The Martin's

Noah Registers for Kindergarten

2011-02-17T13:08:00.006-06:00

Today was Kindergarten registration at the boys school. So I took Noah to work with me this morning so I could register him for Kindergarten! I can't believe my baby is old enough to go to school next year!! Here is him getting his picture made before he went to meet with a Kindergarten teacher to do their evaluations.

Before I took him to register I stopped by Joshua's class b/c I needed to get a photo for an article I was doing. And one of the boys in his class asked me if I would take their picture b/c they are best friends...ha And then another boy said, "I'm his best friend too." So I had to take their picture before I could leave his class..

Noah had to get in the picture too.

This is the picture I took of my boys and edited for the article...it was about a math event.

Snow, snow, and more snow

2011-02-10T17:38:00.004-06:00

I don't ever remember getting so much snow in one winter as we have this year. On Wednesday, February 9th, it snowed all day and we ended up getting 8 inches at our house. We pretty much relaxed all day. Today Joshua, Noah, Maranda...my 16 year old neighbor, and I went sledding down a steep road by our house. It was a lot of fun....Noah went farther then anybody the first time he went down...it was hilarious...he kept going and going and going.... Jessie choose to stay in the house and play xbox with Andy, neither one of them were up for putting on layers of clothes and having to come in wet and take it all off...ha

Globetrotters

2011-02-10T17:21:00.004-06:00

We took the boys to go see the Globetrotters at Verizon with Andy's parents, Uncle Tony and nephew Bayliss on Tuesday night, February 8th. We all really enjoyed it and it was pretty funny. Noah was really tired and didn't want to sit still for the performance so that was the only difficult part of the evening. We had seats really close to the court. I didn't get any pictures of all of us but here are a few of the Globetrotters...

Cliff Lee and Travis Wood Banquet

2011-02-10T16:57:00.004-06:00

I took Jessie and Joshua to go see Cliff Lee and Travis Wood February 3rd. They had a banquet to help raise money for the Bryant Baseball Association. The BBA served us dinner and then Lee and Wood's agent spoke. It was pretty neat...the boys each got a signed autographed baseball. It would have been nice to hear Lee and Wood speak though....

Travis Wood from Bryant

Cliff Lee from Benton

Recap of 2010

2011-02-05T15:02:00.021-06:00

I haven't been a very good blogger so I am going to do a recap of 2010 and try to catch up....ha

I'm going to start with December of 09 since I never blogged about it.

DECEMBER 2009

We were home Christmas morning and Santa brought Jessie an Xbox, Joshua some Razorback things, and Noah some Cars toys. Then we got ready to head to Cabot to go eat lunch with Andy's family. That Christmas we had a TON of ran and there was a lot of flooding. I remember trying to drive to Cabot and having to go on a long detour b/c the highway was flooded. We had a nice visit with Andy's family. His Aunt Rhonda and cousins Calvin and Joel came to visit for Christmas and they were a lot of fun. Here are some pics of that day....

Christmas Eve

Andy reading the story of Jesus' birth

JANUARY 2010

We had friends over for New Years eve and played rock band and some board games...it was a lot of fun...

For Joshua's 6th birthday we went to Andy's parents house to celebrate...and apparently I didn't take any pictures :( Joshua's birthday party was for him and his uncles and aunt....there are 4 birthdays in a row...the 25th - 28th of January...crazy!

Jessie and Joshua also played basketball for the first time with Upward and there both really liked it and were pretty good at it.

FEBRUARY 2010

The boys signed up for baseball and we celebrated Grandpa's 89th birthday. Andy also surprised me and took me to Graceland during Valentine's weekend. And our precious nephew was born on Valentine's day!

MARCH 2010

We took the boys to Pinnacle Mountain. I don't remember that it was that rough of a climb when I was younger but OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! I thought I was going to die!! I would stop so "other people could pass" or so I could "take in the beautiful view" when really I thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest and start flopping back down the mountain. My 3 year old pretty much climbed up and down the mountain himself!! Of course going down isn't near as difficult as going up. I said at the end I was never doing it again but I'm sure I will...ha Andy had to stop by Sonic on the way home so I could recover... The boys were able to pet an alligator before we climbed the mountain, so that was a neat experience.

APRIL 2010

The first weekend in April we took the boys to Petit Jean to see the waterfall and to have a picnic lunch. It was a lot of fun. It wasn't near as bad as climbing Pinnacle..ha. Andy and I took turns going with Jessie under the waterfall. The other 2 boys were too little to climb to it. Andy and I tried to find the spot he proposed to me at but we couldn't find it....makes me think the whole thing never happened...haha Here are a few pics..

The next weekend we took the boys to Caddo River to go camping and canoeing for the first time. We had a lot of fun! Andy and I use to go camping and canoeing a lot when we were dating. But then when the kids came along it made it to hard to go. I don't have any pictures of that weekend. I kayaked while Andy had the boys in the canoe. Noah was scared at first but Andy stood up in the water to show Noah that it was at his ankles and he calmed down. The ironic part of the trip is that we camped next to a couple and their daughter that just moved to Tyler and my sister, Jennifer, and her family had just moved to Tyler too. So I shared their contact info with each other and they ended up having some play dates together.

For Noah's 4th birthday party we went to see Disney on Ice with Andy's parents, sister and our nephew Bayliss. Noah LOVED it especially when the Toy Story characters come out. Afterwards we went to Outback to eat and have some cake. Here are a few pictures of that day.

MAY 2010

Joshua graduated from Kindergarten. He had an awesome Kindergarten teacher and really enjoyed school.

Joshua was asked to play on a the Wally Hall tournament team during Memorial Day weekend...which is practically the kids they want for All-Stars in his age group for baseball. We let him be in the tournament but after we saw how the coaches where we opted to not let him tryout for All-Stars. And every kid that was on the tournament team and tried out for All-Stars ended up making it. Here is my 2 cents on that. We got a call about Joshua being on this team before he even played one baseball game. It was based on his tryout. So pretty much the 6 year old All-Star team is picked before any games are played. How do you know if someone had a bad tryout or that they won't get better over the season. And where we live once you are on the team as a 6 year old they rarely change the players from year to year. They do not base it on how you did that current year like they say they do. I don't know where parents who coach these kids think it is only about their kids and putting them in the "better" positions. I want my child to have fun and learn how to play ball...which means that he could play outfield or infield at any point and time b/c the coaches practice everyone at every position and help develop these boys to be an all around player. I will toot Andy's horn and say he is a great coach. He wants the kids to learn and enjoy playing whatever sport he is coaching. And it has never been about putting our kids in the best position. He wants ever player to make a basket in basketball or let them run the ball, if they are eligible, in football. In fact Andy was hesitant to let Jessie play defense and offense in football one year b/c he didn't want to seem like he was favoring his child but the other 2 coaches over ruled him b/c Jessie was a good player. He would also play the older kids both ways since it was their last year even if some of the younger kids where just as good or better players. He wants to win but he wants the boys to enjoy what they are doing and he wants to be fair to them. I really wish people would get their perspectives right...no telling how many kids give up or get discouraged b/c of coaching. Or parents get frustrated because it is obvious that their kids aren't giving a fair shake and they are playing favorites. I am tired of the politics in kids sports...it's time for it to STOP! Okay I'm off my soap box now...ha... BTW I don't think all coaches are like that....ha

During the regular baseball season Joshua played 1st base for the most part and one game he got 5 outs at first and even made a double play. He definitely caught on to the game of baseball a lot faster then Jessie did. He instinctively knew what to do with the ball.

For Mother's day Andy cooked for me, his mom, and my mom. It was delicious and I was really glad to not have to worry about cooking...ha

JUNE 2010

Jessie participated in the Bryant Football Camp at the High School. He got the Quarterback and the Defensive player of the week award.

Showing Grandpa the shirt he got...

Showing him the certificates. Grandpa was so proud of him.

Jessie played with a Utrip baseball team when his regular baseball season was over. It got started by a friend who wanted to keep playing baseball but also be able to choose who played on the team. He wanted a team of good parents...preferable drama free...and talented kids who had good attitudes. One or the other wouldn't work it had to be both. We enjoyed playing those few weeks with them even though we didn't win much. They did lead off pick off for that age group and our boys had never played that before....so it was definitely an adjustment. He played first base. Here are a few pics of Jessie playing...

Andy's grandma Martin and cousin Reed from Ohio came to visit Andy's parents. So we went to see them and go swimming. I can't remember if we celebrated Father's Day then too or not.

All the grandsons

Noah and his cousin Reed

Andy and his grandma

JULY 2010

Andy and his dad took the boys to Wisconsin for the Oshkosh Air Show and to go to see the Milwaukee Brewers play. Every year Andy and his dad take the boys to a baseball game. They camped out at the air show and got to participate in different actives like getting to see how an engine works by putting parts together, make a wooden propeller, make a wooden airplane, make a wing rib, and put rivets in a wing. They got to the baseball game early and was selected to go out on the field and watch the Brewers batting practice. They said it was their favorite trip yet.

Andy and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this month and my nephew, Bayliss, turned 7 two days later.

AUGUST 2010

I turned 30 this month. It was such a hectic month with Andy and I trying to get things done at work before school started that we didn't get to celebrate. But the overtime check was really nice...ha. School started this month and Jessie entered 4th grade and Joshua 1st. The boys got awesome teachers this year. We signed the boys up for football. It will be Joshua's first year to play. Andy is assistant coaching Jessie's team this year.

SEPTEMBER 2010

Andy turned 32 this month. We got him an Xbox game he had been wanting and a subscriptions to Netflix which he uses ALL the time. We fixed him one of his favorite meals. September was full of football practices and between both boys. Sunday was the only day we didn't have football.

OCTOBER 2010

October we finished up our football season. Both boys teams came in 1st place. Joshua who is my most aggressive child was really passive when he played football. I was rather shocked that he was like that. I hope that when Andy coaches him next year he can put that aggressiveness to good use..ha He played tight end on offense and a few times he played defensive end. Jessie played quarterback and safety. He had 1255 rushing yards, 93 carries, 20 touchdowns/extra points, 47 tackles and 5 fumble recoveries. Andy makes a video every year for the football players and this year he made football cards on the video that had all their stats but he only did it on Jessie's team which is how I know what Jessie's stats are. He ran out of time to do the same for Joshua's team. :(

For Halloween we went to Cabot and trick - or - treated in our brother - in - laws neighborhood. It was also Nana's birthday on the 30th and all the siblings cooked food for their momma. It was really good!!

NOVEMBER 2010

Andy's parents took Joshua and Noah to the circus. It was pretty neat and they really enjoyed it!

Joshua, Noah, and some other people they tried to get to fit on the elephant.

We went and ate with the boys for their Thanksgiving meal at school.

Jessie turned 10 this month and we had a birthday party at my mom's house for him. And we taught him how to play Cansata the week of Thanksgiving and he is pretty good. He actually was the quickest to catch on to the game out of all the people I ever taught!

My sister's family came down for Thanksgiving and we all stayed at mom's and cooked a Thanksgiving meal together. The cousins had a lot of fun playing together. Mom had Jennifer and I go through some of our things in her attic and we found all our baby and barbie dolls. Ainsley was having a good ole time playing with them. I didn't have my camera to take pics that week.

DECEMBER 2010

Our office had a Christmas lunch and everyone brought food. Oh my goodness it was so good!!!!! Our office should totally celebrate a Christmas meal more often...ha Then we took a Christmas photo...

My mom came down on the 23rd so we could have our Christmas together and we cooked a yummy meal and played games. She bought the boys a Kinect for Christmas and it is really cool! She left Christmas Eve and took Jessie to his dad's. Christmas morning the younger 2 boys got left a note from Santa and 2 small pillow pets because they hadn't been very good. If it was up to momma they would have gotten coal. But they were on the naught list! Santa also left them an Elf on the Shelf that will keep a special eye on them next year. I think they thought the could behave however they wanted and would still get what they wanted from Santa. They were disappointed but have calmed down since then. (Don't let their cute face fool you...they were little stinkers) We got ready and left to go to Andy's parents house for Christmas lunch. We had a lot of fun and ended up staying the night because Andy and I stayed up late playing Euchre and Dominoes with his parents.

After Christmas we went to stay with mom for a few days, while Andy had work to do in Cabot. We went to see our cousins play basketball and stopped by to see grandpa. He wanted to see Jessie's football video and we told him we would bring it. But he was on pain medicine and we couldn't wake him up. In fact I never did see him awake after that day, in fact the time before I went to see him he was asleep and we couldn't wake him up then either.

January 2011

So I'm going to get myself caught up here and go ahead and cover January.

We went back to school after our Christmas break but because of snow we got out a couple days and one day early. We ended up having a neighborhood snowball fight and made a snow woman together. We aren't the best group for making snowmen.

I started a free aerobics class at work that is 3 days a week and I actually like it. I do not like working out but it is fun to do with a group of people.

Noah ended up getting a stomach virus that lasted a week and the day he felt better Joshua got a 101 temperature. And during that same week they told me that my grandpa was giving days to live so I drive to Cabot to be at his bedside. They moved him to the hospice room right after I got there at 9 AM and was prepared to be there all night until I needed to be home for Jessie's TOTS performance the next day. When Grandma was in that room it was 5 days that we took rotations to be by her side because it is required when they move them to the hospice room but we would have done it whether it was required or not. My mom was going to take the night rotation with me and we left to go get her things that she need from the house right before 5 and right when we left the nurses went to change his bedding. We got a call half way home to turn around and he was gone when we got there. Apparently he was gone right after they changed his bed.

I must say that the nurses at Cabot Manor were great to him. There were many of them that said they try not to get attached to the patients there but they couldn't help but get attached to my grandpa. He was a character! His nurse even came in on her day off to see him in case he was gone before she came back to work. Just seeing them crying and upset broke my heart. But my family was glad we got to see how much they cared about him. His funeral was different in the sense that all his children spoke and shared a story about Grandpa. I really enjoyed hearing it! And some of the grandchildren wrote memories that the pastor read for us. It was really special! But I don't want to have to experience a funeral for a long, long, long, long time! This is the 3rd death in my family in 3 years; my uncle Bill, grandma, and grandpa. So I am not up for giving up any more family members!!

Grandpa passed on the 26th, and Joshua's 7th birthday and his cousin Jade's 16th birthday is on the 27th, and Joshua's cousin Sydney's 10th birthday is on the 28th. I am not happy grandpa passed away but I am so thankful he didn't pass on either of their birthdays! Since grandma passed on Christmas Eve...Christmas Eve doesn't seem the same now. It doesn't bring the excitement it used to and I didn't want these kids to have that feeling about their birthday!

Speaking of birthdays....sweet Joshua got shafted this year on his. He had basketball practice on his birthday and Noah was sick and Grandpa passed away so we had the visitation and funeral that weekend and he didn't get to have a party. And I got sick this weekend with a high fever, body aches, and congestion so we still haven't had his party.

But on Wednesday the 26th, he, unknowingly to Andy or I, made a party invitation to his "birthday party" that was to take place on Thursday at 3:20 when school got out for Playtime Pizza....haha Joshua and his friend delivered it to his friends mom who works at the school. I got an email from her asking about it and I was like...um...no party...we haven't made any plans. So then we tell him not to go planning a party that there is a lot going on so he goes back the next day and says it is for that weekend. The first time it was hilarious and gave me a very much needed laugh. The second time was enough for me to not ever give him a party....ha Hopefully we will get him his birthday party at Playtime Pizza.

As Grandpa always said, "Keep punching, you'll come out somewhere!"

Jessie turns 10 today!

2010-11-23T08:29:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday to my oldest son Jessie!!

I just want you to know that it has been a joy to have you as my son! You were such a good child that Andy and I thought we where the best parents EVER! Until your brothers came along and then we realized we had a AWESOME son and our parenting wasn't what we thought it was...ha
God has really blessed you with so much....it almost doesn't seem fair. Most things come easily too you and you are one of the best at whatever you do....much to my happiness and frustration because we both know how athletic I am and how easy everything comes to me...lol You are smart, athletic, good looking young man who has a big heart for others. You have not let your circumstances be an excuse to not do your best and try hard but I think it has helped you grow stronger. You are an example to other kids in your situation of what it means to not let life determine your decisions and attitude but it is a choice on how you handle it.
I want you to know that my proudest moment as your mom is not when you made all those amazing touchdowns, or the report cards with 100's and high A's...it is when you excepted Christ as your Savior. I hope that you will always rely on God for your needs and decisions you make in life. And that you will use the gifts and talents He has given you for His honor and glory!

I love you Jessie!

Mom

Happy 7th Anniversary!

2010-07-22T10:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Anniversary Andy!

I can't believe we have been married 7 years...though some times it feels a lot longer...haha. I want you to know I love you very much and I am so glad I married someone that makes me laugh daily! You spoil me all the time by the little things you do for me. Whether is it surprising me with breakfast on my desk at work....cleaning the house....getting up before everyone else on a Saturday morning to make us breakfast or make sure I get to sleep in...running to the store for something we forgot we needed...ha...cooking dinner after a long day at work...or offering to take the kids somewhere so I can have a quiet moment at home....the list goes on...and I thank you for all that you do for me and our family. You must be doing something right because our boys think you are the BEST EVER and I think your one of the funniest, smartest, and most thoughtful man around...!

The Dreaded Post

2010-05-06T19:55:00.011-05:00

I have been putting this post off for months but I want to document this because I am already forgetting some of the details.

We had a family get together to celebrate my Grandpa's 89th birthday at the end of February.

It was the first time we all were together as a family since my grandma's funeral a couple days after Christmas. It was hard having a family gathering and she not be there. She LOVED her family and was so proud of all of us. She had a way of making you feel so special. I have dreaded blogging about her passing and my miscarriage but it definitely needs to be documented.

So here it goes... On December 8th grandma suffered a stroke and was admitted to the hospital. That same day I had gone to the doctor for a checkup a week earlier then scheduled because I had been having some spotting...which isn't a good sign when pregnant and I had miscarried 6 months earlier. I was 6 or 7 weeks pregnant. The ultrasound showed no heartbeat but a fetus. I wasn't to concerned since I could have been off a week or so on how far along I was. So they scheduled me to come back in a week.

Grandma and me

The next day we where giving encouraging news that Grandma was doing better and would have some therapy and be able to go home in more or less 6 weeks....I hope I remember all this right.... But later that week she had turned for the worse. I remember my sister calling me crying that Friday and I thought she was calling to tell me that Grandma had passed away. But they were just calling the family in to discuss options with the doctor. We all took shifts at her bedside and had family member/s with her around the clock. I didn't think she would make it through the weekend. Because of her age and frailty with the stroke it didn't look very good. Her heart had been working on 30% the last year and if I remember right was working on even less then that after her stroke. So with either condition it was bad but with both against her it was worse. She was so frail and weak sometimes telling us about her past and other times not remembering where she was and wanting to get out of bed b/c she needed to fix dinner....which she was way to weak to get out of bed even if she wanted too. She made it through the weekend and the hospital made arrangements for her to move to a nursing home. The hospital said there was nothing else they could do for her so the choices were to take her home and have hospice come in or go to the nursing home that grandpa had gone to a couple months before due to falling at home and getting hurt.

Our family loves to play games and Grandma always seemed to win...especially in Dominos. One time within the last 2 years she stayed up till 2 am to watch Jennifer and me play our cousins in a game of Canasta. She was so content to just watch us play just so she could be around us. The last game I played with her was Farkle the day after Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday I went back to the doctor for a 2nd ultrasound. At that ultrasound it showed no change in the fetus and still no heartbeat. At that time we were giving 3 options. To schedule a D&C, take a pill that would make me miscarry, or wait. We choose to wait. At that appointment I was not as hopeful and even busted into tears afterwards. But we choose to put it in God's hands and wait it out.

Grandma made quilts for all of her kids and grandkids...this is mom's quilt

My quilt

This is Jennifer's quilt.

It seemed that Grandma was doing good in the nursing home and they even had her in a wheelchair. I didn't get to see her in the nursing home during the week since she was 50 miles away and I thought she was doing well enough that I could wait and see her that weekend. My mom sent me a text Saturday morning that said, "Grandma won't wake up." My Aunt Mary had gone in to see her that morning and Grandma didn't respond to her and wouldn't wake up. Her body went into a coma and was functioning just enough to keep her alive. The nursing home was great to give us a room all to ourselves so we could be with her but we had to have a family member with her all the time. We were now responsible to take care of her but they where still great about checking on us and taking care of Grandma's physical needs. I didn't want to leave her bedside I was worried that when I came back she wouldn't be there. I ended up staying all weekend taking shifts and left to go back home Monday. She never woke up or really responded to anything we did. They didn't give her an IV because it would put to much strain on her heart.

The next day I had another ultrasound scheduled that showed the same thing as the other 2 ultrasounds. I had started bleeding more that day and had some cramping. I went back to Cabot that night to give Jessie to his dad for his Christmas holiday and I went to visit Grandma. I didn't end up staying long because my cramps where getting really bad. As soon as I got home I jumped in the shower hoping it would help me feel better and by that time I was bleeding heavily. I ended up miscarrying less then 10 minutes after getting out of the shower, it was December 22nd.

Two days later, on Christmas Eve, we had received a lot of rain and the roads where flooded. I was suppose to get Jessie back for our Christmas holiday and was worried I wouldn't be able to make the drive to get him. Traffic was backed up and not moving due to the highways flooding. By mid afternoon the water started receding enough so traffic was moving and I was able to head to Cabot. On my way there my mom called and told me that Grandma had passed. Even though I knew it was going to happen it was still hard to accept. I still have a hard time accepting it and it has been over 4 months. She was the BEST grandma and I am so privileged to have known her! She was passionate about God and her family! She made the best chocolate pie. And she loved her in laws and grand in laws like they where her own! She is GREATLY missed but I know is having the BEST time in Heaven!

Grandma's Graduation Picture

The last picture I took of grandma, with my sons Joshua and Noah, and my cousin Deagan.

This was at our Thanksgiving family gathering.

Governor Beebe Visits Jessie's Class

2010-02-17T14:32:00.008-06:00

Jessie's 3rd Grade Teacher, Jami Branch, started a project that involved her students. She created an Arkansas History Room for Bryant Elementary School. It has all kinds of artifacts that have been donated to the room so students can see some of Arkansas' history. Her 3rd grade class room helped by holding a coin drive and collecting aluminum cans. They also helped sort the artifacts and clean up the room. They all worked extremely hard to get the room set up and I am so proud of Mrs. Branch and her 3rd grade class.

So today they had a Ceremony for the Arkansas History Room, officially opening it up to the public. Jessie and his classmate Rachel Mayes were selected to greet the Governor when he pulled up at the school. Jessie was asked to give the welcoming speech but he wouldn't do it. His teacher even begged him to but he wasn't up for it...ha. It would have been in front of the entire school, administration, and some state representatives... I don't know if I blame him for not wanting to go up there..ha Jessie and Rachel took the Governor and his staff to the Arkansas History Room where they got to see all the things that they have collected so far and show off all their hard work. Here are some pics of today.

Jessie and Rachel greeting the Governor.
Jessie with Governor Beebe
Jessie with Superintendent Dr. Abernathy
Jessie and his 3rd Grade Teacher, Jami Branch, holding the plaque giving to his class.

You can go here to see other pics from today and if you have anything you would like to donate for the Arkansas History Room, please contact the Bryant Elementary School at 501-847-5642 or jbranch@bryantschools.org

My Getaway Surprise

2010-02-14T22:19:00.004-06:00

So Andy planned a surprise getaway for us this weekend. He arranged for the kids to be with the grandparents. And made the arrangements for where we were going to stay. He didn't tell me where we were going but just to pack my bags.

He got us the Valentine's package at the Heart Break Hotel and tickets to see Graceland, Elvis Presley's airplanes, his car collection, and other attractions. I was so excited. I have wanted to go to Graceland for a LONG time. It was a GREAT surprise. I got a lot of pictures, but he didn't want to be in the pictures because then I would have proof he was at Graceland...ha

Thank you Andy for such a AWESOME surprise and for taking me to do something that isn't on your 'Bucket list' of things to do. I love you!

Thanks Grandparents for watching the boys for us!

I just included a few of the hundreds of pictures I took so as not to bore anybody...ha The pictures of our room is a mess b/c we where fixing to check out. I was going to use the song Heartbreak Hotel for the slide show since that is where we stayed, but I can't get it or any other Elvis song to play after I turn it in to a movie. So I had to go with what I had on my computer...oh well.

It may take it a minute to load...

Waylan Scott Martin

2010-02-14T21:39:00.005-06:00

Ryan, Andy's brother, and Candice had a baby boy today. They named him Waylan Scott Martin. He is 5lb 12oz 19 inches long. He was born 5 weeks early. But he is doing great and Ryan and Candice are elated. I have just a few pictures to share. One of them Ryan is holding up 3 fingers...meaning 3 generations of Martin men...

Snow of 2010

2010-02-08T15:58:00.005-06:00

So we finally got some snow where we live. By the time we got to go outside and play it was starting to melt and the snow that had been falling had turned to rain... But I got some pictures of the boys making a snowman and throwing snowballs.

Tree Farm 09

2009-12-11T10:09:00.003-06:00

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

2009-11-27T20:02:00.004-06:00

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!

2009-11-24T15:09:00.006-06:00

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

2009-11-01T21:21:00.008-06:00

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

2009-10-20T14:37:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-21T18:28:00.007-05:00

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

2009-07-22T21:58:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-07-22T19:50:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-07-02T17:20:00.005-05:00

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

2009-06-08T22:32:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-27T11:39:00.007-05:00

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

2009-05-20T20:24:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-11T21:49:00.007-05:00

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

2009-05-06T15:52:00.004-05:00

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

2009-05-06T14:00:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-05-01T19:45:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-01T19:23:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-01T19:04:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-01T18:50:00.004-05:00

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

2009-05-01T18:25:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-07T22:02:00.003-05:00

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

2009-03-19T23:02:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-03-11T12:59:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-11T09:09:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-07T22:52:00.006-06:00

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!

2009-03-07T22:35:00.005-06:00

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

2009-02-20T22:50:00.007-06:00

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

2009-02-20T22:23:00.005-06:00

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

2009-02-20T22:03:00.008-06:00

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!

2009-02-13T00:19:00.003-06:00

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

2009-02-13T00:12:00.002-06:00

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

Joshua's Birthday "Party"

2009-02-12T22:24:00.006-06:00

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!

2009-01-27T00:01:00.007-06:00

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

2009-01-26T10:32:00.004-06:00

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!

2009-01-21T23:47:00.010-06:00

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

2009-01-06T23:37:00.006-06:00

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

2009-01-06T22:07:00.005-06:00

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.

Misc. Pics

2008-12-12T01:28:00.007-06:00

Here are some recent misc. pics. One is of Harmony's hair that had a lot of static from sitting on the couch. The others are from today when I was doing laundry and the boys decided to climb in...

Harmony's hair with major static....

Noah trying to do the peace sign like Joshua...

Cheesing it up....

I didn't know if Noah was being pushed out or jumped out....

Noah trying to shut Joshua inside the dryer...

Videos

2008-12-11T23:00:00.006-06:00

So 1 video is of Joshua who took off his pj's to go take a bath and he had on a lot of underwear. The other 2 videos is of Joshua trying to take a picture of Jessie and Noah and then Jessie realizing it is on video so he takes video of Joshua and Noah...

Joshua counting his underwear

Joshua trying to take a picture of Jessie and Noah but he is video taping instead...

Jessie video taping Joshua and Noah...I thought I took off some of the end but I didn't...

Finding our Christmas Tree

2008-12-11T22:06:00.005-06:00

So every year we go to a tree farm and find our Christmas tree. This year we found our tree within the 1st 5 minutes but we decided to keep looking and we went back to this tree 2 more times before we cut it down. I personally picked out this tree and I think it is one of the best ones we have had so far. :-) Here is a slide show of us looking for the tree and then decorating it...

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-11T21:50:00.005-06:00

So we made Christmas cookies and then made homemade icing and used food dye to make different colors. It was fun...Noah wasn't interested in coloring his cookies just eating them.

Noah eating his cookie...

Joshua frosting his cookie....

Jessie's cookies he cut out and frosted...

Cousin Time for the Boys

2008-12-11T21:14:00.006-06:00

So my sister came up from Houston for Thanksgiving break and stayed a week at my mom's house in Cabot. I went to see them at my mom's on Sunday before Thanksgiving and my nephew Austin who is 3 1/2 came home with me and stayed the night. It was like using the jaws of life to get my sister to let him come stay so he could spend some quality time with his cousins and boys for that matter. I told my sister that in all the pictures I have seen of her play dates he is always having to play with girls....and he needs some man time! I was giving a list of do's and don'ts by my sister that I was beginning to wonder if taking him home with me was worth the trouble. But he had a good time and they played bumper cars with the toys and had a snack and watched a movie. Andy pulled out a big mattress for them to all sleep on and I had made a pallet on the floor next to the mattress just in case one rolled off....so when we woke in the morning...Noah was in our bed and Austin was sleeping on the pallet while the other 2 where on the mattress....check out the pics below...

Joshua, Jessie, Austin, and Noah

Seth

2008-11-19T16:33:00.003-06:00

I took this picture of Seth at Jessie's Birthday Party and this was the best quality picture I took all day....

Jessie's 8th Birthday Party

2008-11-19T16:13:00.008-06:00

So for Jessie's Birthday Party we had some kids come to the Benton HS Football Practice Field and play flag football along with some cupcakes and lemonade. Below are some pics of the day. My camera was messed up and didn't take many pictures so I didn't get pictures of his cake and blowing out the candles but we got it on video tape. I will try to post some video later.

Jumping in a Pile of Leaves

2008-11-15T16:50:00.009-06:00

So when the leaves started falling I told the boys that we could make a pile of leaves for them to jump in. They had a good time gathering the leaves and then jumping in them.

Dishwasher

2008-11-03T14:45:00.002-06:00

So we bought a new house and we will have lived here 2 years in February. The dishwasher that was put in here was....well....CHEAP! So not only does it do a bad job of washing dishes but lately it would get stuck in a cycle and would run all night until you moved the knob a bit. Well we decided to just hand wash our dishes and not bother messing with the dishwasher, mainly because we didn't have the extra cash to go buy a new one. So today Andy came home for lunch and surprised me with a new dishwasher! He installed it and everything before going back to work. I can't wait to use it. He used money he earned from a side job to pay for it. I am so excited. Having a family of 5 you go through a lot of dishes!

Halloween Pics

2008-11-02T17:52:00.001-06:00

We went to Boo at the Zoo with Josh and April and their kids. It was okay....I don't think we will do that again. Here are some pics of the night. We had a lot of cute pictures taken but we were using a new camera and we didn't have the flash on.

Family Portraits

2008-11-02T15:27:00.005-06:00

We went to Alma on Saturday to have some family portraits taken. Our friend Dana took them for us and she did a great job! Everybody had a level of cooperation it just didn't happen all at the same time....LOL. Below is a slide show of our family pics....enjoy!

Jessie's Last Game

2008-10-30T13:53:00.004-05:00

Well the title says it all....Jessie's football season is over and they went undefeated! This game was the one that they were 8-0 in the first quarter and then the rain came and we had to postpone to Tuesday night, 28th. So we show up and the commissioner decided to start the game over and took our 8 points away. Since we haven't lost and the team we were playing was in last place. So Jessie's touchdown for that game didn't count and that was a downer but he made two more in the makeup game so that was good.

Jessie's 7th Game

2008-10-29T21:26:00.005-05:00

Jessie played his 7th game against the Gators. He scored 1 touchdowns and the game ended 14-0. He had some really good tackles and the 1st one shown on the video he had to run the opposite direction he was at to make the tackle.

Jessie's 6th Game

2008-10-22T21:04:00.005-05:00

So I thought I would give video taping a try....let's just say I started and ended my video taping career all within an hour....lol so I am going to leave it to our friend Josh to video tape Jessie's games. Andy made another video of what was salvageable video tape.

So Jessie made 2 touchdowns and threw a completed pass plus some good tackles on defense. I had the video camera paused instead of on record for some of the game so I think I missed filming some of the tackles. Andy's friend Paul came to the game and commented on the fact that we were not lying about how good Jessie is. So I am glad we are not just overly proud parents but he is actually really talented...lol

Jessie's 5th Game

2008-10-13T13:26:00.006-05:00

So if you have been keeping up with Jessie's Games then you may notice that I skipped game 4. Last week they started playing and the game got rained out so it has been rescheduled for later this month. Jessie did make a touch down in that game so they will start where they left off for the make up game. This week we played the Sooners. I have a funny story about one of the Sooner players that approached a teammate of Jessie's on Friday at school and said that, "The Buccaneers are bad! And their undefeated strike ends tomorrow!" Andy told Jessie we do our smack talking on the field. Watch the video to see who won. So we have our video camera set up on a tri-pod now to take video so the quality is much better! Andy wanted to make this video so here it is....

My Time Flys

2008-10-08T09:22:00.004-05:00

I remember being in high school thinking that it would be forever before I graduated. Time just seemed to move so slow. Well, since graduating time seems to move faster and then being married with kids it seems to move double time. As my boys get older they become more independent and it reminds me of how fast time is moving. This hit home with me a few months back when Jessie and I, my oldest, who is seven had to go to the restroom at a local restaurant. We both get up from the table at the same time and head to the restroom and I start to the girls and he goes the opposite direction. I stop and say, "Aren't you coming in here with me," and he looked at me like I was crazy, laughed and said, "NO." And he proceeded to go in the MENS restroom. I just stood there and thought when did he become old enough to go to a PUBLIC restroom without me or his dad? When was the last time he went in the Women's Restroom with his momma? I mean we should all be glad that he prefers the MENS Restroom but he reached a milestone of independence and I missed it. There was no discussion of, 'you are getting older and it is more appropriate for you to start using the Mens Restroom and I know that it will be hard for you to start going by yourself but I will wait for you by the door...'....no that conversation didn't happen....life happened and my son, my first born is becoming a young man. Andy had taking our videos of the kids and put them on the computer and we where watching them and Joshua was less than a year old and Jessie was 3 years old and I was sitting there thinking where did 4 years go? I had heard of a couple that wrote a book about having a empty nest on the radio one night when I was driving and I almost started crying just hearing them talk about it and my youngest is 2! But I know our time with them will fly by and I hope we take advantage of every moment with them...which we honestly don't and we should because their time of wanting to sit in our lap or play a game with us will be gone before we know it.

I've been tagged

2008-09-30T16:16:00.004-05:00

I was tagged by Pastor Susan on her blog. I have to post the rules which are to write 6 random things about myself. Then I have to tag 6 other people who have to do the same thing I did.

My 6 random things are…

1. I am an in the closet Hula Hooper...I can do tricks and dance while hooping.

2. I went to school in Mexico as a student through my college for 2 months to study Spanish.

3. When I was 5/6 years old I wanted to have 10 kids, get married, and find someone...in that order.

4. I have always wanted to learn to dance the Salsa.

5. I have been able to ski and knee board since I was 8 and haven't done it since I was 16.

6. My husband makes me a chocolate chip cookie almost every night before I go to bed and brings it to me with a frost mug of milk and he tucks me in bed every night...while calling me SPOILED in a loving tone...LOL...which I am...

So I am tagging...Maranda K., Amanda Browning, Monica F., Dana W., Andy M., and Carrie Burress...if you don't have a blog then put it in my comment section...

Fireproof and Blessings

2008-09-29T13:22:00.005-05:00

So Andy and I went to see the movie Fireproof last night and it was REALLY, REALLY Good. If you haven't seen it yet please make plans to go see it....especially if you are married or single and wanting to be married. Below is a link to their website and has a trailer on there if you haven't seen it yet.

http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Also, at the movies last night we were waiting in line to be seated and we got there early so we were a couple away from the front of the line and their was a couple behind us that had a group of 10 couples to join them to watch the movie. And the couple right behind us gave Andy $11 to go buy the couples package for popcorn and a drink. Andy refused to take it at first and the gentleman said please I want to do something nice for someone. I was so thankful to him for that. We didn't have any cash on us and the ATM was broken so we couldn't buy anything anyway and that was a really blessing. Because who doesn't like popcorn and a big drink at the movies.

God has continued to bless in so many ways and we can't be more thankful. Andy's parents surprised us with 2 new tires for our van, had the carpets shampooed, Andy's mom cleaned the car, and they found someone to get our door fixed that was broken, and even bought us the tickets for the movie and watched our kids so we could go. And to top that all off they bought the boys a DVD player for the car that hooks to the headrest. They are constantly doing for others and they are such a good example of having a giving spirit. (Hopefully we will be able to talk them in to paying them back or working off the money...which WE would LOVE to do!)

Speaking of money since I don't work our finances are really TIGHT. I make some money watching our friends kids but it isn't enough of an addition to cover all our expenses. So I had been praying that we would be able to bring in more income and a month or 2 ago Andy mentioned a consulting job that I could possibly do from home and I went and talked to Andy's boss about it. Well less than 2 weeks ago I emailed him and asked if they got a go ahead for hiring someone and he called me and told me that he did. So I am an independent web consultant for the Bryant School District and I can work from home and get paid a good hourly rate when I work for them. It is a temporary job at this point but I am so thankful that I am able to provide additional income to our family and still be able to stay home with the boys. I don't know how many hours I will end up getting on a monthly basis but something is better than nothing! And I hope Andy doesn't mind me saying this but he had felt lead by God to fast for a week and I really think that because of his obedience it opened the door for me to have this opportunity. Because I have been waiting over a month to hear something and the way it went down his boss asked and found out something all within a couple hours on the day I emailed him and it was during the same week Andy was fasting. Some people may call it coincident but I call it a move by my heavenly father...a.k.a. GOD!

I have another cool story of someone that blessed Jessie's team with something and I will post on that sometime in the next couple of days.

Jessie's 3rd Football Game

2008-09-29T12:48:00.003-05:00

Well the Buccaneer's win again vs the Jaguars....12-6. Jessie got another touchdown this game and another player named Carson got the 2nd touchdown. I am surprised they won because they had a lot of mistakes and fumbles at the beginning, but they got better as the game went on. I missed recording Jessie's touchdown and really didn't get any good video so I don't have anything to show you. Hopefully next week we will have our tripod set up and our friend Josh has volunteered to record it for us so we should have much better video.

Sether

2008-09-23T21:06:00.014-05:00

So I watch our BF's 2 kiddos during the week, Harmony who is 4 and Seth who is 1. And today we went outside and played in the sprinklers and had a lot of fun. Seth really enjoyed it. Noah who is 2 wouldn't even get in the water. So I have a few pics of Seth and the other kiddos playing in the water. And I have a video that was taken later this afternoon and my 14 year old neighbor Maranda was sitting beside me when I was taping...the video is of Noah, who just figured out how to drive the battery cars, in fact he is driving Harmony's Dora car....and Seth driving around and Noah backing up to much....just watch so CUTE!

Jessie's 2nd Football Game vs. Sooners

2008-09-20T16:00:00.006-05:00

So today Jessie played his 2nd game against the Sooners winning 14-6. Jessie made both the touchdowns....we tried getting the ball into other players hands but the Sooners defense was really good and Jessie was able to get around them to make the touchdowns. I didn't get a video of his 1st touchdown but I have a video of his 2nd. I did a little bit better getting video this week but not much better:-) He did great and had some really good tackles on defense and he got the offensive arm band for this game. I have posted 2 pictures of him wearing it on his arm. They hand 1 out for defense and offense. He got the one for defense for the scrimmage game

Jessie wearing his armband and being silly and sucking in his stomach...I don't know where he got that from...
.

Fun in the Back Yard

2008-09-20T14:14:00.012-05:00

So the boys love to ride down the hill on anything with wheels. Here are some pictures and videos of them playing outside.

Joshua with a broken ball on his head...

Joshua and Harmony...

Close up of Joshua...

Spider-Man Noah riding down the hill...

Elvis Noah riding down the hill...

My neighbor Elvis Annette and Spider-Man Noah...

Noah riding down the hill...

Joshua and Harmony riding down the hill...

Jessie's First Football Game '08

2008-09-16T21:38:00.007-05:00

So Jessie's team played the Gators who was undefeated last year....and won 28-0. They did awesome! Jessie got within 1/2 a yard to score his own touch down. He carried the ball 3 times and always got a first down and on one play he went 10 yards zig zagging through the line with the other team holding on to him and then getting free and then juking them and making them miss....it was crazy...I kept thinking oh they got him...because there was a pause and I couldn't see him and then all of a sudden you'd see him take off again... and I didn't get it on video either!...in fact I remembered my camera and took video but I was so busy watching him, screaming my excitement, and jumping up and down that I was not looking through the video camera so it turned out choppy, bouncy, and with shots of the sky and ground that I really don't have much to show you....hopefully next week I will do a better job of filming or have someone else take video instead. I think and may be wrong but the Gators only got 1 first down the whole game...it was awesome! I can't wait until next Saturday. So I attempted at making a movie and it has 2 videos but its choppy...one is Jessie running the ball for the first time this season after half time and getting 35 yards....and I was running and trying to video tape at the same time to keep up with him....the video is bad....and the other is him tackling one of the Gators who is pretty fast when he was playing defense...

Noah...Daddy's 'Mini Me'

2008-09-12T22:58:00.006-05:00

So Noah not only looks like Andy but he likes the same things Andy does...also it is wise to not leave computers around Noah...he likes to change your settings and do things we didn't know possible or how to undo:)

My Followers

2008-09-11T22:09:00.005-05:00

So on Blogger.com they came out with a cool new gadget called Followers shown on the upper right hand side of the screen. If you sign up it will show me who follows my blog and you have 2 different options...

1. "Follow Anonymously"

2. "Follow Publicly"

...so if you aren't embarrassed about reading my blog...PLEASE SIGN UP! :) You don't have too... but I would love to know who my readers are...

My Hubby's Birthday

2008-09-08T13:34:00.005-05:00

Today is Andy's 30th birthday! I can't believe he is 30! We meet when he was 18 and I was 16...boy time flys! So today he took off work so he could relax and put his feet up. He is currently taking a nap with Noah. I wanted to throw him a big surprise party but he mentioned in passing that he really didn't want a party and I didn't want to do something that he wouldn't want or enjoy so we decided to have a small group go eat. So we are planning on going out to eat with our parents and our friend's Josh & April to Gaucho's, since we liked it so much for my birthday. But we haven't decided on a night yet that well work for everyone. But him getting to stay home and not have to do anything today but relax, play Wii, or play WOW on his computer is all he wants to do anyway.

I want you to know Andy that we love you and hope you have a relaxing 30th B-day and thanks for being such a good daddy and hubby!

Noah and Andy's napping

Jessie's Scrimmage Game

2008-09-06T22:55:00.007-05:00

So Jessie had his scrimmage game tonight against the Jaguars. Last night Andy had a late meeting with 2 of the 4 coaches to decided who was going to play on defense/offense and 3 players have to play both ways b/c we only have 19 players. Well Andy wanted Jessie to play offense until the 2nd half and then put him on defense and offense for the rest of the game, but our defensive coordinator, Todd, really wanted him playing defense for him. Our head coach, Matt, agreed so Jessie is now playing both ways the whole game...hopefully he will be able to get a break in the 2nd half if the score isn't to tight. So even though it is just a scrimmage game and doesn't count and they only played half the normal time...they still scored 14-0. Jessie did not even run the ball this time as a QB, but he did a really good job passing it off. He hadn't had a chance to practice defense in his practices but he did really good...he played safety and 1 time sacked the QB for a loss of 8 yards and below is a video of him tackling a player on the opposite side of the field he was on. Now I thought I did really good by remembering my camera. I didn't do a good job of making sure the battery was charged.:( So I used my cell phone to take pics and video but the video quality is BAD! So you can't really see him make the tackle...:)

Video of Jessie making a tackle and me screaming my excitement...

Jessie on his 2nd day of Football Practice

2008-09-05T21:56:00.004-05:00

So Jessie is in 2nd grade this year and is playing football. He played football last year and was quarterback and did really well. He was the fastest runner on his team last year and seems to be the fastest runner this year. So he ran the ball quite a bit last year and averaged 2 touch downs a game and until the last 2 or 3 games was the only one making touch downs. This year Andy is the offensive coordinator and Jessie is still QB and he is planning on Jessie running the Flex Triple Option....I kinda understand what that means after it has been explained to me a few times...LOL. So hopefully Jessie won't be running it as much and can make passes or throws that will get the ball in other players hands and we will be able to gain some yards. We tried getting the ball to the other players last year but when the play called for Jessie to run the ball he was so fast that it was hard for the other team to stop him once he broke free. I really like him playing defense and he should be playing defense after the 2nd half.....everybody has to play the same position for the 1st half. So tomorrow is his scrimmage game and then next Saturday starts his regular games. So I will be posting video and photos over the next 2 months of his games and/or practices. I am so proud of him he is a great athlete but he does really good in school too which is why we continue to let him play sports.

So this is a video of him playing defense and he is the one in red...
The thing that is so funny about Jessie is he will lay you out and then get up and walk off like nothing ever happened. He is really humble about how good he is which makes watching him even better.

This video is him playing offense and trying not to get tackled...
He isn't suppose to juke during this exercise but he can't help it so when he finally runs straight it looks like he ran the boy tackling him over instead of him being tackled...pretty funny

My Moment of Calm

2008-09-05T21:50:00.001-05:00

So I stay home with my younger two and our BF's 2 kids and below is a picture of peace and quiet for a moment...:)

Seth H., Harmony H., Joshua M., and Noah M.
The kiddos actually sitting down at the same time and watching a movie.

Our trip to Texarkana

2008-08-25T01:38:00.008-05:00

This weekend, Andy and Jessie went to Dallas with Andy's dad to see a professional baseball game....a tradition for the 3 of them since Jessie started playing baseball. So my mom picked up Joshua, Noah, and I to go to Texarkana to see my sister, Jennifer and her family, who was visiting her in laws while her husband Chris was working in Texarkana for a few days. Jennifer and Chris live in Houston, TX. But I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get there. We got a few miles down the freeway and Joshua says he has to pee and there isn't an exit for another 10 miles so we pull over on the side of the road so he can pee and we resume our trip...well another 20 miles down the road Noah throws up out of no where in my mom's car!....not good....she handled it well though and we were about 25 miles from Benton where I live. So we pull over at a rest stop and get Noah and the car cleaned up...and wager whether we should resume our trip or turn around and go home. I also was feeling under the weather...sinus's is my guess and wouldn't have minded going home and going back to bed...but considering Noah seemed fine and I knew my sister would be disappointed if we didn't come so we decided to resume our trip...again! Then Joshua says he is hungry and Noah had thrown up his breakfast so instead of being close to being there we still have another hour or so of driving. So we pull over at McDonald's in Arkadelphia and let the kids get out of the car and get something to eat...by the time we got to Texarkana we had been on the road for 3.5 hours for a 2 hour trip...Below are some pics of the trip and a video of the boys playing in the back yard.

The rest stop...

Joshua, Noah and Austin playing in the backyard

Mom showing Jennifer how to make a border around the luvie she is trying to make...

Funguns aren't what they used to be

2008-08-25T01:27:00.005-05:00

So we like to go to Sam's and buy in bulk and the boys like Funguns...except what you get in the box isn't what it used to be....though it does strangely resemble Joshua...

Outside Fun

2008-08-24T22:58:00.011-05:00

So our backyard as a pretty good incline and the kids like to get in their dump truck or anything with wheels that they can fit in and ride down the hill. Well my neighbor has a garden wagon that the kids will sit on and ride down the hill on....I have been known to do this a few times myself...and here is Maranda my 14 year old neighbor....we have the same birthday....riding down the hill with my younger two boys and our BF's kiddos that I watch during the week, Harmony and Seth. It is hard enough to ride on it with two people but she had 4 kids on there with her. Also, there are some photos of Jessie playing football with our other neighbor TJ.

Maranda trying to get everyone situated

Them going down hill...

The end of the ride...

Noah deciding to push instead of ride...he is wearing Maranda's head band on his head...who knows why...

Another pic of Noah with a shoe and hat change

Maranda and Seth

Jessie getting ready to throw the ball

TJ catching the football

Martin's take over at Traveler's Game

2008-08-13T23:04:00.003-05:00

So my brother in law Ryan hooked the family up with some Traveler Game tickets tonight that his company has seats for right there in front of 1st base. Andy's Grandma Martin, his teenage cousins Reed and Grant, and his Uncle Roger and Aunt Pam came to Cabot Monday from Ohio to visit Andy's parents and siblings here. So we all went to the game and it turned out to be a family event. They have a between inning activity where someone in the crowd participates. So my nephew Bayliss raced the Mascot from 1st base to 3rd base and of course won at the end of the 1st inning. Then his dad Tony had to catch balls with a big net that they used a sling shot to send flying through the air at the end of the 2nd inning and he caught 2/3 which was REALLY good because he recently had knee surgery this month and he had to hop, skip, and a jump to catch the 2 he caught and almost got the 3rd one. Then Reed and Grant had to dress up in banana customes at the end of the 3rd inning to race each other from 3rd base, around home and on to 1st base for the win and Reed who is the youngest gave his older brother a run for the money...he almost beat him. Then they had some guy who we didn't know....had to guess what the name of the song was at the end of the 4th inning. So on the end 5th inning Andy had to toss 3 bean bags through a board with a hole in it that was standing up. If he made it through the 1st hole he would get a year supply of Moe's Burritos, if on the 2nd time which is closer he made it he would get catering from Moe's for 15 people, if on the 3rd try he made it he would get a free Moe's burrito.....he got a free Moe's burrito....but was so close to getting one of the other prizes...apparently nobody has made it yet either....now I may have my innings mixed up on who went on which inning but you get the idea...I forgot my camera but hopefully I can get some pictures from my in laws. Also, during the Anthem Andy who was standing holding Noah got on the big screen and later Joshua got a major close up of his blue face from eating cotton candy...the camera man was standing there pointing the camera at him and I said, "Don't get a picture of me sweetpea it better be all him"....and it was....which was good for the camera man...so Jessie and I didn't get any screen action or game action though we could have if we wanted to but we didn't....maybe next time...

My Birthday Weekend Sunday

2008-08-12T12:09:00.006-05:00

Sunday morning it started raining around 6am but it let up enough for Andy to make us some yummy breakfast burritos....he cooked for me all weekend....so sweet....When we arrived Saturday it was pretty crowded and people where in rafts, kayaks, and canoes all over the river. But since it was cool outside and misting/sprinkling nobody but us went on the 8 mile canoe trip at 9am. Which was nice because we only saw people fishing and a raft full of people from another campsite. It would have been nice if the sun was out and it was a little hotter but it was better having more privacy and it was like we had the whole river to ourselves. So after our canoe trip we packed our stuff and on the way out grabbed so Mexican food from an all you can eat buffet...and Andy made sure he ate his $8 worth...:-) And then we headed to Cabot to pick up our kiddos who at this time were at Andy's parents house...our parents are so great about watching our kids for us overnight and we don't get to do that very often except our parents have watched them 2 weekends in a row....not typical but we are very thankful for them we couldn't ask for better parents and grandparents to our boys. I don't have any pictures of our canoe trip because if we tipped over (which we didn't :-)) then I didn't want to ruin our lose my camera but we saw 4 deer...1 a baby...an otter, baby ducks, and turtles. It is so beautiful up there and especially around the river. We hope we can take the boys for the first time before it gets to cold...we have the camping fever now. Below are pictures we took of the boys wearing a squishy ball that had busted and they put it on their heads Sunday night after we got home.

Jessie being silly...

Joshua being sweet...

Noahness....his nickname

My Birthday Weekend Saturday

2008-08-11T22:12:00.002-05:00

So on Friday night when we were driving to Gaucho's I mentioned to Andy that I had 2 guesses on what he had planned and he told me to tell him but he wasn't going to tell me if I was right or wrong. So I told him that I thought at first he was going to take me to Branson and then go eat at Lambert's but when he said we would probably spend around $200 I thought we are going camping/canoeing instead....after I told him this he was really quiet and said that I had guessed it and I said which one and he said both...he was going to take me camping at the Spring River and we go canoeing Saturday afternoon and then get up after breakfast on Sunday and go shopping in Branson and then go eat at Lambert's before we headed home....so I was excited...(side note: we used to go camping a lot when we where dating but hadn't gone in 5 years and I really enjoy it and love to canoe/kayak.) So after dinner and putt putt we went home and got up early Saturday morning so we could get our camping stuff together which he bought me a new, big tent and a battery powered ceiling fan that has a light on it that you hang from your tent...so cool I didn't even know they made anything like that and I am big on sleeping with the fan on at night. So on the way to the Spring River we stopped at Walmart in Cabot and the meat market. And when we were fixing to get back on the road I mentioned, "Don't we head toward Searcy to get to the Spring River?" He said no that we needed to head toward Harrison so I said Okay but was thinking that it has been 5 years but I thought we drove on the highway for a bit before it was more back roads, which going to Harrison is all back roads...so we get to Harrison 2 1/2 hours later and stop to eat and I ask him how much farther so he gets his iphone out and looks it up and from the look on his face it wasn't good. We were on the other side of north Arkansas then were we needed to be so it was another 2 hours to get to the Spring River. He didn't look it up before we left and bless his heart he really thought that Branson and the Spring River where close to each other and we could do both. Since, we had our camping stuff packed and food in the cooler, we decided to go ahead and go to the Spring River so we could get setup before dark and cook the steaks he bought for us....even though we were only 30 minutes or more from Branson. So we got to the Spring River around 3:45 and got our campsite set up and Andy made dinner for us and we sat by the campfire and watched the river and had some s'mores! :-) Below are pictures of our trip from Harrison to Mammoth Springs and of our campsite...

This is the view of our drive from Harrison to Mammoth Springs it was sooooooo pretty!

Here is a closer view...

A view of our campsite...

Andy making our dinner....and it was SOOOO good...

A bad picture of me....I think I was eating my yummy steak and potatos...

Our little campfire...

It sprinkled some and later there was a fog over the river...

My Birthday Weekend Friday Night

2008-08-11T21:12:00.013-05:00

So in my "Surprise" post I mentioned Andy had plans for me this weekend for my birthday. He had called me back later that day and told me to not try and figure out what we where doing and said that he would pack me...so I knew we would be going on an overnight trip. So we had plans to go to dinner at Gaucho's with our friends Josh and April who recently moved here from OKC for their son Seth's 1 year b-day and my b-day on Friday night. And all of our parents joined us along with our kids and a friend of Josh's family Katie...my son Jessie wasn't able to come with us. Andy also told me that he had plans for me after we had dinner with our family and friends and that he had arranged for our kids to go home with my mom. Below are pictures of Friday night and Gaucho's is awesome...if you don't know, it has 5 different kinds of meats cooked 13-15 different ways....not sure on that number and they walk around with meat on the skewers and slice off as much meat as you want and they keep coming until you flip your flag from green to red....

So here is Josh helping Seth open his present since Seth was more interested in the rib bone he was gnawing on...

He got a little thomas the train toy and that is April's mom talking to him...

This is everyone at the table...

Andy and I smiling but ready to pop we ate so much...

Josh and April

We couldn't get Noah to smile he kept making funny faces...

We finally got him to smile...

My mom with Joshua who is chewing on 1 of the 5 different meats available...

Andy's parents...

Josh's parents with his daughter Harmony who wasn't up to getting her picture taking :-)

Andy's plans for after dinner where to take me to Cold Stone for some ice cream...which we didn't do I was to full and Josh and April and brought cheesecake and chocolate cake to the restaurant. So his next plan was to take me putt putt golfing so this is Andy's pic from there my picture didn't turn out so good :-(

Surprise

2008-08-05T11:19:00.002-05:00

So I just called Andy to see if he had plans for tonight...that I was thinking of grilling hamburgers/hot dogs tonight and inviting our friends Josh and April to come eat and he said that was fine that he didn't have any plans. So he asked me if I have plans for this weekend and I said, "no" and he said, "YOU DO NOW." And I said, "I DO!!!!.....oh I do have to pick Jessie up from his dad's Saturday" and he said, "No you don't I already took care of it." I said, "YOU DID!" I would like to add that Sunday is my 28th birthday....so when Andy says that I have plans this weekend well all I can say is that I am stoked...I don't care what his plans are....I am just ecstatic that he has taking time to plan something!....especially since he is SOOOOOOOO busy at work.

My Weekend in Alma

2008-08-03T21:32:00.006-05:00

So this weekend Andy and I were going to celebrate our 5th anniversary and our parents had offered to watch the kids for us. But the closer we got to the weekend we realized that Andy was going to have to work all weekend....his busiest time at work is during the summer when all the teachers and students are out....and it is crunch time right now trying to get everything ready for when everybody comes back. So since he wasn't able to do anything this weekend we decided we would have date night Friday night and I would go to Alma and stay with my BF Monica. For those of you who don't know we lived in Alma from 2004-2007. And I LOVED living there and had a hard time moving when Andy got a job offer here. So I went and visited with Monica and we ate...visited...did some shopping and then we ate and visited some more and went to our favorite restaurant in Alma....La Fiesta. :-) I went to church at Living Word River Valley where we went when we lived here and it was great getting to see our pastors and our friends from when we lived in Alma and seeing how big all the kiddos where getting....if I remember right 5 of us at the church where pregnant at the same time and now those babies are 2 or fixing to turn 2. I also drove by my old house and all I can do is shake my head...see below for the pictures and you can click on them to see it better....except for the 1st pic...

This is what our house looked like before we sold it. It sits on 2.5 acres that has a creek that runs through it. It was a year old when we bought it and has 5 bedrooms/2 baths and around 1950 sq ft. It also has a koa pond with a water fall by the front door.

This is what the house looks like now....and according to reliable sources they let the grass grow a foot before they cut it and have NEVER weeded....so sad...I loved that house

This is a close up of the landscaping...it doesn't look like they ever pulled the weeds out of the flower bed....their used to be flowers in there somewhere...Also they had a bad hail storm so they replaced the roof which doesn't look bad I really never liked the green roof but it doesn't match the green shutters and door...

The apparently don't own a weed eater either and the tree in the back split and it has probably been laying there for months...the storm happened in the early spring.

This is the swing set Andy designed and built for the boys and you can see how grown up the grass is all around it...such a shame

Here is a picture of Monica and I...we won't discuss how many pics we took or the different positions or heights her daughter Sophia had to be in to take the pic or the different sitting/standing arrangements we were in to hid...I mean to get a close up of our beautiful smiling faces....:-)

Lunch with Grandma

2008-08-03T21:32:00.003-05:00

On Friday the boys and I went to Cabot to have lunch with my Grandma along with my mom, my aunts and cousins at Burger King. Then we went to Grandma's house where we let the kids play together and the adults played Mexican Train Dominoes. My family loves to play games and we can be pretty competitive, that having been said. My grandma who doesn't "cheat", because cheating is done intentionally, kept forgetting where she could play her dominoes. And she is really good a playing regular dominoes but doesn't play Mexican Train Dominoes. So I laid down my domino to start my train and I don't recall that I played it where the trash train was but maybe I did.....but all I know is I left the table to change Noah's dirty diaper and "someone" played a double 10 on my train. Which lead to everyone else playing on my train so when I got back to the table I no longer had "my" train because it was turned into the "trash" train....and I had a KILLER hand too :-(....but I won the next round so it kinda made up for it :-) We had a good time though and I always enjoy spending time with my family.

Bayliss's 5th Birthday Party

2008-07-29T22:03:00.012-05:00

My nephew Bayliss had his 5th birthday party tonight at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Cabot. Where the kids went swimming and had pizza and cupcakes. Here are a few photos from the party.

Bayliss blowing out his candles on his Indiana Jones cake....

Andy with Noah

Andy and Noah saying mmmmm

Andy and Joshua

My Blog

2008-07-29T10:52:00.002-05:00

This is a blog about my family so we can keep our family and friends in the loop. My BF Monica had asked me to make a blog a while back and I am finally getting around to doing it. I hope you enjoy reading it....