‘Fro — We are THAT Family

Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You-How You Know You’re TOO Busy

7:00 am Bykristen

Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You is here again! Welcome! Grab the button and read the rules here.

Today, I thought I’d share a helpful tip.

In our home, once October hits, time seems to quicken and there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. And with Thanksgiving and Christmas close on it’s heels, well, you know, life gets hectic. Even if we’re working on simplifying our lives.

Some of the best things I’ve learned have been from my kids.

They are smart, little people.

My son is the preoccupied type. He sets his mind to something and works it until completion. He studies his ‘to do’ list carefully ~~and adds completed items only to cross them off~~.

I don’t know where he gets that from.

I ran across this picture from a couple of years ago. This is how you know you’re too busy:

Fall, 2005, Grandparent’s farm

When your pants fall down and you’re too occupied to pull them up.

So, as autumn sets in and the holidays creep up, remember to slow down.

And remember the little things.

Like your pants.

You’re welcome.

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Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You-My UGLY Year

7:00 am Bykristen

You guys are so sweet to come back week after week to link up or laugh at these old photos. Who knew we all had such a dark past? You can read all about Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You or you can just click the links below for a good, old fashioned belly laugh.

I saved this picture for a rainy day.

It’s from my UGLY year. Did y’all have one of those?

It was the transitional time between little girl and teen. I was awkward, gangly and growing out a home permanent. Difficult times, people. I remember the day well. It was my sixth grade school picture day.

{Prepare yourself because it is frightening:}

Are you off the floor from your hysterical laughter?

I’ll give you a minute.

Or twenty.

Okay, seriously. You can stop laughing now. I have feelings too, ya know.

My perms took very well on the top of my head, crown area, as you can see. I was a big tucker and shoved it behind my ear. I was going for the slicked-down ‘fro, I suppose. I remember wanting it to flip up in the back.

The horror.

My mom made my dress. Another shocker. I know you were thinking I bought that lovely purple piece at a fine department store. Not so, my friends. Was I the picture of fashion or what?

Remember the little button earrings of the 1980′s? I had them in every color.

Because I was special.

And lastly, the teeth. My family refers to my pre-braces day as my corn-on-the-cob teeth. I guess my little teeth reminded them of niblets. I come from a long line of good, kind people.

Okay. Hurry. You, go, because this is just embarrassing! (Plus, I need to call my Mom and ask her if ‘helmet hair’ was stylish or a form of discipline).

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Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You-Fall, You Are Such a Tease

7:00 am Bykristen

It’s that time of the week again! Welcome to Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You. Are you tired of this carnival yet? I hope not. Just when I think my picture barrel is running low, the old digital albums, they do provide.

I love fall. It’s my favorite time of year. I love the harvest colors found in nature. I love the falling leaves and acorns and the bright orange pumpkins that adorn our world. I love the crisp, cool weather—

Wow. I really got caught up there for a minute and then remembered, I live in Texas! We’ve had a crisp morning or two. But by noon, they are long gone. We’re back up to hot. Plain, old, hot.

I’ve decided that fall is such a tease.

I’m tricked into it every year. I decorate the day after Labor Day and try to induce a fall mood. Every store in town is peppered with gourds and pumpkins, Halloween costumes and even Christmas decor, which I find very irritating by the way. Stop rushing me, k?

I stumbled upon this photo the other day and it took me back to one of the first day’s of fall, last year. It was mid-November. I’m telling y’all, Texans play pretend fall for months!

My sweet son is wearing a knit hat I brought him from Washington DC, where I met my precious new niece.

I picked up a couple of knitted items from a little Russian lady at an open market. She was in her 80′s and her disfigured fingers still aptly worked the needle. Who knew my fondness for Russians would explode?

On this day, I took dozens of pictures of my children. I kept this one for one reason: the snot slipping from my son’s nose.

Don’t ask me why. (I’ll tell you anyway, I know it’s cool outside when that boy’s nose begins to run! His nose knows).

I think he’s beautiful, don’t you?

So, c’mon fall, surprise us this year.

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Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You-A Velveteen Pregnancy

7:00 am Bykristen

Welcome to Sincerely ‘Fro Me To You! I’m so glad you’re here. It wouldn’t be as fun without you. And I mean that in all sincerity. My week is a lot funnier when you play along…not that I laugh at you or anything.

After a couple of years of marriage, I got the itch.

You know the one.

I wanted a baby.

We scratched that itch for about a year with no luck. We started infertility treatments and continued down that painful road for another two years. {Sidenote: A special thank you to my hubby for putting up with my multiple personalities during this time. One medication in particular, caused out-of-body experiences in which I laughed at things that weren’t funny. In public. Fun times, I tell you! }

We were on staff at a church during that time and were bombarded with advice on conceiving, including but not limited to my very favorite: “Have you tried a coffee enema yet?”

Um, no.

Once we exhausted our insurance, we started down the road to adoption. We proved we would be suitable parents with our HIV tests and Home study. And then we waited. And waited. And waited, some more.

That’s when I got pregnant.

And please do not say it was because I finally relaxed!

With every pregnancy symptom I experienced, my hubby would cheerfully say, “Aren’t you excited?”

Um, yeah, let me wipe the vomit off my chin.

Hip, Hip Hooray.

I had a great pregnancy and gained more than 50 pounds, but less than 100. As I neared my due date, I had one outfit that fit nicely. One. It was green and velveteen.

I went 9 days past my December 31st due date.

I burned that horrid velveteen outfit.

And I’m pretty sure right before my hubby snapped this picture he said something like, “Aren’t you glad you’re getting huge? That means a healthier baby!”

Hip, Hip Hooray.

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Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You-BIG Giveaway Today!

7:00 am Bykristen

We have a winner! Thanks everyone for joining in the fun and for being patient with Mr. Linky! Congrats to Twice Blessed Mommy! You now own an adorable ‘Mom’ swatch watch!

Welcome to this week’s ‘Fro Me! You can read the carnival guidelines here.

This is a special post-hurricane edition and in honor of surviving Ike, today I am hosting a very special giveaway to remind you of the fun-loving 80′s. This great eBay store is offering one of the linkers today an awesome SWATCH WATCH! ($65.00 value). She actually sent me the special ‘mom edition’ Swatch to mail to a winner and it is fabulous! Before you link up, hop over there and look around Sue’s great store and tell me what you like.

Before we left, we tried to clean up our yard a little.

Our kids even got in on the action. And because I am ruining this show from an iPhone and a farm, I am sharing recent photos. But let’s be honest, I will never get around to scrapbooking them.