Track the Taylor's

Brevity

2010-06-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

Just in case some of you don't know...SATAN is attacking us more and more every day! I have had one of those weeks! You know, the kind of week where it seems like you are being hit with something from every direction. Today seemed to top it all. After getting the kids sent to NaNas for the day and planning to clean the house, I still found myself roaming in circles with a cluttered mind of things to do. I have been frustrated, angry, upset, sad, you name the emotion, and I have experienced it today. I felt that there just isn't enough time for me to do everything that I want to do, and being a perfectionist, letting things go is difficult for me, although I do let them go out of necessity. Just a minute ago, God and I had a talk about my attitude and He reminded me that Satan will use us if we let him. So, after an apology to God, I decided to finish up the cleaning and enjoy a few quiet moments with God before the kids came home. I went to my room to get my Bible and picked up a devotion book we got for mother's day. I had started reading it, but you know how that goes, something else always takes priority, so I have not been faithful to it. So I open it up and take a guess that day 4 will be a good place to start back. This is what is said:

Brevity: the quality of being brief, shortness of time

"I sat curled up in my favority chair, sipping a cup of tea. The early morning light stremed through the family room windows as I enjoyed a few moments of "me" time. I slowly turned through the pages of our family photo album, pondering my daughter's childhood.

"......I thought of the hectic pace of running her around for school and church activities, piano lessons, dance classes, ......What happened? The brevity of that sweet season in our lives together flew by. How soon it was gone!

"As I reminsied, I thought. Had I taken even a single day for granted? Had I at times allowed life to get so busy, hurried, or stressed that I missed our on what was really important?
"The apostle James notes,"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is you life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14) How true! God gives eash of us the same 24 hours each day. He lets us spend them in whatever ways we choose. Will we waste those hours? Or will we fill them with balance and appreciation, seizing and making the most of each and every moment?

"Today, I thank Jesus for enduring the agony of the cross, for dying in my place to earn the forgiveness I need. I know my days on earth are brief. May God help me to make the most of them, even as I look forward to spending eternity in heaven with my Savior.

NOW, even though I left some out, I just had to post this. To me, it is worth reading. I pray that is will make someone elses day the way it did mine. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it IF we are willing to listen. Now, to continue in my time with God....

Kids say the best things...

2010-04-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

This one may top all of Aiden's funnies through the years!!!!

A brief history...we were having a silent auction at church which was made of baskets from each sunday school class to raise money for our youth. Each of my children being in a different class, I lost track of who was to bring what. I purchased Aidens donation, but forgot about Allee and Evan's and decided to give $5 each. As a reminder, I had written "$10 - Allee/Evan" on the dry erase board on the frig. It has been there about 2 weeks. So, Aiden was very sleepily eating his breakfast at the table yesterday as I was filling out school paperwork when I heard him reading the dry erase board out loud. He read that part about Allee/Evan twice before looking up at me with the strangest, terrified look on his face and questioned..."Mommy, are we getting rid of them?" Oh, my...what I had to do to keep from bursting into laughter. "Why would you say that Aiden?" " Well, it says up there Allee and Evan are for $10. Are we selling them?" I had to explain it to him, which was a big relief to the big brother!

Allee and Aiden get married!

2010-04-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

Rick was checking in on the kids as they were playing in Allee's bedroom yesterday. He walked in on a wedding ceremony. It went something like this:

"Daddy, when do the rings come in the wedding?"

"Well, they usually come at the end after the vows."

Aiden: "Bows? What is a bow?"

"A VOW is a promise you make to someone and God."

They exchanged their rings."
"Now it is time for the vows."
Aiden: "Oh, okay...(looks at Allee) Allee, are you ready?"

Allee: "Yeah"

They both looked at each other and "bowed" like in a dance.

Daddy: "I now pronounce you brother and sister. Now go and be sweet to each other." To which Allee responded..."Yeah! Now we can go eat cake and dance!"

Is that not the cutest?

Are you nervous?

2010-03-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Allee is in an Easter pageant at school tomorrow, her first pageant ever. As we were saying our prayers tonight, Rick said during his prayer..."Lord, please help Allee tomorrow night during her pageant not to be nervous." When he finished praying, Allee said in the sweetest little voice, "Daddy, I'm not gonna be nervous, so you don't have to pray for me." Awwww. Of course he told her how he wanted to pray for her anyway and all the time. There is just something about hearing a little girl say "Daddy" that will melt your heart! Mine anyway!

Don't you wish as adults we could think like children. I mean, she is excited about the pageant, and will probably be a little timid in front of the people, but nervous....not so much. When I asked her about what nervous means, she said "It means that you feel really bad." I think God gives us our children for joy, but also to teach us many life lessons! We can learn a lot from our children if we choose to really listen to them!

Spring Break

2010-03-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Hope all of you have had a wonderful spring break. I am ready for some sunshine. All of my plans were for weather that we could at least get out and jump on the trampoline in. But, we have still had a blessed time. Aiden asked if we had to go to school tomorrow and when I said no, he yelled....WoooHoooo!

My little Evan has gotten a sassy mouth on him lately. Don't know where that came from! LOL! We actually had pull the car over and get him out of the car seat to spank him today for screaming at one of us AND a sibling! We need prayer! The other night, he had taken a late nap and refused to go to sleep. We were all tired and I could not get him to sleep. I finally put him in his bed, turned a movie on and in a very aggravated, last straw and elevated tone of voice, very sternly began to lecture him on what I felt his behavior should be for the remainder of the night. (My lecture is funny afterwards, but in the heat of the moment, it was important that he knew what I was thinking...LOL). After the last "and you had better not get up again and I mean it" throught the gritting of my teeth, he looked at me and yelled, "Mama, you be ugy a me!" To which I replied, "yes I am because you are being ugly to me by not going to sleep....NOW GO TO SLEEEP!" Then I left and laughed under my breath! He is so cute....but I still have to discipline! Ya'll all know how that is!

Allee's Boyfriend

2010-03-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight at church, Allison came had dropped Jackson off in class with Allee. She told me that one of the other students was talking about Allee and Jackson being boyfriend and girlfriend. Allison said, "I thought you already had a boyfriend." She said Allee cut her eyes and said, "I know, my mama already talked to me about that."

You see, about 2 weeks ago, Allee was sitting at the kitchen table and said, "Mama, I've got something to tell you. I have a boyfriend and his name is Skyler Cole." Aiden started teasing her about it. I explained to her that she didn't need a boyfriend and that we should only have boyfriend and girlfriends when we were planning to get married. She told me very matter of factly that they were planning to get married, just like Aiden and Karley. So, needless to say, we had a long talk about relationships. From her comment to Allison, I guess maybe she actaully listened. However, she did end her statement to Allison with, "but I still have a boyfriend."

Marriage

2010-03-09T20:31:00.001-08:00

I just want to give a little plug for marriage! Marriage is a wonderful thing. The Lord put woman on this earth to be a help meet for man. Marriage was meant to be beautiful, fun, enjoyable, and happy, among other things. Rick and I have been attending a marriage class for the last 6 weeks and we are loving it. I just wanted to say how happy I am to be married to my husband and how wonderful he is. He is not wonderful because he is perfect, but he is wonderful in spite of not being perfect. Together, we are able to work through our differences to come to a solution that meets both of our needs. A good marriage must have God as the foundation, but also, a good marriage is made of two people who are determined to make each other HAPPY not miserable. So often in talking with people, I find that we are a selfish people. We would much rather have ourselves be happy than others. We will never find true happiness in this attitude. Think of the joy at Christmas time when you are giving to others. The same is true in your relationships. When we give of ourselves, it makes it a lot easier to recieve. Rick always says in his sermons, that as a Christian, you are never sitting still. We are either moving forward, or growing closer to God, or we are falling behind. The same is true in marriage. We cannot afford to let our marriages sit idle. If you are not working daily on improving your marriage, then you are letting your relationship with your spouse fall away. So, I encourage you, if you do not already, to spend some quality time getting to know your spouse all over again. I think you will be suprised what you find out! May God bless you and your home, especially your marriage that the devil is determined to destroy! Love to you all!

Aiden is my star

2010-03-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

At Aiden's school, they have a "Rock star student of the week" each week. They get to bring things to class, etc. Aiden has not gotten this reward all year and he and I have talked a good bit about the behavior that it takes to earn this award. Friday, he brought home the bag and was grinning from ear to ear. He was so excited. He told his daddy that he thought I would scream when I found out he got it. We were on our way to the park on Sat and he asked us if we knew why he was so happy to be the Rock star student. When I asked him why he said, "Because I knew that if I got this you and daddy would be so happy and I want to make you happy." Okay, I really almost cried! How precious. Of course Rick had to explain that we are always happy with him, no matter what, but still, it was adorable and I really think he meant it. He is such a tender hearted child and loves family time. He ask for family time all the time. We were able to enjoy a family day at the park on Sat and it was amazing. We are going to make a point to do that more often.

My little MaMa

2010-03-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know Aiden well....

Last night, Rick had a deacons meeting and the kids and I were home alone. They had found their boxes of board games that I had stored under the bed and had managed to get every piece from every game box and spread all over the living room and bedroom. Usually, they can't stand clean up time, but they both wanted to play a "family game" together so badly, they agreed almost too quickly, to work together and clean up so that we could play. I was in the kitchen fixing supper as I watched them work to clean up the huge mess. Allee is a little chore person. Give her a chore and she takes pride in it. Aiden, on the other hand, could care less. However, he was giving it his best shot. Well, in the midst of the frantic clean up, Aiden got side tracked (imagine that) and began to play with a game piece and paused his clean up. Allee was as busy as she could be. Suddenly, she realized that Aiden had paused. She stopped what she was doing and said, "Aiden, we gotta clean up." He kept playing. "Aiden, momma said, we gotta clean up or we don't get game time." He kept playing. "AIDEN, CONCENTRATE, FOCUS....we have to clean up." Finally, he snapped to and helped. This is words out of my mouth everyday of my life to him. I guess she listens to somethings I say!

A few good Taylor Kid stories

2010-03-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

When I logged in, I can't believe it has been that long since I have updated! It has been a difficult month!

On the lighter side:
Evan has been such a joy lately. He is really talking up a storm and can be so sweet. We watch movies a good bit and one of the kids favorites is "Angel Wars." It is a Christian superhero show. Evan has gotten really fond of this series and asks for it frequently. Well, his little two year old language doesn't allow correct pronunciation of words. We attended an event at Allee's preschool last week and Evan went running to his Sunday school teacher, Ms. Sherry and blurted out: "Hey Ms. Sherry. I watch Angel Hors." His W makes the H sounds. Say it out loud! Yeah. Not so good huh? We were getting ready for bed the other night and he said it again, so I tried to correct him. I made the "W" sound and he repeated the "H" sound. Allee laughed and said, "He said Angel Hors." He screamed, "Allee, NO I NOT say Angel HORS, I say ANGEL HORS!" He could not understand why we were laughing so hard. It was too cute! So, any of you who hear my child ask to watch Angel Hors, please note that we are NOT promoting bad movies, we just need to work on enunciation.

Clean Teeth?

2010-01-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

My story begins with my 2 year old. You all know how funny Evan is and most of you who have multiples know how intense getting ready to go anywhere can be. Well, imagine that times 10 with me getting three under the age of 5 ready for church alone! (Rick leaves early because of early church). I try to let Aiden be independent, until I catch him slow-poking. And, I usually fix all three tooth brushed, lay them on the sink, and as each one gets dressed I say, "now go and brush your teeth and you will be all ready." This morning was no different. We were running, "right on time" as usual and Evan was the first to get ready. So off he goes to brush his "teeff". When it was Allee's turn, she came whining into the living room, "Mama, my toothbrush is empty." I went to discover that Evan had brushed (or at least sucked toothpaste off of) with all three brushes. Hey, at least his teeth were clean!

The second part to this story deals with the crazy parents. A few weeks ago when I was cleaning the toothbrush holder, I broke it and haven't had time to replace it. So, Rick and I have been placing our brushes in the medicine cabinet above the sink. Tonight, I noticed a new tooth brush in a package and decided to throw mine away because it seemed really worn. When Rick came to get ready for bed he said, "Hey, why did you throw my toothbrush away?" I had NO IDEA I had been using his lately and can't tell you when I started. Oh, well. We share everything else, but I will be getting new toothbrushes for the whole family tomorrow!!!!!!!

Fashion Girl

2010-01-31T19:58:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Allee has gotten to be a real dress up maniac. Lately, she strips down and runs around in swimsuits, "beauty pageant", gymnastics leotards, or princess dresses. She will run in a room, hide behind a door and say "announce me mama!" I guess all kids love getting to hear their name called out.

The other day, she was wearing her new robe that Santa brought and she ran into the living room after being "announced" and began dancing around and stripped her robe right off. When we asked her what she was doing, she said, "Daddy, all FASHION GIRLS do that." To which daddy replied, "Not any fashion girls I know."

She also could not take her eyes off of the life size poster of some beer advertisement girl in Jalepenos the other day on the way to the restroom. I was so embarrassed. I mean, she was literally trying to climb the wall to see "that girl" again! What am I going to do with her.

My toes are SORE!

2010-01-14T21:52:00.000-08:00

Long story short, the missionary tonight is a friend of ours, and it was AWESOME! He is so funny and tells the best stories, but I was also very convicted of our duties as Christians. We have it "made" pretty much here in the Bible belt. All Jesus asks us to do is live for him, serve him, serve others, spread His word...simple right? But, how many of us are selfish? How many of us have too little time for others, but plenty of time for ourselves? How many of us look at being stuck in a long line with strangers when we are in a hurry as an opportunity to share Jesus with someone, or look at meeting new people at school, work, ballgames, as Jesus giving you an opportunity to form a relationship that may lead to a church prospect?

Bro. Lancaster reminded us tonight that God is in control. No matter how many times we think we can "fix" it, God knows what is best and He is in control. We must be faithful to His word and His works! It is all about Him and NONE about US! When we (I) can get that in our heads, life will be so much better for everyone! There are lots of things that need "fixing" right now. Let's be careful to put those things in God's hands and LEAVE IT THERE! You all know the old song..."take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there!" He also reminded us of the verse that says..."the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". He illustrated that we (Christians) can "charge" the gates of hell with the power that Jesus gives us. (pretty much) We should not be afraid to witness for Jesus, but rather we should be bold. Guys, we know who wins. Bro. Jamie used a great illustration that I guess I hadn't really thought about, yet it is so simple. He said that the devil saw that he couldn't win. He knows that God is in control. But what he can do is take everyone with him that he can so that he won't have to suffer hell alone. He wants to break families apart, take our children, make us angry with friends and co-workers, and even make us doubt our government. GOD IS IN CONTROL. Do we not think that He knows what all is going on down here? Come on guys! Let's give Him a little credit....

Sleepless in Samantha---Part 2

2010-01-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, it has been a while, but most of you will remember, sleepless in Samantha, with Allee and the night terrors. Evan, now 2 as well, has began a similar pattern. The beginning of Dec he stated cutting all 4 molars and was having some pretty restless nights that you could tell were brought on by pain. From that, we got runny nose, etc, ear drainage, more loss of sleep. I finally got antibiotic this last week. But, for going on 2 weeks now, he is waking in the middle of the night, sometimes he waits until around 5 am or so, screaming bloody murder. He is a big mama's baby, but when he is like this, nothing calms him. It's like he is half asleep, half awake. Sunday morning when Rick left, he screamed for 2 straight hours until he finally drifted back off to sleep. Last night, he got up at 1:45, and at 4:30, I couldn't take anymore, so I left Rick to discipline and went to the other room. He is still sleeping now! These fits seem a little different from Allee. She would act like she was confused, and once fully awake, the crying stopped and she would resume sleep. He is more alert. Almost like he is just being stubborn. He will ask you to hold him, but then he says "stand up mommy. I watch tb (TV) mommy." When you say NO, it's night night, he falls apart all over again. He asks for juice and when you give it to him he has a fit. He kicks his feet and flips and flops. Rick finally spanked him (that's why I left) and I think he went to sleep relatively soon afterward. However, I can spank him with no result! (imagine that).

Please pray for our situation, once again. I really don't know what my lesson is in all of this, but I know God has a plan for sending 3 sleepless children to the Taylor home! And I know the lesson is for the parents! LOL! But, Rick and I are leaving on a youth trip Friday and will not return until Mon. Evan will be staying with NaNa's and I don't want them to have to deal with this. Please , please, PRAY that he will be good for them! We are seriously considering one of us staying behind after last night...

Where is your mission field?

2010-01-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, we are in the beginning of our Mission revival. I love this time of year because it was during a missions revival at Sulphur Springs that I first felt God tugging at my heart to do something more for Him, and He has never ceased to continue to tug at my heart during this same revival every year.

Rick started us out Sunday night preaching to our church about our committments: spiritually, financially, our faithfulness, etc. Tonight we had two men who are planning to plant a church in Arizona. I love when people come to share their hearts. There is always a situation where you may be thinking, "There are starving people in Africa and we wanta start a church in the US?" And then men like those tonight come and preach their heart! WOW!

We serve an amazing God! I am blessed that I live in a state where the majority of the people I come in contact with (even at Wal-Mart) at least know who Jesus is. They probably even attend a church. If they don't attend, they probably know someone who does. For those of us reading who live in the Bible belt...Do we realize how blessed we are to live among believers? Do we take advantage of our opportunities? Do we build up or tear down the cause of Christ? I don't think I thank God enough for calling me to Northport, AL...Sulphur Springs...Samantha.

Part of Rick's message was, let's do our part to support our missionaries this week, but let's not lose sight of our own mission field! Our community is our personal church mission field. If we can't reach our community, then we probably can't reach people in Africa, or France or Uraguay! Your mission field may be your family, your friends, your children! Let's all make a personal goal this year to find our mission field, then act on it! It is time to get busy for the cause of Christ! Pray for your opportunities, and pray for me as I try to find mine!

Please join us for a wonderful time in Christ this week at Sulphur Springs...7 PM thru Thursday!

You're Pushin Me!

2010-01-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been "pushed" to your boiling point? After snow on Thursday, school on Friday, and Upward BK all day Saturday, Rick and I were to attend our annual Missions Banquet to kick off the revival this week. The kids were staying with NaNa Jan. So the short of it is, we had a long weekend, and a long night, picking kids up late and very tired. We got home at 10:00, so by the tme we had everyone situated, it was getting late. Aiden had found his leapster on the way home and was playing intensely. I had told him to put it away at least 3 times (2 times too many). My patience was growing thin and I was trying to keep from spanking the cute little boy I had just picked up who was very tired and needing to go to bed. If you all know my Aiden, you know his biggest issue is his mouth(don't know where he gets that. LOL). He likes to "argue...talk back" whatever you want to call it...I call it disrespect! The one sure way to get my blood pressure up too! I had heard, "But Mama" one too many times. Finally, when I was just about to lose control, I said, "Aiden, you had better get in that bed right now. You have pushed me and pushed me and pushed me until you are about to make me angry." (I was a "little" loud..LOL). He looked at me with his little tear filled eyes, stopped crying and whining in mid sentence and said very matter of factly...."Now Mama, I did not PUSH you!" Ha Ha! Going back to a previous post....persepective!

Another week gone by...

2010-01-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? Another week gone by! The old saying goes that life passes by much quicker the older you get and I would echo that! As most of you, we were out for the 2010 snow storm yesterday LOL! I am so off schedule. I have felt completely lazy and winter bluesy (is that a word) for the last couple of weeks. I think the cold air and lack of sunshine and Vit D is getting to me! Is is called, Cabin fever?

We heard that NaNa T was getting snow yesterday a.m and we weren't, so off we went! We had a blast. The kids love Abbi and DJ and Evan even made a new friend in Zach! Thanks for playing! Mr. David had fixed a "sled" that they pulled behind a 4-wheeler. How red-neck can we be? Even better, there was no snow on the ground, just wet, but boy did that sled fly! They had a ball. My boys dared the danger (going slow and straight, of course). Evan loved it and did not want to get off. I left it to NaNa T to pull him from the bitter cold and force him inside.

The game was great afterward! What a day!

Now, it's Friday! WOW! We have another day of Upward. All of you please pray for me and my attitude (LOL), our devotion times, our participants and their parents, our workers, and especially for all of the unsaved who may be attending!

Catch up

2010-01-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, now that last few months run down....

Evan has been cutting 2 year molars for over a month (hence, no sleep for us, no blog for you).
Finally has 2 bottom ones in. Turned two on Christmas. Celebrated with b'day party on 18th - CARS.

Allee has successfully learned to write her name, pretty well too. She is starting to get a little sick and continues to be a true girl.

Aiden is playing Upward bk for the first time. He is the youngest of the group, but is having a ball. He is doing really good in school.

They all had a great Christmas! Trampoline from Santa! No injuries yet, but they beg to jump everyday...don't understand cold weather!

Church is going great, just busy as usual. Always more to do that what I feel like we can get done. Our Christmas play went very well!

My niece is home from Hawaii for a while. The babies are gorgeous. We are so excited to have them all here with us!

It's All Perception

2010-01-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

Long time huh? Sorry guys, you all know how it is. Kids, holidays, birthday party...the list goes on and on and my busy schedule uses all of my energy. I can only blog or facebook after bedtime and that has been crazy lately. I have chosen sleep (little of it anyway).

Lots to catch up on, but I want to post my thoughts first. We began our first day of the 2010 Upward season at Sulphur Springs today. It went well. Rick and I, as well as others, play a huge role in the process of organization and such for the league. For those of you who know me, you know that I stress of the small stuff (hey, I read the book...it didn't help. LOL). Even when I try not to, I am detail oriented and it matters to me! Of course, God would see otherwise. But, I didn't consult with Him immediately. Long story short, my lesson learned or reminded of this last week has been..."It's all about Perception." It took my son to really drive this in. After stressing of getting three kids out of bed, ready, preparing all of my duties, camera ready, etc., I was pretty wired. When we finally sat down to watch Aiden's first game, I had Allee crying for a pop tart (which I brought) Evan crying for Daddy and Aiden, (who were on the game bench) and I was trying to get the video ready, while answering questions about the flow of game day and eating my sausage biscuit and Mt. Dew. It was starting out wonderfully! Well, because of the busy sch., I haven't been to any practices. Rick had warned me that Aiden may not do great. I had already decided that I wasn't going to push him to perfection on this, as long as he was having fun. However, when my son was "dancing" around his opponent and had no clue that the game was even going on, I admit, frustration set in. Sadly, I will probably be ashamed of myself when I re-watch the video. Let's just say, I wasn't encouraging enough. I called Aiden over at half time and said, "Son, can you stop "dancing" around the players and try to get to the ball?" So innocently, he looked up at me and said, "Mom, I'm not dancing, I'm showing them my moves." I relaxed then and realized, it's all about perception. Later, when it was time for the "star presentation", Aiden was presented his star last, but he received the only white star issued- Christlike. His little fist went up in the air as he mouthed "YES!" Afterward, he told me his favorite part was when he scored the goal (he never shot the ball--LOL). I finally got the nerve to ask him what goal was he talking about, and he was talking about when someone passed him the ball and he passed it on!

Now, if that doesn't put things into perspective, I don't know what will. It brought me down a notch! He had a ball and didn't even notice anything negative. I pray that I would put my negativity aside so that my children and others can always find the positive. For those of you who always find the postitive, pat yourself on the back. You deserve it! For those of you who don't, let's make a new year's resolution to do better.

Thankful

2009-11-09T08:32:00.002-08:00

I am thankful that Evan fell asleep for a nap. God knew that my "to do" list was too big to accomplish without the nap!

The Honest Scrap Award

2009-11-08T11:30:00.001-08:00

Thanks to my friend Angie at http://cannoncreations.blogspot.com/

Here are the rules for the award:
1) You must thank the person who gave the award and list their blog and link it.
2) You must share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.
3) You have to present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.
4) Last, you must tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

10 Honest Things:
1. I love Jesus.
2. I love Mt. Dew. Can hardly go a day without one!
3. I can't stand to unload the dishwasher. I would rather wash the dishes by hand.
4. I love to sleep in (even though I never get to).
5. I still love going on dates with my wonderful husband.
6. I love having meetings. I know that sounds weird, but it gives my that feeling of accomplishment.
7. I can't stand junk mail, phone solicitors, etc. I hang up on the phone people that don't speak instantly, and I don't feel bad about it anymore.
8. I love to read, just don't get to do it enough.
9. I would love to have a few more kids....IF I was rich and had started having them a lot younger in life.
10. I can honestly say, I think my family is complete!

I am thankful

2009-11-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

1. I am thankful for my salvation.
2. I am thankful for my family.
3. I am thankful for my blogging friends.
4. I am thankful for my church family and friends.
5. I am thankful for my home.
6. I am thankful for my GODLY husband.
7. I am thankful that God called me and my husband into the ministry.
8. I am thankful for GREAT parents and in-laws.

Just a Thought

2009-11-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

If we could all go back to thinking the thoughts of a child, the world would be a better place to live!

As most of you know, we are transitioning into Allee getting her own room. We live in a 3 bedroom house, and Allee was sleeping in Aiden's room, while Evan's babybed was in her room and he had no room! Now that Evan is out of the babybed, the boys are sharing and Allee is excitedly getting her own room.

My SIL was gracious enough to give us a twin bed and told us we could paint it or whatever. The bed needs freshening up just a bit and I am excited about doing this for Allee to make it special to her. However, my dreams for doing the room, bed, etc. all at one time and having a big "surprise" revealing are not going to come true. Allee was so excited about the bed that we put it up and put her in her unfinished room.

When I told Allee not to worry about how it all looked, that Mommy was going to fix it up with paint, she said, "You don't have to paint it. I like it like it is. It is beautiful." The room is mismatched and thrown together right now. But, everytime someone comes over that hasn't seen it, she proudly announces, "Do you want to come see MY NEW ROOM?"

When she did that today, it made me think about how ungrateful most of us are. We think everything has to be perfect and well put together. We think we have to give everything a "fresh coat of make-up", so to speak, in order for us to use it. This includes new Christians, new friends, and even material things like clothes and furniture. Now, don't get me wrong, we should all take care of ourselves and our posessions that God has blessed us with, but that CAN'T be the most important thing. My little girl showed me how we are guilty of teaching our children at a young age to expect nothing but the best, however, the best is different in a child's eyes. Let' be careful to keep that true! Kids don't see materialistic differences! When does that change? When do they learn to look down their nose at others and what they have or don't have? I fear that is a learned behavior. And sometimes, unfortunately, that behavior is learned from their parents.

Thanks, Allee, for opening my eyes and for keeping things so simple. Be proud of who you are and what God has blessed you with, no matter what that may be!

Evan holds on

2009-09-25T08:21:00.001-07:00

I have been babysitting some this week as well as working at the training room for my sick boss. I was coming to the FLC to use the internet in Rick's office and as we were crossing the street, I grabbed for Evan's hand. It hit me, that usually when I do this, I don't have to grab him if we are going somewhere he wants to go, he holds my finger as tight as his little hand will wrap around mine and walks as fast as his little legs will allow. But if we are going and he doesn't want to go, like home from church, for instance, I have to hold his wrist as tight as I can and pull and lead him in the right direction.

Isn't that just like us and God. When we are excited about the direction God is taking us, man, we hold on tight to God. We wouldn't even think of letting go, for fear of danger or sadness, etc. But when God asks us to do something we don't want to do, like giving up a sin in our life, or forgiving someone we don't want to, or serving, etc. , God has to hold on tighter to us and lead us in the right direction.

Aren't you glad that God doesn't let go of us and that we can always hold tight to Him!

We had an awesome revival this week and I praise God for His goodness and His mercy. Please pray for all the lost people today, especially our family members. May we all be more concerned for the soul of the lost sinner.

Aiden cuts shirt

2009-09-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

Aiden came home with a nice little note from school yesterday. He apparently decided that he would use his scissors to cut a nice hole in his shirt. When the teacher asked him what happened and why, he told her that he cut because he wanted to. Well, at least he didn't lie, but Rick had a long talk with him. The teacher said she explained how we need to take care of our things because Mommy and Daddy spent good money on our things. Maybe we won't have to deal with that again.

Daddy's REAL Job

2009-09-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

Poor Daddy! Just to preface this post, I love my husband, and he does a wonderful job as the pastor of our church, the daddy of our home, and being my husband.

Rick was getting ready to go to his office and do "church stuff" like studying, phone calls, etc., and Allee asked where he was going. He said, I'm going to work. She asked where and he said, "To the office." She replied, "Oh, I thought you were going to your "real" job far away."

Rick got a huge kick out of that. Blessed as we are to have somewhat flexible schedules and our kids see us a good bit, what they don't see is what all we "really" do. I don't know why Allee is having such a hard time knowing what "daddy does." Daddy does a lot that she doesn't see. Maybe one day she will see the sacrifices we have made for "daddy" to be able to do the job he does.

We love you daddy and we appreciate ALL you do for us and others.

Too Busy

2009-09-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or do all of you feel as busy as I do? Life seemed so much simpler when I was a child. I don't remember going all the time and being a run ragged as I feel now. Last week is a blur. We try to take care of our families by doing activities and being involved, and yet, sometimes, our families are the ones to suffer the most. Let's just say, by Friday night, after a long week of craziness, a long day of church errands, picking up kids from school, room mom meeting, painting at the church, I think we ate supper and bathed....I was spent! Unfortunatlely when my youngest knocked over the toybox that I had just filled with toys before bedtime, I took my frustration out on him by screaming at him. Like he knew. He was just being a little boy. (Mischievious little boy, but nontheless...) When I realized how upset he had gotten, I got upset and was comforted by my oldest, who probably had the fear of God in him by this point and knew not to rock the boat. Afterward, I was able to find some alone time with God and talked to Rick and all was well.

I guess my point is, and I spoke on this a couple of weeks ago at a ladies retreat, be sure to not "busy" yourself out of a family and into a mental institute. Also, and we all know this but are still guilty of slipping up as I did, take time with God early! It doesn't have to be first thing, but early in your day. This reminds us that God is in control and not us. We can't function alone and we need His daily guidance to help us make decisions and not "crack up". Don't pour all of your energy into your family (kids, spouse, etc) and live no energy for yourself and your relationship with God. If we do this we may find ourselves waking years later to an empty home, but worse...an empty HEART! Let Jesus fill your heart with joy and transfer that joy to others. Let's all be a witness for Him today!

Corn is a vegetable....by Aiden

2009-09-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Life is busy at house. I know it is for you all too. Wednesdays are especially busy due to church. I try to get everything done before hand so the kids can go straight to bed afterward. Today, Aiden claims he was starving to death and couldn't get homework (reviewing numbers, writing and reading) accomplished until after a snack. I told him he could have a snack before I even thought about how close it was to supper, due to earlier eating for church night. He already had asked for chips and I was trying to convince him to eat a fruit instead so that he wouldn't spoil his appetite. As I was convincing, I stumbled across a small bag of corn chips and had a brain loss or something and asked if he wanted those. He said, "What are they Mama?" "Corn chips," I said. A big smile and eyebrow raise came across his face. "Mama, that will be good for me to eat, because corn is a vegetable and vegetables are good for you." He turned his little self around and marched off eating his healthy snack, never to know any different.

He has already learned so much in school. He has a wonderful teacher. I can't believe how he is picking up on the reading already. His teacher has them do a writing journal. They have to draw a picture and then write a sentence about the picture. She was sharing his folder (which stays in class) with us at open house. She encourages them to write the words they are trying to say, even if they don't know how. It is so cute to see the way they spell things. I am really amazed that she even knows what he means in the "sentences". One picture he drew and the sentence was "I went to church." He had drawn a stick man at a pulpit, (daddy of course) and several pews (straight lines) with stick people on them facing the preacher. Pretty impressive. He had packed the church full of as many stick people that would fit on the pew! That's what I like. Seeing a child with a heart for God! LOL!

Seriously, we have been studying obedience in Children's Church and it is really making a difference in my kids. We have tried reward charts before and they haven't worked, but along with prayer and a revived heart on my part, we have started getting stickers on a chart each time I "catch" them being obeidient...without whining, stomping, or a bad attitude. Their behavior overall has been better. We still have our fights, but it is a work in progess. Thank you Jesus. You are so good to us and we are so undeserving!

Evan mocks!

2009-09-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

They learn fast! Doing what others do is not a good trait, but it is inevitable. Cute story from the Taylor bunch.

Sunday, in the midst of chaos as usual, I was preparing to leave for a meeting before p.m. service, leaving Rick to tend to the youngsters. Of course, there was whining to go with me. While I am trying to get ready and ignore the cries of the young, Evan comes running into my room screaming in pain. He had been playing in the living room with Allee, so I asked, "Allee, do you know what is wrong with your brother?" Very unconcerned and dry, she replies, "Yes, I shut his finger in the drawer." "Why did you do that, Allee?" "Because he put them in there!" Okay, I can deal with this. So I am explaining to her why it is important to be nice and help our younger brother, she is half way listening, Evan is still snubbing, and I am still getting my things together....Allee comes around the table and WHAM! hits her forehead really hard on one of the bar stools. The crying begins! I assume Rick will see how she is since he is closer, but he continues working, as if she needs no attention and really isn't hurt, so Mommy to the rescue. I squat down beside her to investigate the damage and spot a red area that seems to be okay. As I am kissing the boo-boo, Evan approaches my side, looks at Allee, looks at me, and I still can't believe I saw this from my 21 month old, but he takes his head and intentionally bops it on the bar stool, gives a really pathetic attempt at a whine/cry and lunges for me to hold him.

As I am cracking up out loud at what just happened, I walked out the door for Rick to deal with all the drama!

New Puppy

2009-09-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, actually we have had it for a month, but you know me and my updates. His name is Rosco (other names considered, Jack (by Aiden), Puddle (by Allee) and Porkchop (by Daddy). Aiden finally named him! My cousin blessed us with this adorable Jack Russell Terrier. We were excited to get him because we have a fence and all. Well, by looking at the pictures you can see the fence doesn't help. He can crawl under, through or between anything, he is so tiny! He is all puppy! Teething and biting. He is a great dog. He fetched for us on the first day, never barks and loves to run and play, AND all of the kids can pick him up easily! I can't believe we added something else to our lives, but so far he has been no trouble at all! Evan says, when you ask him about the puppy, "Osco bite me". But Evan is the one who shows the most interest. Now that he has starting nibbling on toes, Allee runs from him (she always has exposed toes in flip flops). Aiden tried to take him for a ride in the little coup car, which seems nice, except he put him through the hole in the handle and the poor thing was hanging there by his neck....not barking though! We had a long talk about that!

Random Summer Pics

2009-08-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Allee, Aiden , Evan at Nathan's B'day Aiden's 5 Year B'day
Evan being silly

Aiden at VBS - Camo night

Allee at VBS - Crazy Hair

Allee and Aiden at Nathan's party

Kindergarden "Here I Come"

2009-08-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

Aiden started his first day at Walker Elem yesterday. He absoultely loved it! Except for P.E. He said those "referrees" wouldn't let them play, even though they told them they could. "All they did was talk to us." He cried this morning because he didn't want to go to school. When I asked him why, he said because he didn't want to go to P.E. Poor thing...first day and already found something to fuss about. Otherwise, it was a huge sucess.
I didn't really get sad until I took Allee to pre-school this morning. Then it hit me. Aiden went to pre-school for 3 years and now Allee is in her second year. It was strange to take her in without him. She didn't seem to mind, though. She was very excited to see all her friends. I can't believe I am already in this place. Sending my first off to his first day of 13 years, if the Lord tarries. It's a little scary, but I am happy for him.

As you all can see, I have been out all summer. We did lots of fun things and were on the go a lot, but with three small children at home all day and slow internet, no time for posting blogs and writing. Maybe now I can beging to get back on track. I've missed you guys!

Know too much

2009-06-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

I tried to upload pic, but after 10 min I gave up, so here is a random story for you!

Quick disclaimer: Against better judgement that we (I) usually have on our children's viewing privaledges, I found Spider Man 1 and 2 for $5 each and had them in my gift closest. Aiden LOVES SM! So, for V-day, instead of candy, that is what he got. He loves the "real" Peter Parker and watches the movie as often as we let him. Also, if you haven't seen the movie, disregard this post.

We were riding home from town and Aiden was watching SM. He was saying, "No Peter, watch out, that spider is gonna bite you!" I quickly explained to him that the spider had to bite Peter or the movie wouldn't be called SpiderMan. He said, "Yeah, I know Mom. If the spider didn't bite him the movie would just be called 'Peter Parker' and that would be silly!" Then on the way home yesterday, watching part 2 now, the end was on at the part where Mary Jane (the love of his life) had chosen to love SpiderMan, despite knowing the danger involved and the dedication he would have to others. They are discussing their future when SpiderMan hears a siren in the distance which indicates he has to leave her to go and help. She says, "Go gett'em tiger". Aiden asks, "Mom, why did she call Peter a tiger?" I laughed and deferred the question to Daddy. Daddy said, "Oh, she's just being silly." (It gets better). Allee chimed in "Aiden, Mary Jane just wants to know if Peter Pawrker will come to her wedding."

So, all that to say, too much spiderman is NOT a good thing. That and the fact he literally tries to climb the walls!

Aiden turns 5

2009-06-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Oh My!!!! I can't believe it! My baby turned 5 today. As I am writing this, I am full of mixed emotions. Part of me wants to go into my room, shut the door, get all of my home videos and pile up on the bed watching and crying, thinking of all the times I could have been nicer, taught him a better lesson, yelled less, been a better mom....you know, think of how fast the years have gone by! It seems like yesterday that I was being wheeled down that scary hallway to the delivery room! But the other part of me chokes back tears of joy and thankfulness that God allowed him to be born in the first place! Most of you know the story of my little miracle and the close call he had with death and I am so happy that he is celebrating his 5th birthday. How can I even think of being sad when he brings me such joy and each day that he grows he learns something more, something different and faces new obstacles. We measured him today and he had grown an inch since March. Pre-school graduation was tough and I know the first day of "big boy" school will be worse. (Okay, I've got to stop before I drown....thanks to my bf, I just finished watching a sad episode of Jon and Kate, too.)

On a lighter note, you all know my Aiden well. He catches on to all that you say. I am always saying how I don't want him to grow up. Today he told me that it is going to be okay that he is growing up because he will just learn more new stories to tell me as he gets older.

He was also flirting with a school friend in church yesterday and had to be moved, his temper has been awful today....I think instead of turning 5 he reverted to 2! But he's my baby and I love him dearly! I can't imagine my life without him (or the others either, of course). I just wish my writing could let you all know him the way we do! He actually did a little marital counseling today. Rick and I were "discussing" our events for the day and our schedule was conflicting a little and I was trying to "help" get it all done to decress his stress. Anywho..we were all in the vehicle together while we were "discussing" (truly, it wasn't a fight), and Aiden (always listening) chimed in to help. I had just said something to the effect of 'you just need to do what you need to do and not worry about me and the kids, we'll do our own thing.' Meaning, don't let our schedule hinder yours. Aiden said, "Dad, I think Mom is right. You just do what you need to do and we will do what we need to do and then ya'll don't have to fight." I quickly told him we were not fighting and then Rick and I got a big laugh out it. So he may be a counselor. He worked for us!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDEN! WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

P.S. You know I would love to post a pic but I am one of the 5 people left in the US still on dial up so whereas this post took 5 min to load, the pic would take an eternity! Post some when I can! Hang with me guys.

Updated pictures

2009-05-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Easter at my Granny Earnest! All the Great-Grandkids except for 4 that live out of town. Isn't she blessed! Thanks for a great day! My Family at Easter Service !

Kids at the Montgomery Zoo!

There would be more pics. But is taking 20 forevers to load one image and I have many errands to complete today. Maybe I can get to the office and catch up on birthday pics, zoo, ect. Hang with me guys. I am doing the best I can!

Can I go to your wedding?

2009-05-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Allee and I were setting up for Ladies Night Out and out of the blue she said, "Mom, when are we going to go to the wedding?" "What wedding Allee?" "Your's and Daddy's!" "Well, Allee, Mommy and Daddy have already had one wedding. We probably won't have another one." Burst into pouty tears! "Allee, why are you crying?" "Because I really wanted to go to your wedding!" God love her! She is so cute and thoughtful and emotional....oh, no....she's all GIRL!

She also asked me about what we were doing. This was the conversation.

Allee: What we doin mommy.
Me: Setting up for our Ladies Night Out.
Allee: What's that?
Me: Well, we eat and have a speaker.
Allee: Am I gonna come?
Me: Well, I hadn't planned on it, but I guess you could.
Allee: Yeah, I want to.
Me: It will probably be boring to you, you have to sit really still.
Allee: I can do that.
Me: You can?
Allee: Uh, huh. What ya'll gonna eat.
Me: Well, we're gonna have ham.
Allee: Ummmm, I love ham.
Me: And green beans...
Allee: Ummm, I love green beans.
Me: and corn
Allee: on the cob?
Me: No.
Allee: corn off the cob?
Me: yes
Allee: ummm, I love corn off the cob.
Me: and hasbrown casserole
Allee: ummm, I love hashbrown casserole.
Bless her heart. I hope she doesn't figure out that she didnt' get to go, b/c she CANNOT sit still!

She got her costume for her gymnastics "decital" as she calls it. It will be in two weeks. She is so excited.

A whole Month----Seriously

2009-04-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! Am I a loser or what? JK. So much has happened and you all know my computer and internet situation. I haven't had time to get to town except for groceries. And, now, our computer crashed, so this may be a last note for a while. LOL. Let's see if I can catch you up.

Easter - Wonderful week and weekend. We had an Easter drama at church and because of our lack of a new building, we had to have service in the FLC for room. Setting up a gym to look like a sanctuary takes lots and lots of time! Most our our first two weeks of April were spent there! All went well at the service. We had tons of people and good fun. We got to visit all of the family after church for our egg hunt. Evan didn't really care for hunting his first eggs. He would rather throw them like a ball. My Granny had a little ceramic dog sitting in her flower bed with an egg hid beside it. Evan wouldn't get the egg because he would shiver at the dog, thinking it was real. It was so cute! Allee still loves to hunt and eat the eggs! Aiden is in limbo. Whatever everyone else does is okay with him.

Spring Break - Spring Break was very busy for us. We went to the Montgomery Zoo with MiMi and the boys and had lots of fun. Aiden didn't much care for eating beside the giraffes because of the smell! He told Allee if she would breath out instead of in she wouldn't smell it! We also spent a night at the River. They love going there, but do not understand that the water just isn't warm enough to get in yet. I had to work, so the trip was a little short. I am filling in at NHS until the end of the school year, so life just got busier! (if that is possible).

WAC - We had our WAC (Women Active For Christ) State Meeting this weekend. I was in great need of spiritual renewal, and God really showed up! I was amazed at His work. On Friday night, we had an executive committee meeting and shared some prayer request. I shared that I wanted everyone to pray for my neice in Hawaii that God would send someone to witness to her and help mentor her while she was there, living on a military base with her new husband and one year old, expecting another! Last night, my mom told me that someone invited them to church! WOW GOD! That's fast! I have been praying for months, but the power of Gods people praying in one accord works miracles! Thank you to anyone who prayed for her and please continue.

God showed me and reminded me this weekend of how valuable our time with him is. He spoke the same message to me through four different people this weekend, our president on Friday night, a dear friend who shared a devotion on Sat, our National Sec/Tre on Sat, and my own husbands message on Sunday. I have been struggling with getting alone time with God and have been guilty of making the excuse that God will have to understand because He knows my position with the kids distracting me and the things that I HAVE to get done. Right? Wrong! Boy did He remind me....WRONG! God desires to fellowship with us. And I not talking about that little bit of reading our bible and saying our night time prayer just to check that off of our to-do list! I am talking about FELLOWSHIP! COMMUNICATION! Like we do with our own spouse or children! Ya'll have heard me say all of this before, but I am sure you, like me, need to be reminded from time to time. I have to give God glory and praise. He woke me up at 5 am and let the kids stay asleep and I actually got to spend quality time with Him this morning. Thank you God!

One other quick praise item....Aiden and Allee had a slight 4-wheeler wreck on Sat. Aiden did not see the ditch and hit it, causing Allee to fall off! She hit the gravel face first. I had to pick rocks out of her back teeth. She has a few scratches on her lip and her inside jaw was bit, but other than that, no damage. Thank you God for protecting my babies and making what could have been bad, not so bad!

Hope you all have a wonderful week. Sorry this was quick. I will try to keep posted better. I have missed telling you tons of funny kid stories, but I felt this was most important today!

Also, our 7th annual Ladies Night Out is May 1st. The B Team Angels are speaking. Starts at 7pm. All ladies welcome. Hope to see you there.

So much happening

2009-04-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so much has happened since tubes, I do not have time to catch up. Overall, Evan in doing great. We had a great check up and he has been sleeping well, for the most part. We now have runny nose and low grade temp from cutting molars I am sure! We had 15 mo check up and weigh a whopping 20.8 pounds! I can't believe he is already this old. He has gotten such a personality (and temper) lately. He is beginning to communicate in his own language in sentences....too bad I have no idea what he wants. I understand lots of individual words, but when he talks in sentences, it is mumbo-jumbo! So cute, though!

The other day, during chaotic bath time, Rick went to get Aidens PJs and found Evan in Aidens room alone, sitting on the TOP BUNK! Needless to say, the ladder is now removed during daytime hours and only put up when Evan is sleeping.

On a different note, church has been busy and wonderful. We had a v-ball tourn last weekend that was a ton of fun! Well, I was a little too competitive, but I just can't help it! Fun anyway! I was reading in my Sunday School lesson that was on Love this week and it points out how Love is a commandment from God. It also says that we are to not only show love to God, but to everyone. How are our children ever going to learn to show love to others and God, if we dont show that same love. We are their examples. Do your children see you showing love to others? Too Christ? How will they learn to be Christ like if they don't see it? How much do we REALLY love others? How will you show love today? Love is an ACTION, not just an EMOTION!

Evan got tubes

2009-03-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today was the day! Evan got tubes in his ears and he did great. NaNa T came and met us yesterday to get Aiden and Allee to spend the night, so we had a fun night with just the little one. He is growing up so fast. He is so fast. I can't keep up with him. He woke up when we put him in the car at 5:30, and stayed awake. My biggest concern was him wanting food. He did fine for the first hour, but around 7:15, when we had been playing ball for 45 min to occupy him, he whined for a "nack". We redirected his attention, and that was that. He was so good. No crying until they were bringing him back to the room and it stopped instantly when he got Mommy, froggy and juice! I was concerned that we may not need them since he had seemed a little better lately, but the doc informed us that he still had significant fluid on the L. So, I am glad we did. Thanks for all of your prayers and continue to pray that this will help him rest better!

Evan and doughnuts

2009-03-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that all three of my boys LOVE sweets! Rick, Aiden and Evan could eat their weight in doughnuts! Aiden can eat a whole dozen of krispy kreme if you don't watch him. He even sneaks and gets them if they are around and trys to hide that he has them.

Well, Evan is carrying on the tradition. Yesterday morning after he had already eaten breakfast, he started whining and we didn't know what he wanted. Rick got him up and he and I were talking while Evan was pointing toward the "snack" cabinet. We weren't really paying much attention to him and all of a sudden he took his pacy out of his mouth and I swear he said in his little baby voice mumbo jumbo..."i wanna doughnut." Rick and I looked at each other at the same time and said, "did he say doughnut." When we got the white powdered doughnut from the cabinet the kid went crazy....bouncing, smiling, screaming with excitement.

However, he is picky. I tried to break one in half to give to him to decrease the mess and he stomped his foot and shook his head. I immediately offered him a whole one and he gladly accepted and devoured it! He is a mess!

Birthday lunch with MiMi

2009-03-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

After the ears, we picked Aiden up from school and talked them into chips and dip from Jalepeno's for Allee's lunch! They sang the birthday song in Spanish! Allee was so tickled. She wasn't so sure about the hat though and Aiden was more focused on sitting on the donkey outside! Thanks again MiMi. We had a blast....and thanks to Daddy for keeping Evan home so we could enjoy our girls day out! BTW - MiMi took her in the shoe store......BIG MISTAKE! The girl is picky and wants it all! After trying on virtually every shoe in the store, she ended up with princess house shoes which she insisted on wearing out of the store. As a matter of fact, that is them in the window seal behind her in the picture!

Allee Beth Gets Earrings

2009-03-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

Allee turns 3 this Saturday. MiMi has been wanting to get her ears pierced for an entire year. I finally agreed. So, MiMi called and we let Allee skip school on Monday to get it done. She was so excited. I kept telling her it would hurt and she said matter of factly (just gotta know her), "No, it aint gonna hurt me cuz I'm strong." I would say, Yes, it will hurt and she would argue, "No it won't." So off we go! I tried to make sure she understood before we began the process, but she still wanted them. So she picked out the cute pink flower earrings and below is the process!

Allee waiting in the chair...very excited!

She gets the dots on her ears to mark the spot!

Getting them cleaned.

Gun in position...she still thinking "it aint gonna hurt."

She tried to hold her tears. I think she was more shocked that in pain. She still wanted them though. She looked so pitiful. The cry was more of a whimpering sad boo hoo.

Second ear. I was shocked she sat so still. She said it hurt but she was ready for the second one.

All done! "It hoorts!"

Seconds later....Thank you MiMi...I love my new earrings!

She has done well with the cleaning "3 times a day" so far and no complaints. I hope she keeps it up. They really are cute! Thanks MiMi!

Snow Picture Updates

2009-03-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

You all know me and my computer. Just now getting time to get these in. Aiden asked when we would get snow again b/c he had so much fun! I told him it could be years!!!!

The Taylor Family before church. Poor little Evan didn't even have shoes on and it was still snowing hard!Aiden wanted to build a big snow man. I started he and Allee a small ball. He was making the middle, Allee the head and me the bottom. His ball got bigger than mine real fast! He was so excited.Allee was proud of her ball too! The finished product! Aiden didn't like the fact that we didn't have all the right things for his face, like a carrot nose! Oh well. When you live in Alabama, you don't stay prepared for the snowman making contest!

Wonderful Weekend - AND Aiden Funny!

2009-03-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

Okay...so we live in Alabama and the weather outside is frightful... WHAT A WEEKEND!
First, we had Upward Awards scheduled for Friday night and the program was great, but the weather....what a mess! Warm, tornado threats, thunderstorms, etc. I was scheduled to work a SB tourny Sat a.m. Well, I knew that wasn't going to happen. By morning, the rain had not stopped, but the temp started to slowly drop. By afternoon, it was frigid. By midnight we had snow! This morning we woke to a beautiful yard full of the white stuff. I thought my kids would jump out of their skin. Aiden was the cutest: "Moma, it really did snow. Can we make snow angels, and snow balls, and play, and snowmen, and..and..and..." "Yes, son, but you have to wait!" "Mama, I am so thankful that God gave us the beautiful day with snow." Awwww. I will post more on snow when I get my pics uploaded. So, in Alabama, you can wear shorts on Thu, raincoat and mudders on Fri, long sleeve on Sat, and coveralls on Sun. And then repeat it the next week. It will be 20 tomorrow night and 76 on Friday!

During this wonderful weekend, my son has really been acting the part of a gentlemen. I have noticed he is trying to be more helpful, esp when cleaning up toys. Friday, the kids were getting to watch a movie, but were to clean up before. Allee had made a mess in her room and was refusing to pick up. I was trying to help and had already told Aiden he was excused because he did not make this mess. He came back in and started helping anyway, and before I could get Allee to pick up one toy, he had cleaned them all! As I was bragging on him (he loves the bragging) for doing such a good job and being so helpful to his Sissy and Mommy, I was being a little silly and said
"Aiden, you are the best "cleaner upper" that I know." (Now, you have to know Aiden...)
He turned and with a very serious face said, "Mom, I think you mean "cleaner" (emphasizing the word)...I am the best "cleaner" you know.
"Yeah, that's what I meant."
"Mom, you said cleaner upper....hey, cleaner upper...that....."
"Matches! (Again, being silly, finishing his sentence)
"Mooommm! Match is when things "looookkk" alike, RHYME is when words have the same ending."

Thank you "4 year old son of mine " for my grammer lesson!

Little one don't sleep

2009-02-27T08:10:00.000-08:00

So we finally got our ears checked, thanks to advice from Kim. He did have a small amount of fluid on both ears. The doctor gave us the option of tubes or nasonex nose spray. I decided on the nose spray to buy some time to decide, but we are still very restless, not sleeping (me, Rick or him) and very irratable at night, so I think we are leaning toward tubes. My feeling is it is too simple of a procedure to split hairs over. If it will give him the chance of some relief, I think I am willing to take the chance. Please pray we will make the right decision.

The picture is of Evan in our car. The kids got a DVD player for the car from their special sitters (second family) and Evan has really began to enjoy it. We have been playing one of Aiden's movies, "Angel Wars", over and over, just for the sake of not having to change the DVD and the kids don't seem to mind. Evan is so spoiled now. He gets in the car and starts pointing. When he is watching, he is mesmorized, as pictured above. Now, he will NOT watch TV or movies in the house!!!! Too funny!

Nursery Rhyme Week

2009-02-27T08:01:00.000-08:00

This week was nursery rhyme week at preschool. We new we were having dress up at the beginning of the month, but I always wait till the last minute. Aiden wanted to be humpty dumpty and Allee wanted to be Cinderella (not a nursery rhyme). Ms. Crystal told us that SLT was wearing her old fashioned day dress, so I thought that was a great idea. So we looked for a character that I thought would fit her dress and came up with "Mary had a little lamb" and Rick talked Aiden into being "Old MacDonald." Aiden thought he was the coolest with his hanky in his pocket. He isn't squinting his eyes in the picture (he says), he was looking like a farmer. (whatever! and the crossed arms was apparently something to do with a farmer too.)

My little princess

2009-02-24T18:51:00.000-08:00

Allee had a special day last night and today. She got to go home with Ms. Missy and NaNa Jan and spent the day shopping and at Chucky Cheese. She came home with all types of goodies. This all came about Sunday night at church when she invited herself over. She couldn't go Sunday, so they promised to come get her Monday. She had it all planned out. She wanted to take her Dora tent and sleeping bag so they could camp outside. That fell through. LOL. When they got here to pick her up, she had her bag packed and practically ran to the door. Her middle name should have been "go". With Allee away, Aiden was able to have Mommy and Daddy to himself after Evan went to bed. Rick and I were watching CSI and thought he would go to bed, but he wanted to watch and eat popcorn. So, although not a kid show, we let him watch some of it. He is fascinated by the different gross stuff on there. He also ate two bags of popcorn and asked for a third. It was a little weird with just him, but we had a blast. Brought back some old memories. Thanks NaNa and Ms. Missy.

Can you spare a square?

2009-02-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

This post will be a little different from most, but I hope you can all find the light hearted humor...

Typical night at the Taylor home that we call a circus! We ate an early supper, Rick went to play basketball, so I am alone with the three kids. They are playing, or two are playing and the baby is following me around whining like a puppy with pacy in mouth and froggy in hand. The issue of a potty break comes up for Mommy. Now, all you mothers of little babies, toddlers, or kids of any age under 10 can probably relate to this moment. You need privacy, you want privacy, privacy is expected, but do you actually get it? Now, Rick...YES! Newspaper in hand, he WILL get his time, if for no other purpose but peace and quiet and you had better not interrupt, bother, talk to...etc until he is finished reading, or whatever. Now, Me on the other hand, I don't get that nice quiet time alone (unless Rick is here and I ask him to "GET THEM OUT OF HERE!"). I have to wait until I can't wait any longer, then try to catch them in another room playing, run to the bathroom and pray they don't figure out where I am if only for a minute, only to be met by a door opening in my face and a conversation striking up! Any of you relate? Now since Evan has been mobile, even all of that is difficult. I usually have to take him and a toy into the bathroom, and even then he usually ends up in my lap (especially if we are the only two in the house and he has no one to play with). Well, tonight was just that scenario. I was going to make a really quick bathroom stop (with Evan in lap) and then off to more Mommy duties. I ran in so quickly, I didn't notice the missing toilet paper. The spare roll holder that holds 5 rolls...EMPTY! So I did the logical thing...I yell for my 4 year old to come rescue me! As I am trying to explain how to get toliet paper off the roller in the other bathroom, he is telling me he heard a noise in there and is too scared to go back without me! NOW WHAT! Just as I am about to talk Aiden out of being scared, Evan crawls out of my lap and shuts the opened bathroom door. As I am about to scold him, I look to see him playing with a NEW roll of paper sitting randomly behind the door! I just thanked God and laughed.

Now, if you can't thank God for the little things in life, something is definately wrong with you! I sure thanked him for my little things, especially the babies in the bathroom today!

P.S. Hope this didn't embarrass any of my readers! Most of you who are reading know me well, and very little embarrasses me. If you know my husband, don't tell him what I wrote about him! LOL! JK! AND my whole scenario could have been prevented if the person who used the last of the paper had replaced the roll in the first place!

Southern hospitality

2009-02-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

Just a thought! I had to run in the grocery store real quick the other day and as I was rushing around, I took note that out of 3 teenagers that I came into contact with while they were checking out my groceries and working, all three had good manners. Now, I know some of you northerners do not think manners and respect are of any importance, but this southern girl loves it! I love being called ma'am, people saying thank you and please...etc. I used to wander why I got in trouble for not saying "aunt or uncle", but now I how disrespectful is sounds for a child to not put some kind of prefix before addressing an adult. I know this is preference, but I like it...ex. Ms. or Mr. First name....

All that to say, I am very proud to live in the South where hospitality is still being used, even if not used the way or as often as it used to be, thank the good Lord we still have some parents teaching manners to their children. Those parents are to be praised....it's not going unnoticed! Let's focus on the good in people rather than always trying to find the bad!

Praise God!

2009-02-22T20:53:00.000-08:00

God is so GOOD! Our church has been really growing since January when we decided to take a leap of faith and offer two morning worship services to allow for more seating room for our current congregation. We had 176 people in worship this morning. Now, for some of you that attend large churches, that may not be a big deal, but to us....it is GOD....simply amazing. It just proves that God can AND WILL do anything if only you have the Faith to Believe in Him and put it in His hands! Thank you, God, for the amazing work you are doing in our community!

I just realized how long it has been since my last blog. I worked the week before and spent this last week catching up! Our church enjoyed a V-Day banquet with Fireproof movie and Rick and I enjoyed a night away at the beginning of the week for a Pastor's Worker's Conference in Forestdale. The speakers were magnificant and we had a great couple of days to ourselves. Thanks to the family who kept our kids! We love ya'll!

Upward is almost over and it has been wonderful this year. This is only our second year and it is lots of work, but we seemed to have more people pitch in and help. We also had some great coaches. Thanks to all of you who helped make this year a success. We will have Awards Celebration on Friday night. Please pray with me that we will see the results of God's work with at least one profession of faith! That would be a perfect ending to the season.

If you don't hear from me for a while, don't worry. We have a PRINCESS that will be turning 3 on March 14 and is already wanting party details, so I have to get busy. I'll keep you posted.

Praise God for 70s

2009-02-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

We had a blast yesterday in the Sunshine! Thank you God! Allee went home from church with NaNa BooBoo and Evan was down for a nap, so Aiden and I rushed out to enjoy the day. We got to ride 4-wheeler, play golf and wash the 4-wheeler. It was so much fun. I forget what it is like to have one on one time with any of my children. Then, when Evan woke up, he couldn't wait to get outside too. They both found the nasty sandbox, so I let them play for a while. It was a great day!

Shelby's First Day of School

2009-02-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

We welcomed BFF Shelby to Chapel Hill Preschool last week. Even though she isn't in Allee or Aiden's room, they were so excited to have her come with them. We got to bring Shelby to school because her Mommy is in school, too! She did great! I felt like I was running a preschool myself be the time I got home! We love you Shelby!

Abbi wins!

2009-02-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, my neice Abbi was in the Fayette Middle School Beauty Pageant. SHE WON the 5th grade division! Allee thought she was a princess. Allee had a ball picking out her favorite dress in each category and who she thought look the prettiest. We didn't always agree, but it was fun. Of course, we both thought Abbi was the prettiest in her purple dress! Congrats Abbi! We love You! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

A "little Behind"

2009-02-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

I was posting this as actually being "a little behind" on my blog, but then I remembered this cute pic of Evan I took last night. Allison bought him some cute jeans for his birthday, and although a bit to big, I let him wear to church last night. When we got home, he was playing so hard, he couldn't keep his pants up. This picture is a little more than "bustin a sag".

Allee's Hair Isn't that Bad!

2009-02-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, thanks to having a sister as your hair dresser, Allee came out with a cute little haircut and if you had not seen her hair before, you probably couldn't even tell! Although, last night when we were in the bath tub, Rick came in after I had washed her hair and said, "I smell something burning." Aiden quickly replied, "No, Dad, it's just Allee's hair." It does still smell when you get it wet. Just like when you get a fresh perm. Ladies, you know what I am talking about.

Here are a couple of pics, before and after. Look closely at the before and you can see a wad of orange hair at the very bottom. When Janet brushed it out that afternoon, it went in a perfect angle up to one side...we cut about 3 inches to even it up and left some burnt up underneath (almost to the scalp) to grow out and cut out over several haircuts!

Allee's Hair

2009-02-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

We had an interesting morning at the Taylor household. We were getting ready for school and Rick and I had an appointment to do our Taxes (yuck) after dropping the kids out, so the morning was busy! Allee and Evan were ready, Aiden was in the process. Rick was fixing breakfast (juice cups and pop tarts) and I was with Aiden. We have recently cut our heating unit off and have been using our gas wall heater, due to the rising power bill and our poorly insulated older house. Allee, for some odd reason, backed up to the heater to warm. Rick smelled a funny smell and looked up to see her standing to closely. When he told her to move, he saw her beautiful, long blonde hair all singed (or however you spell that) up in the back in a big ball of burned hair! It was awful. After panicking and near tears, I realized it was just hair that would grow back and made the call to MiMi for an emergency haircut. I couldn't get her on the phone and finally resorted to brushing the burned parts out and sending her to school. We are at MiMi's now about to examine the damage. I just praise the Lord that she didn't catch fire. So, be careful! Heaters are still hot, even if they don't touch!!!!! Will post pictures and more details later!

Prayer Time

2009-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

I have been struggling with getting adequate time alone with God lately. I get in my Bible reading, but finding true quiet time to really talk to God has been difficult. I found myself the day after something important happened that I was suppose to pray about, saying, "Oh, I forgot." So, those of you who know me know that I am a list person...I decided to try a new system. I listed all the things that I wanted or needed to pray about that were not immediate, daily requests...you know, the things you want to remember, but take the back burner to the things in front of your face, like your sick kids! I numbered each item and made a scale at the bottom of the list for each day of the week. Then I divided the numbers up equally between the days. Each morning, I glance at my list and find the item number I am to pray for, then throughout the day, even if I don't get to stop and have true quiet time, I mention those request to God. I keep those requests on my mind all day. That way, I am getting prayer time for all the needs. Some days are better than others, but this is my second week to try it and it is working for me so far! I know some of you make think I am crazy, but maybe you should try something different in your prayer time, too. I have also tried writing letters to God. This way, my mind doesn't wander into all of the areas of things I need to do and I can truly talk to God!

Sleepless in Samantha!

2009-01-27T09:52:00.000-08:00

Here we go again! Evan has been the best of the three as far as sleeping, until recently. I decided when he was born that I would train him to stay in his babybed, and at night and naps, when he gets sleepy, he finds pacy and green frog and nudges us toward his room. I turn the mobile on, say nite, nite, and he drifts off to sleep! WOW! I know...amazing! (that happens, MOST of the time, not all). BUT, the last 2-3 months have progressively gotten worse. He still goes to bed fine, but wakes up all hours of the night. I feel like it is his ears, but it is beginning to wear on me and my lack of sleep. Night before last, the entire family was wide awake at 3:30 a.m., and last night wasn't much better. Please pray for Evan to get some sleep so that the rest of the house can sleep!

Major Updates - keep scrolling

2009-01-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

I tried not to put lots of writing since it has been so long since I posted. Keep scrolling down to see what all has happened in our lives since Halloween! That is just SAD! I even left out several events that I didn't have pics of. Our church had a major Christmas play that required lots of building and decorating, but all went well. We have started Upward Basketball which has lots of work involved, but is going great. We have also started two services on Sunday A.M. to make more room for visitors. Since we began, our number have increased in Sunday school especially! The Lord has really blessed! Rick has met with an architect to talk about possilbly building new santctuary! Please pray that God's work will be accomplished as He sees fit! Hope you enjoy the updates.

Happy Birthday EVAN!

2009-01-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

Evan celebrated his 1st birthday the Saturday after Christmas with Big Al! A few friends and family gathered and he had a blast! Crystal's Mom made all three kids the cutest Alabama outfits. They were adorable! Thanks Mrs. McDaniel! It was a fun day, but the stress of the holidays, then a birthday, then new year....don't know if I will do it that way again. Not sure how his birthdays will end up, but I had to have a separate 1st birthday! I can't believe he is growing up so fast!

4-Wheeler

2009-01-23T08:26:00.001-08:00

My no asking on our part, NaNa and Pop thought it necessary to get the kids a small 4-wheeler for Christmas. They LOVED IT! We all met on Christmas day at the Ag bldg in Kennedy and all the kids brought their 4-wheelers to ride. I thought Aiden would be afraid of it, but he wasn't. He did really good with Allee on it, but when cousin DJ (who is the coolest according to Aiden) got on for a ride, Aiden went a little too fast in his turn and off they went. So he wrecked in the first few hours of having it. I thought NaNa T would have a heartattack, but everyone was okay. Aiden had a skinned up leg, but got right back on. It will be a long while before I trust him with Evan (like 3 years), or before we let the throttle back out, but we have really enjoyed it. Mommy even takes a ride. Thanks NaNa and Pop!

P.S. They have a real helmet now! No Worries!

Meet Addison

2009-01-23T08:23:00.001-08:00

Aiden and Addison had some fun play time together at NaNa BooBoo's over the holidays. She is my great-neice and the sweetest thing I have ever seen. She will turn one on Valentines day. She and her mommy will be moving away soon and we will really miss her. We love you Addy!

Long Time - Long Update EVAN milestones.

2009-01-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

EVANS FIRST HAIRCUT - 9 Months old (October) A look to kill!
"Don't cut my ear MiMi!"The finished product - MiMi and Evan with his sucker prize!

Let's start at the beginning. So much has happened lately I will never catch up. Let me give some quick highlights. Evan pretty much stayed sick (him or Allee) since the last update and those of you with several small children know how tired you get lugging a whiny kid around on your side all day...so my night time post became nonexistent. Since I last blogged....

Evan has been walking since 9 months old. He know has 8 teeth and 2 more on the way. He got his first hair cut, his first ear infection, his first hand spat, his first birthday and his first 4 - wheeler. (more later). He is talking (or jabbering) up a storm. He says bootball (football), baball (basketball), Yaden (aiden), and lots of other typical words...byebye, bitebite, cup, nitenite...etc. He was off his bottle but hates milk, so that has been a challenge. But, at age one, the age around my house where sleeping kids stop sleeping, we have hit a bump in the road. He has been going to bed on his own, no crying, no rocking, no bottle...but suddenly, we have started waking in the middle of the night, sometimes multiple times, and the only way to get him back to sleep is warm milk in a bottle. I know! Terrible Mother! But I am desperate. We are going on a month of this horrible sleeping habit. NaNa T called to rescue us today. All three are going to sleep over tonight and give us a small break. THANKS! I know it is prob ears or teeth...some sort of pain, but it is still miserable for all involved. Prayers would be greatly appreciated! (I think I have written this same story with Allee...lol).

Halloween

2008-11-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would post a quick pic of our Fall Festival at church. We had CRAZY HAIR night since it went over so well at VBS this year.

3 "Bumps", You're Out!

2008-11-11T21:03:00.000-08:00

We had a small gathering for Aiden's Fall Baseball team at our FLC tonight. My kids were exhausted from our visit with NaNa Boo-Boo and Granny Earnest and NO NAP! By no planning of our own, the "bouncy things" we rented for our annual Community Fish Fry on Sat had not been picked up yet and we had those available for play. Evan, who has grown quite fond of balls, was making himself at home in the midst of the court, making all the other Moms extremely nervous with his walking on the cement floor. I had already been questioned after Evan's first fall of being knocked down accidentally, how often he falls, to which I replied, "they fall all the time. We are just used to it." Famous last words. I had just stepped back from Evan's small fall when I catch a quick glimpse of A & A falling from one of the bouncy ramps. Allee fell face first off the top side and Aiden fell backward, rolling from the top! Daddy was carrying on conversation with other Dads while me and all other moms take off running to rescue my babies. I NEVER PANIC! I am just used to the drama, usually, but the "thud" on the cement made me think otherwise this time. I got Allee, who had not even let her cry out yet...you know what I mean! I had to scold Rick, who was casually walking over, prob thinking Aiden was carrying on, and let him know that this was a REAL injury and I needed his help. I let Aiden for him while I got ice for Allee. End of that story.....Allee has black knot on forehead, Aiden has LARGE BUMP on back of head. His hair was puffed out and he said it hurt to lay on his pillow tonight! So, we carry on with the party. We have retreated to the kitchen area and "tile" flooring. Evan is walking around while I am cleaning up. I hear a "thud" and a "ping." He has hit his mouth on the metal leg of a folding table. I see blood, but with pacy in hand, he is fine in a few seconds. Later, bath time: Rick is dressing Evan who is laying flat in his lap and his makes the bold statement that he thinks he "chipped a tooth." I run to see, and sure enough, the fall had chipped two of his front teeth, pretty badly! So, in one night, all at a baseball pizza party, all three suffer brutal injuries! Guess we had to "take three for the team".

State Meeting

2008-11-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hello from Dothan, AL...home of the Peanut Festival. Rick and I are enjoying our annual Free Will Baptist State Meeting. We arrived yesterday afternoon, after arranging child care for our three children so that we could make the evening service. Yes... you read right. I left ALL THREE children at home. I know everyone may not agree with that, but thanks to loving, wonderful grandparents, we were able to come and focus on God for a couple of days while the children have fun time with NaNa's! THANK YOU! Although we haven't received much physical rest, I have recieved emotional and spiritual rest and renewal, and for that, I am truly thankful. God is so good to us. He really keeps me in line! I have the opportunity to attend a WAC (women active for Christ) meeting this morning and spent a while talking with precious young pastors' wives after the evening service about ways to minister to our ladies in our churches! I am so excited about the work God is doing in our churches. In a time where there is lots of uncertainty, I am so thankful that God has given us complete reassurance of His goodness and His Spirit! He IS still in control, no matter what the world may look like and I believe, now more than ever, that His return is SOON! I am guilty of getting caught up in the daily chores that life throws our way, and I am sure I will continue to be guilty of that, but my hearts desire is to keep the TRUE task first, and that is SERVING and WINNING souls for CHRIST! He is our KING and although I will respect the authority of our new president, I will WORSHIP AND HONOR MY KING JESUS and I challenge all of you to do the same!

If you don't know HIM, please ask someone, call me, or just pray....either way....seek and ye shall find!

Week at a Glance

2008-11-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

What a week. Seems so much has happened since last Sunday when I posted. Evan is TRULY walking or running rather, all over the place! He is just the cutest thing. He has learned, on his own, to throw a ball, say "Ball", point his finger, say "get" (to the kitty) and how to explore in the toilet (of course). He seems to be growing up so fast. I think he has quite the little temper for a 10 month old. Aiden loves to wrestle with him and he lets you know real quick when he has had enough with a high pitch squeal.

Aiden's personality continues to shine through. Rick was eating a honeybun or something sweet the other night, and Aiden came by, stuck his hand out and said, "I'll have that, Dad." He thinks he is a teenager already and he especially thinks he is Allee's boss! I know none of you have kids like that! lol.

Allee is still in her own little world, when she is not in mine! I mean that literally. People at church call her my "growth" b/c she seems to always be attached to my hip! She isn't eating good lately and is trying to quit milk all together! I've even tried Chocolate, she just prefers juice. Any suggestions? I hate milk and mom didn't force me as a child. Rick loves it and wants our kids to continue to drink it for the calories and nutrition, which is great, but she is being difficult.

I may spoil this by writing it, but we have actually had an entire week of ALL NIGHT sleeping, for the most part. IT IS AMAZING! Of course, we have still be exhausted b/c I was sick Sund, Evan sick Mon, Hot water heater broke Mon, church directory pictures Tues, Church Fall Festival Wed..... Friday, Batman (Aiden), Super Girl (Allee) and SpiderMan (Evan) swooped into the country for a couple of quick family stops and more candy than one can imagine. They had a great time. Thanks to all the family for the fun night! We also made a walk down sorority row on University Campus to see the lawn decorations. That was a blast. Hopefully I can post pictures soon. Ya'll know how it is!

Evan's Boo Boo

2008-10-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, you all know how it is to keep a little one who thinks he can walk better than he actually can from getting injured! This was the weekend for boo boos! It started Friday night when he got 3 bumps on his nogging while taking a bath b/c he will not sit down. We followed that up with bigger boo boo last night. My mom had stopped by and Evan was standing at the glass front door waving frantically Bye-Bye to NaNa. As she was driving off, he lost interest and went to turn,sit,crawl at the same time, causing a slip and bumping his eye on a screw sticking out of the cylinder. When he screamed, I knew I would see a knot, but I didn't expect the blood. Of course, the face bleeds more than any other body part, so it appeared a little worse than it was. He has a small puncture type wound above his right eye, right on the edge of his brow. ***Now here is where my funny Aiden comes in.***Being the "injury fixer" that I am....and I love to fix the cuts, scrapes, etc. when I am working, I was discussing with Rick on what I should do, pros and cons of each scenario, and taking into consideration that I am dealing with a 10 mo old, not a teenager. Aiden is standing by taking it all in. I am considering, then re-considering, reasoning in my mind out loud(some of my best friends know how in-decisive I am...I honestly don't know how I survive), when Aiden very matter-of-factly says..."Your a trainer, Mom, just put some tape on it." I guess that wouldn't be so cute to me if I didn't hear that from all the coaches when I am holding a kid out for a legitimate injury! MEN, they learn so quickly the easy way to "fix" things!!!!!

Snake Bite?

2008-10-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, those of you who know my Aiden will love this! Rick, Aiden, Allee and I went to the River on Monday and Tuesday since the kids were out of school on Monday. Somehow, Allee ended up with an injured big toe. (It has turned black and has a cut underneath, of course, we never knew she had gotten hurt so we have no idea what happened.) Well, Mrs. Sherry came to church tonight asking if I had heard what happened. Apparently, Mrs. Angie (Aiden's teacher) got someone to sit with her class in the middle of the day to come to Mrs. Sherry's room (Allee's teacher) to check on Allee. She asked Sherry how Allee was doing and was under the impression that she was out of school. Sherry said, "No, she's fine. She is right here." Aiden had told Mrs. Angie that Allee had been bit by a snack and was sick. Mrs. Angie was really concerned and he had made her believe him! Sherry burst into laughter (she knows Aiden well) and welcomed Mrs. Angie into Aiden's world of big stories! Of course, I call this a lie....the teachers say it is a big imagination! Call it what you want, but it is kinda scary that my "4" year old can convince an adult and teacher of more than 10 years that his sister had really been snake bit!

EVAN IS WALKING! He is so funnny! His steps are not consistent, but he is walking a good bit. I have counted 11 steps at once, but he tries running. He is also cutting his eye teeth, both at the same time, so no sleep for us, once again. He looks so big! I think he weighs 20lbs, but not sure. He is saying more words each day! You should see him dance to the Wiggles! Neither of my other two ever noticed the TV, but he loves music shows of any kind!

Aiden has moved to the top bunk as Allee continues to make us feel sorry for her because..."I don't have a bed or a room." Maybe soon!

Over due Post

2008-10-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Wow! Where do I start. As I was reviewing pics on my camera, I realized that I didn't take hardly any pics the entire month of Sept. Anyway, just a few updates.

Evan is growing so fast. He is 9 months now. BTW - view our 9 month pics at kimlawsonphotography.com . He is taking steps, singing, clapping, "talking" up a storm and even sassing a little. I have had to start telling him, "No, No" to which he responds very loudly and matter of factly.."ma ma" as if he is saying NoNo right back! He loves the sandbox. It is so cute to see the three of them in the sandbox together. Reminds me of when we were kids.

This is him last night in the tub. His hair is getting so long and I just couldn't resist! Don't he look so big in his little hat!
Shelby Lynn Tralick (as allee always calls her) and Allee Beth are taking gymnastics together. This is them on their first day of tumbling! Allee calls it "nastics."

Another funny hair picture of Evan! Me, Evan and Rick went to the River a couple of weeks ago to do a few things at the camper and the day was so beautiful we rode with the windows down on the way home. This is the result! It was so nice.
Aiden is playing Fall Ball for the first time and Daddy is the coach. This is our first game. (As I type this, I am remembering why I didn't get to take many pictures this month. We have been running crazy). He was so cute. We have had a great season. This Fall was very laid back. We didn't keep score and let everyone bat, regardless of number of outs, etc. The kids loved it. We did have a "pile up" in the out field in the first game and Aiden ran from home to the pitcher mound in the game the other day, but they really have learned a lot! And most importantly, they are having fun!

Addison (my great-niece) came to visit my Mom's while my kids were there. Evan is two months older than her. Can't tell by the size, huh? Aren't they cute!

That's all for now! Hopefully it won't be long before the next post!

Oh, yeah! I celebrated my 32nd B'day last Thursday. The kids got me a cake (which they ate all of) and me and my mom went for long overdue spa appointments and shopping. It was a wonderful day!

Big Day for the Taylor House

2008-09-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

What a day! We have had very busy weeks lately, with me filling in at work again and all of the kids STILL being sick with allergy. BUT, today was different. I finally had an off day (I have been working including Saturday's) a lot. So I decided that Allee would wear big girl panties all day, no matter what. AND SHE DID! She did not have on single accident. We even had to travel to Fayette for Aiden's first Baseball game. We were getting ready to go and I had a pull up laid out to put on her. She started crying and said, "No, I'm not wearing that. I already have panties on." So against my better judgement, I let her travel in panites, with an extra suit with me. She saw me packing the shorts and questioned me by saying, "Why you putting those in the bag? I already got shorts on." So off we go.

Aiden's first Game: Picture this....Rick coaches, so he's getting coolers, bags, balls, bats...out of truck; Aiden fell asleep on the way; Evan on my hip with a runny nose; Allee in the front of the stroller; sleeping Aiden with ball uniform and all, in the back; Mommy pushing stroller with one hand and holding Evan with other! We look like the Brady Bunch walking in! One of the Mom's came to my rescue and got Evan until we settled in, then NaNa and Pop rescued him. I spent most of the time back and forth to the bathroom with Allee, and Aiden had to rely on Coach Dad to help him out. Of course, his first at bat, he was on deck and declared he needed to potty (even though that was suppose to be taken care of earlier), but he waited! They were all so cute. He hit the ball well every time, but got a little sided tracked in the out field. Our team actually had a pile up in the field. Looked good if it had been a football game instead. But we did well for our first game and most importantly, the kids had a blast! Thanks to everyone who made game number 1 a hit!

Tomorrow - I get to go on a quest for "Fire Star" panties! (Spiderman's sidekick...) Don't think I am going to have any luck, but for the day we had, it's worth a try!

WSUS?

2008-09-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while, busy, busy week. For someone who quit her job, I have been working an awful lot this past week. My boss is having some family sickness and I am filling in for her.

Aiden stricks again ------

This morning, I was taking the kids to school. They have all had bad allergy attacks, runny nose, cough, you know...we all have it. Aiden has a HORRIBLE cough. As we were driving in this morning, he had been coughing since we left home. I had already asked if he needed me to take him to see Dr. Rob and he did! Then, out of the blue he said, "I am W-S-U-S- Sick!" "What?" I said. He spelled it again. I said, "What does that spell Aiden?" "It spells, SICK, Mom, That's what I am." I corrected his spelling and he was content with that. It was so cute. I guess you never realize how much you spell in front of your kids.

A couple of nights ago, we were reading our books and they had picked a song book. Aiden and I were singing, "I have decided to follow Jesus." The book had five verses. He was keeping up with me on the verses until the third verse and he had no clue, had never heard it. As I was repeating it for the third time, he stopped and looked at me with the most serious look and said, "Mom, I think this song is in Spanish."

One more....Same night, we were talking about not being afraid of the dark..b/c he really is. I was explaining how we have to stay in bed and how God will watch over us and all that...He was still resisting me leaving the room. I finally asked, "Aiden, why do you want me too stay in here with you so badly. You have sissy." He did his little finger motion for me to lean in closer so he could whisper in my ear. He said in a whisper, "It's because I am gonna marry you when I get big." Now as flattering as that is, I had to quickly explain that mommy is already married to daddy and he would have to choose another wife when he gets big, but it is nice to know you are loved. Then Allee chimed in, "I married Shelby yes-er-day!" That just reaffirms to me that they have no idea what they are talking about!

Going, Going...

2008-08-20T09:52:00.001-07:00

Evan is growing up so fast. I can't believe how big he is getting and how quickly time is passing by. I let him enjoy biter biscuits or cookies in his highchair when I am needing to get something done without his help. He is all over the place. Here is a picture of him after a biter biscuit. Getting pictures of your kids first day at school out of a window in the car line is difficult, but I did capture one picture of Aiden and Allee leaving pre-school for the first day! Allee loves school and Aiden does too. I love the time alone with Evan. I feel like I am finally getting to know him and his personality.
Happy 3rd Birthday to Shelby...Allee's BF. Shelby had a "Horton Hears a Who" party. Too cute.
Our children from Church went to the Splash Pad on Saturday. We had a great time.

Plagues?

2008-08-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

We have been missing our morning Bible story since school has been back in, so I have been skipping bedtime story and replacing with Bible story. I have started the old fashioned Children's Bible Story book that you used to find in doctor's offices when you were kids. Or at least I did. I loved looking at the pictures in it. Anyway, we are starting at the beginning and working our way through. You all know how Aiden is. Since we began this study, he has hung to every word I say. He loves to be read to and can remember anything. So, I quiz him often, just to make sure he is getting it. Tonight's story was on Moses leaving Egypt and the ten plagues. I knew that Aiden has studied this before in Sunday School, so I asked, "Aiden, what is a plague?" Now, you gotta understand, Allee is usually in la-la land during story time. She is the type that is playing with this, looking at that, interupting here and there, but every once in a while, when you don't think she is listening, she chimes in. As was the case tonight. Before Aiden even had a chance to answer, Allee SANG, (not said), "I "plague" allegiance to the Christian flag." I am not kidding. It was the cutest thing. I am still laughing as I write this because it was so funny.

I think Evan may walk soon. That little booger is into everything! He is growing so fast. Where did my baby go?

Please pray for sleep in our house. He is still having trouble. I guess that is something I am just "blessed" with!

Also, just wanted to put a little plug in for my Lord. God is so good. I have been able to really grasp how good He is, even through the trials and things we all face, lately. I have been able to really focus on Him and spending more time with Him and I have been blessed everyday. I have been trying to focus on positive things and boy, does that make your day go so much better. I hope each of you can find the good in your life and realize what a true blessing it is to even be living!!!!

First Day of Preschool

2008-08-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

WOW! Allee started pre-school three mornings a week today! I was worried that she may cry, but she didn't. I let Rick take her in and I videoed her walking in, hand in hand with Big Brother, backpack and all. So cute. I am so proud of her and Aiden. I know she is going to have a great time and it will be good for her to be away from me a few hours a week. Thank the Lord for our deacon's wife and Allee's Sunday School teacher who works at the pre-school and will actually be teaching Allee this year. Seems like just yesterday when she was Aiden's teacher. Allee loves her dearly so I don't have a hard time leaving her.

Evan cut his second tooth on Monday after four days of fussing and not sleeping at night. He finally got two good nights sleep, then the screaming at night started again on Wed. I found another possible spot of teething Thur morning. He seems miserable, especially at night. We have used: Motrin, teething tablets, orajel....any other suggestions would be appreciated. During the day he wants me to hold him more, but he can usually be comforted with a popsicle or something, but nightime is different. He wakes in a scream nearly every two hours.

Comments

2008-07-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the inconvenience. I am changing my comments because of the spam I have been getting lately. I apologize, but I do hope you all keep leaving comments.

More Pictures

2008-07-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Evan enjoys his first trip to the River this summer - May 08 Aiden enjoys his 4th Birthday with Spiderman and Friends at the River.
I just thought you would want to see another picture of Evan!

Allee in Crystals Weddings

2008-07-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Allee's wedding debut....I think I blogged about this earlier, but Allee was in my cousin's wedding in June. Here are a few shots of the weekend event! We had a blast and she did great. Thanks Crystal, for letting us share with you and thanks, MiMi for my hair do!

Pictures from the Past

2008-07-23T12:45:00.001-07:00

Well, not really the past, but our Summer. Seems like a long time ago....

Stay with me as a try to re-cap some of our summer.

VBS Dress Up night -

Evan and Batman - before we left Friday.

Aiden wins 3rd place on his craft at VBS.
Crazy Hair Day - VBS (Yes, Evan has a Mohawk)
Leaders of the church - VBS
Briana's mohawk

2008-07-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

Aiden gets tired after the long bus ride to West Virginia. He waits paitently and sleeps while we unload at the hotel.

First stop...3 story mall across the street. As if we have never seen a ride on toy in Alabama!
Last day, actually, as I am typing, this is what is going on in my hotel room...a room full of boys watching Pink Panther on a portable DVD player.

Greetings from West Virginia

2008-07-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been here since Saturday night, today is Wednesday, and we leave tomorrow. I am really missing my babies, but other than that, we are having a blast. The trip up here was uneventful and quite pleasant. I actually had some time to think, read, and sleep. The conference has been everything that I spiritually anticipated. It is so nice to be in a group of over 7,000 other believers who are worshipping Jesus. I have had the opportunity to participate in the mass choir each night which is a better experience than I can describe. The music is just awesome, but that is my favorite way to worship.

Aiden has been enjoying himself. Of course, bed time is all messed up. Each night when we go "home" as he calls it, he and Jacob can't wait to see who gets to build the tunnel with the pillows first! They have been bouncing off the walls.

Back home, Allee and Evan are doing great. Allee, of course, has been using the potty for each person she stays with, with only a couple of accidents. Amazing how much better your children are for other people. I don't think Evan has missed me at all. They did say, when Allee and Evan got back together on Monday that he just about ate her up with excitement and kisses. So sweet.

Spiritually, here, God has really been speaking to me. Mostly about personal things within my own spirituality, but also my family and church. God has called us to serve Him, to worship Him, to love Him, but we can't do that until we get self out of the way and actually spend time with HIM. I can't make my family be Godly or spiritual or happy...but God can. Through Him, my family can be everything He wants it to be, but it's not about ME. It's all about HIM. My prayer is that I can continue to meditate upon that every day and allow God to change me into the person He wants me to be, so that I can be a better Mom, teacher, wifte, etc. to the people in my life.

I just found these computers, so hopefully I can get a chance to come back for an update and pictures!!

Until then....God loves you!

Check ups

2008-07-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

Evan and Aiden had great check ups yesterday. Evan weighed 15.13 pounds. He said he looked great. Of course, he jumped around and laughed and cooed the whole time until shot time. After his shots he would not even look at the nurse. It was so funny.

Aiden weighed 36 pounds. He is such a mess. He wore an orange shirt to the visit. Well, Dr. Robinson, of course, is die hard Alabama so he was picking on him about the orange shirt. Aiden was just carrying on with him. Doc was asking me questions about things he could and couldn't do and Aiden was answering. I said, "Yeah, he's pretty smart." Doc said, "Well, you ain't too smart cause you're wearing an orange shirt." Aiden sulled up with his pouty face and turned his head to the wall. Those of you who have seen him do this know what I am talking about. I thought he would never un-sull. It was too cute. They made up before we left, though.

Allee's big thing right now is potty training. She WILL NOT poopy in the potty. We have numerous conversations, and still nothing. She will come and tell you after the fact. Yesterday, I came home and I thought I smelled her. I asked did she have on a bad pull up. She said, "Yes". I said, "Why did you do that." "Cause I want to". "Do you like having poopy in your pants?" "Yes." WE ARE GETTING NOWHERE. BUT, she is doing pretty good with the other. I know it takes time, but when she is big enough to come and ask you to change her, that is very frustrating.

This is how crazy I am...

2008-07-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, I haven't updated in 2 months, so I finally do and I make a mistake. I got a phone call this a.m. asking me where I was going this weekend....News Flash...Nationals were in Little Rock LAST YEAR...I am going to Charleston, West Virginia THIS YEAR! Am I crazy or what!

Quick Story Time:
Evan is going to have the personality of the other two, I can already tell. He is crawling, or scooting, rather, so it is hard to keep him in one spot. After a long day on Sat, I was home alone putting the kids in for a bath and bed, etc. I put Evan in the living room floor to play while I ran to start the bath water and get P.J's out. I got a phone call in the process. While on the phone, running around crazy, I hear him kind of fussing. I go into the living room (no more than 2 min later) and look...NO EVAN. I start looking for him. For those of you who know where I live, my its not like my living room or house is huge and there are many places for him to go. I finally look back toward the wall, and somehow, the little booger had wedged his body under the love seat and his head under the end table that sits beside it. Had he not looked scared to death, I would have videoed or at least took a pic, but instead, I laughed and retrieved him to safety!

AIDEN: A couple of weeks ago, I went to help my niece move out of a 2nd floor apartment. I, of course, had to drag all three babies along with me. I left the older two running around, and watching us carry things up and down. The banister was an iron gate like fence, you know the type. We are standing in the apartment, Aiden is out on front, looking around, being Aiden, when I hear him scream. I go to see what is wrong. He has stuck his head through the rails and can't get it out. I knew he was okay, but he was terrified. (He panics easily...I DO NOT). I was laughing so hard I couldn't even think. I tried to pull and he would scream. I tried to pull the rails apart, but I was too weak. To make it even worse, there was a whole group of onlookers trying to help. One even mentioned calling the fire department. Finally, God sent a man by to read the water meter and he said, "Let me see if I can help." He came and put his foot on one rail and pulled the other one just slighty enough to let Aiden's ears get through! Thank the Lord, but in hindsights, it was the funniest thing ever! (I know, I am a terrible Mom).

I know Allee has done something equally as funny lately, but my mind is blank. It has been a total circus around our house lately. Non-stop comic show!

Major Update

2008-07-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

How pathetic I am when I look at the last update and all that has happened since then. I can't even begin to catch you all up, but here is a brief description of what we have been up to.

We had a trip to the River on Memorial Day weekend where Aiden celebrated his 4th Birthday. I can't even believe that. He had Spiderman everything and we all had a great time. Not every one could make the trip, but he was happy all the same. On our return from the river, we had two straight weeks of swim lessons with Coach Ann. Allee cried the first 2 days, but by day 3 was swimming like a fish. Aiden learned to free style. They both love the water, thank goodness! Allee is not afraid at all. Almost to the point it scares me.

We made a quick trip to the beach. We took my Mom and Briana along with us. We had so much fun. The kids loved the sand and the swimming pool and were very good on the trip. Evan developed some kind of weird sleeping habit while we were gone called, "I'd rather scream than sleep," so that wasn't very pleasant. The other bad thing was on the last morning there, we received a phone call that my Mom's house had burned....total loss. So the ride home was very long, knowing she was returning to nothing. For those of you who don't know, she had only been in this house for 4 years or so, after rebuilding from a tornado destroying the previous home. But, God is good and she is slowly putting the pieces back together. Overall, the beach was great and I enjoyed having the extra helpers!

The week we returned, we made another trip to the River for the 4th of July. Before we left, Rick's Dad had to have an operation and while we were there, we received bad news of a church member who had a bad seizure and was in critical condition. She has 3 small girls. The Monday after we returned back from the 4th, which was last week, was the beginning of our VBS. Fortunately, the young lady began to get better each day and after 8 days of unconciousness, regained conciousness and I actually spoke to her yesterday. GOD IS SO GOOD! She is a miracle.

VBS was wonderful, but tiring. We finished up on Friday night with a County Fair that was rained out, but every one still had a great time. We also had a group of 16 visit from another church this weekend.

We will leave this upcoming Saturday for our National Convention in Little Rock Arkansas.

Please pray for God's blessing on that trip and our family. As you see, we have had a busy summer and it isn't going to slow down at all. I am trying to hold it together and I really miss updating, but there has literally been no time to stop.

Evan and Aiden go for check ups tomorrow, so I will try to post those. Evan finally broke a tooth through. He has been crawling around all summer. Maybe that is why I have been so busy. I can't keep up with them all. I have several funny stories, and maybe by the time I get to update again, I will have enough in me to remember them and post them. Until then, pray I get some sleep!!!!!!!!!

Mother's Day Reflection

2008-05-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

I had a great day on Mother's Day. Aiden had made a card at school that literally made me cry. He is so sweet. Each night when I say my prayers I ask God to help me to be a Godly mother and I pray that my children will grow up to be Godly children, teenagers, young adults, etc. But, the other day as I was praying, it hit me like a ton of bricks that no matter what I try to make my children into, they are going to be likely to take on my traits, Rick's traits. They look up to us, mock us, pretend to be us! So, if I am Godly and present a Godly attitude all the time, then hopefully they will choose to follow in my footsteps. What a huge responsibility we have for not only ourselves, but especially our children.

2008-05-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a semi-recent pic of Evan! He actually doesn't have that much hair anymore. He is getting so big. I have updated from several events over the last month. I am such a loser. Just can't get the pics up from home and actually had a chance to come use the office computer today. Scroll all the way down. I tried to keep the commentary brief since there was so much to cover. Thanks for looking.

River Rats

2008-05-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to go to the River to clean up a little on Tues before the holidays. Aiden ask every single time we cross the lake if we are going to the River. He loves it. We took Aiden and Allee and got a sitter for Evan. We intended on letting the kids do some fishing, but when we arrived, we found the trace of outdoor critters inside our camper and spent the entire day vacuming and cleaning. Allee and Aiden were left to entertain themselves. We had a tarp over the camper for the winter and had it laid on the ground drying before folding. When I went outside to check on the kids, I found them with their fishing poles, standing in their wagon, FISHING! They were using the tarp as the water and the wagon was the boat. It was the cutest thing. Their poles aren't even rigged for fishing yet, which is probably a good thing considering Aiden kept getting his line tangled. Can you imagine how many times they would have hooked each other. The cutest thing was when Aiden came into the camper and I asked were they having fun fishing, he said, with a very serious look, "Yeah, but we ain't catching a thing!"

Fayette Park

2008-05-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

As most of you up our way know by now, Fayette has a new piece of playground equipment. Crystal, Allison and I all took our kids last Friday. Of course it was very windy and cool, but the kids had a blast. Here are a few pics. And, if you haven't been yet, GO!

Watermelon

2008-05-08T10:04:00.001-07:00

MiMi came over last Wed before church with a watermelon in hand. My kids love watermelon and we were thankful, but I had already given the kids a bath! Mommy wanted to wait until after church, but MiMi won the battle! I did give her the privaledge of cleaning them both and dressing them for church after the event!

Maybe next year Evan can eat instead of just watching!

My First Haircut

2008-05-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Since my sister is my hairdresser, we don't get away with missing haircuts without being scolded. She convinced me that Allee's hair looked "ratty" and a small trim would make it look healthier and thicker. So we went to get a "trim". Allee did great. She loved it, and it helped that MiMi was the one doing the cutting. I have a small handful of blonde hair saved! Made mommy sad that this day was already here!

Golf Tournament

2008-05-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Our church hosted the 3rd annual golf tournament to raise funds for our Youth Blast that takes place in Aug. Rick didn't have a partner this year, so he chose one of the best...AIDEN! They had a blast. The little guy was exhausted, but hung in till the very end and didn't even fall asleep on the way home. He LOVES spending time with daddy and he is not a bad golfer. They played a 2 man scramble and I think he actually saved Dad on a couple of shots! Aiden takes a shot and looks to see where it goes!
Relaxing for a snack - Coke and Candy Bar!
Good shot Aiden!

Sissy wants to try too, Dad!

I'm Back!!!

2008-05-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! I can't believe it has been over a month since I blogged. I guess you can say, "Life happens." I will try to get somewhere and post some pics! Can I say....SICK OF DIAL UP!!!

Let's see if I can do a brief catch up. I honestly don't know what I have been doing for a month!

Aiden - Nothing much has changed. He got "5ths disease" along with every other child in our church and gave it to Allee. He is growing up so fast. I wish you all could hear the conversations that come out of that boy's mouth. I am very bad at correcting my family on their grammatical errors or pronunciations. Aiden has inherited that trait and already at age 3 corrects every little thing we say! Quite comical!

Allee - Learning to potty! Enough said. Oh, yeah, that's what I have been doing for a month. Taking Allee to the potty! We had our first experience like a my friend Kim today! I sat Allee on the potty (she takes forever, so I leave her there) to tee-tee while I went to put some laundry on, you know, gotta multi-task. Well, I hear her from the distance, "Mommy, I poopied!" YEAH, ALLEE. When I rounded the corner I could see her butt naked, walking through looking for me. I could also see the "poopy" all over her leg. Although I thought, WOW, she made a mess on her legs trying to get off the potty, I was still proud she had gone. So, as I was talking to her and explaining that she should wait for me to come wipe her, I said, Did you poopy? She said, "Yeah". I said, "In the potty?" (making a big deal). She said, "NO, in there!" (as she pointed to Aiden's room. Sure enough, I rounded the corner to brother's room, Aiden steadily playing in the corner completely oblivious to the situation, and there it was! I thought I would die! She was so proud, but I was not! Good thing it was me it happened to and not DADDY!

Evan - Had his 4 mo check up yesterday. Can you believe it. He weighed 14.4! We have had about 3 weeks of fussiness (that's the rest of what I have been doing for the last month! NOT SLEEPING!) but we finally got a restful night last night! It seems we are finally working back toward our routine! He started his cereal and squash and LOVED them both! He is going to be a good eater I think. He is rolling over, although he gets really mad when he finally gets there. He loves Aiden to talk to him. Not quite sitting up, but I'm not going to rush him! He is just precious and really is a good, fun, loving baby!

ME - I have been taking care of my babies! I honestly don't know where time goes. One of our friends had revival on Mondays in April and we went. They were very uplifting. I have been struggling spiritually since I have been staying home. I let myself get caught up in the daily frustrations of life and ended up leaving out the most important part. Our church in in revival each Sun night in May and already I have a renewed spirit. I am also reading a book, "Having a Mary heart in a Martha world." I am so much a MARTHA as I know most of you are! I have put my priorities back in order (where I pray they will stay) and my week has already been so much better. All of you praying friends, please pray for me that I will be the mother, wife and friend God wants me to be and not get caught up in the busyness of the world.

Alabama Pizza

2008-03-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick blurb...

This was a busy weekend as always. We had a Youth Rally at church and thus did not have evening services. I was exhausted from the events of the weekend and fell asleep around 5:00. Allee and Evan were asleep as well. When I woke up, Rick and the kids were coming home with a pizza. They were so excited. Allee said, "MaMa, we got a Alabama Pizza." I was a little dazed, but still...what is an Alabama pizza. Well, that's her version of a pizza that come from "Big Al's", a local restaurant that we frequent. Rick said she came up with that when he got in the car. I guess he had told her they were going to Big Al's to pick up a pizza. Well, of course, everyone knows that Big Al is the mascot for the Crimson Tide. Can't start them too early. And remember, she is two and put that together all on her own.

Easter

2008-03-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT weekend. We had a wonderful Easter service at church and then lunch at my grandmothers. It is so much fun to go to Granny Earnest house. It reminds me of my childhood. There are always so many kids to play with and so much freedom. There are 9 grandchildren and a milllion great grands, most of which are boys! Aiden loves it and Alllee joins right in. Everyone there, especially my Aunt Kathy, likes to hold babies, so Evan was well taken care of, giving Mommy a much needed break. We had an awesome lunch and hid over 170 eggs for the kids. We actually found more eggs than we hid. LOL. My Uncle Johnny pesterd Aiden, which was right up his ally. He loves picking at people. Aiden sang a special in church Sunday morning and then Allee was mad that she didn't get to sing. (She could have, but she just didn't get up there to practice). AIDEN LEARNS TO DANCE --We were sitting around tonight and I was on the phone, did not realize what had come on TV. It was "Dancing with the Stars." I have never watched the show. Well Aiden tuned in immediately. He was watching the first couple, Maria(or someone) and Jonathan. In a minute he said, "Hey, that looks like me and Mattie." I said, Why is that. He said, "That girl has blonde hair like Mattie, but I spin around, Mattie dont'." I said, Aiden, do you and Mattie dance like that. He started laughing. Then he started dancing and Allee quickly followed.

More Pic Updates - Weekend in Review

2008-03-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Evan's Bumbo - Don't he look sweet! Of all the pictures I didn't get at the Egg Hunt because of chasing 2 small children around, this one I did get and I think it is priceless.
NaNa Taylor bought the boys matching shirts. Aren't they precious!
Allee really wants to hold brother, but she just can't get it quite right! Getting all three in the picture was not worth the effort since this was right before leaving for church.

Picture Updates - Allee Birthday

2008-03-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, ALLEE BETH!!!

We started the day with an errand and the "Hot Now" sign at Krispy Creme caught Daddy's attention, so in we go. Yes, we had just eaten breakfast and it wasn't even 9:30, but we go in for a doughnut. We let Allee pick which one she wanted and she chose the powdered one of course. It was fun!
Next stop was the nail salon. A former athelete of mine from Co High works there and I asked if she had time to paint her nails. Allee went with me and Janet the last time we went and the girls fell in love with her. She sang to them that day, and they remembered her. They treated her like a little princess and even gave her a goodie bag that said Happy Birthday when we were finished. Thanks Courtney! The ladies couldn't believe Daddy came in with her either!

Then it was party time! Here is a shot of her Dora cake! It tasted as good as it looks too!

Thanks to everyone who had the opportunity to share with her. She had a special day!

Weekend Update...ALLEE IS TWO!

2008-03-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Allee turned TWO on Friday. What a blessing she has been to us. We decided to get a babysitter for Evan and take Allee for a day with myself and Rick while Aiden was at school. We had so much fun with her. Because the weather was really yuck, we were limited on activity and decided to take her to get her nails painted. You should have seen her sit up on the table and put her toes to be painted. She was so still and did so good and of course was the hit of the nail spa. Then we went to pick up her Dora cake. The entire day was spent doing party stuff and the party was a success. Thanks to Ms. Crystal for the blow up jumping castle to entertain the kids! When we sang Happy Birthday, she sang to herself! The party was late, so we stayed up late because she just had to open her tea party set and the weeblewooble castle! (that I had to put together).

We had our church egg hunt on Sat. Thank goodness for a FLC indoors! We were able to "hide" eggs upstairs for the smaller children. They were so funny. We literally threw the eggs all over the place...hundreds of eggs everywhere. The kids would run to a corner to pick up a particular egg while stepping over about 50 or so on their way. Too cute.

Ms.Melissa had planned a special story time for each age group. Allee and Aiden's group were told the Easter story with jelly beans, demonstrating what each color represents. Black represents sin. When Ms. Briana was reviewing the story and ask what black meant, Aiden said sin. She then said, "What is sin?" (she had already told them the answer) Aiden said, "Back-talking!" She said, "Yeah, that is A sin, but what IS sin?" Again, without hesitating, Aiden said,"Back-talking." Guess you know what we are having trouble with around our house!

Evan continues to grow and do new things. He is so precious. He will just laugh and coo and talk and will even lay in his babybed and watch his mobile. MiMi bought him a bumbo for Easter and he can actually sit in it already. Those things are amazing. He has been having some belly aches and feel so sorry for him, but other than that, he is just precious.

Nathan is doing well. He got to come into a regular room today. Please continue to pray for him.

Aiden and Allee sang in church last night to the rhythm of MaMa on the piano. I only played "The BIBLE" but I guess I've gotta start somewhere!

Easter Pics

2008-03-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Easter Pics are now up for you to view. Just click below. Make sure you notice the first two shots. This is where Allee was "attacked" by the baby chick. How funny. Allee can't stand animals and the baby chick was rather fond of her shoe. When it started flapping it's wings at her, I thought she was going to lose it. She was backing up as quick as she could, but the best part was Aiden jumping up and attempting to kick the baby chick while saying "Get away from my baby sister." Sorry Kim! But at least I know he will protect his sister.
http://kimlawsonphotography.com/gallery.php?page=Amanda
Notice how the bunny is as big as Evan!

Aiden at it again: We were outside the other day (yeah) and I noticed Aiden was at his daddy's car about to open it. When I told him not to open the door he said, "Mom, just don't look at me." Like if I don't look, he will not be in trouble. I told him that even if I don't look, God still sees him...that God sees all he does that is good AND bad. He looked up at the sky and thought a minute. Then he said, "No, Mom, God is looking at you right now."

Both Allee and Aiden have gotten really used to my breast pump and don't think a thing about it. I can't hide it from them. Anyway, the pump I use is very old and let's face it, has survived my three children. It is a very good quality, but the motor is starting to sound a little louder than it did before because I use it so much. I have a little area in my bedroom and I sit on my bed, so that I can at least shut the door. Allee came in the other day, crawled up on the bed and started laughing. She said, "MaMa, you pump say, 'Daddy moo, Daddy moo, Daddy moo'." I thought I would die. First, I don't know where she got that, but secondly, just hearing her mimick the sound of a pump motor at age 2 was hilarious.

NATHAN UPDATE: Nathan's surgery went well. He is so strong. He is still in ICU but is decreasing meds and slowly coming off of all tubes, etc. Mom and Dad are doing well, too. They are very stong in their faith and we are so proud for the stand they make. God has truly worked another miracle in this family. Thank you for all the prayers. I know they appreciate it, too.

Sounds like...

2008-03-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

What an awesome weekend! We had the opportunity to worship with the Ryan John Snell band on Friday night at Kennedy Baptist Church (Rick's home church). It was a great service and we got to see some of our friends that we never see. We spent the night with Rick's parents. I took the kids by their house before I went to the service and Rick had to drive the van at the last minute. We were all eating supper and I was telling Rick's parents why he had to drive the van. One of our deacon's had tentatively planned to drive and couldn't make it. Anywho... Aiden and Alle were eating (Allee's favorite thing to do) minding their own business and when I said the word "deacon" Allee said, "we don't say deacons." She is referring to a saying Aiden has picked up "That hurts like the dickens" and now Allee has picked up and they say it all the time "driving us up the wall" so I told them I didn't want them saying that anymore. Well try to explain the difference in "deacon" and "dickens' to a 2 year old. It was too cute!

BTW - Rick and I couldn't attend Sat night, but we heard there were 7 professions of faith at the youth rally. Yea God!

P.S. My best friend's 1 1/2 year old baby will be having open heart surgery on Tues. Please pray for their family!

NaNa's Kitchen

2008-03-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

My mom came to visit yesterday and cooked supper for us in the process. She fried chicken (which I never do), fried potatoes (my favorite) and cooked peas, creamed corn, and cornbread. She had it all sat on the table with our plates set, drinks out and a tomato cut up for Allee. Aiden came in and with a huge smile on his face said, "NaNa, it looks like a restaurant in here!" How embarrassing. My 3 year old thinks the only place that has food is a restaurant! He then goes on...When he took a bite of his chicken, he said, "NaNa, this chicken is the best chicken I have ever eat." "You like my chicken Aiden?", she asked. "Yeah, it's better than my MaMa's." Now, for those of you who have ever eaten my Mom's cooking, you would agree, but give me a break. I do my best!

I also picked my grandmother up from work and Aiden rode with me. She and I were talking and something caught his eye out the window that he wanted to tell me about. We kept on talking as I usually do, kind of ignoring him, giving him a "yeah, uh-huh" here and there. Finally, I guess he had enough. He said very matter of factly, "MaMa, could you tell YOUR granny to quit talking so I can tell you something." I couldn't believe he was so rude and told him so, while granny was about to bust laughing at him.