Images

As my girls are getting older, I am more aware of the "images" that the world produces. They are scary. I was talking to a dear friend the other night about what she wants to look like, and I get so frustrated because I know that those "perfect looking" women aren't real - they are the product of Hollywood or the magazine company. Why do we (as Americans) think that the perfect look is a size -2, blonde, big chest, and perfect skin? None of it is real. The young people in our country certainly believe it is real though! Don't believe me? Just ask someone over the age of 10!!!! What can I do to prepare my daughters for the real world and dealing with unrealistic images? I pray often for guidance in parenting because it is NOT EASY to raise children these days (not that it ever was, but the Internet, TV, movies, and magazines sure make it harder). Mark and I saw this interesting clip one day, and I'd like to share it. It is something that every pre-teen to adult needs to see....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

Scary, huh?

Camping in Jacksboro

Okay, I am frustrated with Blogger tonight because it won't let me arrange my photos in the order that I want them :( So...the pictures are not in order, but oh well. We had a great camping trip to start off spring break in Jacksboro at Ft. Richardson State Park with some old friends. Mark's friend from childhood and his family came to Texas for a wedding in Austin, so we got to see them for a few days of camping before they headed to Disney World. We had a great time camping, so here are a few pictures from our trip.

You can see that Jacob is a little hesitant to go up close to the ledge - I wonder if it has anything to do with his fall last spring in this same lake!!!!

The hammock is always a fun time for everyone!

I love this picture!

The Jones and Taylor clans - can you believe Jeff and Mark have that many kids?

The tree was a big hit too!

Can you tell that Morgan is more than frustrated with Jacob? She just wanted the hammock all to herself for just a little while. Did he cooperate? NO!

Jake is the male version of Haleigh!

Jacob's mad face - not too appealing, huh?

I just love my kids!

My kids are very unique, and Jacob and Haleigh have this "touching" thing. Some of you may have even been the victim of Haleigh's ear holding! Haleigh LOVES EARS. Every year when it comes near her birthday, she would say "this year I am going to stop holding ears". When she was about to turn 8, she decided that she was never going to stop holding ears. That's okay with me, I guess. Jacob likes to touch skin - any skin, but he is now on this neck kick. He really likes to tuck his hand under necks because he says it feels so warm. Jacob spends a lot of time in our bed because he wakes up almost every night and makes his way to our room, but he starts off in his room. This is how I found my handsome little boy the other night...he didn't even take off his clothes. Isn't he just about the cutest thing? Man, he is growing up so fast.

Okay, so the day I have been dreading has finally arrived. Morgan is now as tall as me. She has hit a growth spurt here lately, so now she has reached me. It will only last for a little while, I'm sure. She will be taller than me by next week! Her legs are already longer than mine. My pant length is petite or regular, but she wears a long. Nice, huh?! I actually thought it would happen sooner, so I guess I should be glad that it took this long.

Haleigh is such a character. The other day she was talking about something she did at school. I told her that she is just so much more awesome than everyone else. You know what she said? She said, "I know, I really feel sorry for everyone else because they are not as cool as me". Wow. She really likes herself! I never have to worry about her self esteem :)

On a sad note, we lost one of our dogs. Cookie went missing the other night just before bed time. We couldn't figure out what happened to her, but we found some evidence today. IF YOU GET QUEASY, DON'T READ ON. We found one of her legs in the back yard today. Our neighbors dog was victim to a coyote that has been coming around while we are out, and we think that the coyote also got Cookie. Lightning is sad...he looks so lonely. Here's a memory of better times.