Pumpkin Patch

We made a surprise trip to Albany on Saturday. Let me just tell you too, they were shocked! :) It was wonderful watching their faces register that we were actually there.

Lyndi was in town with Grant so we loaded the boys up Sunday afternoon and took them to the Pumpkin Patch. Enjoy the pictures!



We stopped in Phenix City on the way back. Mom has pictures and video of B counting on her blog. You can get there by clicking here.

Slow Fade

thoughts and ideas

Being a stay-at-home mom is a lot of fun. It's a lot of work too, but mostly fun. :) I was talking to another stay-at-home mom one day and we were saying how most people think we are lucky because we get to be at home. The truth is, for people like us, it has nothing to do with luck. It's all about sacrifice. To be honest, we live pay check to pay check, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. A little extra money on the side would be nice, but I know God is teaching me lots of lessons on my spending habits. The main lesson being, don't spend money. lol

Bryan gets bored a lot and getting out and about is always fun, but there is always the temptation to spend money.

So, this is where I need all of your input :) What can I do with Bryan to help keep him entertained during the day? He's bored with coloring. Playing outside is always fun, but we haven't done as much of it because it was so hot. Thankfully it's cooling off now. I'm kind of stuck. How do (or did) you keep your toddlers entertained? If you don't have kids I know you still have ideas! I can't wait to see what you all say!

Shadowfeet by Brooke Fraser

Shadowfeet lyrics

Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
Toward home, a land that I've never seen
I am changing
Less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
And I have sensed it all along
Fast approaching is the day

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

There's distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
But I've heard rumours of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

You make all things new

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

7 years ago...

Best Commercial I've Seen in a Long Time

Even MORE Beach Pictures :)

I have just started really going through our beach pictures. I'm trying to edit a few, delete bad ones, and put them in order. We literally have hundreds. The one above is one of my favorites of our family. I especially like the placement of the ball! haha! I told Penny that I might just carry one around with me :)

One more favorite:


Here's a link to another web album with the pictures Penny (aka Sug) took. Some of them were put online while we were at the beach, but I've since redone the album and added more to it.

weather changes

it's only 71 degrees here today. the high is 76! praise the Lord! it's supposed to get to 80 tomorrow and stay in the low 80's all week. I LOVE FALL! i've been so ready for it to get here that i went ahead and put out my first pumpkin decoration :)


what's your favorite season?

Kentucky

Our car has been having air conditioner troubles for almost 2 years. We've had several people look at it and have already spent almost $1,000 on repairs. Last week we were told the condenser was leaking and would need to be replaced. Before we spent another $1,100 dollars we wanted to see what my uncle, Big Daddy Bill, thought about it. So I decided to make a spur of the moment trip to Kentucky. Mom went along with me and Bryan. We also had another passenger....Margo! Margo and Bryan had a great time together. They really kept each other entertained and played well together for 2 two year olds :)

We arrived Tuesday night in time for bed. Wednesday we stayed inside all day and played, with the exception of going to eat Roy's BBQ. (it's the best!) Thursday we went to Bowling Green to Chaney's Diary Farm. There we had wonderful sandwiches for lunch and ice cream for dessert. They make everything right there at the diary. After lunch we took Margo and Bryan over to see their baby cows, goats, and rabbits. That afternoon they took very long naps and in the evening played hard outside. (you'll see Bryan's sweaty head in the pictures) We left to come home this morning and wish we were still there.

Here are our pictures!

Our sweet nephew, Grant

Grant is so precious! We had the best time with him last week. What a blessing to be able to spend a whole week with him and his parents.

yearbook pics *updated with matt's pics*

this cracked me up! i love all of the 80's hairstyles! i also, truely, love the 50's styles. sometimes i wish i would have been born in that era. :)

our computer is still down, but we hope it will be fixed monday. we've been using matt's work laptop in the evenings to check our email and such.

Jamie, Bryan and I are currently in Johnny Ray's eating dinner, and a rather large lady just walked in wearing a black and white flecked shirt. Bryan promptly turned around and proclaimed "It's cow!" Jamie and I laughed pretty hard about it, right after we made sure that lady didn't hear. :)

beach trip

we are finally home from our beach trip. we weren't ready to come back, that's for sure! :) we had a wonderful time. bryan LOVED the beach. he especially loved to chase the birds and swim in the pool.

anyway, we got home to find the motherboard on our computer fried so i'm not sure when i'll have another post. i'll be working on one so we can tell you all about our trip.

in the meantime you can see lots of pictures from our trip on our picasa webalbums. you can find them here.

more to come!!

a boy and his puppies

HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR THE BEIJING OLYMPICS

Learn Chinese in 5 minutes (You MUST read them aloud)

ENGLISH CHINESE

That's not right! Sum Ting Wong

Are you harboring a fugitive? Hu Yu Hai Ding

See me ASAP: Kum Hia Nao

Small Horse: Tai Ni Po Ni

Did you go to the beach? Wai Yu So Tan

I bumped into a coffee table! Ai Bang Mai Ni

I think you need a face lift! Chin Tu Fat

It's very dark in here! Wai So Dim

I thought you were on a diet! Wai Yu Mun Ching

This is a tow away zone! No Pah King

Our meeting is scheduled for next week! Wai Yu Kum Nao

Staying out of sight: Lei Ying Lo

He's cleaning his automobile: Wa Shing Ka

Your body odor is offensive: Yu Stin Ki Pu

Great: Su Pa

Happy Birthday to Dad/PaPaw and Uncle Johnny!!

He's 2!

Our little man is 2! Oh my goodness! I kinda like saying that. I'm sad that it's gone by so fast, but he's so much fun.

Bryan and I went to Granna and Papaw's house on Tuesday so we could visit with them, Mary Lynn, and Allison. Bryan went CRAZY over "Mom-o." Yes, he calls Mary Lynn Mom-o. We have no idea where it came from, but that's her name. :) At dinner that night he could barely eat because he was so excited. We think he said Mom-o every 30 seconds. He and Allison were also very excited to see each other! They stayed up late every night dancing and playing and chasing each other around the house.

Wednesday morning we got up and went to Barnes and Noble for the kids to play. Bryan found a train set that he LOVED! I literally had to wrestle him out of the store. We then went to lunch at Panera Bread. It's always so good. That night we went to church at NorthStar. We had supper there and then had a Praise and Worship night. Both B and A praise danced! It was awesome.

Thursday we took Bryan to his very first big people movie, Wall-E. Allison has been to the big movies a few times and loves it. Bryan did GREAT as long as he had popcorn. haha! He lasted a good hour before he wanted to get down and walk around. Luckily we were the only people in the theater and were able to let him run around.

Bryan and Allison learned, kind of, how to take turns with the slide outside. Allison didn't go fast enough for Bryan and he pushed her a couple of times. She was not happy about that. She cracked us up because he'd put his hand on her and she'd fall backwards like he clocked her. :) Pretty cute!

Friday night we made his birthday cake and yesterday we celebrated his birthday! While he was napping, Matt and I went and got balloons. Then we all decorated while he was asleep. When he woke up he was excited to see his Happy Day room. :) It was actually time for him to eat lunch so he had cake for lunch! The cake turned out so yummy. He got some fun presents from his grandparents and Englands.

Bryan has had a good birthday today, but all the fun has finally worn him out! He's learned lots of new words this week and can almost count to 10 with a little help!

We go to the beach next week and will be celebrating again! I don't think his birthday could get any more fun this year!

Here are lots of pictures. Just click below!

Bryan's 2nd Birthday

Boogers

I know there are certain things that come with the job of being a dad. Pretty much all types of bodily fluids, dirty diapers, and even boogers. Apparently this also applies to being an uncle.

We're at Jamie's parents' house this weekend for Bryan's birthday, and my niece Allison is here as well, along with her mommy Mary Lynn (Jamie's sister). I've been getting stuff off of Allison's finger all night, including Play-Doh and bits of crayon that she's gotten under her fingernails. She came running up to me after supper going "Finger!" and holding her thumb up in the air that she'd apparently gotten something on that she wanted off immediately. Without really thinking about it, I just wiped her thumb off with my hand, and then looked down at what it was.


A booger.

Cake!

Bryan and I have been at Granna and Papaw's house since Tuesday to visit with them and Mary Lynn and Allison. We've had a very busy few days, but we managed to get his birthday cake made :) I found a picture online of a cow cake I wanted to attempt and finally got to! I think it turned out great. Of course I couldn't have done it without Mary Lynn and Mom's help. Here's a picture. More pics to come later! We're going to party this afternoon after nap time. :)