Flashback Friday

Based on clothing and my size in this picture {bottom in the green shirt and pigtails} I believe this is a picture from about 1977 or 1978 {so I was 7 or 8}. 

My sister is behind me in the ponytail.

On the left side of the picture is my sweet Aunt Tootise {real name LaWanda}

who died 3 months after my mother did in 2002.  

The woman in the middle was my great grandmother- Mama Bessie.  

I believe based on the fact that she's wearing a flower and holding a gift, we were there to celebrate her birthday as she was in her 90's during this time. 

She was a neat lady and we loved going to visit her in Arkansas! 

The lady in the lovely sunglasses, big hair {see it's genetic}

 and snazzy green shorts is my mother.  How cute {and thin} is she?

{That thin part? Sadly NOT genetic.}

Standing behind her is her father who we called Grandpa Stegall. 

I know this picture was taken long ago but looking at it- 

it feels like yesterday.  

I can remember being there- hugging my Aunt and Mama Bessie

 and playing on the big porch with my cousins.  

Such sweet memories that remind me once again,

 pictures are so important- because they remind you of great memories! 

Flashback Friday

This picture of my mother dancing {she's the one on the far right} is adorable. 

I never knew before seeing this and several other pictures

 that my mother ever even took dance and to be honest it sort of surprised me.

I love their sweet ruffly dresses and the flowers in their hair.

Madison of course pointed out that their shoes were not real dance shoes. 

They do kind of look like slippers, not ballet shoes don't they? 

Flashback Friday

So I'm fairly certain that if my sweet mother were still alive I would NOT be posting today's picture because she would kill strangle murder me for doing so

 but it's one I absolutely love!

This past summer I went through several boxes of old pictures my sister 

had brought me and this was a pic in one of those boxes. 

It's taken in our living room and judging by the furnishings and my mothers hair

 {it took a weekly trip to the hair dresser to have that cool do} 

it appears it was around 1974 or 1975 which means my

 mom and dad were still honeymooners.  

I can honestly say prior to this picture I had never seen my mother wearing 

anything resembling lingerie before so this picture surprised me!

Her face says what mine often does in pictures.....

Why are you taking my picture?

{or perhaps Please stop taking my picture!}.

It's hard to tell but the blob in the bottom right corner

 is a pile of laundry which makes me laugh.

Oh how I wish I knew the story behind this picture!

Maybe I'll ask my dad?

Or maybe I don't want to know? ;)

Flashback Friday

Remember this hysterical picture of my grandfather

 from Christmas eve sometime in the mid 70's?

Well I just found another picture taken that same morning

 of him opening another VERY random present!

So that year he not only got a frog toilet seat,

but he ALSO got a monkey with cymbals!

He must have been a VERY good boy that year! 

{And don't you love the look on my grandmother's face? 

What do you think she is thinking?}

Flashback Friday

There are so many things about this picture that crack me up!

The look on my sister's face 

{she's the taller one},

the look on my face 

{it's like I'm trying to channel a sad, old woman},

the scarf I am wearing 

{what the heck?},

the snazzy couch you can see in the bottom left corner 

{so 1970's},

and the super cool paneling in the background

 {that was our living room. cool huh?}. 

I so wish I knew the story behind this picture!

Maybe my Sissy remembers?

Flashback Friday

Oh my goodness. 

How many Olan Mills photos did we take growing up? 

Countless it seems. 

I'm pretty sure that between the three of us 

{my sister, my mom, me}

in this picture we used several sets of hot rollers, many brushes, 

a curling iron or two, and LOTS of hair spray.  

We all have some serious big hair going on. 

Judging from our clothing and my hair

 {nice perm Shannon. and those bangs? what the heck?}, 

I believe this picture was taken in my sophomore year of college 

which would have been 1989 or 1990. 

Growing up people always said my sister and I looked alike

and now I constantly hear how much I look like my mother. 

What do you think? 

Flashback Friday

This picture makes me laugh! 

That's me driving the boat 

{without using my hands?}, 

my dad's friend Butch wearing some seriously snazzy shades,

and my dad wearing a super cool Budweiser shirt. 

The funniest thing about my dad wearing that shirt

 is that he doesn't even drink beer.  

No clue why he had that shirt

 or why my mother let him wear it! 

We spent many, many, many weekends as I was growing up 

out on the lake water skiing and 

this picture takes me back to those fun summer days! 

Flashback Friday

This family pic {from Olan Mills, of course}

 just screams the 1970's!

I just love it all- from my dad's leisure suit with the super snazzy shirt 

to my mom's polyester suit and football helmet like hair

{name that movie: Relax! You can't screw up her hair.

 Just tease it and make it look like a brown football helmet. }

to my sister and I wearing our cute little denim dresses and bows 

and her gap toothed smile.  It just makes me happy!

Flashback Friday

Oh how I love this picture of my sweet mother when she was a baby.  

How precious is she sitting in that tub?

One of my favorite things about this picture is what's written on the back of it.

It says:  Nancy playing in the new tub.

Too cute!

Flashback Friday

I love this picture of my sweet Daddy and his little brother. 

Everything from their cute little matching outfits 

(and my grandmother was not a matching outfit kind of lady)

to the background of old stores and trucks

to my Daddy's sweet smile

 (that has not changed a single BIT!).

I'm not sure exactly where this picture was taken but if you zoom in you can read the big sign in the back and it's for the Houston Chronicle so I'm guessing it was in downtown Houston somewhere.  Maybe one day I'll go downtown and see if I can figure out where it was.  Wouldn't that be fun?

Flashback Friday

I love this sweet picture of my grandmother, aunt, and my mother (the baby). 

My grandmother was a beautiful lady- inside and out

 and I love seeing pics of her as a striking young mother. 

It looks like they are sitting on newspaper? 

I miss these three ladies so!  

Flashback Friday

This is my favorite Flashback Friday picture of all times. 

This picture is of my grandmother and grandfather Kope

 at our house on Christmas morning. 

When I found this picture this summer I laughed so hard! 

Here's what cracks me up:

1. The look on my grandfather's face. 

He looks like.....UM, what the heck?

2. The fact that my grandmother is helping him open it. 

Hysterical. 

3. The fact that someone obviously bought them 

a GREEN toilet seat with a FROG on it. 

Who does that? Why? 

Where do you even get something like that?

4. The fact that we took a picture of such a fabulous gift. 

I LOVE this picture! 

Flashback Friday

This picture of me and my sister makes me laugh. 

From the lovely hairdo and goofy look I am sporting 

(so needs a barrette or a bow), 

to the cute matching outfits that we are wearing 

(that my mom MADE for us), 

to the fact that there appears to be a Santa Claus stuffed animal sitting 

between us when it is obviously summer time 

(what is up with that?),

it cracks me up! 

Flashback Friday

This is one of the only pictures my dad has with his father, who died when he was young. 

I love this picture for that reason. 

If I didn't know better, I would have thought that this was MY daddy-

 they looked so much alike. 

I love the guy standing to the side- I wish I knew who he was. 

You can tell this picture was taken in the 40's

 because the phone number on the wrecker has only 3 digits. 

Can you imagine? 

Flashback Friday

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad- taken when he was about 5. 

He has very few pictures from his childhood

and this is one of two professional type pictures. 

I love that he is barefoot and standing on a table. 

How random is that?

His high waisted shorts, the snazzy background, 

and the look on his face all crack me up. 

So cute!

Flashback Friday

This has to be one of my all time favorite pictures of my precious mother. 

I love how happy she looked and although I can 

only guess as to the year it was taken 

(I'm guessing around 1972 or 1973 based on her hair)

 I love thinking of what might have made her so excited.  

I love and miss her every single day of my life

 and am thankful that since I can't see her smile in person, 

I have pictures like this to remind me of how beautiful she was!  

Flashback Friday

This picture was taken one of the two times 

I can remember it actually snowing in Houston, Texas. 

Obviously we were THRILLED since this was 

the very first time we ever saw snow. 

You can tell by our lack of true winter clothes

 that this was truly abnormal weather. 

If I was a betting girl, I would bet that my sweet sister

 threw that snowball she was holding, 

not long after this picture was snapped. 

Since it's been over 100 degrees every day

 for several weeks in a row here, 

I'd pay money to see some of that cold weather!  

Flashback Friday

This picture of Madison on her first day of preschool when

 she was four makes me smile.  

Could she be any cuter with that big old bow on her head? 

Could her smile be any larger? 

I think not.  

But when I think that in a little over a week that cute little 

bow-headed girl will be starting high school?

Oh my. 

It makes me want to cry. 

Big, ugly, snot-running-down-my-face, can't-catch-my-breath, tears.  

How did she grow up so quickly? 

Flashback Friday

This sweet picture was taken at my dad's house 

in the country when Madison was 3.

From the left side it's me, my mom, and little Maddie. 

There was no bathtub and so my mom gave her a bath in the sink 

and you can tell by her face, she LOVED it! 

She thought it was so fun and such a treat that she laughed 

and giggled like crazy the whole time.

What fun memories this picture brings back! 

Flashback Friday

This picture is another one of my sister and me that cracks me up! 

(Wonder how many pictures we took on that porch?) 

We are standing on our front porch during the short time 

that our house was painted this color-

because my mother let the two of us choose what color it should be.

And man, it was BRIGHT.  Seriously bright. 

Based on the date, we are three and six years old. 

It looks like I have an evil grin on my face- 

like I've done something sneaky or wrong.

And my sister looks like she is telling on me, saying

"Mom, she....".

But of course I'm sure that's not what happened. 

Because I never once did anything mean to her. :)