Vroom! Vroom!

Bryan got a new car over the weekend! It has provided hours of entertainment for him!

We also got his slide up that he got for Christmas. He's had so much fun with his new toys! :)

Happy New Year!

What a fun year 2007 was! As I was taking my calendar down today I decided to look back on what all this past year brought to us. The main thing is that our son went from baby to toddler! Goodness, how he's grown!

January brought my sister and her family back to town! This has been a very exciting transition for all of us since our babies get to play together as much as we'll let them! (of course that means we get to hang out too!)

In February, Bryan started rolling around on the floor a lot.

Bryan got his first 2 teeth in March. We also got a visit from Aunt Lynn that month!

April brought more teeth and a crawler. Bryan also started saying "mama.".

In May the whole Walker/England/Baker family loaded up and traveled north to Chattanooga to celebrate cousin Ross' high school graduation. I also celebrated my first Mother's day that month :)

June was a fun month since we got to go to the beach for a whole week! We also celebrated Allison's first birthday!

Bryan started standing by himself in July.

August is a month full of birthdays for our family. I turned 28, Dad turned 52, and Bryan turned 1! He also started walking!

In September Matt turned 28 and passed his Cisco certification test :) That was a very big accomplishment!

In October we found out that Bryan is going to have another cousin! In fact, Monday Lyndi and Ferrell will find out if peanut is a boy or girl! Also in October Aunt Beth and Tony came through for a visit.

In November Bryan started learning sign language. He knows: more, all done, bird, please, and thank you.

December was a month full of fun that included Christmas, birthdays, and a Sugarland concert.

I can't wait to see what 2008 holds for the Bakers!! We pray the Lord blesses you all with a wonderful year!

These are for you , Uncle Huck

Lunch with Friends

A few days before Christmas Bryan and I, along with Mary Lynn and Allison, had the privilege of eating with our friends Kim and Lindsay at the Mayberry Diner. Kim is away at school in Mississippi so it was wonderful getting to visit with her! Lindsay had a baby boy, Will, in September and it was the first time I ever met him. He's so precious!

Here are few pictures from our fun lunch!

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i am typing this on my new ipod touch!!!

New pictures

We posted some new pictures in our Web Album. You'll have to go see them here.

Here is my favorite:

How Ironic

Roofing Billionaire Dies After Falling Through Roof at His Home

The 91st richest man in the United States, a roofing company billionaire, died after falling through his garage's roof, local authorities said Friday.

Ken Hendricks, 66, was checking on construction of the roof at his home Thursday night when he fell through, Rock County Sheriff's Department commander Troy Knudson said. He suffered massive head injuries, according to his company, ABC Supply Co.

Hendricks was pronounced dead at an Illinois hospital early Friday morning, Winnebago County coroner Sue Fiduccia said. An autopsy is planned for Friday.

Hendricks was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of his company, the self-described largest wholesale distributor of roofing in the U.S. The company does about $3 billion (euro2 billion) in business a year.

Hendricks had a net worth of $3.5 billion (euro2 billion) in September, according to Forbes magazine. That made him the 91st richest person in the U.S., according to the magazine's ranking of American billionaires.

But he seemed unfazed by his wealth.

"It doesn't make any difference to me; I can't spend it," Hendricks said in an interview with Inc.com in September 2006. "I'd have to sell the company, and I'll sell the company over my dead body."

Hendricks, the son of a roofer, worked side-by-side with his father growing up. A high school dropout, he started his own roofing business at age 21, according to his biography on ABC Supply's Web site.

Tired of having to deal with multiple suppliers scattered around the country, he and his wife, Diane, started a national supply distribution chain in 1982.

The company celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, with 6,000 employees in 390 locations nationwide.

"This is an enormous tragedy and a great loss to the family, associates and the community," ABC Supply said in a statement.

The couple had seven children, according to their biographies.

Oh Noes it's Santa!!

Bryan's first Santa encounter went less than well. But it sure made a funny picture! He's going to enjoy this one in about 15 years.

See more pictures here.

Eating and a Concert

Here are a couple of pictures of our kiddos eating lunch and watching Blue's Clues at Granna and Papaw's house! :)

Mary Lynn and I (and babies) went to Phenix City this weekend and had a great time! Friday night we went to see Jake Owen, Little Big Town, and Sugarland in concert. It was AWESOME! I recommend seeing them if they are ever near your town. Jennifer Nettles is very entertaining!!! They put on a terrific show. I'll leave you with a video of Sugarland singing at the CMA's this year.

Oops

Our apologies to anyone who tried to get to our website today and saw a generic Network Solutions page. That's my bad. I was supposed to renew our domain name and forgot, so it technically expired today. All should be well for at least another year now.

Check Up

Bryan went to the doctor today for his 15 month check-up. He is doing great and is where he should be developmentally. He's now 26 pounds and 32 inches :) What a big boy!

What's in a Name?

This website has had a decided lack of geek lately, so I'm here to remedy that situation!

My elf name is Aranel Sáralondë

My hobbitt name is Wilibald Burrows

My ninja name is Makoto the Black Ninja

My pirate name is Mad Blackbeard

What are your names?

Bryan's Silly Face

Soup-Tacular

BooMama is hosting a Soup-Tacular today. If you visit her site you can find links to everyone participating and get all kinds of recipes for soup. You can also participate. Go to her site and sign up (if you want) and then post a recipe (or recipes) on your site.

Here is my favorite Paula Deen recipe for soup and it is delicious!

Potato Soup with Shrimp

1/2 stick butter
1 small onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced about the same size as the onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups milk, whole, reduced fat (2 percent) or low fat (1 percent)
2 chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1/2 cup hot milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups salted water
1 pound medium shrimp
Crumbled bacon bits, for garnish
Grated sharp Cheddar, for garnish

In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion and carrots until both are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, milk, and dissolved bouillon cubes. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft and some of them have begun to dissolve into mush. Add the half-and-half, salt, and pepper.

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups lightly salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp all at once and stir well. Watch the shrimp closely; as soon as they all turn pink, about 2 to 3 minutes, turn off the heat and drain. The shrimp should be slightly undercooked. When they are cool, peel them, and chop roughly into big chunks. Add the shrimp to the soup and stir well. Serve soup sprinkled with bacon bits and grated cheese. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Cook's Note: If you don't have access to shrimp, use corn.

Jamie's Note: I have never used shrimp or corn in this recipe and it's just fabulous!

Get this book!

Same Kind of Different as Me written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore is awesome! It is a true story written in first person. Ron and Denver are not authors, so it probably won't be the best written book you've ever read, BUT it is a story with Jesus all over it! I believe these two men, and the gutsy woman, are walking testimonies of the power of Christ living in us when we humble ourselves and are obedient to Him. I had no idea what the book was going to be about and I think that made it more exciting for me. That's why I'm not going to tell you anything else! :)

So, go now! Find the book! Or maybe ask for it for Christmas! After you read it, or if you have already, please leave us a comment about what you thought!

**Note**I'm sure you can find it at the library. If you go to Books-a-Million it's in the inspirational section and not the Christian section. (kinda sad, really!) Lifeway does not carry this book. (even sadder!) I ordered mine from Amazon for quite a bit cheaper than the stores have it for. Right now the book is only available in hardback, but it is soon to be out in paperback. There is also a movie in the works. I have 1 copy if you want to wait in line to borrow it. :) Just let me know! You may want to add this one to your personal library though! ****

The BCS is Broken

I'm so ticked about the BCS system right now. Yes I believe LSU deserves to play for the title. They should be playing Oklahoma though. Ohio State benefits from a creampuff schedule and no conference championship game. Why oh why can't we do an 8 team playoff system? Here's how it should be going down this year:

Cotton Bowl: Kansas (8) vs Ohio State (1)
Sugar Bowl: USC (7) vs LSU (2)
Orange Bowl: Missouri (6) vs Virginia Tech (3)
Gator Bowl: Georgia (5) vs Oklahoma (4)

Rose Bowl: Cotton vs Sugar Winners
Fiesta Bowl: Orange vs Gator Winners

True Championship: Rose vs Fiesta Winners

The regular season still counts because you have to do well enough to get into the top 8. The Bowls are still played and would generate even more attention because of the playoff system. For example, LSU and USC fans would be watching the Ohio State Kansas game much closer because that's who they might play in the Rose Bowl next week. With this system we'd get a true national chamption. Please NCAA, make it so!

Sliding = Fun!

Play Time!

Mail

Are any of you getting a ridiculous amount of catalogs in the mail?? Just today we got 10!!

I'm So Excited...

Look at Bryan checking out the England's Christmas Tree!!

Internet fun!

This is something fun going around the internet! Click the link below to see our family as dancing elves! :)

Matt, Jamie, and Bryan dancing!!

Michael W. Smith

I received Michael W. Smith's new Christmas CD in the mail yesterday. I actually got a free one by being one of 150 to sign up on his label's website. All I had to do to receive this free CD was listen to the music while decorating for Christmas and write a short blog about it. So here it goes!

I turned on Michael's CD while unpacking all of our snowman stuff. Bryan started dancing immediately! :) The first song, Christmas Angels, is wonderful! The whole CD has a lot of orchestra music, which I love.

When we got married we received the cutest snowman cookie jar, tea pot, sugar and creamer dishes, salt and pepper shakers, and plates. I was excited to show these off to Bryan this year. As I pulled each of them out of the box he smiled so big!! He pointed to the snowman's buttons and nose. After getting each piece out, Matt went outside to put up lights. We've never put outside lights up before so we can't wait for it to get dark to see what they look like! :)

Bryan and I went and played in the grass while Matt slaved away. We propped the door open and let the Christmas music blare. I think my favorite song is Christmas Day. It's a duet with Mandisa and who doesn't love her?!?! All in all it's a great CD. One of Michael W's best, I think. Of course I love anyone's Christmas album! What is your favorite Christmas album of all time?

Christmas with the Bakers!

Since we are unable to do Christmas cards this year (too expensive) we just had our blog design changed for the holidays :) Thank you Dawn for always doing a marvelous job! She has 4 custom pre-made designs if you'd like to spruce your blog up for the holidays. Just click here.

Can you even believe Thanksgiving is behind us and we are only 30 days until Christmas?!

Thanksgiving at the Farm

Give Thanks

1 Chronicles 29:13--Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

Psalm 7:17--I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 100:4--Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 107:31--Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.

Psalm 118:29--Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18--Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Visit to Granna and PaPaw's

ML and I took the babies to Mom and Dad's house Monday for the week. Matt was in Atlanta for training all week, so we packed up and headed north too. Here are some fun pictures! :)

Here we go!

Play time

Watching the neighbor's dogs

This is Allison's silly face!

"I think I'll climb these!"

PaPaw knocked down some pecans so we could pick them up.

ML and Allison watching PaPaw.

There's that silly face again! :)

Good boy, Bryan!

It's a Must Read!

Click here!

It's Paula Deen Y'all!

Lyndi and I had a wonderful time tonight with Paula Deen! This event was a fundraiser for GraceWay. GraceWay is "a non-profit, faith- based, long-term substance abuse treatment community for women. GraceWay provides a spiritual home environment that empowers residents to become productive members of their families and society through intensive application of the Twelve-Step methodology."

The evening started with a silent auction. There were 145 things to bid on. Lyndi won a 4-D Ultrasound valued at $350 for $50!!! That is a steal! Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner consisting of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens, butter beans, mac n cheese, and flat cornbread. It was DELICIOUS! (There's a lot of goodness under the cornbread too!)

Paula was there in all her glory! She is such a hoot. She spoke for about 15 minutes about her battle with agoraphobia years ago, and the hope that her friends and family gave her to pursue a dream. She related that with the women that come to GraceWay for help and how they find hope there. They then auctioned off a goodie basket of all of Paula's books, spices, and things. The biggest auction was a trip to Savannah along with 4 tickets to Paula's Party. That went for $3000 and her brother, Bubba, matched it! Too bad we're broke because I would have bid!! :)

Afterwards Lyndi and I waited in line for autographs. Not only did we get them, but we also got a picture with her! She's the best y'all! :)

Whew! What a week!

This week has been stressful to say the least. First of all, the time change has messed our schedule up big time! Bryan wants to go to bed at 7:00 and wake up at 6AM! That is way too early, people! The sun isn't even up yet.

Last Wednesday I woke up with a sore throat which lasted several days. Now the sore throat has turned into a cold. Bryan started having a runny nose Friday night and by Sunday he couldn't breathe. (poor guy!) I called his pediatrician Monday morning to get a prescription cold medicine since they've taken all the infant ones off the shelves. Well, the medicine they called in is making him fussy, but the worst part is that he REFUSES to go to sleep in his bed! Monday he did not nap AT ALL! That says a lot considering he usually naps twice a day. Yesterday he took a morning nap and fussed off and on from 10:00 until 7:30pm! Today I have finally gotten him down for his second nap, but not without a fight. I hate to leave him in there crying because he already has enough snot, but I've been losing my sanity and need some downtime!!! What I need is to get out! Thank goodness my sister-in-love is rescuing me tomorrow night. She is coming to town and has 2 tickets for us to go see PAULA DEEN!! I am SUPER excited! Of course I'll have pictures to post and hopefully get an autograph in one of my 4 cookbooks!! :)

On a whole other note, my sister's very good friend, Joni, got married Saturday. The wedding was beautiful and totally Christ centered. She and Chip are honeymooning in Hawaii right now. (Wouldn't that be wonderful?!?!) Here's a picture of ML and the beautiful bride.

More about the wedding to come!

Sara Groves

Our favorite singer/songwriter is Sara Groves. Her new CD comes out today and we are so excited to get it! Her lyrics are very encouraging and usually hit right at home.

If you've never heard her, this is a song off her album, All Right here called "Less Like Scars."



It's been a hard year • But I'm climbing out of the rubble • These lessons are hard • Healing changes are subtle • But every day it's... • Less like tearing more like building • Less like captive more like willing • Less like breakdown more like surrender • Less like haunting more like remember • And I feel you here • And you're picking up the pieces • Forever faithful • It seemed out of my hands a bad situation • But you are able • And in your hands the pain and hurt • look less like scars and more like character • • Less like a prison a prison more like my room • Less like a casket more like a womb • Less like dying more like transcending • Less like fear, less like an ending • • And I feel you here • And you're picking up the pieces • Forever faithful • It seemed out of my hands a bad situation • But you are able • And in your hands the pain and hurt • look less like scars • • Just a little while ago • I couldn't feel the power or the hope • I couldn't cope, I couldn't feel a thing • Just a little while back • I was desperate, broken, laid out • Hoping you would come • • And I need you • And I want you here • And I feel you... • • And I feel you here • And you're picking up the pieces • Forever faithful • It seemed out of my hands a bad situation • But you are able • And in your hands the pain and hurt • look less like scars • And in your hands the pain and hurt • look less like scars • And in your hands the pain and hurt • look less like scars • And more like character • •

Family Reunion Pictures

FamilyReunion

(Click picture above to view)

Excuse our mess...

Don't be surprised if you can't see pictures on our website for a little bit, we're working on moving our hosting around and we may lose some picture links. I'll be working on fixing this as time allows. On a side note, we're moving all our stuff over to google, which has a lot of cool stuff you can do with your own domain like customized gmail, calendars, start pages, etc.

Fall Festival Fun!

FallFestival

(Click the picture above to see all pictures)

Family

Yesterday my mom's side of the family all got together in Columbus for the first time in almost 3 years! Mary Lynn and Allison couldn't make it because Allison is sick. Nate had school in Gainsville and couldn't be there. We missed you guys sooooo much!

To the Walden/Brandrup clan, we had so much fun and hope to do this again MUCH sooner than 3 years! We love you!

(more pictures to come!)

If you've never been to BigMama's website here are 2 of her posts you need to read: here and here.

Our 200th Post!!

What better way to celebrate our 200th post with this wonderful news:

Click here!
(Lyndi is Matt's sister)

See ya Mom!

Pushing Daisies

Have you seen Pushing Daisies? I think it's one of the best new shows and definitely the most creative! If you haven't tuned in yet you should go to abc's website to at least watch the first episode so you know what's going on! If you like Tim Burton movies I believe you'd love this show. One of mine and Matt's favorite things is that the main character, Ned, owns a pie shop called the Pie Hole! :)

Ned was born with a strange "power." If someone (or something) dies he can touch it to make it come back to life. He then finds out if he touches that same someone again they will be forever dead. If he brings someone back to life he must touch them again to make sure they are dead within 1 minute or someone in close proximity must die. (sounds confusing, I know, but you just have to see for yourself! :) )

About the show (from ABC's website):

Grown up Ned puts his talent to good use by touching dead fruit and making it ripe with everlasting flavor. He opens a pie shop. But his gift leaves him wary of becoming close to anyone, as beautiful waitress Olive Snook finds out. His life as a pie maker gets more complicated when private investigator Emerson Cod finds out about Ned's secret. Emerson convinces the cash-strapped Ned to help him solve murder cases (and collect the hefty reward fees) by raising the dead and getting them to name their killers.

Then Ned is handed the case that changes his life forever. His childhood sweetheart, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, is murdered on a cruise ship under strange circumstances. Her death brings him back to his hometown of Coeur d' Coeurs to bring Chuck back to life, albeit briefly, and solve the crime. But once reunited with Chuck, Ned can't bring himself to send her back. He helps her escape after her grieving aunts, Lily and Vivian (Swoosie Kurtz, Ellen Greene), former synchronized swimmers Darling Mermaid Darlings, think they've buried her forever.

Chuck becomes the third partner in Ned and Emerson's PI enterprise, but she encourages them to use their skills for good, not just for profit. Ned is overjoyed to be reunited with Chuck, the only girl he's ever loved. Life would be perfect, except for one cruel twist -- if he ever touches her again, she'll go back to being dead, this time for good.

14 Months

*UPDATE*--Thanks for signing our guestbook! The following post was originally on here the on the 17th, but I bumped it down so everyone could see the guestbook. I've now moved it back up to the top in case someone missed it! :) ******************

Bryan is 14 months old today! It's so crazy to think that this time last year he was only 2 months old!!! In honor of his 14 months of life here are 14 things about him:

1-He has 12 teeth!!
2-On Saturday he learned to kick a ball
3-He still takes 2 naps during the day! (Yay for me!!)
4-He sleeps 11 hours at night! (Yay for me again!!!)
5-He loves being outside now more than ever. He cries when we start to come in.
6-He wants to walk all the time and rarely crawls anymore
7-He loves his diaper being off and will try to take it off himself any chance he gets
8-He's "saying" lots of things and we think he might be saying dog
9-So far the church nursery is his least favorite place
10-He LOVES the bathtub and tries to eat the bubbles in his bubble baths
11-He has a new fondness for his blanket and is starting to carry it around the house

12-He aggravates Simba to death! (mainly trying to pull her ears...Ouch!)
13-He'll give you five if you ask
14-He likes to headbutt things: walls, windows, people (must get his hard head from his daddy)

Family, Friends, and Strangers

We thought this might be fun! If you are a first time visitor or visit everyday, we'd LOVE to know who you are! :) (We know most of you are friends and family, but we have lots of hits from all over the country.) You don't have to put a picture, but it would be fun to see your faces.

(This says we live in Atlanta, which of course we don't. I entered Georgia and it came up with that on it's own!)

First Meme

I've never done a meme before, but see them all the time on other blogs. I don't even have the first idea of how you pronounce the word meme! :) Most people tag others to do the same meme on their blog, but I'll be nice this time and just tell you that you can copy it if you want. :) :)

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Tanner Highlander (that's kinda funny!)

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):
Moose Tracks Heath Bar (doesn't sound so great! haha)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): J-BAK

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, hospital where you were born): Rae Taylor

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): Bakja

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): The Pink Water (I know...whose favorite drink is water?!?!? Only me!)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers): Forrest James

9. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ): Lana Ray

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Acree Atlanta

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Tulip

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”): Apple Pantsy

13. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Cheerios Dogwood

14. YOUR ROCK STAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft + fave weather element + “Tour”): The Stamping Rain Tour


Please feel free to play along too.

Outside Fun

Doe Doe Doe

Bryan loves to stick his lips out as far as he can to "talk." :) We thought it was too funny not to post!

About the Concert...finally!

I'm finally getting around to sitting at the computer for a few minutes to post about the Glory Revealed concert last week. Bryan and I left for Phenix City after lunch on Tuesday and as soon as we got there, Dad and I left for Lagrange. The doors opened at 5:00 and we wanted to be there before that so we could find a good seat. That's important, ya know?! First Baptist Lagrange was expecting 1700 people and their sanctuary only holds 1000. They had prepared an overflow room but we didn't want to get stuck in there. After the lights went down I would say only about 700-800 people were there so we did get good seats! :)

A new bluegrass duo called Trees Leave opened with 3 songs. They were surprisingly good. One of the guys played the guitar SO fast you could hardly see his hand. The other was a great fiddle player.

Finally the Glory Revealed group came out. David Nasser and Mac Powell said a few words and then the "show" started. I hate to even call it a show because it was completely a worship service! They opened with "I'll Fly Away" and it was so awesome! I love a good hymn remix! :)


Altogether the group sang a few songs from the album and a few hymns and worship songs. Shane and Shane (one of my new favorite groups!) sang 2 of the songs off their new album Pages. They were awesome! ("We love you Jesus" and "Vision of You"--WOW!)


David Nasser spoke in the middle of worship time about how God reveals himself through His Word and what easy access we have to it if we'll just use it. He is also a very funny guy. He told us all how they would be on TBN the coming Friday. He said the people at TBN were so nice and wonderful...they just have bad wigs! :)

One of the last songs is my new favorite worship song. Candi-Pearson Shelton is one of THE BEST women vocalists I've ever heard. She sang "Mighty to Save" and as soon as she hit the chorus almost everyone's hands went up as we sang praises to our Lord Jesus! (I had NEVER heard the song before and was feeling left out! ha!) Anyway, here's a clip of "Mighty to Save." (INCREDIBLE!)