The Hicks Family

Popcorn Dinner

2012-01-25T10:30:00.002-06:00

We've had popcorn for dinner the past two nights. Collier's Favorite! I did make him eat some fruit first but then it was popcorn after that. I am sure I deserve Mother of the Year!

I've been sick and still not quite up to my old self yet. Praying that I'll get over this crap soon! I've been out of work for two days and am really ready to feel better and certainly ready for some sleep.

My Mom and Dad are super duper stars and have done more than I ever could have asked while I've am been down and out. Justin has been in and out of town and their extra help has been above and beyond. They are rock stars....because they have also had some of this sick crap and have still been more help than I could have imagined.

Collier seems to be feeling better. He is certainly sleeping better, but has complained a little about one of his ears still. I have a feeling we'll be going back to double check and be sure they are both clearing up like they are really supposed to!

The weather is crazy around here. Hot days and cold days merging together....no wonder we're sick. Collier wore shorts and short sleeve shirt on Monday. Will probably wear the same tomorrow... Has anyone noticed that it is January!

I want to start doing a weekly video of Collier to sort of better document changes and stages. I wanted to post it every Tuesday but I am having a hard time getting him to cooperate with the video camera. So, we'll see if that will actually pan out or not. Who knows.

Being sick I haven't done half of what needs to be done for the nursery. It will get done. I am sure of it...well, with the help of Gods perfect timing.

Collier loves his scooter and rides it all through our house! It makes him happy and makes us laugh because he rides fast and turns corners a little faster than you would expect.

I just finished reading Kisses from Katie and it is inspiring, touching and simply amazing. She is such a wonderful reflection of Christ and of His love for us and for EVERY person around us. I have tried to change my perspective and be more aware of those around me and their needs and less about my needs [I have failed miserably this week being sick...it has been all about me....but even in that I have tried to praise Him because even though it seems horrible that I am preggo and sick and can't take anything...He feels my pains and He knows exactly what I am going through. It is in these times that we are to turn to Him and rely on His strength and that is what I am TRYING to do]. But it really is an awesome book and I really recommend that you read it. If you don't already read her blog....go and read it! You will be inspired. She is amazing.

Sorry that this is SOOO Random. My brain isn't quite working right and maybe I'll get back on track soon...Although honestly it may be after March before that will happen. I just thought I would share what we've been up to lately.

Sleepless

2012-01-18T13:36:00.003-06:00

We have had two sleepless nights in a row. I just thought that Sunday night was a fluke and was nearly as tired as I can remember being since having a new born [maybe God is preparing me for this baby girl] as he was up every hour crying for me. Monday night I decided not to go to bible study and stay home with Collier. He acted fine but his eyes told a different story. We had a low key and good night. After we all got in the bed and prayed for good sleep and God's healing hand....he started crying about 20 minutes later, Justin went in to check on him and couldn't get him to settle down at all. He was hysterical. He even gagged and threw up he was crying to hard; not much but enough to have to strip the bed down. I couldn't get him to tell me what was wrong or hurting. Justin stripped and remade the bed and the whole time Collier kept pointing that he wanted to go night night. He was up and down for the next few hours. At 11:30 I noticed that he was swatting at his ear and it hit me, oh he has an ear infection. For him to be crying as hard as he was and not able to get to sleep, that had to be it. I gave him more motrin and he finally got through the night with a few solid hours of sleep. Over the past 24 hours he has told me that his teeth and cheeks hurt him. His right eye yesterday was red and glassy and his cheeks were rosey red. We checked temperature several times and no fever.

After a quick trip to the doctor yesterday morning, my fear was confirmed that he has infections in both of his ears. According to the doctor, pretty bad ones. Reason enough to cry for me. Antibiotic is now started and just praying that his little ears will be healed up and he gets to feeling better. He slept all night last night with only a few times waking up and stirring. But even those few times he never cried or actually woke up. I think that he was talking in his sleep one of the times. Regardless, I was glad for him to have a full nights sleep....Justin and I needed it as well!

And so it is setting in....this is very real now. On Monday morning, when I could hardly get myself out of the bed because I was so tired....it hit me. The struggle of having two babies! Everyone says it is hard and different going from one to two babies, in my head I think 'yeah yeah, i know it is going to be different' but having one baby is hard and different too! The light went off in my head. How will we juggle a new born baby and a night like we've had the past two nights? What if Collier is up sick at night and baby girl is needing to be fed? What if Collier is throwing a tantrum, baby girl is crying and I still need to do fill.in.the.blank [dinner, laundry, cleaning, shower, work, etc). It isn't a matter of if but when. I think that I too often take for granite how good Collier really is - he is a good sleeper, a sweet child, pretty easy to handle. But it is just in those times that he doesn't have a good nights sleep, when he has melt downs, when he refuses to obey, when he only wants his way and when he simply doesn't understand what I am saying. It will be in the midst of those moments that having a second baby will be tough. Tough, yes. But I know plenty of really awesome mom's who do it every day and even with more than just two children.

It was just funny how it suddenly hit me. Not that I haven't known we're about to have two babies, but just what is really involved in that. I will be honest it does make me nervous. It makes me very excited too though. I just continue to pray and can't wait to see how God unfolds His perfect plan in our little family!

Do any of you experienced mom's have any suggestions and advice for me?

Prayer

2012-01-13T08:19:00.004-06:00

Early this morning Collier woke up crying and calling for me. Normally if he does this I let him cry it out and he will usually go back to sleep. But it continued longer than normal so I got up to check on him. When I walked into his room he had his hands flat together under his chin and told me 'I need you say praya'. I think that heart jumped with joy.

Me: you need to say a prayer, I'm glad to say it with you.

CH: but I needed you [this is one of his most used phrases right now]

Me: i'm here lets say a quick prayer. Are you going to say it with me or just me

CH: just you [as he rolled over and snuggled up with Maurice]

I said a quick prayer for sweet and good dreams and restful sleep. \

CH: you not tired. don't go to momma's bed

Me: I am very tired and you need to go back night night so that we can get up and play in the morning

CH: just hold me two minutes [this is also a newer request over the past week....especially since not having passey. but with me growing it is hard for me to hold him, as much as I really want to. So I just snuggled up and pulled him as close as I could to me to 'hold' him]

Me: let me hold you laying down for just two minutes and then I have to go back to my bed.

CH: I not want my door closed

Me: I'll leave it open for you.

I laid with him for a few minutes and then told him to go night night and that God was with him always and loves him so very much and then I headed back to bed. We both slept soundly until almost 7am this morning.

Love this little boy more than I ever could have imagined. Such a sweet little man. It is a constant prayer of mine that Collier would have a heart for God and that there is never a day that he doesn't know Jesus' love for him.

Difference

2012-01-12T21:12:00.000-06:00

I am 30 weeks today. That means I only have 10 weeks to go....Yikes and Oh My Goodness! This has flown by. According to babycenter she is about 15.5" long and weighs about 3LB. I went to the doctor today and everything checked out good...size, blood work, weight, etc.

There have been some differences that I've noticed this time being pregnant than I was with Collier. I am very thankful that it has been a good pregnancy [Praise God- but so was my first time - Praise God again]

I have had some different aches and little more pains this round. Sciatic nerve pains in my lower back and legs. I also had some weird pains through my shoulder and chest that the doctor explained had to do with my rib cage pinching different nerves. Thankfully neither have been too bad and only lasted a few days at the most.

Movement - this little girl is A.C.T.I.V.E! she does more rolling than Collier did. At times [at least twice a day] I feel like she is about to kick or roll out of my stomach. I even had a dream that she stretched out of my stomach so far that I could see her facial features...WEIRD I know! But that is how I feel sometimes ;) I think I felt her hiccup last night for the first time; unlike with Collier I felt them way more often and before now. Her movement is just very different than Collier's was.

Although, over all I am probably smaller and have gained a little less weight than the first time I feel like my belly is much bigger! I'll also add for the record that I still have plenty of time to catch up on the weight gain. I honestly gained way too much weight the first time around and have done better this time. But with my Christmas eating binge and my sugar induced cravings over the past few weeks I feel that I am well on my way to catching up :) Not that I need to!

My cravings have been very different. I remember with Collier that I ALWAYS wanted hamburgers. I could have eaten a good juicy hamburger every night if Justin would have tolerated that! This time I have probably only eaten one or two since being pregnant and even the thought of making one grosses me out. I have wanted chicken more though...chicken fingers or fried chicken any day of the week sounds good (although most of the time I refrain). And certainly anything chocolate hits the spot. I love me a coke float or a banana and icecream with chocolate on top....that is my normal desert. The good news is that I finished off the ice cream and I am really going to try and NOT buy any more! See what I mean when I said I am sure that I will catch up soon on my weight gain.

I carried Collier high, I am carrying Ms.Priss low! I know this is backwards from the old wives tale, but I am sort of backwards so maybe it fits :)

If Justin was to add anything I know that he would be sure to say my attitude has been worse this time around. He says I have been way more sassy this time around; that is his nice way of saying that I am snappy and not exactly the nicest person to be around. He said I was sort of bad the first time but this time is 'through the roof'. I am trying to do better and watch my tongue and how I respond and talk to him. I don't want this to be miserable for him!!! I said I am trying and I am not sure how well I am doing....you'll have to ask him for a progress report on that one! He isn't the type that will come out and tell me this without me poking and prodding to get it out of him, which is nice but also bad for me when I am actually trying to do better and have no idea if I actually am???

We do not have any names. I have a few that I love that Justin doesn't really like that much and then there are a few that we both really like but are very trendy and popular names. I can't seem to get past how popular the names are, I don't want her to have others in her classes that have her same name. I may just have to get over that. Do you have any suggestions of any favorite girl names that you know you won't need to use? I am in desperate need of some suggestions.

10 weeks and counting and lots to do. We are working on nursery stuff this weekend in hopes of getting the office converted into her room! I'll keep you posted on our progress and would certainly covet your prayers.

Bye Bye Passey

2012-01-07T22:16:00.002-06:00

It is gone. I just pray that it will be ok. Justin even asked if we needed to keep ONE just in case there is a total melt down and I said no. I wanted to say yes, lets keep a few just in case, but then I knew that I would cave at the first possible point and give it right back and then we would be right back here again! I can only do this once. I can't do it again! Plus he really is doing better with each passing day.

After a 3 hour nap he woke up and I had a bunch of balloon's for him. He was very excited to see and have the balloons. We talked about letting go of the balloon's and that they would go up to the moon. As a side note: God is so good! It was supposed to be a rainy day today but it turned out really nice and by this evening there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The moon in almost full and it was bright and beautiful tonight. The perfect night to send pas right up to that bright shining moon. Only God could have put that arrangement into place. Thank you Lord!

Back to the send off. We tied two balloon's to each pas (we sent up two). We walked outside and made sure that we knew exactly where the moon was. Snapped a few pictures and then let go of them one by one! The wind sort of blew them in the opposite direction but that was fine. He wanted to see them but because it was already mostly dark we really couldn't see them. I never thought that he would nap as long as he did; as I had planned to do it right before dark. Either way. They are gone and he seemed pretty ok with it. I am not sure if he really understood the finality of it all. Justin and I both told him how proud we are of him and that he is really such a big boy now! What a big deal. We spent the rest of our night tonight playing with the other balloons. That was treat enough for him....he loves playing with balloons and it entertains him for a long period of time!

Tonight as he crawled in the bed he asked for Pas. He saw one on under his bed this morning...but that was one of the ones that we sent up to the moon. He kept telling me that one wasn't little - meaning that it had not been cut back - but I still had to explain that there is no pas for him to have and that he is a big boy! We also asked God for restful sleep and peaceful dreams tonight as we said our prayers.

I know I've already said this before...but it is all very bitter-sweet. It is hard for me to emotionally accept that he is getting to be such a big boy and that he doesn't need a pas and doesn't need a crib and is becoming so independent. But on the other hand he is still my baby boy. He will always be my sweet baby boy. I think as I try and prepare mentally and emotionally for this baby girl to arrive it is the battle of another child and knowing how once she does arrive that Collier technically will not be the baby in our house and it sort of crushes me. I of course also pray that Collier's acceptance and adjustment to her arrival is positive and good. I have been praying this for months. A sweet friend of mine even shared to be praying for their relationship....that God would draw them to be close and loving siblings. I thought that was such a sweet prayer and something that I so much desire. I want Collier and this little girl to be close not just at first but for their entire life. For them to always stand by one another and that they will have a very strong bond...a bond that can only be given and formed by God Himself! Just another stepping stone in the process, but getting rid of the pas was and is a really big deal. Maybe a bigger deal for me than him!

So, we are officially passey free and I haven thrown away all of my 'back-ups' so there is no going back. It is official! So proud of my Collier.

His broken pasey and My broken heart...

2012-01-05T16:35:00.002-06:00

Wednesday as I walked out of the door I asked Justin if he would snip Collier's pasey a little more (if you remember it has already been cut in half and he has preferred it that way since). I honestly had forgotten that I asked him to cut it and so when Justin put him in the bed that night I heard him say to Collier 'oh what is wrong with it' to which Collier responded 'where is my other pas'. I walked in and he was trying to keep the pas in and wasn't able to. He was searching all in his bed for his 'oder pas' and I explained that there isn't another one and that is the one. I didn't have an explanation as to what happened to the passey so I told him that Brinkley bit the tip off. He sort of whined about it but was ok. But after I walked out he started crying. As we watched him on the monitor, my heart broke. He was holding the pasey in with his left hand and had Maurice's tag in his right hand rubbing it all over his face. I his cry was a frustrated and sad cry...not just I am not having my way. It broke my heart. I wanted to go in his room and hold and snuggle with him and tell him it was going to be ok. I wanted to give him his whole pasey again, so that he would sleep soundly. His entire night was restless as he would cry out every few hours. I would check the monitor and he would be holding that pasey in doing all he could to keep it in. Sad, sad momma! I then told myself that it was probably not exactly the best timing to do that on the night before we start back to school.

I know in my head that it is time to get rid of this pas. I know that the dentist told me that we needed to get rid of it because you can tell in his teeth that he sucks on a pasey. I know that he needs to be completely detached from it by the time that his little sister arrives. I know all of this, but my heart breaks because he really wanted it and likes it when he goes to sleep. I want him to have what he needs in order to sleep good and comfortable and that is what the pasey provided...comfort! So, this is just part of the process. It may take a few nights or even a few weeks to adjust to this but I also know that the sooner we start this the better off I'll be.

I mentioned that maybe we should just throw the pas away and he told me no. I really don't have a plan on where we go from here. But I am just going to pray that this process will be easy and that he'll adjust to this change with some level of ease. I don't want him to be sad. I also don't want his really good sleeping habits to be changed either!

Thursday morning I called my mom and ask her to do the same to her passey's so that when she picked him up from school he didn't have a 'good' pas at her house and a broken one at our house. That day he didn't nap! Yikes. But on the way home that night I was talking to him about his pas and that we really don't need it any more; the moon was very clear and very bright. He loves to look for the moon on our way home and when we get home always makes a point to find it once we get out of the car. So, I asked him if we maybe should send pas up to the moon and let the moon hold pas for us? I told him he could pick out the balloons and we could say buy buy to the passey's. So, I think that is my plan now.

Thursday Night: it was better. He only cried for a few minutes but was still quite a bit restless through the night. He did a lot of kicking and I think that he kicked Maurice too far under the covers to actually find him in half sleep mode. Pas was under his pillow and he never found that either. I don't think that either of us slept well.

Friday: He napped fine and we just didn't talk about pas at all. No mention of it at all. Friday night he asked for it and found it in his bed. He put it in and then took it out and put it to the side. I told him that he didn't need it. He slept soundly through the night without any crying out or restlessness! Thank you Lord...I did pray hard in my quiet times this week that this would be an easy process and adjustment for Collier [and me].

If I can get myself in gear...aka showered and dressed for the day - it is 2:00 and I haven't done either! I want to go and let him pick out a few balloons so that we can send them off this afternoon! Ok. so I'm obviously in need of a shower...off to start with that for getting my day going. [Just to give myself a little credit - although I haven't had a shower or really gotten past sweats and a t-shirt. We did manage to take down and put away all of our Christmas stuff today. I am also working on some more organization and straightening...I am not completely worthless :)]

2011 Fav's

2012-01-03T13:57:00.001-06:00

Instead of doing a recap of 2011...I would like to share my favorite parts of 2011! [which is honestly a recap, just not a typical slideshow type recap that I have done in the past]

These are in NO particular order:

1. Priscilla Shirer bible study (Jonah) with the sweetest group of girls this summer. I think the combination of the study, God's word and these ladies gave me the best spiritual season of the entire year! It was a serious time of spiritual growth for me that I am so grateful for.

2. My little monkey turned TWO....it was fun to prepare and celebrate his birthday with a train party! Loved it...It was just our families and it was just right for his 2nd Birthday!

3. Making sourdough bread...I am not sure that I would say I achieved this to perfection, but I did make several loaves and it is not only fun to experiment but fun to find good ways to use the bread. I hope to continue to work on this and hopefully get better and better at creating. To be honest, I just love to cook and bake. I am not GREAT at it but I do enjoy being in the kitchen and trying something new!

4. Our trip to Tampa...Collier's first time flying. Getting to experience the excitement of a new adventure plus our time with the Crews' is always extra special to us. We also loved our weekend at the lake with all of them...

5. Our Kitchen upgrades...I love having the extra counter space! I need to do a separate post on this one with pictures to document what all we did!

6. Finding out that I am pregnant and then that it is a girl! what a HUGE blessing and answer to a life long prayer! OH my goodness can't wait to meet our little Ms. Priss.

7. Collier started school - two days a week and even still we are adjusting and learning about this school thing! He has done good, but it has been a year of adjustments!

8. I am not sure that I would categorize this as a necessary favorite...but the fact of the matter is that Collier is getting to be a big boy. As much as I want him to stay little and a baby, he won't but I will always view him as my baby boy. But since he does have to grow up, I am awfully proud at how well he has done this year with some major changes[which all shout: 'I'm growing up']. Experiencing and successfully achieving potty training! Moving from his crib to a big boy bed. As stated in #7 going to school. Being in the children's program at CBS.

9. Justin and team [O'possum Trots] winning the Tri-State cook off. It was just a really fun weekend but the fact that they won like they did was just icing on the cake!

10. Memory Verses....participating, learning and committing scripture to memory. I participated in Beth Moore's challenge of Scripture Memory. I memorized 2 scripture verses per month that I got to choose and I am thrilled that I completed it and did it! I am still working on some of them - the word for word or really knowing the correct reference. But others are strong and steady stored on my heart! Rejoice! Scripture memory is not one of my strong points, and this was just my first step in the direction of doing better with that! I plan to continue the memorization this year and maybe just focus on one per month instead of two. Beth only does the actual challenge every other year...but was glad to get into this habit and really knowing God's living word. I actually hesitated initially at even doing this because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. But God provided through Him I did it and I am so glad that I did!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this year:

New Years Weekend

2012-01-02T21:47:00.000-06:00

New years brought my brother and his family up to Birmingham this year. People, Christmas is just now over for our family! We literally did 4 different celebrations this year and each of them brought special moments and more memories made! It was great fun, but I am also glad to have it all behind me and I am READY FOR SOME ROUTINE!

Chris, Amanda, Ashlyn and Hayden all arrived for us to celebrate our fourth and final Christmas.

My parents got all of the kids fishing poles for the lake. And since Collier found them a few days before he was supposed to that is all that he has talked about. I thought it would be fun to go and let them fish and get some outdoor time since the weather was nice...although a little windy. We went to star lake and fed the ducks, geese and swan, did a little fishing [as you can see CH gets his love of fishing honest...Justin didn't miss the opportunity to get a few cast in as well] and then we walked one loop around the lake. I think that Collier really enjoyed it and we will have to go back again one day when it isn't so windy! He LOVES to 'dish' and use his 'dishen pole'

We had a very delicious New Year's Day Dinner [that Mom considered Christmas dinner since it was the only time she had us all together] and Ihate more than I should have and enjoyed every single bite! I am really glad that Chris and Amanda were willing to come up here for the weekend. I loved being home yet having them here. If I could only convince them to come back more often :)

We did start to take down our Christmas decorations today and will take down the tree and village next weekend. It all went by so fast and I know that the next few months will speed by just as fast. Before we know it a little girl will arrive and be welcomed into our family. It is just too hard to believe she will be here in just 3 short months. So much to look forward to, yet looking back 2011 was already filled with such great moments and many abundant blessings.

Christmas Eve & Day

2011-12-27T12:31:00.003-06:00

Christmas Eve we decided to go to the early church service that was toddler friendly. It was a very good service with lots of children participating in the Christmas pageant (next year Collier will be able to participate) that was just too cute. We then had a relaxing afternoon before Santa stopped by on his route around the world to delivery toys (this is a fun tradition that has been in our family for years and one of my most favorite and cherished memories every single Christmas). Collier acted like it was no big deal at all for Santa to be in his house! I may have been as excited as he was! He was too funny.

Christmas morning he woke up thrilled to see that Santa came back and ate his cookies and brought him a 'chtooter'. He got on it immediately and then rode all around the house on the scooter, needless to say he was very happy. He was also happy to hear that he could finally OPEN those presents that had been sitting under the tree. I was shocked that he didn't immediately get into the gifts under the tree and his stocking. After he rode on his scotter a little he was ready for his morning 'nanna' and tv time. It was perfect as it allowed me to get breakfast cooked and we ate before opening gifts. It was really nice, fun and relaxing. We then showered and headed to Mom and Dad's for the afternoon/evening.

Funny side note: Brinkley got up in the middle of the night

and ate Santa's cookies. thankfully Daddy realized it and

replenished for Santa :)

(grandparents:CH doesn't know this....our little secret)

The next day was equally as good, another day full of playing with new toys. Time together around the house and just a day at home. I didn't leave the house all day yesterday, matter of fact I didn't even put on makeup or shoes which really made me happy.

I am working slowly on getting our house organized, cleaned out and in order (as much as I can with all of Christmas decorations still out). January is going to bring some major re-arranging to make room for little Ms.Priss! Should be fun, but certainly a challenge in our little house :)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:27:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas! I loved this video (you have probably already seen it) but the simplicity of the story and the children are just perfect for this Christmas morning, as we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ.

Dear Santa

2011-12-24T07:30:00.000-06:00

Dear Santa,
I have been a good boy this year! I hope that you'll come by my house tonight. I am glad that I got to see you a few times before Christmas, I always get so excited to see you and sit on your lap. I just wanted to let you know what I want for Christmas. I would really appreciate if you could fit this down our chimney

But if that is just too big, I'll take one of these instead (preferably not pink please!)

I baked cookies for you and Rudolf and I hope you enjoy them

With love,

Collier

The only thing that Collier has asked for all season is a cooder..aka tooter. If I ask him what else he wants he says 'just a tooter that all'. But he certainly loved the 4-wheelers at Bass Pro Shops and would love one of those as well...he just doesn't know yet what his asking potential is. Thankfully:)

Christmas - Round 2

2011-12-23T19:00:00.000-06:00

Justin's Dad and Cher made the trip up to Birmingham to celebrate with us. When I mentioned that we are not traveling this year, I know that I sort of made things complicated for the rest of our family. But I am so thankful to have their support. Although they may not like that we are staying here, they have not said anything and have been but supportive. I certainly appreciate that and am thankful for my family...ALL of our parents are so awesome.

Thank you Papoo and Nunny for making this special trip up just for us. I wish we had more time but I am thankful for what we did get with yall. Very sweet of you to take the time for us.

Collier was so excited to get to open presents and he was even more thrilled with what was in those wrapped presents! So much fun.... and I am not sure if Collier or Justin had more fun with the remote control tractor! I will admit that he just looks so stink'n cute in his football stuff, it is just all the wrong colors! He was brain washed by his Daddy before I even knew it and now his grandparents are reinforcing it :)

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!!! Its almost here, I'm so excited.

Christmas Week..A Big Change

2011-12-21T22:09:00.001-06:00

It is just hard to believe that Christmas is so near already. I want so bad for everything to be perfect this year. As a result this desire has added stress for sure, self-induced stress that is! I am trying to enjoy but at the same time trying to also pull it all together to make it all just right. After all this is a very different Christmas. This is our very first ever Christmas in Birmingham since Justin and I have been married. Matter of fact, it has been well over 12 years (right mom) that we have done Christmas here. I have documented that Justin (who is my real life Christmas Elf) and I love this time of year. And so, for the most amazing and special time of year I want it to be extra fun and extra special this year since we are home. We can do it our way and be on our own schedule. But in that effort, I feel like I am working myself into a freenzy and an un-necessary one at that. Usually about this time I throw my hands up and say what is done is done because I have to start packing and getting ready to travel South. But now, I have that extra time and can do those extra things that I think of. But maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I should just slow down and have the extra down time with my boys. Just make the most of our time together rather than my time! I wrapped up the last of my shopping yesterday. I have several things that I want to bake but time in the kitchen is fun for me and I am looking forward to that most. It is a little bitter sweet to have this huge change in schedule. It is hard because we were used to going to Dothan and the Lake and making our rounds to be with everyone on Christmas. I love family and think it is important to do and be with family, so I am missing that. But I am excited that we are starting our new traditions as a little family this year (It sounds and even feels a little selfish). It is hard to try and squeeze in so much family time in just a day or two, so it has been nice to spread it out a little and enjoy a little more time with each family than we would if we did it like we normally do [have you seen Four Christmas'? that was sort of us] . But this year I really want it to be about Collier because never again will he have a Christmas all to himself.

Wednesday we went and saw Santa again! Collier is certainly comfortable with Santa and for that I am thankful! And then that night we met Lindsey and Hunter for dinner and then we all piled in Justin's car and drove around to look at Christmas lights. It was something that we've talked about for years and finally did this year. It was so much fun and we laughed a lot. Hunter and Justin are both critics when it comes to Christmas lights and they were not afraid to share their opinion. It was jut fun to be with friends and enjoy each others company while looking at all of the Christmas lights. Collier was ready to 'go home' about 5 minutes into the ride and before long he was fast asleep, so he missed most of the fun but was perfectly content snoring away in his car seat as we enjoyed the lights.

Last night we had a pajama party at one of our neighbor's house. it sure is fun to not have to plan or think of what I am going to wear to another function or party....We just put on some PJ's and walked across the street. Collier and I didn't last very long but it was still a late night.

I have to run to the grocery and then to do a Santa drop and I will be done. I will be ready to kick off my boots and just RELAX. whew.

So Much to Celebrate

2011-12-21T14:35:00.000-06:00

We do have so much to celebrate at this time of year. The most important is Jesus alone is reason to celebrate but the joy in this celebration is that we don't have to just wait until this time of year but Jesus is reason enough to celebrate all year, every day, every minute. It is a joy, blessing and just plain honor to have Christ, the Savior, the King of kings, the One who came to save, the Great I am in your heart! Our God is a huge and big God....but He is also a God who loves, understands and wants to be in the details of our life as well. When I am praying or talking to God I like to imagine Jesus sitting with me, or that I am curled up in His arms or maybe he is sitting with me in the car while I am driving. The feeling of knowing that He is right there is so personal and comforting! I came across a flyer in an old bible study this week and I wanted to share.. The name on the flyer is Jill Phillips and from the words below it is clearly a song! Not sure if Jill wrote it or just performs it....

I Am

oh gently lay your head upon my chest

and I will comfort you like a mother while you rest

the tide can change so fast, but I will stay the same

through past, the same in the future, same today

I am constant; I am near

I am peace that shatters all your secret fears

I am holy; I am wise

I'm the only one who knows your heart's desires

your heart's desires

oh weary, tired and worn, let out your signs

and drop that heavy load you hold 'cause Mine is light

I know you through and through; there's no need to hide

I want to show you love that is deep and high and wide

'cause I am constant; I am near

I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy; I am wise
I'm the only one who knows your heart's desires
your heart's desires

I am constant; I am near

I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy; I am wise
I'm the only one who knows your heart's desires
your heart's desires

oh gently lay your head upon my chest
and I will comfort you like a mother while you rest.

On the back side of the flyer are these verse references:

John 16:33 'I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'

Matthew 11:28-30 'Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light'

Isn't that just a relief? rest, little burden...just what I need this time of year! I love this sweet reminder

Psalm 139:1-4, 13-14 'O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all of my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your woks are wonderful and I know that full well. '

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Chris is the same yesterday and today and forever."

I have read these every day this week. In my constant effort to stay focused so that I don't fall apart like I did a week a go. I need this focus and rest in Him so that as I do the worldly part of Christmas that I will at least do it with His joy in my heart rather than trying to do it just to get it done! I want ti to be fun for all of us as we prepare for this Christmas 2011! I hope that these words will speak to you like they have spoken to me.

Christmas - Round 1

2011-12-20T13:43:00.001-06:00

last weekend we got to celebrate Christmas with Justin's Mom and Brother and family. We all met at Callaway Gardens to visit Fantasy of Lights and have some time together. Mrs. Pam rented a fabulous house and we had a blast. Collier got up Friday morning asking when he could go fishing with his fish'n pole. We went to see the lights on Saturday night and Collier got to see Santa and even one of his reindeer.

Buzz put some serious time and effort into this tractor and Collier loved it. Thank you Buzz!

this sweet girl just keeps growing and growing! She is just precious and we had a good time seeing her walking and almost running! Wont be long before she is keeping up with Collier.

this was our failed effort to get a picture of the two babies together.

There was also an outdoor fireplace that we enjoyed both nights. The kids were in bed before we actually got around to making s'mores. But I believe the adults [especially the pregnant one] enjoyed it as much as the kids would have. We all gathered around the fire place to keep warm. It was so much fun. There was also a rather large bath tub in one of the bathrooms that I got to enjoy all alone in complete peace and quite on Friday night - this made me so happy!

Here are a few lights from our trolly ride through Callaway

Sweet Memories!

Project Big Boy Room

2011-12-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

**NOTE: I started this post in October**
I have always said that I wanted to keep Collier in his crib as long as I possibly can. I think that I've done that. Although he is short of my goal of age 15, but with another munchkin on the way I thought it may be time to start moving in that direction. I good friend of my Mom's gave us a full bed they were wanting to get rid of. I went back and forth about what would be best to transition Collier to... a twin bed or a full size bed and this was just the Lords way of saying 'Here, go with the full and quit over thinking it'. I am so thankful and very excited. The one catch to this is that the headboard and foot board were once unfinished furniture (many years ago) and they have been stained, painted, painted again, and moved and chipped. They need some special attention and that is exactly the plans.

After a few cans of paint and even a few spray paints, I finally found the one I liked the best.

I am very happy to report that this is our ~~second week~~ third month in the big boy bed and we haven't even looked back. His crib is still up in his room....just in case he didn't do good but I do think that we are now clear for taking that down for a little while (at least until after baby arrives). He loves his bed. The first weekend he even went and got in it and took a nap all on his own....it wasn't even nap time! I was shocked! We were all in the den, he disappeared and I heard him in his room, checked the camera and he had crawled in the bed and gone to sleep.

I still have a few things to do/find. I don't really LOVE the sheets but they work for now and I forgot to buy a mattress pad. Plus I don't have a bed skirt yet and I think that we're going to have to make one because the bed is pretty high. All things I hope to get done in the next few weeks (UPDATE: none of these things are done yet and the honest truth is that it will probably be after Christmas before it does get done). He still calls for us when he wakes up in the morning (doesn't get out on his own - even though he can), I am happy about that as I am not ready for him to get himself up just yet. But for now, I am just very happy to report that he is doing great and I am super proud of him.

I will probably move the art work above the head board. My cousin gave me some book wall shelves that I am thinking to put next t his bed instead of the pictures! Again...all to be done after Jan. 1.

I looked at him sitting on the couch this morning before we left for school and my heart fell a little because he is getting to be such a big boy. His features are looking less and less like my little baby and more and more like a big boy!

a day

2011-12-13T20:45:00.000-06:00

It has been a day already. I woke up, after not sleeping good and having crazy/disturbing dreams, and was not wanting to get out of the bed. I was already behind schedule. By the time I got myself put together and Collier fed I decided that I wasn't going to take him to school and my mom needed to leave her house by 8:30 to meet a friend. Collier has had a runny nose and a slight cough and I decided to keep him out of school to just be on the safe side. I was trying to hurry and Collier wasn't in any hurry and not exactly cooperating which resulted in me getting frustrated with him and myself. My attitude is bad today and the bad part is that I realize it. I remind myself that it is a choice that I make of if I adjust my attitude or not. All of this going through my head on the way to work....as I keep telling myself that I don't want to go to work and just want to go home and get in the bed. My back hurts. I did make it to get a flu shot and then to grab lunch at chickfila before coming to the office. The lady giving me my food looked at me and said 'I just have to thank you, you have been smiling the entire time and I really needed that today, so thank you'. She wished me a good day and off I went and then I cried. Little did she know (and I should have told her) how much I needed to hear that! A simple smile that requires so little effort makes such a different. I know that God put her in my path and I know that it was He who was telling me that. I am a wreck today and I am trying to pull it together.

And you want to know why I am just crazy today? because I have been out of God's word for a solid week now. I haven't touched my bible and I can feel the result. I can feel satan, the world creeping in and taking over and distracting me. I don't like it and I have the choice to resist and turn to my loving God who came to this earth for me. The Son of God, who is the creator of all things, who is fully God yet became fully human (the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14). He chose and so today, I choose too! I choose to look to Him instead of the things that are to be done. I want Him to be my every thought instead of my to do list. I want Him to fill me with His joy instead of the temporary joys this world can falsely give. It is after all HIM that we are here to celebrate for Christmas. No matter what we do and try to do to make Christmas our way, the bottom line is that if not for the birth of Christ, there would be no Christmas. No gifts, no lights, no celebration, no gather, no point. It is all for Him and it is just my desire to keep focused on Him. I am really trying to teach Collier that Christmas day we will celebrate Jesus' birthday. I have no idea what is sinking in and what is going clear over his head, but I promise that I am talking about it. Now if I can only reflect Jesus in my attitude for Collier to see more clearly I think I would be much better off.

I then just get mad at myself for letting myself get so out of balance. Needless to say I am going to wake up early tomorrow morning and dive straight into His word for some much needed quiet time. I am not going to allow the busyness of this season to be a reason for me to stray away and not bind myself to the One who is the whole point of everything that we have going on.

Birthday

2011-12-12T07:20:00.000-06:00

It was this cuties birthday this weekend.....

he melts my heart

I love him in a million pieces

he cracks me up

he stole my heart many many years ago and I am so glad he did!

Happy Belated Birthday to my Justin. I love him so much, I am thankful to have him. He is an awesome father and wonderful husband. I would say that laughter defines him and I am thankful for that - he helps me to laugh at myself and silly things that I do that I would normally get frustrated with. He is a great provider and takes good care of all of us! I couldn't ask for anything more! Happy Birthday Just!

Our weekend was a little crazy and I did a bunch of baking. I was taking brownies and cookies to a dirty santa party plus made red velvet cupcakes for the birthday boy! Collier helped me decorate the cookies and then was my tester on the brownies! We are sort of on a sugar overload around here!

Hope that your weekend was extra SWEET too!

The Picture

2011-12-06T12:15:00.000-06:00

It is just hard to capture the right picture, especially with a busy two year old little man who doesn't really care for the camera. I don't even try to get all three of us but one day I would love to do a family picture. It is hard enough to get a 2 year old (and a dog) to cooperate much less my husband :).

Right now collier makes this 'cheese' face and it is so extreme and over the top and he closes his eyes while saying 'chheeeeessssee'. Simply beautiful, right? ok so as his mamma I think it is sort of funny and cute. There, I said it.

And then when I asked him to please open his eyes and give me a sweet smile this is what he gave me: yet again extreme with popping his eyes open and trying to keep a smile on his face. This is way to much to think about. This one makes me laugh.

All the while I keep thinking that if I can't get a decent picture there will be no card this year. Which I am not sure who would actually miss that :0 Here are the rest of our attempts...

Oh the expressions can be so silly and most of the time I just have to laugh and then click to view the picture on my camera and wonder....could I use this one?

Oh and then you have all of these very serious faces. Which make up about 90% of all of my pictures of him. The blank/serious face is the norm and the rest are just silliness.

I am glad to say that I found one that was good enough to use...thanks to a little editing I think that it did turn out ok enough for our 2011 Christmas card.

A weeks worth of catch up

2011-12-04T21:39:00.001-06:00

Hold on tight, here we go:
It is December and I can hardly believe it. Did you see that...it is December people! I am excited and afraid it is going to go by way to fast! I'm trying to take it all in but feel so busy at the same time. So, I am going to catch you up in pictures real quick:

Our Elf 'Miles' arrived and brought CH a nativity set.

He really likes the nativity set and plays mostly with the donkey and cart..We are wroking hard on keeping in perspective what Christmas is all about!

December 1st also brought the first day of our Advent Calendar. hooray, I actually got it done (well almost, I still have a few more 'ornaments' to make but 20 of the 25 are done!) and we get to hang an ornament after breakfast each morning!

We went and go our tree! And Collier wanted to help the boy scout's in showing off all the tree's.

After allowing the tree to 'fall out' [according to my Christmas Elf - that is Justin, not Miles - that is the rules] we got lights and ornaments on and it looks awesome. This is just a fun year as he is starting to learn and understand all that goes into Christmas.

As Justin and I were putting the lights on the tree, Collier kept wanting to help and be able to do what we were doing. He stood on a stool while we were on chairs trying to get the top portion of the tree. After a few minutes he hung his head low and slumped his shoulders forward and said 'I not tall, I too small...I just no big' It was just too pitiful and I almost fell off of the chair laughing. He is just devastated to be 'small' right now. I assured him that one day he would be big like Daddy but it just takes some time.

He has decided that he likes to sit on Daddy's head...aka his shoulders...but he wants to crawl up there all by himself. Not exactly fun for Daddy, especially as he is crawling up! Thanksfully Daddy is a good sport and love this little boy a lot.

trying to give Brink hugs.

I worked from home one day last week and got a break long enough to get our outside lights up. When I went and picked Collier up and he saw them for the first time his mouth dropped open and he said 'My lights, oh wow, we need more'. He is JUST LIKE HIS DADDY! Way to funny.

Collier's helping attitude continues. He was thrilled that Justin pulled out the blower and rake to clean up the back patio and yard. They worked for a solid hour and Collier was still upset that Justin was taking a break. The child just loves to help. Another example: we went and got our hair cut on Friday and Mrs. Ginger asked if he wanted to get the broom with her. Well, little did she know that he would want to sweep the entire store and actually get it into the pick up bucket thing. The child just loves to work. He told her that there was 'more mess to clean' when she tried to get him to put the broom up.

I'll share more this week on trying to get that right Christmas card picture. It is a lot of work...but I finally figured out that marshmallows work great...for Collier and Brink!

It was a fun weekend I think that we got the majority of our Christmas stuff up and out and even the boxes back into the attic. I am ready to sit back and enjoy this season and adventure through the eyes of my little man. Two and a half years is really a fun age. Have an awesome week and I am going to honestly try to do a few updates on a few things this week.

Dentist and some ramblings

2011-11-30T21:21:00.001-06:00

I have no pictures, I forgot my camera but then once I got in I didn't even think to pull out my phone to snap a quick picture....But just for the record. Collier went to the dentist for the first time today. It was an awesome experience and he did amazing. He loved that he got to squirt the water gun and he got to suck water out of a cup using 'Mr. Thirsty', I have no idea what that thing is called, but the thing that sucks everything out of your mouth after it is cleaned!! Anyway. He let the hygienist do everything that she asked. He got to do it all on Momma first and then she did it to him. He was all cleared with a good report and no cavities but we certainly were told that we need to get rid of the passey....although that is not a surprise! Brushing our teeth is certainly not the high point of our evenings and I was glad to hear that there were no cavities.
If you are in Birmingham and need an amazing pediatric dentist please let me know. We went to Austin Powell (who is from Dothan a few years younger than me and went to Alabama with Justin) but he and his partner were more than wonderful. Some of the nicest people and made the visit absolutely wonderful!

Monday I went to the doctor for my routine appointment and everything was great. It was quick and easy and he said that I was measuring just perfectly. I had some back pain last week that must have been related to sciatic nerve issues and a sore throat for one day which was related to who knows what. Bottom line is that I've feel awesome this week with no complaints at all! I am thankful and grateful. This baby girl is certainly active and busy in my tummy. Just can't wait to meet her in 4 more months!

I have been a bit scatter brained today...was crazy busy with work, which is awesome, but add Christmas thoughts to a crazy work day and you get crazy preggo woman. I held my drinking cup (that I was carrying to refill) to my ear after I had dialed a number on my phone in my other hand. And then I almost couldn't remember my phone number to give the lady at the checkout at Lifeway.

I am counting down the minutes until we get our tree [tomorrow after work] and Christmas stuff out. Hope to have it all done by Sunday! Tomorrow marks the first day of Advent and we will start our calendar and a little elf will be arriving to meet and greet Collier! Merry Christmas yall!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T12:56:00.001-06:00

Our trip south for Thanksgiving was fabulous. We got a little time with almost everyone, not to mention we had the most delicious food that anyone could ask for! After time with Justin's family we headed to the lake for time with my family and more yummy food. Mom and I actually decided to change the pace and cook Arabic food (kibbie, grapeleaves and arabic rice) for our Thanksgiving meal. After having the traditional (yet yummy) turkey, dressing, dumplings, etc it is nice to have something completely different for the weekend, so it was really fun to have the food that would be traditional if my grandmother was still alive! And those left overs are just as good as the turkey!

I only took a few of the kiddo's all together and I didn't take any pictures while we were in Dothan...shame on me!

Chris and I are both in mixed marriages (auburn vs. alabama) and so all of our children are doomed to be completely confused. Collier is in a sweater because I was trying to get a good Christmas card picture on the dock and mom wanted one with all three of them and sadly this was as good as we could get. Good news is that they really do have a good time together, but their expressions just don't show it here.

Do you see this precious hat? It has turkey legs on the side (the brown paper sacks)...and the middle said "Collier the Turkey". All of the kids wore them as they ate their thanksgiving lunch at school. They were so precious and most of them actually wore their hate the entire time for lunch. It was really so funny and very cute. Collier has great teachers!

We really are over flowing with blessings and have so much to be thankful for! God's love, grace and mercies are abundant and I am every so thankful!

My Little Dancer

2011-11-22T10:46:00.001-06:00

Last night at CBS the children's program sang for us. It is just precious and I am so thankful for our children's teachers and all that they do for our children and especially instilling in them God's word and truth. This was Collier's first time to ever be on a stage [of sorts] and in front of a large crowd. He only gets into one song but isn't short of moves and playing air guitar. Some of the camera shaking is me laughing. I was so proud of him for not running to me as soon as he saw me,but he did really good to just stay up there and sort of participate, sway and even yawn. He just cracks me up and I think that he certainly entertained others as well with his dancing and jamming out!
WARNING: THIS IS 6minutes LONG...MOSTLY FOR MY RECORD AND FAMILY TO SEE THE LITTLE MAN! Please don't feel obligated to watch it all :)

Few notes:
-When the little girl crawls in front of CH, he was stomping his boot at her and I was terrified he was about to kick her. We had a long conversation about that when we got home.
-Toward the end when he is clapping, he points to me and he was telling me to clap too!

Random

2011-11-21T15:46:00.001-06:00

Friday Collier and I ran all over town and I have no idea what I actually accomplished except to get him good and tired and made it home just in time for him to get in a long afternoon nap. We even saw Santa at the Galleria and there was not a single person in line or around. So, we went to see what Collier would do and all he would do was hop around and dance in front of Santa. He wouldn't talk to him, he did manage to give him a high-five as we were walking away. Justin built two awesome fires last week that almost ran us out of the house they were so stink'n hot...but that is how we like it. Funny that we have to actually open our front door to cool things off sometimes, but we still love it. Too bad it is already back in the upper 70's so no fires this week! I did manage to make The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll's this weekend. YUM and I'll be taking a few to share with family over the weekend.

Saturday night I participated in a burger cook-off (it is an annual thing that my work peps do and for some reason I got wrapped into it this year ) I did not win. I did have fun ... but I made 8LB's worth of burgers. I dreamed of raw hamburger mean Saturday night, even that Justin and I were sleeping in a pan of raw meat. Gross. Needless to say I do not want burgers for a very long time. I have never mixed, squashed or worked with that much meat and I don't plan to do it again any time soon. Not sure if it is the pregnancy or if that much meat is just too much for one person to deal with. Clearly I am not cut out to be a chef.

I am a little closer to my advent calendar being complete.

I have not even thought about a Christmas card picture...I need to do that in the new few days so that I can find/order cards. I am seriously thinking about doing new year cards to reduce stress and my lack of being prepared this year! I have been horrible about taking pictures lately. I will do better this week, I don't have a choice if I plan to get a Christmas card done.

I am really excited that next week we'll start really decorating for Christmas. I am not sure that Collier understands it all but I really want him to learn the importance of Christmas and the real reason that we celebrate the Birth of Christ. We will be home for Christmas for the first time since we've been married and I am so excited. Collier is at a great age where we can start traditions and instilling in him what Christmas really means. I asked him the other day whose Birthday that we celebrate at Christmas and he said 'Tollier's'. Well not exactly baby we will celebrate yours in April. Before that we'll have a big party for the birth of Jesus. Just praying that this will set into his heart!

Projects....

2011-11-14T10:39:00.001-06:00

I think that I've started to many! I love crafting but I honestly am not best at it, I want to be crafty but pulling it off is not my strong point. Insert PINTEREST! My solution! It is awesome and addicting. I love that I can normally find a how-to to projects and ideas that I love.

Part of the reason for these projects is that I am breaking a huge rule of my own...at the request of my husband [aka my Christmas Elf]. And that is that he is ready to decorate and be in full Christmas mode. For him that means lights, Christmas decor and Christmas village. I am usually a huge advocate for 'do not decorate until after Thanksgiving..one holiday at a time please'. He rubbed off on me a little with the Christmas music he has been blaring since last week [thanks to 96.9]. I'll try and actually take pictures of my finished products but here is what we worked on a little this weekend...

painting to make these for my centerpiece

unpacking...I did get this done! Hooray.

My advent calendar. I started working on this three years [yes YEARS] ago. My ideas have changed over time and I decided that it will be done and ready for Dec. 1st this year. If I don't hurry and it get done I'll change my mind again. This is what I spent the majority of the weekend working on. I am almost done and I will be oh so glad when it is! So will Justin since he is sick and tired of felt being all of our house!

I have also been working to teach myself/remind myself from the few lesson's had I from my grandmother how to crochet around a blanket. My Gran made the best blankets and it was always her staple baby gift and everyone loved them. As she aged she slowed down due to arthritis in her fingers and her stock pile quickly was eliminated. I did a small blanket to get me started and finished it in about a week. I am about to start on my next which will be a bit bigger. I think that I figured it out and it is not perfect but close to how hers looked!

Next on my mind is Christmas shopping! Let the fun begin.

Tampa

2011-11-10T10:56:00.002-06:00

Saturday Collier and I flew to Tampa to meet up with Justin and visit with some of our favorite cousins. We had so much fun. I was excited and nervous about flying with Collier by myself (Justin was already down in Orlando for his sales meetings and just drove over to Tampa for the weekend). We have talked about it and read books about every detail of security, the plane, the noise, and the do's and don'ts. And he did awesome and really really loved the whole thing.

Now the fun part of this adventure was getting time with the Crews family. Oh my goodness did we have a blast. It was low key and just right to get to spend this time with them all together in their new home! I wished that we had a few more days though, but we'll do it again for sure!

Collier and Emmie played so well together (Steph and I both had a few sharing reminder conversations but over all they did really good) Emmie wanted to play house and grocery store and Collier wanted to play with their monster trucks and football. They each compromised a few times and played very sweet. Although they mastered playing with the hair dryers and the play dough which were both a huge hit! They have a park that we could walk to which was the perfect outlet for some energy draining. Collier was also very fond of Emmie's scooter!

Collier and Emmie both sported their boots and were so stink'n cute in them. They even wore them to the park and had a blast! We miss them so much already!

Cheese! Oh goodness. Collier has always loved cheese and goes through stages of what kind (shredded, sticks, squares)of cheese he likes. Right now it is the shredded cheese. I have to control his portions because it it was left up to him he would eat the entire bag. I had given him a little, at his request, and then he asked for more! Aunt Stephanie stepped up and was more than generous with her portion...he told her 'wow that a lot'. I came back inside and he was scooping that cheese in as quick as possible. Needless to say I had to stop the cheese fest before we created a major bathroom issue!

Thankfully he eats enough grapes to counter act the cheese!
Look at all that cheese! Gracious, but it did keep him occupied and happy for about 20 minutes. Then the dogs had a blast on clean up duty :)This is a perfect example of the difference between Mommy to 4 vs. Mommy to1..... go with it vs. very cautious!

The fun with having 3 big boys and specifically these Crews boys...they are INTO football! They are a football family. All three boys play on different teams which means that they spend a lot of time at the football complex. I was sad that we missed their games and season, but we did get to go to part of their awards day. We got to see Landon get his trophy. Collier was napping during Baylor's and was ready to go before Corbin's awards were handed out. But all of that to say Collier was one happy little boy to have boys to play football with him. He was right in the middle of all of their tackling and jumping and just being boy stuff!

All of that football and tea party and activity between 4 kids certainly wore out my little man! We love these kids and Collier adores the heck out of each and every one of them. I always love and cherish my time with Stephanie and Toby. The entire family means more to us than words can describe. Justin and Toby even got an afternoon of golf. They were so gracious to have us and feed us and entertain us!

We love you Crews family and thank you so much for all of the fun over the long weekend! We miss yall.

Trick or Treat'n Cowboy

2011-11-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

Our very first trick or treat outing was really awesome. We have some good friends who live in a very child-friendly and family oriented neighborhood/community. They did a hay ride and were oh so kind to invite us. I totally enjoyed the time with sweet friends and it helped to have experienced trick or treaters to show Collier the way. All that I had to say was 'hay ride' and Collier was ALL IN! I had a very hard time getting him to keep his hat on and so I told him that if he didn't wear his hat he couldn't get candy and that did the trick. Since he had older girls to follow he didn't have to exactly say trick or treat. I personally like the people who actually give out the candy verses the ones who let the kids dip into the bucket and pick out their candy. I am sure the kids prefer the later. But Collier would dip in as long as anyone would allow him. And at one house who was actually giving the candy he had already received his candy and he continued to stand there holding his pumpkin open waiting for more. He would then very loudly tell them bye as he walked down the side walk. He was all about the candy. I was very glad it was dark and he really couldn't see how much was actually in there.

The Hay Ride was awesome and took us to various streets. We rode around and saw some crazy crowded houses and streets and would stop anytime we were ready for more adventure, go to a few houses and then back on the hay ride. It was really fabulous and a great way to do Halloween. Collier and William (the Big Bad Wolf and his sister was dressed as little red ridding hood....how cute is that?) are about a month a part and I just ~~know~~ hope that they will grow up to be big buddies! They certainly are two cute little men.

Going through these pictures I just realized I also forgot to put on his bandanna! Oh well, I was glad he kept the gun, holder and hat on! I know that we will have many more fun and memorable Halloween's in the future.

One other side note that I was NOT prepared for: All of the other families on the hay ride with us brought sweet goodies specifically for the kids on the hay ride. As in really good sweets such as sugar cookies and s'mores packages. I showed up empty handed and will make a note for next year to do something special specifically for those we trick or treat with! Oh well, call me the rookie trick or treat'r!

Thank you Joel and Alison for having us and including us in your fun Hay Ride. It sure was a great treat!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-31T15:41:00.001-05:00

I love carving our pumpkin every year. It is a fun and I have very strong memories of doing it as a family growing up. I think that Justin and I have carved pumpkins since the first year we started dating. Justin enjoys it as much as I do. It is also lots of fun to see the difference in perspective of each completed Jack-o-lantern. Justin likes scary, I like happy! This year we invited Lindsey and Hunter over and we had a great time. The guys did the blue print for the Jack-O-Lanterns and carved them. Lindsey, Collier and I were there for the gutting and pumpkin seeds. It was the first year that Collier actually got to participate with the pumpkin. He was in bed by the time the actual carving occurred but I think that the fun with the ooey and gooey was just right for him.

Saturday our friends down the street had a huge party. It was very nice to just be able to walk to their house and walk home. There was an awesome band and Collier danced all night with a glow stick that he found. He didn't last long with his gun and holster, his sheriff star broke and was lost and he will NOT wear his hat! Tonight should be interesting We're only going to a few houses just so that he can at least experience the concept of Trick or Treating! Look out candy here we come....

Yummy

2011-10-30T21:39:00.000-05:00

Ok. Check these two recipes out. They were delicious and fun and easy! Did I mention delicious?

First, these yummy soft sugar cookies coated in yummilious frosting. You know the ones that are at the front of every store calling your name. Well this is that only much better, softer, melt in your mouth kind of goodness. I got the recipe from here. My frosting got a little loose and I was just too lazy to try and thicken it more than I already did. So, I just let it run off the side and it was just fine!

Then there were these very easy egg and bacon cups that I spotted on pinterest last week. And here is the source for this perfectly easy and delicious breakfast..as in I wanted to eat all 12 but refrained myself since I did have a husband and child to feed.... Hurry make these for breakfast or dinner this week. You won't be sorry. OH and be sure to spay your pan before you cook them, I sort of learned the hard way on that...that is not a good step to overlook!

My skeleton loves eggs!

And the lastly, pumpkin seeds three ways! I have always baked my seeds and they are usually perfectly fine. But I saw [again] on pinterest that you could roast/saute them and they really turned out great!
Round One: I used this recipe with brown sugar, cooking spray
Round Two: I liked the sugar idea but thought that the brown sugar was a little heavy. So, I treated the pumpkin seeds like I use when I candy walnuts for salads. Just heat and sugar. But I added a little cinnamon because I knew that Justin would love that...and I was right. These were certainly Justin's favorite.
Round three: toasted them a little (on the stove top) and then added a little bit of butter, worshersire, garlic salt and cooked until they were done. I was split between these and the cinnamon sugar ones!

Justin said that he preferred that I cook them in the oven but on the stove was just way easier and quicker. I didn't have to worry about being sure that they were so dried out as when cooked in the oven. Something different and yummy.

I'll catch up on our fun and busy weekend tomorrow! Hope that you will enjoy a few of these recipes!
Is anyone else addicted to Pinterest?

Expression

2011-10-25T21:42:00.000-05:00

Collier has suddenly busted out of his vocal shell in the past week. He is all of a sudden putting full sentences together and making the funniest comments and conversations. He says the cutest things and I need to start documenting them. In addition to words his personality is coming out and he is really very funny. He loves to make you laugh and laughter encourages whatever he is doing [which can be a good and a bad thing depending on the circumstance]. But this is a new expression that we have seen several times this week. I about fell off the Carousel when he first did it.

I am also glad to say that after much prayer and patience he is doing so good at school, bible study and church. Last week when mom picked him up he actually said he 'not want to leave school'. This was like music to my ears and such a good relief. He is no longer telling me he doesn't want to go to school. I am so proud of him.

Pumpkin Patch Visit

2011-10-24T16:14:00.000-05:00

We went on our First EVER Pumpkin Patch visit this year. It was loads of fun and perfect way for a little man to burn off some energy. Plus it was a beautiful day and loved being outside.

waiting so patiently, for the much anticipated and favorite part of the day, tractor ride

The slide. Justin didn't think it was a good idea because of all the kids and he wasn't sure if Collier was able to climb up the slope/steps on his own. The first time up he did sort of hold up the line but they were very nice and patient. He loved it and did it twice. If we let him he would have done it a lot more. He loved it! Click on the picture to enlarge and see the pictures better!

Where is Collier Peek A Boo!!

It really was a fun morning and we still made it back to watch plenty of football with friends. The rest of the weekend I cleaned, cleaned and cleaned. While Justin put the finishing touches on Collier's big boy bed!

Fall Brings...

2011-10-18T15:21:00.000-05:00

I love fall for so many reasons but the weather alone is a good enough reason to love this season. It brings reasons to be outside, football, soups, pumpkins, halloween, boots and beautiful colors. Not to mention it ushers in winter and I am all about a good reason to build a fire!

Justin had his annual guys golf trip this past weekend which meant Collier and I were solo. Friday we headed to Aldridge Garden's for the morning to just enjoy the coolness and plus I needed a good excuse to take some pictures of just him...since I haven't done that very much lately [partly because I can't seem to get him to sit still long enough]. Not that I thought that he would at the gardens but I thought it would be a good place to at least try. He did pretty good and was very patient with me snapping so many.

It was fun to see him have some free space and our time one on one was very fun. He kept waving to everyone that would walk by us. Such a sweet little man. And then we came upon these ducks and we clearly didn't follow the directions of 'stay on the path' as he headed straight to the ducks to join in their fun. I was that mom who just let him and stood back and took pictures. I did have to threaten a spanking as he tried to kick one of the chicks...that is a big NO NO! and then we made our way to the tortoise and the hare!

Saturday we headed to the airport to pick up Mom [she was gone all last week to celebrate my Grandfather's birthday!]. We decided to make it a real airport experience. We arrived about an hour before mom was to land and went in for Collier to really see the environment of the airport [we are traveling in a few weeks to tampa to visit my sweet cousins]. I wanted him to at least see the process of dropping off our bags and going through security so that when it was his turn he would at least be somewhat familiar. It was good and fun and he seemed so comfortable. I just pray he'll be that same way on the day that we travel. Traveling down to Tampa, it will just be CH and I as Justin will already be down there! I am a little nervous to be doing it alone on the first round but he is so stink'n excited about going on a ride in the airplane that I think that he'll be fine. Like I said...I'm just praying!

I also worked on a few projects this weekend which involved a lot of painting. I did a little reorganization of a wall in our kitchen and when it is all done, I'll share the details. I am also working on a big boy bed - painting it and will be sharing those details soon too! But all of this projecting meant we made a few trips to HomeDepot and Lowes. Here is Collier's reward for being so good while mommy shopped:

When we left church yesterday, he told me he wanted to go and ride the taktors! Gosh he just loves those things...such a boy.

It was a good and busy weekend, but we are so glad to have Justin back. It is just better and more fun when Daddy is around. Plus, last week we ended up back at the doctor with another ear infection! Thankfully he has done rather well this round...just have a bit of a runny nose and cough that has finally gone away after a week! I think that his back teeth are still pushing through as he keeps his hands stuffed in the back of his mouth.

Socialization

2011-10-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

I feel that we are now into a good routine and schedule. We have now been in school for 2 months along with bible study (Monday nights) plus Church nursery time. At each drop off and pick up there are tears from time to time (still) and certainly a sense of him holding back in 'wanting' to go and participate. Since he has not been in nursery or day care up to this point, it has always been a concern of mine of if he is getting the social interaction that he needs. So, now that we are involved in social settings, is he participating and involving himself in the activities or is he pulling himself away. I keep asking all of his teachers and they keep telling me how sweet that he is and that he is doing fine. I have no doubt that he is fine or even a good kid, but I just don't feel that he is engaging in activity and the whole experience.

When Mom picked CH up this week his teacher said that he had a few times that he cried for me or Nammie and he sat in her lap quiet for a little while. She said he is just seemed sad. Mom asked if he was interacting and the teacher said that he is only to a point. He doesn't really play with everyone else on the play ground but will play fine by himself. RED FLAG, RED FLAG, RED FLAG....also translates into BREAKS MY HEART! She also told mom that he is really sweet and does anything that is asked of him, very willing to do but doesn't really engage.

It is just a huge prayer for me right now. He does tend to be a bit shy when we are around others that he isn't really familiar with. I am hoping that this is just a stage that he will out grow. But am also sad that he isn't really playing and interacting with others. At home and with friends who he is familiar with he is really great and social. He certainly doesn't lack confidence in these area's while at home but in the unfamiliar he does seem less secure and confident. The teacher does feel that it is just going to take time and that he will catch up and adjust. My MIL also reminded me that he hasn't really ever gone through a supper shy and tentative stage where he didn't like strangers and so maybe this is just that time. I am afraid he is missing out on the fun he could be having by holding himself back. But I am also not sure how to help him through this and so we are praying him through it. I know that God does know and that God can give him the tools that he needs in order to cope, adjust and have confidence.

In my memory verse this month I am reminded that God is familiar with all of our ways! Pslam 139:1-3 'You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all of my ways' It is God who knows what is going on in that little heart and mind of his and only God can truly know how to meet those needs. As I am typing this I am realizing that my prayer needs to be that God will reveal to us (Justin, Mom, his teachers and caregiver's and me) what we need to do to encourage and help him through this phase! I would appreciate your prayers with us during this time. More than anything it is just hard as his Momma to see him not wanting to go and do the things that I know have the potential to be a lot of fun!

On the ~~belly~~ baby front; I have felt movement over the past week. It is just about once a day but I just know that he/she is doing all kind of activity. According to babycenter it is about the size of an avacado and will double his [I naturally call it a he because that is all that I know up to this point and it is what rolls of my tongue/fingers] weight in the next few weeks. I go back to the doctor tomorrow and will then know when the big appointment to find out what we are having will be!

Actions vs. Intentions

2011-09-26T15:54:00.002-05:00

We have been visiting a new church for the past couple of months and just haven't yet made the full commitment to changing our membership just yet. Tonight was the first time we have visited the evening service (more casual and contemporary). I am really enjoying the smaller size of this church and look forward to joining and being more involved. The sermon was great and spoke to me. The greatest point that I walked away from the sermon was this: Do we just have good intentions or do we live out those intentions in and through what we do? (this was not the whole sermon, but just a small point that was made that stuck with me) Do our actions reflect what we believe in Christ? ... In other words, do we walk the talk or do we just talk the talk. It was something that I pondered on because it is something that I personally want to do better. I strongly believe in God's grace, His love, His forgiveness and His mercy. Matter of fact, I am so thankful for these and rely on them in my every day life. But do I in turn extend this to others? Do I show others His love or my love (the love that is so imperfect)? Do I forgive others as He has forgiven me? All of that to say that I wish and desire and want to be a better reflection of Him to others.

In my CBS lesson last week (we are studying John this year) in the first chapter John explains Christ as the light of the world. I want His light to radiate through me so that others will be drawn to Him. Instead, I am selfish, judgmental and prideful. All of these things I am working on, working to repent and turn from these ugly ways so that I can be a light. My desire is really to carry out those actions and NOT just want, think or consider things but to do what God is laying on my heart to do!

On a different note. This little tricycle was Chris' when we were little. Mom has had it out for a few months and Collier's little legs have just not been quite long enough to push the pedals- despite the many attempts. Friday was his first day to successfully pedal and make it go all on his own! What a huge accomplishment and I was so proud of him [he was also very proud]. He doesn't quite have steering and pedaling down, but one step at a time! He did already figure out that when he is going down hill he can pick up his feet and go really fast. Getting to be such a big boy!

He also did great in the church nursery yesterday - he was the only one in there, so they took him outside to play on the playground. He even woke up this morning asking me if we were going to church! We're slowly getting there. It has been my prayer that he will enjoy, participate and desire to learn and be at church, school and bible study. I know that God is working on that little heart of his. One thing that we often pray [on the way to school usually] is for God's confidence and peace to fill him up! It is such a huge reward to watch and see how God answers our prayers - sometimes easier than others!

Luke 9:23-24 'Then He said to the crowd: 'if any of you want to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.'

Where we are

2011-09-23T15:33:00.000-05:00

Now that we seem to be making our way successfully away from being sick and feeling back to normal - Collier that is - I am so glad and thankful that he is back to his old self. I think that we finally figured out that his 2 year molars are coming in and have [and still are on some days] giving him a fit. He crams his fingers as far into his mouth as possible and Justin and I are constantly saying "collier get your fingers out of your mouth'. After being sick for the past few weeks we really got out of routine and schedule, specifically with going to school, I was really glad to be back on the schedule this week. He did great both days when I dropped him off and Popoo and Nunny are here this week and have gotten to pick up him from school.

We have also started back to CBS Bible Study. I am so excited to be back and looking forward to the study of the Gospel of John this year. I am sort of in a different role this year than in years past, in that I am helping a little with the children's program and being an assistant core leader. My responsibility is to check the children into their classes and then I go on to my core group. On the first night, in transition from one room to another Collier saw me and thought that it was time to go home. When we didn't go home it really threw him off and resulted in a lot of crying. If you have been reading for a while you'll know that this is a normal thing for CBS [for some strange and unknown reason]. But this is his first year to be in a real class instead of just the nursery. I was worried that each week me being in front of his class to check in the other kiddo's would be a problem. After a lot of praying, God revealed himself and this past week was perfectly amazing. He didn't shed a tear and really did awesome and had a great time. It is always neat and fun to watch and see how God answers our prayers....no matter how small they may seem!

One of the things we are working VERY hard on right now in our house is manners. The please and thank yous and ma'am and sirs. I just know for sure that the million times a day that Justin and I reinforce this will pay off. Just this morning as Collier was sitting on the couch with an empty bowl and he asked me for a 'nanna'. As I turned to get his banana he said 'here mama, please' as he held out the bowl that he wanted me to take to the kitchen. He uses please more than anything else. When he says no to something, I'll respond with 'no, what?' and he says 'no, please'. So that is nicer than nothing but was more looking for no ma'am. Its a work in progress for sure!

We also have not mastered getting rid of pacey yet. I started what I referred to as pasey boot-camp, who am I kidding? I tried the bye bye binkey concept of cutting the pasey so that it is less of a comfort to him. All of his pacey's are cut in half and he couldn't care less. When he was sick, I even gave him a whole one and he actually wanted the cut one! Plan B, right? I have sort of backed off a little about it. He has done so well with so many other things that if he has a pacey for a little longer than he should, so be it! I am sure I will NOT be saying that once he goes to the dentist! I think that we're going to have to go cold turkey and 'leave' them somewhere. I think that him being sick for 2 weeks is what really threw me off. I will say that we are back to ONLY having it in the bed...it doesn't come out of his bed!

It is nearly impossible to get him to brush his teeth. It is an every day battle. I've tried all of the tricks. One night last week, I was tired and at my wits end and was doing my best to get him to brush his teeth with no success at all. I even spanked him (which was when I realized this is not going good or in the right direction) so I just got up and walked out and closed the bathroom door. I told myself that I needed to take a minute and try a better approach. I went to the kitchen to get some water and when I walked back I could hear his tooth brush (electric) going. That little stinker was brushing away..even those back teeth! So that is what I do now. I give him the tooth brush, sit him down and then tell him I'll be back to check on him and he brushes every time!! oh the struggle of independence! Who knew that would have ever worked....I laughed that first night he did it. I told God that He must have known I was at a total loss and thankful that He took over!

I am going to try and do better about documenting our ups and downs and the different stages of what is going on. I feel like I just post high points or big things and want to do better about the small things too. So you are now caught up with where we are!

Happy Friday!

Growing

2011-09-22T11:07:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting and meaning to post this post for a while. I had a precious post with specific pictures all staged out in my mind but the reality is that I haven't had either the time or energy to get it done. I've barely had my camera out the past few weeks. But I did finally got it out last night, or at least snapped a few that would work minus cooperation from my little man!

I think that most of you already know.. But our family is growing! Justin and I are just thrilled and excited to see what is ahead for our family as we grow. I am 14 weeks today - Due March 23rd! Feeling good and thankful for a growing and perfect gift from God.

We have tried to explain it all to Collier but he really doesn't understand. If asked where is the baby he will tell you 'in momma tummy'. But when he and I are talking about the baby in my belly he usually asked to 'get it out' or 'wanna see it'. Neither of which are possible at this time, which is the further confirmation that he doesn't quite get it. Maybe once the newest little one arrives he'll begin to understand [please note I did say maybe, I'm not having unreasonable expectations...although I do know that God will work in the details of our family and especially in his little heart as we prepare for our second baby]. I pray that Collier will be a good big brother and that God prepares us all for this new addition.

Day 14

2011-09-14T12:18:00.001-05:00

I spoke too soon. I am now eating my words! It happened. Fever, it struck yesterday. When he got up from his nap yesterday all that he wanted was his momma. I of course went straight to him [what else is a momma to do for her little man who just wants her?]. His temperature was right at 100.4 degree's and only dropped slightly after some Motrin and before he crashed for the night. He went to bed really early and woke up this morning really early and still had fever. More Motrin and little more rest and it finally dropped back to normal. He did act like he was feeling better by the time I dropped him off at Mom's this morning.

So, we are now battling getting him to take his medicine for his ears. It is white and it doesn't taste good at all. He wants to take his pink medicine instead (which is Benedryl). He tells me 'no white, I want pink'. Do any of you have ANY tips on getting this in him. The pharmacist said that we could bring it back to him and he would see if he can add some cherry flavor and see if it will change the color to pink. It already has a grape flavor. The problem is that he is honestly too smart for his own good and as soon as he taste it, he will not want 'pink' any more. I know that there are smart and more experienced momma's out that that might have some suggestions. Please help if you can. We have held him down, which resulted in him spitting it everyone. We have negotiated [which I do.not.like] for cookies, fruit snacks and even carousel rides. All with little luck. Mom and I finally put it in some yogurt and after 2 bites he had it figured out and didn't want any more of that. I am willing to try anything!

I am just ready for him to feel better and be back to normal - after 14 days. He just wants to be held when he isn't feeling good. I feel horrible for him and just want to snuggle with him and make him feel all better. But not taking his medicine isn't helping. We would appreciate prayers as well. That he would feel better and for God's healing hand to be laid on his ears!

I'll be back later with a totally different [and much happier] topic!

Double Up

2011-09-12T11:01:00.001-05:00

A quick update on our first ear infection...When we woke up on Friday morning (that is two friday's ago now) we realized that Collier had blood in his bed. I had noticed a little on his hand but thought it was from a scrape on his finger, but I knew a scrape wouldn't produce the amount of blood that was on his pillow and sheet. I looked in his ear and could see a red and white clump of something in his ear canal and I completely freaked out. We went back to the doctor and his hear drum had burst. Good and Bad...good that it released the pressure and probably freed him from a lot of pain that he was having. Bad that the doctor didn't want him in the lake water, especially since Justin was packing the car while we were at the doctor so we could head to the lake for the long Labor Day weekend. But God has his hands in every little detail and the weekend worked out perfectly. Because Tropical Storm Lee brought cloudy, rainy skies and cooler temperatures that kept us all from wanting to go swimming. We put the baby pool on the deck and let the kids play in that instead of the lake and it just worked out great. We only had one quick dip in the lake and one boat ride in between the rain, football games and naps. It was just right. We got in good quality time with Chris and his family and it was a low key weekend - which was much needed by all!

But over the weekend and last week Collier also started with a runny nose and as the week progressed it wasn't as clear as it had been. Plus his ear still was bleeding (just a little but I could see it in his ear). I called the nurse to be sure that the bleeding was still normal and she said to finish the antibiotic and come back for a check up after that was gone. Friday morning we wake up and Collier is not himself. Very whiny and non-stop crying. We asked if something was hurting and he would say yes and finally said 'two ears huat'. We were planning to go to Nashville for the weekend to visit friends (with kids and I hated to add a sick child to the mix) and so I decided to go back to the doctor to just be sure. The Doctor confirmed he now has his second ear infection in his OTHER ear! We got stronger antibiotic's, benadryl at night and pushed our Nashville trip back a day. It all worked out great that we still got to go and but one day was enough for Collier, the extra playing (there were 6 girls and collier). Through all of this Collier hasn't run a high temperature at all and has done pretty well. I have decided that he has a pretty high pain tolerance and is a tough monkey. We are all just ready for him to feel better! Not fun being a sick little man. He didn't go to school at all last week but we are full force back into routine this week! Bible Study starts tonight and back into school routine for tomorrow. I am ready and glad that he is feeling and doing better. Last night we laid him down for a late nap and he slept 13 hours. Just one of those days that he needed some extra and sound sleep!

His head is finally starting to heal and look a little better. He has just been through it and I am not sure how much more he or I can take! Praying for health and safety for a while around the Hicks house!

Rock N Roll

2011-09-07T10:30:00.000-05:00

While we were in Dothan a few weekends ago, Papoo had a huge surprise for Collier when we got to his house.....

Thank you Papoo and Nunny

OH and this little boy loves his guitar. If we let him, he would sleep with it. Not to mention he is about the cutest little guitar player I've ever seen. We still have a long way to go before we hit the big stage but look out Brad Paisley you've got competition on the way!

A few first

2011-09-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

We had quite a day. A day full of first. Good first's and bad first's.
To start off with today was the first day that there was no hesitation with me leaving him at school. No almost tears or sad looks. I wouldn't say that he is quite thrilled and wanting to go but at least he didn't cry about going today! That was our first good first of the day..well and maybe the only come to think of it!

Mom calls after she picked Collier up from school and he was of course very tired and they were headed home to take a nap. About an 30 minutes later she calls and he is complaining of his ear hurting. Back and forth with mom and back and forth with the nurse. We went to the doctor and he has his first ear infection! 2 years 4 months with no ear infections and it finally caught up with us. It doesn't seem to be too bad, but it is bothering him a little. Hello antibiotic's to knock this out quick!

Collier wanted to go to our house, instead of Nammies [which for the record is certainly a first] and so Mom brought him back to our house while I ran to the grocery and then to get his antibiotic. Before I made it home Mom called and said that Collier had fallen down outside and hit his head hard on the picnic table. Thankfully Justin was also home and helped to get him calmed down enough. He wouldn't let them put ice on it 'its cold, its cold..no no no' is all that he would say. When I got home, oh my goodness the goose-egg that is on his head is really really big. Square in the middle of his head. Our first GINORMOUS knot or goose-egg. I called the doctor again [first time to ever have to call twice in one day] and they said to just watch him...his pupils were dilating correctly, no vomiting and the knot was protruding out and all of those things were good. We'll stir him through the night just to be sure but seems that everything is ok....I'm sure that it will be black and blue tomorrow.

It was a rough day for him...and for Nammie I think! It really shook my mom up -she said because of how hard he hit and that she actually saw him hit. She couldn't believe that it didn't bust open. He is a tough little man. Looking forward to an uneventful long weekend!

oh and one other first...and this one is another good one. After I left the doctor I had to stop for gas. there is a new Sunoco gas that I was passing and noticed that the price was a little lower than at the station ahead where I was going to stop. I pulled in and was actually talking to Mom on the phone and I noticed that a guy had walked over to my car. I open the door and he told me that he would pump my gas for me. What? I couldn't believe it. I looked around to see if it was a full-service station [do those exist anymore?] and it all said self serve. It was an employee and he was so nice to come out and pump my gas. I'm not sure if it is because it is a new or if they will really do that on a regular basis. But you can bet I'll go back and certainly see if they will. I love it. I even asked "where am I". Ha. I think the little guy thought I was crazy I was in such shock. I have never had an employee at a gas station pump my gas...yet another first!

Birthday Celebration

2011-08-30T07:20:00.000-05:00

Today is this cuties birthday! Happy Birthday Hayden!!!

She turns 1 today and over the weekend we got to celebrate with her....

Such a fun day and birthday to celebrate. Collier had a great time playing with his cousin's and his cousin's cousin's (did you follow?). He didn't slow down the entire time and I knew he would fall fast asleep on the way back to Papoo's house but to my surprise he didn't fall asleep until I finally laid him down around 9:15.

Have a special and fun birthday today Baby Hayden, we love you!

Toddler Fits

2011-08-22T16:00:00.015-05:00

It happens. No matter how sweet he is, it just happens. It has become part of our every day life. And over the past few weeks it has even changed in how he expresses his disapproval. Anything from complete meltdown and huge heart breaking tears, to stomping and crying, to hitting and even yelling very loudly. It is a hard thing to learn that you don't ALWAYS get your way. It is also hard as a mom to know how to discipline in the middle of these toddler fits, meltdowns, tantrums...whatever you want to call them. I need to go and pull out my 'parenting by the book' book and refresh my mind on handling these fits.

As hard as these fits can be and especially on days that they happen more frequently, there is the other side of his personality that is revealing itself that is totally sweet and also very funny. He is very matter of fact in his tone and in communicating. Justin and I laugh about how he will say 'yeah' to a question that we've asked as if he is saying isn't that clear and did you even have to ask. After a week away from Nammie (Mom was in Chicago all of last week) he decided last night that he wanted to go to see Nammie and Pops. Problem was that he had already had a bath, PJ's on and it was nearing 8pm. Here was our conversation:

Me: How are you going to get there
CH: car
Me: who is going to drive you?
CH: you dawive me?
Me: I've got to clean up the kitchen and then I need to go night night.
[He walks to Justin]
CH: dawive
JH: What?
CH: You dawive
JH: what?
CH: [with his hands at 10 and 2 does the stearing wheel motion]
JH: oh you want me to drive you?
CH: yeah
JH: where are we going?
CH: Nammie and Pops
JH: No, we all need to go night night and you are going to Nammie's tomorrow

Way to funny. He can be so sweet and so loving. And then in the snap of a finger he can become a little monster in throwing a complete fit. Its all part of this process of growing and learning! And I know that he is doing both! Just praying that God will help me and Justin be the parent's that Collier needs us to be and that we are pleasing to Him all along the way.

Hold Me

2011-08-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ok. I have a new favorite song, check it out! I can't get enough of it

I love to hear it and sing with it. It makes me turn up my radio! Love it! I had no idea who Jamie Grace was before I heard this song, but love love love it!
Don't you just want to dance around? or give some one a hug? Did I mention that I love it?

First Day

2011-08-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Collier's first day of 'school'...I was so excited and only a little nervous when he started getting mad at Mella for making his peanut butter sandwich. He told her 'I not want that' and then ran to the me and told me 'I not go there'. But we did go there and he did pretty good with being dropped off. I was worried about the whole potty thing being in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and so we talked about it a good bit and once we arrived the teachers assured me that they would check with him through the day and it would be fine. I asked him if he needed to go potty and he said yes and so his teacher took him which made my exit much easier. At one point his little lips both turned down low but he was strong and didn't shed a tear....that is until about 12:30 and he lost it and didn't really recover from that point. When Mella picked him up he cried even harder. We all decided that it was because he was so tired. He is used to a morning nap and to go cold turkey on this change is a hard adjustment. He will get through it and it will get better but was a tough first day. Up until about 12:30 they said he did great and played great. No accidents and he went potty twice, so I was very happy with that.

Mrs. Lindsey, one of his teachers

After Mella got him in the car it only took about 3 minutes before he was fast asleep. Bad part was once they got home he wouldn't go back to sleep and never went back down. Long day for the little man but he finally fell fast asleep around 8:30. My sweet little boy is just growing up.

Mowing Dass

2011-08-11T11:06:00.000-05:00

At the mention of the possibility of mowing the grass, Collier gets excited and demands to get out and cut with Daddy. He will cut by himself but loves it MOST OF ALL when he gets to cut with Daddy. Yesterday afternoon when Collier got home, he was thrilled to see Daddy 'cut dass' and he immediately joined him. It is the cutest thing ever to watch him try and keep up with Justin. He cried his heart out when Daddy was done and made him come inside. Good news for him, is that Daddy will be cutting the back yard in the next few days plus Mommy need to vacuum and our little man will be happy doing either!

Routine

2011-08-09T17:20:00.001-05:00

Or maybe lack of routine would better define our past 10 days. But we are now trying to get back into a routine. We had a weekend at the lake with Justin's Mom and Step Dad and they so graciously took our little man to their house for a few days and Justin and I headed to the beach for a few days to work! I had a conference that just happened to also be in Justin's territory and so we took advantage of time together and knocking out a little work and play in the process. It was great fun and relaxing. We then picked up Collier and went back to the lake and stayed through the weekend. It was a fun 10 days but I am so glad to be home and in my very own bed. Saturday my sinus' decided to go crazy and I haven't been the same sense...I am not sure if it is sinus' or a cold but I am much better today, thank the Lord. Now my house just needs a little attention and we should be in good shape. Collier told me we needed to vacuum the mess in the kitchen last night as I was getting dinner ready. S.A.D when a two year old informs me that our house is so messy that we need to vacuum. He is indeed correct, but this Momma is just not up for vacuuming just yet. He loves it so much I should have just let him do it, but I was just too tired to even pull it out. Instead he went outside to 'mow dass'. Please Lord, let his desire to help and do stay with him through his teenage years, amen!

Next week, Collier will start preschool two days a week. Is it preschool or is it mothers day out? Either way, I am so excited for him and just know that once he gets used to it (past the first few weeks) he is going to love it. We go and meet his teachers on Friday. I can't wait. He needs the structure and socialization. I think it is going to be sooo good for him in so many ways. I am a bit of a nervous wreck because I want him to do good and enjoy it but have no idea how he is going to react. I keep telling myself he'll do great, but then when he breaks out in one of his toddler or bossy fits I just hold my breath and pray that he will not act that way at school! He is certainly one who know what he wants and isn't afraid to let you know. Although, according to Mrs. Pam and Mr. Charles he didn't do that at all while he was at their house last week [or they are just being nice and not telling me] but if in fact he didn't, that may help in my head case that he'll do fine and that he just does it mostly to us. Which is fine too, I would rather him do it at home rather than with others :) I'll certainly update once he gets started!!

M&M's are GOOOD!

New Gator Hat...Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Ken this one is for you!

Sweet Time

2011-08-05T19:30:00.001-05:00

Please let me back track for a minute. We have been out of town and on the go, but I certainly want to share [and document] my sweet time with my little man three weeks ago. We were headed to Dothan for a wedding (a fun wedding, where I learned I had a few followers - Hello Andrew's Family). Justin was golfing with the guys on Friday afternoon so I dropped him off and CH and I headed to the lake...I had left my rings down there the weekend before and I was feeling naked without them, I was so close and took advantage of the time I had with just Collier and Brinkley. It was beautiful and sweet to have just one on one time with my sweet baby. Just the two of us to swim and chill for just a little while. That is rare and treasured so very much!! Time I am so very thankful for!

it was actually the three of us!

bright momma

snack and glasses (this is how he normally wears his glasses)

We then headed back to Dothan were we got to catch up with Popoo and Nunny for the rest of the weekend. We also stole a little bit of time with Chris and family.

Conversations

2011-07-21T10:32:00.000-05:00

I called mom yesterday to let her know I was on my way to pick up my little man and guess who answered the phone:

CH: Hey Momma
Me: Hey Baby
CH: What do'in?
Me: I'm coming to get you, what are you do'in?
CH: see Daddie
Me: you want to go and see Daddy?
CH: yeah
Me: do you remember where Momma said Daddy is? Where is Daddy?
CH: out tawn
Me: that's right, Daddy is out of town tonight. What are you doing with Nammie right now?
CH: vjsoielkjdfns [mumblings I couldn't understand]
Nammie in the background: vacuuming
Me: oh you are vacuuming?
CH: Yeah.
Me: ok, well tell Nammie that I am on the way to pick you up. see you in a minute.
CH: Ok, bye bye
Me: bye Baby.

I was in total shock and it was just plain weird to have an entire phone conversation with him. Normally I hear Mom telling him what to say but this was him talking to me. It was just weird. Maybe I shouldn't be so shocked but I was. I immediately called Justin and told him the conversation and he of course laughed - Collier is always cracking me up! Continued proof that he is just becoming a big boy all to quickly.

Rain, Rain and MORE Rain

2011-07-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well, not this week...but last weekend while we were at the lake with these cuties.....

it rained the ENTIRE weekend. From Thursday night to Sunday afternoon....it rained and basically didn't stop.

But that clearly didn't stop our fun. Despite having 11 people [5 of those kids] at a lake cabin it was still a perfect weekend. Thankfully it didn't actually storm - no thunder and lightening, just a constant drizzle during the day - which meant that the kids could still get out and swim in the rain. I went out with Collier for a little while on Saturday and let him jump with Emmie. Sunday all of the adults were determined to get a little lake time in....a small break in the rain and we hit the water...but not for long! Because after 4 days of no sun and rain the water was way cooler than normal - we were whimps and only swam for a little while before we bailed. The kids on the other hand were perfectly happy and jumped and swam with no complaints! The older boys even got a few tube rides in the rain! Toby won Dad of the year for getting out in the rain to pull them. ha!

Bottom line is that we got some very special time with some of our favorite people. I loved seeing how each of the Crews boys interacted with Collier. He is still talking about them and can't wait to see them again very soon!!!

They [Justin and Landon] made playdough and this is Baylor trying to teach Collier to toss it in the air like making pizza dough. He was so patient and detailed in showing Collier.

We made s'mores...well in the microwave...it was so wet we didn't feel like firing up the grill!! Messy and Yummy, even though we cheated!

Baylor (9) Landon (11) Collier (2) Emmie (3) Corbin (7)

Thanks Crews family for making the trip! We had a blast and next time we'll order up some sunshine! Love yall.

2011-07-12T10:18:00.000-05:00

We had the funnest weekend ever! I was glad to not be traveling and packing and driving! I made the most of our weekend at home and really enjoyed the whole weekend.

Did I mention how HOT it was?

Friday morning, Mom, Collier and I loaded into the car and headed to Wilsonville to go and pick blueberries. We arrived around 9:20 and should have gotten there much earlier. Collier was a very good sport and was interested for the first 10 minutes, he picked berries and put them in his basket and was doing so good. And then Nammie clued him in to the fact that he could EAT the berries. Well, little bear ate all his berries and then wanted nothing more to do with picking them. He walked between mom and I, he then ate a snack, and drank some water and was covered in sweat [all of us were drenched] and had had enough by around 10:30. Meanwhile, mom and I were picking like crazy. Getting as low as we could in the middle of those bushes and filling our baskets as fast as we could...we had three to fill and time was running low in the Collier toleration department. We both rushed and were able to get all of the baskets full....two were filled to the brim and the last one mom basically got full while I headed back to the car to cool off Collier and get loaded back into the car. It really was fun and I am hoping to go back for one more picking to get enough to get us through winter having fresh blueberries. I have frozen most of what we picked on this trip. I also have tried to make anything blueberry that I could think of. Collier was such a trooper and did so good with just hanging out in the blueberry field. But he was tired and hot and ready to go by the time we were done and back in the car!

Friday night Justin and I had a date night. We went to dinner. Only had to worry about feeding ourselves and had uninterrupted conversations. We laughed and just enjoyed our time together. It was quite a special treat to have that time together and get to enjoy one another and just focus on each other. I don't want to seem as though my motherly duties are any trouble at all...because they are not. It is an honor to have this sweet baby and I love everything about him - including the interruptions and the crazy dinner time and the toddler fits - he is so special to us! But it also felt really to focus on being a wife on Friday night and giving my undivided attention to Justin...it just was nice!

Saturday morning Justin and I got a quick run in before getting CH back from my parents! We then headed downtown to PepperPlace where they have a Saturday Market each week - it is really neat and everything from BBQ, jewelry, crafts and most importantly vegetables! We went to get some fresh vegi's and I was able to round up tomatoes, green beans, peaches and some local honey. The down side is that we didn't get down there until just before 10am and it was already HOT. We were all three drenched again and headed home before actually getting to browse through all of the vendor booths. We agreed that we need to go back again and get there much much earlier. This seemed to be the theme this weekend, heat and the need to get outside early as in before 10am because it is already way to hot by that time!

Saturday night we celebrated Poe's birthday and got to play with some sweet friends that we don't get to see as often as we would like. Jackson and Collier are about 5 months apart and it was fun to see them play together - especially learning how to SHARE! And the adults got some time to visit as well which is a huge bonus. Not to mention we ate some really yummy food! I did a terrible job of taking pictures and only captured a few of the kiddo's. I need to do better about that!

Sunday we didn't make it to church, which I was very sad about since it is one of the few weekend that we have been in town. I am looking forward to fall and getting back into a normal routine. And just for the sake of keeping it all real here in the bloggy world....Collier only had two bathes this weekend, Friday after blueberry pick'n and then not again until Sunday night. And with that I nominate myself for mother of the year!

Wanna Guess What We Did.....

2011-07-10T20:46:00.000-05:00

I'll be back with lots more details and pictures of our weekend...this was just our Friday morning adventure!

Just Pictures

2011-07-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

Interruptions and Potty

2011-07-06T19:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had a night that just wouldn't work out like you planned? That was my last night. Here is what I ~~thought~~ had planned

Go to the grocery right after work (maybe even leave a little early)
Get home around 5:30 and get dinner started
Dinner would be turkey tenderloin with a corn salad (I have been eyeing this recipe for weeks and had extra tomatoes from the weekend which the recipe calls for)
While dinner is cooking, put together a pound cake to bake in time for dessert

But in reality here is what happened

Didn't leave work until almost 5:00 - so much for leaving early
Mom called and had left Collier's lovey's at her house (she had dropped him off to Justin so I could go to the grocery and she could go to bible study)
Grocery was packed, took longer than I planned. They didn't have the turkey tenderloin that I had a coupon for. went to plan B of pork tenderloin.
Went to Mom's to get lovey's
Got home around 6:15
Got tenderloin in oven
Started making corn salad and realized that I didn't have any tomatoes, went to plan B and was going to saute a (home grown by my brother) squash and as I cut into it, it was all brown. went to plan C just rice with meat tonight!
Put together pound cake - ready to be put in oven once tenderloin was done
Tenderloin cooked slow and wasn't done until 7:20, which meant that pound cake didn't go in until about 7:40 and it needed an hour and 40 minutes to cook!

Oh well, so we had a bland dinner. No veggies. Collier was hungry way before dinner was ready which meant that we didn't all sit together as a family and eat. No one got dessert because we were all in bed by the time it was done. I had a rotten attitude because things didn't go ~~my way~~ as planned. I sort of laughed this morning as I was working on my bible study because my night last night was 'interrupted' but if I had just stopped and realized that maybe it was all for the better and just how God wanted it to go (instead of my way) I maybe could have appreciated it a little more and could have been nicer to my husband. This bible study is really teaching me that God's divine interventions are so much better than my plans and when things don't go JUST as planned that I should just relax and roll with it. This is the small scale of life's interruptions. There are much larger and harder interruptions that we are faced with in life and if I could just realize that when I get put out when things don't go my way that I am really doubting God and saying that my way is better than His...which is absolutely not true! This is a hard lesson to learn but I am so thankful for the timing of this study and the precious girls that I am doing the study with. It is a huge blessing and keeping me in God's word and learning His truths! Nothing could be better.

sleeping in Popoo's bed at the lake few weeks ago

I keep going back and forth about when and if to take Collier out of his crib. I have always said that I wanted to keep him in the crib as long as possible (will he fit in it when he is 15?), it keeps him in if you know what I mean! But with potty training I have often wondered if I needed to give him the ability to get up to go potty if ever needed. If he can get up to go potty that will also give him the freedom to get up and come to 'dadda's bed' which he really likes and who could blame him? But I have also expressed how much Justin and I like our bed space child-free! Last night Collier started crying and calling for me around 12:30am, he sat up called for me and laid back down, sat up a second time and cried out 'potty momma, potty' but then laid back down again. I watched for another minute on the monitor and as soon as he sat up again I decided I would just go in and ask him. I wasn't sure if he was dreaming but also didn't want to risk him wetting the bed. When I asked him if he needed to go potty he said yes. I was very worried that this was a ploy for him to get into our bed. On the way to the bathroom he said 'where dadda bed?' He did actually need to go potty and I almost didn't get him on the potty in time, I was so proud of him. I turned his music back on and put him right back into his bed and he went right back to sleep with out a single peep! I was so thankful that he didn't ask to go to 'dadda's bed'. I at least know that he will call for me when he needs to go, I would sort of rather take him anyway...not like he can get on the potty by himself at this point anyway! But he has also slept in big beds for naps in the past several weeks and he does just fine. It is a big decision for me but I would appreciate any advice and suggestions for the next step in beds... do I put him in a twin or go to a full? Any thoughts or suggestions from you experienced mom's? I am thinking maybe in the fall we might transition. It makes me a little nervous though to be honest!

July 4th

2011-07-05T09:39:00.000-05:00

**I started this post yesterday morning and never finished, so I'm a day late**

Happy Birthday America. We are certainly a blessed nation. We are protected by hero's all over the world who sacrifice so much for our freedom and protection. These hero's make this sacrifice by choice. I am thankful for our military and their families who continue to do what is needed for us to keep our freedom and independence! But our ultimate freedom us in and through Christ. It is a privilege to be called a child of God. He is a God who saves. Who saves me from myself even in spite of myself. .He loves me, He desires a relationship with me, He directs and forgives me. That alone is enough to celebrate.

We spent this weekend at the lake again. It was nice to have an extra day to the weekend. Collier did lots of jumping off of the boat and dock. We even got Ashlyn to jump off the back of the boat. The two of them had a blast. Ashlyn got Collier to tube...he did pretty good but not yet convinced that he loved it. Even baby Hayden got a quick ride [all of them rode with Chris]! If we weren't in the water swimming and jumping we were inside either eating or napping [both are awesome and well cherished by me!]. I only took a few pictures and I haven't taken them off of my camera and if I wait until I do then this post will be several days old, so that will come later in the week :). But our weekend also consist of July 4th fireworks...not normally by us but we love to watch the fireworks around the lake. A few weeks ago, while at the lake, our neighbors set off some fireworks during a wedding rehearsal dinner that they had and it scared my little man. And since that weekend he is now also scared of thunder. Sunday evening everyone brought out their fireworks and Collier was beside himself. He only felt safe in 'Nammie's bed' watching Madagascar. Mom was nice enough to stay inside with him and Dad, Justin and I watched from the deck. Maybe next year we will be able to get out in the boat and watch them from the lake. It is one of my favorite things to do; just sit and watch fireworks over the water! So much fun.

I hope that you had an awesome Independence Day weekend with your family!

Relax God is in Control

2011-06-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

This was the bumper sticker that I saw on my way to work yesterday morning. This is after I prayed to God asking Him to guide me and asking specifically for him to answer a particular prayer that I want. But at the same time that if that answer isn't in His will that my heart would be changed so that my desires are His desires. I even asked that He would allow someone or something to speak to me to further confirm that I am inside of His will. HA...sort of funny how He works and speaks to us huh? I need to relax and just trust instead of trying to work things out on my own! He speaks, I hear.

I mentioned before that I am doing Priscilla Shirer's Jonah study. It has been A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! It has been a study that has had great impact on my relationship with Christ and has changed my view of God's plan for my life. I have learned that when I pray 'Your Will, not my will' that I am just saying that because I am supposed to .... and have had a change of heart in really believing and being ready for what God's will may require of me. I have to be quiet and still in Him to hear His voice. And when I do hear His voice...The Voice of Truth...am I being obedient? That is where I am. Listen. Obey. And the obey part is sort of hard for me. Because I often time will think that obeying can be just agreeing with God but not necessarily acting on what I know i am supposed to be doing, or not doing. I will know what He is saying/guiding me, but I will not do exactly what He is asking but maybe just enough to justify that I am not being disobedient. But the truth is that I am scared, nervous, and frankly not trusting in Him. Shame on me! Doing nothing is being disobedient. I

One morning last week, I woke to the song The voice of truth, by casting crowns. It was as if this song was speaking directly to me [which obviously it was]. That I am not being faithful and that I am doubting and trying to do on my own. I want to be faithful and take that step out of my comfort zone [which I don't go to easily or often] into the direction that God wants me to go. By doing that and taking that step in complete faith...it will be for His glory! That is what I want. I want to have the confidence that what I am doing and where I am going is what He wants me to be and that it will be for His glory. It starts with obedience and being willing to trust that He is in control! I just need to relax [in quiet] and allow Him to speak and guide me. It sounds so easy and I am honestly not sure why is it such a struggle. God is so good and it is so neat to see His hand and how He works in my life, I am working to relax and put Him in the drivers seat so that I can let go and let Him!

2011-06-22T14:16:00.000-05:00

This week I flipped my off day from Friday to Monday. So, I decided that Collier and I would head out for a zoo adventure before the heat of the day took over. This was Collier's second trip to the zoo. I wasn't sure how into it he would be. My biggest goal was to get him to play in the water area (for those not in Alabama, our zoo has an area that shoots up water from the ground and lots of bubbles and the kids can run and play. perfect for cooling down in this Alabama heat). I just knew that he would love it since he has taken to the water so much this summer. I was very wrong. He wanted nothing to do with it. Which is really fine with me, I just know that he is missing out! But we did get to see lots of the animals, ride the train (he loved the train...it was his first train ride and loved hearing the whistle), ride the carousel twice, and did lots of running. I thought that it was a fun morning and enjoyed my time with him. I had to be really silly in the car on the way home to keep him from falling asleep. Needless to say he took a long afternoon nap!

All of that after our weekend trip to Eufaula. He got quite a treat to go fishing with his Popoo and Uncle Ryan and Daddy....Daddy bought him his very own fishing pole so that he would not try and use the big boys. That was a really good plan since before the weekend was over it was just about broken, thankfully Justin had the right tools to fix and repair. We are working really hard on understanding that everything can not be slammed on the ground like a hammer and NOT be broken. I am not sure why or how he is so rough...but he in deed is! And as I am reminded in my memory verse he is 'God's
masterpiece' (Ephesians 2:10)...indeed he is, this Momma just needs to have Godly wisdom in teaching how to be gentle! He loved riding in the paddle boat - I even took him for a paddle in it! Great exercise, although I am not as comfortable in the water as it is back in a slew (is that how you spell that? do you know what I mean?) and Justin saw a little alligator the day before cruising around....I was more than concerned about his momma being around. Although Justin assured me that it was no longer in need of its momma! I was not so convinced. So I basically went in circles in front of the dock in case I needed to make a quick escape! Thankfully that wasn't necessary, either way Collier loved it. We did go swimming over on an island where there are not alligators and Collier went 'uder wader' twice and did really good both times. He is so very comfortable in the water and I am also thankful for

I was thinking about the heat and the weather and was starting to complain about the amount of heat that we had and suddenly our troops and soldiers popped into my head. I need to be more thankful for them and the fact that they are in horrible heat and circumstances that I can not relate to yet they do it so that I can have freedom. I am so thankful for those men and women. I am praying for them today!

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T10:00:00.017-05:00

On the radio one night this week a DJ asked people to call in and share what your dad has taught you. Without hesitation I would have to say that the one thing that stick's with me from my dad is to 'be a leader not a follower' [I didn't call in but thought about it since the response were a little crazy]. This was the permanent phrase that my dad would say every time Chris or I left the house. I think that this is an awesome life lesson, especially now that I have Collier and have a strong desire for him to also be a leader and not a follower. My Dad is awesome, fun and has a sincerity for those around him like I have never seen before. I am thankful that I have a good relationship with my Dad. I am thankful that he has always been there for me and more than willing to go above and beyond for anything that Chris and I need...this hold true even to this day. I am thankful that he is healthy. I am thankful that he loves my baby as much as he loves me. I am thankful that he love the Lord. I am thankful that he lives so close. I love you Dad and thank you for being such a wonderful father to me!

One of my most favorite things about being a parent is when Collier is doing something new or funny and Justin and I make eye contact with one another and laugh or share in the wonder of what he is doing. I love to watch Justin with Collier and to see how they interact together. In the mornings I usually get Collier out of the bed although Justin handles most everything else from that point until we leave the house. But when I walk into his room he immediately ask for Dadda. Honestly Collier is quite the Daddy's boy and will sometimes not allow me to do things that he only wants Justin to do - anything from sitting on the couch with him to fixing his sippie or even just playing with a particular toy. He loves his Daddy and I do to! I love being a parent with him, I love being his wife, I love laughing with him, I love him, more and more every day! Happy Father's Day Justin!

I am also greatly blessed with two Father -in-laws! I couldn't have asked for better in laws and these two men are extra special. Collier adores them greatly and I am so thankful for them! Happy Father's Day Popoo and Buzz!

Most importantly I celebrate our Heavenly Father. A Father who is faithful when I am not. A Father who love me unconditionally, even when I am not so lovable. A Father who loves me enough to give His only Son to die on the cross so that I can have eternal life. A Father who gives me hope that there is more to life than what is on earth. A Father who disciplines out of love, as I am one of His children. A Father who can make a masterpiece out of the mess that I create. A Father who forgives my sins. A Father who I have [physically] never seen yet He fills me with His Spirit. The Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning, the End.
Father God, I praise you for your love and for your forgiveness. Thank you for all of the Dad's in my life, for the impact that they have had on our lives. Thank you Lord for calling my name and that I heard Your voice and answered Your call. Thank you for the family, friends, job and blessings that you have given to me. Allow me to continue to hear Your voice and be obedient to all that You ask of me. May I bring glory to you in all that I do! In Christ Jesus, Amen!

Helper

2011-06-17T08:48:00.001-05:00

Collier is such a little worker bee. He loves to help and he loves to work on a task given to him. Here are a few of his favorites:

This has been his latest, he loves to put away the clean silverware from the dishwasher. We are working on putting the correct utensil in the correct slot because it is a bit of a disaster when he is done.

Anything involving water is FUN. He loves to water our plants.

Vacuuming, he never misses a chance to help.

He L.O.V.E.S to use the blower and will melt down in a fit when we put it up. He does this mostly with Nammie and Pops. Although he doesn't look happy at all, he gets very serious in each of his tasks.

This is another recent task. Spraying and cleaning the windows. He shakes the Windex up to complete bubbles and then sprays and wipes. Anything involving soap/spray, a brush and water is tons of fun. I need to put him on cleaning my car and we'll be set!

mowing the lawn. He is more than glad to help mow the lawn in one of two ways

You would think that we were slave drivers, but he actually wants to help. If we don't let him help he will pitch a huge toddler fit. He would actually rather do one of these things than play with any of his toys! I am still not sure how or why that we even buy him toys. Plus, I figure it is never to early to start 'chores'.

Big Boy Stuff

2011-06-15T11:32:00.000-05:00

My Dad has always called going to the bathroom 'Big Boy Stuff' when talking with Collier [not that it is a common topic, but when Dad has a little shadow and needs to do 'big boy stuff' that is what is is known as]. So, now we are deep into doing big boy stuff. I am thrilled and more than thankful that we are doing really good. He had one accident last weekend and it was really my fault - I didn't hear him calling my name and I don't think he could hold it any longer and he went standing in the hall way. Huge puddle! Other than that, no accidents. He calls my name [or daddy or nammie or whoever is around to hear him] points to his tee tee and says pee pee and takes off running yelling 'hurry hurry' and laughing because I am running behind him. All of this to say that he goes #1 and #2 with no problems. When we are outside he likes to 'go outside' and does pretty good. I am slightly fearful that one day he is going to poop while standing up going outside... I have been warned that since he started so early that he may revert and I am just praying that will not happen. It is nice to not have to deal with diapers and even nicer to not have to purchase them:)

So, the tricky part to all of this has been our trips to the lake. Four hours in the car and area's that don't have an exit or somewhere to stop at the moment that he announces that he needs to go 'pee pee'. Here is what has happened the last few times. We stop at the next place we can find [see below regarding public bathrooms] and he won't go or won't get on the potty. When I ask him if he needs to go potty he then says no. I ask why in the world he told me that he did? No response from him. We get loaded back in the car, get on the road and he immediately says he needs to go again. This has resulted in a few side of the road stops, which is always interesting. I have even put him in a diaper for traveling, but I can't bring myself to say well' just go in your diaper' because I don't feel like stopping again. But then again, I wonder if it isn't some sort of ploy to get out of his car seat! Either way, I have to take his word for it and I usually have this conversation 'Do you REALLY need to go? If I get you out of your car seat, you need to go pee pee. Do you need to go pee pee or poo poo? are you sure you really need to go? Don't just say it and then not go when we stop'. The results seem to vary and I can't seem to make sense of it at all.

I am now horrified of public bathrooms because he feels the need to touch EVERYTHING in there....I walk in saying don't touch anything and his hands seems to slide and glad over everything but the floor. It makes my stomach hurt, I tell him to put his hands in the air, I wrap the seat in toilet paper and then he refuses to sit on the potty! Great. I still make him sit for a minute and he squirms all that he can off of the seat which by now has no more toilet paper protecting his sweet hiney from the horrible germs from who knows what! I have had a few success public bathroom stops but I think that I like the side of the road better. And so I am considering removing the stop at the next convenient place...unless it is ChickFilA or Publix or something I know is clean..and he is just going to just become really good at going outside the car. I think that I may turn these responsibilities over to Justin. After all, it is Big Boy Stuff and who would be better suited than Daddy?!

Lake Adventures

2011-06-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

We are lake people. We love the lake and that is where we usually spend most of our summer time! It may be that both of our families have lake houses which provides perfect weekend trips. I wish that they were a little closer, but I'm not going to complain because it is always worth the drive to spend time at the lake.

Last weekend we had friends down with us. It is lots of fun and so wonderful to have willing and wanting help with Collier - they have two girls [ages 10 and 12]! I got to enjoy more adult time with friends which makes for a perfect weekend. I didn't take my camera out until Sunday, so I only got a few pictures. It was a weekend filled with water, boats and sun. I think that I get wrapped into being sure that Collier ~~and Justin~~ get lathered and sprayed with sunscreen that I forget to lather myself. All of that to say we soaked in a lot of rays this weekend. [One of the guys I work with informed me I was starting to look a little mexican, NICE! I need to invest in some 50SPF and keep is on me the rest of the summer] We enjoyed swimming a lot, it was so hot at times that we didn't have an option but to stay in the water! Boat rides and even a few knee board trips for one of the girls.

I think that I mentioned before that Collier has been jumping from the back of the boat platform to us in the water. He is so funny as he counts down to jump. He jumped to all of us and even had fun jumping at the same time as the girls.

Then on Sunday as we were in the water, out in front of the dock. Collier pointed to the dock and said 'Collier jump'. I ask if he meant from the boat or from the dock and he said from the dock. I couldn't believe it. I think that he had watched the older girls jump so much that he felt that he was big enough to do it too! We had two other little girls [lake neighbors] that would come over and jump too...he must have felt left out. Anyway. I just couldn't believe the he was willing and wanting to do this. Justin did so good catching him. He did it about 6 times and even a few times his face went under...he didn't like that too much although it also didn't stop him from doing it ~~again~~ 'more'. I am not sure if he will do it with out the older girls around, but I hope that he will! He would get so excited just before he jumped it was cracking Justin and I up. Needless to say, we progressed rather quickly from the back of the boat to the top of the dock...especially since the water is sort of lower than normal, making the dock that much higher! I was so proud and it makes me excited to look forward to each new adventure and discovery as he gets older [honestly the becoming a big boy part sort of breaks my heart]

Yet another fun and relaxing weekend at the lake.

Abby

2011-06-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

It is with a very sad and heavy heart ~~and many tears~~ that I share that my parents had to put their dog of 13 years down on Friday. I got Abby when I was a freshman at Auburn, my roommate told me about an alumni of her sorority who had a golden retriever who they thought were having pure-bred goldens and when they were born they have various color dogs. Anyway...they were giving them away. Chris' roommates sister and I went and got the two golden puppies from the litter to give to our Mom's! Mom and Dad were empty nester's for the first time and Mom was sad for the house to be so quiet. When Chris and I came home for Thanksgiving we brought Abby home with us. Abby has been the most perfect fit for my mom. She has been laid back and easy going since she was a puppy. One time she got out of the backyard while mom was working and when mom got home she was laying at the front door...she knew that she had it too good to go anywhere else! And believe me, she has had it G.O.O.D! She has been my mom's baby since the day she got her! She had one blue eye and one brown eye. She let the grandkids roll all over her. Matter of fact, Ashlyn said 'babby' way before she said 'Grammy'. Every time Ash saw my mom she would say 'babby?' to the point that we even thought that was what Ashlyn was going to call mom babby!

I so much wish that I had some pictures of Ashlyn with Abby because she really loves her. since Ash was old enough to realize Abby was around she has taken to her; and for good reason. Since Collier stays with Abby every day, he obviously loves her. We have tried to teach him to be gentle and easy with Abs in her old age and he finally has resorted to hugs and kisses only for Abby; and of course every now and then he would feel the need to run into her with his lawn mower. Again, I said that we have TRIED to teach him to be easy. But Abby wouldn't fuss or complain one bit. So gentle spirited and sweet nature. She must be the sweetest natured dog that I have ever known. Soft. Cuddly. Content. Spoiled. She had really bad allergies and for the past several years my Mom had cooked chicken breast for her, morning and night she has chicken breast chopped up with chicken broth and a tiny bit of dog food.

It has really only been the past few months that she has gotten worse. She still wants dinner and food and has a very strong desire to meet anyone coming in the door. The problem is that her back knees just can't hold up any more. She has done her best but I think that this week Mom just saw that she couldn't hardly hold herself up to go potty. We have had to carry up and her down the stairs. Mom wanted so badly for her to just pass away on her on and NOT have to make this so hard decision. It just breaks my heart in so many ways. I just know that she is in doggy heaven and hope that we will get to have her company back when we go to heaven one day [this is just one of the unknowns but I am very hopeful that the animals that we so love and have become parts of our families will join us in heaven]

She is already missed. I am sad. I will be sad when I drop Collier off on Monday and she isn't there. I will be sad on a night that my Dad is out of town and my Mom doesn't have Abby there to keep her company. Just plain sad. We would appreciate your prayers this week as life adjusts to not having her in our daily lives....especially for Mom and Dad!

Birthday Celebration

2011-06-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

Ashlyn turned 4 last weekend. We celebrated in Dothan with skating, games, slides, cake and a Barbie convertible. It was such a fun day. I was shocked when Collier said that he wanted to try on the skates and was even more shocked at how well he did on them. They locked the wheels to make it easy and he didn't seem uncomfortable on them at all. I knew that he had good balance but this just further confirmed it. He was in and out of the inflatable jumping several times. And once Ashlyn received her Barbie car he was more than happy to be her passenger!

It is always funny to me to hear different people say who our kids look like. For instance, I get about 50/50 of who everyone things Collier looks like. And I can see that because I personally think that he is a mix of Justin and I. Although I think that he does look more like Justin and I am not sure if it is purely looks or if it is also behavior that I think that - his expressions, walk and actions are mostly Justin. Ashlyn on the other hand is a clone of her mom. She looks exactly like her mom and has from the moment she was born. But people who don't know Amanda as well and do know me [especially as a child] often say that she looks exactly like me. A friend recently looked at her and said that she was looking at me at that age. It is really funny and quite interesting to me. I recently had this same conversation with a good friend who I don't get to see very often but she sent me some pictures and I thought her daughter looked so much like her and she told me that everyone says that she looks exactly liker her husband. Just funny to see the different perspectives. And boy was that random? Back to the birthday!

I would love to hear the conversation between these two. Ashlyn's older cousin's are in the mule and CH and Ash are in the barbie car and they pulled up next to each other. Seem to be up to no good. We kept joking that it will be them driving off and hanging out with real cars before we know it. Chris didn't find it quite as funny as his girls rode off together! He is going to be in big trouble when the dating years start!

Collier hasn't really been sure about sprinklers. So Chris and Justin tried to break him in. He did pretty good and was willing to run by it and get a little wet. Saturday evening it rained at the lake and we practiced running in the rain to get a better feel for sprinklers!

Visitors

2011-06-07T11:22:00.000-05:00

We had last minute visitors last night. It was such a treat to have them at our house for a few hours and Collier loved his time with his Mana (aka Mella) and his great-grandparents! What a treat that he gets to know them and have them as part of his life!

The reason they were in town is that Nanna (Justin's Grandmother, Pam's Mother) was having a procedure done bright and early this morning. I am not sure if I have all of the details or that I actually understand but I think that her heart is out of rhythm and they are shocking her so that it will be corrected. We would really appreciate your prayers for God's hand and healing for her. She is just very drained right now with dealing with it.

They were kind enough to come to our house for dinner. We were going to go out to dinner but anyone with a 2 year old fully understands that restaurants are more stressful then fun at this point! I was glad that they were ok with that and I picked up some kabob's from Zoe's and we were set. Collier showed them his car that he got for his birthday and how to 'swing high'. He then worked on a few puzzle's with them and had the best time. It was a fun evening. We are just praying that Nanna's procedure will give her the results she wants - giving her her energy back!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

We had a very fun long weekend at the lake with all of my family. I just love the time that we get with Chris and his family and especially the kids playing together. Collier has so much fun with Ashlyn and before much longer Hayden will be running around right behind them. Since this was the first trip to the lake that the water was warm enough for us to get in, it took a little adjusting for Collier to get comfortable with getting in the water. But no worries it only took a day and he is full speed ahead. Matter of fact, he is still down there and I have received reports back that he has been jumping off the boat platform to my mom in the water! I can't wait to see that. Ashlyn had her very first tube ride with Chris this weekend. I am proud of her for being brave enough to try something outside of her comfort zone. She did so good and I know that there will be more tube rides ahead this summer! The weather was perfect for a lake weekend. We had lots of delicious food - Chris cooked his award winning ribs and we wrapped the weekend up with a shrimp boil that was just perfect. Collier loves going on boat rides, which usually ended up relaxing him more than anything else and being snuggled in Pops lap with his hat was just the perfect way to cruise around the lake. On the potty front - he only had one accident which happened to be the one night I didn't put him in diaper, other than that he woke up dry every morning. It seems that we are 100% going in the potty. Mom said that he has done great and no other accident's yesterday. I am just so proud of him for doing so good and extra thankful that I did it when I did [even though I was very nervous]and that it has clicked with him. Thank you Lord!

I am also thankful for all of the men, women and their families that serve our country. Particularly the one's who have lost their lives serving our country. It is due to their work that we have the freedom that we do and I am thankful. But also to those who are currently serving and their families who sacrifice so much for our country! They are real hero's and I love them with all of my heart!

Tonight I am starting Priscilla Shirer's Jonah bible study with a small group of friends. I am excited not only to get back into a routine of a bible study and being in God's word but also looking forward to the fellowship with these sweet friends. I am ashamed to admit that I am not good about opening God's word and reading through the bible. I do better when I have structure and a study that keeps me diving into His word. Since hearing Priscilla at the Deeper Still conference I have been dieing to try her study. My Aunt (hi Aunt Jeanie) recently finished it and said it was amazing. Praying for God to prepare my heart for how this study will impact my heart and life!
My memory verse right now (11th verse through Beth Moore's blog) is Psalm 19:14 'May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer'.

'Challenge an Elephant'

2011-05-25T13:56:00.000-05:00

This was the email that I got from my Mom yesterday:

So I looked back at the time he went this morning....8:30 to 2:00...wow....I challenge an elephant to him!!!!!

Mom is so sweet to send me updates on his potty progress through the day. She had just sent an email saying that he had finally gone #1 and #2 in the potty and this was her next email. It made me laugh. He had gone pee pee at 8:30 and then nothing until 2:00. So, one of two things is obvious here: 1) He isn't drinking enough 2) He has a huge bladder. Maybe a little of both. He really doesn't drink all that much and when he does drink it is usually us pushing him to DRINK DRINK DRINK. But the good news is that the potty progress has been very good! Better than I could have expected. He did have one accident yesterday afternoon, he just didn't give mom enough time to get to the potty. But other than that he has told us and gone in the potty! He even sits on the potty when he needs to toot, he thinks it's really funny - such a BOY!

I was so nervous and dreading this whole process. He has more than exceeded by expectations and I am so thankful that it has been a success. Over the weekend he just wore his undies and a shirt and for the majority of the time he was in his PJ shirt... hence both of my recent pictures...I promise that I am really dressing him now :) Although there are some days that he is still in his jammies when we get to my Mom's.

I am so very thankful to have my Mom be willing and able to keep Collier for us. It makes things like this [potty training] just so easy! She actually sends me updates throughout the day and sometimes even pictures. The potty updates have been quite funny! I have often worried about Collier not getting the social interaction with other kids his age. Also have worried that he wares out my Mom!!! Both are true but what a blessing that they get this time together! They have a bond that is like no other. There are some days [like yesterday] when I have to pry him away from her house. He loves being there. He can even tell me how to get to her house...'turn dat way' and points where I am supposed to turn. Yesterday he was crying because he wanted to stay with Nammie. All the way home he kept pointing behind him saying 'dat way momma, dat way'. I would tell him we're going this way and point forward....he would say 'nnooooo' Of course as soon as he saw Justin he was fine. I am just grateful and thankful in countless ways to have Mom do all that she does for Collier. Dad too...he comes home most days at lunch time and I know that Collier looks forward to having lunch with Pops. Today they were going to mow the grass in the back yard together. Collier walks right beside my Dad as he mows. It just melts my heart to see how much Collier admires my parents and how much love overflows from them for Collier! Mom and Dad..thank you a million times over for being the grandparents that you are!

In the fall, Collier will start going to 2 year old preschool? Or is it mother's day out? Whatever you want to call it. He'll go two days a week from 9am-1pm. Mom will get a break and Collier will get not only interaction with other 2's but also will get structure! I am excited for both of them (Mom and Collier) and look forward to the growth that Collier will experience.

Potty Training

2011-05-21T16:21:00.000-05:00

One day this week I got a call from Mom with Collier on speaker phone and Mom was saying 'Collier tell Momma what you did' and so I guessed a few things all with a 'no' answer and he never would say...well Mom finally told me that he went poo poo in the potty! Oh wow! She was changing his diaper and he farted and so she asked if he wanted to go and sit on the potty, he said yes and he pooped! So, I decided that maybe we needed to try potty training this weekend. I have said for a long time that I feel that he is ready but have been very nervous about the process. With HUGE thanks for a long talk with my friend Amanda I decided that I was going to give it a try! I would say that we have been mostly successful. I don't have pull-ups and I am not 100% comfortable for naps and night time so I put him back in the diaper for naps and he'll sleep in a diaper tonight as well. Although he was still dry after his first nap. We started out with a few accidents this morning (I went through 4 pair of undies before 10am) and since then we have done both pee pee (twice) and poo poo in the potty and only had to change undies once this afternoon. The catch to all of this is that he is telling me that he needs to go and going! It has been a long day, and it still isn't over, but it has been good. We've tried to keep busy while restricted to the house and I feel like we've done well. I'll certainly update next week once we get a few more days into it! I am very nervous about the next few days hoping that today hasn't been a total fluke!

After his first time of telling me he had to go potty 'Momma ewha potty' and then actually going pee pee in the potty I gave him his first surprise which gave him distraction for quite a while. All of his other surprises have been food....fruit snacks and popcorn!

He is so stink'n cute in his little undies, I can hardly stand it! Such a big boy and thankfully doing well!

FIVE!

2011-05-18T15:53:00.000-05:00

Did you say five? Last night we were sitting on the couch winding down before bed. He was playing with Justin's watch and I was showing him the numbers on the clock and I started counting and he went to FIVE. I was shocked. I made him do it again to be sure it wasn't a fluke and then I ran and got the camera. Justin and I cheered so much when he did it that he started getting really excited after counting at all.

It sounds like he says six, but I am not sure that it was REALLY six. and when I say six his response is 'des' which is yes.
In celebration of counting to five, here are my five favorite things about Collier right now:

He is counting to five!! I am so proud of him
When he wakes up he says 'Momma hold Tollier' and then I walk in and he asks for Dadda to hold Tollier.
Run...he loves to run. No matter where or what is going on he wants to run and he especially loves it if you will run with him! He gets so tickled, you just can't help but laugh with him.
He is such a sponge. He is so very teachable at this point and I love to see how he is growing, learning and discovering all that is around him! Mom is working to teach him Johnny Appleseed prayer and he is catching on quick! Talking up a storm.
His smile. He is just so sweet and I love it when he flashes that big smile..dimples and all! I could just eat him with a fork and love every bite! I ask Justin ALL.THE.TIME how we got such a sweet little boy! Love him to pieces!

I could go on and one...but I'll stop at five for now!
Justin asked yesterday, did he [Collier] just wake up and decide he was going to talk and say things. He was specifically referring to Collier jumping up and down and saying 'yeah ice keam' after I asked if he wanted to share some ice cream with me. How does he know to say yeah at ice cream. Kids are so much smarter than we give them credit for. Walking sponge soaking up the world around him. I just pray that he soaks up all of God's love along the way! It

Jesus love you....

2011-05-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

Part of our bed time routine is when I lay Collier in the bed I tell him who all loves him. I start it with 'Momma loves you, Dadda loves you' and then he'll usually start adding others which have included everyone from Brinkley and Spring and Mae(my in-law's dogs) to Poe, Patten, Hunter and every now and then Pop. I will get through all of his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and then tell him ' Jesus loves you most of all and He is always with you, no matter what.'. So the other day I asked Him, who loves him most of all and he said God and then Jesus really loud. Truth. Jesus does love you! Jesus loves us with a love that we can not fully understand. I can look at Collier know how much my love is for this precious child and to think further of our Father's love for us [His children] and that it is even more than my mind can even fathom.

"How wonderful the Father’s love, the Father’s love for us
That He would send His only Son to come and rescue us
He has saved us, called us blameless
Guides us now and will sustain us
Oh, how wonderful the Father’s love"
- The Father's Love, written by Joel Sczebel based on 1 John 3:1

Mother's Day trip

2011-05-11T15:32:00.000-05:00

We went to Blakely, GA for the second year in a row for Mother's Day weekend. Justin's Aunt Penny and Uncle Gerald live there and have an awesome layout that has something for everyone. I loved the time we got to spend with Justin's family. Collier got to visit with Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and lots of four legged family members! It was relaxing, fun and a special treat. Wide open spaces, delicious meals and perfect company! What more could I ask for?

Collier almost didn't stop the entire time we were there! Talk about a toddler's dream world: room to run, strip down, play in water, fish, drive golf carts and tractors and just hang with the big boys, get spoiled by his grandparents and play with dogs! Collier got his first real fishing experience. He wasn't very good about 'watching' the cork. But he really liked reeling in the fish. Then didn't want anything to do with the fish. I think he touched it once, but didn't like it too much.

Few notes of some of the pictures:

The Hand Truck...have I ever mentioned that Collier loves to push AND ride a hand truck? One day he and my mom were in the garage (after they had finished blowing the leaves) and CH saw the hand truck. They pushed it around for a while and then next thing I knew I pulled up to get my child and he was riding on the hand truck and LOVING.EVERY.MINUTE! Buzz wondered why in the world he wanted to play with it. Well he walked Buzz to the other side of the pond with that dang hand truck. I call it the 'redneck Stroller'! Ha. What kid wants to play with a hand truck? I am still not sure why we buy him toys.

As Justin put it: whose redneck child is that...running around in a diaper? I didn't know to take swimming shorts so the diaper was the next best bet. For the record, this happened while I was away at the grocery store. I come home to Justin lathering CH in sun screen stripped to his diaper.
**This is my second redneck reference in the same post, maybe I should just face it.....

Uncle Gerald was VERY kind enough to let CH 'drive' his tractor! He took him all the way around the pond and CH was so excited. He messed with every button, gadget and lever on that tractor. Uncle Chris look out he wants to really drive yours next...now that he has some experience :)

It has taken Collier two days to recover from the busy weekend. Sleeping in late and long naps!

The Birthday Party

2011-05-09T19:31:00.000-05:00

It was so much fun. It was only family. It was just right. It was what I had hoped for! It was a day of celebration for my sweet baby Collier!

I have once again been reminded that I am NOT a party planner! I searched the web high and low for children's train parties and found a million different ideas in a million different directions. I have the best intentions and then usually my mind goes in about 50 different directions and then I have to take a deep breath and decide what I can actually do. I then try and PIECE together what I liked most and then execute! Yikes, stress! But thanks to my parents, my aunt and especially my very tolerant husband...we made it happen! I think that my aunt put it perfectly....I think that 'I have more time in my head than in reality' That is a hundred percent true. So some things didn't get done and what did get done got done and what didn't...didn't. One thing that didn't get done was....my counter tops! I went with plan B and covered my exposed cabinets with shelving pieces and then covered with fabric. You would have never known there wasn't a real counter top. Anyway, 2 year olds don't know the difference and that was what April 30th was all about!

Menu: Pork Sandwiches (Justin smoked the Boston Butt on Friday, I made the buns...both were delicious) slaw, corn and bean salad (courtesy of my Aunt Jackie) and strawberries and blueberries. Red Velvet cupcakes for the cake. Easy but good was my goal!

Ashlyn and Collier played so good together. They were so content with each other and were just precious together! Hayden (8mo)and Emory(4mo) also were there and next year they will certainly be in the middle with these two!

they took turns (w/ no arguing at all!) pushing each other

He LOVED opening his gifts

one of his gifts....He and Ash had a BLAST

He really can't reach the pedal but can scotch up and make it go!

I bought conductor hats and for some reason CH wore his either backwards or sideways. cracked me up

Ash loved Collier swing...she squealed in delight at how high she could swing

The weather was so nice, including a nice breeze most of the day...which blew my HUGE balloons into the tree. they are still there and Collier still goes out and points to them.

It was fun and I am really glad that it is behind me..that is the party itself. I still can't get over how big Collier is getting and how fast he is growing up. We then let Collier nap and headed to my parents house to enjoy dinner with Chris, Amanda, Ashlyn and Hayden. By the end of the night Collier passed out sitting with Justin on the couch. He really didn't feel good most of the day, nothing worse than being sick on your birthday...those dang teeth finally came through last week!

2 Years Old

2011-05-03T07:05:00.000-05:00

My Baby is two! We had an awesome weekend to celebrate his birthday [post coming to include party details and pictures]. It just doesn't seem that two years have already past, these past two years have gone very fast and have been filled with fun, joy and abundant blessings from God!

Few notes about my sweet little two year old man...He is very funny and likes to be silly. He is, what I call, mischievous and I mean this in the best way possible. He loves to climb - on anything and everything that we will allow him to climb. He is talking up a storm and putting sentences together and repeats almost anything that we say, we laugh at the things that he repeats that sound really funny coming out of a two year olds mouth! He loves to sing and dance....yet another thing that keeps us laughing! He is going through a weird eating stage and has gotten a bit picky..maybe not so much picky as just doesn't eat as much as I think that he would, although he eats pretty good like bananas, grapes, cheese, strawberries, blueberries and peanut butter sandwiches. He is really into orange juice and strawberry milk. He has always been an 'outside' kind of child and I can only pray that this will continue as he gets older! He loves to 'work', which usually includes vacuuming, sweeping, blowing (yes he will hold and run the blower himself and loves it) and even wiping down his mess after he is done eating - so much like my brother and Justin's mom...very busy and productive! He still has pasey - although we try and keep it in his bed only but there are times that it makes its way out of the bed I am not sure how or when to get rid of it but I feel it is very soon! I am sure the dentist will tell me it should ALREADY be gone! He is still in his crib, no idea when we will move him to a big boy bed but just this weekend we saw him put is foot on the top rail when saying 'get out'. I am in no hurry to get him out of the crib! He is not potty trained and I haven't even tried, I did buy a potty seat but that is as far as I've gotten. When I ask him 'who made you so' cute, funny, smart, fillintheblank...his response 'God'. Soooo sweet! He testes and tries most of the boundaries that we set - just as every child should!

Collier is a blessing in so many ways! He is such a combination of Justin and I in looks and in personality! I pray that he will always knows Jesus in a personal way and impact His kingdom in a mighty way. My heart grows and loves him more and more every day. Being his Mom is extra special! My patience has never been more tested yet my heart has never loved like it has since having him.

His 2nd birthday also brought on teething and viral something!!! He started on Friday with whining and being very needy. I was terrified that he would be sick on his birthday and he did wake up and immediately want to go back to sleep on Saturday morning! But he did great through the day and had a blast playing with his cousin. Saturday night he hardly slept and woke up on Sunday with 102 fever. I took him to the doctor [and I knew in my head that it wasn't anything but a slight cough, high fever and no sleep...I was just worried] the doctor relieved my fears and he is just going to have to let it run its coarse. His fever cleared Sunday by mid-morning and he has slept a lot and just looks likes he doesn't feel good...his eyes tell it all! He is also very whiny and wants you to 'hold tollier'. If I hold him and sit down he says 'momma get up'. Last night he went down at 7:30 and slept all night for the first time since last Thursday, so I hope that he will start feeling better!

Alabama Needs Your Prayers

2011-04-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

This state (AL and GA and MS) need your prayers in a mighty way! Devastation has struck the state due to the tornado's that rips through yesterday. My hearts is heavy for those who have lost friends, families and their homes. But particularly the students in Tuscaloosa...the parents who are wondering where their children are! It must be such a helpless situation but even as helpless as we all fell there is HOPE in Christ. Psalm 31:24 - 'Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD'. He knows every details of this storm and where every person and child is! I just ask that you lift up these kids who are experiencing this and trying to regroup themselves with loss and destruction all around them! Tuscaloosa, Cullman, Pleasant Grove and many many more places have been hugely impacted and even flattened. I just know that our prayers are needed! The more pictures that I see the heavier my heart gets.

My friend Diedra posted this verse and I thought it was perfect reminder:
Luke 8:21b 'He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.

a few notable things...

2011-04-27T13:33:00.000-05:00

about our week. That is Collier's Birthday week! We get to celebrate on his birthday since it falls on Saturday. Our family is coming to celebrate and we are just thrilled!!! I am doing my best to get the house in order and ready for guest....God has faithfully answered my prayers for nice weather as it is SUPPOSED to be very nice on Saturday [which is essential since my house is tiny and we need to have outside space and time for our celebration]. Part of 'getting the house ready' includes finishing up our kitchen. We were supposed to have our counter tops installed today - but on Monday the guy called and said that he thought it would be Friday. I am fully prepared for him to call today or tomorrow and let me know that he will not have it ready to install before the weekend. If that is the case we will be putting PLYWOOD down for a temporary counter top! Beautiful, right?...again my family loves me and they will not judge how my kitchen looks...right? Justin and my dad had to make some changes [will explain in detail later] to our dishwasher and in moving it the copper pipe started leaking. So, we have been without a dishwasher this week! Being without will really make you appreciate! Thankfully Chris can fix this for us this weekend and we should be back in business. I am just pray very very hard for the counter tops to be ready and be installed on Friday! If that works out, then tomorrow night Justin and I will be removing our existing counter tops in preparation for Friday! Nothing like getting down to the last minute! Yesterday Collier got his hair cut and I got my bangs trimmed. We both can now see clearly! I have three baskets full of clothes to fold, need to vaccume and mop and a few other minor things to straighten up! Somewhere in between all of this I will make and prepare the food for Saturday and then we'll be ready to P.A.R.T.Y!

This morning we awoke to sirens going off at 5:30..severe weather sweeping through. I cleared out my closet and woke up Collier just in case we needed to dive in. Have I mentioned how small our closets are? They are tiny...our house was built in the 50's and I guess they didn't really think that closets were necessary. I have no idea where they put their clothes, but regardless our closets are tiny! I am not sure that all 4 [including Brink] could fit in. Thankfully it didn't get it to bad, the wind was just really bad AND all of the reports indicate that there are more and even more HIGH RISK severe weather headed our direction this evening. I pray that we'll be protected and surrounded in God's safety.

I am also praying for the details of the party and the kitchen [specifically counter tops] and especially the travel and safety of our guest who are coming in on Saturday! Such a big day to celebrate two amazing, special and really blessed years with our sweet little boy!

Easter

2011-04-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

Our Easter weekend was both fun and busy! It went by way to fast, but every minute of it was fabulous! I am thankful with all my being that God loves us enough to have sent His perfect Son to live, die and rise for us. Amen! Our church added a 9:00 service this year and I was thrilled and pleasantly surprised that we made it and even better, we arrived extra early which allowed us plenty of time to find a seat! After church and a quick nap, we headed to my parents house for egg hunt and lunch! I wasn't sure if Collier would get the whole egg hunt concept. Boy was I wrong. I didn't bother dieing eggs because I wasn't sure and even more I was afraid that he would throw them :) All of our easter books, he would refer to the egg's as 'ball'. He didn't throw them and he loved finding them all...he would walk around and say 'more egg'. Way to cute! He has already done a hunt this morning with Mom...she had them hid when we arrived this morning...what a great Nammie!

We then moved the fun to our backyard for lots of golf...aka walking around the yard pushing the golf set. Every now and then he would take the clubs out and swing at the ball. He swings both the bat and golf clubs left handed. This makes Justin crazy!! He throws and does everything else right handed but swinging is all left handed. I think it is very funny and for some reason Justin doesn't like it! I think that he is nervous about how to teach a sport to a lefty... :)
We ended the afternoon with a little train play. Collier almost wouldn't stop playing with this new track and trains long enough to eat! Thankfully Pimento Cheese and crackers caught his attention enough to take a short break.

It really was a fun day! Lots more to look forward to this week...this little man is turning 2!

Rise up!

2011-04-22T10:00:00.016-05:00

Happy Good Friday to you! Here I go again...another song. This is another song that I have enjoyed learning and really like. It is one that I enjoy singing along to and then suddenly, just this week, it just it spoke to me differently. I love how God does that...He does it with scripture all the time. His Spirit is quite powerful and what a privilege it is that He dwells in us! I have consumed myself with a long to-do list for the next week and I realized that I had not even ask God for his guidance and blessings on my details. I am working to surrender (about ever 10 minutes) to Him all of the details...all of my thoughts, all of my emotions, even my attitude. Its a work in progress, and I am thankful to have a Savior who loves me so much that He sent His son to die for me...and all of my sinful shortcomings! I am so undeserving and so thankful for His mercy. Back to the song, I was singing right along and out came the words 'Christ has risen from the dead, we are one with Him again'....'He's alive, He's alive'. Indeed He is! He lived for us, He died for us, He rose for us and He overcomes all for us. We have this same victory in Him, how awesome is that!

"Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your stink?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God!

He give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:50

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is our through Christ, who loved us.Romans 8:37
I hope that you and your family have an awesome Easter and also share and celebrate in this awesome truth! Happy Good Friday!

Savings

2011-04-20T13:03:00.000-05:00

I am usually a Sunday grocery shopper, I wish that I wasn't because it is sooo crowded on Sundays, but that seems to be when I get it done. But this week I was off schedule for some strange reason and didn't go until yesterday. I have tried really hard with the couponing thing...I want to save money and do better with our grocery bill...Justin is always saying that I spend way to much at the grocery so I really put in a lot of effort and have really been coming up empty handed. The most I seem to be able to save is around $25-$35 each week. My friend Amy has been doing awesome and had some huge savings, I asked for a few of her tips and the two biggest things that stuck were to put my coupons in a small organizer that I could carry in my purse (have with me all the time) and to actually look at the weekly ad for Publix and circle what I need. Try and plan my menu's around what is on sale and what I have coupons for. I have not been good about getting a Sunday paper for the past few weeks, but I get the majority of my coupons online anyway. Ok let me get to the bottom line. I paid $60.87 yesterday and SAVED $51!! I was so excited I could hardly stand it! The most I have ever saved is around $38! Hooray! Lets see if I can consistently save like this??

I love the longer day light hours and when we got home yesterday, I threw our dinner in the oven and we headed outside to finish up some planting and run out some energy. Collier was thrilled when I unrolled the water hose - this boy loves playing in the water. He has a very mischievous and funny personality, much like his Daddy. He takes the hose and points it straight at me and says 'maamma' with such a coy little grin. He actually sprayed me yesterday and I about died....I did my best not to laugh because that only encourages him, causing him to do it more! Plus I didn't really want to get drenched. I did manage to catch that coy smile and him spraying into the wind, that first time the wind blew the water back on him he was just tickled. More, More, More, More!

Recipe

2011-04-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

ok, when my husband brags about a dinner I know that it must have been good...not just brag to me but to a friend! It is very unexpected and I was somewhat cautious about serving a SALAD for dinner. Justin likes healthy but Justin also likes a little more than just a salad. I printed a Sue Bee Honey coupon and this recipe printed out and I just had to try it and I am so glad that I did. I believe that the dressing may be the yummiest I have ever tasted!!!! I just loved it. I made a few changes from the actually recipe and we both were very full. I didn't know what Justin would think of the dressing but I think that he really liked it too. He told a friend about it the next day, as they were golfing...I made it to 'golf talk'!! Yippie. and he then told my parents how yummy it was. His actual statement after we ate was 'that was very refreshing'. I wasn't sure if he was serious or being sarcastic. Either way, it was really yummy and I am planning to do it again this week with left over Pork Tenderloin!

Chicken and Apple Salad
adapted from Sue Bee Honey, Apple & Pecan Salad

Salad:
Romaine Lettuce, cut up
Hand-full of Mixed Field Green
1 cup Walnuts
1 Fuji Apple, diced
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
Feta Cheese, crumbled
1 Small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Cucumber, peeled and chopped
Cherry Tomatoes, (I cut them in half)
2 Chicken Breast, grilled and chopped

Dressing: following the recipe exactly from Sue Bee
1/2 Cup Sue Bee Honey
2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Pepper

Over the weekend, I did a bunch of weeding, and planting. Got all of our vegetables and herbs planted and a few flowers. The weeding was the tough part but I am glad to have it done and to have my planter looking so much better. My back on the other hand is not so great, but a little Advil around the clock should take care of that in another day! I have made my first draft of my to-do list for the next two weeks to prepare for Collier's birthday! It is low key, since it is just our families...but it is the cleaning, straightening and organizing our mess of a house is what seems to be stressing me out!

Trial and Error

2011-04-18T14:51:00.000-05:00

I have always wanted to bake bread. I have tried breads of many kinds and in most cases have either failed or wasn't quite satisfied with the outcome. When I say bread, i mean anything from cinnamon rolls to a loaf of bread to various breakfast breads. So, I am at it again! I started a sourdough starter in hopes of baking some delicious sourdough bread (one of my favorites). I visualized myself enjoying pimento cheese and chicken salad sandwiches on this sourdough bread that I planned to make. First I am praying that the starter will get 'wild' enough to produce the yummy bread that I am dreaming of!

So, now its been a few weeks and I have finally gotten around to making the bread. I am thrilled to say that it wasn't a disaster! I wouldn't say that it is the best bread I have ever tasted but it is pretty good. My biggest fears of it either falling in or being really hard and chewy are now cleared. The part about this bread stuff is that it really isn't hard to do but it is time consuming...fixing, resting, rising, resting, baking! A few weeks ago I made the bread and it had to rise for 8-12 hours which was perfect for overnight and then I got up and baked it the next morning. I then cut a slide of that sourdough bread and made myself a sandwich to enjoy for lunch. Sadly I didn't have either Pimento Cheese or Chicken Salad but that is certainly planned for the very near future. My sandwich was yummy and I know that just a few more tries and it must get even better. Plus a friend at my bible study makes the MOST delicious sourdough bread I have ever tasted and I checked with her and her recommendation was to add a little more sugar than I did. I also decided I cut my slices to big and that may have been a problem...to much bread! Does anyone else have any sourdough tips and tricks that you would like to share..I'm all ears!

Before the 12hour rise

Motherly Confessions

2011-04-17T10:38:00.000-05:00

In the past few weeks we have had situations which have prompted me to not allow Collier to cry it out if he wakes up in the middle of the night. Mostly not wanting to wake others..especially babies....Collier has had a pretty restless few weeks. I can only assume it is his teeth. He has either gotten up really early (for me anytime before 6am is too early) or wakes in the middle of the night around 1am. Let me also state that if you know Justin and I; we do not let Collier sleep in the bed with us. We like our peacefully and snugly bed to ourselves and from the very beginning just decided that no baby in the bed works for us! Now, with that being said THAT has actually happened. In all circumstances it was just me...and Collier has ended up in the bed with me at some point three times in the past two weekend. I wondered if I was starting a VERY bad habit and then once he was done with squirming and wiggling and playing under the covers [making it like a tent] and after talking [usually about Dadda] he would usually settle in and snuggle up with me and fall asleep. My worried heart would melt into a puddle and a feeling of total satisfaction set in. To have him in my arms, quiet and still and peacefully asleep is something that I never have anymore [oh how I miss that baby stage]. And also to be so close to such a beautiful child that God has given to us and to feelmy love overflow and abound for this precious child of mine....my heart just oozes with love for him. One evening last week when Justin was home he ask Collier if he wanted to get in the bed with him before Collier went to his bed. Of course, Collier said 'desh' and off they went. I went in to check on them and Collier was settling down on my pillow. I went and laid down next to him and he put the tag of his lovie [monkey named Maurice] and rubbed it on my face...this is how he goes to sleep. He rubs that tag all over he eyes and nose and check. It was so sweet and Justin just looked over and grinned. That is one sweet boy...well, actually two! All of that to say, I loved the moments that were given to rest with my sweet little Collier. But I will be honest that although he did sleep some, I didn't! So, this isn't anything that will become a habit because this Momma needs her sleep! Both nights this weekend he was up at 1am...but last night being at our own home and just me, I could let him cry it out and not worry to wake others. He only cried about 10 minutes and laid back down. I am not sure why he is waking up, I did give him Motrin before I put him down. I wondered if it was bad dreams and when I asked this morning he didn't really understand what I was asking. I just am praying that he will get back to his normal good sleeping habits soon!

Have I mentioned how busy Collier is? I am just constantly amazed at this little boy. HE DOES NOT STOP. I am not joking. He will not sit and watch a video, cartoons or basically any TV for longer than maybe 2 minutes. He used to watch all of the Cedermont Kids video which is 20 minutes but that is no longer an option. He will color for a few minutes, but not long. Books...he loves books but likes the back and forth of taking a finished book back to his room and getting another book to bring back to be read more than the actually reading of the book. He really wont sit there long enough for you to read it anyway, so we have to just discuss the pictures and move on. If he is awake he is moving and doing something. Constant motion and movement. This busy little man is turning two in just two weeks! I can not belive it one bit, where have the two years gone?

**I don't want to come off the wrong way about kids in the bed with parents. I don't think that there is anything wrong with it but it just doesn't work for us personally. It is just our decision. Nothing bad if it does work for you.