Batter Up!

I cannot believe it. My little guys are playing tball! Okay, maybe they are bent down most of the innings drawing in the sand with a stick, but they are on the field and they are in uniform right? They really are doing well so far. It's a brand new experience for both of them and so far they're doing great. It is a short session this year for only 6 weeks with practices on Fridays and games on Saturdays but that is enough to get their feet wet...and ours! Their schedule has quickly became our schedule! Here are some great pics of the boys and a video of their first big hits!

Where has the time gone?

Well, I'm not sure really how to start. I haven't blogged in over two months now and I'm not sure where the time went! I'm thinking that it probably slipped right through my little fingers as I was finishing up the spring semester with school, shuttling the kiddos back and forth to preschool each day, doing tball practice on Fridays, games on Saturdays and holding down the fort in between. Needless to say, things are not really calming down for me but at least summer is here! I am so excited to spend the summer with the boys. We have a full calendar of activities planned and I promise to be more diligent about posting. In fact, I think I'll start today!

Wacky Wednesday

The boys are still celebrating Dr. Seuss at preschool this week. Today was Wacky Wednesday so we went all out for the occasion. Here are some pics.

Oh yeah, now that's stylin'.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today was Dr. Seuss's 105th birthday! We all love the classics, One Fish..Two Fish..., How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Cat and The Hat and of course Green Eggs and Ham. Jalen surprised his classmates today with a Dr. Seuss birthday cake for snack. He told me that he got a round of applause:) (I didn't even know that he knew what that meant!) Once we made it home we continued the celebration by watching The Cat and The Hat and having a make your own sundae party complete with crazy blue frosting. We even had our drinks "inked" for the occasion :O Finally, we read their favorite Dr. Seuss books before heading off to bed to dream of Whoville. Oh how I love my little thing 1 and my little thing 2. Without them I don't know what I would do. They are dear to my heart, to my heart they are dear, being a mommy is such an awesome career!

" Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

~Dr. Seuss

Will You Be Mine

The boys and I had lots of fun today making valentines to send to Granny, Mammaw and Grandma. Jalen addressed the envelope himself and put it in the mailbox. They were both so excited! Jameson called his friend Ry Ry to see if she would be his Valentine. Then Jalen got mad and said that he didn't have a girl to be his Valentine. When I told him that I would be happy to be his, he informed me that I was too old and that he needed someone that was only 5.



In making our valentines, we realized that a lot of our crayons were broken and missing wrappers. We've been trying to recycle all of our plastics at home but why not recycle our crayons? Sounds like fun to me! We sprayed the inside of a muffin pan with PAM and placed an assortment of colors in each tin. Then we stuck it in the oven on 400 degrees for 5 minutes. After cooling in the freezer, our new crayon buttons popped right out. Aren't they cool?

Four Hours of Fun

Today was Jalen's first day of preschool. Unfortunately, they didn't have availability on the same days that Jameson attends so I'm dropping off every day Monday - Friday, just alternating kiddos. Craaaazy!

Although the schedule of it all is some what chaotic, it allows me to have one on one time with each of them for a few hours each morning and that has been amazing. Today, since Jalen was in school, mommy and Jameson ran a few errands and then had some fun.

First we went to library and read a book about Groundhog's Day.



Then we did a puppet show!


On to Uniquely Yours pottery to paint a dinosaur!



After pottery, we went to the post office, the ups store and grocery shopping before picking up our brother. Jalen had a great 1st day, loved his teacher and learned a lot.




Look mom, he saw his shadow. Six more week's of winter!

Can I taste it yet?

Well, the boys and I stayed home for the majority of the day. We watched cartoons, cleaned the playroom and practiced the alphabet. Then, I realized that I needed several things from the store. Yeah, only one problem. I had already given them baths, they were in their pajamas and James wasn't going to be home for a few more hours. So, we threw on our shoes and our coats and headed to the store. Fortunately, there was only one other person inside and we didn't look too lazy. It's a snow day right? Pjs are totally permitted. When we got home, our neighbor had plowed our driveway as well as the other houses on both sides of us. How sweet is that? We hardly know them but everytime it snows, he makes sure that our driveway is clear. I couldn't even tell you his name but one thing is for sure, acts of random kindness are far and few between in today's world. Jameson and I decided that it would be nice to bake a warm batch of brownies to take over as our way of saying thank you. With each step of the process I heard "Can I taste it yet". Finally, I gave him his wish. He licked the spatula clean. He's always mommy's little helper around the kitchen. Love him!

"Can I taste it yet?"

"Can I taste it now?" " Is it almost ready to taste?"

"Can I taste it? I just want to taste it."

"Yum. It tastes really good, our neighbor will like it. " I like it too. "

Girls Night Out

The ladies from our Covenant class enjoyed "27 Dresses" night at The Melting Pot on Tuesday. The weather was horrible and the snow just kept coming but that wasn't going to stop 12 chocolate lovin women from their night on the town. We all dressed up in old prom or bridesmaid dresses and headed to The Melting Pot for a night of fun. We paraded around the restaurant in the fashion show all competing to win 12 free months of chocolate fondue! Well, being the strategic team that we are, we all voted for our fearless coordinator for the night and she won best dress! Since there were 12 girls total, she divided her winnings amongst all of us and we all received a certificate for a free chocolate fondue! The food was amazing, the chocolate was even better and the company was the best. We all had a great time and cannot wait to do it again:) Thanks girls!

To God Be The Glory

Well, there are no pictures to go with this post but every happy face posted this year will be as a result of what you're about to read. In February of 2008, James and I filed for full custody of our two boys. Month after month, hearings were set, rescheduled and drawn out. Our lives were under a microscope for the past 10 months with vultures just waiting to find something that they could attack us with. We remained faithful to God, following His path and speaking only the truth throughout the process. There were days that we questioned why we were going through this and days where we cried with frustration. The past week was the most difficult. It was finally down to the week that the decision would be made. James and I called daily as the secretaries at the court became more and more frustrated, finally asking us not to call back until we received notification by mail. We continued to call daily. Finally, today at 12:45, James received a phone call at work stating that we had been awarded full custody. I could go into great detail as to how the decision was made and why we were concerned for the children in their other environment but none of that is important. What is important is that our God is a faithful God, an unchanging God and a remarkable God. Looking back we can see how His hand was at work all along. He knew what His plan consisted of and His plan was one to not to harm us but to give us a future and hope. He could see what was best for His children and the results had to come in His timing and not our own. Throughout the past year's trials, we've learned a lot through perseverance and through our love for Christ and especially through His love for us. We are honored that He has entrusted the boys to us and we vow to raise them to be followers of Christ and to teach them about His word and His love for us. We are both so excited to start our life together as a family. I look forward to many posts of happy times and happy faces. To God Be The Glory!

Welcome to the family Tommy Rodger

I now realize that Christmas was over two weeks ago and I haven't posted since December 20th.
Ahh...so much to share. We spent Christmas Eve at James's parents house down south. Good times. I made homemade caramel corn which was a big hit that paired nicely with my apple dumplings for dessert, yum! The boys were so excited. They were amazed that we made popcorn on the stove and that it didn't come from a brown paper bag with steam rolling from the microwave. It was great to spend time with family that we don't see very often. Christmas morning was a hoot! I tried to sneak in the shower before the boys woke up but as soon as Jalen heard the floor creak it was "Mommy, did Santa come?". We headed downstairs only to find that Santa had ate our cookies and that the reindeer were quite pleased with their carrots. We even left Santa strawberry milk this year! Jalen thought that he would like to try something new.
We started the morning with a hearty breakfast...it was our Happy Birthday Jesus cake what else? Then it was on to the presents. Jameson opened his oh so wanted tool bench (not what it sounds like when he says it ;),Jalen was thrilled with Sorry Slider but that was only the beginning. Oh yes, what was that tall present under the quilt? Ahhhh.....IT'S A GUINEA PIG...SANTA BROUGHT ME A GUINEA PIG, OH I KNEW HE WOULD, I KNEW HE WOULD, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SILLY SANTA BROUGHT ME A GUINEA PIG! ......priceless. Tommy Rodger is his name and messy is his game. That's right, we are the proud new parents of Tommy Rodger, a 1 month old calico guinea pig that the boys believe came straight from the north pole. I hate to admit it but the little guy is sort of cute. Against better judgement of course but what do you do when 1 week before the big day you hear "Dear Santa, if I only get one present this year, I hope it's a guinea pig"? After all the boys have been through this year..I figured what the heck. I'll be sure to post some pictures of the newest addition to our family very soon.