Time Out

New Site and New Challenge

2011-12-31T20:10:00.002-06:00

I have decided to take on a New Year's challenge for the 2012 Leap Year. I've moved my blog and you can find me over at http://alittletimeout.wordpress.com/. I hope that you follow me as we move into this New Year!

The Halls Were Decked

2011-12-30T00:45:00.000-06:00

It is always SO much fun decorating our house for Christmas each year. My goal this year was to have fewer Christmas ornaments broken, than I had last year. I am happy to report that we met that goal. I believe that only 1 ornament broke compared with last year's 5 ornaments! The kids are always so helpful and we really enjoy making our home full of Christmas cheer. Here's a tour around our home after "We Decked the Halls"!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

I love looking back at all of our Santa pictures with the kids. Lots of memories with each one.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

Side note: My stocking is on the end to help with the coordination of the stocking pattern.

So many favorites here: Snowmen - they are my favorite! The skinny snowmen group - I remember shopping with my mom when she bought these. I was delighted that she gave them to me when I left home. The Santa boots - Jason and I both have these and they are from our childhood. The picture of Abby Kate - priceless picture of our passionate child and what Santa thought of us for putting her into his lap.

Some more favorites: The picture of Jason, me, and our Cocker Spaniel, Andy - our dear friends took this picture of us for one of our Christmas cards. Little did we know that I was pregnant with the twins when this picture was taken (2003). Abby Kate and Joshua with Santa - they were 5 months old in this picture with Santa. Our first Christmas with babies (2004). The picture of Joshua and Abby Kate with the red frame - love their little personalities that were captured here. Joshua is fascinated with the ornament (ball) and Abby Kate is inquisitively trying to figure out who has her (2005).

Our little first Christmas tree. This tree has our Precious Moments ceramic "Our First Christmas Together - 1999" ornament and last year I found the Precious Moments nativity set. It is a small one, but I love Precious Moments and have always wanted a "small" nativity set for our home. This tree and the special Precious Moments stay in our room during the holidays.

Joshua's Christmas tree

Abby Kate's Christmas tree

Jackson's Christmas tree

And what's Christmas without a house full of Christmas goodies? Our kitchen table was converted to our sweets' and appetizers' table for the duration of the Christmas celebrations.

11 Memories From 2011

2011-12-27T13:17:00.003-06:00

It's been a long time since I last updated my blog. And, we've been extremely BUSY! So many wonderful things have happened this year and then we've had some really hard times as well. Here is my attempt at highlighting some of our great memories and these are in no particular order.

1. This time a year ago, Jason and I were somewhere mid-flight from the United States to South Africa. It took us a VERY long time to get there, but when we did, we met some of the sweetest brothers and sisters in Christ. I love the fact that facebook allows me the privilege to keep in touch with my friends from so far away. Jason was invited to preach at the South Africa Area Wide Preaching Workshop. I had the opportunity to teach the ladies a class on teaching young children. I gained some great friends during our time away and I still treasure our time abroad with the sweet people of South Africa. AND, it was really cool celebrating New Year's Eve in two different time locations!

2. We had SO MUCH SNOW last January! 7 1/2 inches at our house! We woke up to a White Christmas on Christmas Day and then a few weeks later, experienced the greatest snowfall I ever remember. It was awesome! We were out of school for little over a week and our town was basically shut down. Our days were spent together with each other, lots of fun in the snow, hot chocolate, movies, and pj days. Those days are still some of my favorite memories of our family time together.

3. Our family went to Knoxville for our very first UT basketball game. We had so much fun cheering on the Volunteers and enjoyed being on campus without the huge crowd that the football games usually bring.

4. SEATTLE! We spent our Spring Break in Seattle and the kids are still talking about our trip there. We had such a great time out there and loved every minute of it. We visited Mt. Rainier, the Hammering Man, Pike Place Market, the FIRST Starbucks, we also toured Seattle duck style-"Ride the Ducks", visited the Childrens' Museum, and took a moment to watch the water display at the "International Fountain". We also visited the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, the Elliot Bay Book Company and we caught a Mariners Game at Safeco Field. On our final night in Seattle, we watched the lights come up on Seattle from Gas Works Park. We had an incredible trip and a wonderful time in the city with our family!

5. We began the process of building a house! It was so much fun, but with a terrible housing market, we lost that house and are now continuing to rebuild - the exact same house, but in a different location. It is stressful, but definitely fun seeing all the hard work that you put into creating a house turn out beautifully. Hopefully we will be able to actually move into this house and our current house will sell. At least, that's what we hope.

6. We took our annual trip out to St. Louis to catch a few Cardinals' games. We saw 3 games, went swimming, visited the St. Louis Zoo, and took the kids inside the Arch for their first time. We love St. Louis and we love baseball, so we enjoyed our family vacation time in this great city!

7. The twins started first grade at the "Big School" this fall with ME as their teacher! I absolutely LOVE teaching my own children in my classroom each day! What a unique opportunity I have been blessed with.

8. Jackson and I joined Jason out in Texas for a weekend while he was away for two weeks of Doctoral work at ACU. Jackson turned 4 during our time out west and we wanted to be together to celebrate. I am proud of Jason for working towards his Doctorate, but it is definitely hard and time consuming. Hopefully Jason will graduate in 2014 with his Doctorate of Ministry. AND then, I receive my reward of "Putting Hubby Through School" with a trip to Hawaii. But, I'm not counting down the days or anything. :)

9. All 5 of us ventured out to the UT/Georgia football game this fall. Jackson had never been to Neyland and the 5 of us had never been to a game together. We always love going to Knoxville for some good fall football.

10. Family time at Thanksgiving and Christmas - We enjoyed Thanksgiving Day with Jason's side of the family and dinner with my parents and grandparents. For Christmas, we enjoyed a 3 day celebration. I was surprised a little early with my Christmas gift - a beautiful little Shih Tzu puppy that we named Sadie - Sadie Belle for the full name. :) I loved making all kinds of Christmas goodies and treats: chex mix, puppy chow, fudge, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered peanuts, and sausage balls. And then we enjoyed some great meals together. For Christmas Eve breakfast, we had eggs, bacon and chocolate chip heart-shaped waffles. For Christmas Eve dinner, Jason grilled some ribeyes and I made salad and baked potatoes. We awoke Christmas morning to some great gifts from Santa! We must have been really good this year. My mom, dad, and Mimi came down to join us for church Christmas morning and then we ate a feast of chicken and dressing casserole, green beans, fresh corn, mac n' cheese, deviled eggs, rolls, and my mom brought her sweet potatoes. I truly enjoyed our time with my parents and grandmother. On Monday, Jason's family came down to join us for a Christmas celebration. Jason really wanted a turkey, so I went to work on making sure the turkey was just perfect, and I think that I succeeded. Tara brought down her dressing and I fixed cowboy potatoes, mac n' cheese, green beans, fresh corn, deviled eggs and we had some rolls from Jason' aunt. We had fun exchanging gifts and enjoyed our time together. We are very blessed to be surrounded my our wonderful family.

11. There are always several small little things that we do every year. Here's a list of a few....strawberry pickin', Fun Fest, Chattanooga Aquarium, Halloween, Tate Farms, Easter, shooting guns, Birmingham Zoo, US Space and Rocket Center, diggin' and pickin' taters out of the ground and pickin' fresh vegetables, spring and fall baseball for Joshua, the Fourth of July with dear friends, swimming days in the summer, Summer Celebration at Lipscomb University, a trip to Kentucky for some fresh corn and veggies, surprising Jason with his Dad's guitar for Father's Day, watching the kids' celebrate their 4th and 7th birthdays this summer, VBS, beach trip, Kindergarten graduation, and many more wonderful memories of our time together as a family.

A Different Route

2011-08-29T22:11:00.003-05:00

this morning i take a different route

i have an appointment across town

alone in my car

i collect my thoughts

the traffic is so crazy

there are so many cars on the road

everyone bustling around so early, this monday morning

cars, trucks, suv's, all busy going wherever they please

some sip on cups of coffee

others shove bits of breakfast, as they drive defensively

the birds, well, they just sit on the wires

watching the passersby

there are so many cars on the road

everyone bustling around so early, this monday morning

and the birds, well, they just sit on the wires

watching the passersby

Sweet Dreams

2011-08-27T22:16:00.001-05:00

It is no secret that Jackson's bedtime habits have drastically changed this year. He has worn both Jason and me out come bedtime. Jackson can't stand to be alone when going to bed and has turned bedtime into a very trying time.

This summer we were all out of school and we tend to let our hair down a little more. Plus, Jason was gone out of town for 3 weeks. Needless to say, I was not as strong about enforcing a consistent bedtime routine. We were fortunate enough to have a Parenting Conference this past weekend and I am happy to say that Jason and I have commandeered our nights back this week. I captured most of the pictures below after a couple of hours of going round and round with Jackson to go to sleep. Even though I was worn out each night, he still has a way of melting my heart!

the reclining chair in our hotel room in St. Louis

mom and dad's bed with his night-night and monkey

fell asleep at my feet while I was on the phone with Jason

in the den outside of his bedroom

asleep in the den just right outside his room

asleep on the couch beside me

I love the sweater vest that he chose to put on

the den

he surprised me by actually being quiet in his room

I had to check it out (because I thought that he had actually fallen asleep)

he had no idea that I was in there with him

mom and dad's room

in the den with mom and dad

Twelve

2011-08-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

Jason and I recently celebrated our 12th anniversary! In so many ways it seems like only yesterday that we were standing before an audience, at the Mt. Juliet Church of Christ on a hot summer day in August, pledging our love to each other. In other ways, it seems like a really long time ago. Our lives have been so richly blessed by each other. I am thankful for the family and friends that God has placed in our lives over these last 12 years.

We were able to celebrate our anniversary with a getaway to Nashville. The kids stayed over at Uncle Richard's and Aunt Tara's house and had a blast!!! They went to a football game and went out on the boat for their first time. They loved the water and had a great time! Jason and I stayed in Nashville and enjoyed our time together. I am so grateful for the opportunities where Jason and I can just get away together; just the two of us. We enjoyed meals together, saw The Help, did some shopping, and Jason took me to my first Grand Ole Opry show! I loved visiting our old stomping grounds...the same restaurants, the same movie theater, the same mall....it's fun strolling down memory lane.

I have been to the Opry house on several occasions, but I had never actually been to the "Grand Ole Opry". One would think that for living 21 years of my life in Nashville that I had actually been to the Opry, but I hadn't. We saw Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Martina McBride, and countless others. I loved every minute of it!

Jason, I love that we share so many common interests. We love to travel, watch the Cardinals play ball, visit baseball stadiums, go to concerts (there's just something about live music), go to the movies, read, share some time together over a cup of coffee, and just being together. Jason, I love you more and more each day! I am so grateful that I have you as my one true love. "Baby, you're the greatest!" Happy Anniversary!

May 2011

The Grand Ole Opry

Vince Gill

They were honoring his 20 years in The Opry the night we were there.

Amy Grant

I'm really excited to have a date at The Ryman in December to see

Vince Gill and Amy Grant's "The Twelve Days of Christmas" tour.

The Beginning of Another School Year

2011-08-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

We started school last week and we are all of to a great start! Jackson has "Mrs. Rufie (Ruthie) as his teacher this year, and he is loving every minute of it. Joshua and Abby Kate are excited about their teacher this year...ME!!! I'm am beyond excited to be sharing Joshua and Abby Kate's first grade school year with my babies! I still cannot believe that they are old enough to be up at the big school and to be in my classroom. I know that we will have a great year! Here are some pictures from our first day!

My little Jack

Abby Kate and Joshua

Abby Kate

Our big First grader!

Joshua

Our big First grader!

Ready for their first day of first grade.

Excited about my year with these two!

Through the Lens...

2011-07-27T23:14:00.000-05:00

Here are just a few of my newest favorites through the lens of my camera...

Joshua and Abby Kate watching a Cardinals game together in St. Louis.

Abby Kate took this picture of us on our ride down from the Arch.

A picture is worth a thousand words...
This story will just have to be told later.

The Arch

"The Gateway to the West"

Love this picture of one of the elephants at the St. Louis Zoo!

After a hot day at the zoo, who wouldn't jump at the chance to get completely drenched in a waterfall with your mother's approval. I love the look of pure joy and fun on Joshua's face!

Rewind: Stitches (April 14th)

2011-07-19T09:51:00.001-05:00

There once was a time when Jackson got stitches....

We were able to visit Seattle this year for Spring Break. (I look forward to sharing about that trip and posting some of my favorite pictures here soon.) After we got home from our trip, the kids and Jason were outside playing while I was inside the house catching up on our never ending laundry pile. I was sitting on the floor folding another load of laundry when I heard Jason bust through the garage door screaming for me and Jackson screaming in pain. I immediately felt my stomach sink as I knew whatever it was, it wasn't good.

I met Jason at the sink and instantly saw that Jackson had cut his head. Jackson had been riding his bike around the driveway and ran into Jason's tailgate. The truck tailgate is hardly ever down. Jason had been to Lowe's earlier that day and had bought some mulch that he hadn't unloaded yet. Jason had been outside with the kids and could tell as soon as Jackson cried that something had happened. Jackson got off of his bike and when he called "Daddy" and came into Jason's sight, the blood from his head started gushing out. There was blood EVERYWHERE! (When we got home, you could see the blood trail that had led from outside, through the garage, and into our house.) Jason immediately started putting pressure on Jackson's head and we talked through what had happened - all the while trying to calm Jackson down. When Jason pulled away from apply pressure, we took a good look at Jackson's wound and knew we were headed to the ER. You know, I've always had those moments where the kids get a big boo-boo and there is a lot of blood and you sit and wonder if you should go to the ER...well, I think that when they need stitches, you know. I grabbed some clean cloths and we all headed over to the ER. I was able to call a family friend and line them up to take Joshua and Abby Kate when we got there. I sat in the back of the van holding Jackson and applying pressure. The twins were so upset and were really worried about Jackson. They were the ones crying all the way to the hospital. By that point, Jackson had stopped crying and was just quietly lying there trying to move the cloths off of his head. We got to the hospital really fast and were instantly attended to.

The nurses that came in to look at Jackson felt confident that the doctor would just glue his incision closed and we'd be good as new. They were telling us all the good reasons why glue would be the better route (because of the scar) and practically had us sold on it. Once the doctor came in, he told us that Jackson would be getting stitches. He explained that the glue probably wouldn't do the trick with it being right there on his forehead, and he was afraid that it might open up again. Well, we didn't want that and the doctor didn't either. So, they prepped him for stitches. He got 4 stitches and did great. Jackson was back to his normal self the next day.

This is a very blurry picture of his gash.

While they put the numbing gel on his gash, he feel asleep waiting for the doctor to come in and stitch him up.

All stitched up and ready to go home.

Poor baby

On April 21st, we headed over to our doctor's office to get Jackson's stitches out.

He was such a BIG guy and was SO brave!

His scar is looking better each day. If his scar gets bumped or touched he does still complain. Hopefully over time, the pain will go away and you won't even be able to see his scar. But, he does proudly wear his scar.

Our Fishy Day

2011-07-14T23:45:00.001-05:00

I took the kids back to Chattanooga today to visit the Aquarium. We never tire of aquariums or zoos, so it was a perfect way to enjoy another hot summer day. We enjoyed a picnic lunch before hitting the aquarium and took our time watching the fish!

"Mom, take our picture."

Jackson was a good rule follower remembering that you are supposed to touch the sturgeons with 2 fingers. He didn't touch one, but liked watching them.

Today was the first time that we saw the divers feeding the sting rays. The kids and I were so engaged in watching these guys eat their meal. It was really cool!

We took an ice cream break between the River and Ocean Journeys. Sweet moment here: Jackson knocked his ice cream cup off of the table and it landed on the floor (ice cream side down). He was really sad, but Abby Kate quickly made him feel better by giving Jackson her cup of ice cream. It's great to see these sweet moments between the kids.

Joshua made sure and got every last drop of his ice cream. No clue what was left on his face.

My 3 little cuties

The kids were a little braver this trip and actually touched AND fed the sting rays!

We always love the penguins!

I asked for a picture and they posed like this all on their own.

The kids wanted to get their feet wet. I told them not to get their clothes wet. Well, Joshua and Abby Kate followed my rule, but not Jackson. He squatted down in the water and was drenched in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, I did not bring a change of clothes!

My beautiful little princess

Joshua's "surfer dude" pose

Seven Years!!!!!!! How Can It Be?

2011-07-09T23:24:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that I am a momma to not one, but two, seven years old!!! Wow!!! Where did all the time go? We've had fun celebrating birthdays these last three weeks. We headed up to Nashville the day before Joshua and Abby Kate's birthday. My parents had dinner and cakes for us and we were excited to celebrate all three kids' birthdays with family.

Joshua and Jackson each had their own chocolate "Cars 2" cake. Abby Kate is a white cake lover and was tickled to have a "Tangled" birthday cake! They've been begging for these themes for weeks now! My parents came through big time for each of them.

After dinner and cake, Jason and I took the kids out to a drive-in theater. This was a first for Jason and me. The kids went to their first drive-in last summer. We watched Cars 2 again and it was AWESOME!!! Definitely a fun experience for everyone! Since the show doesn't begin until dark, it definitely made for a late night.

We woke up the next morning to two VERY excited birthday kids! They were so eager to celebrate their birthday. Jason went out and got us doughnuts with chocolate sprinkles for breakfast! Afterwards, we set up the kids' birthday presents. This year, we didn't wrap anything, but set it all out like Christmas. And, it definitely seems like Christmas when two kids get birthday presents. This year, we were able to give the kids SEVEN gifts in honor of their seventh birthday. They loved every minute of it!

After our gift time, we headed out to lunch at Chili's with Tara, Micah, and Hope and then the kids were eager to head to the toy store to spend a little bit of their birthday money! And, going into a big toy store with 3 young buyers is very time consuming. However, they loved every minute of it.

We had so much fun celebrating Joshua and Abby Kate's birthday! I can honestly say that these seven years have flown by. I have enjoyed each stage that they have been in. It goes by too quickly! I feel more than blessed to be the mommy of 3 adorable children! They are my pure joy!

We love you Joshua Alan and Abby Katherine!

Jason and his boys

My two little men

Joshua is very proud that he is now SEVEN years old!!!!!!!

Abby Kate is excited to be SEVEN, and it seems like she is going on seventeen!!!!!!!

Jackson is a very happy FOUR year old!!!!

I LOVE this picture of Abby Kate!

Joshua showing off one of his presents!

Abby Kate has been BEGGING for a Bitty Baby stroller since Christmas!

It was definitely the highlight of her birthday gifts!

My sweet babies! Hard to believe that they are now 7, 7, and 4! I am one blessed momma!

Summer Fun

2011-07-04T23:58:00.001-05:00

I can hardly believe that July is here! We are all having a great summer and each day is filled with more excitement. Jason was gone for a couple of weeks in June for his doctorate of Ministry that he is beginning. We are all so very proud of him and the work that he will put in to this last level of school. I have already begun the countdown to 2014, where Jason will become a Dr.! While he was away, we had some fun of our own here at home.

We went swimming! I am amazed at all the kids can do now in the pool. Joshua loves running into the pool with a cannonball, he can do front and back flips underwater, he loves going under water to get the dive sticks, and he is a big time swimmer. Abby Kate is the fish of the water, she loves to swim under water, loves going under to get the dive sticks, loves jumping in the pool, and would spend all day in the pool if she could. Jackson is coming around to the pool now. At the beginning of the summer, I referred to him as my "1st step pool boy", but now he loves to venture out into the water with his float and loves jumping into the pool (into your arms). They have learned how to do so much more in just a few short weeks in the pool.

Abby Kate and Jackson

Abby Kate and Joshua

We enjoyed a fun week at VBS! This was Jackson's first year to go and although he was really not sure about it, I think that he had fun too. Our VBS wrap-up was during class Wednesday night, and Jackson was so proud of all the songs that he had learned and made sure that I was doing the right hand movements to all the songs. I think that he had fun correcting me when I didn't quite get it all right. I helped out in Elementary crafts and enjoyed getting to help Joshua and Abby Kate each day with their crafts.

Joshua and Abby Kate working on their pillowcases.

After Jason returned from his two week long classes, we wrapped up our t-ball season with a cookout and pool party. Joshua was so excited to get his trophy from his Daddy. I am so proud of the sacrifices of time that Jason makes to get out there on the field and coach Joshua. And, I am very proud of our little ball player! He is the best 6 year old t-ball player that I know!

Jason and Joshua after getting his trophy for the season

We helped Grandmother celebrate her birthday! Jason's mother was one of six children. Jason is one of 13 grandchildren and grandmother has 23 great-grandchildren!

I think this is a cute picture!

We were also able to celebrate the 4th with some dear friends. July 4th always has a very special memory for me. 7 years ago, my parents came down for a cook out and after they left, Jason took me out to watch fireworks in the back of his black Ranger. It was only 2 days later that we welcomed TWINS into our family! Special memories for this blessed momma!

Stacy and me in our pink shirts!

Jackson found a tree to climb in while waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Joshua also had fun hanging out on a tree.

My love!

Joshua and Abby Kate waiting on the fireworks to begin!

Happy 4th of July!

Pickles!

2011-06-23T22:23:00.001-05:00

Before we headed back home on Tuesday, we went back over to Tara's to make pickles. Tara purchased about 6 pounds of pickling cucumbers the day before up in Kentucky and when we arrived, she had already prepped the kitchen for pickle making.

I've never made pickles before, but thought that I would tag along in the process to learn. Jason and I recently watched "The Pickle Story" from The Andy Griffith Show. We got a little tickled talking about the show and how if you mention to anyone that you are making pickles, well, you've just got to try theirs too. The pickles were super easy to make and I can't wait to give my jar of pickles a taste!

6 pounds of pickling cucumbers

We sliced the cucumbers and filled our pint jars with the slices.

Abby Kate was eager to help us out with the process.

And Jackson was really helpful too.

After we simmered our "mix", we filled each jar until the cucumbers were covered.

Then the jars of cucumbers took a water bath for a few minutes.

This is the "mix" that we used to fill our jars.

After the jars finished soaking in their water bath, we pulled them out to cool on the counter. I loved hearing all the seals "pop".

We had so much fun over at Tara's! She is a great cook and a wonderful sister-in-law! I love that we took the time to do this. I truly feel this is an art that is quickly leaving us. I'm wanting to soak up all I can about canning and putting up fresh vegetables! I can't wait to try our pickles.

To Kentucky We Did Go

2011-06-22T15:02:00.000-05:00

I was able to head up to the land of the Mennonites in Kentucky with my fabulous sister-in-law, Tara and my niece, Hope. Tara has a wonderful cooking website that you should check out. We were on a mission to find corn, green beans, and whatever else happened to look good. I bought a box of corn, but found out that we were a little early for the green beans. Tara picked up a few more things - peaches, pickling cucumbers, and eggplant. We stopped off at one of the little stores and I treated the kids to a snack of their choosing. We had a fun time driving through the little Mennonite community and buying the freshest veggies to put up for the summer. We finished our trip to Kentucky with lunch at a little Mexican restaurant and then headed back to Tara's house to begin our corn process. The last time that I had made corn with Tara was back in 2008. I definitely loved putting away the corn with Tara and Hope, but it is definitely messy. Abby Kate, Joshua, and Jackson even provided helping hands this year.

We ended up with 2 boxes of corn to put away.

Shucking corn is a great upper body workout.

Helpful hands help wash and silk the cobs of corn.

I love this picture.

And then we cut the corn off the cob - all 160 ears.

We ended up with 3 of these big bowls of cut corn.

Then we boiled the corn off a pot at a time.

Our finished product!

This picture makes me so happy!

I'm excited to know that we will have fresh corn for the year now!

Celebrating Father's Day

2011-06-19T22:52:00.001-05:00

We woke up this morning and were able to surprise Jason with a few small presents before heading off to church. Awhile back, we had some friends over and somehow we got sidetracked and pulled out Jason's guitar. With the first strum, I think that the hair on all of our neck's stood up. Our friend started telling Jason what all could be done to get his guitar back in proper working order. I took note of all that was being said and stored it away for later.

I was able to get the guitar out of the house without getting caught. At least I wasn't caught for a few days! Anyways, my friend was able to take the guitar, get it all cleaned up and tuned. We purchased a new case and some hardware to hang the guitar on the wall. My friend also threw in all the necessary things needed to play and I was able to get it back from the shop in time for a great Father's Day present. Jason was completely on to me, but I didn't really care. I knew that this guitar meant a lot and I wanted it fixed up for Jason.

Jason is a great Daddy to our Abby Kate, Joshua, and Jackson. I am thankful for the husband and father that Jason is to our children and to me. We are all blessed beyond measure because of Jason.

Father's Day 2011

This guitar is a very special one, because it belonged to his father.

Jackson was eager to give Daddy's guitar a little strum.

We were able to grab lunch out at Cracker Barrel. I'm not really sure how well Joshua can play checkers now, but it was here that he learned from his daddy today.

Happy Father's Day to one of the greatest!

We love you!

What I'm Loving

2011-06-17T21:53:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled to get an iPad 2 for my birthday gift and have enjoyed using it when I can steal it away from the kids. They love playing on it any chance they get. Jackson is especially fascinated with the camera and video. I have lots of strange pictures and several short videos of him being silly. I am still amazed at all the kids can do with technology. I purchased my first iBook last night and have already begun reading my new story.

A few years ago while Jason was away at the Pepperdine Lectureships, he brought home a shower gel from The Body Shop for my Mother's Day gift. I had never used this shower gel before, but instantly fell in love with it. I bought a new bottle sometime last year and have been using it sparingly to make sure I don't run out. It is my absolute favorite and the next time I head up to Nashville, I will be sure and make a pit stop at The Body Shop to snag another bottle of this shower gel.

I've been able to manage my time wonderfully during this vacation from school. Who would think that one could be so happy with having a clean house, the laundry washed, folded and put away, and all of the dishes cleaned and put away. My OCD self is loving the extra time that I have to check off my to do list and enjoy the rest of my day relaxing because the "chores" are completed. Since being home, I've been able to reclaim my kitchen cabinets, my pantry, the office, my bookshelves, the linen closets, the kids' closets, my closet, and the playroom. It feels great putting my organizational skills to good use. I love a well cleaned and organized home! It makes me feel so happy!

Books! I love having all the extra time to READ!!! This year, I've really been able to allow for some extra time to read. Now, I'm nowhere close to Jason's level of book reading, but I'm very proud of my small accomplishment. I added up the books that I've read since Christmas the other day, and after my most recent read, I will have read 10 books! (Some of these are from my trip to Africa, where I had a LOT of time on the plane to read.) I have two more on my shelf waiting for me and the one on my iPad, so that will give me 13 books read here within the next couple of weeks. Now, if October would hurry up and get here so that I could go ahead and get my hands on Nicholas Sparks' newest release.

I never would have guessed that this day would be here so soon, but I am a mother that is now listening to my daughter's music. Whenever we get in the car to go somewhere, I am instantly the van DJ. I can't process the requests quickly enough for my little girl. I've taken a big liking to Taylor Swift's most recent album. I especially love singing along with "Dear John" and "Mean" and the list could seriously go on and on. There is something about seeing an artist perform live that really draws me in as a devoted fan. I can't wait for Abby Kate to get Swift's "Fearless" album here in a few short weeks for her birthday. I'm sure that I'll be learning all the words to the songs on that album too.

There is a story behind this little gem. I am pretty much a creature of habit. I like my routine and I don't really change things up too much. But, I've branched out a little at Bath and Body Works and happened upon a new scent to add to my mix - Twilight Woods. Awhile back, I treated myself to the Twilight Woods body cream. I loved it! I even decided to take it with us to Seattle, but made a small error when checking our bags and it was taken away at the security checkpoint. A BRAND NEW bottle!!! (There is a HUGE story behind that, but I won't bore you with all the details. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper when I ended up losing $40 worth of product at that checkpoint. It was my mistake, but I am still not over that one. Not when I am a little crazy about saving money and I had to essentially throw away all that stuff. Well, I guess that I did give you a little more detail than I intended. It's still a sore spot.) Well, I decided to buy another bottle and I accidentally left that bottle at the beach! One would think that I am not supposed to have this little jewel, but I made another trip to Bath and Body Works today and purchased 3 new bottles! I'm hoping that I will be able to actually use these bottles of lotion.

Lemonberry Slush from Sonic!!! I discovered this sweet treat a couple of years ago, and had forgotten about it. That is until the other day! I love making slush runs with the kids. It's a nice, sweet, cool treat on a hot summer day. (I'm trying to see how many adjectives I can use.)

Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks! I've traded in my Tall Peppermint Mocha for a cool summer treat! Need I say more!

Blogging! I have really enjoyed updating my blog with all of the most recent happenings in our house. I finally feel caught up with the current, so I'm looking forward to going back and documenting the exciting things we did this past fall, winter, and spring. I know that this stage of life that we are in is quickly passing and I don't want all of the wonderful memories to leave me before I have a chance to document them. I am really excited about getting "Time Out" all caught up.

Mother's Day 2011

What I love more than anything else, is getting to spend my summer loving on my 3 precious children. We've had such a great start to this summer and we've had SO MUCH FUN! I think that I am trying to make up for all the lost summer fun from last year and I think that we are achieving that goal daily. I am looking forward to our other fun-filled summer days!

Jackson turns FOUR!!!!

2011-06-16T14:50:00.000-05:00

Fun Facts about Jackson

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Food: Fries and Croutons

Least Favorite Food: Green Beans
Favorite Treat: Chocolate Brownies
Favorite Car: Toyota

Favorite Thing To Do: Play Map Road

Favorite Show: Go Diego Go! and Dora the Explorer

Favorite Restaurant: Cracker Barrel

What he wants to be when he grows up: At Church like Daddy

Turning THREE!!!

Turning TWO!

Turning ONE!

Celebrating With Jackson

2011-06-15T14:34:00.001-05:00

Jackson just celebrated his fourth birthday!!! I can hardly believe that my little baby is now a big four year old. He is definitely my baby and will always be! Jason had to be out in Texas over the weekend, so I packed up my little guy and headed out west while the twins stayed in Nashville with their grandparents. Here's a glimpse of the fun that we had celebrating Jackson's birthday!!!

We opened birthday presents here at home a few days before. He was so excited to get a car carrying case, books, a movie, toy story cars, and a buzz light year lazer shooter. He had also been asking for a cd player like his brother and sister already have, so we made sure to give him one for his birthday. He is thrilled to get to listen to his music before bedtime each night.

Such a happy little guy!

Jackson and I flew on an airplane from Nashville. We had our friend, Elizabeth, come along with me to help out with Jackson. She was also able to keep him for us while we attended a few dinner meetings over the weekend. Jackson was thrilled to be on an airplane again! He finally fell asleep on the bus ride over to get our rental car.

On Jackson's birthday, Jason was tied up in meetings all day. We headed over to Fort Worth and went to the zoo! It is listed as one of the top ten zoos in America. It was AMAZING!!! We saw so MANY animals and loved every minute of it! They had penguins, elephants, giraffes, chimpanzees, orangutans, white tigers, cheetahs, meerkats, red kangaroos, wallabies, eagles, owls, rhinos, ostriches, and many more animals - they boast of having 5,000 animals!

Checking out the giraffes!

The elephants!

Jackson loved looking at all of the animals!

A statue of a kangaroo

We had fun looking in the underwater tank at the penguins and then we were able to walk outside and see the beach side penguins getting fed.

We took a break from the heat to ride the carousel. At first Jackson wanted to ride the horse, but quickly changed his mind.

He opted instead for what he called "Santa's Sleigh".

We were able to touch the sting rays and starfish.

After being in the Texas heat and a train ride back to the entrance, Jackson caught a quick little snooze with our friend, Elizabeth.

After getting back from the zoo, we cooled off in the pool until Jason finished up his class for the day. We headed out to Chuck E. Cheese for a little play time before dinner.

Jackson had so much fun!

We ended our night with a birthday dinner celebration at Chili's.

Cake!!!
Jackson will tell you that his cake was "massive" and "to the top of the ceiling"!

Happy 4th Birthday to my Jackson Cash!

My Latest Import

2011-06-09T10:29:00.000-05:00

I am so excited that summer is here and we are staying busy! We've had a great start and we've made sure that our days have been filled with fun, fun and more fun! This time a year ago, I was in the hospital after having major surgery. The recovery was much more than I bargained for and I didn't feel as if I really had a summer break at all. This year I am determined to change that and so far we've had a blast!

We've stayed busy with a trip to the Chattanooga Aquarium, visits to the library, t ball games, playing at the pool, trips to the park, Bible Memory Challenge Award's Night, dates with Dad, a trip to the farmer's market, playing in the sprinklers, catching up with friends over ice cream, and we are excited about all the other adventures our summer has in store for us!

I am also very excited to have the opportunity to work on updating my blog from this past year. Jason is knee deep in his work for his Doctorate of Ministry! So, I am finding that I have a lot of spare time to update my blog and read some books this summer.

I was able to upload my recent pictures from my camera. There's a little bit of everything in this most recent import.

Abby Kate dressed up as a princess with her baby.

Jackson checking out the sting rays.

Abby Kate looking over at the sting rays.

In the butterfly garden, a beautiful butterfly came right up to Joshua and landed on his head! He sure is a sweet little guy!

Penguins!

Ahh! Sharks!

Getting a closer look at the spider crabs

Jackson found the perfect spot to watch the fish!

Love the look of focus!

Another at bat

Award's Night for Bible Memory Challenge

I was so excited for the kids to be there this year to receive their trophies. Last year, we missed Award's Night because of my surgery. They worked hard this year learning all of their memory verses and all the books of the Bible!

Our Beach Pictures

2011-06-08T12:23:00.000-05:00

Beach Fun

2011-06-07T07:49:00.067-05:00

We were able to go down to the beach over Memorial Day weekend for the Junior High Beach Retreat with our church group. We've been blessed with the opportunity to attend this Beach Retreat for the past several years. It is such a fun trip and this year we had an absolute blast! I was able to truly relax and enjoy our time together. The kids are at a great age with the pool and the ocean. I feel like I was able to loosen the reigns on the kids a little. They all know their limits and they don't push them (which is a good thing for me). Abby Kate and Joshua felt pretty secure with their ring floats and Jackson didn't go any further than the first step. A trip to the beach is a perfect way to relax after a full school year! We are excited to be out for the summer and are looking forward to many fun days at the pool!

While at the beach, we took an afternoon off to head over to the movie theater. We all saw Kung Fu Panda 2 and really enjoyed it. We don't go to the "real" theater that often, so this was a special treat for us. We also took a couple of nights and headed out to our favorite restaurant - De Soto's. We've been visiting De Soto's for the past 12 or 13 years! I guess that if you eat 2 of your 4 dinners out at one restaurant, you are a pretty devoted customer.

Jackson's trip to the pool was not complete until he had put on his sunglasses.

Abby Kate can't wait to get in the ocean.

Joshua loved the ocean and enjoyed jumping over the huge waves!

Jackson loved going out in the ocean with Jason, but when he was giving the other 2 a chance to go out, he sat at the water's edge and played in the water.

Jackson's hang out for the weekend

Abby Kate loves the water!

Silly Joshua

my 3 little cuties

Dinner at De Soto's

Jason and Abby Kate

My handsome little guy

We were able to go crab hunting our last night at the beach! Jackson was so excited and wanted nothing more than to catch a crab. The girls with us took Jackson with them and made it extra special for him. He was really disappointed that he didn't find a crab. After getting back he told Jason how sad he was and it just about broke Jason's heart. So he did what any good dad would do, he took his little boy back out to try and find a crab. The crabs were not wanting to come out, so they turned their little excursion into a seashell hunt. Such a sweet moment between a little boy and his daddy!

Abby Kate sporting her crab hunting hat! The flash was quite bright at nighttime, so Abby Kate is doing her best to smile for the camera with her eyes open.

Speak Now, Help Now

2011-06-06T16:19:00.000-05:00

Abby Kate and I had the opportunity to see Taylor Swift in concert on May 21st. We heard that Taylor Swift was actually opening her dress rehearsal to the public and that ALL the proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise, everything, would go to Tornado Victims. I was beyond thrilled to provide this opportunity to Abby Kate. She absolutely LOVES Taylor Swift and all of her concerts for this upcoming tour are completely sold out. I like to think of it like this - we were the first audience to see her tour! And, it was AMAZING! I've always enjoyed listening to Taylor Swift's music and she can really put on a show! She had 9 costume changes, the set was beautiful, and with each song - it was like watching it all play out, the special effects were incredible - her show was AWESOME!!! And Abby Kate LOVED every minute of it!

As a mother, I loved sharing with Abby Kate exactly why Taylor Swift was opening her dress rehearsal to an audience and what she doing with her proceeds from the concert. You have just a few moments in teaching your children when you can see where they really get what you are teaching them. This was one of those moments!

My dad was also able to go with us to the concert. He had a blast! Way back in the 6th grade, he took me to my very first concert - New Kids on the Block! The cool thing about it from my perspective is that my dad also got to take my daughter to her very first concert. All in all, it was a very special night for all 3 of us. I did get a little tickled when I looked over and saw his ears stuffed with ear plugs. Before the concert we met for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory! I think that the last time I had eaten there had been in high school. I'm always in the mood for Italian. Abby Kate, who is a macaroni and cheese snob, told me that she loved their mac!

Getting ready to head up to Nashville

All dressed up and ready to go see Taylor Swift in concert!

Dinner together at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Nashville

Abby Kate's first concert

Abby Kate and Paw Paw

Abby Kate can hardly wait for the concert to start! And, we all received a free t-shirt!

The quality is not the best, but here's Taylor Swift!

Amazing performance of "Love Story" with Taylor Swift floating all over the audience in this balcony.

Strawberry Pickin'

2011-06-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

I decided a few weeks ago to take the kids strawberry picking after Joshua's t-ball game finished that morning. Jason had a meeting planned that afternoon, so I was looking for something fun to do with the kids. The last time we went to pick strawberries, we had quite an eventful time with the storm that rolled in while we were in the fields. This day was full of sunshine, but it was SO HOT!

We all had a great time looking for the perfect strawberries to fill our bucket. Joshua was the best strawberry picker, Abby Kate didn't really care for it too much, and Jackson was content to eat the ones that he picked right there in the field. All in all, we really did have a fun time together and came away with a perfectly picked gallon and then I decided to buy one more gallon that had been pre-picked. We stopped off at Sonic for a "picnic lunch in the car" and then headed home.

This year, I decided to try and make strawberry freezer jam. The process was really simple, but time will tell if my work has paid off. I definitely feel that canning, preserving, and all the like are dying arts and I am more willing than ever to give it a try. You can't learn anything if you don't try. Right? I'm really excited to go back into the fields this year and get some corn and maybe even a few more veggies to try and put up for the winter and next year. In my book, there is nothing better than fresh veggies and fruits. I can't wait to see how my strawberry freezer jam turns out!

Jumping right into pickin'

Jackson looking for a perfect strawberry for our family.

Here's one Mom!

Joshua is proud of his pick.

Abby Kate and Joshua helping find more strawberries.

Jackson couldn't resist just a little taste!

Strawberry Pickin' 2011

Our Kindergarten Graduates

2011-06-02T15:47:00.000-05:00

Wow! It seems like only yesterday that Jason and I were taking Joshua and Abby Kate to their first day of Kindergarten. We have been so blessed to have our children in a loving Christian environment for preschool and Kindergarten these past 4 years. This year has been filled with their first field trips, fun days in the classroom, learning how to read, write, and spell. They been challenged and loved for who they are as individuals. We truly had a wonderful school year!

Our families were able to come down for Joshua and Abby Kate's Kindergarten graduation. I am so thankful for the sacrifices that our families make in being there for the big days for our children. It not only means a lot to the kids, it means the world to Jason and me. After graduation we had lunch reservations at Connor's and then came back to the house for cake and a special surprise cake for my birthday!

What a year of tremendous growth and many wonderful blessings this Kindergarten year was to Joshua and Abby Kate and our family!

First Day of Kindergarten

August 4, 2010

My little Kindergarten Babies

August 4, 2010

Our Kindergarten Graduates

Joshua

Abby Kate

Waiting for their diplomas

Joshua and Abby Kate's Kindergarten Class 2010-2011

Aunt Tara and the proud graduates

Abby Kate, Hope and Joshua

So proud!

Joshua and Abby Kate

May 20, 2011

Joshua and Abby Kate

Joshua

Abby Kate

May 20, 2011

Abby Kate and Joshua, we are so proud of you and all that you have learned this past year!

We love you!

4 Years and Counting

2011-05-15T21:39:00.000-05:00

Joshua is playing t ball for his 4th season this year! He is a Cardinal for his 3rd season! I love how the guys over the league always let Jason have his pick of his team. :)

2008 Cardinals #14

2009 Marlins #9

2010 Cardinals #5

2011 Cardinals #4

I love that Jason has been Joshua's coach since the beginning. Joshua looks up to his Daddy like none other. It has been a blessing for me to watch the two of them interact on the field.

This year, we are entering our 4th year playing t ball. Joshua is still in love with the game and takes it very seriously. We've tried holding off on the intense competitiveness of the game, but he has figured it all out. He will very proudly tell you that he hit a home run yesterday and even though we don't keep track of outs or runs, he knows all about it.

And of course, I am one proud momma! I took several pictures yesterday of Joshua's first game. It was a bit overcast, then the sun would shine brightly, and then our game was called after we had a downpour of rain. I can't wait for a nicer weather day to get some really good shots.

The cheering section

Coming in to make a play

Fielding a hit

The turn to throw to first

And the throw

Joshua made the play and is running to tag the runner out at third.

Eyes on the base

Fielding another play at pitcher

He has the ball and is looking at home to get #3 out at the plate.

Running to home

Getting closer

And Joshua makes the play at home!

Proud little brother!

Bed Time

2011-05-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

Jackson has a hard time going to sleep at night ever since we converted his toddler bed to the full size. He likes to have his humidifier running, his lamp on, and his door cracked. If you accidently close his door on your way out, he is instantly in a crying fit. He is always coming up with excuse after excuse to come out of his room and delay bed time. Although, my favorites are when he opens his door and says, "Mom, I love you". Definitely melts my heart.

He likes to play and color and look at books and do anything but lay down to sleep. He also doesn't usually last in his own bed at night. He's made his way into our bed at least the last 15 nights. Poor baby is just too scared to sleep alone, or though he says. I personally think that he is just looking for a little more snuggle time with mom and dad. I know that it won't last forever and I am enjoying it while it does.

These pictures are from a few months back, but I wanted to record the way that I found him playing in bed after putting him down for the night.

And not too much longer after the previous picture was snapped, I walked in and found him tuckered out.

Our God Is Bigger Than The Storm

2011-05-07T22:18:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday night I received an email alerting us about the potential for bad weather. I put my phone by my bed just in case I received a call delaying the start of school. Wednesday morning, I woke to the sound of tornado sirens. We quickly turned on the tv and I made the call to my coworkers about our 2 hour school delay. The kids were not up yet, so I savored a few more minutes of sleep while Jason headed off to a breakfast meeting. The kids and I woke a little later and we took our time eating breakfast and getting ready for school. I left for school and while waiting at the red light to cross a major intersection, I noticed the clouds moving the opposite direction from their normal path. About that time, the radio announcer was telling everyone to head back home and not to get out to take their kids to school. The tornado sirens began sounding again and the kids started asking a ton of questions.

When we moved to Alabama 8 years ago, we quickly realized that the people here take their weather very seriously. A deadly tornado tore through our town some years back claiming the lives of 23 people. We've grown accustomed to the threats and never really took them very seriously. I remember one of my friends moving into town a few years back and getting really scared with the weather in a bad thunderstorm. She said that by the 4th time of getting her kids huddled in their safe room and the mattress off the bed, she figured out how seriously people take the potential for bad weather here.

I dropped the kids off at school and headed up to take care of my students. We were able to eat lunch in our rooms and were beginning a spelling lesson when we had to go downstairs as the tornado was moving through the area. Parents began arriving and fortunately my kids were brought up to me. As soon as we could, we were in our car and on our way home.

We passed by trees that had been uprooted, trampolines that were crumbled, signs that were down and then we sat for about 30 minutes while they cleared a tree that had fallen across the road. We turned on the road behind our house and soon found trees on houses, more uprooted trees, fences that were down and a flooded entrance to our neighborhood. We were relieved to arrive home and see that our house was completely fine, but we couldn't believe the damage just one road behind us.

The afternoon wore on and we soon found ourselves tuned in to our tv watching the coverage of the storm. We heard the report of Cullman and Tuscaloosa and knew the tornadoes were heading our way. I don't really remember the time that it was when we headed to our closet, but I do remember my cell phone dinging every couple of minutes. We lost power and the only connection that was through our text messages. I had several friends texting asking if we were okay and my sister-in-law kept texting me. After about an hour, Jason and I ventured out of the closet and looked out the front window. I remember the sky to my right lit up a neon blue and as I watched the clouds, I quickly noticed that they were moving to the right and the left. The cedar trees visible out our front window were practically bowing to the wind. Jason opened the front door to rescue my ferns and we instantly felt the nastiness of the air. It was unusually quiet and very humid. We instantly shut the door and heard our power come back on. It was at that instant that we heard the tornado was one street over; then...our power went out again. My sister-in-law texted that it must be bad because the Nashville news was now covering what was happening in our town. At that point, I was scared! We were back in the closet and it was so unbelievably quiet.

I don't really remember when we felt it safe to come out, but Jason ran out to check everything and said that we could come out. We checked everything outside and saw that one of our shutters had come off and we had lost a lot of shingles, but other than that we were okay. A man walked by and asked us if we had seen his door to his storage shed. We quickly gathered our flashlights and candles knowing that our daylight was diminishing and not knowing how long our power would be out.

It was about that time that I received a text message from my co-worker telling me that she was fine, but that her house was gone. I was in shock! We had no tv or power and I didn't really know what had happened, but I knew that my friend (who lives not to far from me) had just lost her house.

As I write this, I am amazed at how little I remember about the rest of that night. The day seemed to go by so quickly. I know that we put the kids to bed as soon as the sun went down. I know that our phones were not working, but we would get an occasional text here and there and I could check fb for a few seconds. I saw one status that read that TVA was guesstimating that we would be without power for 72 hours. We received a text telling us the main connectors had been destroyed. We were without power. And, we had no idea of the damage that had occurred. After we put the kids to bed, Jason and I played a game of Monopoly by candle light. We moved the kids to our room before we headed to bed. We were worried about the house being so dark and it was almost eerie how quiet our house had become without electricity.

We woke the next morning and quickly realized what had happened with the tornado. School was canceled and our neighborhood became busy with talk of no gas, stores being without power, no ice, no generators, downed power lines, TVA connectors gone, the possibility of no power for days, and the list grew from there. We got in the truck and heard a press conference updating the city on what had happened. We soon realized the severity of our situation and the devastation that the tornadoes had caused. We thought it best to try and drive to the town over and get gas, but after sitting at a couple of busy intersections as a four way stop, we soon realized that our attempt for a gas run would be in vain. We went to Publix and I walked in to a dark store that had no carts, was out of bread, all of the cold or frozen items were sectioned off so that no one could buy them and I began thinking about what I would need for our family of five. I was relieved to know that they took my debit card and came back out to the truck with a loaf of bread, some jelly, capri suns and a bag of chips. Of course, the kids wanted to know what exactly had happened and kept asking a lot of questions about tornadoes and if another one was coming.

We headed home and drove by several downed trees and lots of downed power lines. It was pretty scary driving past the power lines that had been snapped in half and were barely hanging on. And it was even scarier driving under the power lines that touched the antennae of Jason's truck.

We arrived back home and the kids ran out to play and Jason got up on the roof to fix our shingles. Our neighbors brought out ice cream and started talking about grilling all of their meat and the offers of sharing food came pouring out of everyone. As we were finishing up lunch, I remembered the load of laundry that had been drying when our power went out and the load that was in the middle of the wash cycle. The only thing that I knew to do was to hang it out on our pergola.

We were excited to see our friends drive up and they even helped hang up my laundry. :) We visited with them for awhile and the kids had fun playing together. My friend took down my parent's phone numbers and my sister-in-law's phone number and told me that she would text them to let them know that we were okay. (After visiting with my family, they went on and on about how much that text message meant to them. We didn't have cell phone service until we were about 25 miles from our house the next day.) I found some batteries and loaded them in Joshua's radio and found a way to hear what was going on. We finished out our day by visiting with our neighbors, watching all the neighborhood kids play together and grilling some hot dogs. After a long day in the sun and play outside it was time for baths. Unfortunately, the bath water was COLD!!! The kids did not like it one bit and neither did I. We were all bathed and in our pjs before the sun went down. While we were sitting around in our dark living room, Jason bounced around the idea of leaving for Nashville. We entertained the idea, but knew we couldn't leave because of the curfew for our county. Jason, Abby Kate and Joshua were sound asleep by 8 and after a quick back rub and the low volume of the radio, Jackson was soon fast asleep too. I didn't want to risk falling asleep with all the candles burning, so I picked each of the kids up and took them to our bedroom for another night's sleep. For as fast as Wednesday seemed to fly by, Thursday was a beautiful day that seemed to last forever.

Jason got out Friday morning in the hopes of getting gas. We realized the night before that my van had all the gas, so that helped us with our decision to head up to Nashville since we had half a tank. :) Anyways, Jason had tried to make a gas run and I was once again listening to the press conference on the radio. My hopes were getting up because I heard that some places were getting power back on in the neighboring cities. Jason arrived back home though and told us that we were leaving. The line at Kroger for gas was at least 30 cars in length on every pump. He had then tried driving to the next town, but turned around when the traffic stacked back miles from the next town. Jason saw more destruction and thought it best to get us out of town.

It was a bit weird packing up to go to my mom and dad's without telling them we were coming. We drove down the road and were completely speechless at the destruction and devastation. I've always seen damage from tornadoes on tv, but NEVER had I seen it just a few miles down the road from our house. Joshua instantly wanted to pray for the families and we rode on in silence trying to process the horrific scene of foundations with no houses, belongings strewn for miles, and piles of wood and brick that once stood as a house. We were about 25 miles from home when our phones came back to life. We received text after text after text. Oh, and one thing I almost forgot...it is amazing how long our cell phones lasted in the red zone. My phone died during the night, but got a little bit of juice while we drove around Thursday morning. It died again on the way up to Nashville, but I was able to get a call in to order new medicine for Joshua.

I spent the next 5 days staying with my parents. Jason came back home Friday after getting us situated up in Nashville. I was delighted to wash my clothes and fold them. My mom and dad were happy to see the kids and have us stay with them. I got to see my sister-in-law and we enjoyed having an unexpected trip to visit family. I hadn't realized the need to turn on the light switches and it definitely made my mom laugh.

Our town and state have suffered so much loss! My friend lost her house, several students lost their homes, and there are others that lost loved ones. The destruction and devastation are beyond words. I am now scared of storms and so are my kids. They keep asking questions and we've even had some nights of sheer terror in their eyes as they wake up screaming. I am so proud of our community and the way that we have all come together to help those who have suffered great loss. I love that my children were right there alongside us today serving those who have lost everything. It is my prayer that God will continue to heal all of those that have been affected by the tornadoes.

Our theme this school year, has been John 3:30 - "He must become GREATER, I must become less." Yesterday's chapel had a very powerful message that I will treasure in my heart. You know, the only thing that I lost was power for 6 days and a refrigerator and freezer full of food. I am grateful that my family is safe and well. We had a little glimpse of pioneer life and it wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was really good. Our focus was off of our tvs, computers, cell phones, and facebook. Those were taken away from us. I couldn't work around the house and wash clothes or dishes. I couldn't run the vacuum cleaner (even though I really wanted to). I couldn't cook on the stove top. Things were very simple and I was able to focus on what was really important. My family, my friends, my community, and my God. God MUST become greater, and I MUST become less.

Praising God for safe keeping in the storm.

Praying for my sweet friend whose house is now gone.

Praying for all those who have buried their loved ones.

Praying for all of those who are trying to pick up the pieces and begin again.

Praying for those that have lost so much.

Our God is bigger than the storm!

Savoring the Moments

2011-03-26T22:49:00.001-05:00

shopping for groceries

making meals

packing lunches for school

packing school bags

cutting fingernails and toenails

giving baths

making beds

washing and folding clothes

loading and unloading the dishwasher

shopping for clothes

debating on what to wear

brushing hair

paying the bills

budgeting the money

keeping the house cleaned and organized

disciplining

cleaning up spilled cups of milk

sweeping up crumbs from meals

taking out the trash

making sure that all appointments are kept and that we arrive on time

wiping noses

making boo boos feel better

refereeing fights

helping out with homework

buckling car seats

searching the house for a lost lovie

I recently ran across some thoughts that helped to keep everything into perspective. Sure, I have a laundry list of things that must be done sometime during the week, but they should never trump the home that I am trying to make for my family. It is very easy for me, with my OCD personality, to create my to-do lists and cross off my chores one at a time. In doing that, I feel a sense of accomplishment, but I can very easily miss the most important part of who I should be to those that I love.

My to-do list will ALWAYS be there. With most of the same chores, actually. There will always be meals to make, groceries to shop for, laundry to wash and fold, and more. But, I love how my sweet little babies always bring me back to where I should be in the moment - with them.

The moments that I love more than any others are the play times, the snuggles, the hugs, the kisses, and the cuddles. Jackson is still at that perfect stage where he can't tell me enough how much he loves me. He can't wrap his little arms around my neck and play with my hair enough times during the day. He has to come out of his room for the 6th time after putting him to bed to come and give me a hug and tell me once again that he loves me. He can't be more happy to see me anytime of the day. He can't ask me enough times to lay down in bed with him while he falls asleep.

Tonight was one of those moments....

....that I want to keep locked away forever.....

Those are the moments that are precious to me.
Those are the moments that I want to savor and hold on to for the rest of my life.
Those are the moments that make being a mom worth it all.
Those are the moments that I am thankful that God blessed me with 3 precious children.

Our Very First UT Basketball Game

2011-02-20T22:30:00.002-06:00

We decided a few months back to make a trip up to Knoxville to catch a Vols basketball game. Since football is over and baseball is right around the corner, we've been watching some basketball here lately. I have to admit, I like basketball, but it is definitely not my favorite. My love - baseball (but I think that you might have already known that). Jason and I LOVED watching the Bisons play basketball while we were at Lipscomb. Those games were some of the best! Anyways, we've watched a few games on TV this season and when I was in the hospital for 9 days this past June, the NBA playoffs were on TV. We didn't really have the luxury of our DVR in the hospital, so we were forced to watch "regular" TV. Our regular TV schedule included House Hunters, Family Feud, and when a playoff game was on, it provided some much needed entertainment. Of course, we love our Vols and love getting to visit UT any chance we can for a game.

This game was a first for all 5 of us! We had so much fun and enjoyed every minute of the game and our time away. When I came home from school on Friday, I found Jackson sound asleep in our bedroom with his backpack on ready to go. Jason said that Abby Kate and Jackson were in there talking and then just a few minutes later, Jackson was asleep on the floor. Abby Kate said that he just "kind of fell over and went to sleep like that".

When Jason and I travel, we are bound to run across a Western Sizzlin. I always thought that it was called the Western Sizzler, but the sign said "Sizzlin". He's always told me that he used to love going there as a little boy. I'm sure that the Sizzler is to him what Bonanza is to me. When I knew that we were going to be driving up early to stay the night, I got really excited with the prospect of surprising Jason with dinner at the Sizzler. Well, we ate there and we probably won't be back anytime soon! We had plenty to eat but it definitely made for some funny laughs for all of us! (Joshua thought it was especially funny that we were eating at a place called "Western Sizzlin".) And boy, was it expensive!

Later that night, we checked in to our hotel in Knoxville. All 3 kids snuggled down in bed to sleep. I guess that Jackson wanted some more space, so he moved on to the end of the bed. Joshua is not asleep yet in this picture. He is always the last one to go to sleep when we are somewhere new. He is just so afraid that he is going to miss out on something. He was miserable the next morning because he was so tired and hopefully he learned a little lesson.

We woke up Saturday morning and headed over for a great breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We don't get out for breakfast very often, but we were able to enjoy a yummy breakfast. We then visited the Campus Bookstore and stocked up on our latest Vols gear and walked on over to Thompson Boling Arena. Jackson instantly started requesting some popcorn, so Jason got the kids a box and some drinks.

I don't know how, but Jackson managed to fall asleep during all the noise and excitement of the game. I also found myself nodding off during all the fouling and free throws. :)

We finished off our time in Knoxville with a late lunch at Mellow Mushroom. We had such a fun time and we all enjoyed our very first UT basketball game!

A Little Valentine's Day Love

2011-02-17T21:24:00.000-06:00

Our Valentine's Day was full of love and fun! 3 years ago, Jason and I had plans for a Valentine's Day dinner out alone, but our plans got canceled. We fully embraced the moment and headed out to Chick Fil A for some dinner and playtime for the kids. You know, no one goes to Chick Fil A on Valentine's Day! The kids loved every minute of it and Jason and I enjoyed the quiet time when the kids were off playing. We've been going on our little family date every Valentine's Day since we started our tradition in 2009.

This year, we had plans to continue our tradition, but I received a call at school that Jackson was not feeling well. They brought him up to me and we left as soon as my sub arrived. I called our family doctor to see if we could get in for a visit. Poor Jackson has pretty much been sick since Jason and I returned back from Africa. He's had pink eye twice and little random viruses and infections here and there. We were able to be worked in late that afternoon and Jackson was ordered another antibiotic. We didn't want to share our wonderful germs, so we did something new this year. We ordered our food to go and came home to eat our dinner together.

The kids were happy to have our special day and they were even more excited when they found out that we had a little Valentine present for them. We settled down for the evening and (of course) snapped some pictures. Happy Valentine's Day!

Twin Love

Loving on Daddy

Loving on Momma

My little Valentine

Valentine's Day 2011

3 Little Valentines

We got Abby Kate a couple of books and she was so excited to snuggle up in Daddy's lap and read to him. We are SO very proud of the progress she is making with learning how to read!

Fun In Gatlinburg

2011-02-16T06:48:00.001-06:00

Our time away in the mountains was definitely the most relaxing trip we've been on in awhile. I love that Fall Break comes at just the right time. We were able to visit with our dear friends in Kingsport over the weekend and then enjoy our time together as a family for the week! I've said it many times, but I feel like we are at a very special time in our little family. This time is passing by so fast and I can hardly believe that the next round of birthdays will be here in only 4 months! We rounded out our trip in the mountains, covering the good ole classics - video games, candy stores, and go karts.

Joshua enjoyed playing video games in his Davy Crockett hat.

Enjoying a snack at the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen. I have fond memories of visiting the candy kitchen and watching them make taffy as a young girl. My parents always love a package of taffy from this kitchen!

Later on that afternoon, we decided to visit a go kart place. Jackson is excited about his first go kart ride!

Ready to go!

We headed on over to the "fair" side and everyone had their tickets for the night. Jackson's first stop was the airplanes.

Joshua rode in his first go kart by himself. He was beyond ecstatic to have control of his own car!

Abby Kate was thrilled to have her own ride too!

Having fun! Their getting big!

The perfect end to our family time away in the mountains!

The Great Smoky Mountains

2011-02-15T10:55:00.001-06:00

As mentioned previously, Jason and I headed to the mountains for our Fall Break back in October. We love getting any opportunity to head up to the Smoky Mountains and relax. After spending the weekend in Kingsport, we drove on down to Gatlinburg and stayed for the next week. Our condo was incredible and the perfect place for relaxation. The kids had an absolute blast and it was so nice to do something a little different from our normal routine.

The boys on our balcony

Jackson

A picture with my little guy

One day we decided to drive into the mountains and we drove up to the Tennessee/North Carolina State Line. The view was spectacular, but the temperature was SO cold! Here's a picture of Jason and the kids in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Jason and the kids

The Great Smoky Mountains

Side note: Do you see that little black speck on the left side of my pictures? This trip is where I quickly realized that I had a small speck of dust on my lens. Frustrating, but after sending it off to Canon, they quickly returned my camera and lens after giving it a good cleaning and removing the speck of dust. I do have to admit though that it was a bit hard to mail off my camera and be without it for a while!

A kind gentleman offered to take a picture of our family. We don't usually get a group shot these days, so I was happy to have one of all of us.

The Great Smoky Mountains

Our family kept driving to the top and decided to "hike" Clingmans Dome to the tower. It was SO cold being up at a higher elevation, but after beginning our climb to the top, we were quickly hot and exhausted. Somehow we managed to get all 5 of us to the top - Jackson and Abby Kate had to get a few shoulder rides along the way, but we made it. It was at that moment that I realized that I had come a long way from my surgery just 4 short months earlier!

Clingmans Dome Tower

It was so cold up there, that there was SNOW and ICE!!! We were too hot and really enjoyed the cooler elevation!

Another gentleman asked to snap a picture of our family on our way back down.

Abby Kate was SO cold!

The Great Smoky Mountains

Jackson, Abby Kate, and Joshua hiked Clingmans Dome!

Family Retreat

2011-02-13T14:56:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, we attended our church's Family Getaway to Fall Creek Falls. This was our first time to attend the getaway and what a treat it was! By far this was the most relaxing retreat that we've ever been a part of. We were able to hang out with our friends, Jon and Stacy. The kids are at the best age to play together and enjoy the company of each other. Since the kids were able to pretty much entertain themselves, we were able to enjoy some time catching up with everyone at the retreat.

We played lots of games together with the kids and also had some time to play Scrabble and Phase 10 once the kids had gone to bed. We spent some time at the playground and then went out to look at the Falls on Saturday. Our families were responsible for making lunch for the entire group at the retreat on Saturday. And later that afternoon we ventured out on a 2 mile hike through the woods. Thankfully we brought plenty of snacks, drinks, and our flashlights, because hiking through the woods with 4 adults and 5 kids certainly made for some meltdown moments along the way. The most frightening part of our hike was crossing the suspended bridge with our 2 families. It certainly made it interesting crossing back over it on our way back out of the woods in the dark!

Fun times were had by all. The kids had such a fun time and Jason and I certainly enjoyed getting to hang out with all of the families that attended the Family Getaway to Fall Creek Falls.

Jackson enjoying the sun and the swings!

Jason and Abby Kate

Abby Kate

The kids

Fall Creek Falls

Checking out the waterfalls

Jason and Jackson talking about the falls

Fall Creek Falls

Our family

At the falls

Getting ready to cross the suspended bridge! YIKES!!!

Almost there!

Jackson was so exhausted that he actually fell asleep on Jason's shoulders!

Thankfully we packed plenty of snacks, drinks and brought a flashlight along for our hike. Here's a picture of Joshua, Lawson, Jordan, and Abby Kate resting on a log.

Jackson and his hiking stick

Everything Is Green

2011-01-30T21:33:00.000-06:00

The other night I washed a load of laundry. This is nothing new. One of my first chores as a teenager was to learn to wash the clothes. I am a little (others might say a lot) OCD! I love to wash clothes and fold them all neatly and perfectly and put them away in a very organized fashion. Early on in our newlywed days, Jason would try to help me wash or fold the clothes, but to this day, I prefer to do the job alone. I'm just a little controlling that way.

Anyways, the other night I was running a load of laundry in anticipation of our trip to Fall Creek Falls (that we just got back from and LOVED - more on that in another post). When it came time to fold the clothes I noticed some green spots on Jason's shirt and I found it a bit odd. Then I noticed that Joshua's jeans had some green spots on them...Abby Kate's new white sweater was also covered in green dots...Joshua's football jersey...Jason's khaki's...the towels...washcloths...socks...pjs... The mess began to get bigger and bigger and I quickly learned that ALL of my clothes in THAT load were colored GREEN!!!!

I quickly sprayed the clothes with shout and washed the load again. Well, tonight I finally got around to taking that load out and it is still.......

GREEN!!!!!

What's a girl to do? Any success stories on removing crayon from your clothes?

"What Do You Do...

2011-01-20T22:22:00.002-06:00

....when you are cold?"

My precious 3 year old gave the answer, "you snuggle".

My Jackson, you melt my heart daily!

My 2010 Year of Savings

2011-01-17T20:10:00.000-06:00

Once again, I am grateful to see another year filled with savings! This year's total is almost a couple hundred short of last year's grand savings total, but I am still pleased. I am still a deal seeking momma and I pride myself on saving our family a lot of money when it comes to our grocery shopping. I love shopping the deals and stocking up on the items that go on sale. I love it that the kids are now all about my coupons and they love shopping with me and asking if I have a coupon for whatever it is that we are buying.

I've also found that I can save big with the department stores when they have a sale. Unfortunately I haven't kept up with that total. I'm sure that would be a pretty impressive number, though. I actually had to go shopping the other day for clothes. I cannot stand shopping for clothes and trying on so many different things. Let me tell you, my hair was all about the static that comes with this season. Anyways, I was really proud of myself for only looking at the clothes that were on sale. I came away with some incredible bargains and the best part was that I got the majority of it for free using a lot of gift cards that I had been given. I also lucked out and found some church clothes and pajamas for next year on clearance for the boys at Kohl's! I walked away with a savings of over $250!!!

Now that I've proven to myself that I am in fact saving our family money by shopping the sales and using coupons, I will no longer keep a grand total on my blog. However, if I ever come across a deal that I just have to share I will certainly do so!

2010 Savings

Coupons - $2.75

CVS - $228.23

Kroger - $384.63

Publix - $1,018.90

Target - $509.08

Walgreens - $165.26

Times Where I Saved More Than I Spent - 18

Total Savings for 2010 - $2,308.85

The Biltmore

2011-01-16T22:24:00.000-06:00

Back at the beginning of our Fall Break in October, our family took off for a week in the mountains. Jason and I spent our first 3 years of married life in Kingsport, Tennessee. We have fond memories of our time spent there as a newly married couple and of our experience in Youth Ministry. We have many friends that are still there and anytime we head to the mountains, we love going a little further up the road to visit with our friends.

We were able to stay with our friends, Matt and Cecile. Last year over our Labor Day break, we spent a long weekend in the mountains with Matt and Cecile. We decided on a day trip over to Asheville to visit the Biltmore. Jason and I loved visiting Asheville when we were newlyweds. In our early years of marriage, we made several trips over for long weekends. One Christmas we toured the Biltmore and loved it. They really go all out in decorating for Christmas. It had been at least 8 or 9 years since we had been back. I was amazed at how much more of the Biltmore they had opened for the public tour.

The kids loved it and had so much fun spending the day touring the Biltmore! Asheville is one of those towns that holds a special place in our hearts. Its a place that takes me back to our early years of marriage. I loved experiencing the town and the Biltmore again with our children.

The Biltmore 2010

Family Fun Friday

2011-01-14T16:21:00.000-06:00

Our party of 5 has decided on a new family activity - Family Fun Fridays! We are all so excited! I love that the kids are at the stage where they can objectively voice their opinions and we can all decide on something fun to do as a family. Last weekend I sat down with the family to plan out our weekly menu. With the threat of snow, I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of food. I also thought that sitting down with the family and deciding on our menu would help with the great debate every night - "What do you want for dinner?". I admit, it is hard to decide what kind of meat you want for dinner first thing in the morning. However, it is equally as hard to decide what to feed our party of 5 each night without complaints and planning ahead. I always have food stocked up, but if I don't have the time during the day to thaw out my meat, then we are out of luck. I love cooking, the stress comes from knowing what to fix each day. I love that everyone voiced their opinion on what they would like for dinner and that we were all able to agree.

Our weekly menu this week. I can't wait to make next week's menu tomorrow!

Jason picked my homemade chicken noodle soup, Joshua picked Spaghetti night, and Abby Kate picked Roast (I love it all). I can't even begin to tell you how excited everyone was for "their night" this week. I gave up on trying to fix dinner on Wednesday nights several years ago. We live too far out for Jason to make it home before church and for us to have dinner fixed and eaten before heading out for Wednesday night church. It kind of bothers me that we don't eat at home on Wednesday nights, but I've just learned to embrace it and accept it. We did go ahead and decide on the place that we would eat because that also always poses a challenge each Wednesday night. I have to admit that it was nice to know ahead of time what we were going to eat. It also helps with Jason's schedule during the week to know what he is going to have for dinner so that he can plan ahead his lunch appointments.

Now, I am not usually one that likes to have a dinner schedule planned for each night. In the past, there were times where we tried to have a dinner calendar and I just didn't want whatever was on the menu that night. We are at a different phase in our family right now and having this weekly dinner schedule is going to be a huge help. I love that we can all give our input and help decide our family's menu. It is very exciting for the kids, but I think that I am more excited. For once, I don't have to be the deciding factor for each meal. I also love hearing what the kids find to be their favorite meal that I make.

We decided to add a little fun each week too. After a long week of school, it is nice to have time out as a family. The kids are really excited about our Family Fun Fridays. Each week we will choose something fun to do as a family. It might be dinner out, a movie, a special treat, a camp out in the living room, pizza night, a ballgame, bowling, a trip to the park, ice cream night, etc. The possibilities are endless and the fun thing is that the kids help decide what we are going to do together. Family Fun Friday is also a great way to keep everyone on track with their behavior. Tonight our plans include dinner at Rosie's and a trip to Krispy Kreme. It is so hard to believe that we already have 6 year old twins and the time that has flown by. I know that in a few short years, they will have other things to do on Friday nights. For now, we want to soak it all up. I hope that the kids will have fond memories of the fun that we have on Friday nights. Whether we spend our time together out doing something or we are under our roof having game night, we will have fun together!

My Love/Hate Relationship

2011-01-13T20:45:00.000-06:00

So, I've had my blog private for a few weeks. The reason...I don't have it updated. If you know anything about me, then you know that I don't like to do things halfheartedly. My OCD self is seriously bothered by things being undone and not fully completed. I've always given 110% and if I can't, then I don't even attempt to try until I can give my best. Anyways, I've toyed around with the idea of shutting down my blog for well over a year now. Jason has kept me afloat this last year and half encouraging me to keep at it. I moved my blog to private and now I'm second guessing my decision. I keep thinking of all the things that I can blog about and all the memories that I want to preserve. I have found more time to think of blogs this week with being out all week for snow and ice. So for now, I'm going to see what I can do. I think that I will try and blog the events that have taken place over the last few months and see where that lands me.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-12T13:56:00.001-06:00

Picture Joy Christmas

Personalize the christmas season with Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Perspective

2010-11-28T22:15:00.000-06:00

I vividly remember this time of year as a child. Our mailman would deliver the JCPenney's catalog to our mailbox and I LOVED going through the catalog and circling all the toys that I was putting on my Christmas list. This year, the kids have really gotten into the catalogs that have come through the mail, too. I think that we've just about gotten them all...Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, Pottery Barn, LL Bean, Hallmark, American Girl, Build A Bear (I just love the little Rudolph and Clarice reindeer that they are featuring), Lifeway, and the list goes on and on. I have found my kids looking at all of the toys in the catalogs, sharing the ones that catch their eyes, and they've even circled some of the toys that they would like to receive as gifts.

Then last week, we received the catalog for World Vision. And this catalog puts everything into perspective. In a season of spending, it takes so little to help someone less fortunate. For instance, $30 will buy a family 5 ducks to provide eggs for years; $100 will give 2 or more families a goat and 2 chickens that will provide eggs, milk, and meat; $18 will cover the cost of a mosquito net for a family to help prevent malaria; and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Gifts of animals, protection for girls and women, comfort and warmth, clean water, food, nutrition, and medical care can impact the lives of so many. And, it only takes so little.

If you've ever been around our children when they pray, you might hear a prayer for "Shella". Shella is a little girl that has been part of our family since the twins turned five. That summer, Jason had been reading The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns, the President of World Vision. The book really convicted us to consider what we could do as a family to help a child...which led us to Shella. Shella is a beautiful little Haitian girl who happens to share the same birthday as Joshua and Abby Kate (July 6, 2004). Through World Vision, our family has been taking care of Shella for the past 18 months. Not a day goes by that our children don't pray for her. I doubt we'll ever even meet her this side of heaven, but Shella has made a tremendous difference in our lives. I hope we've been able to make a difference in hers.

I hesitate to post this here for fear that it might come across as boasting. That's definitely not my intention. But I want everyone to know how easy it is to make a difference in the life of a less fortunate child. We believe in the mission of World Vision. This holiday season, I'm looking forward to starting a new tradition with my family. One that involves an entirely different catalog for us to circle. It's things like this that help us keep our perspective during the holiday season.

All Wrapped Up

2010-10-25T20:29:00.000-05:00

I love getting a glimpse into the pictures of the past. This is a picture of Jason when he was a little guy right out of the bath tub. I'm not sure how old Jason is in this pic, but he sure is cute all swaddled up in his towel! And how about that wallpaper? Gotta love the 70's!

The other night, Jackson was wrapped up after his bath and I snapped this picture of him. I love the similarities between these two pictures of my little guys!

624

2010-10-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

Today marks an important milestone in our house. Two years ago today, Jason and I gave our son his first of countless injections for a growth hormone deficiency. Joshua was born 7 weeks prematurely and only weighed 2 pounds, 5 ounces at birth. Praise God that he was only small! We were blessed by the outpouring of love and support from our family and friends, the NICU nurses, and our neonatologists. Joshua came home 31 days later weighing a very small 3 pounds, and 12 ounces. Over the years, he grew and got bigger. He didn't let anything get in his way. He was still on the small side, but he was still growing. We noticed at around age two, that he had stopped growing in height. We were aware of the situation and watched it very closely. When we returned to our doctor's for Joshua's 3 year well child visit, we realized that he had not grown at all during his second year.

We made the first of many trips down to Birmingham in January of 2008. Joshua was so excited about "seeing the BOY" at the office. The "boy" was the doctor and he quickly won over the hearts of all the nurses in the office. At his first visit, he weighed in at 25.9 pounds and measured 35 inches in height. They also took a bone x-ray to see the "age of his bones". At the visit, Joshua was 3 years and 6 months old. His bone age was 2 years and 8 months old. This was a good thing, in that it meant that he still had growing room within his bones. We returned for a visit that July, hoping to see some growth. He had barely grown an inch. Our endocrinologist thought it best to go forward with more testing. Over the next few months, Joshua had a 3 hour IV test where they drew 7 vials of blood looking for a spike in his ISG1, but it only spiked 1 point higher than what they were looking for one time. He failed the test and the doctors told us that he was growth hormone deficient.

In order for Joshua to grow, he now takes a daily injection of medicine. He will continue taking these injections until he reaches an average adult male height. On October 21, 2008, Joshua received his first injection. There were days of anticipation, lots of tears, and lots of hurt feelings. Its been two years now, and we still have days of anticipation, tears, and hurt feelings. There have been times where it has been harder than others and then there are the times where it is not that big of a deal. Throughout all of it, Joshua has been such a trooper!

We are so pleased with the results that we have seen so far. Within 4 months, Joshua had a growth of 1 and 1/2 inches placing him on the growth chart for the first time ever! He was barely on the chart at .8th percentile, but he was on the chart. That day in the doctor's office, I had tears of joy! 6 months later, Joshua had another growth of 1 and 1/2 inches and he measured at 39 inches. He measured at the 1.6th percetile. He also weighed in at 30 pounds. He was in the .42 percentile and it was the first time to be on the growth chart for weight.

Our last couple of visits have shown more growth. When we started this process Joshua was only 35 inches tall. This past August, he measured in at 42.4 inches - the 5th percentile and his weight jumped from 25.9 pounds to 38.1 pounds - the 7th percentile! We couldn't be any prouder of our little big guy! Joshua you are "strong and courageous" and we pray that you will "not be afraid" because our God is with you each and every day.

October 2008

We've had our easypod device from day one. Jason and I got a quick how-to lesson from a registered nurse and we were sent on our way. Over our time of use, we've only dropped the pod once (and it broke), we've left it about 3 times when out of town at families or friends houses and had to turn around to go back and get it, completely destroyed a vial of medicine, and had to rescue lots of needles that "messed up" in the device. We have to mix his new vials when they come in, keep up with ordering his medicine and keeping extra batteries, needles, alcohol prep pads and a sharps container on hand at all times. We also keep a pair of tweezers handy for those stray needles that occur ever so often. Due to the amount of detail that goes into his injections, only a few family members know how to administer his injections. The night before my surgery, Jason had to give a quick tutorial to one of our family friends because our plans fell through when Joshua had an asthmatic like attack. She was great and followed the instructions perfectly! This is our nightly routine. We look forward to Saturdays, because that is the night that we have "off". Joshua was happy to let me photo document his nighttime routine.

Our pod is kept in the fridge. We have to get it out and let it sit for about 5 minutes before putting in the needle for injection.

Cleaning the area with an alcohol wipe. I cleaned the area up after snapping this picture.

Waiting for the green light. I love that he can't see the needle with this device. Unfortunately, he can feel it.

Almost done!

Trying to put on a brave face for mom, but we're all done!

Just the Two of Us

2010-10-19T19:42:00.000-05:00

My Family

2010-10-11T22:28:00.000-05:00

My Family ~ 10/10/10

Catching the Cardinals

2010-10-09T21:41:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back, we headed over to Atlanta to catch a Cardinal's game. With Atlanta being so close, we always try and head over when the Cardinal's are in town. We enjoyed seeing our friends Corey and Alisha and staying with them through the weekend. Friday night, Jason was able to head out to see the Avett Brothers in concert with two of his friends. I'm really looking forward to seeing them again in concert here in a few weeks.

We were able to get "All You Can Eat" tickets to the game. I really wasn't sure if we would eat our ticket's worth, but I have to say that they probably came out losing money on our party of 5. Joshua, Abby Kate and Jackson kept the place busy with countless drinks, peanuts, nachos, and minute maid ice cream. We had a blast and enjoyed a day at the ballpark. Unfortunately, the Cardinals came out losing, but we still enjoyed catching one last game for the season.

On our way out of the park, I could instantly tell that it was about to come a downpour. We had a bit of a hike ahead of us, and the rain came down! Joshua and I took off running and Jason picked up Abby Kate and Jackson in his arms and carried them while he was running to the van. We all soaked, but what a memory it made!

View of the field from our seats!

Such an intense little baseball fan!

Sneaky Sleeping Swimmers

2010-10-07T22:09:00.000-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend, our crew of 5 headed up to Nashville for some family celebrations. We surprised my mom with a birthday party after spending the afternoon at a baby shower for my cousin and his wife. After we all had some cake and we were getting ready for our ride home, I saw Jackson climbing up on the counter. I did what any good mother would do and I got my camera and began snapping pictures of my little guy.

The kids were exhausted from the excitement of the day. I always get a good laugh out of seeing the way our kids fall asleep. They looked so uncomfortable, but were so tired that they slept the whole way home.

Jason was preaching on Sunday, so we drove back up to Nashville on Monday to spend the day with family. We were so excited to swim one last time out at Aunt Pam's house. This was the first time that I actually got in the pool water since my surgery. The wind was really chilly, but we enjoyed our time out at the pool. The kids have come so far this summer in their swimming. I know that they had a lot of time to practice while they stayed with my parents after my surgery. I am amazed that our babies can now swim and jump into the pool all by themselves.

And of course, Joshua always gets so cold when swimming. I always seem to find him bundled up in a towel by the pool....

Flag Football

2010-09-19T23:16:00.000-05:00

This year, Joshua wanted to play flag football. If you know Joshua, then you know that he is one ball obsessed kid! He's always had a ball in his hands. He also never stops throwing or hitting ball in the house. He's broken glass with a baseball, one of my coffee tables has a big nick in it from one of his balls knocking over a picture and the picture nicked the table, and of course, if you've been over to our house, then you've probably been hit in the head with one of his balls. I've lost count on the number of times that my son has hit me with a ball..... "Ball throwing, hitting, rolling, tossing, etc." is one rule that we just don't see to eye to eye on.

So when we asked Joshua about playing football, he jumped at the opportunity. We love the Tennessee Vols, Titans, and the Colts (because of Peyton, of course). Joshua is eager to go to any ball game and he has been to quite a few Vols and Titans games over the years. When it came time to request numbers for our football jerseys, he asked to be #5 (in honor of Albert Pujols, of course) and is wearing his #5 proudly.

Joshua is a Mustang and has really enjoyed playing football with his teammates. I love it that Jason is out there with him as one of his coaches. He is one of the smallest guys out there, but he is all heart. He plays on the offensive line and defensive end. He is so proud of his "high knees" drill he learned in practice and is always looking forward to his practices or games. Who would've ever guessed that our little small 2 pounder would be playing on the offensive line and as defensive end? We are so proud of you, Joshua!

Some of My Favorites

2010-09-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Last Monday, my sweet momma celebrated her birthday! We were able to plan a surprise party for her the Saturday before and I think that we succeeded in our plans. Jason was able to put together a video for her party and so we were able to get our hands on some old photos and scan them in to the computer. I just love these pictures of my momma and me. She is so beautiful and such a great mother and grandmother.

Sleepers and Rounders

2010-09-07T23:09:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I took the kids over to Atlanta to visit our friends, Corey and Alisha. We were so excited to visit and help celebrate Will's 4th birthday. We had so much fun catching up and then spending Sunday afternoon at the Braves game. I think it was one of the hottest days spent at the ballpark for me in quite awhile. I can remember one other game that was hotter - St. Louis in September! I don't think that I'll ever forget that game. Anyways, we had so much fun!

I always love watching the kids sleep. I really got tickled when I came down to bed and found the kids asleep like this...

I love this picture!

Joshua looks like one confused baseball fan with that Braves cap and Cardinals shirt.

At the end of the game, we all headed down to the field and waited in line to run the bases. This is the first time that we've been able to run the bases at an MLB ballpark. The boys had so much fun! Abby Kate was not really interested in running the bases, so she just stayed with me. I did find it funny that Jackson had to be "guided" back onto the dirt several times. He was really drawn to the grass.

Jackson and Joshua waiting to round the bases!

Joshua rounding the bases at Turner Field

Jackson rounding the bases at Turner Field

Kindergarten Here We Come

2010-09-05T12:00:00.001-05:00

Joshua and Abby Kate started Kindergarten! Their first day was full of excitement and anticipation as to what the day would bring. I was a bit surprised by the tears that filled my eyes. They are in the same class together and are loving every minute of it. Since starting Kindergarten, Joshua and Abby Kate have developed more of a dependency on each other. They usually are pretty independent, but Jason and I have really noticed how much closer they seem to be. They definitely look out for each other and play together more at school than they ever have before. They are thrilled to be in school and have transitioned nicely from preschool. I love seeing the excitement that comes with them reading to Jason and me. They are so proud and we couldn't be any happier for them.

Jackson is now at the same school with them. It definitely makes it easier on both Jason and myself. They are on the same campus with me and I have the joy of taking them to school and picking them up at the end of the school day. Jackson loves his class. He told Jason the other day that he wanted to be a teacher when he grows up. When Jason asked him why, he said that he loves Ms. Karen so much and wants to be a teacher just like her.

Bears, Cupcakes and Our Aunt, Oh My!

2010-08-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a special treat for the kids' birthdays this year. Aunt Tara made a trip down to spend the day with us. We ate lunch out together at Cheddar's, which is so delicious! Then we headed over to the mall to Build A Bear Workshop. Joshua, Abby Kate, and Jackson all received a gift card for their birthdays to Build A Bear. How special!

There were so many wonderful selections (maybe too many because Joshua and Abby Kate changed their minds about 3 or 4 times each). They each waited patiently in line and then stuffed, then fluffed and then accessorized their bears. All the time, we loved spending the time with Aunt Tara, Micah, and Hope!

Afterwards we followed up our trip to the mall with a special cupcake from Gigi's! I've only recently been introduced to these cupcakes. They are huge! And delicious!

What a fun and exciting way to celebrate our 6th and 3rd Birthdays! Thank you Aunt Tara! We love you!

We Saw SuperMan

2010-07-28T09:14:00.003-05:00

On our way home from St. Louis, we stopped off at Metropolis, Illinois - the home of SuperMan! The kids were excited to see the 15 foot statue of SuperMan. Of course, I grabbed a few shots of our time there...

"The Oil Spill" Through The Eyes of A Six Year Old

2010-07-25T15:22:00.000-05:00

Joshua's painting "The Oil Spill"

A Broken Collarbone and A Nursemaid Elbow

2010-07-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

So, I've mentioned before, but this is not the summer vacation that we all had planned. Our travel plans changed with the preparation for surgery and then everything else that had been planned also changed when we realized that I was taking the slow route to recovery. We've stayed in most days and the kids have had fun in a little pool out back. This summer has been hot and I am thankful that we've been able to spend some of that time indoors.

A few weeks ago, I had finally "rounded the corner" and was feeling great! We had a Marriage Matters Conference at church and I was looking forward to getting out for the first time since my surgery. The kids all took their naps and I put on makeup for the first time in weeks. For some reason during nap time, I turned on Jackson's baby monitor. His monitor had been off for months, but I flipped the switch on and heard his sounds of sleep. I stayed in my room that day and curled up with a good book to read. The house was quite, I was feeling good, I was looking forward to getting out of the house and things were looking up. I then heard a big thud on the floor followed by a cry. I took off to Jackson's room and when I opened his door I found him sitting up in his bed crying. He immediately laid back down when I came over to him and I started rubbing his back. He didn't have a hard cry, but his cry was pretty pitiful (like something was wrong). I thought that he had been disturbed in his sleep and was having a hard time going back. I kept asking if he was okay, but he didn't really say much. It ended up that he got up from his nap and kind of took it easy. I could tell that something wasn't right, but I couldn't figure it out.

Jason came home that afternoon and just like he always does, went in to pick up Jackson and greet him with a big hug and kiss. Jackson immediately cried as soon as Jason touched him. I recounted the event during nap time to Jason and we looked all around his arm/shoulder area for any signs of something being wrong. He seemed fine and so we went on and got ready to leave for church. Jason took us to Cracker Barrel for dinner and I noticed that Jackson was much more quiet and reserved while eating. I still couldn't figure it all out. We made it to church and Jackson went on to be with the kids. As soon as we finished I was told that Jackson hadn't been acting like his normal self and that he had cried anytime someone tried to pick him up. Someone else tried to pick him up and he cried. At this point, I was beginning to try and piece it all together but didn't really know what could be wrong with him. We went out for frostys with some friends and he seemed just fine. He did not want to be touched at all when trying to get into the truck or into his car seat.

Of course, Jason and I talked about it all the way home. As soon as we got the twins to bed, we took a good look at Jackson with his shirt off before putting on his pajamas. Jason was feeling all over his arm/shoulder area and that is when Jackson cried out in pain like I have never heard! It was horrible. We did a quick google search on collarbones and thought that his symptoms sounded identical. We made the decision to take Jackson to the ER because of the possibility of a vein being punctured, which was listed as a reason to have it checked out. I couldn't stand staying home and not going with Jackson to the hospital, but who are you supposed to call that late at night.

Turns out, Jackson had a very small hairline fracture to his right collarbone. He was such a brave little guy at the hospital and did great. They gave him some pain medicine and braced his arm in a sling and wrap. They ordered that his arm be immobilized and told Jason that it was a very common thing in children and that they are so resilient and heal very quickly. We met with an orthopaedic doctor a few days following and he said that he was doing great. We go back to see the doctor in a few weeks now and he'll do more x-rays to make sure his collarbone is healed.

17 days later, and we have another injury in our house. This time, Joshua was trying to help Jackson up onto the couch. I think that it must have been the angle at which he was pulling, but Jackson screamed out in pain and came running to me. I asked him if everything was okay and he seemed to be fine. It was only a few short minutes after that he immediately stopped using his left arm. I called Jason and once again thought that something was wrong, but if he had broken something that we would know, but it didn't seem like something could be wrong with a pull. I finally convinced myself to put in a call to the doctor's office and ask if we should come see them or go to the ER. He didn't complain about pain, like something that would need immediate help at the ER. However, we had just been down the road with the broken collarbone and we hadn't even realize that he had done something that serious. They scheduled for us to come in that afternoon and we met with the doctor and he wanted us to go back and see his orthopaedic doctor the next day. All throughout that day, Jackson refused to use his left arm. We got up the next morning and made our way back to the doctor's office. As soon as I got Jackson out of the van, he reached up to hold my hand (with the arm he had refused to use the previous day). I asked if his arm felt better and he said that it did. I felt really happy about it, but at the same time felt a little weird about going into the doctor's office with no injury. Our doctor confirmed that Jackson had a nursemaid elbow, that his elbow had been dislocated when it was pulled. He said that it was also a common injury in children and that if it happened again to just come in to see them. Jackson had somehow manipulated his arm back into place, healing his own nursemaid elbow.

We have had our fair share of medical problems this summer. Jackson is such a tough little guy and we've come to find out that he has a very high tolerance for pain. He is strong, just as we prayed for him to be. Hopefully this will be the end of all these little injuries. Someone gave the kids the game Operation for their birthday. Given all that we've been through this summer, I can't imagine a more perfect game for our family.

Surgery

2010-07-19T21:19:00.000-05:00

Please note: I wrote this to record my memories. It's what really happened to me, so some parts might be a little gross. :) You've been warned!

This has not been our ideal summer. I went into summer vacation knowing about my upcoming surgery. I've mentioned this before, but in case you don't know: I have Crohn's Disease. I've had it for almost 11 years. When you have an auto-immune disorder, you learn to tolerate chronic pain. In fact, you begin to think that particular pain level is the norm. Unlike some people, my life has not been severely disturbed with Crohn's. Sure, I've had to take lots of medicine over the years. At one point I was on about 21 pills, then I had 4 hour IV therapy treatments every 6 weeks there for awhile, and most recently I've had 2 monthly shots into each leg. The time had finally come to explore surgical options. My body had been on the newest, latest breaking, expensive medicines and it was no longer working. With an auto-immune disease, you are constantly fighting a battle against medicine because your body works at attacking the help that comes in. It can become quite tiresome and frustrating trying to find something that will work and then hoping that your body will continue to accept the medicine and not build up antibodies to it. I never let my Crohn's slow me down and even a few days before my scheduled surgery date, I was still trying to convince myself that I was alright and didn't need to have anything removed. That's just who I am. :)

Anyways, we met with a couple of different surgeons and settled on one in Nashville. My mom works with this doctor and he is known for being one of the best in the Nashville area. We were able to steal away to the beach for a few days as soon as school was out and really enjoyed our time away. I had to start my prep the Sunday that we were at the beach. That meant no food!!! At the beach!!! I was on a clear liquid diet for 5 days before surgery. I don't think that I will ever eat Jello or Popsicles again! On top of the liquid diet, I had to drink 1 bottle of magnesium citrate the 3 days leading up to surgery. It was horrible! I had to go this route because my body can't tolerate the other prep that most people get - you know the gallon jug where you have to drink 8oz. every 10 minutes (or something crazy like that). I don't make it past the 2nd cup....

We made all of our arrangements for the kids and took off to Nashville the Wednesday before my surgery (Thursday). Joshua had plans to go camping with my sister-in-law, Aunt Tara (the really good cook that has an awesome cooking website - you should check her out). On the ride up we noticed that Joshua started with a dry cough again that wouldn't stop. Jason had just recently taken him to his asthma doctor and she specifically told us to call if he started coughing sooner rather than later. So we did what the doctor ordered and put in a call a few miles outside of Nashville. By the time that we had arrived at the hospital, I was on the phone with the nurses and nurse practitioner back home. The short of this story is that Joshua needed to be on a rescue medicine and his normal nebulizer medicine immediately, which was back home. We were short on time and couldn't find a medical speciality store to purchase a new breathing machine. We quickly made plans for Jason to drive back home and then come right back and for Joshua to stay with a family friend who could carefully attend to all of his medical care.

After our little detour, we settled in to try and sleep when Jason got back up in Nashville at 11:00pm. My surgery went really well. They said that as soon as they opened me up and touched the diseased area of my intestine, that it just started gushing blood and that I definitely needed to have this surgery. I am very fortunate that I did not have something major happen to me before surgery. They went in to remove 12 inches of my intestine and reconnected it with titanium staples. I was sewn up with dissolve-able stitches and steri strips. My recovery in the hospital was slow and long. I ended up with a surface level infection at my incision site. One of the resident physicians came in that morning and opened a small portion of my incision back up to let it heal properly. PAIN!!! I thought that they would just stitch me back up, but at that point they informed me that I would now have to heal from the inside out.

I had finally made a turn around when the infection started to drain out. I ate my first meal the Thursday after surgery. I had been on clear liquids from the Sunday before surgery - a total of 12 days!!! Finally on day 9 I was discharged from the hospital. After being stuck about 27 times with needles, we were excited to be heading home!

The drive home was really painful and when we got home my home health care nurse was there to pack and dress my wound. Jason took a shift of my wound care and became my nighttime nurse. To this date, we are still packing and dressing my wound. It has yet to heal completely and close. I'm still about an inch deep, but am making some progress. Jason has done so much to help me through all of this. My home health care nurse still comes out to the house on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Jason changes my dressing both morning and night and he's done this since we came home on June 11th. I'm feeling really good now and am hopeful to really see how this surgery will help me out in the long run. Everyone that I've spoken with that has either personally had this surgery or knows someone that did, tells me what a world of difference the surgery made in their lives. I am really excited about that!

I received so many phone calls, visits, meals, and cards. I am so thankful for my friends that surrounded me in prayer as soon as we heard the news. I'm thankful for the laughs that were shared when I quickly texted that they were going to "remove a foot" after meeting with the surgeon. Fortunately, I am getting better each day. I'm taking the slow route, but hopefully things will be back to normal before too long.

As if we didn't have enough going on this summer, the excitement doesn't stop there! More to come...

Six Years

2010-07-14T20:45:00.000-05:00

We're SIX!!!!!!

Joshua

Favorite Color: Red

Favorite Superhero: Batman

Favorite Food: Apples

Least Favorite Food: Blueberries

Favorite Sweet: Chocolate with a Kit Kat

Favorite Toy: The Amazing Spiderman
Favorite Show: Baseball

Favorite Song: Jesus Loves the Little Children

Favorite Restaurant: McAlister's

What he wants to do when he grows up: A Cop

Abby Kate

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Disney Princess: Snow White

Favorite Food: Eggs and Bacon

Least Favorite Food: Tacos

Favorite Sweet: Gum

Favorite Toy: Baby Dolls
Favorite Show: Max and Ruby

Favorite Restaurant: Rosies

Favorite Song: Blue Skies and Rainbows

Number of teeth lost: 2

What she wants to do when she grows up: A Nurse

I asked for a picture of all 3 and this is what Jackson gave me.

My precious blessings

So excited over the movie UP

I love the excitement on his face!

Such a big young man

Make-up and a cosmetic bag!

Abby Kate fell in love with this Barbie when she saw her in the store and begged to have her!

Such excitement over a princess trash can! Yes, a trash can. A few days before her birthday, we moved Abby Kate's desk and art supplies into her bedroom. She loves working at her desk with the door closed (so the boys will leave her alone). She asked us for a trash can so that she could properly dispose of all her garbage. I think that she is trying to see how many times she can fill it up just to dump it out. She definitely makes me laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abby Kate had a big year! She lost 2 teeth, cut off 10 inches of her hair to donate to Locks of Love, took her first gymnastics class, got glasses, and finished up preschool. She is turning into a little lady that is very independent. She loves nothing more than to help out around the house. She is obsessed with organization, just like her momma. She loves to "hold" real babies. Abby Kate loves swimming and enjoys riding her bike. She is very tender-hearted and gives her heart completely if you've won her over. Her love is one to treasure and adore. She is so sweet to her brothers, but also likes to tell them what to do. She can't stand for anyone to go into her bedroom - she freaks. She would love it if I would just lock up her room for the day so that no one could go in. If something is missing or not right, she stresses over it until it is righted. Abby Kate is full of life and has so much love to share.

Abby Kate, we love you so very much! You are an answer to our prayers. We are so incredibly blessed to have you as our daughter. These past 6 years have gone by so quickly. We pray that you will continue to "delight greatly in the Lord" and that "your soul rejoices in God." Isaiah 61:10

Joshua is full of life and energy! He rises early and plays hard all day long. He loves playing tee ball and cheering on his beloved Cardinals. During football season, Joshua is pulling for the Vols and the Titans. He is a ball obsessed little guy. He looks up to his Daddy more than anyone else. He just can't seem to get enough of him. Joshua has turned into a little eating champ and will eat anything and everything in sight. He is a big helper around the house and he loves to hear words of praise. He is such a sweet brother to Jackson, but they do have their moments where they like to wrestle around. Joshua has really enjoyed playing with Lego's here lately. He can't wait to watch all of the superhero movies with his Daddy either. Joshua has such a pure heart. I love hearing him pray to God. He looks out for Abby Kate and seems to know exactly what she needs. Joshua is also our silly boy! He gets that from his Daddy! Joshua is a sweet little man who loves to make his Momma and Daddy proud.

Joshua, we are so proud of the young man that you are. God blessed our family with you. We feel so blessed to have you in our lives. We can hardly believe that it has already been 6 years since you were born. We want you to remember to "Be strong and courageous and never afraid, the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Our Favorite Place

2010-07-12T23:39:00.002-05:00

St. Louis

I have been traveling to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals play ball with Jason for a little over 14 years. I have so many fond memories of the times that we have shared together. We saw Mark McGuire chase the home run record in '98, we were there when the Cardinals won the National League Championship in Game 7 in '04, we took Joshua and Abby Kate to their first Cardinals game in '05, we saw our last game in the old stadium in '05, we saw our first game in the new stadium in '06, and we took Jackson to his first Cardinals game in '08. We've seen a lot of games and there is nothing more that we love doing as a family than traveling all the way to St. Louis to see our Cardinals play some baseball. Jason and I have always joked that when we retire, we would love nothing more than to be that sweet old couple ushering people to their seats and seeing every game of the season.

This summer has not been what we had planned, so we wanted to head out of town for a short little get away. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, especially for July in St. Louis. The highs for the first two days were 80 and 81. It was perfect! We were able to catch the Cardinals/Brewers series for 3 games. The kids loved it. Of course, Joshua can't get enough baseball and watched every second of every game with such intensity. He cheered loudly, called every player by his first and last name, and won the hearts of all those around us. Jackson insisted that FredBird was Mickey Mouse and couldn't wait to see where he would pop up next. We were able to go to Build-A-Bear there at the stadium and Jackson made his very own FredBird. Abby Kate enjoyed the game too. She loved munching on the snacks that we brought in and proudly wore her Cardinals' bracelet and necklace that Jason bought her. We enjoyed our time away and our time together!

We caught batting practice during Friday's game. The kids were really hoping for a ball.

Joshua got a ball from Ryan Franklin. He politely called his name and Franklin looked up at Jason and threw a ball to him for Joshua to keep.

Abby Kate was a bit more shy about asking for a ball, but Franklin took note of our little girl and made sure that she got her own ball too. We were the only ones that got a ball from Franklin.

Joshua was not too thrilled about the way the Cardinals were playing on Saturday. There is something about this picture that I just love, though.

Till next time...

Some Funnies

2010-07-08T22:41:00.000-05:00

These past few weeks have been crazy busy! I can't wait to update what all has been going on around here. Before I forget though, I wanted to share a couple of funny things that happened today with Joshua and Abby Kate.

I was out running a few errands around town today when we quickly realized that our air conditioning unit was not working in our van. It was HOT!!! The kids were miserable and I was just as miserable. I only have one window that actually rolls down in the minivan. I called Jason and he put in a quick call to Firestone. I was happy and the kids were ready to turn our van in. While waiting at the red light, Abby Kate says, "Hey Mom, why don't you just break the law and run this red light? We are really hot right now!" I thought that was pretty hilarious! We spent the rest of the afternoon out on "the other side of town" waiting for a call about the van. We found out late in the day today that the compressor is out. My van is spending the night away and hopefully tomorrow it will have some A/C. It comes with a pretty price tag though. And this just after we finally paid the thing off!!!

Later in the day, Abby Kate and Joshua had their well child visit to the doctor. This always provides for great entertainment. From the early years of shots and cries that could be heard from the waiting room and did not stop until we were out the door and halfway down the road, to today, where you don't really know what is going to come out of your child's mouth to cause you to laugh. Joshua walked out into the hallway this afternoon to have his vision tested. He quickly told the nurse that he couldn't spell words and didn't know how he was going to do on his test. She reassured him that it was just letters that he had to identify and he went right along with it. Before he began though, he did tell the nurse, "Hey, I do know how to spell "Firestone"." It definitely made us all laugh as I had to tell everyone why my child was so quick to announce to the world that he knows how to spell "Firestone".

I can't wait to update more...

Sam's or Costco?

2010-06-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

Over our ten years of marriage, Jason and I have always had a yearly membership to Sam's Club. That is until this past year. We chose not to renew our membership. Why?
My biggest reasons were...
1. They don't let you use coupons.
2. I began to wonder if the $40 a year to use their store to shop in bulk was really worth the money.
3. We only buy Tide, Downy, Bounce dryer sheets, Cascade, paper towels, and toilet paper. I would occasionally pick up a few other items, but I pretty much only bought the basics because I could score better deals with the sales from other stores while using my coupons.

So, this past March, we chose not to renew our club membership. And, we've survived. However, I am finding that I am needing to make several trips to the regular stores to stock up on the items that we use the most often. I've gone through more boxes of Tide these past few months than I have in a long time. I'm loving that I am able to use my coupons and when a sale comes along, I can score big. I joked with Jason the other day, and told him that my Tide runs reminded me of my old diaper runs. Every time I turned around, I was always stocking up on diapers at the store, and for the past few months, I found myself running to the store for more Tide all the time.

I love that I can buy my detergent in bulk at Sam's, but I don't really like the fact that I can't use my coupons. I also really wrestle with the fact that I am paying $40 to buy my regularly used products in bulk. With as many trips as I've made to the store though, I've probably come close to spending that $40 in gas and it definitely wastes my time.

I love that I we can buy gas at Sam's and that it is pretty cheap. I usually also buy our Christmas cards there because they have the cheapest prices and we can score a good deal. Also, Sam's Club is close to our house and Jason can easily stop there on his way home from the office.

We also have a Costco in town, but we've never had a membership. I've only been in Costco on a couple of occasions, but I've never shopped there. When talking with friends, I find that many of them LOVE shopping at Costco as opposed to Sam's Club. I don't know how much a membership to Costco runs and I don't know if they allow you to use coupons. I haven't spent the time comparing the prices between the two stores on the few items that I like to buy in bulk. Costco is farther down the road than Sam's Club and I don't usually head down that far. It would still be pretty easy for Jason to run by there on his way home though. They have pretty cheap gas too, but like I said, I'm not usually down that far. I've also heard that Costco is on the higher end of things a little more so than Sam's Club.

So that's my debate. This is what I've had bouncing around in my head for the past few months. I LOVE saving money and I've been trying to figure out if I'm missing out on a great deal by refusing to renew a membership to buy in bulk. I've also wondered if I should give Costco a try and see if I like it a little more.

What do you think? Are you "partial" to either Sam's or Costco? If so, why?

The Many Expressions of Jackson

2010-06-25T21:22:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of days, I've been working on my photo albums. I quickly realized that I hadn't ordered pictures from Thanksgiving. I've been busy uploading all of my pictures from the last 8 months to Walgreens and am now anxiously awaiting a sale. I found some picture of Jackson that made me laugh. I love his many expressions. These are from Christmas time, but I wanted to share them.

I think that I would love that hat!

His smile melts my heart!

Look Momma, I got the hat and this is my serious face!

Another sweet picture for Momma.

I love this expression!

I love how his expressions change from one picture to the next.

Our Daddy

2010-06-20T11:10:00.001-05:00

Jason holding Joshua and Abby Kate for the first time together.

My Daddy

My daddy is 33 years old.

My daddy looks so handsome when he goes to church.

My daddy likes to make cookies.

My daddy always says, "I love my daughter".

My daddy is funny when he makes silly faces.

"Happy Father's Day, I love you, and you look handsome". ~ Abby Kate

My Daddy

My daddy is 33 years old.

My daddy looks so handsome when he wears a baseball jersey like me.

My daddy likes to make hotdogs.

My daddy always says, "I love you".

My daddy is funny when he tickles Jackson's tummy and wrestles with Abby Kate, Jackson, and me.

"I wish you a Happy Father's Day and I love you so very much!" ~ Joshua

Jason and Jackson

My Daddy

My daddy is 3 years old.

My daddy looks so handsome after a shower.

My daddy likes to make food.

My daddy always says, "You're a floppy head".

My daddy is funny when he laughs at me in bed.

"Happy Father's Day Daddy, I love you very much". ~ Jackson

Our Daddy is funny.

We love our Daddy.

We care for him.

Our Daddy says nice things to us.

Our Daddy plays with us.

Our Daddy teaches us about the Bible.

Our Daddy is strong.

He is brave.

He is healthy.

We love our Daddy very much!

Happy Father's Day to the world's best dad!

Jackson at Three Years

2010-06-17T11:47:00.000-05:00

I can hardly believe that my little Jackson Cash is now a three year old little boy. It seems like only yesterday that we were driving to the hospital to anxiously await the arrival of our little baby. Jackson has been such a blessing to our family. He melts my heart daily with his sweet personality. I am amazed at how quickly he has changed over these three years.

26 pounds, 38 inches

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Food: Animal Crackers

Least Favorite Food: Potatoes
Favorite Treat: Smarties
Favorite Toy: Helicopter
Favorite Show: Elmo's World

Favorite Restaurant: McDonald's

What he wants to do when he grows up: Drive

Jackson wanted a "Froggy" Cake.

Blowing out his birthday candles.

The sweet birthday boy

Jackson couldn't wait to lick the eyes.

Opening presents with Daddy

Jackson was so excited about his horse.

Such a happy little boy!

Jackson is full of energy. He greets each day bright and early with a smile.

We love watching Jackson play. He really enjoys his independent play. We are amazed at his imagination.

This year Jackson transitioned out of his crib to his toddler bed, he gave up his pacies, and he potty trained. He was night trained within a couple of weeks.

Jackson loves playing with his cars and airplanes. He also loves stuffed animals. He is still fascinated with horses, farm animals, and tractors.

He still sleeps with a couple of blankies, a burp cloth and a special toy that he picks out each night.

Jackson loves to be rocked before bed and LOVES having his back rubbed. He is such a cuddle bug.

Jackson really loves his sister and brother. They each play with him so differently and they think that he is just the funniest.

Jackson still finds way to get into mischief. He never gives up on something and will work at it until he gets what he desires. Right now he loves playing in the water at the sink and flushing the toilets over and over again.

He LOVES wearing his pajamas! As soon as we get home, he immediately changes into his pajamas. If we let him, he would wear pajamas all day long.

He is not the best eater when it comes to meals. Jackson would snack all day if we let him, but he refuses to eat a meal. He is a picky eater, but he also really loves healthy food. His favorites are yogurt, apples, white milk, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, oranges, bananas, salad, and bread. He LOVES sweets and treats!

Jackson Cash, we love you so much! You bring so much happiness! We feel so much "peace" because God "has been gracious" in blessing us with your life. May you continue "to be strong, to show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires." I Kings 2:2-3

Gulf Shores 2010

2010-06-04T08:50:00.036-05:00

This past weekend, we were able to head down to Gulf Shores. We had such a great time soaking up the sun and swimming in the pool. Abby Kate enjoyed collecting sea shells with Ms. Karen, while Joshua found any and every ball lying around to play with. Jackson took in the waves of the ocean and giggled the entire time. We ate at our favorite seafood place in Gulf Shores, DeSota's, and it was delicious as always. Abby Kate, Joshua, and Jackson all had a great time swimming in the pool. Abby Kate is on the verge of swimming without her life vest. She did great, but got a little scared. I think that she might be swimming without her vest by the end of the summer. We were very excited to get out of town and enjoy the beach over the long weekend.

Jack Goes To The Dentist

2010-06-03T08:40:00.003-05:00

Jackson was able to visit the dentist for the first time on Tuesday. He was so excited about his "happy visit". He surprised us all by letting Ms. Lisa clean all 20 of his teeth. He was such a good patient and his first trip to the dentist was a breeze. It seems like just yesterday, that Joshua and Abby Kate were getting their teeth cleaned for the first time.

Our Trip to the Aquarium

2010-06-02T00:10:00.006-05:00

For my birthday this year, we headed up to Chattanooga with our friends Jon and Stacy. Friday night we got a hotel and had dinner together at Cracker Barrel. The kids were so excited to get back to the rooms and play together. We reserved connecting rooms and it was so nice to have the extra room for 5 little kids to play together.

On my birthday, Jason let me sleep in which was such a treat. I woke up to lots of "Happy Birthdays" and some great gifts. We had such a great time together at the aquarium! We took a break and headed out to one of our favorites, Chili's. After our time at the aquarium, we decided that it was time to leave and head back home. As we were walking to our cars, we heard the loudspeaker at the Chattanooga Lookouts ball field. Being the baseball lovers that we are, we couldn't pass up a great ballgame. We were able to get in for only $10 for our family. We spent that in the drinks to help quench our thirst, but oh well we definitely enjoyed a night at the ball park. We wrapped up our night at Krystals before heading home.

I had such a wonderful birthday spent with some great friends!

Chattanooga Aquarium 2010

Jackson checking out the sturgeons.

Abby Kate and Jason

This is Jackson NOT looking at the camera! He makes me laugh all the time.

Checking out the sting rays.

Yikes! Look what's in the cage!

I love the expressions on Jackson's and Joshua's faces!

Such sweet brothers!

Joshua and Lawson

A Little Boy And His Butterfly

2010-05-30T21:49:00.006-05:00

The little boy and his daddy stood patiently in the butterfly house waiting for a beautiful butterfly.

The little boy found a beautiful butterfly on a flower and crept ever so carefully over to the flower to hold the butterfly.

The little boy's brother was terrified of the butterfly house and was hoping to leave soon.

The little boy's Daddy was able to catch a butterfly. The little boy was so excited to see a butterfly up close and was very anxious to hold it.

The little boy tried to hold the butterfly, but his Daddy had to remind the little boy about how fragile a butterfly really is.

The little boy got ready to hold the butterfly again, a little more carefully.

And, the little boy looked at his Daddy with his big beautiful blue eyes with such anticipation.

Alright Dad, I'm ready for my butterfly.

Oops, the butterfly flew right out of the little boy's hands and onto his arm.

Umm, are you getting this momma?

Where Oh Where...

2010-05-15T20:25:00.004-05:00

I've been gone for quite awhile. I must admit, I have been seriously considering taking my blog down for almost a year now. Jason keeps talking me back into keeping it up, but I'm just not so sure right now.

And, I'll just go ahead and warn you that this will be completely random!

~ Our family has reached a new level of busyness. Sure, we were busy when we were just trying to survive our first year with twins, and then we had another baby. We are a party of five and we are all about to start celebrating some birthdays. I can hardly believe that Jack is going to be 3 and that Abby Kate and Joshua are about to turn 6!!!! It seems impossible that I will be the mother of 6 year old twins!!! That makes me feel really old. And speaking of turning old, guess who is about to turn another year older??? Gone are the days of keeping up with toddlers, and now are the days of gymnastics, teeball, flag football, parties, and many more fun things. And can you believe KINDERGARTEN in the fall??? We finally feel free to travel again and start back on our baseball park checklist. We find ourselves playing in the yard and reading books and pretty soon we'll be hitting up the pool. It just seems like only yesterday that we were picking out items to put on a baby registry. Time has definitely flown by.

~ This past April, I was able to see Beth Moore again with some very dear friends. I am so very thankful for each of them. I saw Beth Moore last February with my dear friend Alisha. Alisha and I have been friends for years. I remember meeting her when our then boyfriends were interning together while we were at Lipscomb. We all had so much fun together and were in each others' weddings in 1999. Our first 3 years of marriage, Jason and I lived up in Kingsport and then we moved to Huntsville. We never dreamed of being able to work alongside Corey and Alisha in ministry, but we were able to. This year has been a little bittersweet for me because this past August, they moved away. I have so missed my friend. She has been like a sister to me and any chance that I get to go and visit with her, I jump at it. We were all so excited to stay with Alisha and we were each encouraged by the words shared by Beth Moore. If you ever get the chance to hear her speak, I would greatly encourage it! I am so blessed to be surrounded by such godly women and mothers that I call my very dearest friends.

~ My kids continue to make me laugh all the time. I am amazed at their little minds and the sweet words that they share with me or with each other. Now, there are definitely times when they get on each others nerves, but I just love our little family. Each child has such a unique personality and I feel so blessed to be their mother. It is my prayer that I may be the mother that they need me to be and that God would have me be.

~ I feel so blessed by my mom and dad. They were able to come down today for an early birthday celebration. My parents have always been so great to me. I love them so much! They are great grandparents to our children. I am so thankful for the love that they have given me, the sacrifices that they made for our family, the way that they love Jason and the love that they share with Abby Kate, Joshua and Jackson.

~ I'm still shopping the sales and saving some big bucks! I love it!

~ I'm loving Snapple with Lemon right now.

~ On American Idol, I don't know who I like more, Crystal or Lee. At first it was Crystal, but now I'm leaning more towards Lee.

~ Abby Kate knows more about my new phone than I do. Isn't that just a little sad?

~ Jason and I were able to go out on a date last night. We always said that we would never be that couple that had kids and then never went out. Well, we are that couple!

~ Our summer vacation plans had to change, but something else is in the works and we are all pretty excited about it.

Okay, I guess that is all for now. Hopefully the blogging bug will bite and I'll have more drive to post more on here.

My Guys

2010-05-02T22:37:00.002-05:00

May 1, 2010

My guys always take care of me.

My guys make me laugh.

My guys make me feel special.

My guys have a lot of fun together.

My guys are really sweet to me.

My guys give me big hugs and big kisses.

My guys melt my heart daily.

My guys love me so much.

I feel so incredibly blessed by my guys in my life.

It's Baseball Time

2010-04-18T20:35:00.008-05:00

This is Joshua's 3rd year to play tee ball! He is very excited that baseball season is here (and so are we). Joshua has been fascinated with all things ball for as long as we can remember. We've never seen a more ball obsessed kid. He's playing for the Cardinals again and is loving that his Daddy is his coach!

Joshua was so excited to play his first game the other night. He loves going after every ball. On Saturday's game, he made some great fielding plays! We are definitely proud of our little big guy!