It's always a party at the Parkers

Our Christmas Card

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:21:00 +0000

Lots of people have been asking if I'm designing Christmas cards this year. I wish that I could say yes, but for many different reasons, I decided not to this year. The printer I was using went up pretty dramatically on my cost.... I would have to go to a lesser quality paper and printing format in order to keep the price the same. Then the more I thought about it, well, the money I would make wouldn't make up for the time spent away from the kids in this all important Christmas season. I decided to focus on them, make lots of fun projects for them and really appreciate the magic of the season instead of adding more stress to it.

That being said, I really miss doing it.... I love designing, and I think Christmas cards are so important. They're a great way to stay in touch with those people we don't see very often and really.... who doesn't love a Christmas card? We all enjoy going to the mail box and seeing those sweet pictures of our friends' children. My own kids will practically knock each other over trying to get to the mailbox first! Not to mention, it forces all of us busy mommies to make the time to actually take a group shot of our kids. Without those some of us would never have a picture of all of our kids together. So HOORAHHHH to Christmas cards.... I hope all of you will keep sending them.

I thought I'd share ours this year for those of you who may not have received one... I try to remember everyone, but sometimes there's an address or two that I can't find. And I wanted to share just because I love this one so much. I've had so many people tell me how much it moved them (a Christmas card!!). I even had one friend call me and tell me it brought tears to her eyes. How sweet.

The front of the card

I loved this picture of the kids with Charlie.... this was from our second Christmas picture taking session. Unfortunately, when we decided to get a different dog I had to start all over with the picture taking. There for a moment I thought I'd just erase the old dog in Photoshop and add this new one. Joke.... I wish I were that good!

The inside of the card - a little celebration of the year - and a great year it was!

The back of the card

I thought about doing a beach Christmas card this year, but when we got the dog, I decided against it. So at the last minute I thought I'd just add some of our beach shots to the back of the card.

This one is definitely my favorite one ever.... keep sending those cards!!! We love receiving them.

Highlands..... Part 2

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:07:00 +0000

I had so much fun posting my last post from Jonathan's laptop in the mountains (I'm sure there are those of you out there giggling at me right now... me & my tech-savvy self). The wonders of technology! Afterward, we went out for a while to town and ate and ate and shopped a little, too. What a great little town.... full of fantastic restaurants and quaint little stores, and an art gallery or two..... something for everyone.... even a toy store which, of course, made the little ones happy. Here are some of the pictures I took on our last full day.

Here's our cabin in the woods.... pretty cute I thought

Here's a view looking up to the loft and the kids' room

A view of the kitchen

A view of the den

And the kids out on the porch.... although at 14 -35 degrees,

we weren't spending a whole lot of time out there - it was freeeeeeezing!

This was taken at the Old Edwards Inn, a beautiful hotel in town. It's a restaurant in the hotel called Madison's so little Maddie had to get a picture there

And Jacob at the toy store.... after an hour or so I was beginning to think we'd never get out of that place! We told the kids they could pick out one thing each and gave them a dollar amount. You can imagine just how many times they each changed their mind..... which in turn made another one want to change her mind.... and on and on!

A photo outside the cute toy store

We accidentally missed our time with Santa. We kept trying to get over there, and as soon as we were walking up, a family said, "Oh no, Santa just left!" Oh well, we took a picture in his sleigh anyway. Maybe he just left to go get a hot toddy.....
he couldn't have gone far without his sleigh, right?
Here's one of the enormous trees decorated in town for Christmas

And the trip was full of times like these.... treats, treats, treats!! Our favorite part!

It was a great trip, but I'm glad to be home now..... lots to do to get ready for the big day!

4 Days in the Mountains..... Brrrrrrr!

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:47:00 +0000

I never cease to be amazed by the technology of today. OK, I know, I'm a little behind the times, but Jonathan just bought himself a new laptop for Christmas, and here I am.... in Highlands, NC blogging while everyone is getting ready to go out for the day. I've never blogged from anywhere but my own computer at my desk. We can't even seem to get wireless working in our house -- the guys been out multiple times and something always seems to go wrong.
But here I am, in North Carolina..... I've imported my photos, uploaded them to Blogger, and well, here we are.... a new post in the mountains. Between that and my new Droid phone (which is waaaay complicated and came with no manual), I'm a little overwhelmed with technology these days! But it's so nice to be able to share a little of our vacation while we're actually still here ... real time blogging!

So on our first night here, we went to a local hang out. Yummy, yummy barbeque!

Maddie chilling at the barbeque restaurant

I love to make him giggle......

The kids bundled up the first night in the cabin.... they love all sleeping together. At least this time there was a king bed. It was really cute.... they brought a stack of Jacob's books into the bed, and they were reading bedtime stories to him.

Here's a glimpse of what the mountain looked like on our drive down to Asheville Friday morning. It was all of 14 degrees! No snow but the icicles everywhere were beautiful.

This is Bridal Veil falls.... it was frozen over. Normally you can drive underneath the falls, but on this day, there were thick sheets of ice on the road below.

Here's that beautiful house..... Biltmore Estate in Asheville..... 255 rooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces.... 175,000 square feet. Makes me cringe to think about all the cleaning involved! But it's so wonderful at Christmas here with all the garlands and wreaths and trees. I love the history of the house and just thinking about how it must have been at the turn of the century. Guests must have been amazed at the technology.... indoor plumbing, elevators, electric lights on the Christmas tree, working refrigerators and all the rest.

Jacob spotting something else he wanted at Biltmore in the gift shop.

This is in the wine cellar at Biltmore

Here are the girls at their "wine tasting" -- a little grape juice, please

Jacob tasting his "wine" too. I heard him say to the girls, "What flavor do you like best? I like this one." Uh-oh..... sounds like he may have inherited his daddy's genes.

Jonathan had to pull over to get a shot of these wild turkeys. He gets so excited.

We've been playing lots of games and watching family movies, well, I thought they were family movies. I saw The Goonies the other day at the store and thought "Oh, I loved that movie when I was little." Uh, maybe I wasn't so little after all -- although the movie is cute, it's got a few too many sh@#'s and he!!'s for a mama to feel comfortable with. I just kept apologizing to the kids, somehow though they didn't seem to mind at all.... imagine that.

So it's been great and we still have a day and a half left. We're off to town to shop and eat lunch. See ya'll!

It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas....

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:36:00 +0000

And that makes me so happy! I love driving around and seeing everyone's houses decorated, and I especially love how excited my kids get if we are ever out at night. The gaudier the displays, the better as far as they're concerned. We're making hot chocolate daily and listening to quite a few Christmas tunes, too.... who cares if it's 70 degrees outside.... we're gonna get in the spirit anyway!

I thought I'd share a few photos of our house decorated..... I'm still planning to add some real greenery along with the fake stuff but somehow I haven't gotten around to it yet. It always looks so much prettier with a few magnolia leaves and holly branches thrown in. The Christmas tree, on the other hand, is quite real and just about to do me in..... 5-6 hours of stringing lights! I'm more ready than ever to cash in those evergreen branches for a beautiful plastic replica! I've always sworn I never would, but I guess you should never say never.

Here's the tree.... I had to move a bunch of furniture to make room for it, but I like it so much better in the den than when we used to have it on the front of the house in Jonathan's office.
Most of the gifts are ready, but of course, that makes the "PLLLLEEEEEEEASE can I open just ONE?????" from Jacob a wee bit annoying..... not to mention the puppy seems to like to eat frilly ribbons and bows.... ALOT.

Here's a shot of the dining room

The den mantle

The kitchen chandelier

The dining room mirror

Another display..... I love my angel

More dining room.....

And the girls opening another days' advent calendar surprise

And our favorite tradition..... decorating the gingerbread houses. This year I went a little crazy and decided to do 2 houses, a train and a village of little houses, too. Yikes! It was 2 FULL days of work, but I love coming into the kitchen and seeing it every day. It reminds me of all the great gingerbread houses my grandmother made when I was little.

Here's Maddie after her shower adding a few touches to her house.

And Ta-dahhhh!
The finished gingerbread village. Macy's designated each one as the school house, the playhouse for all the kids, the library, the church, the dentist's office, grandma's house, etc. I really love Jacob's train..... we've never done that one before, although I felt a little queasy smelling the black licorice train track. Oh, how I loathe licorice.

Here are Maddie's schoolhouse and Macy's playhouse for the kids.... they actually did quite alot of it themselves. But I have to admit.... I just can't give up full control. I wish I could let them do whatever they want but I'm just not there yet.... Mama's too much of a perfectionist I guess.

Here's a shot looking down the road through the little village

Jacob did alot more eating the candy than he did decorating with it.....
But, really.... should I expect anything more from a 4 year old?

And here's a close up of Jacob's gingerbread train..... Isn't it cute? Choo! Choo!

And this is what you find after a day's hard work making Christmas goodies,
yes.... Jacob asleep in Madison's toybox in her closet!
I couldn't find him anywhere and Madison went to help me.
She passed by her room and heard snoring.....
when she followed the sound, this is what she found.
How precious is that??

We're off to the mountains of North Carolina for a 4 day weekend..... can't wait!
I'll send some pictures.

An Advent Calendar

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:08:00 +0000

When I was a child, Christmas was truly my very favorite time of year. I loved everything about it.... especially how it seemed to make my family come together. My parents divorced when I was 10, but there were many, many years of turmoil between them before they split up (and many years after they split up, too!). Somehow though, the holidays always had a way of bringing them together and encouraging a temporary cease-fire. And therefore, I guess it brings back lots of great memories for me.

My mom was creative, and we had lots of traditions like making gingerbread houses and sewing special ornaments. I loved the music and the anticipation of opening all those gifts under the tree, and I especially loved the story my sister would tell me every year of waking up one night and hearing something on top of the house, and when she looked out, she saw Rudolph's nose shining in the black of night. I sooooooo believed her! I can remember waking up at 5:00am much to my parents' dismay..... back then it was so special to receive any kind of gift, and I could hardly wait to tear open the first package.

Ever since I've had my own children, I've tried to make the holidays a special time of year for them, too. This year I worked really hard in November to come up with lots of fun projects for them. And I created a little project of my own, too..... well, maybe not so little. It's an advent calendar for the kids to count down the days until Christmas. When I was a child, we would visit my mom's aunt every year for Thanksgiving, and there was a Christmas store in her town. I would buy an advent calendar there each year, and it was such a treat to open those little doors to find a new prize each day.

For years now I've wanted to make my own children an advent calendar to pass down and use each Christmas. So this year I got serious about it and came up with an idea to make a large countdown to display in the house. I scoured the stores for neat things I could cover with felt and hide prizes inside. Then I strung them all up on ribbons and attached a number to each of them. It was definitely ALOT more work than I anticipated, but now that I'm almost done, it was well worth the 100 hours or so it took to make. Here's a picture of the final result (well, except for day 21 which I still haven't gotten around to making!). If you click on the photos, you can see the a larger image.

Here it is hanging in the den. The kids wake up each morning and can't wait to find their prizes. Sometimes it's just a piece of candy.... sometimes it's a small prize....
and sometimes it's a piece of candy with a note about an activity we'll do that day.
It's been fun, and of course the kids are loving it.

Here are Maddie and Macy on the first morning about to open their prizes

There are stockings and ornaments, gingerbread men and houses, drums,
books, gifts and more all with prizes hidden inside.

Here are some close-up shots. I loved making all the gingerbread houses.... especially the church. The roof lifts up on one side to open the house up so the kids can find their prizes.

It was a huge project, but you could make it a little easier if you wanted to make one. I've seen small stockings at the Dollar Store or small gift boxes that you could string up, put a number on, and fill with treats. I even saw some cute knitted mitten ornaments that would be great to string up -- the possibilities are endless so have fun making one of your own -- your kids will LOVE IT!

Auburn Christmas Parade

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Last night my girls got all bundled up under their new cheerleading uniforms and we all headed downtown for the annual Auburn Christmas parade. And although the hour (getting them ready) before we got there was, well..... pure H-E-double hockey sticks, it was so much fun to watch them. Maybe even worth all the chaos before. They were so excited to perform with their friends, and its always fun when the whole town celebrates the magic of Auburn and the joy of the Christmas holidays. The girls wanted me to post a few photos before I left for Atlanta so here they are........

The girls were so excited to wear their outfits and to get their pom-poms.
They've been working hard.... now it was time to show off a little.

Aubie entertaining the masses

Here they come.... the Rising Starz cheerleaders

Maddie was cheering as loud as she could..... I loved seeing that big, bright smile on her face

Rudolph the red-nosed...... uh..... landscaper

Miss Macy..... with POM-POMS!! My what a difference a year can make!!

Macy's friend, Morgan, and her little sister, Reagan

Heather, Stuart Scott & Sully..... freezing!

Jonathan, Jacob & me cold but having a great time watching all the kids and the floats

Thanks for cracking me up my funny friend.... you are so quick with that wit!

And loved hanging out with you, too, Bess --
you're quite a character yourself and I always love seeing you!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

November.... all in one post!

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:06:00 +0000

With my favorite holiday coming up..... (Merry, Merry Christmas!) and a pretty big list of things I'd like to do with the kids and for friends and family this holiday, well, November was quite a month. It was really important to me for the month of December to be as stress-free as possible, so I decided to get as much done in November as I could.....
Call it circumventing the chaos. I made a plan..... prioritized.... and blogging fell way down on the list.

WAAAAAAYYYY down.

But I got so much done (yay me!)..... I've decked the halls, the walls, the mantels, the doors, the chandeliers.... well, you get the point. I've come up with a million crafts to do with the kids for Christmas, and we've been working on them almost daily. I've cleaned out the attic to make room for the PLETHORA of Halloween paraphernalia I've accumulated. Laundry's caught up.... yes, even the ironing! Most of the gifts are bought, wrapped and hidden (double yay me!). I decided to make an advent calendar for the kids that I've been working on just about EVERY WAKING MOMENT, but it's really cute and I'm so glad I did it (I'll blog about that one later and show you some pictures). Oh yeah, I took Christmas card pictures (yes, for the second time -- this time with a different dog.... ugh!), designed the card (my favorite one ever), and I've gotten most of them in the mail or delivered around town. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it all, but I'm telling ya.... I'm on the ball! It's a small miracle.

And now I'm ready to take off with Jonathan to Atlanta for the weekend for some much deserved R&R and a little Christmas shopping to boot (triple yay me!)

So here it goes..... some of the last month all squished together in one post..... a few pictures for you all.....

Here's a cute picture of Charlie.... he's 6 pounds now....

about twice as big as when we got him a month ago.

This is one of those pictures you always forget to take.... the nightly ritual....
bathtime craziness around mom's silk curtains she made.....
I know.... I'm insane to let them do it, but they have so much fun in there.

And we've had some spend the night company..... Macy and Morgan, the best of friends

Jacob and friends at his Thanksgiving program at school

Now that's what a mama likes to see!

Here's Jacob letting Charlie meet his cousin, Otto, for the first time.

Those dogs had a ball playing together. I've never seen Charlie have so much fun!

Yes, that tiny little head is Jacob in the leaves at his

grandparent's house in Decatur over Thanksgiving

Papa Scott got those kids working, piling up all the leaves

Caleb, Madison & Jacob at Aunt Donna's house for Thanksgiving

Uhhhh, it was a teeny bit windy there in Florence

Let the Christmas crafting begin!

Holly, Julee, Stacy, Elizabeth, Heather and me at Elizabeth's 40th birthday bash

Here she is, the birthday girl, Elizabeth Garrett. 40's not looking too bad these days!

And yes, my dear friend, You WILL ALWAYS be cool.

Hey, we finally got a picture together of just me and you.
Look, I think you're still talking instead of posing..... I know you love to talk,
but come on, we need a good picture together!

Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You!
Hey, party girl.... is that a beer bottle in one hand and a glass of wine and a cell phone in the other??? Does 40 make you the consumate multi-tasker or what?

Madison teaching Jacob to pump his legs..... we're all getting a little tired of pushing.

It's time to teach that boy a little physics!

Goofball 1.... Jacob MUST act silly during every picture taking session.
It's a rule that must not be broken.

Goofball 2

Goofball 3

Goofball 4... alright, I'll stop there, but there were many, many more!

Daddy and Jacob practicing for the majors

And there's been a whole lot of this going on this month. We've been making lots of keepsake ornaments for each of the kids' trees. It's so important to me that they all have ornaments that they've made themselves to show their own children one day. (Yeah, I'm a goofball, too)

Macy working on one of her Christmas ornaments

And a few more projects....

And this past weekend we did our other ritual.... getting our tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving, just like we did 15 years ago for the first time the day after our first date. See, he's goofy too. We're holding up 15 fingers for those 15 years. Yee-hah, that's quite an accomplishment!

Gotta run now, but here's to wishing that we all have a stress-free month, full of family, friends and laughter, and of course, may we all remember the true gift of Christmas..... the gift of our Lord and saviour.

Grandparent's Day

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:26:00 +0000

I feel like the lazy blogger..... no time for writing.... these days I'm just posting pictures. It's been so crazy around here lately, I haven't even been doing that very much either. Just like everyone else with kids, the week of Halloween is super busy.... parties, trick or treating, programs at school and this year the girls' elementary school decided to throw Grandparents Day in there, too. So Friday my mom came in town to visit the girls for Grandparents Day.

Here's mom and Madison

And here's Macy in her classroom before her party. That's her friend, Cally in the foreground. His dad is the new coach in Auburn and I have to say, that's one of the sweetest and most respectful children I've ever met. He told us he only ate one piece of his Halloween candy the night before because he was going to go give it to all the football players.

Here's Macy with Mic-Mic at her Grandparents Day lunch

Madison's also been pretty busy with softball lately.... here's a cute one of her team.
This is our last week of games and 4 nights a week of activities.
Hooorraahhhh!!

And then there's this.....
candy, candy, candy....
Causing alot of trouble, too....
Wrappers on the floor, in the couch cushions, under chairs.
My gosh, has anybody ever heard of a trashcan!
Now that I'm done stealing all of their chocolate, I think it's about time
to get rid of all the rest and put an end to all the candy wars. I know there are some
mama's out there that are right there with me on that one!

Oh, and I musn't (is that a word??) forget about Jonathan..... his favorite time of year is here. The deer corn is being planted, the tree stands are up, the guns are primed and ready...... it's almost that time for opening day. This weekend while he was up at the farm working, he came across this little coyote. The man will kill anything if it's legal! You just never know what he'll come home with..... dead and disgusting and too gross for me to look at...... and by the way, I wouldn't even take this picture.... he had to recruit Madison to do it. Yuck! I just hope he's not planning on stuffing it..... we're running out of room to display dead animals around here.

So everyone put your pets up safe and sound in your houses.... he's got the fever again.

I'm kidding, of course.

Trick or Treat

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Macy and Jacob before they went trick-or-treating
(uhhh.... we did finally get some shoes on him later)

Macy and her friend, Stuart Scott

Little Sullivan as Raggedy Ann

Sarah Kate, Mally & Claire as a cute little cupcake

Some of the gang all dressed up

Jacob as Optimus Prime

Sweet baby Coleman as a giraffe

Daddy & Macy

Kimbell as Willie Wonka

A group shot

Jacob doesn't look too happy with the treat he got!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Madison..... she trick-or-treated with a friend last night and Mama was pretty sad not to see her or get some cute pictures.....

Hope it was a great night for everyone!

Another new puppy

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:58:00 +0000

Well, unfortunately we've had to take back our puppy this week because of some issues we were having with aggression. He was growling and snapping at us, and over the weekend he bit both Jacob and Madison. We've been very sad, but on Wednesday we took him back and came home with this little pup.

So here he is..... Charlie..... named by Maddie...... as sad as she was on the way home, we were all discussing names and had pretty much given up.
Then she said, "Mom, I've got it! Charlie! He looks like a Charlie."

Last night when we brought Charlie into the house for the first time.....
Boy, was he ever scared!

Jacob at his school this morning singing his pumpkin songs and songs
about Jesus at his pre-party show

Jacob and his buddies eating their treats

Mrs. Emmy and some of the kids loving on Charlie at Jacob's school

When we got home today, Jacob took a few snapshots with his new puppy.
Look at those cuties!

He even feels comfortable enough to pet him and play with him

Then we all got out in the yard and I took some more pictures.
Seeing them playing started to make me a little more confident of my decision, too.

Look how sweet. Jacob was loving it!

Happy Halloween everyone!
Be safe tonight Trick-or-Treating!

Ho Ho Ho!

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:25:00 +0000

It's been a crazy week, and although fun, I'm now glad two Halloween parties are done and were successful..... now it's time to move on to.... uhhhhh.... Christmas.

Not really, but I did receive an email from my Christmas card printer saying that if I'd order by October 25th, I could get almost 1/2 off. Being a sucker for a deal, I went Christmas clothes shopping, woke up early Sunday morning, did the dreaded drill of getting three kids shampooed, dried and styled, and then we were off..... this time with a puppy in tow.... to take Christmas pictures. 225 of them!! When you take that many, you're bound to get a few good ones.

I took the opportunity to take shots of each child individually, too, and I thought I'd share some of those. First a funny one.... Jacob put on the wig Jonathan was wearing to make them all laugh while I was taking their picture. Well, that's not ALL Jonathan was doing to make them laugh..... he must have been doing something to me, too, behind my back because every time I'd turn around, he would stop and act all innocent but mama ain't no dummy!

I was more than happy to be the butt of a joke if it made those kids laugh for pictures. Thanks, Jonathan!

Here's the wig shot.... don't ya love it?

Here's a picture of Miles.... already went from 3.1 lbs to 4.2 lbs in one week!

Here's a sweet one of Madison holding her puppy

Here's one I loved of the girls together

And one of my favorites of Jacob laughing

Finally he looks like himself in a photo!!

I'm missing my fellow bloggers blogging...... Come back girls!!

Oh, What a Night!

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:52:00 +0000

What a great party! Lots of people got together and had a Halloween party at Sky Bar here in downtown Auburn and it was a blast! Loved all the costumes.... really loved the music.... it was so much fun to watch everyone dance and cut up. We all need to cut loose every once in a while! Thanks everyone, and especially Jodi & Ronnie.... great job!

So, do you remember these guys????

Elizabeth's had this idea for years and we finally got around to doing it.....The Mystery, Inc. Gang..... Velma, Shaggy, Daphne & Fred...... where's Scooby??? Doesn't Elizabeth look great??

Joe, Elizabeth, Jonathan, me, Kevin & Heather before the party

I have no idea what we were doing but it
looks like we saw our first ghost!

Already having fun!

Here's a slideshow of the whole night.
If you want pictures, I'll try to upload them to Snapfish soon and you can order some.

Halloween Hoop-la!

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:09:00 +0000

Thanks to all of you who came to the Halloween party yesterday. It was loads of fun, and we had a great turn out.... maybe 140 or so. The weather was perfect for an outdoor party, too. Wow, we actually had a party and it didn't rain! The kids were psyched, or maybe just way loaded up on sugar, but I think they all had a blast.

Thanks goes out to everyone who let me borrow their tables, to Beth and Christie for bringing me so many volunteers, and of course, to all the other moms who let their older children help out. Much thanks to Dana and Kalyn for volunteering and for helping re-weave that ridiculous spider web! Also thanks to Heather for helping me set up and to Sutton who would have worked her fingers to the bone if I would have let her. You are a sweet girl, Sutton.

Here's a few pictures and then a slideshow..... a MUCH easier way than posting each individual picture. Lesley said she took 82 pictures, too, so if you don't see you or your children on these, she'll give me more later. I'll upload them all to Snapfish if anyone wants copies.

Getting the party started

Having fun making some crafts

Jacob's favorite game

Anna Grace, Emma, Anna Charlotte, Holland, Madison & the puppy, Miles

Hannah, Taylor, Thomas & Wells

A group shot taken toward the end of the party.
Quite a few of you are missing..... sorry we got to this so late in the party

Macy & Laura, together again!

Famous Last Words....

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:43:00 +0000

We're back..... with a brand new puppy!! So glad to be home, too. Yesterday was one of the LONGEST days of my life. Friday after school we loaded up the car and headed to Atlanta to spend the night. We shopped a bit, had a nice dinner out and then went back to the hotel. The kids always love to stay in hotels, so that in and of itself was fun for them. Then we woke up early Saturday to head to Cumming, GA for the Lakewood Antiques Show. The kids really enjoyed that, too. After loading up on some funnel cakes and a few souvenirs each, and with the kids pleading to go get the dog, we headed that way in a rainy, yucky mess of a day.

Now's a good time to go back and re-read my last post...... the day before we left to go to Atlanta for the weekend and to pick up the puppy I had had a pretty crazy week and wrote these famous last words in my post......

"Should be a nice break from the chaos."

Uhhh...... NOT.

Amazing how quickly life can throw you a curveball. Just when you think you're about to create one of the best memories of your childrens' lives, picking up their brand new puppy, not 10 minutes down the road, Jonathan looks over at a pumpkin patch on the side of the road, looks back and in 2 seconds flat, all the traffic in front of us on the highway was at a dead stop. With nowhere to go but straight into the car in front of us, well, we crashed. And just as we were realizing what had just happened, BAM! We got hit again from the back.

Everything was really quiet for a few seconds and then Macy starting screaming. That scared me because I thought she had been hurt, but luckily, she was just really freaked out. I turned to make sure everyone else was OK, and luckily they were. Then we got out to inspect the damage and make sure all the other people were OK. The man in the passenger seat of the car behind us was holding his hand out with blood all over it saying he thought he broke his hand. They had a little six year old girl in the car with them who was obviously very shaken up. The parents were pretty scared, too, and there was smoke everywhere in their car and their air bags were deployed, so I took the little girl away and tried to distract her for a while. Amazing how asking a little girl what she's going to be for Halloween can bring a smile and a story out.

Needless to say, it was not quite the day we thought we were going to have. But, all in all, everyone was fine and that's all that really mattered. The rest of the day didn't get much better either.... we stood out in the rain for what seemed like FOREVAH dealing with the police and insurance and moving the cars out of the road. Then we had to find a rental car place which turned out to be 25 minutes away. We decided to drive our banged up car there...... not really sure if that was a good idea..... every few minutes something would fall off the car and go bouncing back behind us on the road. Then when we got to the car rental place, they had no SUV or van big enough for our whole family, our luggage and the dog crate, so we had to rent two cars. Then we got lost, because of bad directions (REALLY!) on the way to get the dog, and it felt like we must have turned around 10 times.

But I will say, that once we got there and saw Miles for the first time, I think we all forgot about the bad of that day and were so excited to meet him. He was every bit as cute as the pictures we had seen. After we played with him there, we talked to his breeder for a while, and then we got him in his crate to head home. He wasn't a very happy camper, he was carsick and definitely scared and homesick, but he made it home just fine. He spent the first few hours very afraid and trembling at times. But pretty soon, he started warming up, and seemed to find some comfort in me, so I tried to hold him and play with him for the next few hours. He did cry a few times last night, but all in all, he made it through his first night in his new home just fine.

And best of all, my husband, who had wanted a hunting dog that would live outside, and said NEVER EVER EVER would he have a poodle..... well, I think he fell for that little puppy just like the rest of us. Last night, after we had been home for a few hours and he had not been paying Miles a bit of attention, he finally sat down and played with him. The next thing I knew, he was saying, "I'm positive this is the cutest puppy I've ever seen." And then I found him all curled up with him on the chair in our den. Puppies can melt everyone's hearts, I guess.

Jacob having fun playing in the hotel room Friday night

Madison catching up on a few tips from Cesar Millan before she goes to bed

Sweet dreams, little boy

Jonathan dealing with our mess.... lovely huh? And he had just been asking me on the trip what kind of car I wanted next...... I told him I loved my car and didn't want another one.

And another view

Our lovely rental cars..... me in the truck with the dog and the girls, and Jonathan in the KIA with Jacob...... never seen him driving a compact car.... it was kind of funny

Guess I won't be driving my car for a while..... don't you love the duct tape job..... the state trooper fixed us up so we could get over to the next town to rent a car..... I don't think he would have done that had he known things would be falling out of my car the whole way there.

The kids meeting Miles for the first time at the breeder's house

What a cutie pie!!

They were so excited!

Taking Miles inside our house for the first time

Can you see why we'd all fall in love??

Macy cuddling with Miles

And even daddy got in on some cuddle-action

Thanks for the phone calls of concern..... we're all fine, thank goodness.
Come by sometime and see baby Miles!

The excitement builds....

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Sheesh, it's been a rough couple of days. Softball, a big writing project for Madison, shopping for everything dog related that we need just to get through the first few days -- had NO IDEA what a money pit Petco was! -- getting ready to head out of town for the weekend, trying to start on some of the food for the party next week and finishing up some of the games, too..... I'm tired just thinking about it all.

And true to form, just when I'm at my busiest, my body stops working properly..... I stop sleeping through the night. I told Jonathan this morning that I feel like the mama of a newborn..... I've been waking at 3:00am or 4:00am every night and not getting back to sleep.... And last night it was 2:00. Why is it that when you are your most tired, you become an INSOMNIAC?? And of all things, I just realized the kids are out of school on Monday, the day before I'll have 150 people at my house..... can I ever plan the right timing of a party or what??? At least this time there is NO RAIN IN THE FORECAST.... yes, it truly is a miracle.... NO RAIN in Auburn, AL for at least a few days.

And don't forget with all the other stuff happening around here, we're throwing a puppy in the mix, too. Maybe I've taken a little too much on, but believe it or not, even though my body feels like a semi hit it, I'm really excited about the puppy and the party. The kids are getting all psyched up for both, and we're actually heading out today to spend the night in Atlanta.... have some fun there and then we're going to the Lakewood antique show tomorrow morning before going to pick up Miles. Should be a nice break from the chaos.

I took a few pictures of the kids last night when we got home from the plethora of stores we went to shopping for the dog. By the way, did you know that dogs need ear cleaning pads?? Me either.... but according to Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer himself, they're a must. Yikes.... this is getting more and more expensive and ridiculous at the same time..... a bag of organic doggie treats..... $9.99.... I don't spend that much on MY treats!! You can get a REALLY big waffle cone at Bruster's for around $4.00 and I'm pretty positive it would taste ALOT better. Oh well, I'm sure I'm being suckered into to buying all kinds of things this puppy doesn't need, but it's been pretty exciting for all us to get everything ready for the homecoming of our new baby. The kids were so pumped last night that they each took a turn in his new home (we'll be crate training).... you know, just to make sure it was pretty cool and comfy in there for him.

Jacob took a turn first..... we actually couldn't get him out of there..... he really liked it!

Then Macy took a turn.....

Madison went next, but I didn't get it on film.....
here they are so excited about their new family member.

Wish me luck..... it's been a LONG time since I've had a puppy! I sure hope I can do this.

By the way, if anyone reading this is coming to the party, I still need some tables..... tailgating kind or card tables, either one would help. And if you'd like to bring some rolls of toilet paper, that would really help, too. Thanks! Can't wait!

Catching Up

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:59:00 +0000

Four nights a week with activities, the kid's Halloween party we're hosting, researching for a new puppy, designing a new Halloween blog, projects around the house and the normal day to day cleaning, laundry and homework have made for a pretty busy schedule here lately. Result? Well, Mama's tired and more than a little slack as a blogger. I thought I'd cheat a little and play a game of catch up by posting some pictures from the last few weeks all in one blog post.....

Here the kids decided to break out the sidewalk chalk..... the whole family got involved....

this is Jonathan's chalk drawing of little Jake.... pretty good likeness I think

Macy's chalk Spongebob

And Jacob's rocket ship

Macy stayed at home from school last Thursday with a fever and this is what she made while she was bored with no one to play with...... a lego Spongebob......
it seems to be a theme with her........

And here's Jacob helping me cook........... uh, NOT!
If you've ever smelled his feet after taking off his tennis shoes,
you'd KNOW for sure that I was joking.

Holly & I have gotten "Mommy-Smart" this year and have decided to have a little playdate with the boys twice a week...... once at her house, once at mine. It's great..... the boys LOVE it and we get a break from ALL children one afternoon a week. Here they are on top of my kitchen table (you just never know what you'll find with these three!)
Baylor, Walton and Jacob...... there always seems to be a little dressing up, a little undressing and a few guns involved when they get together......

On a side note, Jonathan's started referring to Jacob as "Little Matthew McConaughey"......
look at this picture and you might see why........
no shirt -- ALWAYS, just like Mr. McConaughey,
and the curls..... well, it's a pretty good fit.....
sans the washboard abs and the beautiful Latino chick beside him, of course

Macy's latest project....... she copied the "Don't Wake Daddy" game with Legos...... and when I say all by herself, I mean ALL by herself. She hid away for a while and then came out with this little likeness...... if you look closely, you'll even see the bedside clock with the snooze button and all of his fingers, too.

Jonathan on a teal hunt in Texas with some friends

We spend 2 nights a week out at dance and cheerleading and the other two nights out at the ballpark watching Madison play softball. It's a lot of fun and great to see some friends, too.

Maddie running to third

JP and me watching Maddie hit 'em

Macy & Morgan hanging out after the game

Playing on the playground with Kate & Wheeler

Jacob especially loves the ballpark...... he begs during every game......
pleeeease can I go to the playground, Mom????

And then me and my friend, Holly, went last Friday to Atlanta for a girl's day.....

First we went to Scott's Antique Market..... bought a dining room sideboard and a dresser
(neither of which did I take a picture of.... oops)

Then we raced through the fabric stores....

And at the end of the day..... the very best part..... unwinding at the Cheesecake Factory

Well, actually, this was the best part..... all 1500 calories of it!

And don't forget the yummy margarita..... definitely deserved by the end of that day!

Meanwhile, back at home, well, sometimes we get sooooo tired from all these late nights out with the girls playing softball and dancing, that we just plain crash in the middle of the floor in the middle of the day

And then other times...... well, we just act silly. Last night after Jacob's bath, I was trying to get his pj's on but he really didn't want to wear them....... he said he wanted my robe instead.

I said, "Jacob, why do you want to wear Mommy's robe, it's way too big."

He said, "Because it's really soft and pink and pink is my favorite color."

So I replied, "Why don't you go tell your Daddy that."

And he did.

And then he started putting Halloween stickers all over himself in very strategic spots.....

And then he danced...... and danced........... and danced some more..... really groovy-like..... kind of like a belly dancer.

And his Daddy did not like it at all......... not one little bit.

I, however, thought it was quite comical.

Wish I had a video.

Boo's and Cavapoo's

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Long time, no blog. October is a busy month around here. Mama's getting a little obsessed with Halloween..... decorating the inside of the house.... pretty much ALL of it..... the ceilings, the stairs, every table and mantle and on and on.... and that's not all either..... the other day, I was caught hanging from the window sills upstairs to get some spider webs attached to the outside of the house. WHY???? Well.... I have no earthly idea other than to say that I LOVE Halloween. And I absolutely love the frenzy it seems to put all the kids in when I start decorating. They come ringing the door bell.... begging for candy from my kitchen countertop..... and talking 90 to nothing about all of their own creative ideas on how to decorate my house. I think little 4 year old Baylor made me feel the best yesterday...... we drove into my driveway and he said, "Wow, Ms. Amanda.... Your house rocks!"

That right there made all those hours on the ladder worth it. Soon I'll take some pictures and show you all..... you never know, you might just find yourself painting silk roses black and hanging ghosts from the ceiling, too.

Now to the other reason I've been so busy and not blogging..... My kids have been begging, and when I say begging, I guess I should say BEGGING to get a dog. We've substituted with goldfish and frogs..... not much of a substitute, I know, but a dog is not something I was ready for..... I am so, so busy every day..... I can't possibly fit everything in that I want to do each day, so I've never thought I could handle taking care of a dog, too. And as far as the kids go, I never felt that they were quite old enough to be responsible for it. It's not that I'm against dogs it's just that, one, I had a horrible experience with a Dalmation in college that warped me forever on the difficulty of raising some puppies and, two, Jonathan is highly allergic to cats and some dogs. So every time the kids begged, we said, "no..... not until you're older and more responsible." Well, guess what? I finally realized they ARE older and they ARE more responsible. No more using that as an excuse.

So there began the search for the perfect family pet...... a friend of mine has a labradoodle puppy, a mix of a lab and a poodle, and that's when I started looking into poodle mixes. They are supposed to be hypoallergenic and usually don't shed. But there are tons of different kinds of mixes...... so I did a lot of research and with most breeders in Illinois and Wisconsin and Virginia and, therefore, a plane flight away for a baby puppy, I finally got really lucky and ran into a local woman walking her dog that I thought was cute as could be. She was so helpful and said she got her dog, called a Cavapoo, a cross of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a poodle, from a breeder in Athens, GA. Driving distance!! So I got on the lady's website and then shared a few phone calls and finally decided, with the kids' help, on a little red-haired puppy that would look a lot like the dog I saw when he is grown. So here's the first picture we saw of him at 5 weeks.....

And this is the picture the breeder sent us of him at 6 weeks.....

What a cutie-pie! So I'm reading lots of books and visiting Petco a little more than ususal. This time I want to make sure I do this right. The kids are beyond excited...... ESTATIC! And best of all, they say they don't even want Christmas presents this year......... we'll see how long that lasts. We've named the puppy Miles, after finding out that Miles Standish (captain of the Mayflower) is my 9th great grandfather and the kids' 10th great grandfather. Fitting I thought because the dog has red hair just like Miles Standish did. We'll go pick him up -- the whole family -- on October 17th..... he'll be almost 8 weeks old. I really do feel like we are adopting a child or something...... a new member of the family...... I guess I'm a little excited, too.

Here's a picture of the dog I saw walking that Miles will resemble when he's older. He'll be 17-18 lbs or so with the softest coat and great disposition...... or so we hope. If anyone has any puppy advice, please help -- I'm sure I'll be needing it!

If you believe, she will come.....

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:26:00 +0000

My kids are getting older. That's great in a lot of ways, but it does make me sad when they start getting a little too smart and putting two and two together about all the "make-believe" stories we parents tell them. The stories we all grow up with, the ones that make childhood that much more special..... the ones of Santa, and the Easter bunny and let's not forget that sweet little Tooth Fairy..... the one that's cost me an arm and a leg here lately.

My 8 year old seems to be losing a lot of teeth these days. And like I said before, she's getting smarter and smarter, too. So for months now, she's been proclaiming.... LOUDLY.... in front of her 4 year old little brother..... "There really isn't a Tooth Fairy, you know. It's really just your parents who sneak into your room at night." She wanted to so badly to get to the bottom of this age-old mystery, that a few weeks ago when she lost her last tooth, she even told me that she almost tried to trick me. She had decided that she wasn't going to tell me she lost the tooth, and then she was going to stay up (while pretending that she was asleep) and catch me in the act! That sneaky little..... Luckily, though, she told me about her little plan and said she just couldn't do it. Whew, got out of that one.

However, the other day, that curiosity must have gotten the best of her because at 11:00 pm, my 10 year old daughter comes in my room to wake me up. I had been up since 4:00am that day, Jonathan was out of town, and I was exhausted and not so happy to be woken up. She says, "Mom! You've got to help me. Macy lost a tooth today, and she's waiting up to see if the tooth fairy is going to come." She went on to explain that she had been waiting for her little sister to fall asleep so that she could step in and "keep the dream alive." I think I thought that was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. They usually fight like cats and dogs, but here she was, on a school night, after a long, hard softball practice and lots of homework, trying her best to stay up to step in for that little fairy.

But tired as I was, I gave her a big hug, told her how wonderful she was, and then promptly sent her to bed so I could get some sleep. I told her I'd get up early and do it, but secretly, as tired as I was, I was thinking to myself..... "Well, third grade isn't so bad to find out..... if she finds out she just finds out."

The next thing I knew, a little voice is once again waking me up.... "Mom, Mom! You've got to help. I'm trying to sign this note from the Tooth Fairy and I can't make it look like different handwriting."

You see, my smart little 8 year old decided she would set another trap for that little flying fairy and get her to SIGN the note. She's been convinced for a while now that the tags on the gifts from Santa are her daddy's handwriting, and I always tell her (truthfully, I might add) that it isn't her daddy signing those tags. It worried Madison so much that her little sister had requested a signature that she got up early and had been sitting at my desk, practicing her best "Tooth Fairy" handwriting on little scraps of paper. She had even written wonderful words of encouragement like "keep brushing" and "take care of those teeth." Now this time I KNEW she was the sweetest child in the world. So I helped her, but not before looking at the clock..... it was 5:15am! She had set her alarm early to MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE I wasn't going to mess this up..... she was taking over. (Imagine that). So I scratched out my best Tooth Fairy scrawl..... in the dark with sleep caked in my eyes and then sent her back up the stairs to sneak the note under her little sister's pillow.

So here's the note......

I think I had a permanent smile on my face all day. And it was the cutest thing when Macy came down the stairs that morning, proudly holding her $5 bill (I told you that Tooth Fairy was about to do me in!). She slyly told me about her plan and how...... well, how she must have been wrong about the Tooth Fairy. "It really is real, Mom!"

Maddie, I couldn't be more proud of you........ you DO love your sister! Thanks, big girl.

The Big Picture

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Yesterday started a little earlier than usual. Alarm..... 5:00am..... buzzzzz.... I stumbled to my feet.... yawning, bleary-eyed and full of mixed emotions about the day ahead. I tried to shower and get dressed before I woke the kids.... life's MUCH easier that way, you know. I rushed to get everything in order for my trip.... car packed, some water, snacks, directions, babysitter notes written, and oh yeah, an extra change of shoes.... very important since I was going be in heels all day. Jonathan had just left a few hours before to catch a flight to Texas.... ever the hunter that man is. I knew the morning would be crazy trying to get all the kids ready and off to their different schools and me on the road not long after without his help.

There were the typical frustrations life brings to all of us with children.... "Mom, you didn't sign this.... where's my shoe?..... I can't stand these shorts, where are my khaki ones?" The normal fights between siblings, the dirty clothes on the floor that no one bothered to pick up..... me saying "Hurry, hurry.... eat, eat.... brush.... we've got to go!" By the time I got all of them off -- and I must say -- ON TIME.... my nerves were admittedly a little shot. Like I said.... typical family stuff that makes us all a little frazzled.... especially in the mornings.

And the 2 1/2 hour drive to Birmingham didn't do much to calm my nerves either. There was traffic, I was in a time-crunch, there were tiny towns with speed traps and lots of police cars lurking in the bushes. But I couldn't be late..... not to a funeral.... rush, rush, rush..... sometimes that's just the way life feels.... rush, rush, rush. But I arrived, finally found a place to park, albeit 3 blocks over and up 8 levels in a parking deck. I ran in my 4 inch heels through the streets of downtown Birmingham until I saw it.... that beautiful, old Episcopalian Church of the Advent. I opened the massive dark, carved oak doors with those same mixed emotions I'd been feeling all morning.... excited to see my dear, old friend and yet, nervous that I wouldn't find the right words to comfort her. I finally found her in that sea of black and even with the first hug, I could literally feel her pain. Lucy's dad, a man she adored, had died at only 66 years old from lung disease. She was devastated.

Funny how life works..... even in the midst of someone's greatest tragedy, someone else can gain such perspective. And that's exactly what yesterday did for me. Have you ever yelled at your child for spilling Cheez-its all over the floor, yet knowing that on a different day, a better day, you probably would have just simply said, "Be more careful next time"..... and then helped them clean it up? Or have you been a little crabby with your husband for not helping bathe the kids or clean the kitchen, but you know deep down it's not really THAT..... it's the tiny, trivial things that have a way of becoming a mountain of, well..... resentment. But again, on a different day, maybe one where he sent you flowers or took the kids to the park to give you some time to yourself, you think he hung the moon! Perspective. Sometimes we all need a little shift in perspective.

As hard as it must have been for Lucy and her brother, Will, they both stood up at the funeral and spoke about their father. It was beyond moving to all of us in the church, and I must say it had a pretty strong effect on me. Their words were full of praise and admiration for the father they loved so much, full of stories of his innate goodness and his love for Jesus. Stories of how he missed his son's first flag football game to help a family with a flat tire...... and how later when Will was upset that his dad wasn't there, his parents explained the whole story. The family they were helping had been poor, they had 4 tread-worn tires on their car, so Lucy's dad decided to load them up in his car and take them to Sam's to buy them a whole other set of tires. Wow. That's a good man.

Lucy and me before our reunion last year

And that kind of man makes for a very good father. One who is attentive and conscientious with the lessons he teaches his children. He instills character in them, not only in the words he says but by the deeds they see him do. He has integrity and authenticity. And believe me, he was loved. Respected. Greatly appreciated.

It's strange to say, but it was truly the best funeral I've ever attended. I think it did for me exactly what a funeral should do..... it celebrated a man's life, spoke of his accomplishments,
reminded us of Jesus' great sacrifice for all of us, and ultimately, it gave us all something to aspire to. The little things truly don't matter. It's the big stuff that counts.

Lucy and her dad a couple of Christmas' ago

I don't think Lucy's dad would have ever thought that he would still be teaching those lessons even after his death, but he certainly taught me. So I go forward, into this next week with a shift in perspective...... a different view of the "bigger picture." Thank you, Mr. Lassiter, for reminding me of the truly important things in life. You will be dearly missed.

What we're up to.....

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Sometimes I wonder when I'm posting all these family photos..... "Hmmmm..... doesn't this stuff get a little boring to all the throngs of people visiting my blog?" Throngs (hee, hee). And then I think.... "Well, they do keep coming back -- it must not be soooo bad." So I hope you'll keep coming back to visit and stay in touch. Here it goes...... life as we knew it..... Thursday through Sunday.....

So Thursday, Jonathan's parents came by to visit on their way back home from the beach. Macy is showing Mama Betty the book we made for them of family pictures.
Mama Betty was so excited to get it.

The girls got a little gift, too. Here they are with Papa Scott & Mama Betty with the shirts they brought them from a trip to Cape Cod

And here's Macy..... yep, that's a pretty good representation of life around here.......

And I guess this is, too.....Mama painting a game for the Halloween party after Jonathan's parents left to go home to Decatur.... and yes, instead of tailgating on Saturday

Here's that tailgate..... yes, it's looking a wee bit wet out there don't ya think?
Maybe a bigger reason why we didn't tailgate this Saturday was
THIS MONSOON!
But hey, looks like they had fun anyway.
They were Dye-hard and braved the storm.....
with their soggy, soggy children, too.

And by the way, How About Them Auburn Tigers?????
WAR EAGLE!!
Man, was that a great game or what!!

And now on to the BIG show of the weekend. Sunday after church, I went back out to the garage to work on Halloween games and the rest of the kids (Madison, Macy, Kate & Wheeler) decided to put a little show together for us. And then it started...... the screams of "ACTION!"..... "CUT!!" and a whole lot of banging around (there were times I thought the chandeliers might just drop right out of the ceiling). So I think that little show turned into a golly-whopper of a BIG show...... and then, hours and hours later, we finally were called upstairs to watch, and maybe even more importantly......VIDEO TAPE.

So here they go.... introducing themselves before the dance started....
(and by the way, that is a Halloween costume Macy's wearing.....
left over from her "Boy Phase"...... not Mama's favorite.)

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.......... The Wet's!!!"
(Yes, this is the name of the "band" they thought of all by themselves.....
appropriate because they will only perform with soaking wet hair.)

And Kate's starts with quite a kick while the other two break danced around her.....
Watch out people, these kids are serious!

Macy helping Kate up off the floor...... she needs it too after falling at the tailgate
and skinning up both her knees

Solo time.......Life is just more fun when you're upside down!

Hanging out after the show

And even better when they're silly

Aren't they cuties.... even with their wet hair??

They wanted me to post the video we took of the show..... but just between you and me, well, I thought I'd grant you a pardon. I thought the dance was great.... but I'm their mama, and it might just be one of those things only a mother would love. What I enjoyed most about the whole project was how well they worked together -- ALL DAY! -- choreographing, singing, practicing, dancing..... they really worked hard and managed to have a great time, too.

It was pretty funny at the end of the show though. They were BEGGING me to go upload the video to You-Tube. I told them, "No.... not tonight.... it's time for everyone to go home now."

To which they all starting screaming and shouting.....
"Pleeeeeasssee..... that's the ONLY reason we did all this!"

Trying to be the voice of reason I said, "C'mon guys..... you did all this to have FUN."

To which my eight year old replies,
"No, mom, we did this
to be FAMOUS on You-Tube."

Aye-yigh-yigh..... these kids! The You-Tube generation....

Random Postings

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:35:00 +0000

Random post #1: I almost forgot in my haste to get all these pictures posted from the concert and tailgating to tell you about my surprise when I got home at 2:30am Friday night from Birmingham. After getting the girls in bed, I walked around the corner to the hall where my desk is and THIS is what I saw!!! My sweet husband and my little boy went to Best Buy Friday night while we were gone and surprised me with a new 26" monitor!! Whoo-hoo!!

Did I ever need that!

I've been working in Photoshop and designing blogs, cards, invitations, etc. for over a year with a 17" monitor. If you've ever worked in Photoshop, you know what a pain that is. I have to have so many windows open at the same time, a 17" screen is like working on a Barbie screen. So now I've graduated..... I'm all grown up with my big ole grown up monitor! The next morning when Jonathan woke up, I was sitting at my desk, putting that new monitor to use, and when he came over to me I said, "Ooooooooh, I LOVE it..... but I can feel my butt spreading by the minute!" I'm afraid I'm never gonna want to get up. Thank you, babe.

Random Post #2: Ok, in finding the Taylor Swift video on the internet yesterday, I came across this video on You Tube. You'll be blown away when you watch it. If you've ever wondered if exercising is worth it or if you've ever thought, like me, "oh, just one piece of cake or one stop at McDonald's won't hurt," you might just change your mind after seeing this. It'll definitely make you want to work out every day and stop sneaking those Krispy Kremes (oops! Did I just tell on myself???)......

Isn't that unbelievable??? A few weights, a little running, a few less visits to the Cheesecake Factory and, well, waaa-laahhh.... you, too, can have a body like that. AMAZING. Wouldn't you love to make a video like that of yourself? Talk about motivation to stay that way!

Random Post #3: This doesn't have anything to do with anything else, but I have to write this one down so that one day I'll remember these cute things Jacob does. So we're driving to a restaurant after church on Sunday. Jonathan and I are in the front discussing the sermon, and I hear this little voice in the back singing a tune. I stopped for a minute to listen and I heard Jacob singing...."God is sooooo good"..... "gotta get that BOOM BOOM BOOM..... gotta get that BOOM BOOM BOOM!" Yes, my musical little 4 year old is now making his own mixes..... Sunday School songs with a little Black Eyed Peas thrown in for some back beat.... Jonathan and I couldn't stop laughing.

Hope ya'll have a GREAT day!

Tailgate Saturday

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:43:00 +0000

Our friends, Joe & Elizabeth, Jodi & Paul, and Grant & Julie all got tailgating spots next to one another this year which makes it great for a few of us who don't tail gate every weekend. We get the fun without all the work! Thanks Elizabeth for the invite.... it was a great spot, the kids all had a good time together, and although I only got 4 hours of sleep, I sure am glad we came. WAR EAGLE!!!

Taylor Swift....... You Should Have Said...... Yes!

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Ohhhhhhhh, we had so much fun last night!! And I took a few too many pictures, too -- probably a bit annoying to the people around me -- oh well..... we were so close I just couldn't help myself. Good seats, although the main part of the stage was to our right which meant we saw her backside a lot, but there were only 4 rows in front of us and then the people standing on the floor in front of the stage. Best of all, the girls and I had a great time together..... from picking out outfits, to driving up together singing all the songs, to eating dinner beforehand. I even got them light sticks, a whole bunch of junk food, and a t-shirt each..... nothing could make them happier!

Macy & I were trying on outfits and dancing to a little "Picture to Burn"before the show

And here we are right before we left, don't the girls look cute?

This is right when we got there in front of her tour bus

The girls waiting to get their tickets scanned

Sitting, listening to Kellie Pickler, waiting for the big moment

And here she is, beautiful as ever..... the girls were so excited when she came out.
I thought she put on a great show..... especially for the kids,
but she is quite the "hair-flipper" that girl!

I took so many pictures I just made a slideshow. If you watch the whole thing it's kind of like being there...... It's a little long, but worth it..... just think..... I saved you $300!!

Got home at 2:30 am......
went to bed at 3:00......
woke up at 7:00.....
I am WAY too old for this!! But it was worth it
to have such a memorable night with my girls.

Happiness is........

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:18:00 +0000

Happiness is seeing the smile on your daughters' faces when you tell them you got Taylor Swift tickets for Friday night....... uhhhhhhh, for the SECOND time.

Say what????

Yes, the second time. The first time, my friend, Vickie, was sweet enough to get a whole block of tickets for a lot of us to go to Birmingham this Friday night. That was like 4 months ago. I was so excited because the girls have never been to a concert, and they talk about wanting to all the time. There aren't a whole lot of concerts you can take 8 and 10 year old children to these days, you know. So Taylor Swift was perfect. And for all these months, I've looked forward to September 11th, the night my girls officially become BIG girls and get to do a BIG GIRL thing with Mommy.

Then last week, out of the blue, they both tell me they don't want to go. Madison especially put her foot down and said she just plain wasn't going. WHAT???? "But you were soooooo excited," I said. Nope. Changed their minds...... didn't want to go.

So after thinking about it for a while and knowing I wasn't about to spend hundreds of dollars dragging two girls to a concert kicking and screaming, I decided to tell Vickie that if she had someone who wanted the tickets, I would give them up. So she did exactly what I asked her. She found an eager buyer for those precious tickets. And then I told the girls.

And that's where one of those age-old dilemmas comes in. We humans seem to ALWAYS want the very thing we can't have.

Then the crying started. And lasted. And became quite a show of anger toward Mommy. In their eyes, I had basically ruined their life. "But we REALLY wanted to go. We've already told all of our friends. You promised!"

Completely bewildered.... I sent them to bed with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and a tear or two coming down my face as well. I thought I was doing the right thing. Clearly I wasn't.

So I got on the internet, looked for scalped tickets, and of course found some, albeit for more than twice as much money!! I thought about it for hours, but I just couldn't seem to press that BUY button. I wanted to teach them a lesson, but I also wanted to go and have a great time with them...... they'd remember that concert for years to come.

After sleeping on it, and putting my 8 year old on the bus that morning sobbing (on picture day I might add!), I decided to just go for it..... I worry so much about overindulging my children.... it's very important to me that they earn their way in life and they appreciate all the things given to them...... so this really went against my nature to "do the right thing" and teach that lesson. However, isn't it also "the right thing" to forgive and be understanding and realize that sometimes we just have bad days...... we say things we don't necessarily mean..... we make mistakes.

So that's where that Happiness comes in....... I surprised them yesterday afternoon at the bus stop with the good news....... Mommy found tickets....... WE'RE GOING!! There's been a permanent smile on their faces ever since. So maybe I did the right thing..... maybe I didn't, but I have to say......... I am as excited as they are to go do the "girl thing" with my two big girls. We're picking out outfits, have our cowboy boots shined and ready, and can't wait to sing a little..... "You belong with me-ee-eeee." I'll be posting pictures soon so check back soon.

Take a giggle break.....

alp072670@charter.net (Amanda) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Alright, my husband just sent me this email.... thought I'd share since it made me laugh out loud..... and we all a good belly laugh every once in a while....

Traffic Camera

A man was driving when a traffic camera flashed. He thought his picture was taken for exceeding the speed limit, even though he knew he was not speeding. Just to be sure, he went around the block and passed the same spot, driving even more slowly, but again the camera flashed. He thought this was quite funny, so he slowed down even further as he drove past the area, but the traffic camera flashed yet again. He tried a fourth time with the same result. The fifth time he was laughing when the camera flashed as he rolled past at a snail's pace.

Two weeks later, he got five traffic fine letters in the mail for driving without a seat belt.

MEN !!