Friendship

Friendships were never my strong point growing up. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of friends, but I was always a 'one best friend' kind of girl, just how I guess I was also a 'relationship' girl. (My husband calls this the All or Nothing Syndrome). I was popular in high school...sometimes I wonder why, since although I loved being around people, I have always been a brutally honest person, which could come across as being pretty snarky. Maybe that's why I never had very many close friends. I had a 'best friend' in high school, but at the time, she was a bad influence on me, and I ended up doing things that weren't really me, and alienating the friends that were more like me. Maybe it is that I spread myself too thin, not finding that one core friend group that I could really connect with, and sticking with them. And when that one close friendship ended, I was left with just a handful of lukewarm friends who had become each other's best friends.

It's only recently that I've learned how important friends are in your life. My husband has a huge handful of close friends that he has stayed in touch with over the years. I've always been a little jealous of that closeness, but I also understand that his friends filled in a void that was left by his family. Other than his grandparents, his family was not as supportive as, for instance, mine was. So maybe the reason he had so many close friends was because of this. I, however, have always been super close with my family. They are the best and closest people in my life.

Ever since Mike and I moved to Arkansas and had to start over, I've started to realize that I made a huge mistake in high school and college. Why didn't I put forth any effort to be the best friend I could be? I found a quote I liked: "The only way to have a friend is to be one." I think that was my problem in high school, college, and up until recently. The problem wasn't that I wasn't likeable or able to keep a friend, the problem was that I wasn't being a good friend to others. I was selfish, and figured that if I was happy in the friendship, then so were they. Cut to a year ago, when I could honestly say that I didn't have one good friend. I had LOTS of casual friends, but none that ever called just to talk to ME, and you know why? Because I never called just to talk to THEM.

"The most I can do for my friend, is simply be his friend." -Henry David Thoreau

"We love him because He first loved us." I John 4:9-10

Now, I have a friend that I adore, and I feel so blessed to have her in my life. But the biggest blessing is just being her friend first, because that is what makes me so happy. Not just to have a friend, but to be a friend. Friend, you know who you are...and I love you!

Tara

PS. More later on the last week...I've been swamped, but I will catch you all up! Ta for now!

The Wonder Place

Last Saturday, Mike and I took Roman to this great place in West Little Rock called The Wonder Place. It's basically an indoor educational facility from babies on up. Roman had so much fun...he ran from center to center because he was so excited! His mama was excited too...mostly because I love the fact that they have a 'icky tub', where parents put any toy that their child has put in their mouth, so that they can hopefully curb germs that are CRAWLING all over the place. I know, cheap thrills. :-)


Here is Roman playing in the sandbox.






Peek-a-boo!



I was trying to get him to slide down, not crawl up!


Playing with the doll house. Yup, I need a baby girl!

There's a crazy man under the tree house!




I love this picture...the mirrors are so cool!


What a poser!


Playing at the water table.




Anywho, we had a blast, and we will definitely be going back!
Hope all is well!

Tara

First Day of School!

Yesterday was Roman's first day of school! He is going to be going to a Church daycare program at least one day a week, maybe two days, if I don't miss him too much. I was only able to capture a couple of pics of before we left, but here they are...


His lunch box!


Roman, checking out his lunch box.



Okay, mama, I'm ready to go!



He had such a fun time...he LOVES going to play with his friends, and he' actually in the same room that his Sunday School class is in, so he felt really comfortable. He walked in the building with a big grin on his face, and I had to chase him down just to get a bye-bye kiss! He's a big boy now!

Much love,
Tara

Happy Birthday Mike!

Well, yesterday was Mike's uh, 28th birthday (he paid me to say that). I had a semi-cool day planned of decorating the house, making him a birthday card from Roman, and baking him a cake. All of these things were supposed to be a surprise. Well, because of all the flooding here in LR, the power was out at his job site, so he came back home around 9am. There go all of my surprises down the drain! I decorate with him in the house, I bake the cake while he's in the dining room, and I just cancel the card-making. Well, we ended up going out to dinner at On The Border and having a fun time. Roman kept talking a kid sitting at the table next to us, which was pretty funny since we have no idea what he is saying!

So here are some pics of the evening.

Roman and I right before we left for dinner.


Pretty much the same picture, but I had to include it, because it was the first time I was able to put on my pre-pregnancy jeans! Woo-hoo!


Mike and Roman.


Dinner at OTB.

Red velvet cake...yum!



And lastly, this is a pic from exactly four years ago, when I threw a surprise birthday party for Mike in Tulsa, where we were living at the time. Do you think we've changed???

Labor Day at the Lake

We didn't do anything fancy for Labor Day, but we did go to Greers Ferry Lake here in Arkansas. It was Roman's first trip to the lake, and he loved playing in the mud!



Mike was zooming him in and out of the water, which he thought was too cool!


Roman is obsessed with cars, so of course he had to have one of his old nasty cars to drive all over the beach.


Of course there are no pictures of me, because I am the Momarazzi!

Hope everyone had a safe Labor Day!

Tara

Am I just old, or are they really pathetic?

So, I've known that the former NKOTB were making a comeback, but I hadn't seen any proof until 'The View' this morning. Did anyone see this? Five guys in their early to late 30's did an interview with an over-exuberant Elisabeth and Sherri, and told what they had all been doing in the FIFTEEN YEARS since they broke up. First of all, fifteen years? What in the world prompted them to think that their previous 14 year old fans (who are now 30, natch), would still be interested in the hip gyrating from MEN who have about 10 kids between them??? Of course, being a HUGE NKOTB fan back in my teen years, I had to watch them perform in order to really evaluate how effective their comeback was going to be. After watching them perform their new single "Single" (har har), I have to admit, I was embarrassed for them! Not only was it lame, it was LLLLAAAAMMMEEE. My teen idol, Joey Joe, was off-key, and Donnie, who I love in movies, was a wannabe rapper, rapping lyrics about attracting girls to his studly single self. Hellooooo, you're 40! Well, I gritted my teeth and kept watching, thinking that at least they were going to sing one of their old hits, "Step By Step". Oh. My. Gosh. Awful. Off-key, didn't even SOUND like the original. I was severely disappointed. Needless to say, the moral of the story is LEAVE IT IN YOUR PAST. Now I have to go take a shower. Ick. RIP New Kids.