Happy Halloween

Joshua and Abby Kate enjoyed their Halloween! Abby Kate was a ladybug and Joshua was Dash from The Incredibles. This morning they enjoyed a Harvest Party at preschool. They were so excited to eat pizza and cheetos for their lunch! Tonight we went to Mayfair Towers to Trick or Treat. They LOVED getting candy from all of the nice little ladies at the Towers! Joshua and Abby Kate's pumpkins are full of candy! We all had so much fun Trick or Treating! Hope that you all had a Happy Halloween!

Our Latest News

Check out Jason's lastest post A New Season!

Time To Weigh In

A few months ago I took our Cocker Spaniel to the vet for an update on his shots. While there, the vet informed me that our dog was seriously overweight. An average Cocker Spaniel should only weigh 28 pounds. Andy tipped the scales at 50 pounds. We were urged to put Andy on a diet - a $20 per 10 pound bag diet. We quickly put Andy on his new dog food and cut out all scraps from the table. The diet is working and the pictures prove it!

Andy at a hefty 50 pounds!

Andy at 35 pounds!

What's Going On

Abby Kate and Joshua seem to be changing more and more each day! Here's where we are now...

Abby Kate loves playing with her baby dolls, reading lots of books and drawing/coloring with her crayons, pens and colored pencils. Abby Kate loves to talk on her toy phones. She loves going through my makeup drawer and wearing lots of jewelry. She loves to pick out her clothes and cannot stand not having any on. She loves to make the sounds of all the animals. She knows all of her colors and some of her shapes. She can count to five (she's really LOUD when she does it). She can also point out the letters A and B. She loves to sing The Wheels on the Bus and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. She will repeat the letters of the alphabet when you say them for her. Abby Kate loves for me to put chapstick on her lips.

Joshua loves playing with any kind of ball, reading lots of books and talking. He loves to shoot the basketball into the goal. He loves swinging his baseball bat. Joshua always wears his baseball (Cardinals) or football (UT) hat. He wants to be just like his Daddy. Joshua knows the sounds that each animal makes. He knows all of his colors and most of his shapes. He can count to ten. Joshua can point out the letters A and B. He loves to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and The Turtle Song. Joshua will repeat the letters of the alphabet when you say them to him. He especially loves the letter R. Joshua amazes us with his speech! He talks non-stop and it is so clear. He speaks in 4 or more word sentences! Joshua loves to wear his Daddy's baseball glove.

No Tears!

I have always hated cutting Abby Kate and Joshua's fingernails. When Abby Kate and Joshua were tiny babies, I would always try and cut their fingernails when they were asleep. Unfortunately, I did miss a time or two and feared that I would do the same each time I cut a fingernail. One night after Jason and I got in from church, I tried cutting Abby Kate's fingernail and missed. I started crying and told Jason that the job was now officially his. Well...that lasted two fingernails! He also missed and got a tiny piece of Abby Kate's thumb. That night was the first and last time that Jason cut the kids' fingernails.

To this day, I do not like to cut my kids' fingernails. I still break out into a sweat and get really worried about missing the nail. I usually try to keep the kids' fingernails (20 nails per trim) trimmed once every week. We go a little longer for the toenails (they don't seem to grow as quickly, but when they do, its like - boom - long toenails). Joshua is usually a bit more patient with me when I cut his fingernails. He will occassionally cry and rattle my nerves. Abby Kate is a totally different story. She always pitches the biggest fit. I have tried everything to keep her calm and quiet. Nothing ever works (the cut while they are sleeping doesn't work nowadays). When Abby Kate starts screaming she gets really mad at me and does not want me to finish. She has cried each and every time that I have gone in to tackle her fingernails. That is...until today!!!!

Abby Kate did not scream, kick, claw, get mad or cry when I cut her fingernails today! Not one tear!!!

46 Questions Answered

I received this in an email tonight from Jamey. I thought that it was fun, so I wanted to post it here. Hope that you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about me. I'd love to hear your answers to some of these too!

1. FIRST NAME? Sunny

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My grandfather (mom's side)

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? This afternoon when I bent my fingernail back while changing Joshua's crib sheet

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Turkey

6. KIDS? 2 year old twins (Joshua and Abby Kate)

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Why yes!

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? No - I was later informed that my blog is my journal!

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not really

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way!

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Fruit Loops

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM ? Mint Chocolate Chip

16. SHOE SIZE? 7 1/2 or 8 wide

17. RED OR PINK? Pink

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I tend to worry too much

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family

20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Green and white checked capri pjs; no shoes

21. LAST THING YOU ATE? Reese's peanut butter cup

22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Scott Speizo talking about the Cardinals win! GO CARDINALS!!!

23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Periwinkle

24. FAVORITE SMELL? Pot Roast on Sunday after church

25. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jason

26. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO: Their personality

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Sweet Tea

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Baseball

29. EYE COLOR? Blue

30. HAT SIZE? I don't know

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Chicken Parmigana from The Olive Garden

33. HAPPY OR SAD ENDING? Happy

34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Pirates of the Caribbean II

35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Green

36. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

37. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs from friends/Kisses from Jason

38. FAVORITE DESSERT? Strawberry Pretzel Salad

39. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Strong Willed Child

40. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I have a laptop

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Cardinals/Mets game; Survivor; Grey's Anatomy

42. FAVORITE SOUND? The kids singing

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?Beatles

44. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Jamaica

45. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Acting (I starred as Glenda, the Good Witch, in The Wizard of Oz)

46. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? May 22, 1978; Donelson, Tennessee

Beach Getaway for Momma = Pleurisy for Daddy

A couple of weeks ago, I headed down to the sandy beaches of Seagrove, Florida. About 16 girls from our Sunday School class retreated to the beach. We all had so much fun together. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious and there were lots of laughs. One of the best things about getting away for the long weekend was that I left the kids at home with daddy! Jason kept the kids for all 4 days (by himself)! The only other time that I have left the kids over night with Jason is for our Ladies Retreat each year. He is such an amazing father and encouraged me to go and have a great time. Jason, Joshua and Abby Kate had so much fun together. Many of you kept up with his Mommy MIA blogs. The blogs and comments have made me laugh so hard! Jason really sacrificed so that I could get away for a little while. I did not realize that I needed a break so badly!

A few days before I left, our air conditioning unit died! I had several companies out to give their estimates all week long. We needed to get a unit in quickly, but that would require a great deal of money (which we don't have just laying around - its not really in our budget). One night while I was at the beach, the temperature outside dropped down to the 40's. Jason woke up the next morning with all kinds of cold symptoms. We treated his symptoms with a lot of OTC drugs. His cold went away after a few days of my return.

Yesterday, Jason called me on my way back from the zoo to let me know that his chest was hurting him. He was up in Nashville at Lipscomb for his grad class that evening. This was really alarming to me given Jason's heart condition. I suggested (after several opinions) that Jason take some antacids. The antacids did not help, so we were able to rule out heartburn. When Jason got home around 9pm, he was really hurting. We ended up going to the ER and he was released after 3 hours and a battery of tests.

This afternoon, Jason and I followed up with his cardiologist. After 3 hours and more tests, the diagnosis is in. Jason has pleurisy!!! We have traced it all the way back to his cold from my trip to the beach.

Mommy MIA led to a very sick Daddy!

Our Day at the Zoo

Today we went to the zoo with my good friend Stacy and her children. Joshua and Abby Kate love to play with Lawson and baby Jordan. We saw so many birds! The kids loved seeing Triton, the sea lion, eating his breakfast. We enjoyed watching the monkeys swing from their ropes. The flamingos were so pretty in their pink! We only saw the eyes of the alligators because they were resting in the water.Abby Kate, Joshua and Lawson watched the bison play with his ball. The cheetahs looked like really big kitty cats. Everyone really enjoyed seeing the elephant, rhino and hippo. We all loved seeing Rowan, the giraffe. Rowan is a two month old baby giraffe that is already six feet tall! The white tiger prowled around as we got a really good look at it. The zoo also had an area for its barnyard animals. The chickens, cow, sheep and goats are always fun to see. We all had so much fun today at the zoo!

You Wanna Fight?

Abby Kate and Joshua have been up since 8:30 this morning. We have already had a very stressful morning!

So, you wanna fight?
*Where is daddy???
*I don't want to wear that shirt.
*I don't want you to change my diaper.
*I want my milk! NOW!
*We want more cereal!
*I only want yellow fruit loops!
*I'm not done with my breakfast (even though I am feeding the dog).
*I don't want to have my face washed.
*That's my baby!
*That's my baseball bat!
*Don't shut the toliet lid on my finger!
*Time to steal the remote control.
*I like to empty out the batteries and put them in my mouth.
*I keep hitting the wall with my baseball bat.
*I have now hit mommy with my baseball bat.
*The baseball bat is now in time-out.
*That's my book.
*MINE!!!!!!!
*Don't look at me that way!
*I am just trying to help you sort through all of the clothes.
*I just took away a toy from my sister.
*I just screamed at my brother.
*We have pushed each other.
*Lots of screaming.
*Torturing the dog!
*I don't want you to put up my shoes!
*My baby!
*I want my football.
*My book!
*Let's take the nightlight apart and throw it at the wall.
*I want to put on my sandals.
*My baby!!!!
*I like to throw books.
*Please stop taking things away from each other.
*We want more milk.

When is daddy coming home?????

Prayer Time

Abby Kate and Joshua praying before bed tonight.















Do you think that we are going to bed anytime soon?

Our First Field Trip

Today, Joshua and Abby Kate had their first field trip. Jason and I took the kids out to Tate Farms in Merdianville. It was a lot of fun! We rode out into a pumpkin patch and picked out a couple of pumpkins. The kids enjoyed getting to see the goats, rabbits, tractors, cotton and pumpkins. They were really interested in walking away from their class on several occasions. Here are some pictures from our adventures at Tate Farms.

I Guess That It's Time To Do The Laundry!