May Showers

I take loads of pictures of my kids...who doesn't, right? The sad thing is that often time I forget about images I have made - that is until I go back through some older folders & rehash the past... A favorite pastime of mine!!

4th of July

It's no secret that our little town really knows how to do up the Fourth of July! Once again, we enjoyed the festivities, paid homage to our country & managed to not lose an eye due to fireworks! All-in-all a great 4th of July!

Blast!

While visiting my 'rents a week or so ago we took the kids to visit the Space & Rocket Center - loads of fun! We had a "blast"!

It's happened....

Before

After

All in one week, my boy learned to ride his bike and lost TWO teeth (in one day I might add!) The good thing, or bad thing however you look at it, is that he had two giant teeth waiting in the wings to replace his 1st (and 2nd) tooth loss...so you can't even really tell that anything new & exciting has happened! I do know this...we really should start saving for orthodontics - who cares about a 529 account, he can always get a scholarship or student loan for college - but who's going to pay for braces???


**for Granna & the Aunts who may care - I've updated the Bicycle Video with new pictures.

Bicycle

My boy has been learning to ride his bike over the past few months! He finally mastered bike riding appropriately on Father's Day. As he freely sped past his dad and he shouted out

"Hey Dad, this is my Father's Day present to you!!"

I know...I know...

I am so far behind on blogging & the really sad thing is that I have loads-n-loads of stuff to blog about...it's overwhelming me to be honest...I promise to update ASAP!!

But before I do that - let me tell you what it is we are growing...

Potatos!

I highly recommend it to everyone - tons of fun!

a quiz

Let me tell you, the Lingenfelter clan has had the best time growing this flower! And the fun is just beginning! Can you guess what flower this is?

Summer

Really, does it get any cuter than this?

Buddies

Two of my favorite people.

VBS

This has got to be my favorite picture of my boy - EVER!!

Taken tonight at our church's 1st VBS ("Vacation Bible School" for you folks living outside the Bible Belt) in twelve years! Least that's what I was told...can I get an Amen?

Sketchup

Those of you who know us, name one thing that my son loves? Give up? It's ketchup or "sketchup" as he calls it. He will eat sketchup on anything...you think I'm lying? Veggie-burgers, french fries, grilled cheese, waffles, grits, and even grapes! You name it, he'll put sketchup on it! He has admitted that he draws the line at cupcakes...go figure.

And I must confess that he also loves guns...that is if we'd let him play with them - we are after all, card-carrying liberal, left wing, conspiracy loving folks! When he was about 18 months old he saw a poster with Clint Eastwood carrying a firearm and pointing to the gun he said "oooohhhh, what's that?" I don't know where they get it from, but I'm now convinced...all boys love guns, regardless of what their Mommy & Daddy's want! Period!

With all of this in mind, you can imagine my excitement when I found this...

Tell me if you think I should get it for him? And can we bring it to your next picnic?

Posers

My kids rarely pose for me...except for the one time when I take them to a park for a job I have...then they won't leave me alone. "Mama, take a picture of me....Mama, look at me!" So, what's a Mama to do?

facepainting

Loves worms, bugs and all things furry!

Flattery

I was preparing lunch today when my boy came bursting through the back door hollering..."Mom, Mom!" Of course I stopped what I was doing and gave him my full attention (as I always do...) "Yes?" I answered. He then proceeded with this bit of brilliance...

Boy: "I know why your name is Lindsey."

Mom: "Why is that?"

Boy: "Because you are an awesome photographer and you use lenses...you know Lens-ee..."

(and I swear this is word-for-word and not my over-active ego speaking)

Can you see why I love him so much? Brilliant & Complimentary!

Live United

Remember when I told you about how wonderful & hardworking the board members of a certain non-profit were? Well, United Way thinks so too! And I have a snazzy mug & t-shirt to prove it!

18 minutes

Last night we attended a rehearsal dinner for a wedding my husband officiated this morning. Is it just me or do all mothers get choked up during the "this is your life" slide show presentation? I don't sob for the couple getting married, I generally don't know them that well, I usually boo-hoo thinking about the 2 rehearsal dinners we'll have to attend in the not-so-far-off future! When I see pictures of the bride and groom at ages 2, 6 or 12 all I can think of is "that's going to be my baby one day!" Those presentations really make me catch my breath & realize how fleeting these everyday moments are. To quote the grooms dad after watching the video - his life had flashed by him in "18 minutes" - I'm afraid that's how long it's going to seem when it's all said & done with - 18 minutes...there I go again, tearing up!

some sweetness!

I could look at that sweet face forever! This is what keeps you going back for more!

Granny, I mean Mamma

Have you heard about the 66 year old woman who is scheduled to give birth next month? Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke doesn't it? But, it's true, a 66 year old woman from Great Britain was artificially inseminated in the Ukraine ("fertility tourism") and is now slated to become a Mom at age SIXTY SIX...

Here's where my irritation comes in - not at the 66 year old Mom, although I do think she's CaaRaazy to be birthing a baby when she's old enough for Social Security, but hey, it's her choice! I'm so irritated by the media questioning whether or not she has the "right" to birth a child at that age...the "right"...WTF? The media would not be in this foaming at the mouth frenzy if this were a man who was expecting his 1st child - they'd be congratulating him... Viagra for everyone...

My sweet husband's Dad was 60 years old when his precious Alvie was born & he was an awesome Dad. He was perhaps the perfect Dad, retired with lots of patience & time on his hands. Many family members have told me that Alvie prolonged his Dad's life - giving him a reason to live & thrive. So, if this 66 year old woman wants to have sleepless nights, crying, whining babies, loss of disposable income due to disposable diapers, I say go for it Mama! And, here's an upside to having a child at 66...nursing won't affect your boobs, they're already droopy...

Dogwood Deux

Dogwood

A good day

Whew-wee... these kids played hard today! Can you spot my boy in that picture? He was much, much higher than it appears, his poor Mama had an upset stomach after taking this picture (which was his idea!) And you say I have at least another 16+ years of raising these children??? I don't know how much I'm going to be able to take...


At least I have sweet faces like these to help me through these times...

Come on...admit it...you want to eat them up too!!

Outta the mouths of babes...

Alrighty then, here's Lou's funny story...some of you have already heard this...

We were at my sister, Jamie's wedding and as it was winding down I took Lou to the potty - this is where we have some of our best conversations - when she graced me with this piece of wisdom...

"Mom, Susie** wasn't wearing any underwear today...

...that's not appropriate is it?"

**Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent!

God, I love him!

Alright, I'll tell you my other funny story from the wedding, but 1st let me tell you about this boy...God, I love him! Yesterday, we had some of my husband's students over for dinner and since it was May 5th we had a Cinco de Mayo dinner...or tacos...

After dinner my boy told us to follow him outside where we found a plastic bag, filled with candy, tied to a tree limb. He had a pole & everything for us to hit his homemade "pinata" with - couldn't you just eat him up? God, I love him!

Spring Hill

This weekend we were in Mobile for my sister's wedding. As we were walking up to the church my girl breathlessly said "Wow, that's a GREAT castle."




I have more great lines from that child - leave me a comment if you'd like me to share, I promise it's a good one...

The flute

1st beach of the year!

We've returned home from our whirlwind trip to LA (that's lower Alabama to you folks not from around here...) and Kiln, MS (home of Brett Favre for you folks not from around there...)

The sad thing is that we have to put our kids back in the car this week and go straight back to LA... I've got to get my hands on a video player, youtube.com on the iPhone just won't cut it this time!

Mama

This morning I heard my girl, saying to no one in particular...

"I want to grow up to be a Mama."

My heart swelled with pride and I thought to myself "maybe I am doing a good job, maybe I am a positive Mommy role-model..." How quickly I fell from my delusional pedestal when I asked her why she wanted to be a Mama - she replied...

"because then I can tell people what to do."

Sunset

Imagine this scene...8pm or so, little girl playing in the back yard after dinner, before bath. The Mom is in the kitchen cleaning up and hears loud banging on the back glass door. She frantically runs to inspect the problem. Upon arriving at the scene she sees her little girl hitting the door, wanting to come inside and yelling...

"I WANT TO SEE THE SUNSET!"

Which can only be seen from the front yard - wouldn't you fall in love with this child all over again?

My Boy...

Do I even need to tell you how much I love this little man? It's the most amazing thing to watch you baby, your child turn into a real, live little person! I can't imagine what we have in store these coming years!

Smile in my pocket

Lucy-Lou singing a song - something about a smile in her pocket... I'll be damned if it isn't the sweetest song I've ever heard!