Remembering

I don't think that you ever forget the times that you are surrounded by love, prayer, support, and encouragement. You don't ever forget the people that surrounded you.

Sometimes it's hard to remember. It's hard to remember what we went through with my pregnancy with Jackson. I guess that it is the time of the year, or the coolness in the air, but my mind always takes me back to that January this time of year.

And then I remember. I remember the love that surrounded us. The emails with encouraging words. The many prayers for our son. I remember the friends that were there. The ones that met us at the door with food in hand. The friend that met me at the mall just so I wouldn't have to be alone. The friends that were at the doctor's office before we even arrived. Those are the memories that will remain with me for a lifetime. Those are the moments that I cherish and remember.

I will never forget those that surrounded us in love. The ones that prayed for us and for our child.

It is hard to remember sometimes, but sometimes its good to remember...

"So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires." I Kings 2:2

And The Winner Is...

Thank you all for the well wishes! I have a winner! I found my winner the old fashioned way; no random.org here. Unfortunately I woke my husband in the pursuit of fairness. But, the winner has been fairly picked. Here's a little photo journaling...






I guess that I didn't really disturb Jason's sleep too much, because he is now soundly back asleep.

Thanks for Following Along

I hit 100,000!!!

About 3 1/2 years ago, I blogged for the first time. At the time, the twins were 2 weeks away from turning 2!!! I am so glad that I have my blog to serve as my journal through those years. The first year of raising twins was a blur and I only wish that I had started earlier. However, I laugh at that because I don't think that I would have had a second in my day to journal my thoughts.

Here I am 3 1/2 years later and I have now reached 100,000! It really is amazing how you can "meet" new friends, reconnect with friends from long ago, keep families updated, and connect with those friends that you might not see very often. I have shared some funny times, some hard times, some proud moments, and some incredible memories on my blog. I love having a keepsake of my thoughts and memories. And, I am also thankful for all of those that I have connected with through my blog.

In honor of my 100,000 hits, I would like to offer a give away. How does a $25 gift certificate to Target sound? I'll announce a winner on Sunday!

2006

The Little Gym

This past fall Abby Kate signed up to take a gymnastics class at the Little Gym. I can't even tell you the excitement that she had in going to her classes weekly. Abby Kate really enjoyed doing something that was just for her and having all of us come to watch her and cheer her on. Abby Kate definitely loves the high bar and flipping on all of the bars. She was not afraid to try something new and she LOVED her teachers. The other day her class had their Show Day to showcase all that she had learned for the semester. She was so proud of her accomplishments and enjoyed having us in the room to cheer her on.

This semester she has decided to take a dance/gymnastics combo class during the week. In this new class she gets to enjoy a little ballet, a little tap, and some more gymnastics. Before we signed her up for the class, we made sure that she didn't want to play t-ball again this spring. She is so excited about her new class!

Handstand


Rolling into a back flip

Forward roll on the balance beam

High bar

Flipping on the bar

Abby Kate receiving her gymnastics' medal

Our little gymnast

I've Washed Many Things Over The Years, But This...

...was a first.

Apparently an old Bible of ours somehow ended up in our washing machine over the weekend. I ran my load of warm clothes Sunday afternoon and when I went to put them into the dryer, I was surprised to find pieces of wet paper ALL OVER the clothes. At first I was trying to figure out who left a piece of paper in their pants and I was pretty upset over the tiny shredded pieces of paper in my wash. But when I looked at one of the pieces of paper, I realized that it wasn't just paper someone left in their pocket; it was a page from the Bible! My mind quickly raced to all of the Bibles Jason has; surely he didn't leave one in his pocket, I thought. As I kept pulling laundry out of the machine, this huge, wet blob of crumpled, shredded paper fell out....and I realized it was one of our old Bibles that Jason had left on top of the washing machine last week. Somehow, it ended up in the machine.

Status Updates

I've had my blog for about 3 1/2 years now. I love how my blog is a place for me to journal all of my thoughts and all of the things that are happening in our family. Jason has published part of my blog and there is nothing more that I love than to look back on my blog to remember. It took me forever to get on Facebook, but I finally took that leap a few years ago. I've posted a lot of status updates about the things that the kids say or do. Jason mentioned to me the other night that I should publish some of those on my blog as a way to record them. So, here are some more recent status updates....

My hairbrush went for a swim in the toilet thanks to Jack.

Now the tub of wipes went for a swim in the toilet! I think I need a personal day.

While we were in Atlanta, our water was on full blast in our bathroom. The water company had turned off the water to fix a leak and Jackson turned our bathtub faucet on without us knowing it. So while we were gone for 12 hours, our water ran for 12 hours.

Couldn't help but laugh when Joshua stuck his gum up his nose on the way to church tonight. At least it didn't stick. Things are just never dull around here.

No longer has a ped egg thanks to Jack who flushed it in the toilet.

Accidentally kicked a cup of ketchup onto a woman at McDonald's today. Ketchup went flying all over her table, seat, arms, and her very CLEAN and neatly pressed WHITE shrit!!!!! I was humiliated and didn't have the heart to tell her that it was also in her hair.

Mommy, why do we have boogers?

Joshua is supposed to be napping, but instead he is humming Rocky Top while playing with his Tennessee men.

So, I thought Abby Kate was being sweet to me this morning by telling me that she loved me. When I told her that I love her too, she shot me down. "No mom, I love BUGLES!"

Is excited about taking Jack to his 1st Cardinals game in St. Louis! Joshua can't wait to see Pujols! Abby Kate can't wait to eat cotton candy.

Tonight on the way home from church, Jackson kept asking where the moon was. After hearing Jackson ask over and over again for 10 minutes, Joshua said that maybe he should ask God, because God knows everything.

"Hey mom, there are some beach trees. I guess that the beach is moving closer to us." Joshua's comment on the palm tree that we saw on the way to school this morning.

Cannot believe that Jason changed Jackson in the bed of his pickup this morning at drop off for MMO. Too funny!

Only my child would be the one putting on lip gloss during her eye exam. Not once, but two times!

While watching a little football, Joshua told Abby Kate that cheerleaders don't wear shirts. They like for their belly buttons to stick out.

While getting ready...hey Abby Kate, where is Jackson? "Oh, he's in the bathroom eating toothpaste!"

Joshua is really into spelling words that he sees. This morning I got this..."Hey mom, what does l-i-q-u-o-r spell?"

So three guys sprinted across the field in last night's game, only to be tackled right in front of us by security. Joshua was trying to understand WHY they would do such a thing. He asked me if they were trying to play tag.

And, we can now successfully climb into and out of our crib! Yay for momma!

Got pulled over by the police. Joshua and Abby Kate asked if I was going to tell PawPaw and Nana.

Jackson got his first haircut from his sister!!! Thankfully, he was already scheduled for an appointment this afternoon.

"Momma, why do birds have white poop?" - Abby Kate

Abby Kate's protest to wearing jeans..."But Mom, those jeans just get me into all kinds of hottness!"

Joshua is in bed singing Barbara Ann to himself.

We kept the kids home on Monday to make sure that we got rid of all of our germies. I called Jason to check in on the kids to see if anyone was still running a fever. "Nope, they all have a 95 degree temp." I don't really think that Jason knows how to use the thermometer. I'm home with the kids today and everyone is FEVER FREE!!!

Watched our video from our wedding 10 years ago with Joshua and Abby Kate. I looked over at Abby Kate and she had tears streaming down her face. She is definitely my sensitive little girl. Bless her sweet heart!

Watching Bon Jovi and Jack just turned around and said, "I like this one, momma!"

We just finished putting up the Christmas tree. Abby Kate told me that she was glad that we didn't have a Grinch to take it away.

We must be freezing Joshua out. He is in bed wearing his pajamas, his winter coat, and his hat is pulled up over his head. And all of this is under his covers.

Joshua turned a question in Celebration Station into his own confessional today. "When my mom is not around, my dad and I throw football to each other in the house." They both know that his is the BIGGEST rule of the house!!!!

Throwing baby wipes into the toilet = $450 mistake. Lesson learned! Merry Christmas Baby!!!

Abby Kate and Joshua were talking about the reindeer and who they were related to. Abby Kate asked who Rudolph's wife was, and Joshua told her that he didn't have a wife, "because there was no other red nosed reindeer."

"Hey mom, why don't we give our van away and get a new one that has a dvd player in it? - Joshua

Jack and a blue magic marker vs. the wall in the den

Today in Bible class Joshua picked his nose. Before the teacher could give him a tissue, he wiped it all over the table. When asked why, he said "because that is what my mom does." His teacher said that she was going to ask me about it and then he quickly told her that he was just joking! There is no telling what my kids are saying about me!!!

Snows Days and A Flip

The last two days we have really enjoyed the snow! Abby Kate was a little sad when I shared the news with her that we would be out of school on Thursday. She told me that she just didn't understand why her teacher would close the school after they had just had a long break. I love that she enjoys school so much. She was counting down the days to return to school during the Christmas break. Last night she was a little more excited when I told her that we wouldn't be going to school today either. I actually got a "Woo Hoo" from my little girl.

I think that we lasted about 20 minutes out in the snow, but we sure did have fun while we were out there. We have all enjoyed staying inside and keeping warm with a fire and some hot chocolate. Snow days are few and far between and we have truly enjoyed our time off and being together!

Enjoying the snow!

Jackson

Abby Kate and Jason

Jason and Jackson

Our frozen koi pond

Jackson

Abby Kate was so excited to make her snow angel.

Joshua and Jason

Running to slide in the snow.
I love the excitement on Jack's face!

Snow Much Fun!

We also spent the morning playing with a Flip Video camcorder. Here's a little video that I shot of the kids and Jason "sliding" in our yard.

Our Family According to Jackson

Jackson loves anything Dora or Diego! One of his favorite books is a big Dora book that we received as a gift a few years ago. Jackson has found his favorite page and has affectionately placed our family in the story.

Here is our family according to Jackson...

This is PawPaw and Nana

There I am...

The one with the orange shirt and pink pants
The hair is a bit freaky

And there is Sissy with the soccer ball

And Bubba (#9)

And there is "Jack Jack"

We are all there cheering him on as he scores a goal.
But, he is a dinosaur...



And, then there is Daddy...

Daddy???

Jackson LOVES this his Dora book!

I'm just wondering if Jason is the dinosaur on the field, who is that guy sitting beside me?

And, why is Jason a dinosaur?

A Miniscule Twenty-Three Cents

I did not set out with an end goal amount in mind when I started documenting my 2009 Savings. However, the final tally shows a savings of $2,499.77. The obsessive part of me really wants to find a way to round up my savings by 23 cents to give me an even $2,500. Jason has even offered to give me a quarter, but in my book, that quarter is not money that I saved in the store on a sale item, so I can't count it in my tally.

If you know anything about me, I'm sure that you know that I LOVE to save money!!! It is such an addiction for me and I find such joy in the savings that I earn! I've become quite compulsive in my quest for savings.

This past year, I decided to document my savings throughout 2009. I started getting my toes wet with savings in 2008, and in 2009 I wanted to really see if my savings were adding up. I am so impressed with my near $2,500 in savings! That number proves to me that my method does work and that I am saving our family a lot of money when it comes to our groceries.

Out of all the stores that I shop at, I have found that I score the best deals at Publix. I used to think that I would be a WalMart shopper for life, but all of that changed this year. Fighting the masses, waiting 20 minutes in line just to check out, fearing for our lives when in the parking lot...all in all, I bet that I have been to WalMart maybe a dozen times in the last year. And for that, I am TRULY thankful!!!

I absolutely love shopping at Publix. It is so much cleaner, smaller, and more helpful. Every time I turn around, we have more coupons from Publix in our mailbox, we get awesome penny item deals weekly, and their bogo offers are tops! Plus, they DOUBLE your coupons (up to 50 cents)! And, they have really nice people that even help you out to your car and load your groceries, while you get your crew of 3 into the van! I shop at Publix weekly! A weekly trip might sound like a lot, but I only buy what is on sale. I then use my coupons, and I come out with a nice weekly savings on my grocery bill.

I have truly enjoyed my frugal finds and seeing just how much money I saved in 2009!

2009 Savings
Coupons - $206.41
CVS - $115.95
Kroger - $409.91
Publix - $1311.86
Target - $238.19
Walgreens - $217.45
Total Savings To Date - $2,499.77
Saved More Than Spent - 35

Christmas 2009 In Pictures

Christmas Joy

Abby Kate and Joshua

Christmas 2009

Excited to see what all Santa brought on Christmas morning

Joshua

Jackson

PawPaw and Nana with Jackson, Abby Kate, and Joshua

Christmas 2009
Notice how we managed to get a good picture with all 3 kids.