only cussed for about two hours, trying to hang lights in the tent, before my buddy, smk, showed up to help. Thank the Good Lord above!! I have a college degree. I have taught high school. I have raised three beautiful sons. But for the life of me.....my brain will not function when it comes to plugging lines of electricity together. There is just no room in there to compute how to string lights together to make them work. Hence, thank God for my friend! And she brought a picnic lunch to boot!! So by 7pm......all is beautiful! The only thing left to do tomorrow is to do the table decorating and the food tables and hope that my babyboy and his sweet fiance will have smiles on their faces when they're surrounded by all of their family and friends in such a beautiful setting!! Here is a before pic.....before the actual decorating begins at 8am tomorrow.............trying to keep a running track for hailey's wedding journal!

...and the countdown begins...

...until the engagement party at Rio Bonito!
Lights are being strung.....food is being planned.....tablescapes are all in order....and flowers are coming in all over the place!! If you have any connections with the Big Guy, would you please make a deal for no rain?!!! I'm putting it all on the line... I'm doing it all outside with no backup plan.........cuz, well...........there really is no backup plan in Uncertain!! My car has been the home for party decorations for weeks......finally on Saturday, I unloaded!and yes! no party in the south would be complete without a teevee set up on the deck to watch LSU, hopefully, topple Auburn! (sorry jane!) We're both undefeated so it should be a good one!! Going to be so much fun.............will take millions of pics to share next week!

Time to crank up the 4-wheeler!

and go explorin'!! sophiejane and I love this time of yr.....cool mornings, blue skiies and leaves that are doing their thing! Green to yellow to gold to orange to red. Was going to do a lil dustin' and cleanin' but NADA.....the day is too beautiful to stay inside. Camera is ready and the 4-wheeler is full of gas..........Off We Go!!!

Who Knew??

...how cute Lilli would be at her table!

This was a post I made waaaay back in March about a lil treasure I found for a future granddaughter.......no one could have ever convinced me how much that little girl would steal my heart OR how I would melt in her hands! Nor could I have ever imagined how cute she would be at her tea table!!

Or how much she is starting to look like her daddy in my tree swing!

Or that I ever imagined a grandbebe on the rocking horse that "I" played on as a bebe!
OK. I've satisfied my Lilli fever for awhile. Will quit bragging for a bit. A small bit!!

I have to say it just one more time.....

I have the most awesome family EVAH!!!!!! Last night we all enjoyed a festive Engagement Party for Josh and Hailey given by friends of her mom and dad's. The night was so fun and everytime I looked around the room, I was blown away by how gorgeous all of my children are. There were several times during the night when I just wanted time to stand still.....so I could just watch them having such a good time together. They all make my heart so warm and the pride I feel for them sometimes makes it feel like that ol' heart will jump right outa my chest!! Just look at 'em!!!(this was a grown-up party so ms. Lilli had her first babysitter experience...she did just fine!!)
Up next on the wedding party agenda? A very casual engagement party, numeral deux, hosted by my boyfriend and I at Rio Bonito in two weeks!! Be back tomorrow with a pic of the invitation......think lanterns, jewel colors, outside under a tent lit by a thousand lights!!!

Love Me Up Some 'Prizes!!

Don'tcha just love getting "stuff" for doing things you love?? Me too! So, imagine how happy I was when I got the email telling me I had won third place in the Carribean Travel & Life magazine photo contest! There are 5 categories to compete in and I won in the 'Anything Goes' category. It's kind of a hodgepodge of any type of image in the caribbean waters. My picture was of a man who paddled to our boat several times during our time in Roatan, Honduras to sell us fresh lobster and conch. In the picture below, he is actually cleaning the conch shell to sell us the meat for dinner......does the word 'fresh' mean anything here? You bet it does!!! We also got the shell to bring home for a momento of our meal!
Out of 2300 entries, I feel very pleased to have placed and published. AND to win a digital imaging package, a camera bag, a Gorillapod, gift certificates and a CD of Caribbean music from Putumayo. We adore caribbean music and also buy some when we're in new places. This one should be fun!! Like I said earlier.........SO FUN to win prizes just for doing what I love!!

I've been muzzled!

Mucho posts to make but my card reader(to retrieve my pics) is not co-operating. It's gorgeous Fall, the days are bee-u-tiful here, ms. Lilli is coming to spend the night tomorrow and all is right with the world!! Be back as soon as I quit cussing my card reader!! :)

Guess what it's time for?

LILLI LOVE!!

and what one thing could be better than lilli love for her yaya??

a mother's love for her daughter!!

"A daughter is a mother's gender partner, her closest ally in the family confederacy, and extension of herself." ~author unknown~