Hubbard Happenings

Happy THIRD Birthday Thad Aaron!!

2012-01-28T22:24:00.005-06:00

Today my baby boy turned THREE!! I really can't believe it! I still felt like I had a "baby" with a two-year old, but THREE seems so much older-not a baby anymore!!

He is so sweet and funny and has kept me on my toes from day 1. I just can't imagine our lives without him. We love him so much!!

Here I am a couple days before having Thad.

Here's the little man in the hospital. This picture has always made me laugh. That WILD hair should have given us a clue of what was to come!!

Here he is at three months. Could that face be any sweeter? He was SOOOO difficult at this age, but you really forget how difficult those times are. I mean, really, how much trouble could he have been with a face that sweet?

at 1 year

and 2 years

.....and my big boy now!

Still just as sweet! He really is seeming so grown up. He thinks he can and should be able to do anything his big brother and sister do. He is as stubborn as the day is long, but also SOOO sweet and loving. He loves to cuddle more than the other two and tells me he loves me at least 10 times a day. I just eat it up.

Happy Birthday Thaddy Boy- We LOVE YOU!!!

"Baby Jesus"

2012-01-10T09:47:00.001-06:00

For some reason since sometime before Christmas, when all the nativity sets started making appearances, Thad has been rather intrigued by Baby Jesus.

Some days he just goes on and on about it, strangely often referring to the baby as "her". No matter how many times I explain to him who "Baby Jesus" is, it doesn't seem to sink in.

It's not 10:00 am yet and here are the mentions of Baby Jesus today:

"Mommy, I don't want to go to college with baby Jesus."

"Why is baby Jesus laying on those sticks?"

"Is Baby Jesus in heaven?"

"When I see Baby Jesus in heaven can I pet her blanket?"

"I don't want to go to heaven with baby Jesus because her will cry on me."

"Is Baby Jesus going to cry over my belly button?"

"Why is Baby Jesus in my tummy?"

"Is Baby Jesus in your tummy?" "Why not?" "Then where is He?"

"Is Baby Jesus going to be at my birthday party?"

"Does Baby Jesus like birthday cake? Is she going to eat my cake?"

"Why was that Baby Jesus at Bev's house in the mommy's tummy?" (referring to a nativity at Bev's in which the baby was missing).

"Mommy look! There's baby Jesus." (pointing out the van window)

"Did Baby Jesus see those cows?"

"Is Baby Jesus going to be in my tummy? That's my baby. Not Mary and Jofus'."

"Is Baby Jesus with me? Can he always go with me?"

WOW! Some of these questions lend to great conversations about Jesus and who He is to us. Like that last one, I could tell him (after explaining for the 101st time that Jesus isn't a baby anymore) that yes, Jesus is with you, and you can take Him with you wherever you go if you choose to have Him in your heart. I know he's a little young to understand that, but it never hurts for him to hear it.

On the other hand, with some of the questions, I'm just not sure where to go. Like the "Mommy, I don't want to go to college with Baby Jesus." Ummmmm.......just not sure where to start with that.

It is pretty silly, but I hope Thad's interest in Jesus remains as his understanding of Him grows!

A Few More Christmas 2011 Memories

2012-01-08T19:39:00.001-06:00

Early in December the boys' preschool had a breakfast with Santa for all the kids and their families. Hollace quickly informed us that this was obviously not the real Santa and Rhett agreed. They did humor us and sit on his lap for a bit.

I guess she decided that she should share her wish list with him just in case.

Later in December we had a fun family party with some friends. Here are all the kids.

Hollace and her two best buddies. Check out the posing.

We ate, played dirty Santa, and even had a visit from Santa. Hollace quickly decided this was not the real Santa either. After he left she informed us that it must be Mr. Javier (one of our friends, her friend's Dad). She said "I can tell by his voice, and his shoes, and because he wasn't here when Santa was here, and he's probably out changing in his car right now!" No fooling that girl!

Santa passed out a little gift to each of the kids. I don't think he had many of the older kids fooled, but it was sill fun for them.

FYI: We did eventually get to see the "REAL Santa" this year. One Saturday at a local book store we spotted the real big guy and got a picture with him. I just didn't get it scanned in for this post.

Thad trying out the stockings as socks

Our Elf, "Elfie", is not nearly as creative or mischievous as some other "Elfs on the shelf" I've heard about. I think our Elf's main goal is to keep an eye on the kids, and I don't think he wants to set himself up for big expectations from them every night he's here. :)

He did pull a couple of pranks this year including this night when he replaced the kids' stockings with their undies/diaper.

Christmas 2011 Recap

2012-01-04T11:02:00.001-06:00

Here's a little recap of our Christmas celebrations for 2011. (There are a LOT of pictures-you've been warned.) We really like to be at home on Christmas morning so we saved our traveling for after Christmas. So here is our little Christmas at home and our trip to celebrate with family.

I realized most of the pictures were in front of our little "matchy" tree in the living room, so I took a quick picture so this tree didn't feel left out. It is a HUGE tree and we put it up in the study with all the kids' ornaments that they've made and received over the years. I was wondering how we'd have room for them all after a few more years, but considering the fact that a minimum of 5 get broken every year we should be ok for awhile. This year Rhett accidentally broke his "baby's first ornament". It made me SOO sad.

On Christmas Eve we went to a candlelight service (it's just not quite the same with battery powered candles -in case your were wondering.) Then the kids got to open three gifts from us to represent the Wise Men's gift to our Savior, baby Jesus.

After baths, we donned our Christmas jammies and tried to get a pic. This one looks like Hollace is trying to non-chanantly flash a gang sign or something. I'm not sure what she was doing, but the pictures only went down hill from here.

As you can see they were on their best behavior knowing that Santa was on his way.

Just before bed we set out a snack for Santa, which Thad promptly ate. Brent said most kids wouldn't be brave enough to eat Santa's snack! (But most kids aren't Thad!)

They said good bye to Elfie until next year and finally went to bed.

Santa came!!

This is not a great picture, but here is Hollace opening the much anticipated singing "Justin Bieber" doll.

Rhett with his favorite gift. The Ben Ten Ulitmate Alien Fighting Omnitrix watch!

Of course Thad got one too. It prevents a lot of unnecessary strife if they have the same toys.

Their last packages contained notes which instructed them to go out to the patio. The boys got a trampoline and Hollace got an electric scooter. (I wasn't fast enough to get out there and get a picture of their faces.) They all got a note from Santa instructing them to SHARE with their siblings.

After cleaning up and eating breakfast, we packed, loaded up and headed north to Oklahoma.

On Monday we had a big yummy breakfast and opened gifts at Grammy and Papa Hubbard's. The kids (well all of us) made out like bandits and loved all their gifts!

After unwrapping gifts we played some football,

rode bikes and scooters,

sat around and visited,

and played games, including a pretty intense Connect Four tournament.

The next day we celebrated Christmas with Nana and Papa Brown, Sydnie, Jeremy, Maggie and Margot. Here are the 5 grandkids:

They got these cool Pogo sticks. I remember having one when I was a kid and my mom even said she had one. Wow. One toy that has stood the test of time.

I think Rhett was a little excited about his Ben Ten Wii game.

and Hollace LOVES her guitar!

This girl couldn't have cared less about the gifts, but isn't she precious?

After gifts we finished preparing dinner and stuffed ourselves in true holiday fashion.

Just had to include a pic of these tasty apps because they looked so pretty.

I LOVE Christmas time and can't wait until next year!

A Merry Christmas Card Photo Shoot

2011-12-24T13:21:00.001-06:00

It was that time of year again, when I realize I don't have any recent professional-ish photos of the kids, my Dad is in another state, and it's too late to get an appointment for a photo session for Christmas cards. So to the back yard we go for what I know will result in maybe a handful of "acceptable"- at BEST pictures after many tries, tears, fights, stained articles of clothing, attempts at bribery, and threats- for our annual Christmas card.

So here are the results. There were, like I expected, just a couple that could even qualify as "acceptable", definitely not great, but it is what it is.................

YES, that was one of the good ones.

The majority of them looked something like this.......

I did manage to get a decent one of each of the kids individually. Why is it that getting one of the three of them together is WAY more than 3 times more difficult?

Hollace Claire- 8 years, 2 months

Rhett Brown- 5 years, 4 months

and Thad Aaron- 2 years, 11 months

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

End of the Year Catch Up: Part IV-Bubble Bath in the New House

2011-12-23T19:47:00.001-06:00

The first night in our new house (Yes, back in AUGUST!) the kids were dying to try out the new jacuzzi tub. It was late and we were tired and getting three baths done at once sounded like a good idea to Brent and I too. We poured in some bubbles with the nice warm water and tossed in the kids. When the tub was full we turned on the jets and OH MY!! The bubble just seemed to multiply a thousand times! The kids thought it was great!! I thought it was a great picture opportunity. The pictures don't really do justice to how many bubbles there were, over flowing the tub. Here are some of the blog appropriated pics I got that were blog appropriate.

(I thought this one was funny b/c Hollace and Rhett seem to be doing the same thing, though I 'm not sure what. I think maybe they were making tails.)

End of the Year Catch Up: Part III- Thanksgiving '11

2011-12-22T19:23:00.000-06:00

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year. We had 17 people here (including our family) and they all stayed the night! It was a full house and felt a little like a hotel at times, but it was fun and I think everyone enjoyed it.

My sister helped me get the dining table center piece set up. I thought it turned out cute

It seems to be tradition for Scott and Rick to carve the turkey.

Everyone helped with the cooking and cleaning. This is one time when two ovens would be really nice.

Look at that- Brent doing dishes. I knew he was a good catch!

Finally everything was ready and it was time to feast!

The "Kids Table"

The "Grown Ups Table"

After the traditional YUMMY meal, we all did the traditional sitting around and complaining about how full we were.

That night some of us went out to do some Black Friday shopping. Actually we mostly drove around and decided there were way too many crazy people out and that there wasn't much that we needed THAT bad, and went back home. All the girls did go out for a bit the next day after the crowds had died down a bit.

Everyone but the grandparents went to see the Muppetts one night and the rest of the time we mostly sat around a visited. I think we are pretty lucky that both sides of our families get together and actually like each other!

Thad thought he was pretty big stuff holding his baby cousin Maggie.

Nana reading to some of the little ones.

Funny how a real baby can make your "baby" seem SOOO big.

The three girl cousins.

We had a great Thanksgiving and are truly grateful for all of our blessings!!

End of the Year Catch Up: Part II- Visit to Oklahoma

2011-12-21T20:07:00.002-06:00

In October we made our first trip to Oklahoma.....from Texas. Much more fun than the drive from Nashville!

Our family has several birthdays in October, so we did a little celebrating while we were there.

Hollace and Aunt Juana playing Just Dance at Uncle Scott's. Send your wall covering suggestions to Scott at 555-........ Just kidding Scott- the dry wall and wall paper glue looks GREAT!!

The birthday boy opening some of his loot.

Hollace modeling one of her gifts.......

Grammy had bought Toy Story birthday plates that were 3-D. So we all had to wear these glasses while we ate cake.

We watched some football (go ahead and post your OU comments- we can take it).

and tried to take a little impromptu family picture. This is as good as it got.

I think Papa Rick was responsible for these gems. They did provide a few good laughs.

End of the Year Catch-Up: Part I- T-Ball

2011-12-20T18:12:00.003-06:00

I am going to try really hard to get my blog caught up by the end of the year. Here's the first of the "should have been posted a long time ago" segments. Hopefully there will be several more to follow.

This fall Rhett played t-ball for the first time. He did pretty well, but did not instantly love it. The practices and games were so funny to watch. The kids were all basically clueless. I'm sure you've all seen an example of what I mean. The kid hits the ball then chases it into the field, or runs the wrong way around the bases. So cute!

Thad LOVED to go watch and wanted to play SO BADLY! He stood by Brent when he was out in the field helping or by the bases when he was acting as a base coach. He will be so excited when he can play next year.

Kicking off the game - with one extra short guy.

GOOOOO TEAM!!

He slid into home plate. It was pretty funny. His coach told him not to do that until he was getting paid for it. Ha!

Here is our little baller in the "Ready" position.

I think this is why he wasn't "sold" on t-ball. He spent a lot of time just like this and didn't get to touch the ball much. I think he'll like it better as he get's older and the games move a little faster. (I have to agree though that baseball is not the most exciting sport).

This little guy on the other hand, seemed to think t-ball was GREAT!!

After the last game the coach presented each of the players with a trophy. Rhett's face when his name was called was so cute. So proud and a little embarrassed.

He was really excited about the trophy and I think it made all that time just standing in the "ready" position, worth it.

So proud of my handsome little T-Ball Star!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T10:53:00.003-06:00

Hope you all have a TERRIFIC Turkey Day!

An American Girl Adventure

2011-11-21T09:43:00.003-06:00

Hollace has been wanting to go to the American Girl Doll Store for a long time now. There are only a few in the country and when we were in Nashville, Atlanta was the closest and we just never made it. When we found out we were moving to Dallas I had a feeling this would be one of the first things we would do. One of her BFFs, Brynn, had also been saving up and wanting to go, so we thought it would be a great chance for her family to come stay with us and go to the store. Hollace had saved up her birthday money and was counting down the days. Finally the big day was here in early November, and it did not disappoint.

The girls in front of the huge store. They each took 2 AG dolls and 1 AG Bitty Baby. The "girls" were in the stroller and the "babies" got carried.

Oh my, they were excited. It was pretty amazing! So many dolls and accessories, and outfits, and...........

The girls in front of one of the many things they wanted. I should have counted how many times I heard "Oh mom, I want this!"

After a little shopping we stopped at the Bistro for a little lunch. There were high chairs for all the dolls. It was quite a sight, seeing all the dolls at all the tables.

The girls and Brynn's big sister, Bryleigh.

Remember the stroller full of dolls? Poor Bryleigh ended up pushing it around all day. She was a trooper.

There were even little dishes for the dolls.

After lunch there was time for more shopping. This little baking set was so cute and after seeing everything it was still her favorite so it ended up going home with us.

A photo op with AG of the year Kanani from Hawaii.

It was quite the adventure. I'm sure we will be back someday, but someone has some more saving up to do first.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T12:57:00.002-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T16:56:00.000-06:00

Halloween 2011: Acts I-IV

2011-11-02T15:04:00.011-05:00

Warning: Picture overload. We actually had 4 Halloween "Acts", but I am doing them all in one post. I wanted to include even more pictures, but I tried to narrow them down a bit.

Act I: Thad's pre-school Halloween party.

It was the Thursday before Halloween since he just goes to "school" Tues. and Thurs. I let him pick out his costume and he chose Spider Man. He loved it and had been wearing it around the house for a couple of weeks. But when it came time to put it on at the party- he wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to be Batman, or Elmo, or whatever the other kids were, but DID NOT want to be Spider Man. I wrestled him and put it on him to get a picture. This is what I got: him trying to get the costume off. So we took it off- oh well.

They got to decorate cookies and we sang songs-all WITHOUT a costume on.

Act II: Hollace's Fairytale Parade.

The grade school doesn't get to dress up, except the 2nd grade had a Fairytale parade b/c they are learning about fairytales. Their costume had to be an approved fairytale character. I was so excited that the costume we had already chosen for her (before we knew about this) was The Queen of Hearts!! Hollace found this black and white ballet/recital dress at a garage sale for $3 a couple of months ago and wanted to wear it for Halloween. I turned it into the Queen of Hearts for less that $10!!- including the $3 for the dress!! I thought she looked SOOOO cute!

Hollace and her two best friends at the parade. One was also the Q of H and the other was Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Their moms are good friends of mine, but we really didn't plan this.

Act III: Rhett's Pre-K Party.

Thad and I had to rush from Hollace's school to Rhett's school for his party. Captain America was the star of this Act!

They had a pinata, a parade, then came inside for the best part- pizza, fruit and spider cookies.

Act IV: Trick or Treating!!

The kids were SO excited to get their costumes back on and begin the candy collecting! We anxiously awaited Daddy's arrival home from work to get going.

Spider Man decided he'd participate in this act. When he saw the other two getting their faces painted, he wanted his painted too, so I drew a couple of spiders on his cheeks. He was SOOO proud of this and showed everyone when they went around trick or treating.

Oh, and Captain America decided about 10 minutes before we left that he wanted to be Jack Sparrow for this Act. We had the costume already, so I let him.

Here they are: the cutest Queen of Heart, Jack Sparrow and Spider Man I've ever seen.

I though Rhett made a darn good Pirate!

We did a little more makeup for Hollace than we had earlier for school. She really played the part well.

...another of Jack.

Thad was not really cooperating for an individual pic but here's another one of the boys.

We just went around our neighborhood and got MORE than enough candy. Then we came back to the house so they could hand out some. We had a great time!

Hats off (or on) to Fall!

2011-10-30T22:14:00.000-05:00

I took a few pictures of Hollace the other morning before school on "Hat day". I think it was actually "Hats off to a drug- free life" day or something like that. She picked her outfit out and I thought she looked pretty cute.

I wanted to get a pic with our fall porch decorations too. I don't do much seasonal decorating (except Christmas), but I LOVE FALL!!!

I love fall time and it is FINALLY starting to feel like it's fall. Many of my favorite things come along in this season. Yummy soups and chili for dinner, running in the crisp air, hot cocoa and spiced tea (coffee is good all year, but these only really taste good when it's cool outside), football games, fires in the fireplace (maybe we'll get to enjoy that someday when we don't have two boys who would be throwing toys into the fire), the beautiful trees as they change colors, leggings and boots, UGGS, pumpkin anything, family get togethers for the holidays, I could go on and on.....so much to be thankful for!

Here is a close up of the fall wreath I made. I thought it turned out pretty well considering most of it was recycled stuff I already had. The wreath was even one I had made before and didn't like so I ripped everything off and reused it.

Happy FALL y'all!!!

Happy (LATE) number EIGHT to someone GREAT!!

2011-10-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hollace turned 8 on the 14th! I Can't believe she is 8!! We decided to have her party at a little salon this year. I am so glad we did because our family had the stomach bug the week before her birthday and I had it the day before her party. It would not have been pretty if we were planning to have the party here and I had to do all the preparations. I was also really afraid that Hollace was going to get sick for the day of he party. 3 of the 5 of us had had it and I was just waiting for her to get it. I prayed she would be ok on Saturday and she was. I had it on Friday, the party was Saturday and then Hollace finally got it on Sunday. Thankful for little answered prayers. We were all fine on Saturday!

When the girls arrived they got to pick out an outfit to wear. They had so many fancy things to choose from.

BEFORE: The girls changed into their outfits then had their hair fixed, makeup done and their fingernails painted.

...and AFTER: of course Hollace wanted her hair straightened.

The girls dancing on the stage and playing "freeze". They were so silly.

More dancing and silliness...

Then they had a little fashion show. Each girl took a turn dancing a little and taking a walk on the runway. Hollace sure isn't shy or lacking in self esteem.

Ha! Rhett even took a stroll on the catwalk! He's got the serious model look down!

Time for cake and presents.

We got her Just Dance. I think she was a little excited about it.

I think the party was a success. They all had a great time!

of course we had to take a "silly picture".

Happy LATE birthday Hollace! You are such a smart, sweet, independent, loving girl. We love you so much and are so proud of you and blessed to call you our daughter!!

Meet Maggie Marie

2011-10-26T14:17:00.003-05:00

My pictures are finally showing up in blogger so maybe I can attempt to catch up now.

One of the important things that has happened since I've been having blogging/picture issues is the birth of my niece Maggie Marie on Oct. 1st. Hollace and I left about midnight on Friday night and drove to OKC and made about 2 hours before she arrived. It was great that we are closer now and able to make it to her birth. She is precious............don't you think?

Margot, Maggie and both of their grandmas

Hollace and her new cousin

I think Nana is proud. (Marie is her middle name.)

and proud Papa

Nana and her grand daughters

Maggie and her favorite aunt!

Posting this I realized I didn't take any pictures of Maggie and her Mom and Dad! The last two are ones my Dad had e-mailed me....still none of Sydnie. Guess that just shows how you sort of take the back seat when the kids come along.

July Visit to Oklahoma and Technical Difficulties

2011-10-18T15:58:00.002-05:00

Like I said in my last post, I am SOOOO behind on posting and I was determined to do some catching up today, BUT.............somehow on my new computer it takes some random undetermined amount of time for pictures uploaded to the computer to be available for blogger. I uploaded lots of new pics today and they are on my computer, but NOT there when you go from blogger to the location where they are suppose to be. Does that even make sense? Does anyone have any tips?

Anyway, I decided to try to post a few old things that I never did until I figure this out.

These pics are from our trip to Oklahoma in July after Brent and I got back from Jamaice.

Here are the Hubbard cousins. Lovely picture, huh? At least one of them is smiling and looking at the camera. (I'm not sure what Rhett's problem was.)

Gunnar and Thad. They are only about 3 months apart. Too bad they don't get to see each other more often. I'm sure they could have all kinds of fun.

We seem to always forget to take a picture of the kids with the grandparents when we see them, so I was determined to do it this time.

Here they are with Grammy and Papa Hubbard

......and Nana and Papa Brown.

Did you notice that Thad was his usual cooperative self in both pictures? It's obviously nothing personal Grammy or Papa Brown. He just didn't want to ruin his image and appear to be compliant or anything.

Hendersonville Farewells

2011-10-04T16:05:00.000-05:00

I am so behind in posting that I'm not sure where to start.....so I'll just start here. These are some pictures of our farewells or final get togethers with some friends from Hendersonville. I had a different leaving there than I had when we moved from Oklahoma 2 1/2 years earlier. I knew we would be back to Woodward. Our parents and other family is there and I just knew we would always be back. When we left H'ville it was different. I knew there was a good chance we would never see some of these people again. There are a few people I think we will keep in contact with and with some great effort we will hopefully see again, but there are many friends we met that I'm fairly sure we will never see again. It was sad!- and just different than last time we moved.

Here are just a few of our special friends. The very first friend Hollace met in pre-k when we moved to H'ville was Samuel. His mom, Ellen, and I bacame great friends too. We both have three kids that are each within 2 weeks of being the same age. Crazy. Ellen and I took Samuel and Hollace out to dinner one night before we left. They were so cute.

(I CAN NOT figure out why this pic is uploading side ways. It's not like that on my computer. Oh well....but turn your head and look because it's a cute picture.)

I am VERY sad that Ellen and I didn't take a picture. I don't think I have a pic of us together :( She is such a great friend! Now I'm getting sad!!!

One of our last days in Hendersonville, we met up with our wonderful friends, the Carters, for lunch. Our kids loved to spend time with Riley and Cole. They are a great family! We will miss them!!.......Sad again!!

My great friend Heather and I. I already miss her :( (She really isn't THAT tall. She had on heels and I didn't)

Hollace and a last picture of her best friends from the neighborhood: Savannah, Samantha, and Sydney.

Rhett and his great buddy, Dillon, who lived just down the street.

A final family shot in front of our home in Hendersonville, TN. This is just before we headed west for our new home in Texas.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T07:13:00.000-05:00

JAMAICA!!: Part 6

2011-09-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

OOPS!!........I've had this post done for a while and just realized I never posted it. Here is the final post from our vacation in July.

Friday and Saturday

This is where we ate breakfast every morning- after we got up when we darn well felt like it! NOT when we were woken up by an alarm clock or by a 4 year old asking for breakfast!

We managed to get a few workouts in while we were there. This is something we really enjoy doing together, but rarely get to do. This little gym was pretty nice, but there was no air conditioning so it was HOT!!

We got dressed up and went to eat at a nice dinner every single night too. Something else we enjoy doing together, but don't get a chance to do very often.

Friday night before dinner we stopped to take a picture with the amazing landscaping. Everything was so beautiful!

One of the restaurants in the resort.

My dinner.....YUMMY!!!

Our last night. We really missed the kids, but were sad that our week was coming to an end.

Saturday morning before we left, we had to take a picture with this sign. "Soon Come Back"!

.........and we will.......come back! Well maybe not to this exact place, but we decided we should definitely not wait 10 year to do something like this again.

A Little Irony for the First Day of Preschool

2011-09-02T08:27:00.001-05:00

The boys started pre-school this week. They are going to a little school called "Little Saints". I just couldn't help but smile a little at the irony of that. Rhett started on Monday. He will go Monday through Thursday from 9-12. He is actually (just barely) old enough to have started kindergarten this year. We decided to wait and send him next year. On a side note, I have already had our decision affirmed by the way he acts in the afternoons. I just keep thinking "what if he was still at school right now?". Thad started Tuesday and will go on Tues. and Thurs. They have extended care there until 2 if I have an appointment or something. So far I really like their school and the teachers.

Here are the boys on Tuesday. I decided to wait and do the pics on the first day that they both had school. Thad was not really interested in cooperating. Shocking!

Rhett was more cooperative this morning.

He wanted a picture of his backpack.

Cute little guy!

Rhett was doing his best to get Thad in the mood for pictures, but he was just not into it.

So more pictures of just Rhett.

One more try and I said "Oh, that was almost a good one, except I think you had your eyes closed, Rhett."

I shouldn't have said anything because this is what I got next.

..........and it went down hill from there.

On that note, I think I'll take these "little saints" and drop them off with someone else for a few hours!

OH....Did I not mention we moved?

2011-08-30T17:28:00.002-05:00

I guess this post is a little over due. I'm sure the huge majority of my 7 readers know the details of our move, but I guess I should explain our move.

For the last 2 1/2 years Brent has been an Associate Administrator at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville as part of HCA's CEO Development Program. We knew that after 2-3 years in this position we would most likely have to move when Brent became eligible for a promotion to a COO. From the beginning of 2011 we knew it would probably be sooner rather than later. We knew we would be moving, but didn't know when or where. This would depend on when COO jobs opened up within the company. We prayed- a lot- that God would work everything out in His perfect timing and that we would end up exactly where He wanted us to be- wherever that may be. Brent interviewed for and got offered a job in Florida in the Spring and after much prayer and contemplation we turned it down. This made us a little nervous because we knew the next job that came open and he was offered he would probably have to take it- and there are worse places to live than in Florida, 30 minutes from the beach- Right? However, we felt like this was not God's plan for us at that time. Most of the summer passed and I started to realize we were probably not going to be moved anywhere by the time school started like I was hoping. (Just b/c this would be easier than moving in the middle of the year.)

On our way home from Oklahoma after our vacation, Brent got a call for a second interview in McKinney, TX. We flew over that weekend and Monday he was officially offered the job. This was a HUGE blessing. Of all the HCA hospitals the he could possibly land a job at, this is probably the best for us. It is in a really nice town- and only 5 hours away from family, instead of 13!! We planned the official move for the second week of August, not even 4 weeks after he got the job. It was a crazy few weeks, but we were able to find a house and get here in time for the kids to start the school year. We really feel like this is a blessing and feel like this is just where we are suppose to be right now. Hendersonville/Nashville was a great place to live and we really enjoyed it, but are looking forward to this next chapter of our lives.

(I should add that I am very proud of Brent. He works very hard and is good at his job.)

So LOOOONG story short, Brent is the COO at Medical Center of McKinney and we are now Texans!

2nd Grade and New Beginnings

2011-08-28T19:36:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been 2 weeks since we moved our family to McKinney, TX. We are still trying to get settled and into a routine. We only have 2 boxes left to unpack. I think that's pretty good for two weeks. It was a little easier this time. Last time we moved to another state I was 8 months pregnant. I was ON A MISSION to get everything done because I knew it would be so hard to accomplish anything once Thad arrived. (....How right I was!!). Anyway, we are really liking it here and jumping right into things. The timing of it all was really a blessing. We moved just before school started here, so Hollace got to start 2nd grade here.

Here is my big 2nd grader last Monday, the first day of school. She is going to Wolford Elementary, home of the Wolverines!

She has always loved school and while she was sad about leaving her friends and teachers she had loved at her old school in Hendersonville, she was excited to start the year here.

Her school is literally just behind our house and across the street. The boys and I have been walking down to the cul de sac at the end of our street and watching her cross the street and go the rest of the way to school. It is SOOO nice to be that close. After school we meet her at the corner and are home less than 5 minutes after school gets out!

Here she is posing with the back pack Nana monogrammed for her. She chose to wear this dress for the first day of school, because it is her new school colors. Blue and Gold.

We got to walk her all the way to her class room the first day. She was just a little shy at first, but didn't take long for her to be ready for me to leave!

After school, I got a great report. She said her new school and teacher were "perfect!". She was very excited to learn that they could wear flip flops to school on non-PE days! She was also so pleased to find out that the school lunches here are only $2.10! They were $2.60 at her old school, but I'm not sure why she cares. I really don't make her pay for her school lunches or anything.

After school, she was climbing on the stairwell, and told me it would be a "good after school picture". So I took one.

* It just occurred to me that I haven't really explained much about our move to Texas. I will do that after I unpack those last two boxes :)

10 Years!!

2011-08-11T18:03:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary and Birthday to my best friend, my "main squeeze", my biggest fan, my amazing and handsome partner with whom I am lucky enough to go through this life! I thank God for these last 10 wonderful years and look forward to many more years together!!

I had planned on doing some big post highlighting the big events and special things that have occurred over the last 1o years. However it has been a little crazy around here (see previous 2 posts), so this picture will have to do. I do plan to do the big 10 year post at some point.

My FANTASTIC FIVE year old!!

2011-08-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

Today this awesome little guy turns FIVE! He is so smart and growing up so much and we just love him to pieces.

There are so many things I could say about him and I need to get on here and document some things before I forget them, but I will just do this one for now. Just the other day Rhett told me out of the blue that he wished I wasn't a grown up. I asked him why and he said so I could be a little kid the same time he was, so he could marry me and live with me forever. Aahhh!! He melted my heart!! I hope he always loves his Mommy that much!

**a little side note: I did not forget about the birthday tree (luckily Rhett did because he hasn't asked about it), but I didn't think a strangely decorated Christmas tree in the middle of July in an already crowded house would be a great help when showing our house to sell.

48 HOURS

2011-08-09T21:55:00.000-05:00

We have just a few things going on over the 48 hours starting tomorrow morning.

1. Rhett's Birthday!! (Number 5!)

2. Official Closing on our new house in Texas. (Number 4 for us)

3. My Dad's Birthday!! (Number......gothcha' Papa!)

4. My sweet niece Margot's Birthday (Number 2)

5. Brent's and My anniversary!! (Number 10!!!!)

6. Brent's Birthday (Number 33)

7. Movers arrive to pack up our stuff (so we can move 677 miles away!)

Whew!!! Yes, it's going to be an eventful 48 hours!

Rhett's 5th Birthday Party

2011-08-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

So quite a while back I started asking Rhett what he wanted to do for his 5th birthday. He immediately told me he wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese. I reminded him that we did that for his 4th birthday and maybe we should do something different, but he insisted. I told him if we went to CC, he would only be able to bring 2 or 3 friends. (I have no desire to try to keep up with 10 or 12 5 year olds and that high maintenance 2 year old we have at CC). I gave him the option of having a big party here at the house or at the pool or something. He chose the small intimate party at CC instead. I was feeling sort of bad about him having the exact same party as last year, UNTIL I found out we were moving 600+ miles 3 days after his birthday, then I decided it was a FABULOUS idea.... and he thought so too-so everyone wins! We had his party yesterday evening and it was a hit.

The boys

One of the little boys he invited couldn't come so it ended up being the same three as last year! . Click here for a picture of the trio a year ago!

I know it's Rhett's birthday party, but had to include a couple of pics of this cute little guy cruising with a mouse (?)

Hollace and one of her BFFs Tiffany who got to come with here brother to the party.

Rhett LOOOOVES to play video games!

Look at the boys watching so seriously.

and not so seriously.

Silly boys!! They were laughing hysterically at jokes that made NO sense, about what else, but bodily functions!

Rhett wanted an Incredible Hulk cake. I thought it turned out pretty cute!

Yummy cake....

He was so excited to open his presents and LOVED them all!

The whole gang, partied out!

With the Lewis kids, who were our wonderful neighbors until a few months ago when they moved to Murfreesboro. Hollace was so excited that Tiffany came with John David to the party.

These pics look so similar to last years party, it's funny. What can I say the boy knows what he likes. I was just thinking that he has had a Cars/race car birthday twice and a Chuck-E-Cheese birthday twice. The only time he had something different was his first birthday when he didn't have a choice! Ha-wonder what next year will be.

JAMAICA!! Part 5

2011-08-07T20:07:00.002-05:00

Friday at the Private Island

The resort we stayed at had it's own little private island which you could ride a little boat over to visit. We went over on Wednesday night to the Royal Thai restaurant, but it was dark so we decided to go back the next day when we could see everything better. Isn't this beautiful?

One interesting thing about the private island is that on the backside there is a "clothing optional" beach. This little sign with it's fine print is the only warning you get before venturing over to this section on the beach. Luckily we had heard about it and steered clear of this area. Sorry , but NOT the kind of beautiful ocean views I was wanting.

.......apparently this older couple wasn't lucky enough to have heard or see the sign. This was SOOOO funny! We had seen them earlier just wandering innocently around the island with their snorkeling gear. As we were leaving on the boat we saw them walk down onto the nude beach area. They were fully clothed and ready for some snorkeling! I don't think they had any idea where they were or that the group of people out further in the water were nude. I guess they probably found out soon enough. I'm sure that's not the underwater treasures they were hoping to find on their little snorkeling adventure! Ha-Ha!

The view of our resort from the island

another beautiful ocean view

Relaxing on the private beach!

Brent playing on some silly three wheeler thing that we found over on the private island

I'm almost there.....one post to go.

JAMAICA!!: Part 4

2011-08-04T06:22:00.003-05:00

Thursday/Thursday Night

The beautiful Jamaican sky. It rained several afternoons that we were there, but it usually didn't last long and didn't really keep us from doing all we wanted to do.

One day they had some "Beach Games" which involved 3 teams competing in several different competitions, such as hula-hooping, a swimming race in the ocean, relays holding an egg on a spoon, etc. One competition was a dance/cheer contest where we had about 2 minutes to come up with a routine. Our team leader/resort staff member pretty much told us what to do and we tried to out do the competition with this pyramid at the end. I somehow ended up in the front doing a little tumbling pass. Ha!- If that 's what you want to call it. It was pretty funny and I was a little embarrassed, but hey- this is vacation.....in Jamaica.....and I don't know any of these people!

Just about every morning Brent played beach volleyball with a group of guys and I laid on the beach and watched and read.

Aaahhh.......Cheesy I know, but we had to do it.

A picture after a round of tennis

At the entrance of the resort. Pictures really don't do it justice. It was beautiful.

Brent enjoyed a little Chef's sampler dessert. We ate TOO many desserts during the week.

That evening they had a little awards ceremony for some games they had during that day. We won these little leather "sandals" necklaces for the beach games and for the beach volleyball tournament Brent played in.

JAMAICA: Part 3

2011-08-01T09:20:00.002-05:00

Tuesday Night and Wednesday/Wednesday Night

One night we took the shuttle over to another Sandals resort to check it out. We ate at Tokyo Joe's. This was the Chef that prepared our dinner.

The resort has this little private island that you can ride over to on a boat. That is the private island behind us in this picture.

This was the view from our little porch. There was rarely anyone in this little pool and hot tub-it was almost like our little private pool.

I really this picture of us. They had these guys walking around taking your picture, then you could go view them later and buy them- you know like Party Pix in high school and college. We only bought this one.

My handsome husband looks even better than he did 10 years ago!

We ate dinner at the Royal Thai restaurant on the private island. This and all the others of the two of us were taken by other guests at the resort. No one seemed to mind because they were probably asking people to take pics too.

This is the boat we took to and from the island.

I'm pretty lucky to have this guy!!

Not sure what this little carriage was for right by our room, but we decided to stop and take a picture with it......because that's what you do on vacation.

Stay tuned.............

JAMAICA!!: Part 2

2011-07-26T08:44:00.001-05:00

Monday Night and Tuesday

After our first full day there, we got dressed up for dinner. It was "All White Night".

It also happened to be the 4th of July. It was a little strange to not be in the good ole' US of A on the 4th, but the Jamaicans tried to make us feel at home a little with Red, White, and Blue dessert.

There were also these two random Jamaican staff guys dressed in R, W, and B and walking around on stilts. This is a bad picture and you can't really tell how tall they were, but it was pretty funny that this is how they tried to incorporate our holiday into the festivities at the resort. They tried I guess.

Each night they had some sort of entertainment at the resort. This guy was balancing all sorts of things on his face. One night there was a fire eater, and there were lots of dancers which were great. One night they had a talent show for the guests who wanted to participate. It was pretty entertaining, but I was embarrassed for a few of them.

My man and I enjoying our time together.

Love the colors in this picture as a little storm was moving in the next morning.

This picture just makes me laugh. We asked one of the Jamaican employees to take our picture and he took it then I asked him to take it vertically. He didn't seem to understand so I was sort of motioning for him to turn the camera. He looked really confused and sort of tilted the camera at a diagonal instead of turning it all the way. I LOVE our faces and the way the pic is at an angle. Ha! Maybe you had to be there, but I really got a kick out of this.

Much better this time.

JAMAICA!!: Part 1

2011-07-26T00:29:00.008-05:00

Brent and I got to go to Jamaica earlier this month to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. It's actually in August, but this worked out best with school, etc. We had SUCH an AMAZING time! We haven't been anywhere like this since our honeymoon! A few little 1 or 2 night trips, but nothing like this. It was GREAT!

We made the 13 hour trip to Oklahoma, stayed for a couple of days and left the kiddos there for the week. We drove to Wichita, KS on Saturday evening and got there about 1 am and had to get up about 4:30am for our flight. We'd be on the beach in a few short hours. Yay!!

Sunday and Monday

We arrived on Sunday afternoon and found our room

outside our door

Here are a few of the amazing views

Monday we didn't waste much time finding the beach.

Our first full day we went snorkeling. We went snorkeling and scuba diving on our honeymoon and had a great time.

We also tried paddle boarding. It's a little harder than it looks.

This guy, Freddie, rode up on his boat every morning and displayed this jewelry he had for sale. I bought a couple of things from him and asked him to just hold them for me while I went back to our room to get some money. He told me to just take them and come back sometime later to pay. He said "No problem. There is no problem in Jamaica."

NOTE: I have no idea why that section is underlined.?

There were several beautiful Peacocks wandering around outside our door. They made the weirdest noises, kind of like sick cats. I guess I'd never heard a Peacock before.

Much more to come...........

Crossfit 300 Games

2011-07-14T12:05:00.001-05:00

Explanation for not blogging for a month: Our computer has been broken and in the process of being fixed for about 3 weeks AND- We have been on vacation: Oklahoma and Jamaica- Yes, JAMAICA. It was great and I will definitely have pics to post. We got a new computer, YAY! so I should be able to get back to posting some new stuff soon.

I had done this post before our computer died, but not posted it, so here it is a month late.

*************

Last month Brent participated in a competition through Crossfit which is the gym we are a part of. He and a partner competed in four separate rounds of workouts. It was really hot outside, but they all did great! It was fun to watch and I think the kids even enjoyed it......for a little while.

Shoulder press

.....and box jumps

Kettlebell swings

....and push-ups

Fireman Carry

Wheel barrel
1 round still to go and I think these guys were pooped!

Squats followed by sprints.

Almost done.........

They did it!

I think these two were DONE too.

Where is Thad you ask? Oh he had snuck out onto the field and was rounding cones set up for the sprints. Yes, I had to do a little sprint of my own to go catch him.
Brent and his partner Matt. Proud of these two.
Daddy and his big fans.
The fam

Neighborhood Summer Fun

2011-06-13T12:53:00.000-05:00

The other day our neighbors (one of the VERY few that don't have kids) were watering their lawn and the neighborhood kids decided that was an invitation to come play in their yard. (I did make them stay off the grass, but let them stand on the sidewalk and wait for the water to come to them.) Luckily these neighbors are very nice and don't mind the kids.

Love Thad's face in this one. They were having a ball.

Love this picture too. Two of Hollace's good friends in the neighborhood are sisters who happen to be half Hispanic. Look below and see if you can pick Hollace out. The three of them just finished 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades, but they are about the same height, and look at their skin and hair. They look like three little Hispanic triplets! Ha! It's really funny to see them together. Hollace is in the middle by the way :)....and Yes, I am jealous of her tan. She has her tan for the summer after one day in the sun!

Group Hug

Loving Summer fun!

Rhett's Big Week!

2011-06-07T15:04:00.001-05:00

The last week in May was a BIG week for this big guy!

Tuesday evening his pre-school had their end of year program. It was sort of a graduation as many of them will be going to kindergarten. Since Rhett won't be 5 until August, we aren't going to send him to kindergarten until next year. SO....it wasn't a sad graduation for me, but it was very cute. Each class sang a couple of songs and each child had a very short little speaking part. Rhett's was "on the word of God." I was SOOO proud of him. He spoke loudly and clearly and honestly was one of the best ones! He looked so handsome and grown up on the stage.

He knew all the words and motions.
Here he is receiving his pre-school "diploma" from his teacher, Mrs. White.
There was one other little story about the night that I will NOT be able to do justice with words, but I will try.......

Thad was not behaving very well toward the end of the program- I know you are all as SHOCKED as I was!....so Brent took him and was standing at the back of the fellowship hall. While one of the classes was on stage doing their part I was watching, but not intently b/c it wasn't Rhett's class. Out of the corner of my eye I see Brent full out sprinting up the aisle toward the stage. I was thinking "Oh no, Thad got loose and is running toward the stage." I am looking down the aisle for him and NOT seeing him. At about this time I start to hear chuckling and snickering from the audience. I look and to my HORROR, Thad is ON the stage. YES....ON THE STAGE!! in front of about 400 people. Brent is standing in front of the stage by now and Thad is up there with the 4 and 5r year olds pulling on a decorative balloon bouquet. I can see Brent is trying to decide how to retrieve our son. There are stairs at each far end of the stage, but no stairs up the front. I just know Brent was thinking that whichever way he decided to go, Thad will promptly run toward the other! I meanwhile am trying to decide do I go up there and try to help or do I continue to sit here and pretend I do not know this unfortunate pair!?!

*****************************

Wednesday night Rhett had his choir performance. It had a construction theme and was really cute. I have to admit I wasn't quite as proud of Rhett this time. I'm not sure why, but he didn't seem as interested. Most of the time he wasn't singing or even paying much attention. The silly guy on the left is his choir teacher. After this part he went over and stood behind those balloons. Rhett spent a lot of time poking and kicking the balloons and then looking behind at the teacher to see if he was getting a response. At one point they brought out inflatable little hammers and gave one to each child. They were suppose to raised and lower them to the beat of the song. Of course Rhett just "happened" to lower his EvERy time onto the head of the kid in front of him which did not make said child very happy. I was really irritated at him, but really- whose idea was it to give inflatable hammers to a bunch of 4 year olds standing that close together. Oh well, at least Thad stayed off the stage this time!

The little construction worker at the after program reception.

Thursday night was Upward Soccer Celebration Night and Saturday was his final game of the season. I didn't even take any pictures at the Celebration, but thought I would include this one of our little #9 in action. I still need to post some of the other soccer pictures I have taken.

Memorial Weekend 2011 Recap

2011-06-03T09:15:00.001-05:00

We had a relaxing weekend here at home. It was nice just to have Brent home for three days. We cooked out and ate outside. The kids love to do that.

Mmmm....Chicken, veggie, and pineapple kabobs.

Yummy, healthy almond flour chocolate chip cookies
We had lots of fun playing outside. Our neighborhood pool opened Saturday, so we went Saturday and Sunday and Monday. Whew! I forgot to take my camera-every time, but I'm sure there will be many more opportunities for pool pictures.
We played outside with this big inflatable ball Brent's parents got for the kids a while back.
It was fun, but could be a little dangerous with this big hill in our back yard.

Monday morning I ran in a 10K (6.2 mi) here in town. I placed third overall and got an actual trophy. I thought that was kind of funny that they gave trophies, but the kids, Rhett particularly, were SOOO impressed! My time was 49:24, which is a 7:57 pace. It was a pretty hilly and hot course. I think it was 85 degrees plus when I finished. I was surprised to place overall with that time, but it was really hot.

It feels like it is officially summer time now!

**Correction: Hollace just told me the big red ball was from Uncle Scott.

Mother's Day Tea

2011-05-31T08:56:00.000-05:00

Hollace had a sweet Mother's Day Tea at school for all the moms. They read poems, sang songs, served us pretty little petit fours and punch, and presented us with some art they had made. It was a very sweet day and she was so proud.

So HAPPY I get to be a MOTHER to this sweet girl!

Easter 2011

2011-05-20T11:35:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting around to posting about our Easter.

Saturday before Easter Sunday we had a little picnic/ Easter egg hunt with our Sunday School class at the park. I didn't take many pictures, but I did take a few of Thad that were funny. He found a few eggs, then sat down and ate each piece without moving from this spot. All the other kids had finished hunting then went up to the table under the pavilion. So he was a ways out there all by himself for quite a while. He didn't seem to notice he was all alone. I finally got his attention and a smile.
Saturday evening we colored eggs and made Resurrection rolls, which you can see in the background.

If you've never made the rolls, you take a marshmallow which represents Jesus and dip it in melted butter and cinnamon and sugar. This represents putting the oil, etc. on the bodies like they use to before putting them in the tombs. You roll the marshmallow up in a crescent roll, which represents the tomb. When you bake them,the marshmallow melts and sort of disappears, so the crescent is hollow or empty. Of course this represents the empty tomb that was left after Jesus rose from the dead. A good teaching opportunity about the meaning of Easter....................one would think.

Instead this turned into a big joking session about Jesus being a marshmallow. They thought that was so funny and went on and on about it. "AHHH...we're dipping Jesus in butter.......OH NO, Jesus is melted and squishing out the side!". Not exactly the "moment" I had envisioned!

They tasted good anyway. Here is Thad enjoying his.

My kids have never been overly excited about the egg coloring process. We always do it, but it's never a big deal.
Easter morning...the kids with their baskets.

Hollace with some serious bed head, showing off her favorite gift: lots of colorful dry-erase markers. She is so much like me!

Thad couldn't have been happier than he was to get this little motorcycle (or "more-soccer" as he says. He LOVES them!

We tried to snap a picture of the three after church

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T09:55:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:28:00.002-05:00

I am so thankful for these blessings who have given me the awesome privilege and joy of being a mother. I am so glad God chose me to mother these three!!

.......and so grateful for the wonderful mother who raised me- and the wonderful mother who raised my amazing husband! Happy Mother's Day!

It's Official............

2011-05-07T12:15:00.001-05:00

I'm A SOCCER MOM

..........and I have the three kids, and soccer ball, shin guards, and fold up chairs in the back of my MINI VAN to prove it!!

Here is Rhett's Upward soccer team. They are called the "Little Flash". Aren't they cute? The only other boy on his team is almost 6 and has played soccer for three years. He is by FAR the team's best player!

I think this "Little Flash" is pretty handsome!

I'll post some more action pictures later.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T08:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!!!

And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised Him from the dead by the means of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey Him, bringing glory to His name. Romans 1:4-5 (NLT)

My Little Hunters

2011-04-22T13:37:00.002-05:00

Brent is not a hunter so I suppose the annual Easter Egg hunts may be the only hunting my boys ever do (which will be ok with me). My MOPS group had a little Easter Egg hunt last Friday at a local park. The boys had a great time playing on the playground and hunting for candy- I mean eggs.

Thad LOVED the slide once he discovered it. I had to drag him off of it when it was time to go.

On the hunt...........

Each time he found an egg he wanted to stop and open it and eat what was inside.

So excited about his find.

I missed Rhett actually hunting because I was supervising Thad, but here is Rhett showing me his haul.

An Easter bunny silly band.

The hunters.

Happy Good Friday! How grateful I am for what my Savior did for me on the cross!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

Spring Photo Shoot

2011-04-17T21:21:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of the best shots we got when my Dad was here in March. I mainly wanted to get a couple of good ones of Thad for his 2 year pictures (2 months late). While we were at it I wanted to try to get a picture of the three of them together. It has been a while since we got one of all three of them...................and......it's still going to be awhile. To say that Thad was uncooperative is a HUGE understatement and the few moments when he was sort of cooperating, Rhett wasn't. Poor Hollace tried, but she got so tired of sitting there smiling while the boys cried, complained, tried to get away, took off their shoes, screamed, threw things, pulled out the grass, and complained some more. We gave up on the group shot and got a few of each of them individually. Here they are...............

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Grandparent Visit #2

2011-04-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

Brent's parents left Friday around noon and mine arrived just a few hours later. We didn't do anything too eventful, but the kids loved seeing them. They went to Hollace's school to eat lunch with her two days, which she thought was pretty great. We actually remembered to take a picture of them with all the kids this time too. This was one morning before Hollace left for school. The boys are still in their pjs.

Since we hadn't gotten any pics of the kids together in almost 2 years, we thought we'd go to a local park and try to get some. We'll just say that it didn't go well and leave it at that. We did manage to get some really cute ones of them individually (I'll post later). It's just trying to get all three of them to cooperate at the same time that causes the problem. Maybe in about......4-5 years we can get some decent pics of them without major anxiety for everyone involved.

Thanks Papa for braving the picture experience once again, and thanks Nana and Papa for coming to see us. We miss you!

Grandparent Visit #1

2011-04-11T10:08:00.005-05:00

The Monday we got back from Chattanooga, Brent's parents were here for a little visit. The kids were very excited to see them and we had a great time. One night we went to the famous "Loveless Cafe" in Nashville. We had to wait a while for a table, but it was really nice outside so it wasn't too bad.

We FINALLY remembered to take a picture of Grammy and Papa with the kids. We had forgotten the last couple of time. It's a little blury for some reason, but better than nothing.

Brent and I with the kids.

Grammy, Papa and the kids. I don't think Papa was quite tall enough to reach the hole. Ha! and I love that the dalmation dog at the bottom has a binky!

It really is time to work on getting rid of the binky. He SO LOVES it though. Both the other kids were binky lovers, but I think Thad is the worst. He has it more than the other 2 did at this age.

Papa trying to keep the kids corraled as we waited for a table.

Rhett with his usual silly face for the camera.

Thanks for coming to see us Grammy and Papa! Looking forward to your next visit!!

Chattanooga

2011-04-09T09:04:00.006-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our little quick Spring Break trip to Chattanooga. It was a nice little trip. We had great weather, which made it even better. The kid had a good time at the Aquarium and the Children's Science Museum, but I think they liked staying at the motel and swimming at the indoor pool the best. I told Brent we could have just gone to a local motel and checked in for the night and swam and they probably would have been just as happy.

Checking out the jellyfish at the Aquarium.

Rhett watching the penguins. It looks like he is standing in front of a painting, but they were real and very cool to see. The family

The second day we went to the Children's Museum. The boys LOVED this water table area and probably would have stayed here all day!

Hollace made some friends and played at this little play medical clinic.

The boys like playing on the bikes and other things they could push, pedal or move.

Taking a Breather

2011-03-26T08:53:00.003-05:00

Wow! It is almost April and my last post was March 1st! We have really been busy, and had lots going on, I just haven't had time to post about it yet. I am taking a breather and will catch up with pictures later, but here's a quick rundown of what we've been up to.

Hollace's Spring break started 2 weeks ago. We left Sat. morning to spend a couple of days in Chattanooga. We got back Monday afternoon and Brent's parents were waiting in the driveway for us. We had lots of fun that week and they left on Friday. My parents arrived just a few hours later and stayed until this past Wednesday!

It just so happened that the times that worked out for them both to come was back to back! It has been a crazy last couple of weeks and needless to say the kids have been SPOILED. Staying up late, eating junk, sleeping with their grandparents, eating more junk, doing fun/special things, missing naps (well one of them), and eating more junk for nearly 2 weeks! It was great though and we are always glad to have our family visit. We are currently in OPERATION: GRANDPARENT DETOX. Ha!

Does anyone see a problem with this picture??? It makes me laugh! This is my dad's shoes that someone felt the need to "plug in". I'm not even sure which one did it, but I think maybe we should revisit the "don't play with electrical outlets" lesson. What do you think?
Oh, and also in the last two weeks, Rhett has started his soccer career. He had his first practice earlier this week and his his first "rained-out" game (of probably several) was this morning. (It's not even raining, by the way!). The way they cancel things for weather around here, we may never finish the season.

Here are a couple of pictures of his first practice. He has a lot to learn, but it is really cute! What's NOT cute is us trying to keep Thad off the field for an hour!

Here is the little guy in action!

Caught "Red Handed"

2011-03-01T14:55:00.002-06:00

LITERALLY!!!

Why do I continue to think that anything in my house that is accessible without a lock and key or an 8 ft. ladder is safe?? (Ok, maybe just the lock and key. 8 ft. is not that high is it?)

This time it was my ink pads.

Tidbit Tuesday

2011-02-22T20:26:00.001-06:00

Here are a few little tidbits about what's going on around here.

Hollace: Our wonderful neighbors and Hollace's BEST friend moved a couple of weeks ago. The neighborhood just isn't the same without them. Hollace and Tiffany were together SO much and Rhett and John David were great buddies too. We'll even miss Buddy (the one showing Thad some love.) They moved about an hour away to another suburb of Nashville. We already have a meeting planned so they can all see each other.

Rhett: He's just up to his usual orneriness. The other day I sent him upstairs to get on the clothes which I had laid out for him. A little while later I noticed he had actually done it the first time I asked (which is rare), but that he had put on Thad's clothes instead of his own. He hadn't even noticed. Ha!

Thad: Speaking of ornery!......This little guy was busy last night. He often gets out of bed after we put him down and we usually let him fuss and wear himself out a little before we put him back to bed. (We've tried immediately putting him back to bed each time, and this does no good. You might recall one night we put him back to bed 37 times before we quit counting!) So last night he got up and while we were ignoring him, he was busy fixing his hair with the lotion, vaseline, and diaper rash ointment he found in his room. Yes, he had to be thrown in the shower at 11pm.

I think he got some of his hairstyling tips from his Dad.

OH, and this little man with the handsome new DO, is the same one who poured super glue on my hardwood floors and hot chocolate mix in the toilet today!! Did somebody say ornery?

Our Happy HEART Day

2011-02-15T15:39:00.000-06:00

I thought I would post a little about our Valentine's Day yesterday.

Hollace had a great time making her Valentines box and Valentines over the weekend.

Rhett was a little less enthused about the project, but he did well and I thought they turned out pretty cute! Hollace's are on the left and Rhett's on the right. The box. Hollace loves to do little creative projects like this.

Of course Hollace had school and the boys and I went to MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) at the church. Our meeting just happened to fall on Valentine's Day this year.

I wanted to get a quick picture of my little Valentines before we left, but this is what I ended up with. Apparently it was too sunny on the porch and I didn't get a decent picture, but immediately after I took this one Rhett started a mini tantrum about not wanting to take pictures and the sun hurting his eyes and Thad was bolting for the street. I decided the photo shoot was over.

I did decide to include the pic, because not only do these sweet boys make my heart happy, but so does the SUNSHINE that ruined our photo shoot! We have missed 14-Yes 14!!! days of school already this year due to weather (and we have not had NEAR the snow that you all in the midwest have had. If we got that kind of snow we would be out of school until April!)

2 MOPS meetings have been cancelled this winter and numerous days of Mother's Day Out. I was so happy to be out in the sunshine and going somewhere this day!!!

That evening we went and registered Rhett for his first season of soccer. He is very excited. Then we went to Q'doba to pick up some dinner. We had planned on going here anyway, then a friend told us they were having a buy-one-get-one-free-entree deal. Sweet! We love Q'Doba and LOVE a free meal! The only catch was you had to KISS your sweetie at checkout to get the deal. I informed Hollace in the car that she would have to kiss Rhett on the cheek when we paid. Oh my--that SERIOUSLY stressed the girl out. She was so nervous/embarrassed/grossed out at the thought of kissing her brother in the restaurant. It was really funny. In line she said "Rhett, do you want to practice?" He said "Sure!" and puckered up. She would lean in toward his cheek then throw her mouth over her lips and say "NO, I just can't DO it!". DRAMA!!!

She did finally do it at the check-out line. I may have had to shove her face into Rhett's a little- but hey, a free meal is a free meal-right???

Hope you all had a terrific Valentine's Day with the ones you LOVE!

Flashback Friday

2011-02-11T15:25:00.002-06:00

Found this cute pic of Rhett. I believe he was about 3 months old in this picture. I also believe I can see a hint of the orneriness to come in this face!

Wordless Wednesday- What Glitter??

2011-02-09T17:33:00.001-06:00

Birthday Fun and the Birthday Tree

2011-02-04T10:24:00.008-06:00

We started a new fun tradition at our house, the "Birthday Tree". It is decorated with cupcakes, stars, hearts and all things birthday. It will go up a week or so before each of the kids' birthdays each year. I hope this will make them feel extra special around their birthday and help build anticipation for the big day. I think it turned out really cute and think it will be lots of fun. I sort of wish I had thought of doing this sooner, so the other two could have had it for all their birthdays. BUT, I actually decided I am glad we started it with Thad. As the poor third child he doesn't have much that's new or get to do much first, so it is sort of special that he got to be the first to have the "Birthday Tree".

He even got to go "help" me find and make some decorations and put them on the tree.

I will use most of the same decorations for Hollace's turn, except I got some different ribbon and a pink crown for the top. I tried to make it not too girly- you know, a unisex tree, but Brent informed me I didn't do a very good job of that, that it has too much pink. I will try to work on that for next time.

It is sort of different on birthdays now that we don't have lots of family here. We didn't really have a big birthday party either. Poor Thad. I don't think he really cared though.

He loved opening his presents and couldn't get his new shoes on fast enough. The boy loves shoes.

More presents..........notice the little helper hands.

We invited a couple of the neighbor kids to come over and have some birthday cupcake.

Thad was loving the icing.

One of the kids got some icing on their nose and everyone laughed, so of course they all had to get icing on their noses.

LOVE this picture of my sweet 2 year old.

This is the box that my mom used to send her gifts. I think they had as much fun with the box as they did with the gifts inside.

They were pretending it was a time machine. The foam paintbrushes clipped on with clothes pins had some special function, though I'm not sure what. I'm also not sure what is going on with Thad's shirt. He does this a lot, for some reason.

My BABY is TWO!!

2011-01-28T08:39:00.003-06:00

Two years ago today, our sweet Thad was born. I can't believe my BABY is two. We are so thankful that our family was blessed with this precious little guy. He really completes our family.

Here he was a 3 months. At this point, he was a REALLY difficult baby. You wouldn't know it by this sweet little innocent face, but he was my hardest baby by far!
at 6 months:

at one year:

and now...........our little man is growing up so fast.

Here are a few little things about Thaddy at two years old.......

* He is busy, busy, busy- constantly breaking, spilling, or ruining (...I mean playing with, exploring, or discovering) something.

*LOVES to play with his big "sissy" and "bu-bu".

*Talking a lot and tries to say so much. I do think the other two were talking more at this point though.

*Still LOVES his binky! AKA his "bee-bee".

*Loves to play in the toilet and flush things, anything- Barbies, cars, and the aforementioned "bee-bee" down the toilet.

*LOVES to play outside and just wants to be doing whatever the older kids are doing.

*Still a pretty big boy. He weighs about 30 pounds and is 35 inches tall.

*Is a snuggler- more so than the other two. He likes to get his binky, and a blankie and come snuggle in my lap, thought usually just for a minute until he thinks of something else to get into.

*Is a pretty good eater, and will usually eat what ever we are eating. For some reason he loves to sit on Brent's lap at dinner. It is any annoying habit, but I'm just glad it's not my lap.

*He really is more of a Daddy's boy than the other two were. He always asks "where Daddy?"

*Is so sweet and loving. Gives lots of hugs and kisses. Out of the blue he will tell me, "Love you"- just melts my heart!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Christmas in Oklahoma: Part II

2011-01-26T13:48:00.001-06:00

The second day we were in Oklahoma, Tuesday, we celebrated Christams at my parents'. We had a great time with more yummy food, fun, and more gifts.

Hollace got a whole box full of adorable little outfits for her American Girl dolls, handmade my Nana. They are soooo cute.

Thad getting lost in the wrapping paper.

Kissing Cousins.

Nana and three of the four grandkids.

Aunt Sydnie and cousin Margot.... Uncle Jeremy was there too, he just didn't make it in this picture.

There seems to be a theme with Rhett and silly face in pictures.

Papa and Larry sharing some Christmas snacks.

The whole fam

It was a very Merry Christmas and a great visit in Oklahoma. We stayed the rest of the week and drove home all day Saturday, which was New Years Day--two years to THE DAY that we drove to Nashville for the first time- to live!

Like always, the week went so fast and we are looking forward to our next visit.

Christmas in Oklahoma: Part 1

2011-01-24T14:27:00.000-06:00

We left the day after Christmas and drove about 11 hours to Edmond and stayed with our great friends, the Carpenters. The next morning we drove on to Mooreland and had Christmas at Brent's parents'.

The kids were so excited to see everyone- and to get more presents.

Thad had to try out Hollace's Paper Jam guitar.

Hollace getting a little help fixing Julie's hair in her new salon chair.

Grammy and Papa got more help than they needed opening presents.

Just when we thought all the presents were opened, more would turn up. So many presents!

Rhett giving Gunnar some DS pointers.

This was a little wrestling game that Rhett got, but everyone had fun with this one. Thad and Uncle Scott are going at it here.

We failed to get a picture of everyone together, or even one of the 4 cousins together! I really need to do better about this.

Grammy Terri did a replay of her famous Christmas morning brunch, so we could enjoy it too. It was a great time with lots of great family and food. We are blessed to be a part of this family!

Flashback Friday

2011-01-21T17:32:00.001-06:00

Oh my!......Found this sweet picture while looking through some old ones this morning. This is Hollace Claire at 9 months old, taken by my Dad in the backyard of our little yellow house on 8th St. in Woodward.

Love this picture! and LOVE this girl!.......

..........this girl who helped me unload the dishes this morning, and who made candy with me today using a "Make your own candy kit" she got for a gift, and who is upstairs playing school with one of her friends and her little brother right now...........

Where does the time go?

It's Christmas!- FINALLY!!

2011-01-19T08:09:00.000-06:00

Well, finally a Christmas post, anyway. My computer is finally fixed and functioning again! Yea!

Here are the three kiddos on Christmas Eve. This is the best pic of them together.....

Most of them looked more like this..........
We had a nice Christmas Eve together. We had "attempted" to go to the Candlelight service at our church at 3pm. We were a little late b/c Brent was on call and had something he had to take care of just as we were leaving. When we finally got there and got the boys checked in to the nursery we were about 10-15 minutes late, and there was NOWHERE to sit- I mean NOWHERE, not just nowhere to sit in our favorite section, or where we would have a good view, etc.... NOWHERE!-and our church holds A LOT of people. We had to go get the boys and go back home! It was crazy! I guess it's a good thing that so many people were in God's house on Christmas Eve, but it was a little frustrating for us. We got out of our sweat pants and got ready and made the drive to the church, and hurriedly checked the boys in, just to turn around and go back home, without any candle lights or "Oh Holy Night" or story of our King, born as a tiny precious bundle!...... I was a little bummed.

Anyway, back to our Christmas Eve at home.........

Brent read the Christmas story from the Bible and Hollace did a little performance of the Christmas story using our Little People Nativity set. I was pretty impressed with the details she included. Nice to know that some of it is sticking.

We said goodbye to Elfie. (Yes, I know that is a very un-original name, but it's what Hollace picked a couple of years ago.)

..........and left a little treat of cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for each of the reindeer.

Christmas morning.....the kids were really excited about their DSs. I think they were really surprised.

Thad is thinking, "Where is my DS? All I got is this toothbrush!"

Actually he got a little learning laptop thing. We were hoping this might make him feel like he had his own little DS, because obviously he wasn't going to get a real one- I sort of can't even believe my 7 and 4 years olds got one!

Thad actually was really excited about his gifts. I'm not sure what this silly face was about.

Rhett was also excited about his Iron Man gear.

After we opened presents and had some breakfast, we ventured out to enjoy the snow that arrived Christmas Eve and was still coming down. It wasn't a ton of snow, but very pretty and from what I hear it was the first white snow in Tennessee in 17 years!

It was enough to sled............

and have snow ball fights............

We had a wonderful Christmas at home, just the 5 of us. I am really glad we get to be at OUR home on Christmas! I know lots of people that travel and are somewhere else on Christmas and wouldn't want it any other way. I guess it's just whatever you're use to. We were usually at home at Christmas when I little, so I like to be at home with our family now too.

We packed later Christmas day and headed to Oklahoma early that morning. I'll post some pics of our time there soon.

Excuses, Excuses!!

2011-01-11T16:31:00.003-06:00

Usually when I go two weeks without posting I have a pretty good excuse why. Usually it's because there just hasn't been much going on that's blog worthy or because there has been so much going on I just haven't had time to blog about it.

This time I have a different excuse as neither of those excuses are true. I have lots to post: Christmas, playing in the snow, our trip to Oklahoma, etc..... and we will be on snow day #3 for the week, tomorrow so I do have time. Between dressing and undressing 3 children in snow proof pants and shirts, two pair of socks, snow boots, coats, hats, and mittens- about 16 times a day, then cleaning up the mess of dirty, melted snow between each time of coming in "to warm up" so we can repeat the process...... I do have time.

So, my excuse this time is my computer, which has become painfully slow lately. It goes from bad to worse any time I try to open up my pictures. It freezes the computer up and makes it unusable- it won't do anything, sometimes I can't even get it to shut down so I can start over. Since I can't use my pictures, and WHAT is a blog post without a picture?... I haven't been blogging. I am going to get an external hard drive to put my pictures on so I can take them off this computer. Any other suggestions?

I'll leave you with this funny story, since I can't include some cute picture.

The other day while driving in the van I saw a wrecker with a badly wrecked car on it. I pointed it out to Rhett, and his response was, "Cool!! Mom, sometime can we have a wreck?"- Ok, that's not the funny part. I talked to him about the seriousness of a wreck and how maybe on his video games or on tv a car may have a wreck then just go on like nothing happened, but this is NOT how it happens in real life. I explained that sometimes people get hurt really bad in car wrecks, and sometimes even die!!- and that even if you don't get hurt, your car may be damaged and you wouldn't have a car to drive anymore.

He listened to all this then we had this conversation:

Rhett: "Well if our car didn't work anymore, we could just go get one of those that no one is using."
Me: "There are not just cars out there that no one is using that we can take. Cars belong to someone and they use them."
Rhett: "Yes there are. I see them all the time. There are lots of cars that no one is using and they are all shiny and sometimes they even have balloons on them!"

(Did you get that he is describing a car lot?)

Isn't is funny to get a glimpse of the world through the eyes of a child. To him a car lot is just a bunch of pretty cars lined up waiting for someone to come and use them. I'm sure he wonders why we drive the same old boring van day in and day out when we could just go pick up one of these balloon adorned beauties!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T13:32:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!! I pray you all have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour!

Ragnar Relay 2010

2010-12-22T08:17:00.000-06:00

Most of you have already heard some about my Ragnar Relay adventure, and this is a REALLY long post, so be forewarned. It is mostly for my memory.

Ragnar TN was a 12 person, 195 mile, running relay race from Chattanooga, TN to downtown Nashville, TN. Each person ran 3 legs of varying distances. Someone from each team is running at all times, day and night. There were 36 exchange points along the way.

My legs were about 8, 5, and 4 miles. My average pace for the 3 legs was 7:57 min/mi. Our team time was 27 hours and 8 minutes and our team pace was about 8:20. We had a couple of guys on our team that did awesome!- like 6-7 min. pace.

Here is a little about the adventure. Pictures really don't do the experience justice, but here it is:

This was when we arrived at the starting line location and I was getting ready to run. I seriously think the hardest part was keeping up with all my "gear" in my bag, in the vehicle. Every time it was my turn to run, I was always stressing out looking for something, right up until I had to jump out and run. This gives you an idea of how crowded it was!

When we got out at the start line, of course we all had to use the port-a-potty (the first of too many to count). Before I left I got myself a big handful of the sanitizer gel that was hanging inside to stall. Well, I would soon discover- it was NOT sanitizer gel, but SOAP. Nothing like having a huge lather of soap all over your hands with no running water in 30 degree weather, just minutes before you are to run 8 miles. Our sweet driver, Tracey, sacrificed her pants for me to use as a towel.

There was a staggered start and I think 14 teams started when we did. I was the first runner on our team, so that meant I was the first one done too!

Most of the time you could see a few other runners, but really weren't running with them and the roads were not closed to traffic like they are in most road races. Your vehicle was not allowed to drive beside you due to the traffic, but they could park and cheer you on as you came by then drive up a ways and do it again. They called this leapfrogging.

Someone on my team said I was like the firstborn child, since I was first. Everyone was still so fired up. On my first leg, they stopped to cheer frequently, yelled really loud for me and took lots of pictures. As time and legs went on. the enthusiasm died a little. We joked about it a lot, but toward the end, you were lucky if they rolled down the window and yelled a "Whooo!" for you!
After just finishing up a BIGG hill on my first leg. You know the kind of hill, that you can hear the vehicle beside you kicking it into high gear to get up it. This was at about mile 4. For my Oklahoma friends, those flat plains are good for something!

Our first exchange.

This next pic is out of order, but it it just after my second leg, and it was already dark. It was around 7 pm and right at the outskirts of a town, so there was a LOT of traffic and NO shoulder. This made me a little nervous.

We passed a lot of really cool places along the way. Too bad most of them were closed and we didn't have time to stop.

One of my teammates running through the beautiful hills of Tennessee.

A couple of my van-mates and I waiting at one of the exchanges. They are very big on safety and you had to have a vest on anytime you got out of your vehicle.

The next picture was the one and only time we got to go inside at an exchange. I didn't know we'd get to do this, so it was a nice surprise that this elementary school let us come in and use their gym. I expected to get more sleep than we did. With it being so crowded, and all the stopping and starting and cheering for our teammates, sleeping in the vehicles just didn't happen. It was about 12:3o am when our van arrived here and you could hear a pin drop in this gym. Everyone was wiped out. I slept here about an hour, then I got the call that my teammate was about 2 miles out. I had to jump up and go get my gear on for my last 5 mile leg.

Here is an example of our night gear. My last leg was out in the middle-of-NOWHERE, TN. There were no streetlights, houses, traffic- nothing. I passed one girl just as I started then didn't see or hear another living soul for 5 miles- well other that the wild animals howling at me. Also, it was about 25 degrees.
We all got to meet up with our last runner and come across the finish line together. It was really cool to see all the teams come in together!

Team Perpetual Motion Squad at the Finish Line-27 hours later. We were 20th out of 160 teams. Not too bad.

We were just a little tired. I got up Friday morning at 3:30 am for the drive to Chattanooga. By the time I got home at about 2:00 pm on Saturday, I had slept about 1 hour (on a basketball gym floor, mind you), and had run about 17 miles during that time. The word tired just doesn't quite cover it!

My great friend Heather and I at the finish line:

....and with my fans at the finish line.

I wonder what my kids think about all of this. When they come to watch me do a run or triathlon, they just see me do like the last 50 yards or whatever. They are probably thinking......"That's it? Big whoop-de-do!"

Anyway, it was a big crazy adventure and I would do it again in second. Actually I probably will do it again in about 10 months.

Tidbit Tuesday

2010-12-07T15:23:00.006-06:00

Hollace: Just thought I would post these pictures of Missy on Hat Day at school a while back. Her Aunt Juana made her this hat and Grammy bought her this outfit when she was here. She was so exited to wear it all. I wanted to take a couple of pics before she left for school. This is the poses I got, without any encouragement..........

Rhett: He says the funniest things. I just wish I could remember it all or could always write it down immediately. The other day he and Thad were sitting at the table eating breakfast and I heard Thad sneeze and I guess he blew a little of his food from his mouth out onto Rhett. Rhett said, "Eewww!!.....Mom, Thad just bless-you'd his food on me!!"

Thad: He is talking so much now. It seems like one week (I think it was in October) he just started trying to say everything. About that time he had an owie (however you spell that) on his knee. He would point to it and say "knee, knee" and we would say "yes, that's right. That's your knee!". Now he calls injuries of any kind, anywhere- knees! It is so funny. He will fall and bump his head and immediately point to it and say "knee, knee!". So cute!

We saw Santa for the first time on Saturday. He was at the clubhouse at our neighborhood. It was so convenient. No lines, no crowded shopping mall or store, no drive across town for a 2 minute visit....that is my kind of Santa.

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

2010-11-29T17:36:00.002-06:00

Hard to believe Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is on it's way. I thought I'd do a little wrap-up of our holiday weekend.

Wednesday Hollace got to bring home her sign for being a "Key" student of the 9-weeks. I had to pull her off her bike to come take a picture. We are very proud of her.

Thanksgiving morning I ran in a local 5 mile run. It was almost perfect running weather and I ran it in 37:58. A 7:35 pace-a PR for me for 5 miles I think. I came home and finished cooking then we went to some friends' home for lunch/dinner. It was a traditional YUMMY Thanksgiving feast. They are actually from Oklahoma too and weren't having any visitors, like us.

I decided to join the crazy people and go out for the black Friday deals. There was actually something we wanted that went on sale at midnight and something else not available until 5 am. Brent went about 11pm to get the midnight item and got home about 1:30am. I crawled out of bed and hour and a half later to get in line for the other items. Crazy, but worth it I guess. We were successful in getting the items we went out for.

Saturday we went to the movies. This is a rarity in our household. We had to get a babysitter for Thad. Yes, I know you are shocked that we can't take him to a public place and expect him to be quiet and still for 2 hours. Who am I kidding, I can't take him in public for 5 minutes without a scene. Anyway, we went to see "Tangled" in 3D. The kids had both been asking to see it and we decided it would be a good movie for the family to go see. It was very cute! It's a good thing too. It cost us about $70!! (including the babysitter). THAT is why it's a rarity for us to go to the movies. We love Redbox!

Here is Rhett with his 3-D glasses and the popcorn that's as big as he is! They had a great time!

The rest of the weekend was spent taking pictures for Christmas cards, working on some Christmas presents and church. A wonderful weekend with my wonderful family. I am so thankful for my many blessings!!!!

Shutterfly Time

2010-11-26T15:03:00.007-06:00

Thanksgiving is over, so I guess it is officially time to get ready for Christmas. Shopping, decorating, and Christmas card making. I love to make our card and receive cards from all our friends. With all the new technology and ways of keeping in touch, I'm afraid fewer people will continue to make Christmas cards each year. Please make one- and send me one! I may see you all the time or see pictures of your family on your blog or facebook, but something is just still so fun about getting the cards.

Shutterfly has some great cards. It is so easy to do and they are always quick about getting your order to you. If you haven't started yet, go here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards to see their many choices.

Here is our card from last year. I think the only year I've missed doing one was the year we were moving to Tennessee and Thad was about to be born. It didn't seem right to do a family card without Thad, when he was so close to being here. We waited until he arrived and did a Valentine's /birth announcement card.

You can also make photo books which make GREAT gifts and are so much quicker than scrapbooking ( Although I still love to do it the old fashion way, but I just don't have the time right now). Check out their photo book ideas here: http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books

So........I may or may not be getting 50 FREE photo cards for this little write up, but it's all true.
Now, to get busy on this year's card..........

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T20:37:00.000-06:00

"O Come let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker."

Psalm 95: 1-6

Family Fight!

2010-11-24T10:57:00.000-06:00

This is not what it sounds like...........Nearly every night, the kids beg Brent to fight with them. They wrestle, have towel fights, tickle wars, and just about every time--someone ends up crying..........but they LOVE it. They start asking at dinner sometimes, "Can we fight tonight?". It is usually after bathtime and has become part of the usual bedtime routine. It is really funny to watch how Thad has gone from not being involved at all as an infant, to an innocent bystander who sometimes got involved against his will, to being completely involved and sometimes the instigator. It is fun to watch them having such a good time together. I usually try to stay out of it, but every once in a while I have to come to one of the kids' rescue.

This particular night the kids decided to try to take shelter in Thad's bed.

Poor Thad was a sitting duck when he couldn't get into the bed. As you know, he mastered getting out of the bed month ago, but is still working on the getting back in part.

He decided on the 'climb the rocking chair' method.

We have lots of fun memories of the nightly "family fights". I can only imagine what this could look like a few years from now.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-10T07:05:00.003-06:00

Okay, one word: Mascara.

hAlLoOWeEn FuN!!

2010-11-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

My 50's girl, police officer, and Superman!

Maybe I'm a little biased, but I think they're pretty darn cute!

Love the little goblins!!

(I'm not sure why Rhett was making this face.)

Brent combed Thad's hair over and sprayed it down, for a more authentic Superman look.

I guess this is Rhett's tough police officer face.

Sweetest Superman I've ever seen.

I was really happy to get another use out of this cute poodle skirt my mom made a while back for the Daddy daughter dance. She played the part well.

.............and the goofy police officer face.

Rhett was a little leery of this bowl of treats.

Our neighbor, Joel, is a real metro Nashville police officer. He let Rhett take a picture with his real badge.

At the first few houses, Thad wanted to eat his"treat" after each stop.

He would get his "treat" then immediately sit down on their porch/sidewalk and eat it.

They had a blast! and I admit... it was pretty fun! All the adorable costumes and enough candy to make you sick!.....what's not to love about Halloween??

Upward: Season 2

2010-10-29T08:47:00.001-05:00

Hollace decided she wanted to give cheerleading another whirl this season. I don't know if you remember her summation about cheerleading at the end of the season last year. See this post. Still maks me laugh. I think the fact that her 3 best little friends who live on our street, decided to cheer, had something to do with her wanting to do it again. She has had fun and we only have 3 weeks left now. They have a fall and winter season. We'll see if she wants to do the winter season.

I think she had more fun this time, because of her friends and also because she knew the cheers better than she did last year.

Hollace and 2 of her best buddies to her right.

The cheer: "Jesus rocks the house... and when Jesus rocks the house, he rocks it ALL the WAY DOWN!". So cute!

Jesus rocking the house all the way down again.....

She looks so grown up.

OCTOBER

2010-10-26T11:57:00.001-05:00

Is this really the LAST week of OCTOBER? I love this time of year and especially October, but this month has just been a whirlwind. We have really just had a crazy last few weeks. We had a birthday party, visits from both grandparents, a race event I've been helping organize for the Arthritis Foundation, a big project I had due for MOPS, Upward cheerleading, and the stomach bug (everyone but Hollace, so far) and lots of other little things..............all in the last four weeks. I am ready for some days with NOTHING going on.

We went to a local pumpkin patch Sunday after church while Brent's parents were here. I got some pretty cute pictures, that represent October and my three little pumpkins well. (I really liked a lot of the pics, so there are a lot here.)

Love this one...look at Rhett's face.

Love these kiddos! I am so thankful God chose these blessings for me!!!

Sweet Thad......

Ornery Thad.....

Exploring...

Wonder what he's thinking here.

I really need to do an update on Thad. He has really grown up lately.

I could not get Rhett to look at me AND smile at the SAME time.

This is just funny.........

Climbing........so typical.

Sweet boy

Hollace looks so grown up. My sweet girl -such a poser.

Happy Fall to everyone!

Happy Birthday Hollace!

2010-10-14T12:24:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this sweet girl is 7 today! We are so proud of her and love watching her grow into such a smart, sweet, funny, beautiful girl.

She wanted to have a "cooking" party. Luckily, it worked out to have the party while my parents were here. The girls made their own little pizzas and decorated cupcakes. It would have been really hard to do all that by myself (Brent was busy keeping the boys out of the way). My mom was a big help and my Dad took pictures for us. Last year I think I got about 2 pictures at Hollace's party.

The week before the party, my mom made these adorable aprons for the girls to wear and take home. The pictures really don't do them justice. They turned out so cute. I would like to say I helped, but I really didn't do much.

The birthday girl had a little help.

We had some future "Cake Bosses" at the party. They really enjoyed doing the cupcakes.

From the excitement, you'd think it was a new pony!...It was a Justice gift card.

She got Julie, the American Girl doll from us and my parents. She has been REALLY wanting this for quite a while.

Grammy and Papa Hubbard got her a horse for her new doll. She loves it!

The girls had a great time! Thanks Mom and Dad for your help and Mom for the wonderful aprons!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T15:56:00.004-05:00

Tidbit Tuesday

2010-09-28T17:27:00.003-05:00

Here's a few tidbits about what our bunch has been up to lately.

Hollace: Sunday on the way to church she said the funniest thing. Brent, Hollace, and I were having a conversation about something. I don't remember what. Rhett interjected some comment that had nothing to do with what we were talking about, probably cars or trucks or something. Hollace quickly said, "Rhett, we are not even talking about cars right now. You need to speak with good purpose." Ha! I think her teacher must say that at school.

Rhett: He said the CUTEST thing to me while we were unloading groceries the other day. He loves to help unload and was SOOO excited when he came across some cans of Chef Boyaredee in the sacks. He said "Oh mom, thank you for getting these. I am so happy about you, I could eat you up!" I could have eaten him up!

He has also asked some good questions in the last couple of days. Yesterday he asked me, "Why do you think God wants us to have sticks in our mulch?" hmmmm..... I was sort of at a loss on this one. This morning, while I was "wiping his bottom" he very seriously asked, "What is that, that I smell? It really stinks." hmmmm.....I wonder. I did have an answer for this one. Thad: He has just been up to his usual. In the past 24 hours he I have found him:

1. scooping water out of the toilet with a cup from the dishwasher and yes..........drinking it.
2.carrying around an open bottle of salad dressing (the olive oil and vinegar kind that makes nice greasy spots on everything) leaving little puddles all over the floor and other things.
and 3. last, but not the least dangerous to his health: licking his fingers, which I discovered after some investigation, had been into the plate of raw chicken on the counter.

(I really do supervise him (usually). I think all these things happened while I was trying to cook or get some meal ready.....or blogging......I better go see what he's doing.)