reflections of a mom's life

Merry Christmas 2010...almost...

2010-11-23T08:40:00.002-05:00

Retro Snowflake Bursts Christmas

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i normally wouldn't want to share this so early but there was a GREAT coupon offer to do so...so i got over myself.

from Addsion

2010-05-31T15:41:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to ME!!!....

Happy Memorial Day to YOU!!!

love,
Addison

She's 2!!!

2010-05-31T11:15:00.008-04:00

It's a BIG day here at the Williams' house!!!

Addison is TWO!!!

We have a low key day planned and hope to ENJOY our sweet baby girl this Memorial Day!!! We knew this little girl would fit in perfectly as we waited "oh so patiently" (ha ha) for her to arrive! Never could we have possibly known what joy she would bring to our lives! She is full of life and turning out to be quite the little ham! Her personality is completely irresistible and she loves everyone she meets! She's tough...her brothers have helped her to become so. :) She is FUN. She is always smiling, waving, saying hi, and laughing. We just can't get enough of this little girl!

Krispy Kreme's!!!

the boys are showering her with lots of love and affection...more than she's really in the mood for too! :)

our "miss priss" as Harrison likes to call her. to say this girl is a girly girl is kind of an understatement! this sweetie LOVES to accessorize and play and BE all things girly. :) very fun! (thanks for my new purse Ms. Heather and for my jewelry and shoes Ms. Andrea!)

and thanks for my pretty new dress Aunt Vonda, Uncle Ian, Ella Rose, & Carolina Grace!!! It's very "me". :)

taking a ride in the play stroller

she loves to buckle,,,over, over, and over again!

serious concentration

we love you SO much Addison!!!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! :) it's gonna be a FUN day!!!!

Jackson's 5 year old Birthday Party

2010-05-19T22:34:00.009-04:00

Still can't hardly believe that my "little J" is FIVE years old now! CRAZY. We we so excited to have an opportunity to celebrate our boy. Turing 5 is a BIG deal. :) We had a party at the park and visited the Fire Station. It was the perfect party for our Jackson!

My mom was able to drive up in time for the party and spend a couple of days...that is always a treat. Mimi and Papa were ALSO able to celebrate with us. How special to have 3 of his grandparents there!!! I have no pictures of Mimi...she was videoing and taking pictures but she WAS there. :)

we had cake and ice cream sundaes!

walking over to the Fire Station

oh how i LOVE this little guy!

checking out the fire truck

these three look like they could be related...all that tan skin! :) we love the Megilligan ladies!

Addison adores Ms. Kristine...she always wants Kristine to hold her

Uncle Ian and Aunt Vonda and the girls sent some pretty cool Star Wars toys. He was SO excited and LOVED them!

everyone was tired so the family shot was a challenge. :)

me and my mommy

Jackson, we LOVE you SO very much. We are so proud of you and the boy you are growing up to be. What a fun party we had!!!

imagination and hope

2010-05-19T13:51:00.003-04:00

One of the most poisonous of all Satan's whispers is simply, "Things will never change." That lie kills expectation, trapping our heart forever in the present. To keep desire alive and flourishing, we must renew our vision for what lies ahead. Things will not always be like this. Jesus has promised to ..."make all things new." We will need imagination, we will need hope. (The Sacred Romance)

a friend of mine had this quote on her Facebook Status Update today.

I needed it.

thought maybe you do too...

Easter Pictures...better late than never!

2010-05-17T21:57:00.003-04:00

Mimi and Papa brought Harrison home and stayed over for the weekend to be here for Jackson's Birthday party. I made sure we all dressed up in our Easter clothes so we could finally get some pictures of our family! LOVE MY FAMILY! :)

Upwards Awards Ceremony 2010

2010-05-17T21:56:00.000-04:00

It was SO good to get our boy back HOME!!! and fun that we got to celebrate that night at the Upwards Awards Ceremony!

can you get over that hair??? I sure can't! the more humid it is, the curlier it gets. I love it though. I imagine she won't one day but I'm gonna love it while it lasts and she's not trying to straighten it. :)

love my boys!

doing airplane with daddy

back to a family of 5!

we LOVE YOU SO MUCH Harrison and we loved that you were able to go for your big trip...but, we were even happier to have you come back home!

Harrison's 8 year old Birthday trip to Florida!

2010-05-17T21:22:00.011-04:00

I think he was pretty excited to finally be back at Mimi & Papa's house! Sure wish we could go more often...

now, I didn't really like seeing THESE pictures. PROOF...that little alligators are alive and well in the very ponds and lakes that are ever so abundant in FL. yikes.

our favorite dessert at Toojay's - chocolate cake with a cheesecake middle! YUMMY!

Harrison has found a new love of cars so he really enjoyed the old cars show they had down at the Square.

One of the boys FAVORITE things when they are in FL is helping in Mimi and Papa's 4 year old Sunday School class. Mimi and Papa make them feel SO special! Harrison had been practicing some songs to sing and I just think it is the sweetest that he is getting to see how it feels to help in a class and be an example to younger kids.

Mimi and Papa bought a bike to keep down at their house so all the grandkids can have a turn with it when they are visiting. This was they can take the training wheels off for the kids want them off and keep them on for the kids who still want the help.

Harrison's favorite thing is to spend the day at the pool...jumping...

and jumping...

and jumping...

and more jumping...

and more jumping...

you get the picture. :)

a little golf

another stop at Toojay's! sure wish they could have brought me a piece!

bowling! he's just like his daddy...lovin' it when he's winning! :)

and Papa is the SAME way!

more jumping!

they wore him out!

He had such a good time and he's already talking about next year! love my little planner!

Harrison's trip to New York City

2010-05-17T20:31:00.010-04:00

Mimi and Papa took Harrison to New York City as part of his 8 year old Birthday trip. He was SO excited! These are the perks of having grandparents who have retired airline benefits! He loved every minute of it and was so sweet to call and tell us about all the fun he was having!

this diner was recommended to them for breakfast. He loved it SO much he insisted they return for dinner. :) aren't grandparents the best??? to let him pick! :)

calling me! :)

don't know what this look was all about but he's still pretty cute!

LOVE this one!

Time Square

riding the Ferris Wheel at Toys R Us in Time Square

What fun he had!

8 is GREAT!

2010-04-27T17:49:00.003-04:00

Harrison is home.

SO wonderful to have our boy back with us. He had a FABULOUS time in FL but we sure did miss him. :)

I have to take a moment and brag on him...because I can...I'm his mom! :)

He has been such a blessing. He is quick to obey, looking for ways to help, blessing his brother and sister, doing his best, loving Jesus, surprising me moment after moment these days with his happy heart and desire to make wise choices!!!!

WOW.

I think 8 is going to be GREAT!!! There is something to love about every year with your children...something new and of course there are always some challenges. :) but, WOW have we seen some serious growing up in our boy and I am ONE PROUD MOMMY!!!

We love you Harrison and we are SO proud of the young man you are becoming! May you always have a tender heart toward God and the other people around you! We are looking forward to this year and all the years to come with you little man!!

snack time with 'buddy'

2010-04-23T17:23:00.003-04:00

here's what happens when baby girl sneaks away to the guest room with a bag a pretzels for a mid-afternoon snack with her 'buddy' (we call her lovey bunny and she's been saying 'buddy' - - SO CUTE!).

she definitely made sure that 'buddy' had plenty of snack. the whole bag in fact.

and yet somehow it all looks so neat. if one of the boys had done this at her age there would have been pretzels ALL OVER the room!

my little stinker. love that face. love this girl!

at least it was on top of the bed. i'd hate for any of you to come and visit and have the 'crumbs in the bed' kind of feeling when you lay down to sleep. that is the WORST! i actually think the kids rolled around on an air mattress all sandy when Chris & Jessica were here one weekend and i felt horrible that Chris & Cody slept on sandy sheets (Jessica was safe in the real bed)!!! :) isn't that just awful!

i'll get these pretzel crumbs up before Mimi & Papa get here for the weekend... :)

Addison's FIRST Haircut!

2010-04-22T17:15:00.000-04:00

Addison had her first haircut this past weekend. She had a mullet going on and I wanted to snip it off before it started looking too scraggly. She had been eating ice cream so that's why her face looks covered in dirt. :)

here are the before shots...

look at how long that was...it curls up so much you can't really tell.

here goes nothing...

all done. it looks much cuter and now it will start to grow a bit more evenly. :)

showing her the hair we cut

typical Addison response. grossed out and bothered.

"get it away mommy!"

"ok, maybe i will touch it after all." :)

relaxing in her stroller

2010-04-21T09:44:00.000-04:00

babies. babies. babies.

it's all she plays! i love watching her play.

this time she decided she was the baby and wanted to hang out in the "stroller".

love my little stinker.

cardboard boxes

2010-04-21T09:40:00.001-04:00

last week we had fun with some big cardboard boxes.

so fun to see the kids imagine and get those creative juices going...AND enjoying their friends

a rocket ship

a race car

another race car

love fun days like these!

spring break

2010-04-20T14:17:00.004-04:00

i have to say i'm really enjoying our spring break. so nice to have a week to really slow down. most of the time i like to travel and pack in as much fun as i possibly can...i love that, i'm all for that, and it looks like most of my summer will be just exactly like that...but i'm enjoying this change of pace. a much slower pace and a very light schedule. time to sit, catch up, go slow, and take a deep breath. ahhhh!

thankfully Harrison is in FL right now packing in loads of fun with his Aunt Vonda and her girls. i asked him if he missed me this morning and he said, "mom (in that drawn out tone that kids do when they are kind of aggravagted you've asked) of course i miss you. BUT you said you wanted me to have fun." yes, yes, yes. i did say that and i'm so thankful that he is so close (emotionally, we're not close physically) to his grandparents and his Aunt, Uncle, & cousins that he is not thinking about getting back home quite yet. it's truly a blessing. he and i will be refreshed and ready to finish up our school year when he gets back in town!

here are a few things that have gotten me excited this week...

a storm door for our back door. just got installed today and i have been looking forward to this for a long time. it took some convincing but Anthony finally agreed and i don't think he will be disappointed! it will be so nice to have the back door open. i love sunlight coming in and i'm a huge fan of storm doors.

and this one is fancy schmancy...if you can say that about a storm door...at least it is to me. :) it has the pull down screen that is part of the top portion of the door. i'm excited to be able to use the screen in the spring and fall for a breeze as well being able to really hear what the kids are up to. :) and i won't have to worry about any children pushing the screen OUT as is what happened to our neighbors nice new door. boo.

and another thing that has really got me going is the arrival of a little house for Addison. our friends, the Barbours, had out grown this little house and offered it up to Addison. that little girl was SO excited when we got it all set up and she realized what it was...

oh how she loves it! and i love that she loves it. she fills the house with all her babies and has a ball!

and what else you might wonder??? all this excitement, could there possibly more??? :)

my cutie umbrella for our picnic table had been ripped to shreds by a little doggy we used to know. poor thing chewed up a lot of our things and i had to replace the umbrella and the water toys to Addison's water table. it was fun to get those replacements in the mail this week.

so you see, i can find such fun in the littlest of things. doesn't take much to make me happy or relaxed these days! :)

we still have most of our week left and i'm going to make the very most of it, in the very smallest ways possible!

Happy 5th Birthday Jackson!!!

2010-04-19T17:49:00.007-04:00

Today our "little J" is 5 years old! I can hardly believe it. The time has gone by way too fast. We have enjoyed spending time making his day extra special. We started with Krispy Kreme's for breakfast! :)

He had his 5 year old check-up...I guess getting shots on your birthday is not really that great but he was SO brave and we moved on quickly! He's 49lbs and in the 90th percentile, his height is in the 95th percentile. What a big boy he is turning out to be!

aren't these two the cutest! they love each other so much!

we shopped a little and and he picked out his own Star Wars figures for his birthday. he got a Leapster from Mimi & Papa so he's been pretty excited about playing that today too!

he picked Chick-fil-A for his birthday lunch. it was fun...if only Daddy and Harrison could have been with us it would have been even better. our time was sweet today, just the three of us. everywhere we went I made sure to mention it was his birthday. he was beaming! everyone was SO sweet to him. :)

Jackson,
Mommy and Daddy love you SO much! You bring such LIFE to our family and you are always ready with a huge smile. We love your passion for enjoying every moment of every day. You love people and you try your best to make them feel included. You love Jesus and I love how you say "I've crossed Him in my heart, mommy". We love how much you love your brother and sister and how you will often think of them before you think of yourself. I love your voice and your laugh, I just can't get enough! You are such a smart boy Jackson and we look forward to seeing all you will learn this year in school. We love your determination, focus, and desire to do your very best in all that you do. What joy you bring to our family!

We are praying that you will become a mighty man of God and that you will serve Jesus with your whole heart. He has BIG plans for you Jackson and we can't wait to see all the God has in store for you. God made you Jackson and He loves every single thing about you...Mommy & Daddy do too! We are so proud of you and are so blessed to be able to be your parents!

We love you Jackson!!!

love,
Mommy & Daddy

he's leavin on a jet plane

2010-04-16T16:54:00.003-04:00

all packed and ready to go!

Harrison was SO excited this morning...at 4:30am...to get going on his trip! They were flying on Continental into Newark, NJ and were going to go into New York City for the day. Their flight tonight into Orlando is at 8pm so they have had a WHOLE day to explore and make the most of it!

The most anticipated location they would be visiting was the Statue of Liberty. We spent some time on the computer yesterday learning fun facts that would make the whole experience a bit more meaningful for him. Harrison was excited that he could tell Mimi things that she didn't even know! :)

I've had a few calls today from him and he has been having the time of his life! Such excitement and joy in his voice. I love how much he wants to include me in the fun! I can't wait to see all the pictures from the the places they have visited today! What a blessing Mimi and Papa are to Harrison! He will never forget these special times! It's only the first day of his trip and it's been incredible so far! :)

loving on his brother

2010-04-16T16:53:00.003-04:00

Jackson is sure gonna miss his brother this week!

they've come to take him away!

2010-04-16T16:24:00.013-04:00

We are finally on Spring Break and we have been looking forward to it! Harrison has been VERY excited to get on out of here for his annual trip to FL!!!

Every year since the boys turned three they have had the privilege of going to see Mimi and Papa for a week. They go in the Spring and they look so forward to these trips. We don't get to be at Mimi and Papa's house very much so any chance they get is such a treat! Mimi and Papa enjoy the one on one time they get with each of the boys and special memories are always made!

Mimi and Papa flew in yesterday and spent the afternoon with us. They had a flight that was bright and early waiting for them the next morning! We spent most of our time outside playing and Papa helped the boys practice their batting.

many of the balls went into the woods beside our house so there was a lot of hitting and then hunting.

Taylor popped over to play too

We had dinner outside on the Patio...Anthony wasn't able to be there until just before we had to leave for Harrison's baseball game so we had to go ahead and eat dinner.

my BIG boy! we sure are going to miss him this week but knowing that he will be having the time of his life with his grandparents and his Aunt Vonda, Uncle Ian, and cousins - well, it makes it a little easier on his mama. :) he looks so grown up here!

now that's not ever lady like. :)

this is a little blurry but i LOVE this face she makes!

Mimi and Papa were so excited to be here for one of Harrison's baseball games. He was SO excited and played very well!

i spy Wonder Woman, can you?

2010-04-16T16:13:00.006-04:00

somebody has been testing out his decorating skills...

i think i know who and he's coming up on a 5 year old birthday.

what do you think? every room needs a little 'super hero' going on...right? :)

her hair

2010-04-15T15:07:00.005-04:00

i LOVE her hair!

it's SO curly

i don't know why it's so curly but i love it! we have lots of "wave" in the family but not curls like this! my sister Grace was really curly when she was little so maybe that's where she gets it from. not from me. my hair is straight as can be.

the longer it gets, the curlier it gets

she is so sweet

i love my pretty little girl with ringlet curls.

i never imagined she would have ANY curls, much less this many!

and i can't imagine her any other way!

connection

2010-04-14T13:36:00.007-04:00

warning: this is long. :) and it's our story. our family. not yours and i wouldn't want anyone to ever think that i am suggesting this should be your family story. want to get that out there before you keep reading... :)

i haven't posted on homeschooling in a long time. not on our year and how it's been. but i want to get my thoughts down here. some people have asked and i also want to remember this year. what it's been like and where we go from here...

i have loved homeschooling Harrison this year. i have also hated it at times. nothing wrong with brutal honesty, right? :)

but i love it more than i hate it. so that's good.

i believe it's been a success and it HAS set us on the right path.

i'll start with why it's been hard. he was in school for 2 years. he loved the idea of going to school. so much of being AT school is FUN!!! it truly is. i think if school was just about going to see friends and hanging out with your buddies he would have been set! :) so the transition hasn't always been easy. there have been days that we have both longed for "what used to be."

another reason it's been hard, is i am daily sacrificing all of my time and giving it to my children. this has been a huge struggle for me. all mom's do this, so i know you who aren't homeschooling aren't giving any less of your time but it IS different - i've experienced it both ways now. i have very little time to myself and i crave it. i crave a quiet home. i don't function well with the level of noise or level of chaos i feel around me. i can't keep my house as clean as i like to. well, i probably could but i'm just too tired. i have had to daily accept that there are sacrifices our family has chosen to make for Harrison (the others too, but mostly him at this point) that make some of my life more difficult. i'm not always understood by people who see us, meet us, know us. that is hard for me. everyone can't relate to me. see??? i struggle with ME. i am learning that there are more important things right now than my house being clean, laundry being caught up, errands being completed or even started, etc... this has been hard for me. :) i knew all along that all of my hang-ups to committing to what i KNEW God was calling me to do were selfish. i'd like to think i'm selfless when it comes to my children. but i'm not. i want to be. i'm learning to be. God is refining me. in SO many ways these days. in SO many different situations and relationships. it's hard. good. but hard too.

because so much of my time is literally spent with three children with me every second of the day i have accepted two new priorities. now, EVERY girl needs some time to herself. alone. with her husband. with friends. i understand the importance of that and Anthony does too. we are more intentional in this area. exercise is also a top priority right now. not because i have loads of time but because it's sanity for me - to go to the gym. the kids love it and it's good to have that time to myself.

on to the GOOD...and why it's working and why we're gonna keep going...

first, i have learned why some things weren't clicking in school. i understand him. i know his learning style. i'm better able to help him. i know what subjects are more difficult for him. he won't slip through the cracks. he won't be so well behaved and conversational that i look over his needs. that was happening at school. there was one subject where he was not getting the attention he needed and i am confident he will get that here.

second, i have tremendous support. from Anthony. from family. from friends. from homeschooling friends. from co-op. i don't feel alone.

but most important is the third GOOD thing that has come out of all of this...

CONNECTION.

there is this new parenting book that we've been reading (not pro-homeschooling but pro CONNECTION) that sums this up better than i can and why i now know the importance of connecting with your children. it's why i chose to homeschool Harrison but i didn't know how to express that at the time. Connection is what was broken in our relationship and while i knew that, i had NO IDEA where to begin or how to overcome this hurdle. in case you are quick to assume things here, i am NOT saying that homeschooling is how you establish a connection with your children. but, for our family, it has been the avenue by which reestablishing the connection has been possible. i didn't understand how deeply important connection is for your children. i wanted to be connected. i didn't know that it won't just develop on it's own. i didn't realize i was the reason why it may never develop at all.

we have reestablished the connection with Harrison.

last year, when i read back on those posts and think back on some of the things that were going on in Harrison's heart i just can't believe how far we have come...how far GOD has brought both of us. He is doing a miracle work. homeschooling has opened that door for us. we have had more time to work on that connection.

so it's been worth it. SO worth it!

the homeschooling itself has not been that difficult. when he stays on task we are finished in a few hours...some days that is harder than it sounds. :)

we are pushing forward next year. Jackson will join us. He works with us now but it will be much more official. :)

i don't regret this decision. sometimes i wish i didn't have to. sometimes i wish i could send them both to school next year and have my whole day with only Addison at home. some days that sounds like heaven.

but, for us...

for me and Harrison...

our connection would suffer. and i just can't have that. we need that before i can send him out into the big, big world again. i don't know when that will be. i'm taking things one year at a time. praying that God will continue to help me die to myself and trust Him.

i can't imagine going back to the days of having him arrive home at 4:15pm. exhausted. frustrated. battling through homework. having to choose whether he can even be involved in extra curricular activities because it may be too much for him. wondering if AWANA should be cut out because it gets him home late and then he suffers the next day at school. i can't imagine not being able to talk to him, about everything, all throughout the day...as exhausting as that is sometimes...only to have him come home too tired to tell me anything about his day. i can't go back to that. i can't send him back and honestly say that is what's best for him...for any of these three blessings God has entrusted to us. so what is to come? i just don't know. i don't have to know and that is OK.

i sure would have some nice days at home. my whole house organized and neat as a pin. plenty of me time and peaceful silence. i won't lie and say i don't envy it just a bit. can't say i don't dream of it just a little. :)

but there would be a consequence and it would come at a high price.

our connection.

pig tails

2010-04-11T23:23:00.005-04:00

i am LOVING this! :) it's a new look for her since she finally has enough hair to pull it off. love how girly girl this sweetie is...makes it just so much fun for me! :)

Jackson's first t-ball game

2010-04-11T22:21:00.008-04:00

he was SO excited for his FIRST game! he has waited a long time to play and we are SO thrilled it is finally his turn!

picture time!

listening to the coach explain how the position board works

because this was Opening Day at the Baseball Field they had a truck selling hot dogs and all kinds of goodies. Jackson was BEGGING for a hot dog. This kid is so hungry...I can hardly keep him satisfied. I guess he's just a growing boy! I told him that he needed to choose. We always do a slurpee after the game but if he wanted to trade in his slurpee for a hot dog he could. He opted for the hot dog. Not surprising at all!!! He LOVES food! :)

He did such a good job. It is always just the cutest thing to see those little boys out on the field. You have to expect the unexpected in T-Ball. nobody is ever really ready for the ball and it's a hoot watching those little ones run around. It's just as entertaining to watch the many coaches out on the fields trying to direct these little wild children running all over the place or doodling in the dirt. I just love it! :)

Jackson's coach has a big tub of old fashioned Bubble Gum that the boys can chew during practices and games. He actually has a lot of fun ways of keeping the kids engaged, organized and having FUN. Jackson was a hoot chewing his big wad of gum during the game! :)

this next series of pictures is priceless to me. seeing the distractions of playing in the outfield...it's hard to stay focused. :) he kept saying, the ball is NEVER gonna come to me out here mom!

playing with dirt

moving from the ready position to the squat position (which is not a "real" position")

now in the sitting position. :)

maybe i'll toss my glove in the air...that could be fun!

water break...

saying hey to his sister

love that it's baseball season again! so glad that Jackson can participate! these are FUN days were are living right now! :)

first big game of the season

2010-04-10T20:32:00.012-04:00

Here is my BIG boy! One of the mighty Ironbirds! This is Harrison's second year of coach pitched baseball. He loves it and we love supporting him! It's also his first year to wear a 'cup'. Had to put that in there so I will remember. That is kind of a big step in the direction of being a man...oh my! It's all new to me too. :)

Jackson practiced with Daddy while we were getting ready for the game to start.

she loves all the attention from her brother Jackson!

still can't believe he is 8!

Jackson spent most of the game jumping these bushes. It kept him and a few other boys entertained. :)

what a handsome boy he is!

our friend Duncan was playing in the game after ours so we stayed for few minutes to get some pictures of him too!

after we left the game, we headed over to CFA for a Peach Milkshake to celebrate the FIRST game! any excuse to get my hands on one of those milkshakes! :)

as you can see, Harrison got really tickled. we ALL got tickled. we were waiting in the drive thru and Anthony already had the window down but there was a car ordering in front of us. here is how that went...

CFA: "hello, this is Candace, may I take your order?" (or something like that)

Customer: placing their order but you couldn't hear anything.

CFA: "excuse me, I'm sorry, I can't here a word you are saying."

Customer: "HOW 'BOUT NOW!!!" "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW" (literally SHOUTING as loud as you can imagine)

we had to roll up the window. we were all laughing SO hard. it suprised us and really got the boys tickled. Addison joined in on all the laughing. she hates to miss out on any fun. :) i had to snap these pictures of Harrison because he was laughing so hard he could hardly stand it. he kept repeating the whole thing and Jackson kept saying "HOW' BOUT NOW!!! "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!!"

it was one of those moments I never want to forget. just having fun with our kids...and it didn't hurt that we had yummy shakes to share too. :)

the Zoo

2010-04-10T10:00:00.009-04:00

Yesterday we took the day and went to the Zoo. It's a little less than 2 hours from us so you kind of have to plan for it. We planned to go with three other ladies and their kids. Anthony was able to take off work last minute...which is a HUGE thing. He just doesn't get to do that so we were even MORE excited when we realized he would be going with us!!!

The weather was perfect and we loved it! The membership was just a bit more than we were going to pay to get in so we went that route and look forward to going back...the place is HUGE and we just couldn't get it all in. AND, we can go to many other Zoo's across the country and the Aquarium so we think we have more fun trips in our future!

Flamingos...they were so pretty.

I don't have a ton of pictures of the animals. I don't really like having lots of pictures that don't have someone I love in them so I mostly took pictures of the people! :)

the gorillas

everywhere you turned there was something to climb on. I think the kids enjoyed that just as much as anything else!

we were kind of bummed that Mr. Lion was such a sleepy head.

see, I told you everyone love climbing on things.

except for Addison. she is finally on some allergy medicine now and feeling better but she was out of sorts for most of the day. poor girl!

it was such a blessing having Anthony with us. Daddy just always makes everything more fun and it also helps that he is so great at being a blessing. he was so helpful with ALL of the kids and helped the other mommy's too. he knows I have to do a lot of stuff on my own so he's very sensitive to that kind of thing. love him!

our favorite exhibit was most definitely the Polar Bear! He was SO big and SO beautiful. What a sight!

record setting green YUCK

2010-04-08T19:08:00.005-04:00

well, it's official. it's gross outside. the pollen count is at record highs. something like the worst it's been in over 6 years. i can believe it. it's everywhere. i was outside yesterday with the kids and looked down at my feet and they looked like this...

completely covered in the stuff. gross. i was only out there maybe 30 minutes! Anthony's feeling it, i'm feeling it and poor little Addison is feeling it too!!! (thankfully the boys are doing well) see my pitiful little girl...

she's just struggling. runny, coughing, whiny, and just completely out of sorts.

this is a little smile i got...

praying for rain!!! to wash this stuff away! so we can all breathe again.

silly swinging and jumping

2010-04-08T18:50:00.005-04:00

Harrison has just learned how to jump from the swing. I remember loving stuff like that! So fun to see them be adventurous...as long as we don't end up with any broken ankles! :)

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

and i just had to include this cutie!

Easter thoughts

2010-04-05T13:53:00.011-04:00

for some reason the reality of His resurrection really struck me deeper this year. have i've pondered it more? at a greater level? i'm not really sure why it has meant so much more to me this week than i remember in the past. trying to put my finger on that.

but i'm thankful. thankful He is Alive! thankful to know Him and want so badly to know Him much, much more.

maybe it's because there is some "bad" news stuff going on around me, in the lives of people I love.

i've allowed myself to imagine how devastated the disciples and the people who loved Jesus and knew him personally must have felt when he died. their world had come crashing down. we know the rest of the story so i guess i've missed going there in the past and really considering how they must have felt. their world...well, it felt over. maybe even felt like life wasn't worth living anymore.
and then when they saw and realized He was ALIVE?!?! imagine!!! everything changed. it wasn't over. their relief and excitement...i mean, can we really even grasp that? i guess when we have near misses with a tragedy in our life we get a glimpse of that relief. knowing what could have been and being thankful that it didn't happen. but i really can't get the intense LOW they had in seeing Him die like that and then suffering through that news for the days after followed by the intense HIGH knowing He was ALIVE and realizing He was more amazing and magnificent than they ever understood before. He had restored HOPE to them, from what seemed hopeless! don't you imagine they woke up the next day after seeing him and wondering if it was all a dream? excited to know it wasn't and that He really was alive with them again?

i think knowing the depths of hurt for people that i know right now has made me ponder these things. it's bad. life feels over for them. like you can't go on kind of over. not sure what to do. not sure where He is leading. feeling like every thing is crashing down. knowing you won't make it on your own without Him but even doubting you can do it with Him. a constant renewing of your mind to believe Him and trust Him in the midst of the chaos and fear. choosing to shut out the fear. wanting to trust Him and figuring out how that works in your everyday life, day by day and hour by hour.

and so this Easter I can't stop thinking about the importance of His resurrection. how because of His triumph over death and sin we have HOPE. and we can have it in hopeless situations. that His resurrection power is living in ME and in YOU if you believe in Him and know Him as your Savior. i still can't wrap my mind around that. every time i hear it, i'm amazed.

i tell you, i long for Heaven more and more. there were times in my life when i had this little check list of things i wanted to accomplish or experience (marriage, children, etc...) before i wanted to even think of Heaven; but, as this world is weighing down on me and the people i love - - i long for it more and more. He is changing me continually and i'm thankful. i want to long for Him more.

i know He is Alive and is working in my life and their lives and although things look bad and are tough, He will be glorified. we will see Him. He will restore. He IS hope in hopeless situations and He can make beautiful things out of lives that seem crushed and beaten down. He is not just powerful, HE is power. He is real and i trust Him.

i guess i did put my finger on it...why Easter means so much more to me this year.

no Easter pix

2010-04-05T13:52:00.001-04:00

so sad. but i have no Easter pictures of our family.

had to be at church at 7am on Sunday for WT so we were separated most of the morning. forgot my camera.

if i had had it, we could have gotten one at the church.

oh well.

Addison was asleep by the the time we got home (1:15pm) and then there was lunch...

we'll recreate it. maybe this weekend i can get us all dressed up again. :) we all were color coordinated and i think we looked pretty good too! :) it was a wonderful Easter though. great worship, sermon, and time spent with family!

the sweetest three kids i ever did see

2010-04-02T17:52:00.005-04:00

snapped this picture on the front porch today. needed to 'try' and get a group photo for some photo stamps i wanted to order.

i can NEVER get the three of them this cute in a picture! i LOVE it. made it my new blog header. :)

love, love, love these three kids of mine and I'm SO thankful they call me mom!

runner up

2010-04-02T17:50:00.000-04:00

are they cute or what???

time for summer cuts

2010-04-02T17:48:00.002-04:00

since we DID find that tick...it was time to get out the clippers!

look at all that HAIR!

i had really let the boys hair get long. but it's getting warmer outside...i mean HOT!!! hello Spring, since when is 90 degrees a Spring temp?!?

anyway. time for shorter cuts.

don't you just love em'!?!

i know i do!

first tick of the season

2010-04-02T17:46:00.000-04:00

the risk we take by letting our boys explore the woods.

thankfully this booger wasn't attached too well and we found him right away! guess it's time to get out the clippers and shave these boys heads!

Spring and Sticks

2010-04-01T15:17:00.017-04:00

there are many, many reasons i LOVE Spring! warm weather, a cool breeze, flip flops, blue skies, longer days, picnics and playgrounds...i could go on and on. flowers, however, top the list when it comes to the reasons I love Spring...especially the ones in my yard! i really do love planting and gardening flowers. i'd love to be more knowledgeable about gardening and landscaping. i'd love to venture into some vegetables some day....

but for now, it's flowers. each year i seem to find another spot that needs to be filled and i get SO excited each spring as i look forward to things popping up and peeking through the ground. although, there are two things i'm not sure about...maybe you can help me out. there are these two sticks in our yard...well, I don't want to get too far ahead. let's start with the good.

it's only a sampling of what's out there and it's so fun to look back on previous years and see how much things have really grown!

my cherry trees

these trees just make me smile!

my purple phlox...love this stuff! comes back every year and keeps on spreading

drawing a blank on this one but i love it's little pink flowers

my yellow bell...or forsythia. love it but only half of it bloomed this year. anybody know what i should do about that?

peonies are getting ready and the day lilies will be blooming soon!

can't wait for the yellow blooms that will cover this beauty!

Hydrangea...anticipating that gorgeous blue color!

OK... some new additions to the yard thanks to the City of Raleigh...

don't know the name of this tree but i'm enjoying it's little blooms

now. for the sticks...

these two trees below leave a little to be desired. look at them. can we even really call them trees??? they look more like sticks to me! :) they ARE sticks. plain and simple.

Anthony said we'll give them a year and if we don't like what we see we'll yank them up! the guy who dropped them off said sometimes they cut off the branches for shipping purposes. well, i can see were that may make sense. i guess.

i didn't even want to plant them. they look ridiculous! but, maybe we'll be surprised. :)

so it's definitely looking like Spring around here...except for the sticks!

an egg hunt invitation

2010-04-01T14:20:00.008-04:00

Our friend Addie wanted to host and Easter Egg Hunt and guess what her Mommy said??? She said YES, she's a cool mommy like that! There were close to 30 children, each child could hunt for 12 eggs plus one shiny egg. A lot of stuffing, hiding, and preparing took place before we arrived yesterday and it sure was fun! We all brought our lunches and had a picnic outside. My boys were too busy playing in the woods to eat. It was a fun morning with friends!

here they are, lined up for a group picture and ready to hunt!

Addison was being clingy and wouldn't join them for the photo.

she actually wouldn't hunt at all, i did the hunting for her. don't know why she was so out of sorts yesterday but that's how it goes some days.

they boys weren't excited about me distracting them from their eggs/candy for pictures. imagine that?!? all the kids got to find one shiny egg that had a Bible verse in it and guarenteed them a prize! Harrison won a carrot baseball bat & ball and Jackson won something he calls his "bow & arrow" that looks more like a rocket to me. Addison's prize were these cute bunny ears below...

thanks for the fun day girls! Addie is a fabulous hostess and I just think it's so fun that her mommy is so willing to let her spread her wings in entertaining! I can't wait to do fun things like that with my "Addie"...Addison!

family

2010-03-26T17:40:00.006-04:00

my sister Grace, her husband Tom, and her girls Baylee & Savannah are all coming to visit for the weekend! we can't wait to see them!

it's always such a blessing when family can come and visit. boys are excited to have their cousins on the way and i'm sure Addison will be THRILLED to get some more girls in the house! :)

can't wait to love on my nieces and relax with my sis and brother in-law.

hope y'all have fun weekend plans!

"hey mom! look what i can do!?!"

2010-03-25T16:29:00.008-04:00

yesterday we met for our weekly Spanish class. i have been telling my friend Heather that i need to bring the boys bikes one day because they have a nice FLAT court and that's non-existent in our neighborhood. she's also been able to help a few kids we know learn to ride bikes without training wheels so i was hoping she could give the boys some pointers! i had tried to teach Harrison once before but the hills around our house didn't help too much.

while Heather was giving Jackson a quick lesson in balance and explaining that if you "just keep peddling you won't fall off" Harrison decided to pick up his bike and try it out.

He did it!

First try! I was so proud I just kept snapping pictures! :) She gave him some pointers on how to start, which is the hardest part, and he figured it out very quickly.

Jackson is not far behind him. He totally did it. He just needs to work on his confidence. After he earned his fruit snacks for going 10 peddles in a row TWO times, he decided he wanted his training wheels back on. :) less work, you know. but it won't be long...

here is Jackson getting his lesson

well, off he goes!

high five!

my BIG BOY!!!

check out those flip flops she found from the garage! :)

see, they BOTH were riding for a little bit there. :)

He's been riding his bike ALL day. decided that he does like our neighborhood hills now that he can ride. he told me "i like feeling the breeze in my face." what a cute boy! now i guess we'll be needing to get him a bigger bike soon. he's about out grown this one but i didn't want to get him a new one until he had those training wheels OFF!!

WOO HOO Harrison!!! We are SO proud of you! This is big boy stuff!

Addison's first trip to the ER

2010-03-23T00:43:00.002-04:00

We had an interesting turn of events as the party was ending. The birthday boy had to give up all the attention for another pressing matter. All the guests had left and we were going to turn in the tickets we had earned. you know, so the kids could buy some "junk". i had plopped Addison in her stroller but I had not buckled her in.

well, I'm guessing you know where I'm going with this. REALLY wish I had taken the 5 seconds to buckle her in. Donovan and Harrison were having an argument and I was busy lecturing and teaching, etc... I saw her stand up in her stroller out of the corner of my eye and as she was sitting back down she fell over the side of the stroller and landed on the back of her head...on the cement, tile floor. when I saw her laying there and the look she had on her face - there was something inside me said this is bad!!!

she had tears in her eyes but it was like she was stunned. she only cried a minute and then immediately became extremely exhausted and was floppy like a rag doll. Mimi and I were working hard to keep her awake as we were trying to get us out the door. I was still hoping she was going to snap out of it. Then on the car ride home she started vomiting. over and over and over again. I knew at that point she was not OK and that we needed to take her to the hospital. I don't usually handle those kind of situations well and I didn't this time. I pulled myself together after I got out of the driver seat but to say I was worried about our baby girl is kind of an understatement. I've already had a choking scare with her that practically left me passed out on my neighbor's lawn.

We took her to the ER and they started looking at her right away. After we were there for a while she finally started to come back into her own. They did a CT Scan on her to rule out any bleeding in the brain which all came back clear! Praise the Lord!!! While we were waiting for those results she started laughing and wanting to walk around the room. I was so happy to see her being more like herself. She had been acting SO strange.

They told us she had a mild concussion and that we would need to wake her every couple of hours through the night to make sure she was moving and breathing. Once we finally got in the car to come home my tears started to flow. I think I was just trying to remain calm and the gravity of what could have been was starting to set in.

We are SO thankful for God's protection over our sweet little Addison, for the SECOND time. You know, as careful and conscientious as you try to be with your children it's in times like these that I am reminded how in a split second something terrible can happen. A moments decision to make an exception when it comes to safety can be a near fatal or life changing and damaging consequence for your child. I need to be that much more careful and ever mindful of the hand of God over my family! Thank you for all who knew through FB or text, etc. Knowing you were praying meant so much to us. So glad our baby girl is as perfect as can be! :)

go carts, mini golf, & meltdowns

2010-03-23T00:24:00.010-04:00

After our pizza and cake, we split up. Some of the kids played laser tag and the others rode go-carts. The party took a lot longer than I anticipated. It was tough to get it all in. A couple of the boys had to leave early and didn't get to do the mini-golf with us but we gave them their tickets so they can come back with their family some other time.

We really were having a blast!!! Some very fun memories were made!

Anthony & Justin

Papa & Jackson

look at that little hand! i just LOVE it!

Anthony & Harrison

Papa & Donovan

our birthday boy having the time of his life! :)

a tired little girl

ready for mini-golf

so much fun can lead to an exhausted big, i mean little boy.

yes, we're all melting down.

see, another bites the dust!

little J is still happy as can be, he knows how to have a good time! :)

wait a minute, she's back...

WOW, what a fun party we had! We loved celebrating our boy. We love you Harrison and we are SO proud of the young man you are becoming.

Harrison's 8 year old Birthday Party at Adventure Landing

2010-03-23T00:02:00.009-04:00

We decided to let Harrison have an "away from home" birthday party this year. He chose Adventure Landing which is a fun go cart, mini golf, arcade game place not too far from us. It was a huge treat and it will be a birthday we won't forget! It was fun to celebrate with his friends and to do something extra special for our big boy!

i didn't buy this shirt, we've had it and i believe it was handed down from Grant. but it was perfect! fun that he was wearing an 8!

i love these two pictures. Jackson is ALWAYS so excited and happy for his brother. he loves Harrison SO much!

a tired baby girl!

losing it. a little cake helped perk her up a bit. :)

a full birthday morning

2010-03-22T23:41:00.010-04:00

On Saturday, Harrison's Birthday, we had a full day ahead of us. I ran in the morning and then took Jackson to his T-Ball practice. Harrison, Anthony, Mimi & Papa went to Harrison's Basketball game and then took Harrison to open his first savings account. That was his present from Mimi & Papa and he was very excited to start by saving his birthday money! :) After we all got home and changed we had a little time before the party. Addison took a short nap that was interrupted by a sympathetic birthday boy who decided her whimpering meant he should go in an get her up. I was not thrilled. I knew it would make for a cranky girl at the party. Oh well.

Harrison opened his present from us and then we loaded up the cake to get on our way for some birthday fun!

Addison wore her "party" clothes

love seeing this little boy finally have the chance to play t-ball. he's been a patient and faithful observer while his brother has played the last 3 years! he is SO excited it is finally his turn!

our little beauty!

me and my girl

Harrison was excited that Mimi and Papa were finally able to make it to one of his basketball games!

opening his saving's account

Jackson wanted to show us his skills on his bike

showing off her pretty painted toenails

Mimi and Papa gave Harrison a new chapter book - The Sugar Creek Gang!

the anticipated DS! he was SO excited and we were thrilled to get it for him. such a BIG boy present for sure!

does this little guy look like he's ready for cake???

don't trip! can you imagine! :)

birthday donuts

2010-03-22T23:37:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday Harrison Tyler Williams! Can't believe you are 8 years old! We love you!

the race track birthday cake

2010-03-22T23:17:00.006-04:00

Harrison had BIG plans for the cake this year. BIG plans for ME! I haven't made birthday cakes for the past few years. I've "slacked" and let the kids pick one from the store that they wanted. Nothing wrong with that, right! :) He really wanted me to make one this year and I was in the mood so that helped.

He finally decided he wanted a race track cake. He's very into cars these days. Wants to know the make and model of each car he sees driving around town and has been taping the Nascar races on Sunday's. He's decided he's a Jimmie Johnson fan (I think because he's been winning lately). Anyway, a race track cake is what he wanted so I enlisted my neighbor Andrea, who always makes her kids cakes, to help me make this cake!

Andrea helped me come up with a plan and a design and I spent the afternoon baking 4 cakes so they would be cooled and ready for assembly after the Co-Op finale. Yes, if you're thinking that is a LOT of cake you are RIGHT! We were going for a look here and we went all out. There was more than enough cake for everyone. :)

here I am getting ready to work with fondant for the first time. it wasn't as scary as i thought it would be

had to turn it BLACK for the track

he choose blue for the icing color and i think it was a wise choice.

he was hilarious. so very proud and stayed right with us to the very end. we started at 9pm and finished up around 11:30pm. now that is a good friend who will stay up so late to help you make your son's birthday cake!

almost finished. we used fondant for the track and the rope border, cars and lego flags, and tinted coconut green for the grass in the middle of the track.

had to take a ton of pictures! don't ever want to forget this cake! it was so much fun and I am very proud of how it turned out!

Legacy Co-Op Finale

2010-03-22T22:56:00.005-04:00

This year we have had the privilege to be part of a Homeschool Co-Op called Legacy. We meet for 8 weeks in the Fall and 8 weeks in the Spring. It has been such a blessing! The kids LOVE it and look so forward to going on Friday mornings and I have been blessed by the sweet ladies I've met and the wonderful encouraging atmosphere! Many of these ladies have been homeschooling for a long time compared to me (one year into it) and there is a lot to be said for people who have walked in your shoes. This year has been hard but very rewarding and a learning and growing experience for me and the kids. The way the co-op is set up we all co-teach a class for one hour and the second hour is a time of fellowship, prayer, and encouragement. I have LOVED it.

leading our 2nd/3rd graders in their two songs for the parents

One of Harrison's classes that he took was Human Body. He LOVED it. They trace their bodies the first week and as they learned about each organ, they filled in all the parts. He loved telling me all the fun, interesting facts he was learning. The other class he took was All about Animals. They studied all the continents and the specific animals that live there. He definitely LOVES science and is attracted to those subjects.

Jackson was ALL about the snacks, as usual!

cookies!

Jackson was showing me his Caterpillar and we loved seeing all the things he made in his preschool classes.

It was fun to have daddy, Mimi, & Papa to join us too! :)

playing catch with Papa, and some other stuff

2010-03-22T21:54:00.007-04:00

Mimi & Papa arrived Friday afternoon, March 19, 2010, for a birthday celebration weekend. While I was baking the cakes, the kids were playing catch with Papa and enjoying the gorgeous spring weather!

busy days ahead...

2010-03-18T10:06:00.003-04:00

BUT, they are all for an incredible little, i mean getting WAY BIG boy i know and love...

who???

Harrison!!!

he is turning 8 on Saturday. can hardly believe it. seems too old. every year seems like he's getting too old. i mean, 8! really? it hardly feels like it's been that long since this little boy changed our whole world for the better!

we have our last co-op meeting tomorrow morning, then we will go pick up Mimi and Papa from the airport, then we will hurry home so i can bake the cake. after a quick dinner, which i have no idea what it will be...probably KFC or something like that...we will head BACK to co-op for our Finale where all the families will come and see displays of what the kids have been working on all semester. the class i co-teach will be singing/performing two little songs. then we will stuff our faces with lots of junk food and sweets and head back home so i can decorate the cake. whew!

Saturday Jackson has a t-ball practice at 10am while Harrison has a basketball game at 10:30. we'll have to split. i'll go with Jackson and Anthony, Mimi & Papa will go see Harrison's game. we will rush home to get all the last minute details in order and then have Harrison's party at 2:30pm.

this year he wanted an ALL boy party (except for his sister of course). :) so, we are taking some little boys that we know and love to Adventure Landing!!! WOO HOO!!! they will all get to ride the go-carts, play a game of mini golf, use up all their tokens on fun games, and eat pizza AND cake!!! should be lots of fun! we've never done an out of the house party before (well, i guess we did the skating rink while in VA but that hardly counts when your parents own the rink and let you in for a REALLY good deal.) :) so, this won't happen often for any of our kids but we thought this was the perfect year to do something special for our BIG boy!!!!

Sunday, i sing on the worship team which i realized last night. oops. guess i should write a few more things down. so it will be a full day too! we have birthday dinner celebration planned. Mimi has asked Harrison for his favorite dinner and plans to make him a cookie cake.

i'm sure there will be no less than 500 pictures of this weekend. we most definitely won't forget one single thing. Mimi is such a good record keeper. :)

hope y'all have fun weekends planned too!

a conversation that left me confused

2010-03-16T15:26:00.003-04:00

Me: "what have you been doing upstairs?"
Harrison: "walking around, talking to myself."

Me: "about what?!?!" (in a confused and somewhat concerned tone of voice)
Harrison: "i don't know."

her first dress up shoes

2010-03-15T22:48:00.004-04:00

how fun is SHE?!?!

Pirate's and Princesses and a full Saturday

2010-03-15T22:05:00.008-04:00

Taylor, our sweet friend from across the street, turned 4 on Saturday and we had a celebration! The theme was Pirates and Princesses and we had the most wonderful time! Here are my favorite pix from the day!

me and my princess...she didn't wear her dress long but it was cute while it lasted!

doesn't he look like such a nice pirate. :)

"argh!"

liking the cupcake flag. gotta get every bit of icing as possible.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

"mama, please stop asking me to say cheese!!!"

i love cupcakes!

my little pirates!

we ended our fun packed day with Wii (Batman Lego) and then we headed over to the Hilemans for loads of fun. we probably should call it Camp Hileman or something even better than that but i'm not really that great at coming up with fun names for things. :) we are taking a parenting class right now on the FABULOUS book i told you about and all the kids go to Camp Hileman where they have SO MUCH FUN they don't ever want to come home.

Laura, if you are reading this, i sure hope you've taking a few pictures. actually, you are probably too busy for that. :) but i'm sure there would be lots of fun pictures to be taken!

can you say FULL saturday??? and there was a basketball game for Harrison that morning too. :) we know how to pack in the fun!

let the waters rise

2010-03-15T21:42:00.002-04:00

heard this song on KLOVE on my way home tonight.

God showed up!!! Some very hard things going on with people I love and this was JUST what i needed to hear. So much going on in my heart and He knows. He loves those sweet people I love even more than I could possibly imagine. I can't take care of them but HE can. HE WILL!!!

Don't know where to begin
Its like my world's caving in
And I try but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here?

sometimes its so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
But I am willing to go
Where you want me to
God, I trust You

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will swim in the deep
'Cuz You'll be next to me
You're in the eye of the storm
And the calm of the sea
You'll never out of reach

God, You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand

God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I'm holding onto You

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

Mommom

2010-03-15T21:24:00.005-04:00

Back in February, we visited my Mommom. It has almost been a year and we just can't let our visits get that spread apart. It's too much fun at Mommom's house! We did a little shopping, Anthony and Harrison were able to take in a UT Men's Basketball Game, went to her church, watched the Superbowl, and just spent lots of time sitting, relaxing, and stuffing our faces.

Can it get much better than that??? :)

Really can't thank the Lord enough for the blessing of my children being able to know both of their great-grandmothers as well as they do. I don't take for granted my grandmothers. They are so special to me and I love them dearly. I am thankful for every moment we are able to spend together. I realize more and more how few people have their grandparents still living much less get to see them as often as I do.

loving our kids on purpose

2010-03-15T19:22:00.006-04:00

i really can't say enough WONDERFUL things about this book. after reading it, we've realized we have always wanted to parent this way but just did not know HOW to make it happen. he really shows you how. WOW. it's been eye opening. we can truly shower our children with love while setting firm limits AND keep the FIGHT out of it. completely. firm limits, without the fight???? really??? i think i thought i was supposed to learn how to survive the fight and come out of it the winner. and it doesn't have to be like that at all!

practical, lots of good tips that WORK, and focuses on the CONNECTION with our children. his explanation and approach to parenting is something we had never heard before when it comes to "how to get my kids to obey and not go insane in the process." :) we are excited about the future with our children! i think for the first time ever, i'm not afraid for my children to grow up to be teenagers. i actually think we'll be OK! :)

check it out, i just know you won't regret it!

she loves babies...

2010-03-14T15:08:00.008-04:00

just like her Mama did. it's all she wants to play and it's seriously the cutest thing. she carries them around, puts them down for naps, tells them to "shush", feeds them, kisses them...over, and over, and over...

i love watching Addison play.

i miss blogging

2010-03-14T14:57:00.004-04:00

you know you feel when your laundry gets WAY out of control and you hardly want to begin because you know it's such a big job and it's going to take FOREVER???

that's how i'm feeling about my blog. i have all these dreams of making blog books (which i need to at least attempt to start). i am not into scrapbooking. i love how it looks and even tried it a few times. spent lots of money on "stuff" too. yep, got behind on that. come to think of it, i'm behind on a lot of things i started once.

i'm sensing a theme. hmmmm......

anyway, this is how i've been journaling our fun and not so fun stuff in our family for a while now and when i don't do it i get so upset at myself. there will come a day when i will CHERISH these little posts and be SO glad i kept track of at least a few things. some is better than none, right? :) come on...i need some encouragement!

well, i guess i'll just start from here. maybe i can squeeze those posts in that i haven't finished from Christmas and New Years eventually. i really shouldn't make any promises.

starting...once again.

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T22:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days. The excitement and anticipation of what is to come is almost as exciting to me as celebrating Christmas with the kids. We had a low key day cooking and playing. Anthony was able to come home early from work too! The only bummer was that Mimi and Papa missed their flight and were going to barely make it to the Christmas Eve service. Thankfully they slipped in just after it started.

We started our own tradition last year of having party food/appetizers after the service for our Christmas Eve dinner. We loved coming home to all our yummy food and to spend some time with Mimi and Papa.

I know we take a lot of pictures but I'm gonna have to do a better job of making sure we get a family photo! I have no Christmas Eve family shot. :(

it was so much fun having Addison enjoy all the fun this year!

we always let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve. Addison opened one from Mommom, Jackson opened his present from Harrison, and Harrison opened one from Ma-maw.

this year I decided since we would be home for Christmas dinner I would make a Birthday Cake for Jesus. I've always wanted to do this but we've never been home to do it...and in VA there are SO many desserts it's hard to justify making ANOTHER cake! :) The kids loved it and I used Nanny's cake recipe to make my Christmas Tree Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

This is kind of sad...we put the boys to bed and then about 15 min. later I remembered that we didn't put the cookies our for Santa! OH NO! I went to get them but Jackson was already OUT! I don't think he realized he missed it but I felt horrible. Harrison wants to believe in Santa SO badly. I think there is part of him that knows it's just a game but doesn't want to give it up! He loves the idea of Santa and he was VERY glad that we came and got him. :) He decorated a few cookies for Santa and put out the milk.

making some food for the Reindeer

Once the kids were in bed...Harrison for the second time...we started getting things ready! I LOVE that part! It is SO MUCH fun to be a parent at Christmas! :) One exciting part of our Christmas this year is that Mimi and Papa were able to be with us! We haven't been with them on a Christmas morning in years...probably since they moved to FL. We always celebrate with them but there is something special about being together ON Christmas. They've been in Germany the past few years with Ian & Vonda and we are so glad they could be. It was nice though to have them this year and the kids were beyond excited that Mimi and Papa could celebrate with us! Thanks Mimi and Papa for making that special effort...and thank you Ian and Vonda, Ella Rose & Carolina Grace for sharing them with us this year!

don't you just love that! so cute!

Cookies & Crafts

2009-12-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

The boys were great helpers with the Christmas cookies this year. We always have a good time baking and EATING all the fun holiday treats! :)

I also had picked up a couple of crafts at Michael's to do during our break. We pulled them out one afternoon and enjoyed working on a snow globe for Jackson and Santa's sleigh for Harrison. We did a Gingerbread house the first week of December. I won't make that mistake again. We'll wait until closer to Christmas and I'll take pictures. The boys put it together and my camera wasn't charger or something. The next morning when I woke up it has been completely destroyed. They had eaten it to death. Wish I had a picture to show off their handiwork! :) At least they enjoyed it, right?

we love it when...

2009-12-12T21:49:00.000-05:00

....Nanny and Granddaddy come to town! They drove down for the Christmas program at our church. I was singing and I have very supportive Grandparents! :) Our time with them is always so much fun and relaxing. We went straight to the mall for pictures with Santa and lunch at the food court and then headed home to take it easy. We had lots of yummy food...Nanny taught me how to make her incredible bread...and we played dominos. I love my grandparents and feel so blessed that my children know and love them like they do.

Nanny made a Snowman cake for the boys

It was Anthony's birthday while they were here and we celebrated with Birthday doughnuts!

Our tire was having some trouble and Granddaddy was teaching Harrison how to look for a leak. You can learn a lot from Granddaddy!

The boys putting on a conert

Addison with her babies..."buppy" and Miss Piggy

Nanny bought Jackson this black bear for Christmas and he LOVES that thing. He named him "hockey bear". not really sure why. :)

I don't really like to show off my glasses but we realized as they were getting ready to leave we hadn't taken a picture together. I sure do love my Nanny! and my Granddaddy too!

two of my favorites...

2009-12-09T00:38:00.000-05:00

are these not two of the most adorable pictures?!?! what a sweet moment captured forever of Addison and her Papa! i'm gonna have to find a place to frame them.

Christmas in Fl part 4 - more pictures

2009-12-08T23:54:00.000-05:00

so sweet!

looks like Addison is trying to lick Mimi's nose. hum...

these next three pictures crack me up. the girls and soon to follow Jackson are trying to tickle Mimi. notice Addison. not into all the commotion going on around her. just sits on Mimi's lap and ignores the chaos. she was tired! hilarious!

all snuggled up in his snuggie

on Sunday the boys got to help in Mimi & Papa's 4yr old class. they LOVE this. the prepared songs to sing and just feel like they are BIG stuff being the grandchildren and given so much helping responsibility.

Vonda got the girls these adorable matching Christmas outfits! don't they just look adorable!

Addison wanted this bench to herself and kept pushing everyone near her. little stinker!

a rocker all her own!

Papa took us to dinner at Johnny Rocket's! what a treat! and then we went over to the Square for some dancing. actually, it's more like mad running around like crazy but all the residents get a huge kick out of the kids! :)

reading books with Mimi

Addison and Carolina Grace reading together! love it!

Anthony and his mommy

showing off her tricks for Papa

LOVE those cheek and lips! kiss 'em all day long! :)

We sure enjoyed our time at Mimi and Papa's! Hope we can go and visit again soon!

Christmas in FL part 3 - Christmas dinner and presents

2009-12-08T23:24:00.000-05:00

After the girls were up from their naps, it was time to eat! Mimi had prepared a feast and we could not wait to dig in. One little tradition we have is exchanging ornaments between the children. We decided to let the kids open their ornaments while we were finishing up getting things on the table.

we gave Ella Rose some ballerina slippers because she just started a ballet class a few months ago.

we gave Carolina Grace an ice cream ornament. she loves ice cream and even calls the "mush" in good night moon "ice cream"!

They gave Harrison a little boy at the beach...perfect for him...with his name on it.

Jackson got a boy playing soccer with his name on it. He played soccer for the first time this year so it was perfect for him as well! Addison got a 'make you're own hand print' ornament!

ok, we're ready to eat Mimi!

finished with lunch and waiting as patiently as two boys can...

seriously...group photos are hilarious. and we keep trying...

i'm not sure what i'm doing?! but Addison is opening up one of her presents. she got some pots and pans!

Jackson was so quick and running around so much we hardly have any pictures of his face!

can you tell she was having a good time? she was BEYOND excited and having the time of her life! i think she would have opened every present in the room and never tired! :)

more toy story stuff...just what he wanted!

Vonda got the boys snuggies and they are toy story too. they have been a huge hit! it's hilarious when they bring them to me and hold out their arms ready for me to slip it on!

Mimi and Papa got the present they were hoping for. Another Calendar! We started giving these a few years ago to Mimi & Papa, my parents, and my grandparents and I'm not kidding...every year they make sure to let us know in no uncertain words what they want for Christmas....another calendar! We don't mind though. We're glad they love it so much and I really enjoying picking out the pictures from the year and making them.

getting tired again...

this is Addison's "cheese" face

we sure had a ball watching all the kids open presents. we got the girls some play food and they had so much fun checking it all out!

Christmas in FL part 2 - a little girl time

2009-12-08T23:20:00.000-05:00

While Mimi was getting lunch ready, the girls played together before naps. They watched some Dora...a Livingston favorite...and played with toys! I love to see the girls play together.

Addison was starting to get sleepy. She has her "sleepy" look going on!

she loved her cousin's Barbie computer. Mimi kept saying she was "blogging". :)

Christmas in FL part 1 - arrival and Anthony's early b-day celebration

2009-12-08T22:49:00.000-05:00

the kids were super excited to be going on an airplane to see Mimi & Papa in "Flordiya"! as you can see below, Jackson was running as fast as he could once we got off that plane and he spotted Mimi waiting for us.

We hadn't had dinner so we went straight to Cracker Barrel. The kid's favorite stop once we get into FL. :)

The next morning we got up and played and waited in anticipation for Vonda and the girls to arrive from Tampa! It was cold and rainy most of our time in FL so we played inside a lot more this time.

the girls got right to playing!

That night we all went to Golden Corral to celebrate an early Birthday for Anthony. Of course, it's the kid's favorite place to go. Unlimited food and dessert! If I was a kid I'm sure it would be my favorite too. :)

they even sang to Anthony!

Mimi and Papa had spiderman masks to wear for our cake and singing Happy Birthday to Anthony.

Mimi made Anthony's favorite...Coca Cola Cake...it was yummy and it was fun to all be together again!

Christmas in FL part 5 - Lights and Cookies

2009-12-08T00:25:00.000-05:00

We started a new tradition last year...

we bake cookies and deliver them to our favorite decorated houses! it is such a FUN tradition and this year we did in FL in Mimi and Papa's neighborhood. so many of the houses are REALLY decorated so it was fun to let the kids pick their favorites and deliver the cookies. Harrison and Jackson worked hard that afternoon getting everything ready for a night out on the golf cart, looking at Christmas lights!

it was SO MUCH FUN! :)

Bill & Betty - Mimi & Papa's neighbors

what a fun night. the kids had so much fun. we sang Christmas carols and just had the best time! wonderful memories we made that night.

2009 Thanksgiving Pictures

2009-11-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving in VA. I'm always thankful that we can all be together so often. All the food was yummy and the kids LOVE being with their cousins. From the pictures, it seems like everyone was in the mood for picture taking. Lots of posed shots. kind of rare... I'm sure happy I have all these pictures though!

Nanny, Janet, Grace, & Savannah

me and my nanny!

me and my mommy!

Nanny & Granddaddy

Mom & Granddaddy

Austin & Tom - Austin has one red leg because he broke his foot! bummer!

Austin, Janet, Mom, & Nanny

Janet & Daddy

Ashlynne, Grant, Baylee, Jackson, Emma, & Harrison

Addison and her Nanny!

That night we went back to Grace and Tom's and spent the weekend. Tom fixed a yummy dinner and we all stuffed in one more meal! Here are Addison & Savannah cuddling up under blankets before bed! :) Aren't they cute!