Jennings Family Journal

a Pinterest project - long overdue

2012-02-10T09:14:00.006-06:00

Almost 12 years ago exactly, Joseph and I purchased 3 pieces of unfinished furniture for Samuel's nursery and Joseph painted them white.... a chest, an armoire, and a bookcase. We were so proud of them but, at the time, I didn't realize how little time baby boys are BABIES. They quickly turn into BOYS. As much as I loved the furniture pieces we purchased, the white painted finish just did not fit into a sports themed big boy room. So about 6 years ago I painted two of the pieces, the chest and the bookcase, a deep red with a black glaze finish and vowed that I soon would tackle the armoire. Fast forward to 2012 & the armoire was still white. Well, a couple of weeks ago Samuel decided that he didn't want bunk beds in his room anymore, as he is about to be 12 years old and bunk beds just aren't 'cool'. I started thinking of a solution and it hit me that the bunk beds would be much better in John Michael's room anyway because his room is somewhat smaller than Samuel's room. John Michael had an antique bedroom suite that belonged to my mother and consists of a full-size bed, a chest of drawers, and a desk. Lightbulb moment... switch the furniture! Samuel loved the idea of a full size bed and a desk and JM was overjoyed at the idea of having bunk beds. If you know me at all you know that once I decide I want something done, I want it done yesterday! So about 8:00 on a Thursday night we started the switch and you know how that goes. One project turns into about 15.... cleaning out toy boxes, closets, drawers, getting rid of STUFF (Junk), and on and on. We get the furniture moved, beds put back together, drawers back into chests and overall I'm pretty pleased with everything but the WHITE armoire which is now the only thing you see when you look down the hallway into John Michael's bedroom. Not working for me! So out come the clothes from the drawers (5 minutes after I put them in) and the armoire goes to the garage for the overhaul. I had pinned a tutorial on Pinterest of a Pottery Barn black, distressed finished that I just love.

Not the best quality pictures, I know, but I was pretty pleased with the outcome. Both boys bedrooms now seem bigger with the more appropriately sized furniture. Both rooms are easier to keep in order now that about 5 garbage bags of junk (I mean stuff) is at the Thrift Store rather than in our house. They love their rooms! I should have taken overall pictures but will have to do that later. Project complete!

January

2012-02-01T13:41:00.007-06:00

January is one of my favorite months of the year. While some may find this month depressing, with the holidays behind us and the somewhat dreary weather, I find it rejuvinating. For me, January is a time to slow down, relax, regroup, & reorganize. It is also a time to catch up on that ever-growing list of books I long to read and simply a time to enjoy being at home, cooking, watching movies, playing games, tackling pinterest-ing projects, and spending time getting to know my family again. While Samuel is playing basketball, the demands of running boys here are there are minimal compared to other more demanding months of the year. So what have we been up to? Well, I finally got around to reading "The Hunger Games" triology and LOVED it. I also read Nicholas Sparks latest novel "The Best of Me", watched The Help with Joseph & Samuel and loved it as much as I did the first time around (not quite as much as the book, but the movie is pretty awesome as well). Rarely does a movie do a book justice but this one does a pretty good job. A must READ and see if you haven't! We also watched a couple of great family movies with the boys such as Dolphintale and Soul Surfer. My parents gave Joseph a book for Christmas called "In Step with God" by Charles Stanley and it was powerful. This book led me to another book by Stanley called "the Wonderful Spirit Filled Life" which I am about halfway through and I'm just trying to sort it all out. I'm taking one day at a time trying and failing and trying again to apply what I am reading. Random.... Hobby Lobby opened yesterday after it was completely destroyed by the April 27th tornado. So very excited to have HL back in town! More Random.... Samuel is making us so proud these days. First his love of reading really blows us away. I don't even know how many books he has read since Christmas but I do know that his favorite was Tim Tebow's book "Through My Eyes". Since then he has become hooked on a couple of authors, Tim Green and Mike Lupika (check them out for some great reading for boys). For the last couple of weeks, we have had to make him turn his lights off, put the book away, and go to sleep most every night. Never thought I would say that... and I am not complaining, but he does need to sleep! In addition to having to make him go to bed he made a New Years resolution to set his own alarm clock for 6:00 AM so he can take his shower in the morning rather than at night, and have some time to read before he goes to school. He is growing up! Also, his 5th grade class just elected Who's Who and he was elected Class Scholar. That makes us proud! His basketball team is doing well and he has made some progress at being more aggressive on the court. It is not his natural tendency to get up in someone's face and scrap for a ball. His dad tells him before every game that he wants at least X number of attempted shots and X number of personal fouls. Personal fouls? Yes... that means he is being aggressive. Baseball practice has begun also. This will be the first year since 2005 that he isn't playing at Kentuck. He is playing exclusively on his Travel Ball team from the last couple of summers - The Northport Tide. A great group of boys and families. John Michael is growing up as well. We just signed him up for Kentuck t-ball. So, while Samuel is leaving Kentuck behind, we begin the Kentuck experience with John Michael. I couldn't be more excited! We have loved Kentuck over the years and are proud to have such an awesome program available to our boys. John Michael will also start kindergarten this Fall, which I honestly think just can't be right. These years have flown by even more so than they did with Samuel. A recent morning out at Barnes & Noble & the playground....

While Samuel may struggle with being aggressive, John Michael DOES NOT! John Michael struggles with the opposite... self control! However, from what we have read, self control might be easier taught than trying to make a child be more aggressive. I just hope he learns a little more of this particular fruit of the spirit by August - before he starts kindergarten. Bless his heart, he does try. It just isn't easy for him!

As different as our boys are, they are both equal blessings from God and we cherish every moment we have with them.

Currently reading

2012-01-12T11:08:00.002-06:00

My parents actually gave this book to Joseph for Christmas but I picked it up, read the introduction, and never put it down. It is really speaking to me and is just what WE both need right now. God has so much MORE planned for our lives than we are allowing Him to accomplish. We are allowing so many 'things' to crowd Him out and distract us from being still and hearing Him speak to us and direct our lives. God tells us to get rid of anything, be it sinful or not, that is keeping us from being still and listening... truly listening... for Him to direct our path. This is our goal this year... to slow down and be still and know that He is God and He is in control. I can't wait to experience the joy and the peace that comes from living in the center of His will!

Christmas with the Jennings

2012-01-06T17:26:00.009-06:00

Friday December 23, 2011

We had Christmas dinner with Joseph's family at our house on Friday. His Dad, his brother & his girlfriend - Dee, and our family were there. Joseph's mom passed away two days after Christmas last year so this was the first without her. Joseph's dad is in a nursing home here in Tuscaloosa and we were so glad he was well enough to be here.

more Christmas

2012-01-06T16:48:00.011-06:00

Christmas Eve at my sister's houseMy niece, Heather and her beloved retriever, Mindy (and Carlos trying to pop in there too)

My nephew, Jordan

All of my nieces - Hannah, Danielle, Heather, Elizabeth

Mom & Dad

Daddy playing the guitar - something he loves to do

Samuel - proud of his Ingram & Jones rookie cards

John Michael at the barn

Christmas at our house - 2011

2012-01-06T12:28:00.006-06:00

Those who know me best know that I love to change things around in our house and I love to 'piddle' around with decorating and trying new things. Christmas comes with a lot of opportunities to make some festive changes to enjoy for a short while. While I do tire of the extra stuff/clutter that the Christmas season brings and I am usually ready to bid it farewell, I really enjoy it for the season.

Our Tree this year...

Joseph & I bought the star for our first Christmas tree in 1991 & it still works.

Our front door...

The old sled has been in Joseph's family for more than fifty years. His parents bought it before he was even born when they lived in Upstate New York. Wouldn't take anything for it!

Front entryway table... I found this Santa at a Dollar General many years ago and I still love him.

Every year we make some homemade goodies to share with our neighbors. This year we had two new families move into our neighborhood in the last few months and we had not met them yet. So, we decided to make some easy chocolate fudge and some homemade hot chocolate mix (recipe from my dear friend Karen), store it in cute little containers, and hand deliver to each of our neighbors. The boys loved this! We bundled up, packed the wagon with our goodies to deliver, and walked to each home, made our delivery and wished them a Merry Christmas. The boys were sad when the last delivery had been made and we enjoyed meeting our new neighbors. The hot chocolate mix was a hit...

A Pinterest Project from some reclaimed wood from our front steps we replaced earlier in the year. I didn't do anything to the red wood pieces... I left them just as they were and loved how they turned out. A Christmas Nativity...

Another Pinterest project some friends and I got together and did. I love this project and it was such a fun night!

We made a quick trip to Birmingham to see Santa and we have some precious memories of this occasion with John Michael. I will have to post pictures later but it is a classic complete with plaid shirt, boots, cowboy hat, and even the gun sitting across his lap. Too cute and soooo JM. The elves, Elfie and Bedford, showed up again this year too and many good memories were made with them. They even went on our cruise with us! Yep, they were hid out in our car all buckled up and ready to go. They got into lots of other mischief as well such as zip-lines, blue angels air-planes, cookies, etc. Such a great memory-maker for our family. It was a blessed Christmas. More family pics later.

more of the December blur

2012-01-06T11:41:00.009-06:00

One of my favorite things about this cruise was the opportunity to get dressed up. We just don't do this as often as we used to and I miss it!

Cruise... Part 2 So... after an exciting day in Cozumel we boarded the ship and headed back to our cabin to drop off our shopping bags then headed back to our favorite spot on the Serenity deck. Our view for most of our time on the ship. Sunset later that evening... After a rocky night at sea, some Salsa dance lessons, a couple of shows, and some major laughs at the comedy club our get-away at Sea came to a close. We spent a few hours roaming around in New Orleans before heading home. We were anxious to see our boys and tell them about our adventure. They had a great time with my parents but were glad for us to be home. This was our first time to leave them for this length of time. It was good for them and good for us!

the December blur

2012-01-05T09:23:00.007-06:00

December is always a busy month for everyone but this year it seemed even more so. Our wedding anniversary is December 7th and this year marked 20 years. Joseph has ALWAYS gone out of his way to come up with creative ways for us to celebrate 'our day' but since our kids were born we haven't actually taken a trip like we did before kids. This year he surprised me with a cruise to Cozumel to celebrate 20 years. It was awesome and a much needed escape from the daily routine and busy-ness. Of course getting ourselves ready to take a tropical vacation in the middle of December and getting ready to leave the boys with my parents for 5 days was crazy on top of the usual Christmas decorating, shopping, parties, etc. Let me just say that it was HEAVEN. While on the cruise ship we did absolute nothing but lounge on the Serenity (no-kids-allowed) Deck and sleep, read, eat, & sleep some more. Pure AWESOME-NESS! No laundry calling my name, no homework to check, no basketball practice, no snacks to make or dinner to prepare, no beds to be made... you get the picture. Honestly, I didn't realize just how much we needed it. Don't get me wrong... I love being a wife & mom and I realize how very blessed I am to have been given these roles to fulfill. But a break from the constant demands was much needed and much appreciated.

We left on Thursday morning - December 8th and drove to New Orleans, boarded the Carnival cruise ship - Elation at about 12:30, explored the ship, found our cabin, and had lunch on the Lito Deck. The food was awesome and let me just say that we were never hungry the entire time! We pulled out of New Orleans at 4:00 and the journey to Cozumel began. Friday we were at sea all day and were docked in Cozumel when we awoke on Saturay morning. We spent the day exploring Cozumel with our very own, very nice, Cab Driver/Tour Guide, Victor. He was very personable and we loved hearing about his family and their traditions & we really enjoyed spending the day with him. He took us around the entire island, he took us to a beautiful out-of-the-way spot (Playa Palancar) to snorkel, we had lunch on the back side of the Island at Cocunuts with the most beautiful view you could ever imagine. There is no electricity on the back side of the island but it was one of the best meals we have ever had! We made a quick stop to stick a straw in a coconut for a refreshing treat later that afternoon & hit some flea-markets to pick up some souvinirs for the boys and headed back to the ship.

Halloween 2011 - Saban & Richardson

2011-11-02T13:26:00.002-06:00

The boys LOVED all of the excitement their costumes received this year! Samuel counted over 20 people who called him "coach" or asked him if Bama was going to beat LSU this weekend. John Michael loved yelling "Roll Tide" and "Auburn stinks" to anyone who threw a comment his way. There were cars slowing down and rolling down their windows to talk to "Coach Saban". It was great! Samuel said he thinks he will be Nick Saban for Halloween again next year. He also said "I wonder what it's like to have someone dress up as you for halloween?". We had a wonderful time trick-or-treating with our neighbors and the boys loved the hay-ride.

Until next year.... Roll Tide!

more Halloween tid-bits

2011-10-31T12:10:00.007-06:00

Halloween is one of our favorite Holidays! So here's a little bit more of what's been going on around our house. Last night we attended the Fall Festival at our church. The boys enjoyed bouncing, playing games, winning prizes, and a hot-dog chili supper. Last Friday, JM's school had their Fall Festival. Below is a picture of he and his best friend, Cash.After the Fall Festival we carved pumpkins and made Halloween cupcakes for the Trick-or-Treat hayride we host at our house each year. We are excited about that tonight!

Samuel enjoyed being able to carve his pumpkin completely on his own this year.

The cupcakes (a few of them, anyway) ready for the party tonight. We didn't get very creative... just some orange icing and halloween sprinkles. Samuel's masterpiece... designed by himself.

John Michael's idea... "just a plain jack-0-lantern".

I cherish these memories as they will soon be just that... memories and the boys will be too old for such activities.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Early Halloween Happenings

2011-10-26T10:21:00.005-06:00

Last night we kicked off our Halloween activities with Spooky Story Hour & Costume Party at the library and by attending the Alabama Athletics Halloween Extravaganza and then going out to dinner. The Spooky Story Hour at the library was, of course, geared more for John Michael's age but Samuel was a great sport about it and sat and read his book while his brother enjoyed the stories and other activities. Samuel dressed up as Nick Saban and John Michael was an Alabama football player (Trent Richardson).

John Michael with his werewolf teeth he got as his treat at story hour.

The master story-teller at the Library... She did a great job just telling the stories rather than reading them. The Alabama Athletics Halloween Extravaganza hosted at the indoor practice arena.

Lamichael Fanning - Defensive Lineman

Nico Johnson - Linebacker

First Day of School

2011-09-12T09:19:00.006-06:00

August is here again and with that we begin a new school year and for us a couple of 'lasts'. This year Samuel begins his 5th grade year which will be his last year of elementary school and John Michael begins Pre-K which is his last year of preschool. Both boys were excited to get started with this new chapter of their lives.

Samuel with his brother on the first day of 5th grade - August 10th

John Michael on his first day of Pre-K - August 8th.

Samuel loves his teacher, Mrs. Weeks, and we are so excited to have her. We have heard great things and are looking forward to a great year. John Michael got Mrs. Jackie and I can't even begin to describe how excited I was when I heard this. She is awesome and he adores her! It's going to be an awesome year for both of our boys and I can't wait to see how they learn and grow this year. We spent the final day of summer vacation at the lake swimming and tubing.

The first few weeks of school have been great. We have enjoyed getting back in a routine. Samuel is playing flag football and his baseball team played and WON a tournament a couple of weekends ago. We made a trip to Kentucky last weekend for Labor Day and had a fabulous time catching up with some wonderful friends. We had a final summer hoo-rah at Holiday World/Splashin Safari in Santa Clause, Indiana and went Apple-picken at Reids Orchard on a nice windy, cool, Fall-like day. More on that later.

"Keep in your heart the wonders of the seashore"

2011-08-19T11:18:00.011-06:00

"The Last Song" House on Tybee Island

Beach 2011

2011-08-17T10:36:00.006-06:00

After a crazy 3 days at Disney - a fast & furious 3 days from beginning to bitter end- we were all ready for some R&R. Let me mention here that the Disney part of this summer vacation was very last minute. We had planned our beach trip well in advance and while driving home from our last baseball tournament, about 3 weeks before our beach vacation, Joseph asked if I knew that HHI was only about a 4 1/2 hour trip north of Orlando. No... I didn't realize that. So the wheels were turning! Since Samuel had been claiming to be the only kid in his entire 4th grade class who had not been to Disney World for an entire year, we were seriously contemplating adding a quick Disney detour to our vacation. I made a couple of calls and learned that a friend from our church is now working for a travel agency specializing in Disney vacations. I gave her the dates, told her what we had in mind, and she put the entire package together for us even down to the stroller delivery to our resort. Perfect! So we surprised the boys with the news! Now... lets get to the beach part of this trip... After leaving Disney on Tuesday morning we drove to Daytona Beach where you can drive your car right out on the beach. We spent the morning there playing in the water and sand then loaded up to find some lunch and head up the coast. I loved the beautiful scenic drive through all of the little sea-side towns finally arriving at St. Augustine. We explored around here for a while then headed north again non-stop to Hilton Head Island. That night we took the boys out crabbing and fishing and got settled in for the rest of the week. The following day we decided to explore some of the Low Country... Savannah GA, Beaufort SC, and Tybee Island. We wandered around some of these little towns, had lunch at a little bayside cafe where the boys loved watching the boats come in and out. From there we headed to Tybee Island where we found the house where "The Last Song" was filmed. Finally, we had dinner at Uncle Bubba's - a Paula Deen restaurant. Loved the food here - I had the shrimp & grits and Joseph had the Low-Country Boil which we tried to re-create once we were back home (and did a pretty good job with). The follwoing days were nothing more than beach-filled days which I absolutely love, love, love! We were all perfectly content to spend hours in the sun and water, playing and exploring. Samuel & John Michael loved riding the surf on their boogie-boards and became quite skilled by the end of the week. They built one sand castle after another, buried each other from head to toe, and tried to dig a hole to the other end of the earth. One of our favorite things about HHI is renting bikes and this being our mode of transportation around the island. The boys absolutely love riding on the beach! We spent hours playing in the sun, reading, running, and laughing. We enjoy the beach so much that we avoid going in and 'getting ready' to go to dinner every night. So some nights we cooked at the condo... steamed shrimp linguini, grilled steaks and bacon wrapped scallops... Pretty good stuff! Every night we rode the bikes down to get ice-cream and go crabbing or fishing. Needless to say... the boys, and the parents, were exhaused every night of this trip but we have so many good memories that we are already reflecting on. After about ten days on the road we headed home and we all agreed that it had been a wonderful trip but it was time. It made my heart smile that the boys wanted to get back to their home... even with all of the good times we had shared on the road.. they were ready to go home. That, my friend, is a good thing!

Downtown Disney

2011-08-16T14:45:00.012-06:00

The T-Rex Cafe - A great place for Boys!

A late night ferry ride back to resort from Downtown Disney All Smiles with his 'ears' Woody was one of our Lego Favorites at Lego Land Buzz was another Lego favorite

Approaching Downtown Disney from the Ferry

See posts below for more Disney memories!

Port Orleans Riverside - Disney 2011

2011-08-16T13:06:00.012-06:00

We checked in and hit the ground running! We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and were very pleased. We chose this resort because we loved the idea of the 'Tom Sawyer-like adventure' complete with Ol' Man Island (pool and playground area) and its very own Fishin'Hole. We loved the quaint New Orleans style atmosphere, the pools & water slide, the fishin' hole, the restaurants, the marina, and loved having the ferry to Downtown Disney right outside our front door. Let me back up and say that the night we left home John Michael had a ruptured eardrum. After about a two hour delay seeing a doctor and getting antibiotics and ear drops we left Tuscaloosa and drove all night to Orlando. Joseph and I have always traveled this way and it works for us. So... we arrived, checked in, grabbed our swim suits, and hit the pool and waterslide. The challenge was that John Michael could not go under water... he could swim and splash but not go under the water for two days. So... every time he went down the slide we had to be there to catch him. Let me just say this was the biggest challenge of the entire trip. The boy is a fearless fish! But it worked out and we managed to keep him above water (for the most part). After a few hours of swimming and checking out the resort we hopped on the Ferry, which was literally a few steps from our room, and headed to Downtown Disney. The boys loved LegoLand and we had dinner at the TRex Cafe... very similar to the Rainforest Cafe but with dinosaurs. Perfect for our boys and they loved it! Every few minutes a meteor shower occurs and the dinosaurs come to life. The food was pretty good but the smiles on our boys faces were priceless. We took the ferry back to our resort and crashed to get ready for a big day at Magic Kingdom. See posts below!

Disney - Let the Memories Begin

2011-08-16T12:24:00.003-06:00

In the following blog posts are pictures from our Disney trip Day 2 & 3 - Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. I was having problems getting pictures to upload so they are in a very random order. Also I couldn't get text to work with the pics so, after much frustration, this post will be the narrative of the pictures. First of all, this was our first time to take the boys to Disney World. Joseph and I went on a college trip many years ago but had not been back since then which was about 1989... a long time ago! We spent our first day exploring our resort - Port Orleans Riverside & checking out Downtown Disney. I will post pictures of this day later. The second day we went to Magic Kingdom. We arrived shortly after the park opened and had planned to go back to the resort for a while in the early afternoon and come back to the park late afternoon. Sounded good and we were all on board with the plan. Well, at midnight Joseph and John Michael finally left the park for the first time. Samuel and I left about 1:30 A.M. I think we rode every single ride and hit every single show, watched the parade BOTH times, and took in the incredible firework display. If it was there... we did it! Upon our arrival we were all a little overwhelmed. There is so much to take in and at the prices you are paying you definitely want to get your money's worth. Samuel's favorite ride at Magic Kingdom was Space Mountain and John Michael's favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear. We all loved Splash Mountain and Samuel and I really liked the Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster. Pirates of the Caribbean was a favorite as well as Peter Pan's Flight. It's a Small World was a nice break and a fun childhood memory to reflect upon. Our favorite show was Mickey's Philharmagic and Samuel loved Monster's Inc - The Laugh Floor. John Michael slept through this one as it was about 11:30 P.M. when we finally came back to this show. We all LOVED the parade and seeing all of the characters. I think the favorite characters for the boys were Captain Hook and Mickey Mouse, of course. The fireworks were amazing and we enjoyed them while eating our dinner... yes at 10:00 P.M. We had all read about Tom Sawyer Island and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and they were fun to explore and imagine living that way. John Michael and Samuel both decided they could live in the treehouse with no problems. It was awesome! Needless to say we were exhausted at the end of the day but were ready for Animal Kingdom the next day. Samuel actually liked this park the best. He loved Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and the Dinosaur. John Michael's favorite was the Dinosaur... even though he was scared to death he claims it as his favorite. He also loved Kali River Rapids which we rode three times. Joseph and I were amazed by the Dinosaur and we both claimed it as our favorite ride of both parks. Expedition Everest was pretty awesome as far as rollercoasters go and Samuel loved it and claims it as his favorite of both parks. I loved the parade at Animal Kingdom! The colors and the costumes were just amazing! We all loved the shows at Animal Kingdom the best and I think we all agreed on The Lion King as the family favorite with It's Tough to be a Bug running a close second. I liked Nemo but it was a little too theatrical for the rest of the family. We all loved the ride through the African Safari and we saved this until late evening in hopes of seeing lots of animals and we did. John Michael and Samuel loved the hippos. Much to our appreciation at the time, this park closes at 8:00 so we left at closing and hit the pools back at the resort. Later that night we rode the ferry back to Downtown Disney for ice cream. Both boys crashed on the ferry ride back to the resort. Great Memories!

Disney - Animal Kingdom

2011-08-16T10:29:00.012-06:00

Disney - Magic Kingdom

2011-08-15T13:13:00.009-06:00

LOTS of Summer Memories

2011-08-03T11:57:00.004-06:00

What a summer it has been for the Jennings family! Summer 2011 has been packed full of fun activities, lots of laughter, and more wonderful memories than I will ever be able to recount here on this blog. We started out, as our summers usually do, with a lot of baseball. Samuel played on the Northport Tide - a travel ball team. They played every weekend for the month of June and did a great job. Three of the four tournament weekends they made it to the championship game. Even though they were never able to come out with the BIG win, we were still very proud of them and their accomplishments. It takes a lot of hard work in some very hot temperatures to make it to that point time and time again. He will continue to play on this team this Fall and next year as well. We love this group of boys and families and we consider ourselves very blessed to have the opportunity to play with this group.As soon as Summer baseball was over we added in even more lake and pool time. Both boys have learned a new water sport activity this summer and have had a lot of fun in the process. John Michael started jumping of the "big-dock" ,as he calls it, which is about 10-12 feet tall and he went tubing for the first time. He also learned to swim with more confidence than last summer and loves to jump in, touch the bottom of the pool, and torpedo himself back to the top. The lack of concern or fear in this boy is unreal. Samuel learned to kneeboard this summer and could not wait to get back on the water from one time to the next. He learned to Kayak and Joseph and I were very impressed with his ability to maneuver his way down the river. He and John Michael both had a great time boogie-boarding while we were at Hilton Head and spent hours upon hours going out and riding the surf back in. We spent an entire week at the beach and spent only 1-2 hours in the pool. They wanted to be at the beach riding the waves, exploring the waters, and digging in the sand. They both loved fishing and crabbing at night and one of their overall favorite things... riding their bikes to and from the beach and on the beach. John Michael chose a Tandem Bike (alley cat), rather than his own bike, that he could ride with Joseph and he LOVED it.

One July afternoon we took the boys canoeing and kayaking as a last minute "fun idea" and we all had a blast. I will have to post pictures of this little secret spot in Fayette County - The Luxpalila Creek - which, actually, is no small creek at all. The water is crystal clear, has a rocky bottom, and is plenty wide enough that you aren't too close to the banks to be worried about snakes. We have been down this creek several times now and have never seen a snake. The boys love this activity and look forward to more 'serious' adventures of this type.

We also took our first Disney World trip this summer. Even though it was a short visit, it was all we needed. We stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort and spent one day at our resort pools and exploring Downtown Disney,one day at Magic Kingdom, and another day at Animal Kingdom. We were exhausted so we headed over to Daytona Beach for a day then traveled up the coast to St. Augustine and then on to Hilton Head where we spent the rest of the week. We took one day to explore Savannah GA, Beaufort SC, and Tybee Island. We had dinner at Uncle Bubbas, a Paula Deen Restaurant, and it was delicious! We then headed over to check out Tybee Island and even found the house where The Last Song was filmed- A movie based on the book by Nicholas Sparks. That was fun! I loved exploring some of the little Antique shops in Beaufort and having lunch a little bayside cafe where we sat and watched the shrimp boats come in and out.

We also hopped over to Atlanta for a few days while Joseph had some meetings to attend there. The boys and I hung out at the pool, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe', explored Centennial Park, and briefly stuck our heads in Underground Atlanta just for a glimpse of what that is all about. I was not brave anough to venture there alone with the boys! Sadly the Braves were not playing while we were there so we did not attend a Braves game this trip.

It has been truly a memorable summer for our boys with a lot of new adventures and experiences. I will post some pics later... Enjoy the Last Days of Summer!

Summer - 2011

2011-07-27T12:21:00.004-06:00

Another Summer is quickly coming to an end. With just two weeks left before school begins I can't help but think about how quickly the years are passing us by. But I have to say that we have had one of the best summers we have ever had. With John Michael now 4 years old, we have two big boys to do fun things with. Everything is easier... he is no longer a baby or a toddler but a big boy. This summer has been filled with new experiences for both Samuel and John Michael. Our summer days and weeks have been filled with countless hours of swimming, boating, canoeing & kayaking, tubing and knee-boarding, jumping off docks, boggie-boarding at the beach, fishing & crabbing, and a first Disney World trip for both of them. Many pictures to come later.

Enjoy the last lazy days of summer!

Happy Birthday John Michael

2011-07-01T09:17:00.018-06:00

June 20th, 2007 - A special day for the Jennings family! After 6 years and 10 months of being an only child, God blessed us with John Michael and Samuel became a big brother. A few things about John Michael:

He keeps us laughing and on our toes!

He thinks he is 10 & can do anything his brother can do... & better!

You should see him dance! He has some moves!

He tells me daily - "Mommy, sign me up for singing lessons... please... sign me up"!

He loves to just play.. play with trucks, tractors, horses, boats, dinosaurs... & dirt

He is 110% boy!

Loves fruit but no veggies except corn on the cob. Loves his Milk!

His favorite food is Tacos.

Like his brother, he will not drink a carbonated drink. They are 'spicey'.

Loves to play with Play Doh & watch Donosaur Train in the 'new play room'.

He has the most contagious laugh!

Everybody loves John Michael! Even kids I don't know love him!

Despite his tough-boy personality, he has a very tender heart.

Loves his stuffed animals (Mr. Bear & Baby Puppy) & talks to them like they are his friends.

Loves 'hanging out' with his daddy and his brother!

Loves to go to the farm! Loves to read with us!

Loves to play soccer and t-ball & wants to learn to ride a horse.

Draw the line here... he wants it to be there!

Can write his name all. by. himself.

Independent? You have NO idea!

He can't wait to go to 'Big School'.

He can swim, tube, & jump off the 'big dock' & he is awesome & loves to tell everyone all about it!

Has. No. Fear.

What did we do before he came along? I have no idea & can't imagine our lives without him. He is such a blessing and we are so thankful for him. Happy 4th Birthday JM!

May - A Month of Celebration

2011-05-25T12:19:00.002-06:00

May is always such a busy month for everyone. For us, May means the end of Spring baseball seasons for two boys, the end of yet another school year, Awards Day, the beginning of Summer baseball and Summer fun and activities, birthday celebrations, Mother's Day, and many other end-of-school/baseball activities and parties. Last week we celebrated my birthday and the end of John Michael's first baseball season. For my birthday, we went to Cypress Inn for dinner and the boys treated me extra special with flowers, cards, and lots of hugs and kisses. God has blessed me with three of the best boys on this earth! On Saturday, John Michael had his last baseball game complete with an end of the season trophy presentation. He is so excited to have started his very own "trophy collection" just like the one his brother has. We did treat bags for his team complete with sweat bands, sports whistles, and some other "very cool sports-stuff"(his words). Samuel's team, the Braves, finished the regular season tied for first place and are now the only undefeated team left in the tournament. They will be playing for the Championship this Saturday. So proud of them and their hard work this season. Good Luck Braves! This week, today actually, marks the end of Samuel's 4th grade year. Wow, has it flown by! Monday was Awards Day and he received the following awards: All A Honor Roll for the year, Outstanding Citizenship Award (boy recipient from his class), National Physical Education Award, and Reading Achievment Award. A couple of weeks ago he was selected for Safety Patrol and to serve as an Ambassador for the next school year. We are so proud of him and his dedication and hard work. He was also selected to play on a travel baseball team this summer - The Northport Tide. So proud of him for not only working hard to meet his goals both at school and on the ball field but, even more so, for being respectful, honest, reliable, and a good citizen and a loyal friend. Now bring on the Summer Fun! We are so ready for a break in routine and a little relaxation. I think we ALL need it, so let the fun begin. Have a great summer everyone!

The God of THIS City & We will Praise You in THIS Storm

2011-05-11T09:29:00.008-06:00

Over the last couple of weeks these songs have become somewhat of the theme songs for our great city and even our entire state. In the midst of such devastation and complete destruction we have seen Jesus in such a powerful way throughout Tuscaloosa and all over Alabama. Communities have come together and in the midst of broken-ness we have witnessed together-ness. It has been amazing! I love these songs even more now because of what they have come to mean to us.

You're the God of This City You're the God of this City. You're the King of these people. You're the Lord of this nation.

You are!

You're the Light in this darkness.

You're the Hope to the hopeless.

You're the Peace to the restless.

You are!

There is no one like our God. There is no one like our God.

For greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City.

Greater thing have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City.

There is no one like our God. There is no one like our God!

For greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City.

Greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done here.

There is no one like our God There is no one like our God.

Greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done here!

by: Chris Tomlin

"Praise You In This Storm"

"I was sure by now God You would have reached down And wiped our tears away. Stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining. As the thunder rolls I barely hear Your whisper through the rain"I'm with you" And as Your mercy fallsI raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away.

And I'll praise You in this storm And I will lift my hands For You are who You are No matter where I am And every tear I've cried.

You hold in Your hand You never left my sideAnd though my heart is tornI will praise You in this storm.

I remember whenI stumbled in the wind. You heard my cry to you And you raised me up again.

My strength is almost gone. How can I carry on If I can't find You.

But as the thunder rollsI barely hear You whisper through the rain"I'm with you"And as Your mercy fallsI raise my hands and praise the God who givesAnd takes away.

I lift my eyes unto the hillsWhere does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

by: Casting Crowns

Easter 2011 - In Pics

2011-05-09T10:23:00.010-06:00

Preschool Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-22T10:04:00.006-06:00

Waiting for the fun to begin!

This past Wednesday night was John Michael's Easter egg hunt at our church. He had a great time playing all of the games, bouncing in the Carousel, and searching for Easter eggs in small swimming pools filled with shredded paper and eggs. Due to severe weather and lots of rain the egg hunt was moved indoors. What a great alternative shredded paper is for grass! It seemed we just kept finding eggs! John Michael loved the Easter bunny also. John Michael didn't waste any time cracking open his eggs and eating every single tootsie roll before we even got home. He definitely has the sweet tooth of the family!

Spring Happenings

2011-04-20T12:22:00.011-06:00

What a busy Spring season it has been! Baseball is well underway for both boys, with Samuel on the Braves and John Michael on the Reds. Samuel is back at Kentuck for Spring ball and John Michael is playing Sandlot which is affiliated with our church.

Samuel helping coach his little brother.

All smiles on Opening Day! I think the bat might weigh more than he does! Some JM Attitude! I haven't been able to get pictures of Samuel in his Braves uniform yet. They are way too focused to take time for mom to make pictures. :) Maybe I'll get some before the season ends! Samuel's 4th grade class recently took a field trip to Montgomery. On the steps of the Capital with Govenor Bently - a native of Tuscaloosa4th Grade Class inside the Capital Building looking up at Dome Ceiling This was an awesome field trip and a beautiful Spring day! We also visited Old Alabama Town which I really enjoyed. This past Monday Samuel also had his piano recital where he played "The Storks" and did a fantastic job. I do have pictures but haven't been able to download yet due to bad weather.

Easter Cupcakes

2011-04-20T11:06:00.007-06:00

We made these cupcakes last Easter and I thought they turned out so cute. The grass is edible and has a flavor of some kind, although I never figured out exactly what the flavor was. The boys loved them and I hope to make some more this weekend. So easy and so cute!

The Help - by Kathryn Stockett

2011-02-23T09:19:00.008-06:00

Another great Novel! Again, I have had this book on my reading list for over a year and finally got around to reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was sad when I turned the final page late last night. I highly recommend this book! Not to mention that the author is a University of Alabama graudate! Also, a movie is being made and is set to be released August 12, 2011 starring Emma Stone.

Trailer to the movie..........

“Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends’ lives — and a small Mississippi town — upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen (Viola Davis), Skeeter’s best friend’s housekeeper, is the first to open up — to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter’s life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories — and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly — and unwillingly — caught up in the changing times.”

I can't wait to see this movie!!!

Invisible Mom

2011-02-04T09:36:00.006-06:00

A friend shared the following email with me the other day and boy can I relate... some days more than others! But you know what? I wouldn't change it for the world! Afterall, I'm sure I was no different as I was growing up. Our boys demand my attention all the time, every minute of the day... even when they are not at home. Each day there is a list of things a mile long that I need or want to do for them. Things such as laundry, picking up toys, fixing broken toys, helping with homework, finding missing socks, making up beds, preparing snacks and meals, buying yet another gallon of milk, reading a favorite book AGAIN, recording favorite tv shows, hosting friends, taking them to practices and parties, reminding them to do this and do that, and the list goes on an on. But, invisible or not, I wouldn't change a thing! They are simply little boys being little boys, young boys learning to become young men. God has entrusted us with these little lives to mold and shape into the image of Jesus. I just hope and pray that I am setting an example that will one day lead them to a loving relationship with Him. I fail everyday numerous times, but I try. And if I am invisible sometimes along the way, that's okay. I am called to be a servant, even in my own home. I'm sure Jesus felt invisible many times during his life on earth as well.

INVISIBLE MOM One of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweepingthe floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can seeme at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clockto ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number isthe Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?,What's for dinner?'I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyesthat studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappearedinto the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going,she's gone!One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of afriend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and shewas going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not tocompare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when sheturned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought youthis.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactlysure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admirationfor the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discoverwhat would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I couldpattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we haveno record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for awork they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices andexpected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by theirfaith that the eyes of God saw everything.A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit thecathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny birdon the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are youspending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered bythe roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because Godsees.'I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was Almostas if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices youmake every day, even when no one around you does.No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you'vebaked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me tonotice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't seeright now what it will become.I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one ofthe people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to workon something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book wentso far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetimebecause there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he'sbringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in themorning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built amonument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if thereis anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love itthere...'As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we'redoing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel,not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to theworld by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know... I just did.The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protectyou.To all the wonderful mothers out there!! God bless and keep you.

Excellent Read

2011-02-02T13:22:00.003-06:00

I have had this book on my reading list for over a year now and for some reason I kept putting other books in front of it. I picked it up a couple of days ago and finished it last night. Excellent book that everyone should read!

2Boys

2011-01-07T09:23:00.008-06:00

A friend of mine took some pictures of the boys as a fundraiser to help bring their adopted baby girl, Selah, home from Ethiopia. She did an amazing job!

Fall/Halloween 2010

2010-11-08T14:10:00.001-06:00

Trick or Treating

Each year we do a neighborhood hay ride with all the neighborhood kids. Somehow I managed not to get a picture this year of everyone together but we had 12 kids and twice that in adults. After trick or treating we complete the evening back at our house with lots off good food and treats.

This year John Michael chose to be a cowboy and Samuel was a Ninja Mummy. The ninja mummy costume ended up being a little more scarey than we usually go with but I think it was fine and Samuel thought it was "cool". His trick or treating days are numbered so I'm enjoying these last few memories.

For our Fall Festival at church the boys decided to go as Alabama football players since it was earlier in the afternoon and warmer than the night before.

John Michael as a cowboy at his preschool halloween party.

Halloween Extravaganza

This event is hosted each year at the Alabama indoor practice facility. John Michael's soccer awards ceremony was immediately before this event so he went as a soccer player and Samuel was, once again, a football player, Julio Jones to be exact. Fun!

Decorating pumpkins at home on a nice cool Fall evening.

It was a great Halloween with lots of fun memories!

Cooper

2010-10-11T13:12:00.001-06:00

Cooper - The newest addition to the Jennings family.

And yes he is just as sweet and loveable as he appears in this picture. He and his brother were abandoned and found later by a neighbor who brought them to the Vet's office in Fayette where my sister lives. My sister and her kids adopted one and named him Cruiser and we got his brother and named him Cooper. The Vet described him as the laziest, most unmotivated puppy she had ever seen. We immediately decided he was the dog for us! It has been about a month now and he is adjusting to his new home & family very well. The boys just adore him and they love playing with him in the yard and hiking with him in the woods. It is very sad that people just abandon puppies and he was really pitiful when we first got him. Very skinny and afraid but grateful to be fed and loved. We had him for about 3 days before we even heard him bark. Finally he barked in excitement to see the boys one afternoon. He loves going to the farm with the boys and he even gets to spend time with his brother from time to time. After many months and talks and trips to the shelter just to "look" we are all glad we waited for Cooper.

Fall Sports.. Football & Soccer

2010-09-24T09:17:00.001-06:00

Football is well underway for Samuel and John Michael has had a great initiation to his first organized sport, soccer. Of course, Samuel is well accustomed to the idea of organized sports but was not so sure what to do with himself while at a practice that did not involve HIM being the one on the practice field. He has grown accustomed to the idea and always keeps busy while John Michael practices soccer, or doesn't practice soccer. We never know which it will be! Some days he's all about it, other days, not so much. However come game time he is ready to go.

A typical soccer game lasts for 30 minutes and they play 3 on 3. Let me remind you that JM turned 3 in June and some of the kids on his team will soon be turning 5. So, he is the youngest and the smallest kid out there! He might be small but he is tough! During a soccer game, JM is likely to become MIA at any given moment and the coach/referee never knows where he is or how long he will be there. Any time a goal is scored, for either team, he comes running off the field mad and upset that a goal was made and he wasn't the one to make it. So far, at least one cleat, if not both, has come off during every game! Time has to be called to reassemble the appropriate attire for any soccer player. Never mind the fact that the smallest size in which cleats are availble is a size 10 and he technically wears a size 8. Fold the, also too big, soccer socks down at the toe inside the shoe and its good for a little while anyway. Every person on the Dolphins sidelines is cheering for John Michael to score. "Let that baby score a goal" I hear from the sidelines! So funny!

Football! Samuel had his first touchdown of the season at his game this week. He was so proud!

Samuel absolutely loves playing flag football & eagerly awaits being able to completely "suit-up" for a football game. I am just fine with the flag version of this sport for now.

Happy 10th Birthday

2010-09-17T09:38:00.007-06:00

It really is unbelievable to me that a complete decade has passed! Samuel has grown into such an amazing young man. We celebrated his 10th birthday at home with family, his favorite dinner, and a homemake cream cheese frosted birthday cake. On Friday night he invited a few of his closest buddies over for a spend the night party, video games, cake, & dinner at Kobe Japanese Steak House - one of his favorite places to eat.

A few random things about Samuel and the young man he has become:

He loves sports, particulary baseball and football

Loves Alabama football

Loves baseball in general

Plays 3rd base, 1st base, and is learning to pitch

Plays wide-receiver

Loves to read - Mysteries and Non-Fiction in particular

Enjoys school and his favorite subjects are Sciece & Social Studies

Enjoys his piano lessons but does not enjoy the recitals... AT ALL

Does not like to be the center of attention

Still loves to sleep with his parents if he ever gets the chance

Is a Straight A student and getting a B on a paper truly upsets him

Loves to go to "the Farm" with his Dad and brother

Enjoys hunting & fishing

Has never drank a carbonated soda of any kind!

Loves going to the Quad and getting BBQ nachos on Friday nights

Loves to ride his 4-wheeler

Loves his new puppy Cooper

Recently saved over $200 to buy something he really wanted

Is not a picky eater at all

Cautious

Enjoys hanging out with his parents and is quite content to do so

Enjoys playing Video Games - Football & Baseball - with his Dad

Loyal to his friends

Loves his little brother & says he is his best friend

Loves that he & his brother are so different yet still so alike

Loves that his brother gets into so much mischief & does things he would never do himself

Has a very gentle spirit

Has to make himself get out of his comfort zone & is pretty good about pushing himself

Expects alot from himself

Does not like fruit - AT ALL (not even grapes)

Can memorize anything he sets his mind to

Scored in the 99 percentile nationally in reading on his SAT's

Hardworking

Says that his favorite restaurant is Tumbleweed - a restaurant we used to go alot when we lived in Kentucky

He was born in Kentucky and lived there the first 4 years of his life

He is 7 years older than his brother

His favorite place to visit is the beach, the mountains, and Kentucky

Loves to hike, canoe, and camp

Everyone loves his hair color but he wishes it was....

"just a regular color"

Loves God & is such a blessing to us!

Back to School

2010-08-11T12:25:00.000-06:00

Each year when August rolls around I start to get excited. Don't get me wrong, I love Spring and Summer but I LOVE Fall and once August arrives, I know Fall is just around the corner. And the fun begins with going back to school. So, we now have a 4th grader and a 3-year old preschooler in our house! John Michael started on Monday and Samuel started on Tuesday and they both had a great day and are excited about the upcoming year.

Samuel has the same teacher that he had for third grade and he is excited to have another year with her. He will also be changing classes for Math, Science, and Social Studies which he is thrilled about. He will begin piano again next week and had his first football practice this week. John Michael will also have his first music class at school next week and he will begin soccer in a couple of weeks. He is signed up and READY to go. Joseph has been working with him and he loves it.

We had a back to school BBQ at our house last night with some friends and neighbors and are getting back in the routine. It's going to be a great year!

Summer Fun

2010-08-02T10:02:00.001-06:00

A few random highlights of our summer!

Art Camp...

Sports Camp at Church...

Lake Tuscaloosa...

Pool Party!

Random...

Back to school camping trip.

Each year Joseph takes Samuel camping just before school starts back. This year they went to Mt. Chehaw where they camped, fished, went hiking and canoeing, and had a great time. Of course the only pictures I have are the ones I took before they left. When Joseph goes camping he does it right. He cooks full meals over an open fire including eggs, biscuits, fried potatoes with smoked sausage and onions. Samuel loves this and thinks it is so cool that you can cook this way while camping.

This past Saturday was John Michael's turn to spend the day with daddy and he wanted to go to the farm in Fayette County and play in the creek and ride the 4-wheeler and tractor. So they spent the day doing just what he wanted to do. Samuel & I had a back to school day with shopping, shopping and shopping.

Great times and wonderful memories!

Summer Update/Recap

2010-07-30T12:31:00.001-06:00

Okay, is it really the last week of summer? Even though it has been fast and furious, we have had a wonderful summer. We started the summer out with baseball, baseball, and more baseball. Samuel was invited to play on a travel team this year so rather than play All-Stars, we chose this option for a couple of reasons. First, the season would be condensed to one month rather than all summer long and second, more competition. So, he played on a travel team called High Intensity and played 21 games in 4 weekends during the month of June. Wow! Sounded great at the beginning but it was diffucult to keep up. Even so, we all had a great time. Wonderful families and great boys! We traveled a couple of hours away all four weekends and stayed overnight in a hotel 3 of the 4 weekends. For the boys, a big part of the fun of summer baseball is staying in a hotel with their teammates.

As you can see, summer baseball means more than just playing baseball. There is always time between games to squeeze in some fun. Go carts, swimming, feeding the ducks at a local park, sno-cones, etc. Even the little brothers and sisters had a blast.

Immediately after baseball ended we headed to St. Louis for a long weekend. We packed in lots of fun activities and enjoyed being away. While trying to decide what to do that weekend, my only condition was that it didn't involve a ball park. Well, guess what? A ball park was involved but a little different than the ones we spent countless hours at earlier in the summer. While in St. Louis we attended a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium, went to Grant's Farm, the zoo, Union Station, and of course, the Arch, and enjoyed some blueberry picken on the way home.

The St Louis Arch - 4th of July

The St Louis Zoo - Voted among the best in the Nation (and it's FREE)

Grant's Farm - (also Free)

Union Station - Downtown

Blueberry picken on the way home.

After the fourth of July weekend things slowed down a bit for us allowing plenty of pool time and other summer activities.

The Birthday Boy

2010-07-02T09:51:00.001-06:00

John Michael turned three years old on Father's Day, June 20th. Even though we were playing a baseball tournament in Cullman that weekend and actually played 3 ball games on his birthday, he has had a great birthday. We've been celebrating off and on since that day and he has loved the attention, presents, singing, cupcakes, and his Tumblebus Party.

We did a Toy Story theme which he loved. We saw the new Toy Story 3 movie the weekend before his party so he was very excited about all of the decorations, cupcakes, etc.

On his birthday, between ball games, we celebrated with Samuel's baseball team with m&m cookies and the whole team singing Happy Birthday. He loved the attention! Afterwards we found a little park where we fed the ducks and fish and rode a train. Of course he loved all of this!

I can't believe it has been three years already.
Happy Birthday John Michael! We love you!!!

Summer Challenges & Family Updates

2010-06-04T11:22:00.004-06:00

My main challenge during the summer months is always laundry. Between 2 boys changing clothes at least twice a day, pool towels and swimsuits, baseball uniforms, and just the usual everyday laundry that seems to pile up overnight, I can't keep up let along get ahead. Another challenge for me this summer is to get John Michael potty-trained. He's doing great, it's just more of a challenge when we are on the go so much. He's much to busy to stop what he's doing and tell me he needs to "go" so I have to constantly ask him and make him go and "try". Just last night Samuel and I were talking about his goals for this summer. Some of the things he mentioned was to continue his reading, master his multiplication tables, maintain his Bible memory work at church, swim everyday, and continue to improve his baseball skills. He will have tournaments 4 weekends straight with his travel ball team beginning this weekend. He will do Sports Camp and Art Camp and possibly attend a pitcher/catcher camp at Shelton State.

He will be going back to school before we know it!

So far as John Michael's summer plans, he is definitely looking forward to his birthday party this month. He is talking about it already and knows exactly what he wants for his birthday.... a firetruck with a hose that actually sprays water. The commercial is on TV ALL the time and he just HAS to have it. He will be taking swim lessons in July and will continue his weekly visit on the Tumblebus each Wednesday and his computer class on Fridays. We will continue our Story Time Hour at the library which he thoroughly enjoys and he loves his Wednesday night Bible class at church. Of course he enjoys the baseball activites as well since there are several other little brothers on the team. He will play soccer in the Fall which will be a sight to see! I can't believe he is turning three on June 20th. Where is the time going?

One of the biggest changes lately for our family is that Joseph has started a new job with a new company which is about 45 minutes from our house. He is the Controller for the Georgia Pacific plant in Belk, just outside his hometown of Fayette, population of about 500 (just guessing). He is enjoying his new position with a great company and so many opportunities. I am so proud of him! However, with him being out of town now, I sometimes feel like a single mom with having to do all of the transporting of kids to and from activities and chase a busy soon to be 3 year old around at baseball practices all by myself with no relief or help. Joseph has always helped out with chores, household duties and with the boys so much and now I am realizing just HOW much he did help. I have taken on doing the lawn-mowing & gardening as well which I enjoy and usually am able to do during nap times or late evening after baseball and Samuel is a great help. We also planted a small vegetable garden this Spring and recently picked 2 jalepeno peppers from that garden. The plan was to make homemade salsa with the tomatoes and peppers that we planted but the tomatoes are not ready yet and neither are the bell peppers. So, what to do with two jalepeno peppers?

We completed several projects around the yard early in the Spring.

I love our front porch! It is an extension of our home and we use it a lot throughout the year. The boys and I love to read out there, I love to have my coffee out there, John Michael loves to play with his playdough out there and we enjoy congregating with the neighbors on long summer nights. Just this past weekend we made homemade ice cream and enjoyed it with neighbors on our front porch.

Looking forward to many long summer nights ahead!

End of the School Year - Beginning of Summer

2010-06-02T13:27:00.000-06:00

So proud of Samuel for having a wonderful 3rd grade year. He finished the year making the all A Honor Roll for the entire school year & received the reading achievement award. He worked very hard to maintain all A's and I am so proud of his accomplishment. Last night his baseball team finished up their season playing in the championship game and coming just short in the final inning for a loss, finishing 2nd out of 9 teams. Samuel had a great season and is now looking forward to his first practice today with his summer travel ball team - High Intensity. First tournament is this weekend so here we go!!

Below, receiving his award for all A's for the entire year. Only two in his class received this award.

Last day of school with his teacher Mrs. Osborn. We will truly miss her and Mrs. Rummel.

Field Day with his buddy Tate.

Samuel, Aaron, & Tate at Field Day.

So COOL!

For this championship game the moms decided to really get the boys pumped up with balloons, signs, etc.

First Pool Day of the Summer!

Last week on Tuesday John Michael's ENT doctor told us that he needed to have his tubes put back in his ears and have his adenoids removed. So we did that on Thursday, two days later. He's such a little trooper and I hope he feels much better now. Below is a picture that afternoon after surgery. He could barely stay awake!

This past Saturday my friend Karen and I went to Sips n Strokes and painted a Monet beach scene. I think they turned out pretty good and I have mine hanging in our bathroom. We had so much fun and I just love my dear friend Karen.

It's been a great start to a great summer.

"Happy Mother's Day, Mommy"

2010-05-12T12:40:00.000-06:00

My mother's day weekend started when I picked John Michael up at his school on Friday afternoon. His class was outside watching the Blue Angels fly and he & I went inside to get his things. He reached down and picked up the card he had made for me, looked up at me and said "happy mother's day, mommy". All on his own and in the sweetest little voice.

Saturday, Samuel came into the kitchen and handed me something he had made for me at school, hugged me so tight and told me happy mother's day. Sunday morning they gave me coffee mugs they had painted for me at All Fired Up with Joseph a couple weeks earlier and a beautiful red climbing rose bush that I have been wanting. All day long, I was given hugs and kisses. Later that night when Samuel and I were going for a walk he asked if it had been a good mother's day. When I told him yes it had been wonderful he said, we probably should have done more for you.

I have the sweetest boys and the best husband and am so blessed!

Baseball, Field Trips, & Everyday Life

2010-05-07T09:55:00.003-06:00

I know I say this a lot but here I go again..... boy is this year just flying by! It seems that we just started third grade & baseball season and now we are wrapping up both. Samuel has had a wonderful third grade year and has loved his teachers and being in the same class with one of his best friends, Tate. Below is a picture of them at our Apples of Gold Banquet at church a month or so ago.

And so far as baseball goes, he has had a great season. Wonderful coach, great kids with great families, and a 8-4 season so far. They lost the 1st and 2nd game of the season and then went undefeated until last week when we played the first team to beat us again and lost to them for the second time. However, they beat the undefeated team in our league the next game and turned around and got beat by the last team in our league who had not won a single game all season long. Thats baseball, right! Samuel has had a great season and is getting so much experience in a variety of positions. While his main position is 3rd base, he also plays 1st, pitches, catches, and has even played 2nd and short when needed. I'm so proud he is so versitile and can play most anywhere. We are looking forward to summer baseball which will start right after tournament!

Go Bluejays! Below are some pictures of Samuel with some of his best buddies on his team.

Yesterday Samuel had a field trip to Tuscumbia to visit Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller, the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, and Spring Park. We made it a family affair and all tagged along. John Michael was so excited about going on his first field trip. I have looked forward to this field trip all year long! As a child I was fascinated with Helen Keller and still have the books that I read over and over. Samuel read one of these books before this field trip just to be sure he was up on the facts about Helen Keller. Ivy Green was so beautiful with roses blooming everywhere.

After exploring Ivy Green we ended the day with lunch and fun at Spring Park. This was the neatest little park complete with a train, carousel, and roller coaster. It was beautiful also with the water fall and duck ponds. The boys enjoyed sno-cones and a picnic lunch under a big shade tree.

John Michael has had to endure a lot of big brother activities since he arrived almost three years ago. With there being 7 years between them, he has spent many hours at the ball park since he was just barely 3 months old. I must say that he has always been a little trooper. One of his favorite things to do is play with his trucks in the dirt. Below, after practice, he heads to the pitchers mound with truck in hand.

So blessed! It has been a great spring so far and I'm looking forward to many more sunny days!

Below is one of my favorite picture of the cottage at Ivy Green.

A Blessed Day

2010-04-30T12:22:00.001-06:00

I didn't realize it as it was unfolding with laundry piles and dirty dishes, scraped knees and "Mom, he hit me!". I didn't realize it when I was frustrated and discouraged, or when I felt that no one even noticed. I didn't realize it when there was homework and baseball for my oldest and dirty diapers and boo-boos for my youngest. I didn't realize it when it was time for dinner, more dirty dishes, bath time, reading, and "Yes, you must clean it!".

But now, as the boys come spilling into the room wearing favorite pajamas and slippers, smelling of soap and shampoo, giggling and laughing... I realize that it has been a good day. As I smell the loftover aroma of the dinner we just shared, I realize again that it has been a good day. And as we read a story, say our prayers, and listen to the day's adventures, yes... a very good day.

Later, after the lights are out, the dishes done, the laundry put away, and I settle into my cozy chair I am reminded again that yes, Lord it has been a good day. As I reflect back upon this day with its ups and downs, frustrations and disappointments, I realize that it has been a good day because it was filled with life. The life you have given us to enjoy and delight in, to deal with and contribute to. A life filled with a family to take care of, children to adore, and a loving husband and daddy. A home in which we nurture and love, where we create memories to cherish for a lifetime. Yes Lord, a very good day. I wouldn't have wanted to miss a single moment of it and may I face tomorrow with a renewed spirit and relish in knowing that it too will be a good day, a blessed day.

Easter in Pics

2010-04-16T09:05:00.003-06:00

I love this time of year and it has been a beautiful Spring season and Easter is always a highlight. My boys looked so handsome in their new Easter outfits. It was such a beautiful day and we enjoyed going to church, hiding Easter eggs and just being outside together as a family.
Here are some pics of the weekend's activities in random order.

Before church...

At church...

Before church, again....

"I want to wear my frog boots to church!"

Samuel's egg hunt at church with his buddies...

Egg hunt at home with the fam...

Dying eggs on Saturday night...

Our Easter PEEPS cupcakes were a hit...

The Easter bunny came...

More egg hunting....

Easter bunny favorites... frog boots and gardening tools....

John Michael's egg hunt at church the Wednesday night before Easter Sunday....He loved the Bouncy!

JM & his friend Owen... The bunny toss... Getting ready to JUMP again!

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-26T09:31:00.002-06:00

What a great week! Even though the weather was not what we had hoped for, it was still a great week. I just love having my boys at home and I always enjoy the excitement of planning fun things to do each day. Despite the chilly temps we didn't let it stop us from getting out and enjoying ourselves. Samuel had a friend sleep over on Sunday night and they enjoyed playing outside and just being boys. John Michael loves for Samuel's friends to come over and he especially loves being included in whatever they are doing.

On Tuesday we enjoyed an outing to Barnes & Noble to purchase the new Diary of a Wmpy Kid book for Samuel and a new horse book for John Michael. Then we headed to the park even though it was rather cool. The boy's didn't seem to mind!

After the park, Samuel and I left John Michael with Joseph for a special night out and we headed to the movies to see Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief. We both enjoyed the movie and Samuel can't wait to read the book.

Joseph took off a couple of days and took Samuel turkey hunting which he just loved. John Michael was quite disappointed that he wasn't included, but he and I did some fun things while they were gone.

On Friday, we headed to the farm in Fayette and enjoyed riding four-wheelers, fishing, and hiking through the woods. The boys just love this!

Saturday, baseball bagan and what a beautiful day to kick off the season.

So glad we obey the rules!

After baseball we enjoyed the beautiful weather by working on some projects in our yard at home. A garden spot is well underway where we can grow some fresh vegetables. I am so excited about this and hope my excitement remains in July when it is 100 degrees outside. The boys helped clear and rake and played, getting ready to plant some flowers and vegetables of their own.

Spring cleaning and Easter! I have been cleaning out closets, drawers, cabinets, etc. just to get rid of "stuff". I love getting rid of things that are just taking up space and creating clutter. I have also enjoyed doing some redecorating around the house and sprucing up for the spring season.

A few years ago, Samuel and I painted easter eggs at a do it yourself painting place in Kentucky called "Creative R You". I love displaying our hand painted eggs in this egg basket.

Life is good and God is great!

Ramblings... Samuel

2010-03-12T11:44:00.003-06:00

They grow up so fast! This seems to be my theme for the week, but it has been on my mind a lot lately. Here are some current thoughts/reflections about where Samuel is at this point in his life. Samuel is a typical nine year old boy in many ways, but not so typical in other ways. He loves sports, particulary baseball and football. Loves playing both and watching both. Loves Alabama football and will not miss watching a game. His favorite NFL team is the Colts. He loves to swim, hunt, fish, explore the great outdoors, and ride his 4-wheeler. But he also loves to read and he loves school. He loves to read about history (particulary anything associated with the Civil War and/or soldiers) and mysteries, although his favorite subjects in school are Math and Science. Discovery Kids is his favorite channel on TV. He enjoys his piano lessons but hates the recitals. He likes to play video games but I wouldn't say he loves it. In other words, we don't have to tell him "no more". He is a straight A student, athletic, polite, considerate, and a wonderful big brother. He makes good choices and decisions and if he happens to mess up and get a bad grade or if the teacher has to call his name out for something, he has already punished himself by the time he gets home. No TV for that night or no playing outside or no video games, etc. Usually the situations wouldn't even warrent a punishment in our book, but he feels that it does. He loves to ride his ripstick that he received for Christmas and mastered it in a very short period. Rarely do I have to tell him to get up in the morning and get ready for school, is upset if he has to miss school, does his homework on his own and studies for his tests on his own. He is dilligent about learning his memory verses for the Adventure Ridge program at church. One quirky little thing about Samuel is that he will only drink milk, water, or a sports drink such as gatorade or powerade. He has never drank a carbonated drink and says that he never will. He is growing up so fast but will always be my baby! Some random pictures of his various interests and activities are below.

First hunt with his dad

Field Trip - Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

Field Trip - Peanut Depot

All Star Baseball last summer

All Star Team - District Champions

Football

Piano Recital

Mastering the ripstick

Sledding

Swimming

Playing with his brother

First Buck

Ramblings on John Michael

2010-03-12T10:50:00.004-06:00

I just love the days that I have to spend at home with the boys. With the boys being seven years apart, I have had the privilage of enjoying each of them at home one-on-one while they are little. I loved being home with Samuel before he started to school and I am now enjoying being home with John Michael on Tuesday and Thursday each week. Some of our favorite past times are Library story time, Barnes & Noble, having lunch with Joseph, going to the park, and of course, just staying home. Last week we attended The Birmingham Children's Theatre production of Three Billy Goats Gruff. John Michael loved it although he wasn't too fond of the Troll and was quite disappointed at the end when he and the billy goats didn't become friends.

Library Story Time - Bubbles

Barnes & Noble - Train Time

John Michael loves to ride his scooter at the park!

Loves to play with his horses!

and Loves to play with his brother!

First Dentist Appointment - What a big boy!

John Michael has his own little personality and is such a joy! All of Samuel's friends just love John Michael. Even the older kids at church, school, and the baseball field know and love John Michael. He has a spark and a sweetness about him. He loves horses, as I mentioned in the previous post, farms, tractors, 4-wheelers and farm animals. He adores his big brother, loves to read books, and adds a little spark to just about everything we do. He loves, loves, loves chocolate! M&M's in particular. He and Samuel have similar personality traits but are so different at the same time. For example, the chocolate that Santa left in their stockings at Christmas... Samuel's is still in the cabinet while John Michael's was gone by noon Christmas Day. Funny!

Just a little update on John Michael. "The days are long but the years are short". He's growing up so fast! We are so blessed and I want to enjoy every moment!

March

2010-03-10T13:45:00.000-06:00

March already?!?!? Time goes by so fast but I must say that I am ready for some Spring weather. It has been a cold winter and I am ready for some sunshine! We have had some nice spring-like days already giving us just a taste of what is soon to come. This past Sunday was beautiful so the family and I loaded up and headed to 'the farm'. Both boys were so excited that Mom was going along this time. They couldn't wait for me to see all that they enjoy so much of... the 4-wheelers, golf carts, fishing ponds, creeks, etc. It was a great day and so nice to be out in the woods enjoying God's beautiful creation.

We are getting started with baseball with at least a couple practices each week. Samuel has a great coach again and we are looking forward to a wonderful baseball season at Kentuck. The boys have a campout planned for this weekend at 'the farm' with several fathers and sons participating. Samuel loves this time! We also just found out that some friends from Kentucky are coming down for a few days so we are all looking forward to that.

John Michael is growing by leaps and bounds! His current absolute obsession is horses. He has been crazy about horses for quite some time, but now... he's obsessed! He plays and plays with his horses, tractors, barns, trucks & wagons, etc... for hours. His favorite movie is Black Beauty and The Black Stallion Series that we check out at the library EVERY week. If he has a bad day at school, all I have to say is no Horse Movie and the problem is taken care of. I keep telling Joseph that we will be buying a horse one of these days!

I just started reading Firefly Lane and so far, I can't put it down. It's really good.... I just wish I had more time to read. Samuel is reading Tom Sawyer and we are looking forward to the upcoming Tuscaloosa Childrens Theatre production. John Michael is reading anything and everything to do with horses. Seriously! Every night, Black Beauty or another farm related book that has horses in it. Even educational books about horses. As long as there are horses, he's great!

Looking forward to Spring break next week!

Mercedes Marathon Kids Run February 13, 2010

2010-02-14T15:38:00.000-06:00

For three years now Samuel has ran in the Mercedes Marathon 1 mile run in Birmingham. It is always a fun thing and this year was no exception other than it was extremely cold. Even so, Samuel finished with his best time yet of 9 min 39 seconds. His goal was less than 10 so he was proud of himself.

After the run with his medal.

Just getting started!

Before the run at Linn Park, Birmingham.

John Michael & Joseph with "Babe Ruff" the Birmingham Barons mascot.

Samuel & our friend Deaveion after the run.

After the run we headed to the McWane center. This was our gift to the boys for Valentine's Day. Rather than buying something that I am always tempted to throw in the garbage three days later, we decided to just spend the day together. We spent a few hours at the McWane Center then headed to The Olive Garden for a late lunch/early dinner. Then to Barnes & Noble & Dicks Sporting Goods which I think Samuel, Deaveion, and John Michael really enjoyed. We finally rolled back into Tuscaloosa about 6:30 Saturday evening. We were all tired but it was a great way to spend our Valentine's Day.

Snow Day - 2010

2010-02-12T18:17:00.002-06:00

What a fun day! Not often do we get a snow day in Alabama so we made the most of it. Sledding, snowball fights, snow angels, hot chocolate and a fire to keep us warm. The boys had a blast playing with the neighborhood kids.

2010

2010-02-05T10:55:00.010-06:00

It has been my intention now for over a month to do a post about Christmas at the Jennings household but now that it is February 5th, I don't think it's going to happen. I'll just say that we had a wonderful Christmas with our family and both our extended families, we were extremely busy leading up to Christmas Eve, loved the boys reactions to all of the Christmas festivities, stories, baking, decorating, presents, etc., etc., etc. I had so many funny John Michael quotes & stories that I wanted to share but it seems so far removed now, I will let it pass. I started keeping a Christmas Journal in 2000 where I record special memories about the season and I absolutely adore going back each year and reading things the boys did, asked Santa for, or wanted to buy for someone else, favorite Christmas activities/traditions and so forth. The journal is something I will always cherish and I would recommend it to any mom. We are so blessed and the Christmas season always brings that home again. A few of my favorite traditions for our family are, of course, our elves Elfie & Bedford and all the fun they stir up. The boys love it and look forward to it so much every year. Even Samuel at 9 years old still loves the Elves. Secondly, the Christmas cookies we bake each year. Joseph & I started baking these sugar cookies years ago before we even had kids. It has become my 'thing' at the family Christmas gathering. This year I took it a little further and did several batches of cookies to share with friends, take to parties, give to teachers, etc. It really added to our Christmas spirit and we had so much fun in the process! Another thing we always enjoy, John Michael & Samuel were talking about it just this week, is getting our PJ's on, making hot chocolate, and going out to look at Christmas lights. A small thing that I love is constant Christmas music playing in the kitchen. I keep it on around the clock 24/7 and I love walking in the kitchen after the house is quiet at night or first thing in the morning and hearing it. Finally, the Christmas movies that we watch every year... Christmas with the Kranks, The Polar Express, The Elf, the Christmas Classics - Rudolph, Frosty, etc. We love these movies and I laugh so hard every time I watch the Kranks! The Polar Express was a favorite this year with John Michael and it is still one of Samuel's favorites as well. After Christmas, things slowed down a bit and we hibernated for a few days. It was very cold so we enjoyed a fire most every day/evening and just stayed home. I think we all read a book or two, the boys enjoyed playing with the things they received for Christmas, we played board games, video games, watched movies, and enjoyed a slower pace. I read a couple of really good books and have several on my 2010 reading list that I am looking forward to. I finally got around to reading The Shack. I know everyone else read it a year or two ago, but I just got around to it and I enjoyed it. I also read Dear John by Nicholas Sparks in anticipation of the newly released movie. I enjoyed it as well but not at the top of my favorites list. Something else that I have enjoyed during the month of January is sharing books with Samuel. He loves to read these Historical Fiction chapter books from his library at school. Knowing that I love the Titanic and Pearl Harbor movies, he brought a couple of books home related to those events and wanted me to read them when he was finished. I did and he has since brought other similar books home that we have shared. It has been fun for both of us. We are still enjoying the slower pace since we aren't involved in any sporting activities right now. Samuel decided he needed a break after almost nine straight months of baseball and football last fall. Still enjoying more time at home, cooking more, reading more, and I have even been knitting a little again. Samuel is still doing piano once a week and is in 'training' for the upcoming Mercedes Marathon and baseball will be starting in just a couple of weeks. We were very proud of him for saying all of his memory verses last year at church. He and only 2 others said all memory verses in the BMW (Bible Memory Warrior) program last year. We are very proud of him for the dedication and commitment it took to reach that goal. He has also made the all A honor roll both grading periods this school year. SO proud of him! John Michael has a computer class at school once a week and is eagerly anticipating his chance to hit the field this fall when he will be able to play soccer. Yes, it is nothing more than entertainment for the parents and others who want to come out and watch 3 year olds attempt at playing soccer. Should be a lot of fun to watch! He continues to challenge us every day with his own ideas and concepts of how things should go around the house. He always makes us laugh and keeps us on our toes! We celebrated Joseph's 41st birthday a couple of weeks ago by going to Hokkaido Japenese Steak House, Barnes & Noble, & Yogurt Mountain. A fun night for all of us! Thanks Joseph for being the wonderful husband and dad that you are! I appreciate you so much! Just a little news about what's going on with us. Happy 2010 to all!

Thanksgiving Blessings

2009-11-16T12:17:00.006-06:00

I really can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. 2009 is just a blur when I think about it. It has been a good year & a difficult year. Even still, we are very blessed. When I start "counting my blessings" there are too many to name. Of course the first things that come to mind are family, friends, good health, our home, our jobs, two thriving-happy-healthy boys, a wonderful God-loving husband, and a loving God who loves me & forgives me every day. I could go on and on with blessings God provides every single day... loving parents, food, clothing, water, good schools & wonderful teachers for our boys, freedom, laughter, opportunities, nature & it's beauty, a wonderful church, cars, more "things" than we will ever need, and on and on and on the list goes. But of all these, the ones that matter most are not the "things" but family, friends, and a relationship with our loving God. I know I neglect these every day but as I get older the more precious they become. We are truly blessed beyond measure & may I always be mindful of that. So today I want to say thank you to God & all our family & friends and wish everyone a happy & blessed Thanksgiving.

Who's Who?

2009-11-11T15:51:00.008-06:00

Everyone is always commenting on how much Samuel & John Michael look alike so I thought this would be fun. Below are two pictures. One is of Samuel in 2002 when he was 2 years old. The other is of John Michael this year at 2 years old both wearing the same Lion costume. Can you tell which is Samuel and which is John Michael?

They really do look alot alike. I better be putting names on the back of these pictures or 10 years from now even I won't be able to tell.

Random

2009-11-10T17:01:00.005-06:00

I rarely post things of this nature but when a three hour nap is in process on a rainy day such as this, why not? And this is my third post today. WOW! Anyway, I love to decorate especially for the seasons and holidays. So here are some random shots from around the house this fall.

"Let's go to the farm." These are some of my boys favorite words to hear from their daddy and John Michael is not about to let himself not be included. Anytime he hears the word 'farm' he pipes up with "me too, me too"! Especially when there is a tractor, 4-wheeler, golf cart, ponds & streams, deer stands and deer involved, BOTH boys are all about it. My philosophy is "what happens at the farm stays at the farm" and "what momma don't know....." because I'm sure I don't want to know what all goes on while they are there. I would freak, I'm sure. One day Samuel started to tell a story that involved the golf cart and JM being launched...... stop! I don't even want to know the rest of that story. Just bring everyone back safe and sound and I don't need to know what happens in between. Lots of great memories and father- son bonding going on and that is what matters. But I do say extra prayers on "farm days". These pictures were taken bright and early this past Saturday just as they were getting ready to leave out.

Fall Fun

2009-11-10T16:51:00.005-06:00

A fun Sunday afternoon! I remember doing this as a kid and having so much fun.

Halloween - a rock star, a lion, & a cowboy

2009-11-10T16:28:00.009-06:00

Halloween Night the boys enjoyed being a rock star and a "cute little lion". This is what we had to call John Michael's costume to convince him that it was okay to wear. To begin with he wanted nothing to do with the lion. He ended up having a great time pretending to be a lion. Samuel started out wanting to be a werewolf to which I agreed without really thinking about. I guess I was thinking about a cutsie type of werewolf but that was not what he had in mind. So, we bought a costume of which JM was terrified. So after a week of listening to JM cry about the "scary hands" and "take it back to store" Samuel agreed to be something else and that was a rock star. Samuel wore the lion costume when he was two and I just love it.

John Michael was a cowboy at preschool the day before Halloween. I didn't think he would be too comfy in the lion all day. This he loved! He is all about cowboys and horses. So CUTE!

A Late Beach Getaway

2009-11-04T13:34:00.005-06:00

What a nice surprise! Monday, a couple of weeks ago, a very dear friend of ours from Kentucky offered to let us use his condo at Hilton Head Island for that upcoming weekend. We decided to do it and surprised Samuel with the news as his reward for getting all A's on his progress report. He was so excited! So we left out on Thursday and had a great weekend. The weather was perfect. We rented bikes first thing and used that as our mode of transportation. I think we got in the car once the whole time we were there. What a nice change of pace! We spent the mornings riding bikes and spent the afternoons on the beach and I don't think I broke a sweat the whole time. John Michael loved the sand and the water and Samuel loved biking, "surfing", and playing football on the beach. We ate at some great seafood restaurants and Samuel loved being able to ride our bikes to dinner.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-08T08:09:00.004-06:00

Last Friday afternoon, John Michael and I picked Samuel up at school and we headed to the pumpkin patch to pick out some Pump-TINS as John Michael says. They had fun picking out their own special pumpkins. John Michael picked out several little ones and Samuel picked out the perfect pumpkin to carve in a couple of weeks. We took them home along with some mums, got out the rest of our Halloween and Fall decorations, and are now FALL ready. I love it!

Update

2009-08-19T12:07:00.004-06:00

Back to school! Yay! We are back in school and loving it. Samuel is so enthusiastic about school this year. He has always loved school, but this year he just can't wait to get there every morning. He loves his class, his teacher, and the new responsibilities of a third-grader. The first day, they did some of the usual "About Me" kind of worksheets. His answers were so mature! He has decided to venture out this year and play football for the first time. It is flag football, not tackle. No, mom isn't ready to allow that just yet! He is also playing Fall baseball and will move up to kid-pitch this season. He is continuing his piano again this year as well. We will be celebrating his 9th birthday this weekend. He has decided to have a swimming party and we are going to Six-Flags on Saturday. He is excited! John Michael is back in school also and he too loves his class and his teachers. I am loving the structure and the things he is learning already! He is taking a computer class called Compu-Child. Yes, he is two years old and taking a computer class. He also has music and art while he is at school. He is talking and saying just about anything he wants. Just ask him, he will tell you! One of his favorite things to do is go to Barnes & Noble and play with the trains. So, on Samuel's first day of school, John Michael and I went to BN to play. So sweet! It's not so sweet when it comes time to leave though! It usually isn't pretty.

We are looking forward to football season and can't wait for the first game to finally roll around. We are tired of talking about it and ready to get it started! Roll Tide!

A Good Big Brother

2009-06-26T12:28:00.002-06:00

Samuel plays with John Michael at his birthday party even though the toys were so "silly". He's a good big brother!

Birthdays and Baseball

2009-06-24T10:19:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday was John Michael's 2nd birthday. He is such a big boy! We celebrated last weekend with a small birthday party for just a few of his little buddies. We did an Old MacDonald theme at the indoor playground at Imagination Station. They played and had a good time exploring & climbing. John Michael really enjoyed the cup cakes. As a matter of fact he helped himself to three of them! Then on Wednesday, his PaPaw and Nanny came and spent the day with him and took him to Chuck E Cheese. Of course, he loved that! On Saturday, his actual birthday, after spending the morning at the ballpark, we took him to see the horses, one of his favorite things to do. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon at the "poo" another of his favorite things to do. I think he had a good birthday and his proud to say now that he is TWO! But he's not finished yet! He still has one more party with his grandparents coming up soon.

On to baseball... Samuel's baseball team won their district championship game on Saturday morning. We were so proud of them. Samuel had a fantastic play at home plate tagging a kid out! He also hit a triple! They are doing a great job even in this extreme heat. Area tournament is this weekend. Go Americans!

Summer... Then & Now

2009-06-17T10:24:00.004-06:00

I love summer. The only thing is, summer vacations are so short now. Wasn't summer break longer when we were kids? Was it really? I don't know for sure but summer seemed a lot longer when I was growing up. Of course we didn't have all of the many sources of "entertainment" that our kids have now. I grew up with two sisters and we lived in the country. We spent our days riding our bikes, playing with the water hose, "swimming" in a little plastic pool in the backyard, playing with our barbie dolls on the front porch, playing on a swing-set in the backyard, helping mom and dad in the vegetable garden, going to Vacation Bible School or a Gospel Meeting SOMEWHERE just about every night, chasing fireflys (lightning bugs) around at night, shelling peas, lying in the cool grass under a shade tree reading a book, playing with the neighbor kids, playing red-rover and rock-school for no reason other than to pass the time, and dreaming about our upcoming one & only annual vacation to the beach. How different is that from how our kids spend their summer days now? We stay so busy that it seems August rolls around before we blink an eye. Is it better this way or was it better the way I grew up? I don't know, just something to ponder. As I was sitting at yet another baseball practice over the weekend I was looking at our calendar for the remainder of the summer break. We have only two free weekends before going back to school and one of those weekends we hope to go to the beach. The word that comes to mind when I think about my summers as a child is carefree. How much "carefree - nothing to do - use my imagination" time do my boys have? Not much and maybe not enough. Again, something to ponder.

Moving On....

2009-06-05T12:25:00.003-06:00

The Pirates came in 2nd place in the tournament which was great but I have to admit, we were all a little disappointed. Not in the team, just in the outcome. Winning the regular season and coming in 2nd in the tournament is nothing to complain about. That's a great season but we felt that our boys deserved to win it all. They played their hearts out the entire season with only 9 players when all of the other teams had 11. Oh well, we have moved on and Samuel is now playing All-Stars which means baseball all summer long. They have already started practices which have been for about 3 hours every night. He loves it and we are looking forward to it as well. We have been swimming most everyday since school got out last week. Samuel and I went on Saturday and Sunday then on Monday, of course, we took John Michael. I obviously wasn't thinking when I packed my book in our pool bag! I mean, did I really think I would be able to sit and read with a two year old at the pool? NOT! Let me say that the nice, relaxing, poolside visits are over when you take a two year old little boy who thinks he is as big as his eight year old brother. Needless to say, the book hasn't been back to the pool since Monday. Another interesting visit this week was to the library. I thought I could take John Michael in withOUT the stroller and we would sit and read some books while Samuel made his book choices. Mistake #2! Again, what was I thinking? We left with NO books, and one child kicking and screaming AFTER I found him hiding from me in the Adult book section! And don't even ask how many books had been pulled off the shelves when we made our escape. Aahhhh... the WONDERFUL TWOs! Isn't that what they are called?!? I am trying to plan John Michael's birthday party but once again, just as last year, we have baseball tournament conflicts. I thought I was being smart and started planning it for three weeks before his actual birthday because we know we have a tournament both the weekend of and the weekend after. We got to practice last night and found out we are playing in a tournment THAT weekend also. Poor thing.... will he ever get a real party?!?!? I am still waiting to find out if we will be playing on Sunday and hoping that it will work out. Don't even ask what Samuel's first and second birthday parties consisted of. Let me see, the word overboard comes to mind! Two words that have been on my mind lately are "simplify" and "rocketship". I will expound on the rocketship more later and I think we can all probably relate to simplify. My thoughts keep coming back to YES, but HOW? Can anyone else relate? Happy summer to all!

Update

2009-05-29T09:01:00.002-06:00

Wednesday was the last day of second grade for Samuel and as we walked down the halls of Northport Elementary I had tears in my eyes. Third grade already? For some reason third grade just seems so "big" and I can't believe we are there. I very distinctly remember my third grade school year. I remember it being a tough year academically but I also remember experiencing a lot of difficult growing pains. I also remember my teacher, Ms. May, who I would have sworn was 80 years old then but just recently retired so I guess she really wasn't that old. But boy was she GRUMPY! I pray that Samuel's third grade experience will be better and he will have lots of wonderful memories to reflect upon when he is my age. So far we have been SO wonderfully blessed with teachers. Case in point... just last night, the first night of summer vacation, I walk into the bathroom where Samuel is taking his bath, and he is just boo-hooing. I asked what in the world was wrong and he said that he missed Mrs. Sparks already. He went on to say that he didn't even want to think about a whole summer of no school and not getting to see her every day. I love it! And, I remember tears and similar conversations after kindergarten and first grade. He has LOVED his teachers which has turned into a love for school in general. I feel I should pass last nights conversation on to Mrs. Sparks who has obviously meant so much to our son for the past 10 months. Baseball - Well, the regular season is over and Samuel's team, the Pirates, came in 1st place with only ONE loss the entire season. How exciting is that? AND, we are in the final 2 days of tournament and have not lost a game yet. If they win tonight at 5:30 they will play in the championship game tomorrow. It was been a great season not only because of the winning but because we have a great group of boys and parents. We have all enjoyed it soooo much and are so proud of our boys for always rising to the occasion and for always conducting themselves like true winners. They are an awesome group of 8 year old boys. So, I will update on how the tournament turns out after tomorrow. Go Pirates! John Michael will be two in less than a month now! I can't believe that my baby is turning two just as much as I can't believe Samuel will soon be turning nine. They are growing up tooo fast. The saying "the days are long but the years are short" is so true. He is moving up to the two-year/toddler classroom this summer. I think he will enjoy this class even more because of the structure and the level of activities he will be able to participate in. He is so smart and is a constant source of entertainment around our house. And, boy does he keep us on our toes! He loves going to the ballpark. Only problem is, he thinks he should be playing baseball too! Forget that stroller, he is NOT keeping his little bottom in there. SO after depleting all of the snacks, drinks, and whatever other tricks I can muster, I chase him around while trying to watch as much of the game as possible. Joseph is the official "book-keeper" for our team so it's up to me to do the chasing. Oh well, it's all part of the fun! We are planning an "Old Macdonald" themed birthday party for John Michael. He loves all things related to the farm. Particularly horses, cows, tractors, and most anything else so it is the perfect choice for his 2nd birthday party. I love planning birthday partys especially at this age. We actually did this same theme for Samuel's 2nd birthday and it was one of my favorites. I can't wait - He is going to love it! More Later...

Update

2009-04-09T08:19:00.002-06:00

Well the camping trip was a huge success. In Samuel's words... IT WAS AWE-SOME! And according to his buddies parents, that was the same reaction they got. Despite the 38 degree overnight temperature, there were no complaints from any of the boys. Thanks Joseph! Memories they will never forget! Meanwhile, John Michael & I spent a nice weekend at my parents with my sisters and their kids. John Michael got lots of love and attention since he is the only "baby" in the family now. We hid easter eggs, played outside, blew bubbles and more bubbles which is a current favorite pasttime. Samuel and Joseph even made it downtown to see the Blue Angels on Saturday afternoon, even though they were dead tired, and I'm so glad they did since the show was cancelled on Sunday. They were really impressed and Samuel can't wait until they come back. One more school day until Spring Break! We are looking forward to doing some fun things around town. Some things we have in mind are a movie for Samuel and myself, library story time with John Michael, visiting the park and CHOM, and even a lunch picnic with dad. Of course there will be ballgames which we always enjoy! OH... something I am really looking forward to for myself is attending "My Monet" with my good friend Karen on Thursday night. I am so excited about that!

Camping Trip

2009-04-03T09:37:00.002-06:00

Samuel is so glad that today has finally arrived. For about three weeks now, he and his dad have been planning an overnight camping trip. This afternoon around 3:00 Samuel, his dad, and four of his buddies are headed to Fayette County to the Jennings hunting land/family farm to begin their camping adventure. I can't even begin to describe how excited Samuel has been about this. They have been making lists, making plans, shopping, and getting things ready for this trip for days and the anticipation has just been building with excitement. The plans are to hike, fish, play in the crystal clear creek that runs through the property, build a campfire, and of course sleep outside in a tent. They will be cooking dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning over a campfire including monkey bread and bacon and eggs. In the morning after breakfast the plan is to hike to the top of a "mountain" (hill) and have a devotional centered around friendships. Yes, Joseph is quite the outdoorsman and I have to give him complete credit for all of this. Of course there will be all kinds of other spontanious "boy stuff" going on and I'm sure, without a doubt, there will not be a clean article of clothing coming home with them tomorrow afternoon. I pray they are all safe and no emergency room trips are necessary. Otherwise, I hope they have a great time! Meanwhile, John Michael and I are heading to Winfield to my mom and dad's to enjoy some time with my family. We will also enjoy a nice warm bed to sleep in tonight while the big boys are enjoying the great outdoors. More on the trip next week.....

Baseball has Begun

2009-03-23T12:05:00.003-06:00

Go Pirates!! Baseball has begun with the Jamboree taking place this past Saturday. Samuel is on the Pirates team this season and their colors are black and gold. The fun thing about this is, my highschool was/is the pirates and our colors were also black and gold. Lots of good memories of cheering for the Pirates so this will be a fun season if nothing else for that reason. However, we have high hopes for a really good season for this little team. They looked really good at their first game this weekend and beat what was expected to be the best team 12 - 3. They were so excited! We are all excited actually about this upcoming season and we are looking forward to a great time. I'm taking bets on how long it will take for John Michael to actually flip over the railing down about 5 feet to the ground below. Way too much excitement down in the dugout that he just wants to be a part of! We will keep you posted on that and on how the Pirates are doing!

Snow Much Fun

2009-03-01T16:38:00.006-06:00

What a fun day! Sledding, snow ball fights, snowman building, hot coffee, and just a lot of fun! We even made Snow Cream! And it was really good... Thanks Joseph!

SNOW

2009-03-01T16:21:00.005-06:00

Now this is the kind of day I love. I just wish the snow would stick around a little longer. We were up and outside playing well before 8:00 this morning and both boys didn't want to go inside. Samuel spent most of the day outside playing as a matter of fact. I don't think he came in until most of the snow had melted away this afternoon. It was fun while it lasted. Our house/yard was the place to be since we are the only ones who actually own sleds AND we live on a hill. It was so much fun.... See for yourself!

Basketball Highlights

2009-03-01T16:06:00.004-06:00

Halftime entertainment for John Michael. Don't even think about it!

Samuel takes it out!

I'm not positive but I think this was a "Yes!" after getting a basket.

The lineup!

Basketball is over but, as always, we had a great time. Samuel had a good season and improved his basketball skills as well. My biggest challenge was keeping John Michael off the court during practice and games. It won't be long till he is out there! Baseball begins this week!

Busy Weekend

2009-02-18T10:49:00.005-06:00

Birmingham - Race Day!

Giving it his all!!!

This past weekend was a busy one for us, as they all seem to be these days. We started out on Friday with a 2nd grade field trip to Birmingham to the WcWane Center. Hair cut immediately after arriving back in T-town and then over to some friends house to hang out and visit for the evening. At the same time Samuel has basketball practice at 6:00. Up bright and early Saturday morning and head back to Birmingham for the Mercedes Marathon kids run. That was fun! Now we are all starving and ready for lunch and it is Valentine's day so let's do something special. Let me remind you that our family FUN time has been limited lately with my working extra and all of the busyness we have going on. So, we decided to have lunch and go bowling. We had a great time and arrived back home around 5:00 that evening. Thank goodness it was a long weekend with no school on Monday. Samuel decided sometime during the week that he wanted to go fishing with his Dad for Valentine's day. So Sunday afternoon they head out to Zidon and had a blast. Samuel is still talking about the "big one" he caught that his daddy wouldn't let him keep. I stayed home with John Michael and he took an extra long nap, catching up for all of the activities I guess. I actually relaxed and watched a couple of movies while doing laundry in between. I finally got to watch "Nights in Rodanthe" and rewatched "Pearl Harbor". I had forgotten how good "Pearl Harbor" was, and how long, and I also liked "Nights in Rodanthe" actually more than I thought I would. I love to read Nicholas Sparks and always enjoy the movies but why do they always have to end so sad?!? Anyway, I enjoyed it and really enjoyed the down time. A couple weeks ago, John Michael got his first hair cut. Now he looks like a big boy!! I love those chubby cheeks!

Just Another Pic

2009-02-11T13:12:00.004-06:00

I love beach pictures!

Just a Pic

2009-01-21T21:18:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday and Other Happenings

2009-01-21T09:13:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will celebrate Joseph's 40th birthday! Soooo...if you see him, you have my permission to give him a hard time about it. I remember very distinctly, and so does he, him saying several years ago (even before we had Samuel) that he did not want to be a 40 year old with a 2 year old running around. Well guess what? Tomorrow he is 40 and in June John Michael will be 2!! Funny how things work out! Basketball is well underway and Samuel is having a great time. He is on the same team with several of his good buddies from church and school so he loves that. He also loves the games and just has a great time. John Michael loves it too!!! So much so that we can't keep him off the court! Talk about keeping us busy!!! Since Joseph and I are both accountants, January is always a busy month for us and even more so this year. Back in December I was approached about doing some Audit and Tax work for a local CPA firm on a part time basis through tax season. Well, there goes my Tuesday and Thursdays at home. So we are just trying to stay afloat these days and my Mom has been a lifesaver by coming down a couple of days each week to stay at home with John Michael. She has been spending the night so Samuel has really enjoyed playing board games with her after John Michael has gone to bed. Joseph and I really appreciate her help (she always catches us up on laundry). John Michael loves staying with her and she enjoys the special time with both boys. I am actually enjoying the audit work more than I thought I would. I think I was kind of ready for a change of pace and it is nice knowing that it is only temporary. Come March/April I will be done, until next year. It is amazing how God gives you what you need just when you need it. He is giving me extra measures of patience at home and the energy and good health to keep this pace up and meet my obligations. We are looking forward to a little break soon and heading North to visit good friends and hopefully see some snow and even do a little snow skiing.

How quickly things can change

2009-01-12T13:52:00.002-06:00

I just realized that my last post was just a couple of hours before we received a phone call from one of our very good friends who's husband was at the hospital and passed away around 10:30 that very night. It has been a very hard week and I would like to ask all of our out of town friends and family to be praying for this wonderful family. Her name is Karen and you will see a link to her blog below. She has two precious little boys, Phillip (7) and Evan (5). Brad was only 33 years old so this was very unexpected. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers over the next several weeks. As we were sitting at the hospital that night one of the girls mentioned how the things she was so concerned about earlier that evening, now were so unimportant. This has been a reminder to a lot of us to appreciate our husbands and children because we never know how quickly they might be taken away from us. I hope to be a little more appreciative and not take what God has given me for granted.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-06T20:12:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and the new year is off to a great start. We have been so busy I almost feel as if we haven't even had a break. Well, I do but you know what I mean. We are back to school tomorrow and I am starting a new career venture on Thursday which will run through March and will tie up my Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am excited and nervous about the whole thing but it will be good I think. It will be a rough three months but hopefully will be worth it. I will post some Christmas pictures later.

2008-12-23T23:15:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

John Michael

2008-12-17T10:48:00.002-06:00

Last week John Michael was sick with yet another double ear infection. We saw his doctor and she referred him for tubes and she scheduled the consultation for this past Tuesday. I was expecting the actual procedure to be after Christmas but it is scheduled for 6:00 tomorrow morning. Yikes! I had quite a list of things to do this week and this was not on there. Of course we had the appointment on Tuesday, had a pre-op appointment this morning, and have to be there at 6:00 tomorrow morning. Of course he will not go to school on Friday so there goes my week. I just hope it takes care of the problem and he feels better and stops having these yucky ear infections! Say a little prayer for him in the morning that all goes well and that there are no complications and he recovers quickly.

We Like Santa Afterall

2008-12-06T16:49:00.002-06:00

We went for Breakfast with Santa this morning and John Michael actually liked Santa and Mrs. Clause. I really didn't know what to expect. We have been watching him on TV alot lately and looking at pictures of him in books and he seemed to be okay with it, but I didn't know. I thought these pictures turned out really good. Yay!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2008-12-05T12:42:00.005-06:00

I wish these pictures were taken in real snow but I guess here in the south we have to settle for soap bubbles. These were taken at Dicken Downtown Tuesday night. We can pretend, can't we? Elfie and Bedford were "just hangin around" Tuesday night when we got home from Dickens Downtown. John Michael riding a "horse", one of his favorite pasttimes these days.

Seventeen Years!

2008-12-05T09:16:00.002-06:00

I can't believe Joseph and I have been married seventeen years this coming Sunday. Wow! Where does time go? We are trying to decide what we want to do to celebrate this year. Before kids, we used to do something really special every year. Of course with it being so close to Christmas it always seems extra special. One year we went to a little bed & breakfast in Versailes Kentucky and went to a really quaint little restaurant. Another year we went to "The Red Geranium", another really neat restaurant in New Harmony Indiana. A couple of years ago we went to Gatlinburg to celebrate and last year we went to "The Phantom of the Opera" in October as an early celebration. Joseph has always been awesome about coming up with neat ways for us to celebrate this special event for us. We spent our honeymoon in Steamboat Springs Colorado and one of these days we want to go back there. Like I said, Christmas makes it even more special because wherever we go the lights and sounds of Christmas are there and when we were in Kentucky, lots of years, there was snow. This morning when I got to work I had a beautiful arrangements of flowers.... a Christmas bouquet with a little snowy house in the center. Thank you sweetheart for the flowers but most of all thank you for seventeen wonderful years! I love you!

They're Here!

2008-12-03T09:58:00.003-06:00

Elfie & Bedford arrived two nights ago and boy do we have some excitement around our house! As many of you know, Elfie is our magical elf that has been with Samuel every Christmas since his very first. He arrives when we put our Christmas tree up and leaves on Christmas Eve with Santa. Bedford joined us last year a couple of days before Christmas due to a letter sent to Santa from Samuel on John Michael's behalf. They have been up to their usual tricks already! This is one of our favorite traditions! We have such good memories of all the things our elves have gotten into and Samuel can't wait every year for the arrival. He loves it and John Michael will too, I'm sure, as he catches on to the whole idea. Sometimes there is quite a mess to clean up when these little guys are finished with one of their tricks. They love to get into the toilet paper, pop popcorn for themselves, watch movies during the night, climb the Christmas tree, get into the refrigerator, even bake cookies, play video games, anything you can imagine. Last year they went to McDonalds during the night and the next morning we found the jeep parked all crooked in the garage with Happy Meal boxes and french fries all over the place and Christmas music blaring loud! Another morning Samuel couldn't find Elfie anywhere. When he got to school he found him hidden away in his backpack. And the best part? His teacher's kids have elves also so she played along and Elfie did tricks in his classroom! How great was that? Another of our favorites was Joseph's idea. Again, we couldn't find Elfie one morning. He had gone to work with Joseph and came home with a Coral Industries official picture ID badge and a paycheck and everything. That was great. Samuel still talks about all of these tricks from one year to the next. It has been something we will all remember for years to come. How many more years does Samuel have still believing? I don't know, but I do know that we will all be sad when it ends for him. But the fun part will be him helping play tricks for John Michael. I will keep you posted on some of the latest tricks!

Samuel's First Deer

2008-11-24T20:30:00.003-06:00

Samuel got his first deer this past Saturday morning but I don't know who was more giddy with excitement, he or his dad. This is a moment Joseph has looked forward to since before Samuel was even born. Not the actual kill of his son's first deer, but the whole hunting experience with his son(s). He truly loves getting out in the woods and the quietness and oneness with nature. He has always talked about the bonding time it would provide for them. So anyway, this past weekend was a special time for them.

Yes, it scares me seeing my baby/big boy sitting there with a gun looking so grown up. I just can't think about all that goes on probably while they are out on a "hunt". The climbing up into a tree stand and however far up that is and just the handling of a gun. I just have to trust and pray that God will protect them both as they enjoy this experience together.

Roll Tide & Thank You

2008-11-21T12:42:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday night Samuel & I had an exciting, unexpected night out! We had pictures done for our Christmas cards with Kim Lawson at 4:00. On the way home we were talking about what we were going to fix to eat while we watched the ballgame that night and Samuel says that he would really like to go to the game. I tried to talk Joseph into taking him down and trying to get tickets, mind you it is now about 5:00 and kickoff is at 6:45. Joseph suggests that Samuel and I go since I have not even been to a game this season. Of course Samuel gets all excited at the possibility so we go home, quickly change into warm clothes, gather up all of our ball game necessities and head down. We found tickets right off the bat with seats that were covered and with our backs to the brisk wind. We had a great time and it was some much needed one-on-one Mother/Son time. Now, how many husbands would give up a ballgame opportunity to stay home with a little one, just so wife/mom could go to a ballgame and spend some quality time with her oldest son? Not many I would guess. I truly am blessed to have such a wonderful husband and father to our boys!

Samuel's First Hunt

2008-11-17T14:00:00.002-06:00

Samuel is growing up! One sure sign is his new desire and excitement about hunting with his dad. Sunday afternoon they went out for the first time and he actually had the opportunity to take a shot at a doe, but missed. He was fine with that though. He was just so excited about the whole experience. I foresee many years of male bonding taking place up in Fayette County for these two and, not so long down the road, John Michael as well. He already cries when his daddy and big brother leave the house, so I'm sure he will be tagging along as soon as they will let him.

My First Deer - A Six-Pointer

2008-11-07T10:24:00.002-06:00

Wednesday night on our way to church I got my first deer, although not on purpose! I guess you could say it actually got us with $2,000 worth of damage to prove it. Thankfully no one was hurt! We were on our way to church at about 6:15, it was dark, we were on Martin Road. I looked up, saw the deer and immediately hit the deer. It happened that quick. John Michael never even knew what happened and Samuel couldn't wait to get to church to tell his buddies. It was sad actually to think that I had taken the life of a living animal. No pictures to post of this one!

Halloween Happenings

2008-11-06T12:06:00.003-06:00

We had a great time on Halloween. Both boys were so cute/cool in their costumes and had a blast on our neighborhood trick or treat hayride. We started the morning out with a field trip to Birmingham to Disney on Ice featuring The Incredibles. We all enjoyed it, John Michael included. John Michael was so cute in his Little Big Al costume and was a favorite among fellow trick or treaters. Samuel did an awesome job coming up with his own costume this year. I was so proud of him! Hope your halloween was great also.

Pumpkin Carving & Decorating

2008-10-28T20:49:00.004-06:00

Tonight we carved a couple of pumpkins and decorated a wee little pumpkin with John Michael. Samuel enjoyed more liberties with the carving tools this year as he is now a big 8 years old so he did 99% of the carving on his. His is the one on the right on the bottom picture and Joseph carved the one eyed dude on the left. John Michael and I did the Mrs. witch potato head pumpkin. He loved playing with it afterwards which gave us a good Christmas idea. We always look forward to carving our pumpkins and John Michael enjoyed his first Halloween carving tradition this year. Hope you enjoy your carving as much as we did!

Some Random Thoughts

2008-10-17T10:09:00.015-06:00

I can't believe October is halfway over already! Where does the time go? November is knocking on the door and that means the holidays are just around the corner as well. I really can't believe it! I haven't even thought about Christmas shopping yet. Not even for our boys! I mean I really have NO ideas at this point. Any sugestions? We are excited about Halloween as this is a favorite holiday around our house. We love to decorate, not that we do a whole lot, but we enjoy the pumpkins and scarecrows. A couple weeks ago we were looking at costumes in Target and decided not to purchase a costume this year and come up with our own. This is my favorite thing to do anyway, but the last couple of years Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker have been the choices so we purchased those. But not this year! Samuel has decided to be an Army Soldier and we have plenty of camo around our house to take care of that. John Michael might follow suit and be a little Army Soldier or he could be Big Al and use the elephant costume Samuel wore at that age. We are looking forward to the annual trick or treat hayride we do with our neighbors with chili and a bonfire back at our house afterwards.

We recently had some friends come down from Kentucky for the bama/kentucky game. It was so much fun and we really enjoyed catching up with everyone! We need to do it more often guys!

Last weekend we "Booed" our neighbors and Samuel (and Joseph) had a blast. He and his buddy Tate got all dressed up in their camo and could not wait for the mission to begin! The first target was a success. They knocked on the door, left the goody bag, ran, and had to army crawl across our front yard to keep from getting caught. We watched the neighbors from the window walking around with flashlights trying to catch the little goblins responsible. The next house (target) they weren't so lucky due to an abundance of stairs leading up the front porch. They were busted but the neighbor didn't let on that he saw them. Samuel is already making plans for next year!

Tonight is Fall Festival at school and BBQ nachos afterwards. I am loving the cooler weather we are expecting this weekend. I can't wait to see my little guys in their new Fall clothes from the consignment sale last weekend. Lots of cute things and great deals!

Have a wonderFALL weekend!