Celebration and Post #2...and more to come! :)

By this time it is Tuesday night, of the week that precedes Christmas, and school is basically over till next year (2007)...Mallory had to go Wednesday, but just for half a day...so no biggie!

Anyhow, we got the call on Tuesday that Shane's mama had been put in the local hospital with pneumonia!  That's not good!  We were of course concerned about Nannie (aka Shane's mama) and wanted to check on her...but at the same time, didn't want to expose the kids to the hospital because of all the sickness that we had been hearing about and witnessing around here. Soooo....Shane kept watch on that situation and we kept checking on her by phone....and Shane went to visit by himself at the hospital, when he went. 

By Thursday, it was catching up with me and...

•  I still had a little shopping to do,
• we were supposed to be having Christmas with family here in Athens on Friday (but still weren't sure about that) because of Nannie being in the hospital,
• and then supposed to leave early on Saturday morning to travel to Indiana to be with my side of the family for a few days to celebrate....
• YEAH RIGHT!!!  GO AHEAD....START LAUGHING NOW!!!!  :)  (it gets better)

So on Thursday morning...I know that Parker officially needs to go to the doctor, because I think he has ANOTHER ear infection...if so, this will make our fifth! (I think in like two months!!!)  So I call, get him an appt. and away we go...in the meantime...Shane is coming home early and that helps because when I get home...I needed the help!!  LOL 

The doctor checked my little man out and decided that he DEFINITELY had infection in his ears again...which translates to more antibiotics and in our case a trip to our ENT next week...which means tubes...most likely!!!!  Plus, here is the conversation:

Doc: (listening to breathing)  Have you noticed that he is wheezing?

Me:  Uhhh...maybe a little, but I have noticed that he has a bad cough.

Doc: (still listening to Parker breathing) Well it doesn't sound like a pneumonia...sounds like RSV.  He could have gotten it anywhere, a lot of us have it but our bodies fight it better.  He is ok...but we are going to start treating him for RSV with medication and you need to consider him contagious.

Me:  Ok...so probably doesn't need to be exposed to other babies and definitely doesn't need to be around his Nannie? (I explained the situation) and go ahead and get our appt. with the ENT now?

Doc:  Right....but he will be alright...don't worry....

Me: Ok...thank you!

Now by this time, I am thinking if I can just get out the door and get home...then I can DEAL!

I will take all this in and figure out a game plan!  Oh, how silly I am!!!!

So we went home, stayed home and in the house, Shane came home, I went out and tackled the last of the shopping on Thursday night and Friday!  Thank you Shane!  I couldn't do it without you!  You're a rock!!!

Now, we are supposed to go to Uncle Butch's and Aunt Vickie's on Friday night and Nannie is still in the hospital, but we are going to have a meal together still and decide that we will celebrate after the New Year together later....(See Nannie had already planned to have us all over to a good home cooked meal on Friday night....but her plans changed! )

And that is ok...presents will wait and food will wait....we just want her to feel better!

So we did go to Friday night to eat and spend time together and we had a good time as usual!  Good food, great company, good laughs!  Here are just a few pix from that night...

Uncle Butch and Aunt Vickie got the girls gift certificates to the local movie cinema!  Great Idea!  The loved it!  I think we will use it to try to see Charlotte's Web.

Parker's gift...this think is hilarious...and funny to see Parker respond to it!

Always fun...Good times!!!

And of course I saved the BEST for last!!!!  Finally found a hat that fit! The story on that is that Shane and my kids all have trouble with hats and shirts fitting over the head.....so I couldn't help but laugh when I saw him put this thing on his head!!!  The ring leader...putting on a show for us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This seat, Bumbo, is awesome!  Wish I had bought one sooner because I know Parker won't be in it long....but it is as good as all the reviews I read!!!

Next stop....and Christmas Happenings Post #3....Indiana....stick with me!   :)

Christmas Replay in fast forward....or at least it may seem that way!

Ok, I am down to the wire on getting my post about our Christmas experience in before the New Year hits!  Only about 10 more hours to go until it is 2007!  Such is the last week before Christmas, so shall this post be....Fast paced!

Most years I am more organized and prepared than I was this year....something happened and the big day seemed to sneak up on me ... along with all the events that precede it.  No, I didn't accomplish all the gift giving and baking that I planned...No, things didn't go the way that I wanted them to at all time...No, we weren't all well and having the most wonderful day of the year....No, we didn't really get to rest and relax and enjoy time with family(because we have all been pretty sick)!!!  Ok there, I said it all....it wasn't the best Christmas ever, but it was still Christmas and that is a special time no matter what...I made it the best I could for the kids and for Shane and the rest of the family and I think that it was enjoyed as much as possible :)  by all involved.

I don't mean to seem ungrateful or that we had a horrible time because I am thankful...Thankful for the time we did have with family, thankful that we still have each other, thankful that we have as many blessing as we do, thankful for my health and my husband and my children, thankful for my friends....just so thankful!!!

We actually started celebrating on Monday, Dec. 18th...because that is when I left off posting...LOL...and the night of the class parties at church and at school....

So,

Post #1 Class Parties:

Here we are getting ready to leave for the party at church...silly kids...and of course the ring leader!

Kennedy's Three year old class...

Mallory's First grade class...

Parker's Cradle Roll class...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some of the pictures from our class parties at church.  Unfortunately, everyone wasn't able to attend, but we had a good turnout and the kiddos were all just too cute!

 

 

 

Ho, Ho, Ho, Spencer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mallory's school party went well too!  She had a blast!  The played Pin the Nose on Rudolph, and musical chairs and had some yummy treats.  Here is Mallory with her teacher, Mrs. Rikki!  Thanks Mrs. Rikki for all you do for the students in your class!  We love you!

Hope I didn't overload you or my laptop with pictures...gotta get these posted...stay tuned for Post #2...who knows I might just do a post an hour???  LOL 

Still among the living...

Yep, I am still alive and kicking...just not too strong right now. We have had a lot of sickness with the kiddos and even us lately....but I will elaborate on that later.  It just seems like everyone is sick around where we live....and it is so early in the season!  WOW!  I hope it clears out of here soon!  Just let me say...it is no fun having three sick kiddos on Christmas and being three states away!  YIKES!  Makes my head hurt just thinking about it again!  I have fell behind in my blogging and intend to catch back up.  I just need a little bit longer.  :) 

We came flying in from Indiana yesterday afternoon and headed straight to the doctor's office and then Wal-Mart.  I tell you...I think I need to buy stock in CVS and Wal-Mart...as much time as I have spent there in the last two weeks!!!!!

We are home for a few days and then headed back to Indiana to visit with my sister, Brittany, who is flying in on Wednesday! 

I have lots of pictures and favorite things to show and tell you about! Funny stories, some new cool sites that I have found, cool toys that Santa left and much more.  I love how my friend Leah is doing several different Days of Christmas posts....I may have to come up with something like that and break mine down for you all too....don't want to overload you!   Thanks for being patient and for sticking with me...I will update really soon I promise!

I have enjoyed reading about and seeing many new posts about all the holiday festivities!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and many blessings in 2007!

More coming real soon....  :)

Santa Picture 2006

I had to post this picture that we had taken the other night.  We have waited till the last minute to go and see Santa and the girls have been begging us to take them to the mall....so we loaded up and went on Tuesday night....and it went pretty well....the line wasn't too long, I marked off two more names from my list of gifts to buy while we were in the mall, finished stocking stuffers, and got this picture and we were on our way...woo hoo!!!  Mallory should be singing All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!  She had the best smile!  The other two.....well Kennedy didn't do too bad.....but she just won't smile for pictures when you want her to do it....and Parker I think he was just wondering.... What in the world is going on???

Just had to share...enjoy!  Oh and by the way....one thing I found interesting this year was that as my kids were walking up to Santa he called them by name....and got it all right....I was impressed!  They were like how did he know that???  :)

Jam packed, fast paced and exciting days....

Let me just start by saying, yes it is crunch time, and yes we are probably stressed and running around like crazy people this last week before Christmas.... I am one of those people...however, I am NOT going to worry about it too much!  I guess I work better under pressure.  I don't know...but I seem to get all the gifts wrapped, all the shopping done, all the candies and cookies made, etc...and still be ready by the time Christmas Eve rolls around.  Every year it is this way...everything seems to happen these last 10 days or so before Christmas...and it all seems to pile on...so tonight I told myself...just step back...take a deep breath and it will all be just fine!  And it will be!!!  It's all good!  :)

This week has been busy and sooo fun!  Maybe I can give you a quick recap and nutshell it all for you in a minimal amount of words.  I haven't posted in forever!!!  And my good friend Telah reminded me tonight in such a loving way that I needed to update my blog....:)  What are friends for???

Last Friday night was a date night for me and my husband...we dropped off the kiddos at the grandparents and drove to Cullman...a town about 45 minutes from here and ate at one of my newest favorite places to eat...All Steak.  It was a very quiet dinner and a nice time.  It seemed a little strange not to be ordering chicken fingers and chocolate milk and not to have kids crying and fighting over who was going to sit where???? But it was nice to get away for a couple of hours. We were having a little night out to celebrate our anniversary....which was Tuesday.  We have been married 8 years on Dec. 19th.  Since our anniversary is so close to Christmas many times we find it difficult to get a night away....but this year we managed to at least sneak away and have a quiet dinner. 

We came back home, picked up Parker, and the girls stayed the night with the grandparents.  Thanks Nannie and Gaga!  They had a blast!  (This has become one of my all time favorite pix of us together now....I even printed it and put it up in a frame the other day)

Got up Saturday and hit some early bird specials...since I didn't have to drag but one child out into each store....it was pretty easy and not too frustrating.  Then we met the family at Cracker Barrel for breakfast!  Yum! 

It was good and nice to spend time with everyone! Plus, CB was having 40% off all their Christmas items....so I picked up a few things....they had some really cute stocking stuffer items and then just some home decor items for the Christmas season that turned out to be a really good deal with the 40% off....if you have a chance you might want to go by and check it out....I am sure the discount will only get better the closer to Christmas and afterwards.

Mallory and her Nannie....we are sooo lucky to live close to Shane's parents and the girls are blessed to have two wonderful grandparents that love them very much right here in Athens!!!!

 of course Kennedy had to be in the picture....sitting here waiting on her pancakes....lol

 

 

 

Parker is hungry too....where's mine mama???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the weekend flew by....we made gingerbread Christmas trees, stamped treat bags for a church Christmas party, made some crafts, etc....  The girls loved making this tree and I did too...it turned out pretty cute....considering this the the first time we have made one.....here are some pictures as a recap to the weekend....

 

 

 

 

 

Mallory enjoyed this tree making experience....and I think Kennedy did too....but we did it late on Saturday, so they were beginning to get tired and it shows ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More a little later on the Christmas party and some more happenings....I am off to try and be productive while my kiddos are still asleep...Have a great day!  Just 4 more days till Santa comes!!!!

The Tooth Fairy Strikes Again!!!

How lucky can one girl get?  I mean...come on....Tooth Fairy twice in one week and then in just about another week Santa is coming to visit!!!  Well, here you go Mallory....like Mama promised.... here is your shout out about losing your second tooth!!!  Now you can sing... "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!"  I can't wait to see how much the Tooth Fairy leaves you this time??? 

I think we made all the phone calls already and she shared with everyone....but if we missed you, we are sorry!  She had to call all the grandparents and tell them the story about how it happened and how mama pulled it in the final stages. 

Speaking of grandparents....I have attached a second video clip in this post at the request of a certain Grandma Patty...lol    And of course, I know that all the other grandparents that look at this blog will enjoy seeing this clip of little Parker.  The quality is not the best because it was taken when the living room lights were off and I caught him going after the ornaments on the tree for the first time.  It was too cute not to video and the only thing I had handy at the time was my digital camera.  Enjoy!

Photobucket Tags: " rel="tag">

Ready for Santa...

Finally all the decorating is done...well actually, it has been done for a few days, I am ready to wrap gifts and this weekend I am going to do my candy making and baking.  The girls are going to help me and we are going to make gift baskets full of goodies for all their teachers at church.  I will have more pictures to post about this later on...

For now, I wanted to show off some of our Christmas decorating....since everyone else is....I thought we might as well too.  I didn't decorate as much this year as I usually do, but managed to get a few things out and up.  I used to put a tree in every room and let the kids do trees in their rooms, etc.  However, as our family has grown and our toys have multiplied.....our small house just doesn't have room for all that decorating any longer.  LOL :)  So now we just put up one big tree in the living room and some smaller things all throughout the house....take a look and enjoy....

Oh and by the way, some of these pictures aren't the best quality...however, they are the best I could get....and probably will be able to get....you know they are genuine true to life in my home...highchairs in the background, husband sitting in the recliner flipping the remote, toys and walker in the floor, etc....so that is just the way it is.  :)

Finally got my stockings monogrammed and back....and I love, love, love them!!!  Got them hung on the mantle...still need to do something about those hooks, but I will deal with that later...I will add some ribbon or something...here are some close ups of the names....I had it done in the Curlz font and I love how they turned out.  I got these at Michael's last year on clearance and have been needing to get names put on them....

I like the white thread against the red and the green.  I thought it really contrasted and helped it to show up better.

 

 

Shane said it seems weird to have five stockings up there this year...and it does!  But it also is good and seems complete...glad that Parker is going to be celebrating his first Christmas this year.  That is always a fun time! 

This is my hutch in my kitchen.  I always keep the garland and fruit up on the hutch, but haven't always kept it lit up.  Shane added some new white lights to it and spruced it up and it looks so pretty again.  I love it!

Below, the picture is sort of blurry, but still a good picture.  It is the view of my breakfast sitting area.  The table has a little holiday decorating and I love that you can have a good view of the tree while sitting in here with the family at dinner and various other times.   This is the only spot we have to put our tree and it blocks off one of the entrances to the living room...although my girls still think that they can use that entrance as part of their racing track through the house and I have to remind them that I better not catch them sliding between the door frame and the Christmas tree.  I know they are sooooo scared!  Yeah right!!!  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the arrangement I made for my kitchen table this year.  Can you tell I love the fruit theme?  lol... I found this table runner in the closet.  I had forgotten that I bought it after Christmas at Target last year...so I better put it to good use now!

 

 

Leaving the kitchen and entering the leaving room...you see Mr. Snowman....

Hanging on the door to the guest bath you see Santa himself in all his glory....:)

 

 

 

And lastly...this is a little cutie that I picked up last year at Cracker Barrell for the girl's room.  It makes a great nightlight and they love having Santa sitting in their bedroom at night.

He is really cute and looks great when he is all lit up!  Wish I could get a good picture of that...but oh well!

 

 

Just a sampling of our Christmas decorating.  I have loved reading other blogs and seeing what all everyone else is doing to decorate and get ready for the holidays. 

More later on...Have a great day!

2006 Christmas Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends...

Thanks Cheryl for posting this!  I had found this on a blog somewhere the other day and had intended to put it on mine too...but you beat me to it....I think it is a great way to get to know all your "blogging" buddies and maybe learn some new ideas about the holidays.

Like Cheryl said....

Submit your own answers, answer just one or two of them (I know it's kinda long), comment on my answers, or send us a link to your blog where you've done the quiz yourself.

I'd love to hear about all of your Christmas memories, traditions, and favorites! Here are mine . . .

So here ya go... WARNING!!!  This is LONG!!!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, definitely!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa just sits presents under and around the tree.

3. Colored or white lights on tree and house?  White lights rule!!!  No lights on the outside of the house ever since my hubby got stuck on the roof one year...ha ha!  (He didn't think it was too funny then....but I secretly can laugh about it now!)

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I  have a mistletoe ball with a bell attached to the bottom of it that I love to hang...however, I have been ban from hanging it this year because my hubby hits his head on it every time he enters or leaves the doorway in which it hangs.  Hey, is it my fault he is so tall?  :)  So now I just have it hanging on my back door in the kitchen that goes out to the garage....so I can hear everytime someone enters or leaves the house. 

5. When do you put your decorations up?
I try to have mine up by Thanksgiving each year so that we can enjoy them as long as possible.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Well, it isn't just one dish....but my favorite holiday meal is our Christmas morning breakfast.  Every Christmas morning we have a big home cooked breakfast with all the fixin's at my grandparent's home...yum, yum!!!

7. Favorite Christmas cookie? Not sure if I have a favorite cookie...but lately I have been making this treat with crushed Oreo's and cream cheese....which I just call Oreo Bites....maybe there is a better, more unique name out there....but they are SOOOOO good and easy tooo!!!!

8. Favorite Christmas memory as a child? Oh me...I have lots of favorite memories from Christmas as a child....I will have to think about this one and give it a whole post to itself later in the week...I can just say this, though...My family are Christmas nuts....my Gram, my Dad, me....my husband, my mother and father-in-law, and now we are working on my kids....so Christmas has always been a big deal and always been very special to me.  My Gram has always made it special for us and I know how much it means to her and I guess maybe that is why I have grown to love it so much!!!  I am trying to give that same feeling to my own children. 
9. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
The only thing I know about Santa is that he lives at the North Pole, drives a sleigh with Rudolph at the lead, and delivers presents on Christmas.  Is there something else I need to know?  Oh...I didn't think so!!!  :)  I was always told when you don't believe then the presents stop coming....so I still believe.

10. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Nope!  Gotta wait till the big day!

11. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Tons of white lights, primarily red, green, white, and silver decorations, handmade red bows all around, red glass beads, special collected ornaments from my kids and that Shane and I have gotten for each other or received over the years. 

12. Snow ... Love it or Dread it?
Love it, never get it here where we live now...do get to see it usually when we travel back to Indiana for Christmas...but then after about a week of it I am sick of driving in it and ready to get back to Alabama where there is no snow.  :)

13. Can you ice skate? Have you ever fallen on the ice?
I CANNOT ice skate.  Will not try....you can't make me!!!

14. Do you remember your favorite gift?  Can't remember one favorite one that just sticks out right now.

15. Do you have a favorite ornament? My favorite ornaments are the handmade ornaments that my kids have made for me in school and in Bible class.  Also, the first Christmas ornaments that each of them have, the ornaments that Shane and I received as wedding gifts (since we were married the week before Christmas), and the Disney ornaments that we bought and had personalized when we took the family to Disney World on a fabulous vacation...I might add!!!  I have a huge tree...so it takes lots of ornaments to fill it up....but these are my favorites!

16. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? Spending lots of time with my family and making time to do things together that we might not normally take the time to do together.  Making sure that my children know that Christmas is about much more than getting gifts....it is about something you can't buy at a store!  That is why I love the song that I mentioned below....read on and you will see it!

17. What is your favorite Christmas dessert? My favorite sweet treats for Christmas are my Gram's fudge and peanut butter balls.  I remember when I was growing up that around the holidays she always had a plate of this stuff sitting out on the bar for us to grab some as we walked by....not good for the waistline....but it tasted so good! 

18. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?  Probably waking up at Pap and Gram's every Christmas morning and having a big breakfast before opening gifts....the rule is...if you don't clean your plate....you don't open presents!!!  lol

19. What tops your tree?
A handmade bow made with ribbon that matches the ribbon on the rest of the tree.

20. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving to my kids,family, and friends is where I get my joy!!!

21. What is your favorite Christmas song?  I'll Be Home For Christmas and there is a whole album of Statler Brother's songs that I grew up listening to with my grandparents that I absolutely love.  I have downloaded it off Napster and still listen to it every year...and probably always will.  Two of my very favorite on this album are:  Christmas To Me...and...Something You Can't Buy.  Now, I know that this isn't the hip music for today's generation....but I still love it!!!  In fact, when I listen to it I just have so many memories that run through my mind.  If you have never heard these songs....and you are sentimental and if you are a music buff like me that really listens to the words and their meanings....you will like these holiday songs!  I highly recommend it!!!

22. What is your least favorite Christmas song?  Probably ... Little Drummer Boy...

23. How soon in the season will you start listening to Christmas carols?  I usually start pretty early.  This year I started right around Thanksgiving time...

24. Favorite Christmas cartoon?  Santa Claus is Coming To Town and Frosty's Winter Wonderland

25. Favorite Christmas movie?  Wow...I have lots of those...I have really gotten into watching ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas... the last few years and been recording many of the movies from that channel....most of them are sooo good!  Here are some of my favorites:

1. Once Upon a Christmas
2. Polar Express
3. Home Alone (all of them)
4. Snow
5. Eloise at Christmastime
6. Miracle on 34th Street
7. It's a Wonderful Life

Christmas Time's a coming!!!!

I love mornings like this....it is cold outside....no snow, but at least cold.  I think the news said 29 degrees.  The tree decorating is done, the house is clean, most of the shopping is done, kids are quiet for now, and everything seems peaceful.  I am sitting here with my warm heating pad and reading email and blogs and eating breakfast.  I think this is going to be a good day!

Granted, I would love to have some snow since it is the Christmas season...but this is Alabama and I know better.  It is not going to happen and if it does...it won't be like the snows that I grew up with in Southern Indiana...boy do I miss those!  Here is just a taste of that....these are pictures from a few Christmases ago at my old homeplace on Christmas Day!  This is the house that I pretty much grew up in back in Indiana.  This was taken on Christmas Day 2000. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can remember many days like this and many days of walking to school or waiting on the school bus in stuff like this.  The picture below was taken two years ago from the driveway at my grandparents home looking out across the field.  

I think we measured that year and had 24 inches of snow.  That is the most we have had in a while and it was no fun to drive in going up there on the interstate, but it was a beautiful sight to see outside on Christmas morning.  My girls get so excited about snow and this....

 is about the most I have seen on our front lawn since Mallory was born here in Alabama....so they only really get the chance to see and play in the snow when we travel a little further up north.  The love to see it!  The above picture is our front yard in January 2003....not much of the white stuff....but hey I will count it!

Well I finally have got my Christmas spirit on!!!  Yeah me!  And it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around our house...the tree is finished and I am pretty please with it....I will say that I don't think the pictures do it justice...but I just can't seem to get a good picture of it with the lights off.  I will keep trying though.  What do you all think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will keep working on it and maybe I can get a good one this year too....

Now how about this to get you in the holiday mood???

Photobucket Tags: " rel="tag">

This is my first time to try video...and I am not sure if I like this format...but trial and error shall prevail.  Let me know how it works....I have another small clip that I might try later if this one works out. 

I took this Monday and it was just too cute.....I took this while I was in the process of finishing up the decorating and Kennedy was in the middle of getting into everything....lol

Merry Christmas to everyone!  Thanks to everyone who emailed or posted and gave my holiday spirit a boost....hope this helps yours too!  Have a great day! 

Multiple Magical Visitors at our house this month....

Yep...you read it right!!!  This month our home will be visited by the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus!  Yesterday Mallory lost her first tooth and she was sooooooo excited!  This tooth has been loose and such an issue for awhile now....so everyday I would ask her about it and ask her if she wanted me to pull it....which I knew the answer to that already.  Well, yesterday morning...she couldn't even brush her teeth because the tooth was so loose and in the way and hurting she said.  So I said come here for a minute....got a tissue...barely touched the silly thing and out it came....she was in shock that her mama might actually know what she was talking about!!!  :)

But proud that she has lost her first tooth....she went off to school ready to show everyone and excited to put it under her pillow last night.  She woke up this morning with some cash under her pillow and her sister was as excited for her as she was!  It was so cute! 

I missed the photo opt. this morning of Mallory showing off the cash that the Tooth Fairy had left...but did manage to snap these.....what a ham! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yes, that is the permanent tooth you see coming in behind the baby tooth.  Poor thing...I don't have the heart to tell her that that isn't really how it supposed to happen....and that she will probably have to have braces!  But we will deal with that when the time comes....for now I am just enjoying that cute little smile!

Tag You're It!!!

My friend Telah tagged me yesterday, so I decided to meet the challenge and also tag some others.  It has been fun and I have learned some things that I would probably have never known.  Thanks Telah!  Now....Tag You're It!!!

A - Available or single: Nope…very unavailable.

B - Best Friend: My husband

C - Cake or Pie: Cheesecake is my favorite…any kind

D - Drink of choice: My homemade tea sweetened with splenda…I drink about a jug a day on my own…lol

E - Essential Item you use everyday: microwave, my washer and dryer, my laptop, and my dishwasher

F - Favorite color: Purple and Kelly green

G - Gummy Bears or worms: worms-the sour ones are my favorites

H - Hometown: born in Bloomington, Indiana (Monroe County) and grew up there for the most part…my dad was in the Army the first few years, but after about age 4 I was there for the duration

I - Indulgence: My newest one is the Peppermint Candy Kisses that my friend Jolene let me know about in her blog…Yum Yum…..and I am secretly happy that nobody else in my house really cares for them… :)

J - January or February: I like February…three of my favorite people have birthdays that month…my hubby, my youngest daughter, and my Gram

K - Kids & Names: yes…three little ones… Mallory, Kennedy, and Parker

L - Life is Incomplete Without? My faith, my family, and my friends

M - Marriage Date: December 19, 1998

N - Number of Siblings: 4 others…..I am the oldest of the five….yep….there is one boy and all the rest girls….Heather, Chad, Adrienne, Brandi, and Brittany

O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges

P - Phobias or Fears: mice…..there is a story behind that…but we won’t go into that…and disappointing others

Q - Fave Quote: The heart remembers all the moments when a little love made a difference….the one that is on my blog…it is one of the ones that is newest to me…but I love it!!!

R - Reason to Smile: My hope of Heaven, my wonderful life and family, my many blessings

S - Season: Spring

T - Tag 3 or 4 people: Leah, Amy, Jolene, Cheryl, and Jamie…ok…so I am breaking the rules…but I don’t care…I want to know more about my new friends!

U - Unknown Fact about Me: I have lost 160 pounds over the last two years!

V - Vegetable You Don't Like: English Peas…hate them, hate them, hate them!!!

W - Worst Habit: Worrying would have to be the worst…but also grinding my teeth and popping my bubble gum!

X - Xrays: LOL…I don’t have enough room to type all that…let’s see…knees, sinus’, stomach, neck, teeth…that is all I can think of….don’t they want to always do xrays now???

Y - Your Fave Food: I love just about anything from Macaroni Grill…Italian!!!!

Z - Zodiac Sign: Aries…but I don’t ever read anything about that or keep up with it.

My little man is growing too fast!!!

Parker is almost seven months old.  We went Thursday for his six month check up....you moms know how that goes....they wait to schedule you until you are a day past six months at least and then it ends up the child being nearly seven months before they can get you in because of the full appt. calendar that the doctor's have...which is fine...but just funny.  Well, so Kennedy and I took him Thursday afternoon.  Not only was he going for his six month check up and his SHOTS, but he was having his ears rechecked because he has had four ear infections in the last couple of months...and is on his third antibiotic!  Everything went well and his ears looked good...at least for yesterday.  I posted a day or so ago about how I would update you on his size...so here you go...

This boy is growing, growing, growing.....he weighed 23 pounds and was 30 inches long. 

Now to translate....that puts him above the 95th percentile for his height and weight....I just laughed when the doctor told me.  I expected big, but I guess I was a little surprised at his length....I didn't think he was that LONG!!!  No wonder he is wearing 18 and 24 month size clothes sometimes!  LOL  Here are my too cutie guys!  Parker and his daddy!  I love this picture!  And no...I didn't plan the yellow shirts....it just happened that way.   He looks so cute!  But just doesn't look like a six month old!

He is using his walker now and motoring all over the place.  He scoots everywhere on the floor now.  Excuse me, but I don't think my girls did all this at this young of an age!!!  The other day we found him way across the living room from where we left him....and when I found him...he was under the Christmas tree.  :)

I wanted to post this to update like I promised you all and also to try some new stuff on this website.  I have been tinkering with the idea of including some small video clips in posts occasionally.  My friend Leah told me about using Photobucket for video clips...so I went there and tried to put a video clip on this post but I recorded too much....and it was a very big file and it would have taken a long time and soooooo....I will try again sometime with a smaller clip, but it looks pretty easy now that I know about Photobucket.  Thanks Leah!!!!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

As promised, I have a few pictures to share with you from today's events.  Of course, we did not nearly get finished with decorating our Christmas tree...however, we did make a start on it and it was fun!  The girls had a blast and little Parker even got to participate.  For each of my children we have put a Baby's First Christmas ornament on the tree for their first Christmas with our family...and Parker is no different.  Tonight he got to hang his very first ornament on the tree....or at least help Mama do it! 

I searched for the perfect ornament and it was harder than I thought to find a cute ornament for a baby boy.  I didn't purchase the ones for the girls...my mother and father in-law got those for the girls and they are glass ornaments.  I wasn't sure what I wanted for Parker...but I knew I wanted it to be special.  I started looking here and that is exactly where I ended up going back to after visiting several other places last Saturday.  This is what I came up with...I found this keepsake ornament and I really liked it...well I guess I must have since I bought it.  What do you think?  I thought it looked rather boyish! 

So tonight I helped him to hang it on the tree.  It was the first ornament on the tree tonight.  We tried to put it in the center of the front of the tree.  I haven't gotten out the girls First Christmas ornaments yet...but when I do I will post a picture of all three of them together.  He was mesmerized by the lights and I don't think he really cared too much about the ornament by the time we got ready to hang the ornament...he just wanted to grab the lights.  Ha!

The girls were so excited too!  They have been begging to hang ornaments since the tree has been out of the attic....and to be honest we just haven't had time any night this week.  I even told Shane the other night....I liked it with just the white lights on it...I think he wondered if I was feeling ok??? 

Anybody that knows me knows that I am a Christmas NUT!!! I love it!   But for some reason, I haven't really been able to get my SPIRIT on this year yet...not sure why,  but I am sure it will come and it will get better????  Maybe I should get my music out and start playing it???  Give me your suggestions and what you do to pump up your Christmas SPIRIT!!!!

So anyway, I let the kids put on their new Christmas jammies and this is what I came up with...I took this picture and then played with it a little in Photoshop.  Not too bad???  The red eye was easy to do in Photoshop....I am liking it so far...but still have a lot to learn.  Here are some before shots too of my tree...I did try to follow Amy's instructions but I tried amidst three excited kiddos and to be honest I didn't do too good a job...but it is something.  HA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone have a great day!  It is finally starting to feel like Christmas here in Alabama....cold this morning and I hope it gets colder and we get some snow...but I am not holding my breath!  More later as promised!