JENN KEY

Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T22:30:00.026-05:00

A yummy, yummy, sinful recipe for the Red Velvet Cheese Ball can be found here!
Ben at Wal-Mart sitting on the laundry detergent, leaned against the dog food and buying a Valentine balloon for his sweetheart. This is a special friendship! I love their looks below!

It's hard to believe this pretty girl will be 8 in six days!

We've been having a fun time around here! I could have never imagined how exciting it would be to have not one, not two but three little angels running around, needing milk at the same time, all wanting a different story read, watching three different shows, two different homeworks, a different extracurricular every night, and needing three different Valentines! Well, I don't think they needed three different Valentines but for some strange reason I couldn't do all three Valentines the same. Oh no! They were all different.

Lillee definitely is super patient with all of the boy stuff that goes on around here and I admit that raising boys is very different than parenting her. She is so great with Ben and an awesome helper. Baxter is outside most of the time. He's gathering sticks or up a tree. Lillee gets so frustrated with him because when we share our best part of our day at dinner Baxter always says his favorite part is that everyone is home safely! He really means that though and his heart is so big. Ben, Ben, Ben! I'm not sure what to say about Ben except that he would be the child to have an imaginary playmate. He's a rascal. Always talking, rarely making sense, cracking himself up, cracking up others, just unusual! But so unique. He's pretty easy going unless it's something he's really fixated on. He's enjoying his trains and cars right now and thinks his "CEE CEE" (sissy) hung the moon.

A few favorites of the things above:

Favorite Books at night

Lillee --- Ivy and Bean and she likes to make sure we've done the Jesus Calling devotional

Baxter --- Star Wars-he got a new book a couple of weekends ago and I'm embarrassed to say I could tell you who all of the clone troopers and wookies are!

Ben ---- when he's not busy eating books, he likes to hear about boats and Goodnight Moon. There's a copy of Brown Bear that is almost in shreds. He usually destroys a dinosaur puzzle while we're doing the family devotional!

Favorite Foods

Lillee - She's been trying lots of new things. Does not like brussel sprouts but does like Spaghettios! Tries to get me to buy those ALL THE TIME. Loves pasta and red sauce.

Baxter --- will eat anything and if he doesn't like it, i.e. brussel sprouts or potatoes he puts hot sauce on that stuff. Loves asparagus and rice and meat.

Ben --- Chocolate milk. with goldfish. That's it

Homework

Lillee ---- really working on reading and mastering all multiplication problems. I'd like to see us working on more math word problems but that wouldn't be fun for her.

Baxter ---- sight words, sight words. Almost there and so proud of myself, I mean him! He's doing great. Also trying to write to 100 in 3 mins. Woooooooo

Ben ---- trying to recognize his name is Ben. Sometimes when the librarian rolls him the ball at story time he is supposed to say "Ben." Instead, when he gets the ball he yells, "BALL!"

TV Shows

Lillee --- Good Luck Charlie and Soul Surfer. I think we saw Soul Surfer 5 times this past weekend.

Baxter --- Good Luck Charlie and Soul Surfer. Did I mention he's easy and worships the above child most of the time.

Ben ---- Good Luck Charlie and Soul Surfer. Can you tell he's the 3rd child and she's the dominator! Ben loves him some Jake and the Neverland Pirates and I can always bargain with him and let him watch some Barney!

Extracurricular

Lillee --- Jazz and Ballet on Mondays and Tap on Tuesdays, Church on Wednesdays!

Baxter ---- Kindermusik on Tuesdays

Ben ---Kindermusick on Tuesdays and Mother Goose story time on Wednesdays!

Ben's "ROAR - I'm Wild About You" Valentines were probably the most difficult and time consuming. However, one two-hour episode of The Bachelor helped pass the time easily.

Lillee's "You BLOW me away" Valentines!

Baxter's "You O"FISH"ally have my heart! Valentines!

I found this fun bag for Lillee. She's been wanting a new dance bag for quite some time.

Ch. 2 Renovations

2012-02-09T14:41:00.006-05:00

The above fixture is all I have to show for our renovations thus far. And the wainscoting below that Bubba installed yesterday. Also, the vent in the floor was rerouted to the wall and made into a vent there. So, I guess there have been things going on but not near as fun as the light above!

The electrician came today and you would have thought there was an entire crew to see the floors below!!!
The above is a wall when you come in the front door. The light switch was dead in the center of the wall. It did limit my framing! Ha. As if I understand anything about placements of frames. That switch got moved over. Can't wait to see what grand idea I have to go on that wall.

BEFORE PICS
Swiss cheese in the ceiling!
Holes for pendants over bar!

February so far...

2012-02-08T21:35:00.007-05:00

Lillee and Scott had a date night at the church. She was so excited and wanted to pick her dress out the night before. It was a special night for her. She did voice concern before Scott got home that she hoped he wouldn't look like he had to use the restroom like he did last year. I hear his moves were a little less embarrassing this go round.

I stayed home with the boys and had some other friends come over while their hubbies and daughters were at the dance. Ben always prepares delicious appetizers.
We spent the Super Bowl with some fun friends from Sunday School. They've got two boys that are Baxter and Ben's age and lots of lots of boy toys! Fun times!
They even had a dress up box!
Farrah was all too happy to be Captain Jack!
Even the girls were entertained!

Kitchen pics coming soon....electrical and cabinets scheduled for end of the week! Woooohooo!

Giveaway stuff???

2012-02-02T04:33:00.003-05:00

There is a blog I often post about that I really enjoy reading. This sweet lady usually posts every day around 5 a.m. and I'm probably one of the first readers. She is a fantastic artist and does wonders with redecorating her children's homes. Just in time for Valentine's Day, She's hosting another giveaway! Wouldn't this piece look great in Lillee's new room? Oh, wait. I haven't posted pics of that yet. Will get to it after kitchen!

I'm hoping that this giveaway will work as well! This girl has an awesome blog if you haven't checked it out. She was one of the hosts for the dot mom conference in Birmingham last September. Cross your fingers! What else am I to do from 3:00 a.m. until 5:00 a.m.? Enter 18 giveaways online? Sure! Why not!

While I've got this linked button figured out, I wanted to share my friend, Sarah's blog. She's expecting a little girl any day now so she's in our thoughts and prayers. Her blog is rocking these days! She also has a home decor line at a couple of great antique stores in town. Be sure to check her out as well.

Red Hots, College Roomies and a Remodel

2012-01-09T22:03:00.016-05:00

Two of my college roommates and their husbands came for a visit. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. We had dinner here and reminisced about days of old. We spent the night quite differently than we did 20 years ago. They introduced us to a super fun movie game. I'm glad they were able to get away and spend the night. It's so nice to catch up with dear friends.
These three enjoyed a yummy after school treat at CFA. It has rained more in the month of January than I can ever remember.
There has also been a little project going on here. I thought it might be nice to replace my sink to a single sink and turn our long counter with cabinets underneath into a bar. Well, it has since turned into a complete remodel of the kitchen. I decided to take it upon myself to be my own GC, that's short for General Contractor in case you were wondering. Fun times.

Pics of some of my subs...
Everyone needs to live across the street from Bubba.
The above pic is after the cabinets were ripped out. The picture below is a great story. I told my K and 1st graders this story at church. I took Baxter (stayed out of school due to sinus infection) and Ben to Lowe's to pick up one of our sheets of bead board. The board was large but not too heavy for me to wheel out on the special "board" cart. I was attempting to load it into the back of my car when I realized it was probably going to go over Ben's head. I thought about it and decided he could duck down a little for our short drive home. Just as I was attempting my last shove of the board a nice couple appeared and asked if they could be of assistance. Of course I said, "I've got it but thank you thank you." They insisted that Ben could not ride home with a sheet of bead board resting on his head so the kind man backed up his Silverado, loaded my board and followed us home. They obviously had no idea that he was the 3rd child and probably wouldn't have realized the extra weight on his head. Let me add that this couple had a sticker from their church on the back of the truck. I took that as a sign that our lives would be spared. There were a few times that Baxter ask me to slow down since the Silverado got stuck at a light. As they backed into our driveway Bax snapped a quick pic. What great reassurance that there are great people left in this world. I think this nice gesture earned another jewel in their crown.
A typical Friday night around here consists of powdered donut snowmen and squeezing myself into Ben's sleeping bag.
Lots of rain in January brings.....

More Christmas and Blissful Wintry Weekends

2012-01-09T17:35:00.020-05:00

It's been extremely warm lately considering this time last year our friends were walking through the snowy woods into our backyard for Winter Jam 2011. We've taken full advantage of every minute and hoping the groundhog has a very early spring for us! In the event that it has been rainy and cold, Ben peruses the isles at Books A Million.
Here are a few (I promise the last) pictures from Christmas. Lills looks JUST LIKE SCOTT in these pics to me.

I'm not sure what Santa was thinking when he decided to bring two swords!

Christmas at Nana and Papa's house

gathering wood for the Christmas oyster roast

Christmas activities

2011-12-30T06:59:00.032-05:00

We've been in full swing for the month of December. We captured this sweet tree that wasn't for sale. I think the nice owner of the tree farm thought we truly were the Griswalds. The kids enjoyed picking it out. Above, Ben is trying to escape Lillee's hold. This is just a preface to the holiday season. We're still trying to catch up with him.

Thanksgiving weekend was filled with excitement as Lillee performed in her 4th Nutcracker. She and Ellee were so excited to be soldiers and polichinelles. They were awesome and total troopers as they performed in 6 shows. Bethany was a beauty as always, gorgeous and graceful.
The season was celebrated with many parties with great friends.

Parties with school friends

My mom helped me make these fun bags. We had so much fun. I think Pinterest has sparked my creativity. We ordered pizzas for friends, I bagged up salad and M & Ms and off we went on our Christmas deliveries. It was so great seeing families open their doors, accept their pizzas and wave Merry Christmas! Just as I had envisioned. It really helped that the children were able to be a part of it and feel the spirit of giving.
Our elf, Carlo, had a few tricks up his sleeve as he made a barricade outside of Baxter's room. He picked a night that Lillee slept on the top bunk so they could both wake up to his shenanigans.
This "Ho Ho" was $4.99 at CVS and worth every penny. On one of our weekly trips to purchase AVENT 0-6 month pacifiers Ben chose this Santa to come home with us. He barely made it through the season.
Lillee, Baxter and Scott received sleeping bags from Santa. I think that was Santa's way of saying mommy and Ben will stay home while those three take off on a camping expedition. Scott and Baxter would've loved to have these bags in north Georgia in November!
Claire Ann took the kiddos to Atlanta Motor Speedway to look at lights in December while we had people here. It was so nice to have dinner at home with friends instead of going out. We were really able to talk and hang out and I think the food was much more delicious than a restaurant! The kiddos had a blast and were pooped by the time they got home.
Scott and I attempted to take them looking at lights. I think they definitely had more fun with Claire Ann. Piper was not amused at the blow ups!
Ben's sweet hat from Nana.
This December weather has been AMAZING!
I was feeling a little ambitious and tried this craft with Lillee's class. Wow. I'll think twice before attempting this. Pinterest seemed to have some more simple crafts.
They did turn out super cute though.

Santa 2010 - Ben didn't like the big guy a year ago!

or 2011

We took a trip to Callaway Gardens to spend the night and see the lights. It was lots of fun, especially because our favorite 16 year old was with us!
Someone got a new lens from Santa!

Our annual Christmas Eve Happy Birthday to Jesus party. We had a wonderful service at FBC Griffin then headed home to have cake with the Long family. My parents were also here so it made it extra special for everyone to gather together and remember the reason we have Christmas and reflect upon the season. It's always a special time we share with them and are so grateful to count them as our family.

Baxter was full of love for Gray.
After cake and REAL Cokes, Ben made a bee-line to NORAD Santa. I think he was in South America at this point. Ben, please go to bed!
Ben's Christmas party at FBC preschool and his only day attending in December.
The 2011 Christmas season was truly enjoyable and low stress. We checked out a book from the library at church called Looking Forward to the Nativity. We used it last year as well. As a big surprise, we received one in the mail from my mother so that we could return ours to the church and others could enjoy it. It is an awesome book. It has a devotion, a passage from the Bible and a family activity. Four stars.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-12T10:54:00.002-05:00

This is what Ben thinks of the big guy in 2011! We're having a fun season but there's little time to blog about it. Planning for the holidays, gathering with friends and planning new adventures.

Tis the Season

2011-11-29T10:28:00.012-05:00

We had our annual Advent by Candlelight at church last night. Such a wonderful blessing to hear Godly women give their testimonies and share their lives with us. It was an inspiration and a great kick off to the Advent season and anticipation of our Savior's birth. We decorated two tables and my sweet friends were so gracious to come. Everyone has such busy schedules right now and it is a big commitment to give up a few hours on a school night. I am so blessed to have these women in my life. I give thanks for them daily.

The two tables couldn't have been more different. I had a fun time putting them together and thank goodness for Farrah and my mom for being awesome helpers.

I am hoping this Advent season will bring each of us a renewed sense of hope, joy, peace and love. There couldn't be a merrier time for our family than right now. Blessed and thankful beyond measure.

Thank you mother for helping with the crocheting.

Farrah made banana fosters cake with nuts and rum. Delicious! Need that recipe.

Sweet friends Lindsay, Shannon, Blair, Tamara and Beth

Sandra, April and Chan Chan

Kendall Boggs Fine Arts and Crafts: It's A Christmas GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-11-26T23:08:00.000-05:00

Kendall Boggs Fine Arts and Crafts: It's A Christmas GIVEAWAY!!!: Guess what y'all! It's Christmastime and that means its TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY!!! This is named "Serenity" It is 16 x 20 and retails at 375.00 ...

I've followed this sweet lady's blog for a while now. She's an amazing artist, wife, mother, cook and inspiration. I always like these blogs that you feel like you're part of the family! Ha!

I'm "BACK"

2011-11-23T05:53:00.012-05:00

Here's what life has looked like at our house recently. Nana was here for a little over a week and was such a big help. What would we do without her. Ben's world has been turned upside down! In a good way!
No, I did not cut up Scott and put him in the food processor. This was my attempt at this yummy cranberry sauce mold recipe. I think my plastic has failed me.

There's been a slight lull in the blog. Since my last post I've had a little procedure on my back. Ok, maybe it was back surgery called a discectomy but I've bounced right back and am feeling great. I'll have to say the surgery itself was EXTREMELY scary! However, I made it through and am vertical again and feeling better. I haven't been able to drive so that's been stinky and I haven't been able to pick up Ben so that's been more than stinky. He's been a good sport though because Nana has been here. He is Nana's best friend. He wakes up screaming for her, leaves perfectly to go somewhere with her (waves his hand up and yells "BYE" to us) and doesn't ever like to be too far from her leg. It's a sweet relationship but I'm ready to get back to normal. Whatever that is.

There has been so much food in this house. Our friends were bringing different YUMMY dishes every night. We are so very blessed. There was lots of Mill Towne, lasagna, apple pie, spinach ravioli, sloppy joes, turkey/cheese biscuit sandwiches, chicken tortilla soup, pizza, spaghetti bake, a turkey, too many to name. And I've gathered you don't have to birth a child in order to get yummy goodness. KIDDING! All of that was great but I'd still go with NO SURGERY over the food. I'm especially grateful for those people this Thanksgiving that have prayed, cooked, ordered, visited, kept my kiddos and sent notes and cards. It means so much. Publix could've made their Thanksgiving commercial here with all of the love that's been in and out of this house.

Beautiful flowers from Scott and some from my sweet friend.

Now we're gearing up for a short trip down to Brunswick and we'll return just in time for Lills to be back in action for Nutcracker. It is an extremely short trip but I have to get out of these four walls. I'll just be a passenger. Rehearsals rehearsals! They've been long but fun!

Do you:

1. Have on a hat?

2. Have on gloves?

3. Have on black shoes?

4. Have on a smile?

A preview of some yumminess in their Christmas pi's.

Camping, Horses and Apples

2011-11-09T05:17:00.018-05:00

Warning! All of these pics were taken with my iPhone so if you're looking for clear pics, this would be a bad post for that. Piper clearly misses his family in the above picture. It's obvious he has no home training.

My parents have been camping a lot lately so when Scott and Baxter headed up to Sucches, GA with some friends to camp Lillee, Ben and I drove 20 minutes over to High Falls Campground. Thank goodness for camper bathrooms, TV, electricity and s'mores. I don't think the boys had those amenities.
Games of Scrabble, hot chocolate, good friends to spend time with and mean games of Rummy and Go Fish were played.
Listening to spooky stories about Wandering Mary. Thanks so much Nana!
The boy's first camping expedition was to Sucches, GA. Mr. Doug and his wife were the kind hosts and Baxter had an absolute blast! Sounds like it was pretty primitive camping and apparently Scott wishes he had something called a Bivvy sack? I think it was 26 degrees when he and Bax appeared from their sleeping bag they ended up sharing. Brrrr.
Here these two sweet friends are at Knoxie's 5th birthday party. I think Ben would have rode bareback down the street on this horse alone. Fearless.

Lillee participated in Literacy Days at her school. She memorized a very long poem. It took a while to get it and even a longer while for us to get the motions down but she did an awesome job and I enjoyed getting to watch her.

We just headed up to North Georgia this past weekend for Scott's annual GACDL conference at Brasstown. What a beautiful weekend it was. Unfortunately, Lillee stayed behind for Nutcracker. She's a dedicated dancer I'd say. Thanks to our dear friends who watched out for her! We'll need you again soon I'm sure.

We made a quick stop at Mercier Orchards for some yummy pink ladies! We were having a fun time browsing until we saw this hooded wonder running like the wind to the back of the store! It was a short stop.
A few pics from the conference. After seeing this picture Monica thought she looked like Lady Gaga and I looked like Laura Ingalls. Maybe my wardrobe/hair/makeup could use some sprucing up!
It was a fun conference and since my parents were camping at Track Rock about 15 mins away the boys were able to spend the night with them. Scott and I enjoyed watching the LSU/AL game with my dad by a roaring fire.
Just a pic of daily life around here. Nothing surprises me with this one anymore.
A pic I was most proud of but forgot to include in the Halloween post. I made almost 100 of these little boogers. A quick and simple tutorial found here.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T13:05:00.014-05:00

Someone said this past week that Halloween had turned into a season and not just one day! I couldn't agree more. Halloween parties, treat bags to make, church trunk or treats, festivals and then the actual night! More fun for the kiddos! Lillee has had her costume for a while. It was a hand me down from Mary Kate across the street. However, she went with a friend to the costume store and found these awesome go go boots! Wow! Baxter wanted to be Darth Vader. I tried to find a hand me down of one of those but couldn't and by the time I made it to Wal Mart they were all sold out. Oops. A clone trooper with wings on the butt that he called a dress it was! Good thing he isn't that picky. Then we realized we had nothing for Ben. We pulled out the Spiderman costume that Baxter wore 4 years ago and he was happy as a lark. He didn't know that I had sewn it up twice because Bax had worn it so much.

We went on our 3rd annual hayride. So much fun with good friends.

This policeman had my vote for best costume! Too cute. We couldn't convince him to wear his mustache. The parrot next to him was an original costume his mother made. Too cute for words. He had already won a contest somewhere else. Awesome!

His favorite treat of the night. He didn't come home with many treats in his bucket. As soon as he got a treat he would gobble it up as soon as he got back on the trailer.
Fred Flinstone himself!

2011 Block Party

2011-10-18T13:16:00.025-05:00

October 2011 - 2 years old

October 2010 - 1 year old

Happy Birthday Annie, Pressley and Ben!

It's hard to believe it's been a year. Some days it's seemed like the year has crept by and other days it seems like it was just yesterday we were tying balloons on mailboxes. These three spend lots of time together and it's so fun seeing them forming such close bonds.

It's been quite a while since the last post. However, not a whole lot has been happening or changing. I'll guess that's good and bad. Good because we've been home a lot and very quiet. Bad because my leg pain is still somewhat of a touchy subject. Happy times were had at our annual block party. We changed it up a little this year and had face painting and a fire truck. The kids loved these new things! The ride rides were all over the street and lots of smelly feet were sliding on the jumpy slide!

We did suggest coming in your favorite team gear since our theme was football!
If the firetruck bell was rung once, it rang 1,000 times! The firemen escorted the children through the truck and let them explore the driver's seat.
My mom stayed the entire week and helped us kick off the party with 100 cupcakes! I'm absolutely certain I couldn't have done it without her here. She took care of everything while I sat on ice packs. Lills, Bax and Ben were ecstatic to have her here for that long!

No Words

2011-09-29T10:23:00.004-05:00

Spalding High School Homecoming Parade

I cannot muster up the words to type to explain my absence. We have not been really busy, just normal stuff. I did go to Birmingham to an awesome conference through Lifeway. There was an advertisement on the back of the Homelife magazine about six months ago and I knew I wanted to go. I'd never visited Birmingham before plus an added bonus: Angie Smith was speaking. She is so phenomenal. She is real, has seen loss and rejoices in her glorious faith. Her first book I Will Carry You was great and told the story of her daughter who died shortly after she was born. She just released a new book, What Women Fear and while I have not finished reading it completely her session was very raw and open. Amazing. We had a fun time in a new city. I had a little catch in my back - Yowsers - but the ride there and back was fine. We even went for a little run Saturday morning. We also managed to get in some shopping at The Summit! Our diet was a little compromised you could say. I don't think that one tuna fish sandwich, salt and vinegar chips, a strawberry/pomegranate bar, TCBY yogurt, a diet Mountain Dew and a bag of white cheddar popcorn would be the ideal meals for being gone for 36 hours. Seriously, that could be what put me over the edge.

When I say put me over the edge I mean my back is OVER THE EDGE!!! Sunday afternoon while walking home from Pressley's birthday party I felt a little catch in my back, shooting down my leg and into my foot where electrical currents were pulsing into the bottom of my foot. UGH. I wanted to lie down in the neighbor's grass. Monday morning when I was unable to stand at the counter to pack my children's lunches I called my sweet friend to come help. If you know me, I do not ask for help often. She immediately came and we got into a great group of doctors Monday morning in McDonough. Three pinched nerves later I have been in the bed since then. Actually, I've been up and down and trying to prove that I'm going to get better but this sciatic or whatever it is is life altering and paralyzing. I will forever have a different view on others that suffer this type of pain. This is Thursday and I'm feeling a little better. However, I am still crippled after standing for a period of time or walking. It's something I've never before experienced. I need to make a list because I have pleaded with God and promised him things if I can just be out of the pain. My devotion book, Jesus Calling said that in my weakness I am able to focus more on Him. I am weak and I am asking and praying diligently for his powerful healing. Please join with me.

Scott's 20 year reunion

2011-09-09T02:36:00.003-05:00

Scott's 20 year class reunion was a couple of weeks ago. A trip down memory lane as we reminisced about meeting at his 10 year! Has it really been 10 years? This is when fancy bloggers could somehow pull up/scan a pic of us from the 10 yr. I'll try to figure that one out!

We had a fun time. There may be a few details I won't share but in all it was great. This is my new friend, Sloan. I enjoyed hearing her stories of Scott in high school. She was the professional iPhone photographer!

Stansberry pics 8/11

2011-09-09T02:13:00.016-05:00

Sweet sister Cindy took our pics at the end of August. We possibly should've waited til mid December as much as we were sweating. Thank goodness the heat didn't bother the kids. They were troopers. Scott wheeled in just as she was snapping the last shot so he jumped in the last pic. Obviously, Ben was DONE.

Lillee's Baptism 8-28-11

2011-09-09T01:46:00.007-05:00

This past summer Lillee Grace began talking to us about being baptized. We started asking her questions and mentioned talking with our pastor at church. There was an announcement that our church would be having a baptism at the Flynt River. I knew that if our family was going I'd better mention to Lillee before getting down there. When I told her about the opportunity she immediately said that she wanted to do it. Baxter told her that he'd never want to do that in his lifetime. Her response was, "Baxter, you're going to have to do this sometime in your life if you want to show people that you're a Christian and you have Jesus in your heart." I knew after that sweet statement to her brother that she was indeed mature enough and ready to make this commitment.
I called our pastor to talk with him about seeing Lillee the week before. He gave us the option of Scott doing the baptism. Wow - talk about tears at 10 a.m. for me. Scott immediately said yes as long as Lillee wanted him to. She was equally as excited about him doing this.

It was such a unique and touching experience. Seeing our firstborn and only daughter being baptized by her father and brother in Christ was absolutely amazing.
We were so fortunate that my parents were here that weekend. Many of our dear friends were there to share with us in such a special time. I can't wait to see the video. I ended up putting my camera down because our sweet friends were there capturing the moment. I was trying to keep it together and take it all in. So very, very moving.
I found these two verses she wrote recently.

Love the Lord your God with all you heart and all your soul and all your strinlth.

Dutromidy 6:5

There for if any one is in crist he is a new cration the old has gone the new has come.

2 creathlins 5:17

The Last Weekend of Summer

2011-08-24T05:55:00.012-05:00

Why no post in a couple of weeks? Life has gotten in the way. In a totally good way but we're really hunkering down, getting homework done, perfecting our name writing, getting to bed early, starting preschool, having yearly pictures made, life, life, life.

The weekend before school started we took off to the lake with some very dear friends. I can't tell you how many times Scott and I have made the comment since about what a fantastic, relaxing, stress-free, relaxing weekend we had. They had a way of making us feel so at home and comfortable.

The kids had an absolute blast!

1st Day of School 2011

2011-08-09T05:18:00.009-05:00

It's official! We have a 2nd grader and a Kindergartener! It's hard to believe. This past summer seemed to fly by. Lillee was very excited to be back in the swing of things and ready to see her friends and teacher. However, Baxter was a little nervous and hesitant about going. I tried to tell him there was more to life that the DS, iPad, Batman shows and the iPhone. There was definitely not the hype there usually is in the back to school wardrobe department. For that, I am thankful. Lillee decided in a few minutes what she would wear and clothes are not of any concern to Baxter.

Here's our back to school celebration meal! I think this calmed some night before nerves!

We woke up sleeping baby, loaded up the Johnsons and headed the white bus to school. Brooks said that he didn't want to go because school took too long.

I think they were all happy once we dropped them off in the car rider long. Pics with teachers will have to come later as we opted not to walk them in. Mary Kate and Lillee assured us they would get those boys to their classes.

Here they are after jumping off of the bus. I asked how the day went and Lillee said, "great!" then Baxter said, "really good!" Lillee had detail after detail to share but Baxter said recess and lunch were fun. We're ready for a terrific year with awesome teachers and sweet friends.

Summer is Over!

2011-08-04T07:08:00.022-05:00

All of our "events" are not checked off. It must be from pure exhaustion that we couldn't muster up the energy to find the dry erase markers and do it. While I'm looking forward to school starting next week, I'll also miss those two big cats (not kittens as I often refer to them) a lot! We've been very busy until this week. I promised early bedtimes and a resemblance of a routine and we've stuck to it pretty well. It's tough when it's so hot outside until 8 p.m. That's the only time anyone wants to go out to play. Then the lightening bugs run for the hills when they see Ben coming.

We've been inside doing a lot of this...
He really does live in his own world. I'm not sure what it's called but there are many times he is not with us. He'll join our planet for a bit but then it's right back to his land! Ben has really been playing independently lately. The other night Scott was looking around for him and we found him in our bedroom with the door shut. He had shut Piper in and was shooting him with his water gun! Many times he goes to the basement to play with trucks or blocks and if you go downstairs he'll shoo you away and say, "Goooooooooo."
I resisted the urge to put them in matching smocked outfits and opted for the Old Navy Star Wars shirts. I thought maybe Baxter wouldn't be so angry looking back at pictures! These boys are tough. I'm currently thumbing/plowing through This book and this one but I'm not sure I've found the right one yet!
The Methodist church had a great VBS program. Lillee went everyday. Scott, the boys and I enjoyed watching her sing the songs from the week. Is it just me or does my face look like a mortician has tried to "touch me up"?
The Johnson family had box seats and took Baxter to the Braves game. I think from the pictures Lindsay sent Baxter really enjoyed himself!
Lindsay had a group of girls out in Senoia to celebrate her birthday. We went to Founder's and it was delicious. The night before Scott and I had gone with friends to Natalia's in Macon. It was a weekend packed with delicious meals!
After dinner we headed to Creative Canvas in Senoia. To say we had a fantastic time is an understatement. We were supposed to paint a boat and I have to say it was pretty difficult. You could definitely tell who the natural artists were! It took about 3 1/2 hours and it probably should've taken longer! I was ready by the end of the night to slap my paint on and go to bed!
There was another group with ours so it made for lots of fun conversation! The owner was super friendly and helpful.
I'm not sure what I'm doing in this picture below but it doesn't look natural. Maybe the boot is doing something to my facial muscles!
We had a fun time making new friends and memories.
I had to throw this one in - deep, deep focus and concentration.
Moving on....

Lillee, Bethany and I went back to school shopping. We hit Academy Sports, Target and Staples. Oh, and a little detour at Sally's Beauty Supply because after seeing the above picture of myself, I had to do something about my thinning hair.

It's hard to believe Bethany is driving. I have lots of driving skills to brush up on. We were on a four lane road going west and there was a funeral procession going east. Should you stop? Technically, no. However, there were cars in front of us that were stopped so I told B to stop. Then cars behind us came flying around us. I just said go, go, go. Ugh. Can I make time stop so my kids will never drive. Too stressful.

The girls and I did have a fun time shopping. They're growing up so fast so I'm glad to have them hanging out now! We did lots of talking about school, classes, teachers, ballet, jazz and a little about boys!
Speaking of stressful, try taking Ben to a grocery store. He's at the age that he doesn't love being in the buggy. If we get one cookie from the deli we can make it about half-way around the store.
Lillee went to work with Scott. He took her to court and she got to meet the nicest judge ever! She's been asking all summer to go so I'm glad she finally got the chance. She's a sweet junior associate.
We spent last Sunday doing lots of this but this is the only picture I can find!

Guess Who's Back and My Pedes

2011-07-26T06:33:00.007-05:00

Seven days and six long nights are how long we spent without this sweet girl. We pulled up to Camp Chattooga at 9 a.m. to find a sea of trunks, pillows and waiting girls and boys. She had the best time. I tried to figure out if she ever got a little homesick but she said the only time she cried was when she did a belly flop off of The Blob! I'd probably cry too! She did share about her chores, quiet time, making her bed, devotions at night, songs before meals, Minihaha waterfall and sweet new friends that she made. It sounds like the 13 girls in her cabin became very close.

My mom and dad came to keep the boys so that Scott and I could leave early to get up there. We were all ready for her to be back home. I couldn't miss her too much because during the week she was gone she was in the newspaper not once, but twice. We couldn't be prouder.
In other foot-related news, I am officially gimped up. Apparently when I started running in January the stress on the tendon on the bottom of my foot was too great - no comments please! I urged Scott to go with me so that he would know my whining and complaining was real! I think he felt sad when he saw my poor Trekky toes in these X-Rays! Somehow because my toes were going numb I was favoring the inside of my foot, hence the torn tendon?
Now I'm in this Aircast looking like Robocop. Neighbors joke I'll be kicking field goals in the fall! The boot really does feel great. It's tight on my foot and keeps it stable. Going back to doctor in three weeks. Am thinking I'll be 100% healed!

Athens Y Camp

2011-07-19T06:22:00.012-05:00

We took our sweet Lillee to Athens Y Camp/Camp Chattooga this past Sunday. Daughter doing great, mom needing medication. She was ecstatic! She's been talking about it since she got out of school. In hindsight it probably would've been easier for her to go at the beginning of the summer. I was used to her being at school all day. Now I've had her all summer to myself and I miss her. I would never let her know that though. All of my letters to her tell her how much I miss her cutting on the 18th Star Wars the Clone Wars for Baxter each day!

This camp is in Tallulah Falls, GA. It's about 2 1/2 hours from the Griff. Her dear friend Ellis was going so she jumped at the chance to go too. I'm glad they knew each other but if they're anything like their mamas, they don't meet a stranger!

When we arrived we got her bed made up and they were off to do their swim tests. The cabins were really old school. There's no AC blowing on these campers. I think that's awesome. One of the small things from my childhood camps that she can experience. Ellis and Lillee both decided on top bunks so they're right next to each other.

We got an email that the theme for the boy/girl get-together would be "Christmas in July." We couldn't find a Christmas sweater so Lillee came up with this costume. Of course I had to sew the skirt and take off the yellow lace but it somewhat came together.

Here's her trunk that Aunt Sandra recommended to us. I would've loved something like this when I was at camp. Everything fits nicely inside. I felt like I was getting ready for rush week or decolores with the paint pens.
I got a picture of my neurotic packing job. I did separate outfits into ziploc bags but that is only because I ask Lillee first and she thought it was a great idea. I am fully prepared for utter chaos that she has made the trunk into now. However, I can have a peace that I did send it completely, ridiculously organized. There was a bag for underwear, a bag for socks, a bag for shampoo, bag for bathing suits, pajamas, you name it and it has a ziploc and sharpie somewhere on it. Hey, it's our first camp!

I do miss her terribly. Thankfully we are able to check the website each night and see pics of her. She looks like she's having an awesome time, which I absolutely expected. She's so independent and outgoing and I'm so proud of her. I can't wait to hear all about the new friendships she's formed. After her swim test she told us goodbye and ran off. That made it a little easier on me that she was so strong. However, when we got in the car Ben kept saying, "Sissy, Sissy, Sissy." I told him to shhhhh.... These boys really do miss her. There have been a lot less clothes going through the washer and dryer this week but she's making friends and memories to last forever.

Mountain Adventures: Part 2

2011-07-18T15:03:00.038-05:00

Our cabin could not have been more perfect. I think there were 8 beds. Those were much needed for this family who likes to play musical beds at night. There was also a crib. A crib that was untouched the entire week. Scott found it through Georgia Mountain Rentals. It was a quiet community with a pool we could use. The loft upstairs was great for Scott's early morning work as well as a makeshift futon for Lillee and her bag of goodies!
The first day we went to Moccasin Creek State Park. I packed a picnic so we had a great time. Lillee made the comment that if Nana was on the picnic we'd have a cake and real plates! Yikes - I'd better work on that! This campground was on Lake Burton. Absolutely beautiful views. We did see the tornado devastation on the lake.

This was our post-tubing picture! I'll let the look on Ben's face tell the story. Let's just say that he rode on top of me on top of the tube, with a mildewed life jacket, without a paci, with a loud scream, with an even louder scream when we hit rough waters, with a petrified, life or death scream when we flipped over backwards! Ha! Not such a fun trip for mom and Ben. However, Lillee and Baxter tied their tubes together and had a blast. Lillee would get up on her knees when they approached fast water! They had a fun time. Priceless, as it just about was!

These were not peaches from the mountains but from Griffin's own Piggly Wiggly. They were super yummy though and I'm still not sure how many Baxter and I consumed! Mmmm.
Speaking of food, I brought the starter for our bread. I packed the dry ingredients and the loaf pans. It was like packing for another child!

I considered bringing a bowl with me to mix it up in. You can imagine my relief when I found a bowl exactly like mine! I would think that it was meant to be to bake bread in the mountains but I think the altitude thought otherwise. It was a little flat?

However, these peach preserves from Betty's Country Store really helped the flat part taste perfect.
We spent a lot of quality family time out on the Innsbruck Golf Course.
This green was in our backyard. A fun hole!
Babyland General has moved since we were last there in 2006. It was a great facility and the staff was very friendly even though the dolls were a little eery.
Ben decided his mid day nap was in order!

We paid our $4 parking and walked through downtown Helen in 99 degree weather! When we told Bax and Lills we were going to Hansel and Gretel they were a little anxious. Baxter can't even listen to me read the story without crawling under the covers! They were pleasantly surprised to see this yummy candy shop. It was interesting to find out the owner wrote the book Candy Making for Dummies.

In the afternoons Baxter and Lillee enjoyed lining up Ben's activities! Grouped by category nonetheless.
While they sorted, he hid from us
and glared at us.
Baxter thoroughly enjoyed the spa tub.
We ate breakfast at The Dillard House. It was delicious but a little overwhelming! Lots and lots and lots of food.
While we were there Lillee and I checked into horseback riding. We rode through the Tennessee River. I was a little anxious when we went into the river and the water soaked my shoes! We had a great time. It was nice bonding for the two of us.

Scott did some bonding of his own with the boys. They rode all over the golf course. Ben loved it! We really needed this cart to get back to Griffin when we packed my car up and it wouldn't crank! Leave it to the Clampetts to need assistance! An extremely kind man from the rental company came and pulled his truck off the side of the driveway to jump us off. Thank goodness we made it home!

Happy Belated 4th of July!

2011-07-10T18:58:00.010-05:00

It's been a while since the last post so I have a lot to catch up on. We've been gone on a Griswald family vacation! And when I say Griswald, trust me, you're gonna want to hear this!

In the meantime I'll leave you with a few patriotic, less "Clampettish" pics. We dressed in theme for church. Ben was less than pleased with his outfit, but he complied.
We enjoyed the fireworks in our bathing suits. We came straight out from the pool so this was all we had!

Oh, and a bag of Doritos. Those always go well with a baby in a diaper!
The Griffin parade. I'm still unsure why the woman on the Gator stopped to give Baxter a crown?
Ben loved the pop pops!A yummy pretzel treat for the holiday!

Mountain Adventures 2011: Part 1

2011-07-10T18:22:00.014-05:00

I'm going to try to be as positive as I can in this post so if at any point you sense we didn't have a great time, please stop reading. However, I have to say there were many moments in our mountain getaway that could possibly result in nightmares on my end such as....

Pirate Adventure putt putt. $6 per person gets you 18 holes, pirate hat, pirate tattoo, pirate flag and an ice cream.

Goats.....on a roof???

Leave Scott and the children alone in a Kangaroo convenience store for 5 mins and this is what they get!

More stories/pics to come on this tubing adventure!

Scott and his friend, Ferdinand

No words…

Where has the summer gone?

2011-06-29T15:36:00.011-05:00

This summer is flying by. We've been really busy doing nothing at all! Scott made the drive to Metter to meet my parents and pick up the kiddos. Ben and I stayed here and went to The Tidal Wave. Great entertainment for almost 2 year olds! Once we were all reunited Scott suggested we all go see Cars 2. Lillee and I were not so impressed! The boys loved it.

We've been hanging out, thinking about packing for camp, swimming, eating at Subway and looking for lightening and cicada bugs. We've also been doing quite a lot of sleeping. The kids obviously needed some time apart in order to get their beauty rest. Ben took two and three hour naps during the day when Baxter and Lillee were gone. My dad said he and Bax got some great chair/nap time too!

We've been eating lots of butterbeans, squash, peaches, blackberries, tons of blueberries, raspberries and watermelon. I ordered some things from CSA Bluebird. Everything I got from them was delicious. I attempted blackberry preserves. They're yummy if you pour them over your out-of-the-oven sourdough bread but not quite firm enough for a sammich. The attempt at peach cobbler was much better, especially the second day. I have a handful of peaches left on the counter and sitting next to it is the July edition of Southern Living. There are great peach recipes in there. Seeing this pairing on the counter makes me happy!

Yet another project is underway. We are trying to get Bax out of our bed. I know, I know that we should've never started the pattern. However, we are going to attempt to get a grip on it now! Sunday night was his first night and we caved and said he could sleep with Lillee (a transition of sorts.) She made him pay her $2 to sleep with her and it looked like a restless night. Monday night Scott read him a story and put him in his bed to sleep. All was great until the next morning when I woke up with him snuggled close to me. When I ask him why he came and got in bed with us he told me he thought he may have a bad dream. Key word: MAY Tuesday night Scott was so tired and had to get up early the next morning that he slept in Lillee's bed so I ended up with Bax, Lillee and Piper in bed with me. We'll keep working!

Lillee and I are starting to work on our list for camp. She goes in three weeks but we attempted a shopping trip together and found some shorts and such. Anyone who knows me will tell you I don't enjoy going out shopping. Shopping for this family usually means huddling around the computer or kids flagging pages in a magazine so I can place the order at 6 a.m. However, having a girl kind of means mother/daughter shopping trips. I emphasize trips and not vacations. Two totally separate words! A friend of mine from Jesup and her mother would go shopping every Saturday morning. I always thought that was a neat tradition so maybe Lillee and I will one day be seen perusing shops together? Maybe?? Now I would still prefer the clicking of the mouse and email tracking updates. We did go to a shoe store for some much needed tennis shoes for her. The clerk brought out a 1.5 which was way too small. After measuring her foot we learned she's a 3.5! I am in disbelief she is getting this big.

My friend and I were talking yesterday about another "friend" of mine. This "friend" is not someone I know but someone I stalk in blogland. Anyway, she has decided to document what she does each day. That may sound mundane to some, but to me it reassures me that what I'm doing is semi-normal! I enjoy reading it and seeing how our lives are somewhat parallel. Pondering in the future but preparing myself to see the feed/traffic SLOW down during those posts. A sweet friend of mine gave me this book for my birthday. It is such a great journal of thoughts to look back each year. I'm really enjoying writing in it each night and recapping the days events. When I think we're not too busy, I am surprised when I look at all of the things we've done.

New Beginnings

2011-06-22T21:39:00.027-05:00

Lillee at FUMC Art Camp - loved it...just the right thing for her!

There have been lots of new things going on around here....beginning with the iPhone. I'm still learning and it is a really cool phone. My phone died and I used the old flip phone for the day. It was pure bliss. Very simple talking and texting. I called Scott to tell him things were great and I enjoyed that annoying ring tone but I was too late. This iPhone is fun if you know how to work all things Mac, which is why I have it I think. My IT guy is Mac obsessed! If I hear Mac Book Air again I'll scream. All of these pics are from the iPhone. I read a blog where they did an iPhone "dump" and put all pics from the past month up. Pretty cool concept as this is usually the only camera I have with me these days.

Starting with this picture!!! I had five kids in the house and we were all upstairs. I was packing bags to go to the pool and had thrown in this bag of chips. A few minutes later I noticed Ben had disappeared. It got very quiet upstairs but I could smell something coming from Lillee's room. I found him in Lillee's shower with the door closed with this bag of chips and a present for me in his pants! I texted this picture to Scott and he thought this was Baxter! I guess the poor guy was just looking for a quiet spot to eat his chips.
Some great friends decided to throw a fun birthday gathering for me. Very sweet and much appreciated. The kids had a great time as did I!

Lots of my parents friends came by while we were there. They brought vegetables, chicken and dumplings and offered to cut the grass. What great friends! We were able to go to one friend's home to visit their garden. We came home with a cooler overflowing with yummy goodness.

blackberries

purple hull crowder peas (Baxter loved shelling these)

can you spot a hot baby in the tomato patch?

I'm not sure if you can see this but it's asparagus! I've never seen asparagus growing in a garden! Very cool.

My dad's back went out right after he got home from visiting our house. He literally couldn't walk/sleep/eat/work. He has been to the doctor and had two epidural injections. I wanted to drive down to help but my mom convinced me to wait and bring the kiddos when he was able to hang out with them and play lots of Go Fish! I'm glad we waited even though I felt sad I wasn't anymore of a help. The kids and I were making daily trips to the post office to mail packages. I hope he recognizes the work in getting A)the contents of the package, B)making kids sit to color pics, C)the long lines at the post office with kids hanging on the velvet ropes! We enjoyed it and know it brought some happiness to his day. He just went to the doctor for his second epidural while we were there and was cleared to mow the grass (without bumps) for 15 mins at the time. Ben really enjoyed watching him. He couldn't figure out why Papa couldn't pick him up but he loved snuggling with him!
The first night we were there my mom took all three kids to her Vacation Bible School. I took full advantage of two quiet hours and went to the best TJ Maxx ever! I started texting Scott pics for his new office. He was so slow to respond I ended up with a lamp for our bedroom and some kitchen towels. Now I still have a reason to go to Forsyth Liquidators for him!
So proud of my two big kids who wanted to ride all of the big water slides at Summer Waves! We did not ride the ones that go straight down but these were pretty big! Lillee was not scared at all. It took some convincing to get Bax to go. I'm sure Ben would have gone willingly had he been able.

Oh, and one more new endeavor.....

I JOINED FACEBOOK!!!

Oh my! I'm not sure what I've done. It can clearly become an obsession. I am Jenn Key. I'm not really sure why I'm not Jennifer Key or Jennifer Causey Key but I'm just happy I have a profile picture that it took me 4 hours to figure out! Happy FB'ing

Myrtle Beach

2011-06-06T06:11:00.028-05:00

We visited the city voted 1 out of 6 for "most fun" in USA Today! I can surely tell you The Hilton was fun. Our family usually doesn't leave the compound where we are. We did venture out a few places but not too far!
We were there for the Georgia State Bar conference. We met up at the pool with these sweet neighbors. Thankfully, Bethany went with us. I'm not sure if she was there to help with kids or to laugh with me at our Clampett goings on. I could seriously write a book/song about our life. We woke up all the kids at 6 a.m., were packed and ready. Crank up - dead battery! Just typical! So we threw our jumper cables in the back and headed out.
The beach was nice and the pier was close by. Very pretty shells. Unfortunately, these could be some of our last pics since our camera started making some crazy noise and is now broken. Where can I take to fix?

There was a waterpark at one of the hotels connected to the Hilton. It was great. Two fun slides and a lazy river. Bax was a little too short to go on the lazy river, hence, Griswald/Clampett moment but Ben didn't mind. He spent most of his vacation with happy looks like this...

What would we do without this sweet girl? We also went to The Pirate's Voyage. No pics of that. Dear Dolly would not allow flash photography. Everyone said that was the highlight of their trip! It was really great. A definite 2 thumbs up!

Sweet love.
The pool was separated by a little island. One of the pools had sand in the middle. Very cool.

Lillee turned a few chairs into her salon. There was lots of braiding and hair brushing involved!

We did eat at Cracker Barrel. We drove around and couldn't decide between the 14 seafood buffets on the strip so we pulled into the most reliable thing we could find.

Papa Visits

2011-05-29T02:26:00.010-05:00

My dad came up Monday to watch Baxter's Pre-K graduation since Nana had been here all weekend for Lillee's recital. We took Ben to graduation then Poppy stayed with Bax for water day! I think he was worn out from all of the four and five year olds!

It's hard to see how big these two are getting!

See a resemblance?
The water day activities didn't end at school!

Wednesday my dad rode to Atlanta with me to get a haircut. We snuck a trip to The Varsity while we were there. However, he didn't think it compared with Willy's!

What a fun time we had with him here! Of course we missed Nana but someone had to stay home with Sugar!

Dance Recital 2011

2011-05-26T12:48:00.013-05:00

Beautiful dancer! This is her fourth year dancing and she's still loving it! Lillee and Elle enjoy being together in class but I'm not sure they don't like the car ride to and from just as much!

They donned masks for their ballet dance. So cute but a little tough to pick your ballerina out!

Tap dance was to "Hit the Road Jack" and it was such a fun number to watch. It was a little bittersweet since this was Lillee's last year to be in the day time recital. Her group was the oldest so she'll move to the night show next year!

Geranium Festival

2011-05-26T11:12:00.011-05:00

20 months of pure sticky, sweet love. This child has really done a 180 degrees turnaround since he had tubes. He is so much happier most of the time. The grumpiness is few and far between thank goodness. He's so much fun! Is it possible to have more personality than Bax?

"Mom, I really think I'd like to ride the ponies like my brother and sissy."

I don't think he meant that!
After that meltdown we headed back to Scott's office for some ice cream. It was hot out but I kept reminding everyone it was only in the 80s and MAY! Nana and Lillee rocked while Bax and Scott threw one of our 16 free frisbies.
One last pic of the entire family. I am especially proud of this pic for a few reasons:

1) NO pacifier

2) 4 out of 5 family members looking at camera

3) my mom usually makes us look into the sun when taking our pic. I think she did a nice job with this one!

4) so happy to all be together, hair and teeth brushed, all have on shoes!

Swimming, Mother's Day, a snake and some dogs

2011-05-15T06:03:00.016-05:00

We had a slow start to Mother's Day. Baxter and I both got really sick on Saturday so we stayed home Saturday night while Scott went to a wedding and Lillee and Ben went to a neighbor's. However, on Sunday we were all 100% and ready to swim! Ben is all over the place at the pool.. No fear.Here's Bax with the ladies at the pool.
He's swimming like a champ this year.
Our sweet neighbor, Knoxie.

Here is the funny note we found from one of our favorite babysitters, Karrington! We are going to have to find some fun Disney movies to watch instead of Teen Mom on Tuesday nights this summer. We have quite the crew here on Tuesday nights.

I guess we'll need Karrington to come babysit for Father's Day so we can go get Scotty one of these.
The boys were playing in the backyard and found this guy. He was already dead but that didn't me any less nervous. Ugh. So we called the neighborhood over and sent Scott a picture in Atlanta.
Bird, Bubba's friend, was the first to arrive!
Lucky for us our old dog Duke came home. However, he didn't stay long. He brought his friend Foxy Brown back and they've taken off again! It's very strange. He seriously left 7 weeks ago. Bubba spotted him about two miles away at a gym at midnight about 6 weeks ago.
Piper very happy to be the only child again.

Grumpy wakes up on the wrong side of the bed

2011-05-14T19:47:00.014-05:00

Most mornings since Ben had tubes, he wakes up like this...

However, there are some afternoons that he wakes up like this...
Lillee and Bax got home from school and he woke up. I brought him downstairs and he refused to move! He has now become attached to this "yellow blankie" and a stuffed Barney. There's also a Mickey Mouse he likes that must come and go to bed with him. He stayed in this position for half an hour!
Lillee didn't know what to think....neither did Piper!
Warming up finally!
Sissy, take me to my Barney show!

Photo from the archives

2011-05-10T07:20:00.002-05:00

Con Con's mommy sent me this pic a couple of weeks ago. Wow - a real blast from the past. They were 2? 3? here? Mr. Todd would pick up Bax every morning to drop them off at First United Methodist Preschool. It seems like forever ago. I think Bax looks just like Ben in this picture. So sweet. I teased Megan we need to keep this for their rehearsal dinner slideshow! Ha!

Our newest addition!

2011-05-09T20:26:00.003-05:00

The newest Key member arrived May 4! PIPER is a lab/collie/chow mix. He's so cute and terrific with the kids. They think they've won the lottery. He was in a fenced in yard all day every day and his owner was moving to an apartment and wanted Piper to be able to run and have interaction with others. He's only about 9 months old so he's still playful like in the puppy stage but he's so sweet and gentle with the kids. Ben has decided Piper is a horse! This is a bad pic of him. He was upside down in the chair. Who would have thought I'd have a dog - in the house - on the furniture - in my bed. Well, he wanted to be in my bed but I've convinced him that bunk beds are great so he's sleeping with Baxter. He's definitely gone through an adjustment period. He kept escaping our fence so I finally caught him CLIMBING the gate. Why would I think it would be easy? So, it's official, he's on the shock collar. EEEKKKK. It was a little sad but he seems really smart and has learned his boundaries. We can now just leave him out when we're gone and he'll stay on the front porch. We're so excited to have him and I know we're all going to love him unconditionally! I'll try to get a better pic soon.

Green Thumbs

2011-04-27T20:17:00.004-05:00

We had our April Garden Club meeting last night at Artistic Flowers. The owner was so nice to open up his shop and give us some inside scoop into some beautiful, and what he called easy, arrangements! I'm not sure ours would turn out so great if duplicated. He mentioned that the key to great arrangements is the container so you should invest in great stuff that you'll have forever! I'm not sure my backyard is ready for this! The above pic was so neat. Those are Monestera leaves grouped with Gerbers. Very simplistic and pretty.

A wrapped wine bottle with this amazing collection of candles sitting in it.

If you look closely in the picture below you can see the vine in the square container. It's called creeping willow and it serves as the oasis for the flowers to go in. Super cool! How about the container that the moss and succulents are in? Triple love.

A New Ben

2011-04-25T13:31:00.003-05:00

We had to wake up our sweet angel at 5:15 a.m. to get to the hospital by 6:00 for his tubes. We were not as nervous as we were with Baxter but it was still unsettling to know your baby is going to be under anesthesia. We had to wait 2 hours with him before he was taken back. I can't even begin to describe the circus acts we performed to keep him entertained and his mind off drinking something. After they took him back the doctor was out talking to us within 8 mins. and said he did great. It was so sad when they rolled him back in. He was holding a styrofoam cup with apple juice. Bless his heart. He was so groggy and went right back to sleep when we got in the car. That's what he's been doing all day. Wow - we've watched two DVR'd Oprah's!!! This is so different than Baxter. Bax was starving as soon as we left and playing all day afterwards. They are definitely night and day boys. Here's hoping that we are ear infection free and a happier baby from now on. We are so blessed beyond measure to have 3 healthy children.

Thank you to our dear pediatrician for the beautiful roses. They've certainly brightened my day and Ben says they smell delicious! And many thanks to our sweet neighbor, Marianna for spending the night with us so that Lillee and Bax wouldn't have to wake up so early. We really appreciate you handling their morning rush and getting them to school.

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T20:47:00.005-05:00

Wow - what a difference a year makes!

Check out Baxter's face...and my face....and Ben's paci!!! I'm glad Lillee was our superstar!

We almost made it in the pictures before anyone was stained with the HFCS from their Easter basket. I think Ben had red jellybeans on his outfit. We made it to Sunday School by 9:30 and had a great lesson with hot cross buns, The Skit Guys and 3DS! After a quick run through KFC, we had our sweet, dear friends over for Easter lunch. Minus the icky potholders, I thought our table looked very pretty. It's so nice to have wonderful friends to share holidays with since our family is so far away. It's comforting to know that there are people that love our children so much and want to spend time and influence them. We are thankful and extremely blessed to have them in our lives.
Beautiful Easter angels.

Spring Break

2011-04-24T18:04:00.001-05:00

My Easter pledge is to figure out this iPhoto thing? It is such a task to put photos on my blog. I've spent hours trying to figure it out? I've even googled phrases such as "how to import pics" and "importing from iPhoto to Blogger" but have not figured it out? I keep looking at these pics in tiny form or count how many from the bottom of the screen? I'm not kidding.

Any matter, we've been on Spring Break this week. Initially, I was going to take the kids to my parents for a "few" days by myself. Then, Scott decided he would go with us and work and make a prison visit on Thursday in Savannah.

Tuesday we went to Jekyll and played putt-putt. Then we headed to the beach and enjoyed a delicious picnic with Nana! That was definitely her favorite part of the trip! We also went to grandma's and had dinner with her and let the kids take a bath, I mean swim, in her tub!

Wednesday my mom had to work for a few hours so my dad, Scott and I took the kids to the Altamaha River. We had so much fun. The kids tried to catch minnows and enjoyed the water so much. The river was really pretty and very high. Wednesday night we met some great friends for dinner at Mullet Bay. I think we picked the right place to eat with 5 kids! Everyone was great so we went to the playground afterwards. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics with our friends Cohen and Carter. We were having too much fun!

Thursday Lillee, Bax and I met up with several friends from Griffin and played on the beach all day. We did run down to the pier and eat at Sandcastle. Of course afterwards we had to peruse several shops! The kids were all too happy to walk along and windowshop after a treat at Zuzu's! We had a fabulous day. Wow - Bax and I were so pooped after all of the sun that we made a pit stop by Target then went straight home to bed. Lillee ended up spending the night with her friends on SSI and having a terrific time.

We had a fun week. Now we're on the countdown - 4 weeks til school is out! I cannot believe it. More importantly, I cannot believe I'm about to have a 2nd grader and a Kindergarten student! Wow! We'll be busy bees but I'm going to still vow to figure these pics out so that I can post more frequently... and develop these pics to albums so I can start fresh in the summer. Any suggestions welcome...pllleeeaassse!

All I Want for Christmas is....

2011-04-01T12:17:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe she lost both front teeth at the same time. Actually, to clarify she would tell you it was an hour apart. They're twins, right?

My phone wasn't receiving texts yesterday but I got out of the shower to find the pic above from her teacher and the one below from her assistant principal. Thank goodness for these sweet, sweet people that take care of my angels.

It's so funny to hear her talk now! Lillee was sitting in the den yesterday watching TV and I could hear her slurping and drooling! So cute.

And you know there couldn't be a Key milestone without a little drama. When she got home from school she wanted to take the teeth out to show me. She then left them on the counter. After dinner we got cleaned up and headed upstairs for baths. When she asked me to "grab her teeth" I knew we were in trouble. They were both missing from the counter! I found one in the floor right next to the back door but the 2nd was a little more difficult! Scott and flashlight finally spotted it in the crevice of the back door. Dr. Banks ordered tweezers STAT and was able to surgically remove it from the depths of dirt and dust. It was quite a family affair.

The Tooth Fairy was able to come (on time) and deliver! It's grits, oatmeal and jello for awhile here!

Baxter 5 party, construction, Rainbow

2011-03-30T12:28:00.014-05:00

It is so hard to believe this boy is 5!

Baxter really enjoyed opening presents at the party. Lillee was very excited that he had a party, with cupcakes, and friends! All of those things were extremely important to her! He ended up having about 16 friends come. We had pizza and since it was Sunday night everyone went home and straight to bed.

Ava Kate is a couple of months older than Ben. They were all too happy for cupcake time!

Nana and Papa came for the end of the birthday celebration weekend! Lillee had definite plans that we would carry this birthday on for awhile. While my mom and dad were here we had some yummy tenderloin with asparagus.
A delicious pasta salad with radishes, snow peas, goat cheese and bacon from Southern Living.
Pirate cupcakes for the party!
Our neighbor Lindsay borrowed our bike and rack for the day so we thought we'd make a fair trade and borrow the beloved Rainbow for the day! I did the entire upstairs and Scott wanted to try out the bottom! He liked it so much he took it to the basement! Thanks Lindsay! We have a savings jar just for this even though it SUCKS!!
This five year old has been enjoying a bird's eye view of the neighborhood and checking up on the construction in the front yard. I have to say the first time I walked outside and called his name I wasn't sure where he was until I saw the tree moving. Thank goodness our pediatrician loves us so much.

The construction is almost finished. Whew, I would really like to see gold lining this drive! Here's our pool for the summer!
TIMBER...
Precious peapod lambswool got a haircut. I actually cut it first but when Scott saw him and called him Billy Rae Cyrus I knew he needed a professional! Thanks Ms. Lindsay! You made my tiny infant turn into a big boy. One that looks like his brother may I add!

Construction

2011-03-18T13:12:00.003-05:00

This child not only turns our world upside down, now he's tearing our house apart!

Baxter is 5!

2011-03-18T13:03:00.005-05:00

Where has time gone? Our sweet, sensitive, hot tempered middle child has turned 5! His actual birthday was Monday so we took cupcakes to school for his class. When he got off the bus he and his little side kick asked what kind of cake we were having to blow out candles? Uhhhh....mama start cooking! I whipped out a semi ok cake and let them decorate. Lovely. It made them very happy. We had some friends over for dinner (pizza, at his request) and his favorite pediatrician came too. He is anyway, the heir to her throne!

All he asked for was a Pirates of the Caribbean ship (Black Pearl) and chocolate cupcakes. A boy after my own heart! However, all of that went down the tubes when Lillee continued to question him about all the details of his party! Hence, Leaping Lizards here we come! I know he would have been completely thrilled with just our little gathering!

He promised us when he turned five he would start sleeping in his own bed. I think he has 3 times this week! That's a start.

More pics to come!

An Epiphany of Sorts

2011-03-09T21:00:00.013-05:00

Be still my heart...

Looking at these pictures makes me so happy. I've been blogging/stalking other bloggers/trying to figure out technology for about 4 years now. Recently, I've been looking back at old pictures and posts and realized I've changed things up in years past. Once, there was lots of writing. Next, some writing with pics mixed in. Now, it seems like there are more pics than text. I really enjoyed going back and reading what was going on in our lives. I have a journal I keep for the kiddos but this is really the faster/easier way to go! Quick - isn't that what we're all striving for these days?

Our family has definitely been going through some changes. We are home a lot more. This is due to restaurants not accepting 18 month old wiggle worms! We are working on Bible verses a lot more than before and it's really neat to see Lillee and Bax remember and recite them so well. Right now we're working on 2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come! We got a cool book of devotions for children and I love for Lillee to read them to us. I have also been reading some great books myself. The Sabbath and One Thousand Gifts are terrific reads and I believe they may just be the only books you'll need to get through the rest of life! If you can live the way they suggest, it should help you, your marriage, your children. These books pretty much encompass a life worth living, full of grace and a love for Jesus.

This is Ash Wednesday and I've been thinking of something to "give up" and it's been tough. I was thinking about the internet but I find so much encouragement and friendship through these sweet blogs I stalk on the computer. And I have to admit that since we got this Mac I use the computer less so that is not a vice for me. Food? Can't think of anything I overindulge in, especially since I'm trying to shred a good 20+ lbs. Kids? Can't get rid of one of them! Unless they're on an overnight campout! I think for the next 40 days plus Sundays I'll try to focus more on writing and remembering to thank God for his abundant grace in our life right now.

February 20=Lillee March 14=Bax

Can someone tell me how to get re-energized in three weeks!

We just finished all of the 7th birthday celebrations and now it's on to the 5th birthday bash! What can I say about this boy? He is our baby! Well, technically he's the middle child but until Ben can talk to us Baxter is still the tiny infant. Scott and I were just talking about when he was a baby and we would go out at night that we would come home and get him out of his crib to put him in the bed with us! Wow! What were we thinking? And we were surprised when he had his horrific temper tantrums that lasted for HOURS! We were surprised when he would scream, "NOTHING" at the top of his lungs when we ask him a question? He is just a super sweet kid when he wants to be. He is very sensitive and pretty easy to read/understand. His love language comes much easier to the naked eye than Lillee's. It's hard to believe he's five. After Lillee's big birthday production he just said he wanted a Pirates of the Caribbean Black Pearl ship and to go to Leaping Lizards. That's it. Oh, and chocolate cupcakes for school! Wow - what a difference in children.

Here they are camping here with nana and papa. They had a fun time roasting s'mores, playing putt putt, riding bikes, playing on the playgrounds and hanging at the festival!

Nana produced this awesome strawberry cake. Mmmmmm...that woman can cook.
Lots of thank you notes for some very kind friends.

Lillee is 7

2011-03-01T13:39:00.009-05:00

Our sweet Lillee turned seven February 20. Wow! I really cannot believe it has been that long. Seven years ago we strapped her into her carseat (incorrectly) and drove 5 mph home from the hospital with my dad following us with flashers on! I'm really not exaggerating. She is so smart, beautiful and independent. She is doing so well in school and has lots of wonderful, close girlfriends already! There is a little pack of girls that are great friends and it’s so cute to see them all together.

Lillee is very into reading now. She has been getting up after we’ve put her to bed to read more! She’s also learned the game of rummy which she tries to play all day long!

Lillee and Elizabeth have birthdays 5 days apart so we try to do birthdays together. This year was no exception. Joy booked us two rooms at the Holiday Inn and we were set. We took 12 girls to swim and have pizza by the pool. Then we ended up with 8 spending the night, beading, coloring and staying up WAY too late! Thank goodness for adjoining rooms so Joy and I could rest peacefully! They were very sweet and I think it was a birthday to remember!

I'm not sure what we would've done without Bethany there to help us out? She had those girls crafting, playing dolls and behaving very well. What a great role model for these two girls to look up to!

Their sweet teacher came with their student teacher too! It is so awesome these four awesome girls get to share such a spectacular teacher.
Our tshirts turned out pretty darned cute.

We had a great time but Joy and I sure were pooped! Thank goodness for Winter Break! We had a great time playing at the park with friends and sleeping late. We went to my parents for a few days and ended up leaving Lillee for the weekend. Hence, her rummy skills were sharpened as well as her mini golf game. She and nana went to see Gnomeo and Juliet for the 2nd time and shopping for shorts. Baxter, Ben and I came home just in time for me to pack my bags again and head here for a nice relaxing time with some very sweet girlfriends. We all had spa treatments, a long enjoyable lunch on the lake and a fun night away. Thank goodness for those friends and for husbands to help with kids!

Valentine's and Birthday Craft Day

2011-02-12T21:45:00.029-05:00

These precious two angels really are in love! It was only a little painful for her to pucker up! However, he was hesitant as he only has eyes for ......
Valentine's cards have begun! He was so proud to make his Valentine a card and this is how he wanted me to mail it! We spent one Saturday afternoon making cards for both classes and for friends around the neighborhood. Lucky for us my mom swooped in for 18 hours while her pastor's wife and son toured Shorter College! She's always willing to hitch a ride to come see us.
Again, 46 Valentine's! Someone commented when I made 47 cupcakes. No, my children are not in LARGE class sizes! 20 in PreK and 22 in 1st grade with two teachers in each class. Still, lots of repetition when making anything for either of them. I cannot even imagine what it will be like when Lillee is in 5th, Baxter in 3rd and Ben in PreK. Wow!

This sweet package arrived in time for the day of love. It was full of cards, candies and crazy music!

Dear Nana and Papa, Thank you for filling my days and nights with the tune of "Dream Lover." Sincerely, Jenn
Our sweet neighbor is gearing up for the Heart Hustle! She's going to do great in the 5K.

This past Saturday we decided it was a day for love and crafting! We started out with these not so easy lollipops. I made them last year for the tops of cupcakes but this time Joy and girls came over and we decided to add white chocolate to the middle with sticks and sprinkles.
Next up - tie dyed tshirts for the 7th birthday party next Friday. We dyed 12 big kid tshirts, 12 Preemie tshirts and 12 pairs of socks. Preemie tshirts you ask? For the American Girl dolls!

I'm not sure what we would have done without Bethany? She knew exactly what to do! That must be what 15 year old girls do for fun! She was an expert when showing the girls what to do and what NOT to do!

Hannah entertained the tiny infant while we created the crime scene! Those American Girl dolls are going to be decked out!

The product in waiting....they were each wrapped in baggies and sat overnight.
Ben hid from the dye - I can't say I blame him.
Here are the birthday girls in their crafting uniforms. They enjoyed running from "station" to "station" in their bags. I cannot believe these two will be 7!
Left child's foot = size 1 Right child's foot = size 11. You decide who is who?
These hearts are still drying. Bowl of glue + lots of yarn cut into small pieces + heart cookie cutters = a big mess! We'll see how the end result looks?
We celebrated Sandra's 40th birthday. We really tried to get her out of her funk that she said she was in. She is 40 and FABULOUS! We went to a yummy restaurant in Senoia called Founders.

Farrah, Sandy, Leslie and me

Lawson, Scotty, Corey, Don and Wes

The red velvet cupcakes were delicious. Thanks so much Eileen! What do you have coming up for Feb. 20? March 14? Sept. 10?

Farrah's cousin made this hat for Sandra. We all love love loved it! She is apparently on Facebook so I will be searching away for her!

Did I mention how much we ALL loved the hat!

Groundhog's Day and an update

2011-02-03T21:02:00.012-05:00

It's been awhile...and I hear the groundhog did not see his shadow which means an early spring, right???? WRONG!!! We had lots of icy rain hitting the window today and sleet tonight. Ugh...I'm so tired of this cold weather. Thankfully this past weekend was warm and the kittens spent the whole day outside! I made cupcakes thanks to this blog and sent them to school. I'm guessing I can't tell you how crazy the kids have been if I had the time to cut each of these little devils out! 47 to be exact!
We enjoyed a nice picnic Saturday after Lillee's basketball game.
Monday when the kids went back to school Ben did a little potty training and celebrated Dental Health Month!

Monday night was a girl's night for our Bible study. We are reading The Sabbath and it is terrific. I started reading this book in October and one girl summed it up right on Monday when someone asked how it had changed our life??? Now we are aware of the things we are not doing enough of!!! It has some great points about resting, keeping a rhythm, finding true happiness and contentment. We should always remember that the sabbath is a commandment to obey.

Then we had this sweet guy come over and sell us some Cutco knives!!! It was quite the demonstration! Scott ended up with a HUGE block of scary kitchen tools.

Then I decided to go all Martha and cook FOUR casseroles. I didn't really have anyone in mind when I was making them but then it just so happens that one girl went into early labor, another friend has a nephew with leukemia so I thought that family could use some extra nourishment and another to a teacher, the ultimate servers!!!

Last weekend we drove up to Atlanta to see our dear friend. Poor thing her oven went out so we ended fixing pb&js. The kids were happy just hanging out!
I did a lot of entertaining with my dear friend Barney....
which made this precious angel love me more!!!
Meanwhile, these three occupied themselves in front of Spiderman. It was a fun time with great friends.

Nashville

2011-01-17T11:42:00.042-05:00

What a terrific trip to Nashville. Scott had to go to The Opryland Hotel so we decided to bring reinforcements and gave the trip to my parents for Christmas. He was only there on Friday for about 3 hours so we were all mostly together. We stayed at a great VRBO house right on a golf course. I think we were around Nashboro Rd area. It was really about 15-20 mins from anywhere you needed/wanted to go!

There were a few inches of snow on the ground. Just enough to play in and make it fun. Of course the kids loved throwing it at Nana and Ben loved hearing it crunch under his feet.

We did a lot of eating! and not pictured but a lot of playing cards, including UNO and rummy!

A perfect snow angel made by Lillee

We headed over to the hotel for Scott's conference. We were able to see our newest Georgia Court of Appeals Judge, Chris McFadden for a minute. We had some yummy burgers then Papa, Lillee and Bax headed out on the boat tour of the hotel. It was so strange to see the marks on the columns of where the water had been during the flood. The hotel had to undergo like 186 million dollar renovation. WOW! It was a grand hotel. I'm sure we didn't cover half of it.

Nana and Ben stayed onshore and smelled the beautiful flowers in the gardens. I loved the red double begonias. There were huge bromeliads and colantia.
There were rare moments of scattered grandchildren bliss. I'm sure my parents need a vacation after this trip! I heard somewhere the other day that a time away with children is called a trip. A time away without children is a vacation. AMEN!!!
Not one of Scott's artsy pics but proof we were here!

THE BIRTH OF BLUEGRASS

If you click on this pic and look closely this is Nashville's finest. It was one of our highlights from the trip! This man is on music row shooting a bird. I'm not sure if that's so nice to poke fun of a homeless man but it certainly was entertaining for a minute. Bless him.

Tootsies Lounge

The CMT building!
Here's another highlight. While we didn't have tickets or an interest in a tour of The Ryman, we did pass by and see a huge bus, lots of black suburbans in a motorcade, many dignitary looking people. My mom of course rolled the window down and asked what was going on? The governor's inauguration! Wow - we stepped right into the middle of that one. This was before he went up to the capital.
Celebrity ish
Beautiful architechture! The Customs House
Lifeway Christian Store. We started to stop and get some new Sunday School literature!
My mom loved the cross on the side of the building!
A friend of ours in Griffin suggested eating breakfast at Monell's. It was by far outstanding. It was in Germantown in the middle of nowhere!
We were seated at a large table with another couple. It was a lot of fun getting to know them and share an excellent dining experience!
Fried chicken for breakfast? Delish!

Low in cholesterol! My favorite was cheese grits. They were phenomenal! Mixed with some apples. Mmmmm.....definitely worth stopping by if you're ever in Nashville.
Next stop - Adventure Science Center! It was an amazing museum. The kids loved it! Not as much as Scott like the African movie playing in the planetarium. Ben lasted oh, 16 mins!
Then he headed to The Magic School Bus!
Nana piled in the ambulance with all three!
We were in the human body section where we learned all about digestion and......

POOP! Pretty disgusting!

Lillee's favorite part - not sure what to think of this???? Learning how to get around in braces/wheelchairs.

BEETHOVEN

MAD SCIENTIST

STORMWATCH 2011

2011-01-11T14:08:00.012-05:00

"Catch me Daddy"

We have termed it "STORMWATCH 2011" around these parts! Wow! It started snowing/icing Sunday night and the kids are going on Day 3 of being out of school.

Day 1: Lots of fun/excitement/drinks/cooking/friends/movies/DS/crafts/Auburn football! Day 2: A little fun/a few crafts/one movie/a quick jaunt out in the car to visit other shut ins/tired mommy/pizza/rented On Demand movie!

Who knows what Day 3 will bring??? Leaping Lizards? Are they open? HELP!

and Ben is off on his cookie sheet.....

What a sweet pic of these two special friends! We called them the stay puff marshmallow people all day!These kids had a blast in the plastic swimming pool. Turner put wooden "skis" on the bottom so it would go a little faster! What fun memories to make with great neighborhood friends.
Ben had a rough time adjusting to the freezing temps on Day 1 of Stormwatch 2011! A little disoriented.
Even with the snow and ice, Big Duke still had to get out to do his business!
Scott and Lillee enjoyed the big hill Made mama a little nervous but Lillee assured me the Rubbermaid lids would not go that fast.
Instead of math facts these two decided to gear up and go play some more!

Post Christmas Wrap Up

2010-12-30T14:12:00.012-05:00

Lillee and Bax both got after Christmas haircuts! She made the decision to chop it off? Whatever she thinks is going to be easiest for us both! It looks so cute but makes her look so grown up! Thankfully the tiny bangs are beginning to blend into the side hair! I think she wanted to look like new American Girl doll, Kit.

This one reluctantly got a cut as well even though he said he wanted it to grow to his shoes. I guess Lillee should have been the one to pose next to Kit, not him?

So the dog is in the house. Temps are not even that cold but Scott is gearing up for a treacherous winter and trying to train him to be inside. Hound dogs smell! and shed small white hairs! and poop like horses! Now he has a crate in Scott's office so he stays down there. Kids sure do heart him a whole lot!
Lillee got a pottery wheel from my parents. This is artsy Scott taking these pics! We've made one bowl and gotten it painted so far!
Between Duke and Santa presents, this one's been keeping himself busy even if it is behind the sofa!
Christmas Eve we had "Happy Birthday, Jesus" party complete with Stouffer's chicken enchiladas and lasagnas! Many bird mouths were ready for this yummy treat.

These two BFFs were so happy to exchange gifts!

HAPPY 2011!

Doe a Deer

2010-12-23T17:53:00.006-05:00

I'm not sure how I got these two in matching sweaters - thank you Smith/Ballard family! I thought they were so cute with the little Christmas deers - even with black jeans! Off we go to a cookie decorating. These three are party animals.

Tis the Season

2010-12-22T22:21:00.004-05:00

Had to add a couple of pics of our gingerbread houses. We had a fun time with great friends and the queen of crafts making these. Martha herself couldn't have done a better job (or made a bigger mess) than us. Don't look too closely as their is hot glue on the house on the right!

Baby it's cold outside!

These pics are for my mom. She gets us a nativity each year. We did not put all of them out this year for tiny hands are always busy! We had to remind him these are not Star Wars figures fighting. It was a very sweet moment as we heard him talking to the baby Jesus and tending his flock of sheep.

We braved Lenox Mall with Amy, Libby and Margaret.
Who knew the Pink Pig would take 1 1/2 hours? No thanks.
Instead, we stood in line a mere 20 mins to see Santa. These Griffin kids wanted to know where his big black plastic belt was! Ben was still not having it so I had to get in to hold.
We did some shopping. I guess with 100 people in the store they decided to slash prices. Again, long long line!
Bax and Libby found a few items.
Lillee took a snooze before we moved on to the Apple Store! Merry Christmas daddy!
Came home and did a little baking! Thank you Dollar Tree for the cutting boards.
They forgot a couple of things they needed to tell Santa.
This was another Santa we crashed an orthodontic office party to visit.
Little Debbie Christmas trees! Ben's favorite.
Griffin Christmas parade. Lillee was in it for her Impact Cheerleading. It was about 30 degrees with HIGH winds.
But these two braved it!
So did these two! What a JOYfilled season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas from the Keys

2010-12-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

Now this should have been our Christmas card!

2010-11-30T22:45:00.008-05:00

The Nutcracker has been an awesome experience! Lillee was an angel and a soldier this year. Wow - these moms are serious and intense. I'm so proud of myself and my bun making skills this year. I've always struggled to get it just as tight and slick as Patsy Ramsey could but this year my little Jon Benet looked perfect! I can't tell you how many times we've squeezed in and out of these tights! Lillee did a superb job dancing. I read something in the program and felt sad I didn't think of it. It complimented the dancer and said she had the strength of a soldier and the grace of an angel. How fitting. Lillee is a strong minded, independent little girl. I continue to pray for her grace and kindness as well. I hope she will continue this love of dance she has right now.

These two girls are loving the rehearsals, the yummy food they get catered with and mostly some down time with their DS. Elle was sick and Lillee was beside herself with someone to chat it up with. Fortunately, they get to hang out at school as well since they are in the same class.

Here's sweet Bethany. She has on her maid costume but there were many other costumes she put on. She did an awesome job and is such a role model to those young girls. Lillee thinks she hung the moon. What a great girl with such potential. I can't wait to see where she turns up!

Our own Key "nut" cracker! He keeps us on our toes! I will do some more month by month pics soon!

I'm not sure whose outfit this was but if you read this and it was yours, please comment so we'll know where to return it!

This picture was taken right before he got on top of the table to enjoy himself a clementine.

Turkey Day 2010

2010-11-30T22:06:00.009-05:00

This was Scott's first turkey on the egg. It was yummy! A little cajun style with a bit of a kick to it.
My secret recipe pumpkin pie! WINK WINK!!! Mr. Jenkins, thank you!

Baxter went down to my parent's house the Friday before Thanksgiving. He stayed through Tuesday and my mom came and brought him back. In the middle of Lillee running back and forth to Nutcracker we had a really nice meal and time together. Complete with SWEET TEA!

I made a yummy little cranberry gelatin mold. It was a different as it had horseradish in it! I thought it was a good combination with the spicy turkey.

This little turkey enjoyed himself. He and Lillee both ask for a leg!

Before lunch we watched the parade on TV. How awesome would that be to actually be in NY! We'll definitely have to work that into our traditions one year. Maybe when Ben is 10??

This is how Ben enjoyed the parade.

For about 1 1/2 hours he was glued to the sofa!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2010

Christmas Card Time

2010-11-19T09:04:00.008-05:00

Shhhh....this picture has a special meaning! Baxter was two years old when Lillee was in PreK. She would ride the bus home an awaiting little brother and Mary. Mary would say how great Bax had been all day til she got home and started whispering in his ear!!! Hence, we still talk about words like provoke and "rile" him up!
Cindy Stansberry braved these kids and came to take our Christmas card picture. We were supposed to go over to a place in Jackson but I thought our house would be just fine. There are no manicured lawns and gardens like her other beautiful locations but it all turned out okay. By the time we were finished and now seeing these pics, there may not even be a picture Christmas card! It's exhausting work!
Lillee had to have a hat to cover up the haircut! Baxter was running through the yard before the shoot, fell and got a hole in his pants! Character, character I kept reminding myself.

I love this picture of Lillee.....

and definitely this one!

Two sweet boys.

Cindy really did a great job capturing Ben's serious side! He looks just like my dad I think.

Random Weekend Pics

2010-11-13T21:27:00.012-05:00

I really need to post pic from the mountains but since I know how long it will take to upload the pics I'm procrastinating like crazy. Then, I'm already thinking about Advent and the pics I'll have to take. Maybe I'll charge up one of those smaller cameras for those pics. We are working on computer/monitor issues so hopefully our solution will make blogging a bit easier for me.
Nutcracker is coming quick and Thanksgiving break for the kids. Mom is coming next week for reinforcement thankfully. Along with bus week and providing the letter "O" snack and seeing the dentist I decided it was time to have these wirey gray hairs colored so it's off to Atlanta for me in the morning. It's been a realllllyyyy long day with Ben attached at hip because he can't breathe through his nose. Bless him. I'm also planning for Thanksgiving. It's only us and my parents but thorough planning is always good. And Christmas shopping. Online, of course.
14 months. There's been a little runny nose and irritability. Maybe we'll check ears soon. Since Ben went to stay with nana and papa he suddenly likes to get up and come to our bed?? Well, that's fine with me as long as everyone is sleeping. It is nice for him to be a little more adaptable to different places! This was on my bed one morning for a nap. He's not too bad of a fighter if he's really tired.

Lillee had parent watch week at dance. Scott and I tag teamed so of course he brought the camera which I had forgotten. Nutcracker is coming up so they're working really hard. I hope she will stick with dance and keep loving it.

Then there's this little devil. Every time I look up he is sitting on something really high. The pics are blurry because I'm always scared he's going to go head first any minute. Also, these pics really prove why mommy is always so tired! There's never a dull moment.
WHO ME?
These apples from the mountains are so yummy I'd probably climb a table to get to them too.
While Scott was watching the GA/AU game Saturday night I started a small fire for s'mores. It was a little late for finding sticks so we settled for white painted coat hangers. Oops. I don't think it will hurt.