Day 14-16

Day 14 - a picture of your family

Day 15 - first 10 songs to play on your iPod
Well I don't have an iPod but I have pandora on my phone and according to my mom it plays 24/7. This is not exactly accurate, but close. I love music. I also love to sing but it's really not one of my gifts :)
1. Back in Time
2. Upside down
3. The Best Day (one of my favorites!)
4. Dont You Wanna Stay
5. If This Was a Movie
6. Two is Better Than One
7. Yellow
8. All Around the World
9. Call Me Maybe
10. The Joker

Day 16 - another picture of yourself

Day 13

Day 13- a letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Oh my...well here goes nothing

You will never know how much I care about you. Partially because I can't find the words and partially because you are too focused on other things to find out. Do you know that you are in my thoughts most of the day, that I worry about the things that you worry about, that I hurt for you when you hurt? Do you know I would do almost anything to keep you safe and happy? It makes me angry to see what you have to deal with, but choices were made that I cannot change and even so I will love you anyways. I have never missed anyone in my life the way I miss you. I miss your smile, your hugs, the quiet times when it's ok to just sit and "be." I miss the companionship and laughter. I miss my friend. Your words and actions are like a slap in the face, but I will love you anyways because it's the only thing I know to do. I will love you through this and anything that comes after, even if that means I have to love you from afar or through the hurt. I will always, always love you anyways.

Days 6-12

Day 6- favorite superhero
Hmmm....super heroes have never really been my thing (seems to run in the family), but I guess I would choose Piper from Charmed. Is she a superhero?? I don't know but I love that show and her! She keeps her family together and fights evil all at the same time.

Day 7- a picture of someone who has had the biggest impact on you.
Well that's an easy one....Cal! Cal has changed my life in every way possible. He has taught me lessons, changed the way I think and made me a mom. What could have a greater impact than that??

Day 8- short term goals for this month

PASS

Day 9- something you're proud of in the last few days
I am proud that I am really learning to become the kind of friend that not only listens but shares, too. I am proud that I am really pushing myself to trust others more and that I am trying to create a balance in my life between work, Cal and me time.

Day 10- songs I listen to when hyped, mad, sad, happy, bored

Hyped- I'm not sure what that even means
Mad- Rockstar
Sad- Hard Candy Christmas
Happy- Taylor Swift Pandora
Bored- Hold Me or Good Morning

Day 11- another picture of you and your friends

How many friends can one person have??

Day 12- how you found out about blogging and why you made one.

My sister told me about blogging and I blog because I have a lot to say and I love to write. Kelly Stewart-Porter was my 10th grade English teacher and she taught me that you don't have to write according to a formula to be a good writer. She was one of the greatest teachers ever!! Anyways writing this blog lets me say what I have to say and if people read it they do and if not that's ok too!

Day 5

A picture of somewhere you have been

This is a picture of Lake Ouachita, but it is representative of all of Arkansas. I love the mountains, rivers, lakes and parks of Arkansas. I love the slower way of life and that we can get there relatively easily! Cal has some of his greatest adventures there and I have some great memories of just mommy and Cal time!

Day 4

A habit I wish I didn't have...

Hmmmm....I wish I didn't obsess over things. It is a terrible habit that I have. One little comment and I can read a whole novel into it. So that is the habit I wish I didn't have....there are plenty of others, but that's a big one!!

Day 3

A picture of me and my friends.

Well I am pretty serious about limiting the people involved in my life so here are a few of my closest friends...

Carrie and Angelina! Lisa was sick that day, but she should be there too!!

Happy Day 3!

Hen, Ben and Lin

I have only two cousins on my mom's side of the family. Frank is a rock star (literally) in New York City and Lindsey is a teacher in Shreveport. She has two little boys, Bennett and Henry. I got to meet Henry for the first time last weekend and he is almost one! He is a precious baby boy and so huggable! Bennett is a busy 3 year old and was giving people titles. He told mom she could be a princess and mom said she was the queen. Bennett said "you are noooot". It was great to see and meet my family! I love them and Cal and Bennett are so sweet together! Cal loves to play with children that are younger than him! Here are a few pictures of Hen, Ben and Lin:

Day 2

The meaning behind my blog name....

Well it's pretty simple...my sister came up with it. ;) I wanted to name it "just a boy and his mom" but that was taken. Cal and I go lots of places and for as long as I can remember my parents have said "it's time to hit the trail" every time we go on vacation.
So that's that...happy trails to you!

Day 1

Day one day one God made light when there was none... Oh wait wrong topic. Day one...15 facts about me
1. I LOVE to make lists. I have lists for everything...qualities in people, goals to achieve, projects to try....facts about myself :)
2. I am a planner. This goes along with #1. I get very frustrated when things do not go according to the plans I have made in my head.
3. I look forward to birthdays because then I am 20 years older than Cal and I feel like people look down on me less for those few months.
4. I am a Certified First Responder in the state of Louisiana.
5. I worked on a drug rehab unit for a year and absolutely loved it!
6. I was on the Dean's List my first semester of college and emailed the certificate to my high school English teacher who told me I would never make it in the real world.
7. There are some parts of my life that I have never shared with another person and I plan to keep it that way.
8. My friend Jill started calling me Auntie CoCo while teasing Carrie one day. At first I hated it but Carrie says her potential future children can't call me Lovely so now I'm going with Auntie CoCo.
9. I love, love, love babies....especially when I get to send them home with someone else!
10. I don't have a middle name and felt kind of bad for giving Cal one. My mom and sister don't have middle names and used their maiden names as their middle names. If I ever get married I don't plan to change my last name. (that's 3 facts in one!!)
11. I got my ears pierced on my 18th birthday as a total act of defiance...I'm allergic to almost every kind of earring...serves me right I guess
12. I read the entire "Little House" series on the way to Colorado in the 6th grade. I have read it 4 times since and been to Laura Ingalls house twice. I love everything about it!!!
13. I can block out memories and totally convince myself they did not happen when I want to. I can also remember things in vivid detail.
14. I love animals except cows and horses...and any type of large water animal or reptile.
15. I have an entire fictional world in my head that I have had for as long as I can remember....it's weird I know, but it makes me happy.
So that's my 15 fact list. It's kind of fun to think about!! Happy listing my friends!!

I guess I can try...

So my sister is doing this "30 Days of Me" challenge and I guess I will try it. I can promise you I will not do them all, but here are the original 30: (I have noted the ones I already choose to skip)
Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02- The meaning behind your blog/site/user name
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why (no thank you)
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about blogging and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently (too many tears)
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play (don't have an iPod)
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future (that's so funny)
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

So here we go...30ish days of me and yes I will cheat and do some of these in one day. :)

But are you safe?

It is amazing to me how quickly I forgot the intensely sick feeling I get when Cal is very sick. There is a complete loss of control and the fact that I truly cannot help my child some days really sinks in. I also forgot how many people surrounded us with love and prayers. I got so many texts, messages and comments asking how we were, were we home yet, is everything ok. It was great and I showed them all to Cal and his shiny sick boy eyes were happy!
I am a great person to be around in a crisis. I say this not to brag, but because many people wonder why I do not react. I don't really know, but I am pretty good at staying very, very calm in the midst of a scary or intense situation. After the crisis has passed and you are supposed to deal with what happened- not so good at that!! :) Last night I got a text from a friend "are you home yet?" Of course my answer was no and in typical non processing fashion I tried to change the subject. The next message was "But are you safe?" that almost broke the "no crying in front of the baby" rule. I am not sure why those 4 little words meant so much to me. Maybe because they saw through the subject change, or they meant someone else really cared, maybe I was just tired...
I am safe, we are loved, and I am so happy to be coming home today. Thank you all for your love and prayers. It is appreciated more than you can know and I'm starting to wonder if we should give up camping...

Who would you be?

Who would you be if you could be anybody or anything? Would you choose a different family, job, home? I'm not sure what I would choose, but growing up, like most people, I thought I would pick a different family if I could. I'm sure glad I couldn't!! Here's who I wouldn't be if I had traded families:

A people watcher- growing up I didn't quite fit in my family...they are all athletic and I am well...not. Because of that I went a lot of places that I had no interest in being and learned to watch and observe people to pass the time. I still love to people watch and add commentary to what I am watching.

An explorer- both of my grandmothers are independent souls. My granny taught me I could do anything I wanted to even if I was alone and a girl. My grandma told me stories of the Ozarks, Idaho and Washington. That combined to make me love to travel especially on my own in a car.

A history lover- my dad always watched PBS when I was growing up. I hated history shows, but he could make history sound so exciting and always taught me that part of what makes you who you are is where you came from.

A listener- my sister has always been a talker, this made me a listener. She never says exactly what she means though so I learned to listen to what she wasn't saying to understand what she really wanted me to know. I still love to listen to people tell their life stories and hear what they aren't saying but really feel.

A lover- my mom loves better than anyone I know...it makes me crazy sometimes, but she taught me to be faithful to friends (haven't always been good at that one), loyal to those I love and always a protector. I don't take on many people, but the people I love, I love as much as I know how. I have no middle ground...it's all in or all out.

That's who I wouldn't be...who would you be? More importantly, who will you choose to be? Tell the people in your life that made you who you are what they mean to you. We are only promised today. Happy Sunday, my friends! We are off to visit the Ozarks!

Year 27 in pictures...

27 has been a fun and exciting year!  I can't wait to see what 28 has in store, but here are some of things we did in my 27th year...

 My birthday last year

Cal and Lemm Sir built a tree house

Met Frank and band for lunch while they were on their tour.

Carrie moved into her new house and made it a home!

Learned that people can take your belongings, but can't take the memories that went with them.

Cal started the 2nd grade.

We completed another year of soccer.

After a particularly hard week at school, Cal and I went to Junction and learned that time away is just what you need some days.  Missed a day of school, shed a few tears, and came home all the better.

Did some bird watching in West Texas.

Went on a trail ride in Livingston, where Cal convinced the trail guide to make the horses run.  He was on cloud 9 and I screamed like a girl!

Won 2nd place at the Fall Festival Bake Off!

Adopted Madison into the "crew"

This tiny baby turned 8 years old!!

We spent Thanksgiving at Millwood State Park and made some great new friends!

Finally got to go to Historic Washington State Park!!  AMAZING!

Hiked lots of miles with my mom during Christmas on the mountain.

Carved my first ham!

Learned that Cal and I are so much alike that sometimes it's best to just walk away.

Got a chainsaw and got it stuck on the first day!

Completed Basketball season at Upwards.  Probably won't be doing that again!  :)

Became even better friends with my sister.

Adopted Lisa in the "crew"

Learned how to make a homemade King Cake and turned one into a birthday cake!

Brought home a piece of family history - Granny's piano

Saw REBA!!!!!

Lake Catherine State Park with Cal.

Went on my first plane trip without family and first in the last 10+ years...and survived!

Hatched Butterflies!

Went to the beach and loved it!

I had big plans for my 27th year!  Some things I completed, some I did not.  In all things God was good and walked with us each step of the way.  My cup runneth over, and after looking at all the great things we did this year my cup is pouring over!  

The Blogger Robber

What's a Blogger Robber you say. A Blogger Robber looks like this...

Her name is Carrie Baehr. She is my sister and the queen of Blog Robbing. So what is it exactly? Every good picture I take is followed with "Hey send me that picture for my blog" Generally, I will then receive text messages to follow that up like "have you uploaded those pictures yet?" or "where are my pictures you took today?" While it is quite annoying to have a Blogger Robber for a sister...she has a few good qualities too. Since she is doing a top ten thing on her blog, I will give you the top ten reasons I love my Blogger Robber sister....

10. Her name is fun to say...Carrie Lemm Baehr (pronounced Bear).
9. She finds the perfect card for every occasion and always gives multiple ones because she can't choose.
8. She guards her family better than the government guards the Pentagon.
7. She picked a winner for a husband!
6. She wants her home to be a haven for others and works to achieve that goal.
5. She is an outstanding secret keeper.
4. She laughs at all of my jokes even though sometimes there is a delay.
3. She loves me no matter what!
2. We have the best talks together even if it's just on the phone.
1. She tries everyday to improve her walk with God. Even when things are hard she tries to find a way to bring it back to Him.

Be sure to tell the Blogger Robber in your life that you love them....even when they steal all your good pictures! :)