Tree Farm 09

So we visited a new tree farm this year called Motely's tree farm. It was pretty neat. They had a petting zoo, pig races, hayrides, swings, free hot chocolate, a store, and a snack bar. The tree selection is pretty small though as far as how many they have. We looked but didn't really find one to our liking and decided we would wait and try again but we haven't had the opportunity to go look again and at this point I rather not mess with it....ha Andy's parents picked Jessie up for us and brought him to meet us at the tree farm since he was coming home from his dad's and they brought my nephew Bayliss too. I am not sure how I missed getting any pics of Jessie but I didn't get any of him but I have some of the other boys.

Thanksgiving 09

We went to my Aunt Anne's for Thanksgiving this year and we had a great time. I learned how to play a new game called Farkle. It was a lot of fun. The boys had fun playing and wrestling with their cousins. Here are a few pics of the day.

Jessie turns 9!

It has been 9 short years since I had my 1st born...and it has been the best 9 years of my life!

Jessie,

You are turning into such a wonderful young man that makes us so proud to call you our son! You do so well in school. At your parent teacher conference your teacher had nothing but good things to say about you. One story was about a boy in your class that was going home crying everyday b/c he was being picked on at recess. She said that you offered for that boy to play with you and your friends and his mom called the teacher bragging about a boy named Jessie and Max that has made her son so much happier at school. Your teacher also said that you are a leader in your class, everyone wants to be on your team, and you encourage your classmates when they are down. You are good at whatever you put your mind too and what a blessing from God to be able to have so much talent in one person. We are excited to watch you grow into a young man. We hope that the most successful thing you do is to have a personal relationship with God and make Him your top priority and then everything else in your life will fall into place...

We love you!

Here are pics of Jessie and our neighbors yesterday when we celebrated Jessie's bday.

Halloween 2009

So Andy and the kids wanted to do a Star Wars theme for Halloween. And our guy neighbors joined in with us and dressed up too. Here is a run down of characters....

Andy - Darth Maul - He asked me to make his robe and it was some work so I told him he has to find a character that requires a black robe for the next couple of Halloween's...haha He also had to shave his goatee and Noah didn't understand where Andy's goatee went and why when he woke up this morning his goatee wasn't back...lol Josh also did Andy's makeup and did an amazing job!
Carrie - Padmé Naberrie - my neighbor Annette helped me curl my hair...so thanks Annette!
Jessie - Jedi Jessie....he was at his dad's for Halloween
Joshua - Chewbacca-Joshua originally was going to be Darth Maul but we found this Chewbacca costume on sale for 50% off so we had to get it...lol...it took some convincing though...but everyone loved it when we went trick or treating...
Noah - Yoda - he was perfect for Yoda...he even was trying to fight with the light sabers with our neighbor kid, who was a Star Wars character too...and we had to call Noah off...he was taking his Yoda character to heart...and was putting the smack down..haha

Wesley - Darth Sidious

Josh - Darth Vador

Here are pics of the night...not to many since my camera didn't work right.... Also we didn't tell either of the kids to pose and they just did their own poses and it was funny...

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Joshua's Kindergarten field trip was to go to the pumpkin patch in Mayflower but they canceled it due to the rain. So we told Joshua we would take him ourselves another day. I found out that Bryant had a pumpkin patch just a few miles from where we live called Mary's Pumpkin Patch so we decided to just go there. I saw on their website that they had a fire pit where you could bring your own food and cook it there. So we had a picnic with hot dogs and smores....yummy. The pumpkin patch is a family owned business and it was their first year to be open. They own a country store in front of the pumpkin patch where they have homemade jelly. So I had to buy some...ha and Andy bought himself hot/cajun peanuts. The owners were very nice and even started a fire in the fire pit for us so we could cook our lunch....otherwise they would not have had a fire in there at all that day...I didn't know that they did that for big parties only. Josh and his kiddos came with us and all the kids had a great time. We will definitely go back there again, so Jessie can go with us next time too.

Here is a slide show of our day...I put this together fast so the sound isn't that great nor does it go with the pics but I needed a song that was long b/c it is over 90 pics in this slide show....but enjoy! lol Because the picture quality is low due to having to compress the video...here is a link to the pictures...you can select to see them in a slide show in Picasa.

Kindergarten & 3rd Grade

So Jessie and Joshua went to school on Wednesday. They both have great teachers and had a really good week at school. Joshua on his 1st day didn't want to sit in the circle with his class but by the end of the day he finally made it to the floor and joined the group. Also, when he went through the cafeteria line...they told him to get a milk and he said he didn't want milk but orange juice and they told him he had to drink milk unless he had an allergy and he said he just doesn't like it.....haha...leave it to Joshua to make something simple complicated. Also, Noah is doing really well in preschool and he really likes it. We don't have any problems dropping him off in the mornings and we are so thankful that he likes to go. Here are some pics of the boys 1st day at school.

Joshua wearing his new outfit

Jessie's leg started bleeding when we pulled up to the school.

All 3 boys before school...
We were worried the boys were going to be late for school,
so Noah went with us to the school and then I dropped
Noah off at Pre-school while Andy walked the boys to class.

Andy walking the boys to school from our office.

Family Reunion 09

So our family on my Grandma's side has a family reunion every 2 years. This year it was at the Wisconsin Dells, in WI. We had a caravan of 3 cars from Arkansas that went. My grandparents, Aunt Anne, and her grandson Blake, Uncle Danny and Aunt Pat and their daughter Jade, and my mom, my boys and I made the trip. It was interesting to say the least. We had to stop every 1.5 hours so my grandpa could get out and walk. He could get blood clots if he didn't move around every so often so that made a 12 hour drive much longer. We broke it up in 2 days. We stopped at Lambert's Cafe on the way up there for lunch...I love Lambert's! Then we stopped at the St. Louis Arch and walked through their museum. The boys really liked it but Noah didn't want to look out the window from the top of the Arch.



We stayed in a hotel that gave free admission to Mt. Olympus that was across the street from the hotel. So we walked to the theme park 2 of the days we were there and rode roller coasters and water slides. Noah was to short to even ride the kiddie rides but he did get to drive the go cart with my Uncle Danny. He loved it! Jessie rode a roller coaster for his 1st ride on the 1st day we went there and he didn't ride another till the last day and I had to bribe him to do so...ha. Joshua liked the roller coasters and we rode a lot of water slides together. A bunch of us went to ride go carts on the last day and Austin, my nephew, wanted to ride with me and drive. He was so funny b/c he would jerk the steering wheel back and forth...I got go cart sick just riding with him. As we were pulling in my brakes didn't work, in fact, it was like pushing the gas instead. I flew in the area where you park the carts and slammed into the lady in front of me. Her husband was in the cart next to us and gave me the dirtiest look like I intentionally, with a 4 year old in my lap, rear ended his wife...she proceeds to turn around and give me a dirty look. I told them my brakes didn't work but they didn't seem to care...oh well...my uncle said that someone driving the go cart before me had the same problem and I reported it to the staff worker but he didn't seem to be to concerned. Anyway that was an interesting experience to say the least.



My family has a tradition of playing hearts every night of the reunion and I was really only able to get in on the 2nd night. We have so much fun and they can be pretty cut throat and show no mercy...lol....but it is all taken in fun. Back when I was a teenager they would make the 1st one out make sandwiches for everybody else. And we would have a bunch of tables together and have anywhere from 10-15+ playing at the same time. So that was a lot of sandwiches to make and us being new to the game of hearts it was usually myself, my sister or my cousin Lindy that would get out first.

On this trip, Noah decided that he would finally use the potty. Since we went to Wisconsin he has used the potty and we haven't had to buy any more pullups. He potty trained pretty easy to which I am very thankful.



We had a good time and the boys had fun playing with their cousins. I was so exhausted by the time we got home. And I wouldn't have been able to do it with out the help of my mom and the rest of the family that came with us.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Happy 6th Anniversary Andy!

MY FAVORITE,

Words can not express my love and appreciation for you and all you do for us. The simple things like stopping by the grocery store on your way home, making the kids and I chocolate chip cookies for our bedtime snack, cooking dinner, or helping do things around the house. You work hard at your job and are willing to work on your time off to provide even more for your family. You are a "handyman" around the house and can always make me laugh. I love been married to you and am looking forward to many, many more years together!

I LOVE YOU!

Your Wife

Changes...

It has been a while since I posted here is a run down of what has been going on....

June 13th - We went to the Crater of Diamonds with my mom and sister and her family and we all came home with a diamond...NOT...but we did have fun...they have a water park there so after we went digging and had our picnic lunch outside we went swimming.

June 14th - Found out we are pregnant with our 4th child. I took 2 test that morning b/c I knew Andy wouldn't believe it if there was only 1 + test....ha. When I showed him the test that morning he said, "that's good there's 2 lines" and I said, "yes there IS 2 lines" he looked at the test closer and saw what 2 lines meant and said, "oohh".

June 16th - We went to Cabot that night to have dinner with my grandparents and the rest of our extended family for an early Father's Day...The older 2 boys stayed the night with Andy's parents because they where getting up early and going to Chicago the next morning. And I went with Noah to my mom's.

June 17th - 20th - I stayed in Cabot with Noah at my mom's so we could see my sister and her kids that were staying with my mom. We went to my cousin Lori's house and let the kids play on the tire swings and they have chickens so they got to feed the chickens and get the eggs. Then Lori cooked Juevos Rancheros with the fresh eggs. We also went swimming at a friends house...we had a good time.

Andy and his dad took Jessie and Joshua to Chicago for the Cubs vs Sox's game. There was a man sitting in front of them at the game in a Santa suit that had signs that said the Sox where on the naughty list and he let Joshua hold up some of the signs. Also before the game started during batting practice both of the boys got a baseball.....they where sitting in the bleachers. They went to the zoo but got rained on most of the trip except for when they were at the game. But they had a great time and Andy over their time in Chicago ate at Lambert's Cafe, had a Philly steak sandwich, and went to Giordano's and had 2 Chicago style pizzas and LOST A POUND...but I am not bitter...nope not 1 bit...actually he has lost a total of 52 pounds so far only 10.5 pounds away from his goal.

June 21st - Since everyone had been gone until Saturday we didn't do anything special for Father's Day except I had bought Andy some grilling tools for Father's Day so he grilled and bought himself a steak and I made a bunch of sides and we had a good, relaxing dinner at home.

June 22th - Andy took Jessie to football camp at War Memorial Stadium. It was hosted by Life Champs. That afternoon I was in A LOT of pain and started spotting. We went to the ER and I was 6 weeks pregnant they did 3 ultrasounds, 2 external and 1 internal and they didn't see anything and said I may be to early in my pregnancy to see anything on the ultrasound but they took blood work that said I was 4-6 weeks pregnant.

June 23rd - Jessie's 2nd day at football camp and I took him this time and it was HOT almost 100 degrees. He did really good at the camp and at the end of the day they play 2 hand touch football and Jessie made touchdowns, interceptions, and deflected the football...it was awesome and I can't wait until he plays football this fall. At the end of the camp they handed out 4 character awards for 2 age groups, 5-6 & 7-8. Jessie received 1 of the awards for the 7-8 year olds and it was given to him by Anthony Lucas, a former Razorback. I was really proud of him.

June 26th & 27th - Jessie was asked to play on a tournament baseball team in NLR...he and Sawyer were recommended by their baseball coach to a friend who was looking for some extra players. Jessie had 2 practices with the team and they played a game Friday night and got rolled. And then they played 4 games on Saturday and they looked like a new team Saturday morning they did great!! We played a team that were suppose to be 7-8 year olds but I think these kids where married with families...they were HUGE. We played them better then any other team did but they won. We ended up coming in 3rd place which is pretty good for a team that played together for the 1st time. Andy's dad picked up Joshua and Noah for the last game which was GREAT they had been up since 6 something and they were TIRED. So after the game we took Jessie to Colton's and let him use his free kids meal coupon he got a school for good grades. We really enjoyed having that time with just Jessie and I know he was loving it...ha. We went home and watched a movie with him and Nana and Papa brought us Joshua and Noah at bed time.

So at the game I started to bleed heavier and called the doctor who said if it got worse to go to the ER and stay off my feet...I tried to take it easy as possible at the ball fields and thankfully my mom was their and helped me... I wouldn't have made it without her.

June 28th - It is my sister's 28th birthday today...Happy Birthday Jennifer!

June 29th - We went to see my doctor and he did an ultrasound and more blood work...they had had me come in Thursday 25th for follow up blood work so they compared my 3 blood work results. The doctor didn't see anything on the ultrasound at this visit.

June 30th - The nurse called me to tell me my levels dropped significantly...they where actually around the same levels from the Monday I was in the ER a week earlier. So they believe I miscarried. We are really sad about it even though we were not intending on having another one. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled about having another one... Not to say I wouldn't have enjoyed having another child, but I had already sold my baby furniture. Noah, my youngest, is 3 and I just couldn't imagine "starting over" as busy as we are with 3 boys and adding a baby to the mix. Not meaning to sound ungrateful because I wasn't upset about it I just wasn't jumping on the couch excited. In fact I was praying that God would help me keep a positive attitude and be overjoyed with having another one.

And at this time Andy and I don't know what are feelings are about having another one but this definitely gave us something to think and pray about. But we are both very sad, disappointed and hurt. I truly feel for all parents that have lost a child no matter what stage it was in...I know this would be so much harder for both of us if we had actually seen the baby on the ultrasound, heard a heart beat, or seen it moving around.

July 1st - I started a new job today working with my hubby in the Bryant Schools Technology Dept as a webmaster/tech support. I had been working on the school website since the end of September from home as a contract worker and they made it a full time job.

I had to go to the Admin office and turn in my hours from working as a contract worker and sign my contract. I had emailed one of the bookkeeper's about health insurance when I found out I was pregnant and she had been out of town when I sent the email so I told her not to worry about the email that we lost the baby and she looked at me so sad and said, "I'm sorry" I said it was "okay" and she said,"no it's not" and I started tearing up and said, "I know". It took everything I had not to lose it in her office, of whom I had never met. As soon as I got back to my car I lost it and cried on my way back to my office. I tried to gather myself before I went back to work and Andy took one look at me and I had to walk back out...he followed me and let me cry it out...with out trying to lose it himself. I was thankful I worked with my husband at that moment. When I had found out the day before my levels dropped. I just kinda of pushed my feelings to the side thinking I was fine but I wasn't and I needed to be able to cry about it and deal with it because it is sad and hurts.

July 2nd - We only had to work half a day today and we are off tomorrow. I really enjoy my job so far and I like the people I work with...even my husband...lol. I got to go out to eat with the office yesterday and they let me pick the restaurant. I felt like a dog with new company...I was so excited I didn't know where to go...to be able to eat with just adults at a sit down restaurant was AWESOME...on top of that they had just bought everyone new chairs and they are SWEET, they ordered me a big desk I only have half of it right now, and I get a 17in. Macbook Pro (laptop) and a desktop with 2 monitors, and the rumor is we all will get the new iPhone soon. So I am EXCITED about the perks of my job and I like what I am doing too.

Other info...so this Monday I am leaving with my boys and some of my family to drive to Wisconsin for a family reunion. So pray for us...ha...the boys may not make it home in 1 piece if they act in the car they way they can act at home sometimes...lol. Andy can't go because he is flying out Friday to go to technology training until Tuesday night. And we won't be back in time for him to fly out....and the summer time is his busiest time at work and he really can't miss that many days in a row.

Also we actually have a new addition to our family....a dog...we got him a month ago. My mom found him on her bus route. Someone dropped him off at this ruin down house and the teenager living there was going to shoot him. He looks so much like the dog that we lost in Alma that my mom thought we may want him. He is so well behaved we couldn't ask for a better dog...and he was trained to do tricks and house trained too. The boys really enjoy having him in the house. I will post pics of him soon but my camera is dead...

Diet...Baseball

Well it has been 8 weeks since Josh and Andy have started dieting. The last weigh in results are................Josh lost 35 pounds.....Andy lost 44 pounds....but Josh won the money by 1% BMI. If Andy had lost around 5 more pounds he would have won. Last week Andy only lost 1 pound and this week he lost 10. But he looks really good and I wish I had a before and after pics. I will look through my photos and see if I can show a before pic and then take a picture of him now. He still wants to lose up to 20 more pounds. He also shaved his head so he is completely bald and he really likes it. It looks good but I miss the sideburns...ha.

I have lost 10 pounds in a month so averaging a little over 2 pounds a week....not to bad. Jessie and I had an opportunity to go to Casa Mexicana, just us, last night and I soooooo ate what I wanted...it was sooooooooooooo good too.

Baseball season is almost over. Jessie and Joshua have 1 game left this weekend except Joshua won't get to play his because we are going to go to the Crater of Diamonds with my mom and sister and her family on Saturday.

Joshua has done well this season and even made an out at first base on Saturday even though he wasn't technically playing first base....the coach put all the kids in the infield...not sure of the logic there....so they were pretty crowded and Joshua was positioned by first base but he really wanted to be playing 1st base and on one play decided he would take over and he caught the ball and got an out....which party of me was upset that he took over another kids position but another part of me was like FINALLY someone who can catch a ball and make a play...haha

Jessie has played really well the last few games. He plays 1st base on the AA team and this weekend he got to play short stop for the 1st time and did really good. He also got to play up on the AAA team....which they wanted him because he is a good outfielder but for some reason he played 1st base more then he played in the outfield....so not sure what that was all about...he has been hitting the ball really well and made quite a few outs, in fact, 2 balls in a row were hit to first base and he made 2 outs. This week he is participating in a 2 day baseball camp that is 2 hours a day. It is taught by the Bryant High School Coaches and team and he was excited about that.

There are a few other things going on that I will mention soon...

Diet Update/Memorial Day Weekend

So Andy has lost 33 pounds in 6 weeks which is great! I have only lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks...and again I should be exercising but it is just no fun...ha. I am hoping to lose 3 pounds this week and step up my game on exercising.

For Memorial Weekend we were able to go stay in a house on the Red River. We did this last year and we were able to go for 1 night this year. We rented the house with our friends Paul and Cassie and Troy and Leah. It had been since last year since I saw Troy and Leah so it was good to see them again. They guys fished and caught enough for us to make some for dinner...we ate good all weekend, ribs, fish, shrimp, hamburgers plus all the sides...yummy so good. We played board games and I got to read almost 2 books...it was so relaxing so thanks to the grandparents for helping watch the boys! On Monday we got a call from our friend Jason, Andy and Jason have been friends since childhood, who lives in northwest Arkansas we haven't seen Jason and his wife for a couple of years. So they were in LR and stopped by to visit it was so good to see them.

Here are a few pics from this weekend...I didn't take many...

Paul and Troy deboning the fish

Andy and I at the Red River

Andy and Jason

Jason and his wife Courtney (I hope I am not misspelling her name)

A baseball update:

Joshua has had a few games canceled due to rain but he has done very well when he has had a game. He is at least paying attention and not playing in the dirt. I can't wait till next year when he plays pitching machine. Jessie is doing really well at 1st base and has made some awesome catches. We only have 3 to 4 games left and the season will be over...it went by fast.

Jessie only has 3 days left of school and his 2nd grade year will be over...sigh...I can't believe it..it seems like he should just be old enough to start Kindergarten not be going into 3rd grade.

Dieting

So I have lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks...which is good but not great...I need to actually exercise...ha. Andy has lost 25 pounds in 4 weeks which is awesome and he is doing really good at exercising too...I must say I taught him everything he knows about being disciplined....lol.

It has not been to hard for me to stay at a certain amount of calories a day...the hard part is not eating a lot of sugar...which is my weakness. I have been using this site, to track my calories and weight loss and it really helps me to keep track of everything I eat. I know before I started tracking my food intake I would think, "oh I just had a _______ & _______ today and a snack it wasn't a lot of food," but I never realized how many calories a lot of things were...especially drinks like tea, milk, & juice...I just never counted those as calories before.

Also, If I make something homemade and I don't know the nutritional value of it I use this site, to calculate the calories and then make a custom entry in the site I track all my calories in. I can also track inches lost and see a summary report of how I am doing over all. But the amazing thing is I have done this for 2 weeks and I haven't quit, which for me is huge! Now if I can just develop a love for exercising it would be an even bigger accomplishment for me...ha

Mother's Day 2009

This year for Mother's Day we went to Cabot after Joshua's baseball game on Saturday. Which Joshua hit a home run and was promised baseball gloves by daddy so we had to stop and buy them on the way to Cabot. We went to my mom's and had dinner and then went to my cousin Deagan's 5th birthday party. We got to see a lot of family and the boys had a good time playing on all the blow up jump stations. We then went back to my mom's and the boys had popcorn and a movie, Iron Will.

Sunday we got up and went to church at our home church and it was nice to see people we haven't seen in awhile. Then we went to Andy's parents house and Andy cooked pork tenderloin, that he had marinated for 3 days, and chicken breast and shrimp with some sides and yummy dessert...and yes I had some dessert...all 3 of them in fact...Sunday was my cheat day...and fortunately, I didn't gain any weight from what I ate Sunday but I kept off the 2 pounds I lost this week..haha...but Andy did a WONDERFUL job cooking our food....

And because of the rain we played inside for most of the day...Nana and Papa have a game room in the basement so Andy and I played pool for the 1st time in a long time. No need to point out the obvious buy I kicked his tuckus in pool....................WHAT!?..........okay......so everyone that knows me knows that isn't true BUT I did gave him a run for his money!!........that's right you read it right!..................*SIGH*..........okay....that isn't true either...........I got steam rolled.......OK!.........and that is the truth!

Then when the weather cleared up everyone went outside and played some baseball at least the guys did...I observed them playing baseball...geez it is Mother's Day isn't....the day for relaxing! Thanks to the guys we were able to do that so THANK YOU! Overall it was a great Mother's Day and I can't be more thankful to have 2 of the best role models, my mom and mother in law, in the world as my support system and are such a Godly example of the Proverbs 31 woman. And to have the best, sweetest boys that make being a mom such a JOY and a pain...but mostly a JOY....

LOSE WEIGHT = NEW FLOORS

So Andy and Josh have challenged each other to see who can lose the most weight in 8 weeks. The winner gets $100 and it is determined by total body percentage weight lost.

• Andy has lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks by playing basketball a couple nights a week and reducing his calorie intake.
• Josh has lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks by jogging on his treadmill and playing some basketball.
• He and Andy are both eating 5-6 times a day.

Andy wanted me to get in on this but um..$100 wasn't really incentive enough for me. So Sunday night we were talking and we decided if I go down to 135lbs I get to choose any kind of new flooring I want for the living room. I HATE carpet...especially in the living room so I am pumped. The only thing/person standing between me and my new flooring is me...haha. If Andy gets down to 242.5lbs he gets to get a Mac Server or his "version" of a Mac server...the really thing is too expensive.

I started on Monday and have been reducing my calorie intake and exercising. So far it hasn't been to hard and I haven't felt like giving up which for me is good...lol. Andy doesn't want to do a "cheat" day but I am ALL about having a "cheat" day. I am picking Mother's Day as my 1st cheat day.

But I love the idea of getting fit so we can keep up with our kids and hopefully stay on earth longer and be able to raise our boys and some day very far from now we can see our grandchildren, even our great grandchildren...assuming the Lord isn't coming back first...ha

Kindergarten

So Andy and I registered Joshua for Kindergarten today. Most of you know that Andy and I have not agreed on when Joshua should start Kindergarten. I wanted him to go next school year. He would be over 5.5 years old. Andy wanted him to wait another year and he would start at 6.5 years old. He thinks Joshua being another year older would be an advantage to him in his education and in sports..I don't completely disagree with that. My opinion was he is already one of the older kids going into Kindergarten. And I wanted to be able to hold him back if the NEED should ever arise in the future and if we held him back at the beginning that would not be an option for us later on. Also, I think he is very ready for Kindergarten and he has a desire to learn.

So I had been praying that what was best for Joshua would be the decision we make for him as to when he should start. And it so happens that because Joshua needs speech therapy it was recommended by his therapist that he would greatly benefit from being in preschool or kindergarten. But none of the preschools but one will take him since he is old enough to be in Kindergarten and we would have to pay out of pocket for his speech therapy and for preschool. So Andy conceded to let him go...He will be able to get speech therapy at school for free and him being in Kindergarten and learning his sounds will be a big help in him learning to say his words correctly.

So, Andy, I am extremely thankful to you for letting Joshua go ahead and go to Kindergarten even though you would rather he wait another year...you are a good daddy!

Noahness Turns 3!

Noah turned 3 on April 24, 2009...he shares the same birthday as my dad. I think at midnight the terrible 3's set in b/c he was such a toot on his birthday and even had to get a spanking...haha

We had cupcakes and presents with him on his actually birthday with just the 5 of us. And then Sunday we went to Andy's parents and had a dinner birthday party...with the same menu we had for Easter...roast has been on sale...ha...and the rolls rose this time. Then the boys all got hair cuts and played outside with Bayliss and their grandparents. Andy came to eat and had to leave and go back to work at a side job he has had for almost 10 years in Cabot. Here is a slide show of the party. I have more pics but they are on Andy's iphone.

Baseball Pics

So Joshua is doing so much better in T-ball this year. He is actually paying attention and playing the game unlike last year when we paid for him to play in the dirt. They don't keep score in T-ball which is probably a good thing. I forgot my camera for Joshua's game so hopefully I will remember it for his next game and get some pictures.

Jessie's AA team is 4-1. Which is a shock to Andy and I considering what they looked like when the season started. We have 2 kids on the team that have never even played before and have actually come a long way since the 1st practice. Last year Jessie was a 7 year old on an AA 8 year old team and he played center field and was good at it...he can catch some pop flies..haha.. This year the 8 year olds moved up to the AAA 9 year old team and he plays up sometimes but he plays 1st base on the AA team this year. He surprisingly is good at 1st base and I say that b/c in the past when they put him in the infield he looked scared to death. So he has gotten comfortable in the infield now but he doesn't like playing up on the AAA team which is live pitch...and looks like he is going to mess his pants every time he plays....haha. But with everything the more you do it the more at ease you feel. So I hope by the time the season is over he will be okay with live pitch since he is talking about not playing baseball next year b/c he doesn't like it. Here are a few pics of his teams photo shoot and the game afterwards.

Easter Sunday

The weather was really nice on Saturday before Easter but Sunday morning...the bottom fell out and it poured and poured...even driving home from church my car was going all over the place because there was just so much rain. We decided to have an Easter party at our house and we cooked roast, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, some veggies, and homemade rolls [that didn't rise :(...], broccoli salad and some yummy dessert.

Andy's parents, sister, and his nephew Bayliss came....as well as our friends Josh and April and their kids and Mekelle and Jason and their kiddos. After we ate we had a scavenger egg hunt (which is a tradition Andy kept from when he was little) and then just a regular egg hunt. The boys got play doh, moon sand, kites, baseball bat (Joshua), Lightening McQueen glove and ball (Noah), and a first basemen glove (Jessie) in their Easter Baskets. We had a lot of fun but I was TIRED when it was over.

A funny side note: I was writing a clue to put in the egg that would lead Joshua to his Easter basket that was in my bathtub and at the same time Mekelle and I where talking about coupons. So when Joshua opened his egg for the final clue it said, "Where do you take a coupon"...instead of "Where do you take a bath"...haha. Apparently, I can't talk and write at the same time...

Nana and Papa have video and pictures as do April and Josh...my camera's battery was dead...so if I can get a copy from them I may post a video or pics later.

Kids Easter Egg Hunt

So my mom's group had an Easter egg hunt for the kids at the park. It was really windy and cool that day. They were having a picnic and dessert after the egg hunt but the kids where going all over the place and trying to keep up with 4 kids at the park is not my idea of fun. I stayed long enough for them to all get some eggs.....where they had the egg hunt was a section of grass with a circle drive around it and a parking lot so I was worried someone would get hit by a car and decided we would just go home. Below is a slide show of the egg hunt and some pics of Harmony and Seth in there Easter outfits on Sunday.

Bryant Preseason Baseball Tournament

Jessie is the 1st one on the 2nd row...on the left

So on April 9, 2009 Jessie's AAA Baseball Team won the Bryant Preseason Baseball Tournament. It was funny b/c Jessie apparantly never gets the signs right and he bunts the ball with 2 strikes against him. And we happened to be standing by 3rd base and his coach looked at us and said, "People are going to think I'm stupid for "signaling" him to bunt." He told us in the 2 years Jessie has played for them he always get the signs wrong...haha. Which is odd for Jessie b/c he is really good at paying attention and has a good memory so I don't know what is going on there...lol. But it worked and he got on base...

Joshua being Joshua

So Joshua "misplaced" his PSP and it has been missing for weeks. We have asked the boys repeatedly if they knew where it was...we moved the couches and even turned them over trying to find it since that was where Joshua had it last. So, last night Jessie helped me clean the playroom (which was a DISASTER!!!! you couldn't even walk in the room...Joshua and Harmony had taken it upon themselves to 'clean up' the playroom and had dumped everything in every container they could find and stacked it on one wall...and then decided to play with everything they got out the next day....but if they hadn't been so proud of themselves for 'cleaning up' I would have had a 'revival' with the two of them right then and there.....) so when Jessie was cleaning the closet he found Joshua's PSP. Jessie then calls Andy who had gone to Josh's house with the younger 2 boys and when Andy told Joshua that Jessie found it and where he found it he looked at Andy and said, "I hid it good didn't I dad!"...so Andy told me what he said when he got home and I asked Joshua if he forgot where he hid it and he looked at me and smiled and shook his head yes....personally...I think Noah was hiding in the closet and was playing with it instead b/c Noah likes to sneak off and play his brothers PSP's since he is not allowed to play with them anymore...considering he threw both of them at the fireplace in a 1-2 week time frame and they had to be replaced...thanks to nana and papa!

So tonight Joshua is wanting a snack before bed and he is pleading his case as to why he should get one and he says, "Jessie had a nilla bar"

...side note...Joshua started speech therapy today so hopefully he will correct his sounds that he isn't pronouncing correctly...

so Andy tells him IF he can say it correctly he can have a granola bar. So Joshua looked at Andy and said, "I want a Honey Bun" without missing a beat...haha...he knew he could say that right...to bad we don't have any honey buns...lol

Noah's Dance Video

So the other day Andy showed me his and Noah's dance to Burn Baby Burn. So today my 14 year old neighbor was over and I wanted Andy to show her their dance and so I got it on video. My camera quality still stinks but you can get the idea...it is much funnier to see Andy doing the moves while Noah tries to imitate him but Andy was camera shy....lol :(

Stolen!

So Friday I took Jessie to school and when we went outside to get in the car the passenger sliding door was open and then behind the car Jessie's flag football stuff was spread out on the ground. At first I thought we just forgot to close the door the night before but I didn't think we used that door and the flag football stuff being out of the car was weird. I checked Jessie's baseball bag (which was in the car) and all of his stuff was there so we got in the car and I took him to school.

Then today we get in the car and Andy went with us to story time at the library and the kids asked, "Where is the dvd player?" Andy thought I took it out and I did not remember thinking that it was messing on Friday when we noticed the car door...but it must have been stolen last Thursday night....I haven't had all the kids in my car to notice it was missing. I went to a local Pawn Shop to see if they got it and he told me I had to file a police report and asked if I had any serial #'s or anything which I don't...the kids movie Facing the Giants was in there too...I am so upset someone would come in and do that...though I know these are desperate times it still doesn't make it right...so we will have to make sure our doors are locked ALL the time now.

Jessie on Bryant Daily.com

In the below post I mentioned Jessie and his baseball team won the tournament and there is an article about it on BryantDaily.com. They mention Jessie and I am so excited for him...I can't wait until he gets home from school and I can show him the news article...here is the link!

http://www.bryantdaily.com/post/Pre-season-tournament-champions-crowned.aspx

*In the picture Jessie is the first one on the back row

Little Oaks Pre-Season Tournament 2009

So Jessie's baseball team won the Little Oaks Pre-Season Tournament! His team actually went undefeated last year and are still undefeated this year. So they are definitely going to be a target for the other baseball teams this year.

I am so proud of Jessie. He is really good at football and he is good at baseball but he just doesn't have as much self confidence in baseball that he has in football. But today he is starting to get more confidence. We played 3 games today not including the 3 we played during the week. The first game we played today the team was really good and they shut down all of our hitters we couldn't even get on 1st base...So Jessie plays up on the 9 year old team and he is last on the batting roster...(mostly b/c last year he didn't consistently hit well) And it is the 3rd inning and Jessie is the first to bat and he hits a base hit and then the players after him start hitting and he makes a run. So now the score is 1 to 3. Then later in the game Jessie hits the ball to the fence and we score more runs and win the game 6-4.

The last game we played tonight we were behind 5-1 and we come back and tie the game. And we are in the bottom of the 5th inning (they only play 5 innings), 2 outs, 1 runner on 1st, and Jessie at bat and he hits a line drive up the middle to the fence to bring in the winning run! The umpire gave him the game ball. He also had a great catch in center field and had a double play! His confidence has grown and I am so happy for him!


Me and Jessie with his game ball...

Gage also got a game ball from Coach Bill for having some awesome catches as pitcher and getting us some outs!

Gage and his mom with his game ball...


Getting presented the 1st place trophy!

My hubby...the fence builder!

So my neighbor Annette and I have asked our hubbies to build us a privacy fence. We actually have all the sides but the one that goes between our houses and the front already built. So our DH's spent the last 2 days building it for us and we are so thankful! Now the kids can go outside and play in the backyard without me worrying about them going to the front yard...and her dog can run free in her yard...here are some pics!

Thank you Andy and Randy!

Bowling on President's Day

So Andy and Jessie were home on Monday and we took the kids bowling. Andy won of course but we had a good time and it is getting easier to do things like this as the kids get older. I have pictures and video of the day which is probably more for our benefit to have here so we can look back on it later. I didn't add my video...for 1 b/c I am tired of waiting for these to upload and 2 Andy got me off my rhythm when I was fixing to bowl and I did horribly...haha







Andy Bowling


Jessie Bowling


Joshua Bowling


Noah Bowling

Trent's Birthday Party

We have a boy in our group, named Trent, who was born at 24 weeks and he just celebrated his 2nd birthday. He had his party at The Wonder Place in Little Rock. I have never been there before but it is really neat place...I would like to go back some time soon. I was suppose to take Joshua and Noah but Andy had left early that morning to go to Cabot to work and he forgot his wallet. So by the time he came back home to get it Noah had woke up and wanted to go with him. So I called and asked if Harmony could come with me and Joshua since he is a little bit older then the other kids in my mom's group and I wanted to make sure he had someone to play with.

Unfortunately, Trent entered Children's hospital last night and is suppose to be there for a few days. I am not aware of any other details then that they are running test, so please keep him in your prayers. He is absolutely precious and has faced so major milestones to get to where he is today after being born so early.

I forgot to take more pictures then I did, especially of Trent and his cake I was to busy holding a newborn baby girl of one of the mom's in the play group...she is adorable as is her big sister...they gave me girl fever for a MOMENT...I got over it quickly...haha




The have a water table and this is Joshua after he got done playing in it. They have covers that go over you clothes so you won't get wet but neither of us noticed it until it was to late...oh well

Valentine's Party

So I joined a local mom's group and I have really enjoyed being apart of it. We had a Valentine's party and there was suppose to be 20 kids there but I think we had 17...I maybe wrong about that. I was babysitting so I had brought 4 kids to the party and I felt like I need a vacation being around so many kiddos and having to tend to 4 myself...lol. But we had fun and Megan did a great job decorating her house for the party. She had a table set up for them to decorate their own cupcakes and another one set up for them to decorate their Valentine's Bags. Also, all the mom's brought finger foods so we had a good feast as well. I have some pictures of the day but my camera is messed up...so the pictures aren't very good:(

Noah decorating his cupcake.

Noah enjoying his decorated cupcake.

Joshua eating his decorated cupcake.

Harmony decorating her cupcake.

Seth just wanted to eat his...I was luck to get icing on it...haha

Decorating their bags...

I miss my church!

So I LOVED my church when we lived in Alma and it nearly breaks my heart when I read my friends blogs from there and they talk about how awesome church is and where God is taking them. I don't like missing a thing and I wish I could still be there to take part in it. But I am truly thrilled for them and so happy to see God working in their lives and the church...

Sleepover

So a few weeks ago Harmony and Seth stayed the night and Andy read them a bed time story...

Joshua's Birthday "Party"

So we had an informal party for Joshua and honestly I am hoping I can get by with that for his birthday. I made a big dinner and then decorated a brownie with frosting and Arkansas football decorations. Josh and his kids were with us and below is a video and pics of the evening.

Joshua is 5 years old today!

So today Joshua turns 5...I can't believe it! He is such a special little boy who makes me laugh and never gives me a dull moment. Our lives would much quieter without him but not near as fun. I played checkers with him last night and he beat me! It was so much fun and I laughed so hard playing with him. (I wanted to post photos from when he was born till now but they are on my other laptop which is not at the house so these will have to do...)

AHHHH Peace and Quiet

So this weekend Andy had to do some computer work in Cabot and he took the boys with him to my mom's since they hadn't seen each other in a while. And I stayed home and CLEANED! That's right I had the whole house to myself and I cleaned....sad isn't it. But it needed to be done and now I can relax. The boys ended up staying the night so I was able to go the the grocery store that I kept putting off for the last 4 days. And then I was able to do some work from home on the school website. So sadly enough I didn't really do anything exciting but I did get a lot done which is important for my mental state of mind..........though when everyone came home it seriously took them less then 5 minutes for them to make the living room look like someone robbed me but didn't take anything. So needless to say we had a family meeting to clarify a few things and so far they have done a good job about cleaning up there messes. So thanks hubby, mom, and in laws for helping with the kids so I can get my house in order!

What's been going on!

Well it has been awhile since I posted so this one is an update.

I got to have some "me" time 2 weekends ago. My friend April and I went to eat at a Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar one night after she got off work and then we got pedicure's the next afternoon. Which was nice since it had been this past summer that I had my last one.

Then this past weekend Andy's parents watched the boys on Saturday afternoon until Sunday so we were able to go see Mall Cop...too funny! and then we ate at a different Japanese Steakhouse restaurant....um...seems to be a trend with me lately.

And last week we sat down and made a budget for us for the 1st time since we have been married and I actually like having a budget. So I am looking forward to this year being the beginning steps of "we don't owe any man but to love him" year.

Baseball sign ups is already here so we will have 2 boys playing baseball again this year...I just hope that this year Joshua (who will be 5 this Tuesday 1-27) takes it more seriously and actually plays ball and doesn't act like the ball field is a big sandbox like he did last year or that his glove is a hat or a ball that you throw high in the air and catch and that wrestling with your own teammates for the ball can be considered counter productive in the game of baseball....and some may say it is "cute" but I could have bought him a sand box that sings, dances, and teaches kids their alphabet for the price I paid for him to play in the sand at the ball fields...do you get where I going with this...anyway hopefully it won't be that way this year!

Jessie got on the Honor Roll this semester and he got a Best Writer Award plus a free kids meal at Colton's Steakhouse...

Jessie accepting his honor roll award

Noah has speech therapy twice a week and one day a week his therapist comes to the house. So the night before she came last week he didn't feel good and actually had a fever so we let him sleep in the living room on a mattress. And he wanted to wear his Cars underwear but he already had on his pajamas. So he put his underwear on the outside of his pjs and I took a pictures of it b/c his therapist thought it was too cute...

New Year's 2009

So for New Year's we had Josh and April over and they stayed the night with us and we played Canasta and ate Steaks and the fixings to go with it. We had fun but I was ready for bed. The next day I went to Cabot and stayed the night with my mom and we had our girl cousins and my aunt come over to eat and play games. I had a fun time and it was nice to have a break from the kids for awhile. :) Also, Andy's parents watched the boys for us the next night so that was a nice break too.

I am excited about the new year and I am not making any resolutions because I never stick to them but there are a few things I would like to work on for the new year. So hopefully I might accomplish a few of them! I am glad we are getting back into a routine again after the holidays...I was getting to the point that I didn't know what day it was...everyday seemed like Saturday!...LOL The bummer is that Andy was suppose to be off for 2 weeks but he ended up working A LOT. Due to a server problem at one of the schools. So I am glad that is over! I hope everyone has a great 2009 and blessings to all!

On a side note...I have been entering daily to win the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway. But I haven't mentioned it to anyone. Well Joshua likes to pray before we eat and the last couple of days he says, "thank you for our houses and our tvs"...which is funny because we only have 1 house with 1 tv...haha maybe he is thanking God in advance for us winning the Dream Home...lol...wouldn't that be nice...

Our 2008 Christmas

So this Christmas was a little weird for Andy and I. It was the first time we didn't have Christmas with either of our parents on Christmas Day....that I can remember. Andy's parents came the Saturday before Christmas because they were going to Ohio to see Art's oldest sister who was giving a few weeks to live due to cancer. My mom came the day before Christmas as did Andy's brother Ryan and his girlfriend Candice. So the day of Christmas we had Josh and April and their parents, Josh's brother Caleb, and 2 foreign exchange students that stay with April's mom all from Oklahoma City, and our neighbors the Kirby's over for Christmas to eat lunch. It was a full house but we ate good and then everyone found a spot and took a nap. Later our brother in law Tony and our nephew Bayliss stopped by. I don't have any pictures of the day of Christmas but below is a slide show of before and after Christmas. Jessie was at his dad's for Christmas this year which worked out because he wanted Ohio State stuff and since Andy's parents were going to Ohio we had them pick up some things since we didn't get Jessie back until the 4th of January. I do have a short video of the boys opening bedding they got from Nana and Papa. Jessie got Ohio State, Joshua got Arkansas Razorbacks, and Noah got Lighting McQueen.