The Elrod Update

Fall Decorating

2008-09-11T11:56:00.000-05:00

I never did much Fall decorating in the past, but this summer I went through several boxes of decorations that Mom used to have and snagged a few things to jazz up my house this year. I've got a few more pumpkins and Halloween-y things to put out in a few weeks.

Breakfast room

Living Room... This dresser once belonged to my Granddad.

Dining Room... My brother, David Lee, took the 2 pictures that are in the silver frames. He's a good photographer. :) The buffet was given to us by Mother and Daddy.

Outside... This was one of 2 wreaths that was sent by someone to Mother's funeral. I took the larger one and my brother, Phillip, has the smaller one.

First Day of School

2008-08-14T15:14:00.000-05:00

Well, we are back at Lewisburg Elementary in Olive Branch, MS. The boys attended here 2 school years ago. This year they are in 5th grade and 2nd grade. Matthew's teacher is Mrs. Russell and Grant has Ms. Williams.

On the first day of school, Grant wanted Chris and I to drive him and walk him to his classroom. Matthew?... not so much. He caught the bus early that morning. It's no longer cool for Mom to take his picture in his classroom or, in fact, be anywhere around on the first day of school. I did, however, run by his room and sneak a peek to make sure he was getting settled in. He saw me, but pretended that he didn't. They both did get settled and we went on home. How quiet the house was all day! Nice... :)

Grant standing outside his classroom

This always happens... Grant's first name is Christopher and the teacher inevitably always uses his first name instead of "Grant".

I guess Matthew's teacher had the same "Welcome" idea

Introducing "Lacey"

2008-08-14T14:57:00.000-05:00

When we moved to Arkansas last fall, we gave our dog, Stormy, to a very good friend on the condition that once we found our own (bigger) place over there, we would take her back. As time went on, our friend grew very attached to Stormy and wanted to keep her for himself. After some negotiations (Grant and Matthew got a new go-kart out of the deal), Stormy went to live permanently with our friend. We still get to see her occasionally and she loves her new home. When we moved back this summer, we started talking about getting a new dog. A small one. We looked online at what the shelters had for weeks. Last Saturday, we drove to Cordova for a dog adoption event. Several shelters set up spots in a large parking lot to hopefully adopt our their fur friends. We walked around and petted several but nothing really grabbed our attention. As we stopped at the last booth, we found her. We all loved on her immediately. She had to be ours. After convincing the owner of the shelter that we were, in fact, responsible adults even if we didn't have a fenced-in back yard, we were allowed to adopt "Lacey". She is around 2 years old and weighs about 15 pounds. She's a feisty, playful, and lovable Terrier mix. Lucky for us, she was already housetrained, neutered, and up to date on all her shots. After a quick stop at PetCo for some essentials, we brought her home. We all love her!

Mustang Momma

2008-08-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

Due to a couple of minor incidents with objects either in the road or somewhere there abouts, my car has been in need of a bit of repair work. No comments, please. So, on Monday, Chris and I dropped off my VW Passat at the car shop and headed over to Enterprise Rent-A-Car to pick up a car for the week. I jokingly pointed out the red Mustang as we walked across the parking lot and said "That's the one I want!" Lo and behold... it actually was the one that had been reserved for me! Matthew thinks I'm totally cool driving it and tells me we just need to trade mine in for this one. Umm... okay. *heehee* Alas, I must return this sporty lil' car and pick up my refurbished family car on Friday. It's been fun to drive all week, though.

More Randomness

2008-07-07T16:46:00.001-05:00

The boys wanted to send a balloon to Grandma.... in Heaven. ;)

The many faces of Grant... HA!

Grant's first lost tooth and the rewards of the Tooth Fairy visit (2/08)

Title: Momma. Medium: Rocks. Artists: Matthew and Grant.

Grant and his very best friend "in the whole universe!", Graydon S. (4/08)

Matthew and the baby bird that he found in the back yard

Matthew's end-of-the-year school program (5/08)

(in both photos, he's the first one to the right of the microphone)

Mother's Day (5/08)

Just a Bunch of Random Pics

2008-07-07T16:24:00.000-05:00

I usually like to organize my posts and photos around a certain theme or event. Sometimes, that just can't be done. The following are just a random assortment of pictures that were taken here and there. Enjoy!

Grant and his good friend, Emma

The boys got this from "Uncle" Dean in exchange for allowing "Uncle" Dean to keep our dog, Stormy. Thanks "Uncle" Dean!

Our friends, William, Janet & lil' Will

Matthew, lil' Will, and Grant

Mowing Uncle Phillip's grass

Riding in the White Co. Sheriff's Dept. float with Uncle Phillip for the White Co. Fair Parade (8/07)

Thanksgiving with the Farley's

(from top: Matthew, Blake, Claire, Anna Kate, Grant)

After Grant's Christmas program

(from left: Granddad, Grant, Jewell, Matthew, my dad (PawPaw))

1st and 4th Grade

2008-07-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

Since I'm trying to catch everyone up a bit on our time in AR, many of these posts will be out of order date-wise. These are pictures of the boy's first day at school this past year ('07-'08). They attended White County Central school where I began when I was a little girl. Matthew's homeroom teacher was a classmate of mine from kindergarten until I moved in the 3rd grade. His math teacher was my kindergarten teacher! Grant's teacher attended church with our family in Judsonia. The principal has known me since I was a young girl. It was a neat trip down memory lane to have them attend this school. They both had a good year. Grant is quite the reader and mathemetician. Matthew is quite the talker. They each have their own special talents. *heehee* :)

First day of school

Grant in his classroom. Matthew wouldn't let me follow him to class... it wasn't "cool" to do that. *heehee*

Waiting for the bus

There they go....

Outdoor Fun

2008-07-07T15:43:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, some friends of ours invited us out to their land to hang out for the day. They don't just have one or two acres... they have around 86! It's out in the middle of nowhere (so it seems) and there's plenty of space for 2 little boys to have lots of fun. Matthew got to practice turtle shooting with his .22 gun. Grant got to go frog hunting at the pond. They both got to ride the 4-wheeler with Daddy. What a nice way to spend a relaxing afternoon. Thanks William & Janet! :)

Grant scouting the pond for frogs

He found one!Ready. Aim. Fire! Matthew and Chris Grant and Chris

Firecracker Fun

2008-07-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

I just love firework displays! I love the whistle or crack as they whiz their way into the sky... the "boom" as they explode... the colorful displays... the smoke and smell of sulphur. Sparklers were one of my favorite things as a child. Don't you remember writing your name in the air and trying to make out the letters in the faint smoke? How about "snakes"... the little pellets you lit on the ground and they grew into a long snake-like formation? My grandpa in NY used to light those in the driveway and all of us kids would stand back and watch.... they were so cool. :)

This Fourth of July, we took the boys to the Snowden Grove Park firework display in Southaven. We parked behind a business just a bit away and climbed a hill at the back of the parking lot. After setting up our chairs, we had a couple of hours to wait. We played, we made silly faces, we found a large piece of plywood and rode down the other side of the hill with it to pass the time. Soon enough, the fireworks began. Unfortunately, there were a few trees in our way (we know where NOT to sit next time!), but we were still able to see the majority of the sparkling fun... as long as they shot high up in the sky. :)

After the festivities were over, we headed home to shoot a few fireworks of our own in the driveway. The boys had so much fun helping Daddy light them and then running a safe distance away to watch them explode.

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable day of celebrating our freedom as a nation... God Bless America!

Part of the way we passed the time... I'm sure we were a sight for others to see. HA!

We Are Back!!

2008-06-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

I know... I have not updated our blog since last September. I have missed posting about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, snow days, Valentine's Day, birthdays, and various other happenings in the Elrod home. Reason? While living in AR, we only had dial-up internet. S-l-o-w as Christmas! Took forever to download one picture and so I gave up. I didn't have the patience to sit and wait. I don't know how good I'll be at catching up from the past several months but I'll try a little at a time to catch y'all up to speed.

First off, we are no longer living in AR. You may remember my post about moving there and the reason why. We moved in with my brother in August of last year with the intent to be with him for only a couple of months or so before we found our own place. We were living with him because we still were paying the mortgage note on our house that we had for sale and couldn't afford that AND rent on another place. We were just sure that it would sell in a short amount of time and we could move into a new place in Searcy or Judsonia. Didn't happen. By January, our house still hadn't sold and we knew that something was going to have to give somewhere along the lines. Chris began looking for a new job and in February interviewed for and got a job back in Memphis. He moved back into our house in MS in March and I stayed in AR with the boys until school was out at the end of May. We did the weekend thing for about 12 weeks. It wasn't terribly difficult, but it made for long weeks, that's for sure. Our house officially went off the market 2 weeks ago. It was on for over a year. *sigh* Anyway... we're going to be content to stay where we're at for a while. We've settled back into our routine over here. The boys have reconnected with all the neighborhood kids and they are all in and out of our house all day long. It's good to be home. We really missed all of our Memphis friends and church family, although it was so good to be back in my hometown for a while.

Just a couple of quick pictures to tide you over before I get back into the groove of posting... :)

Chris and I about to go out on a date to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary (5/17/08)

Easter 4/08

Out On a Limb

2007-09-21T15:59:00.000-05:00

Our house in Mississippi was located at the end of the main road in our old neighborhood. We were quite content to have neighbors on only one side of us with a large lot of woods on the other side. Then, the construction started. Builders started clearing the woods to make way for new houses. Although we adults were disappointed, our boys and the kids in the neighborhood were then able to enjoy playing on the trees that were uprooted, in the pits that were made to burn debris, and around the tractors that were always left overnight. Here's Grant just hanging out on a pile of limbs and small trees that were cut down.

YMCA

2007-09-20T19:58:00.000-05:00

Earlier this summer, the boys were invited to a birthday party for their friend, Davis. It was a pool party and was held at the YMCA in Olive Branch. The boys had a great time splashing around in the water, going down the curly slides, and playing with their friends.

Grant and Davis

Riding the Alligator

Tackling Shamu
I made this cake for the party

Chicago!

2007-09-19T22:11:00.000-05:00

You're the Inspiration... 25 or 6 to 4.... Color My World... Hard Habit to Break...

Classic Chicago songs. I love Chicago. One of my dad's favorite songs is Color My World... I like it, too. This year for my birthday, Chris bought us tickets to attend the Chicago concert held at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. What a great night! No kids, good weather, great music and time together. Thanks for the birthday present, Chris! :)

It looked this way on every side of us... it was packed!

Matthew's 9th Birthday

2007-09-19T21:57:00.000-05:00

Matthew turned 9 in June. Due to a bit of trouble that he was in, we did not have a large birthday party for him this year. Instead, we invited our neighbors from across the street to join us for dinner and cake. This was just as well with Matthew because they brought their 13 year old son (Jamie) with them and Matthew thinks he is totally cool. :) This is the cake that Matthew asked me to make for him. Homemade strawberry with buttercream icing... YUM! :)

Matthew and Jamie playing video games

At long last... An Update!

2007-09-19T16:31:00.000-05:00

I know, I know... I've heard it many times already... it's been quite some time (okay...too long!) since I've added new updates to the Elrod Update. There is so much more that I could add, but since we only have dial-up internet at the new place (oh, how I miss my high-speed!) I will stick to the most recent update of the last month or so. Later, a bit at a time, I will add more retro-updates with new pictures. For the very short version, here goes....

Many of you know that Chris lost his job in March. After searching and searching for a job... preferably one that would keep us in the Memphis area... we were led back to my hometown in Arkansas. God's plans are not always the ones we have in mind or would like, are they? ;) So, we moved to Judsonia in August. Chris started work at Land O'Frost in Searcy as a Marketing Anaylst on August 13th. He's enjoying his job so far.... at least he likes the people that work with him. That's a positive. :) For the last month, he's been sharing an office with a co-worker but, as of yesterday, those in Management moved into their new offices and office building. Now, he's got his own office all to himself! :)

The boys started school the following Monday (the 21st). They are going to a small public school (White County Central) just 5 minutes or so down the road from my brother's house. It is where I began kindergarten and attended there through part of 3rd grade. In fact, my kindergarten teacher is now Matthew's 4th grade math teacher. There's more cool stuff, though... his homeroom teacher was a classmate of mine and we were big buddies when we were little. She knew exactly who I was when I walked through his classroom door. It was so good to reconnect with her. Also, Grant's teacher attends church with my dad and I've known her for a few years now. Their principal used to attend my old church and I dated her son some after high school. There are only 600 kids K-12 there and I know several of the faculty. The boys are adjusting well, making new friends, and really like their new school. Parent/Teacher conferences are tomorrow, so we'll have a chance to hear from their teachers as to how they're really doing. :)

I've put my name on the substitute teacher list at Central and also at the other elementary school in town (Judsonia). This is the school that I transferred to and graduated from when I left Central. I've already subbed at Judsonia several days (I've been asked to be there every day for this week!) over the past couple of weeks. I really enjoy doing that. I've been a SAHM for 10 years now and it's nice to get out into the "real" world a little bit. It works perfectly for me because I don't want to work summers or hours after school.

We're still working on finding a church to attend full-time but do have some prospects. We've been attending a church for a month now where a lot of friends of mine and some relatives attend. It's the first one that we've gone too, though, and don't want to just settle. We want to make sure we experience what other churches have to offer. We were able to go back to visit our Memphis church home last weekend and, BOY! do we miss our friends and church family there very much!

What else? Oh, you may remember that we are living with my brother. It's close quarters for us, but we're making it. Five of us in a 2 BR/1.5 BA house, but it's do-able. Phillip is not home often, so we're not always on top of each other. He's very gracious to allow us to live with him and take over his home. All he's asking from us is for Chris to mow the grass and to split utilities with him. No rent or help with the mortgage. That sure helps us! Please continue to pray that we sell our house soon. We really need a buyer. We went back last weekend and discovered that sometime in the 6 weeks that we've been gone, our refrigerator decided to die. Mind you, we HAD left food in both the fridge and freezer sides. Yep... you guessed it. Rotting, molding food all over the shelves. Disgusting, I tell ya! Took us a day and a half to clean up and try to make it smell better in there. Whew! That was a chore! But, it was nice to be back in our own place, despite the mess, even if it was only for a little while. Now, we're back to our little routine over here in the tiny little town we're living in . :)

That's the update for now. Be on the lookout for more posts soon...

Completely Random

2007-06-14T20:58:00.000-05:00

These are just some random pictures that I took over Memorial Day weekend....

A tree by the pond in my brother's backyard.

My feet... going for abstract art here... HA!!

My brothers, Phillip and David Lee, doing a little pickin' and singin' on the front porch.

I just love this old swing on my brother's front porch... our grandad found it for him at a garage sale.

We were able to pet the horses that were in the field by my cousin Laura's house.

My dad (Pawpaw) and the boys on Sunday after church.

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-06-14T20:42:00.000-05:00

For Memorial Day weekend last month, we went to Arkansas and had a Miller Family Gathering at my cousin Beth's house. She and her husband are always so gracious to allow us all to invade their home whenever a family get-together is planned. We had relatives from Colorado and Wyoming that were able to come down to visit, there were plenty of burgers/hotdogs and other good treats to eat, and everyone had a nice time of chatting and catching up.

Splish! Splash!

Some of the Miller clan

Uncle Dennis and my brother David Lee

Grant sure enjoyed playing on this swing!

The Gun

2007-06-14T20:25:00.000-05:00

First there was the BB gun. Next came the pellet gun. Now it's getting big-time... the .22 rifle. Yep... a .22 rifle. Matthew received that as a 9th birthday present this year from Uncle Phillip, Uncle David Lee and Pawpaw. What pure-bred, good-ol' Southern country boy doesn't get his first rifle at a young age? I wasn't terribly thrilled with the idea but got overruled by Chris and Uncle Phillip. Matthew was so excited!

He immediately began target practicing in Uncle Phillip's backyard. I tried my hand at shooting, too, but, not surprisingly, missed the target. Oh well... a sharp-shooter I am not! Here are some pictures of Matthew and the rest of us target practicing in the backyard.

End of the Year Kindergarten Program

2007-06-14T17:13:00.000-05:00

A week or so before school was out, we were invited to attend Grant's kindergarten program. It was at 8 in the morning at his school. Each kindergarten class took the stage and sang a song while a slideshow of their class played in the background. Grant bravely stood in front of a large crowd of parents and sang his song. Afterwards, all parents went back to their child's classroom for refreshments. There were cupcakes, nuts, and punch in Grant's room. Each child was given their award/diploma for completing kindergarten. Mrs. Jones (his teacher) had also prepared Memory Folders that included pictures and work that they had done through the year and she also made each child a DVD of classroom events. It was a nice way to wrap up the end of their first year of school. Grant had a great teacher and we are so thankful that he was blessed to be in her class.

Grant receiving his certificate from Mrs. Jones

Enjoying refreshments at his assigned table where he sat all year long

One year down... 11 more to go! :)

Cakes

2007-06-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

I've always made my boys birthday cakes and have always tried to do something special and creative with each one of them. It's something that I really enjoy doing, though by no means am I a professional. Over the past few months, I've had the occasion to make several cakes. I made one for Bunko at my house, one for Mother's Day and then our anniversary, and one for each of the boy's birthdays. My friend knows that I make cakes and recently asked me to make a cake for her son's 3rd birthday. I was a little nervous because I had never been asked to make a cake for a specific occasion... much less be paid for my work!! From that cake, I've had 2 more birthday cake orders with a possible 3rd one coming up. Like I said, I'm not a professional, but I get a little better and learn something new each time I make another cake. Have a look...

Grant's 6th Birthday cake

Mother's Day cake

10 Year Anniversary cake

Connor's 3rd Birthday cake (Thomas the Train)

Matthew's 9th Birthday cake

Abby's 2nd Birthday cake

Davis's 6th Birthday cake

Bunko cake

Who wants a homemade cake??? :)

Mother's Day

2007-06-14T13:01:00.000-05:00

Mother's Day is always bittersweet for me now that my own mother is no longer here. I'm so happy and grateful to be able to celebrate my special position as "Mom" with my children, but I'm also sad that I'm not able to celebrate the day with my own mother. If you have your mother with you still, give her a hug. Call her. Send her a card. Tell her you love her. Make good memories. Our mothers love us so much more than we ever really know.

This year, Chris's mother came out to the house for dinner after church. I don't like going to a restaurant on Mother's Day... way too crowded and I don't have the patience to wait in line for an hour just to eat. Sooo.... we came home and ate fajitas. I made an angel food cake with pineapple filling and lime whipped topping. Very tropical and light.... yum!!

The boys got me a new set of kitchen knives (something I've wanted for a while now) and a good-smelling candle.

It was a very nice day! :)

Chris and his mom, Kathy

God Still Provides

2007-05-15T11:37:00.000-05:00

No, we still do not have a regular job for Chris, but God is still providing in the meantime. Let me share some instances:

*As I made out my grocery list the other day, I had planned on purchasing 2 bags of frozen chicken breasts. When I got to the store, I looked at the price per bag... $9.49 (Tyson)! Good grief! There were only 4 chicken breasts in the package... almost $2.50/chicken breast! Reluctantly, I put just one bag in my cart and thought I'll figure out something else for dinners a couple of nights this week. Fast forward a couple of days... my neighbor called and asked if I could watch her children for a few minutes while she ran an errand. I said "yes" and she said she'd be right down. When I opened the door, she has a grocery bag on her arm and says "I bought you a bag of chicken." *jaw drops* I asked "why" and she said she just thought it would help since she knows we eat alot of chicken. I had never mentioned to her my chicken dilemma! IS THAT A GOD THING OR WHAT?!? How cool!! It was even the same brand that I purchase! God always provides!!

*A few weeks back, several girlfriends of mine from church got together and gave me a basket of gift cards worth $350 to places such as Target, Kroger, Starbuck's, Kroger Gas, Colton's restaurant, a month's worth of food from Angel Ministries, and a coupon for free babysitting from one friend. I was overwhelmed by their generosity.

*Yesterday in the mail we received a check from our mortgage company for an overage in our escrow account... almost $1,500! Totally unexpected.

*Today, Chris talked with a friend of ours that is a partner in a general contracting firm. He's giving Chris a temporary job as a field superintendent for a small building project they are about to start. Chris can continue to look for a job in his career field and still work this job, too. What a blessing!

These are just a few of God's reminders to me that He's still in charge and taking care of us. Praise God with me for his graciousness and generosity!! Look around your life... how is God providing for you??

The Tent

2007-05-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

One of the birthday presents that Grant received was a tent that you set up on your bed... it attaches to the corners of the mattress. Our very good friends... the Hendrix family... gave this to him. My friend, Tracy, is not a girly-girl person at all so she sure does know how to shop for a boy! *smiling* We had to put it on his bed as soon as we could that night so that he could sleep inside. He loves it!! He prefers to snuggle in and sleep with the flaps rolled down... it's his own lil' hideaway at night.

Good-Night!

Take Me Out To the Ballgame!

2007-05-02T16:38:00.000-05:00

After the birthday party, Chris and I took Grant and his best friend Graydon to a Memphis Redbird's baseball game. Matthew chose to spend the night with a friend and so that's why he didn't attend the game with us. We were given 4 tickets by a friend of ours and they were really good seats. The Redbirds were playing Omaha that night and they won the game!! I had never been to one of their games before and really enjoyed the experience. After we found our seats, one of the first things the boys wanted to do was get some cotton candy. Chris bought each of them their own bag and Boy! did they stuff it away... talk about some sticky fingers!

At one point during the game after Rocky the Redbird had entertained the crowd, the boys were able to go visit with him and I took their picture together.

Below are just some pictures that I took during the game:

Grant posing with Daddy's new Redbirds cap

We didn't stay for the whole game... we left at the beginning of the 7th inning. After a long day of fun, they boys were a little antsy and ready to go on home. As we were leaving, the boys posed with several of the baseball stand-ups that they have in the outer courtyard of the stadium.

Play Ball!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Grant!!

2007-05-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

On April 21st, Grant celebrated his 6th birthday. He asked for only 2 things from us for presents... a set of walkie-talkies and to go to the Build-A-Bear store. We took him there on Friday night. He had fun choosing the bear body that he wanted, stuffing it, picking out an outfit for it to wear, and naming it. This is the bear he chose and he named it Joe:

The camo outfit is the one that Grant chose and then he received the Spiderman outfit (he LOVES Spiderman!) from some friends of ours:

Grant wanted a Spy Party and we came up with a few fun things to fit that theme. We found a picture of a cake online that he liked and I made it for him. I love to make the boy's cakes! My mother always made cakes for me and my siblings and I want my boys to have the same memory of me when they are older.

As the kids arrived, I fingerprinted them at the Agent Check-In station:

They then each signed a secret message (their name) on a poster for Grant:

After everyone had arrived, they played a couple of rounds of "Get A Clue"... our spy version of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". Each kid was given a paper fingerprint and they tried to place it as close to the magnifying glass as they could:

This is how "close" all of them got after a little bit of touchy-feely cheating! HA! :

Then it was time to open presents. Here's a group shot of the party guests before Grant opened his presents... it was chaos afterwards and there would have been no chance of getting them to sit still then!

Then came the sweet part... the CAKE! I made a 2 layer homemade chocolate and homemade vanilla cake with homemade buttercream frosting. It took a little time to make and decorate but it's always so worth it!:

After eating cake and ice cream, the kids played out in the yard until the party was over.

Grant and his best friends, Graydon and Emma

Grant had a great party with all of his lil' friends, but his day of fun was not over. Graydon spent the night and we took them to a Memphis Redbirds baseball game later that afternoon.

No Job

2007-04-30T14:15:00.000-05:00

Most of you know but some of you may not... Chris lost his job at the end of March. He was working for Cleo, Inc. and in months past, they had been downsizing. At the first of March, his manager called him in and said she'd heard rumors of more lay-offs and if they looked at the Marketing Department, he'd be the first to go since he was the most recent new-hire. He'd only been there a little over a year. Two days later, his manager confirms that he would lose his job at the end of that month. The not so funny thing is that Chris had worked for the same company just 10 years ago and they did the very same thing to him then, too. *sigh* Anyway... he began his job search immediately. We thought that the search would be quick and easy... Chris is smart, has an MBA, lots of experience, great personality, etc... and that he'd have a job before he was laid off at the end of the month. Not so. We're still continuing to search with not much luck. He's had 2 interviews and both companies have decided to pursue other candidates. He's applied at almost every major company in Memphis with no response. We've found that some companies are at the end of their fiscal year and don't want to take on another expense (a new hire) until they begin their new year again in June. It's just bad timing for us to be looking for a job. He has a recruiter that is working with him but she's just not finding anything at the moment. We've (reluctantly) expanded the territory that we're willing to look in (Nashville, St. Louis, Little Rock, Birmingham... anything within a 5 hour radius to Memphis) and still nothing. We are discouraged and Chris really feels "lost". If Chris is unable to find something soon, we may have to put our house up for sale (we've only been here a year). There are just lots of questions, emotions, and unknowns that we are experiencing right now. We know that God has a plan and that He will provide for us in His own time. We know that. We would just appreciate any and all prayers for God to quickly show us the right job opportunity for Chris and for our attitudes while we search and wait.

Science Project

2007-04-12T07:51:00.000-05:00

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas

(Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto)

How did you learn how to memorize the names of the 9 planets? Yes, I know, Pluto is technically no longer considered an "official" planet but I think that's just wrong! HA! Matthew is now studying the planets and space in Science at school. A note was sent home recently letting us know that each child had the opportunity to earn 10 extra bonus points towards their lowest Science grade if they completed one of two projects. They could either memorize a provided poem about the planets or they could create a project. Matthew chose to make a project. This is what we came up with and I believe he did a great job!

Easter Afternoon

2007-04-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

This year we were invited to eat Easter lunch at our preacher's house. Another couple from church and their 2 children were also invited. We ate a delicious meal of ham, homemade potato salad, baked beans, rolls, deviled eggs, veggie relish, and strawberry cobbler with ice cream for dessert. I also made sugar cookies for us to munch on. We had a great time visiting with each other and helping the kids hunt Easter eggs after dinner. The boys were even on their best behavior! :) We are thankful for the Plunket's hospitality and kindness... it was a wonderful afternoon of fellowship with friends.

The homemade sugar cookies that I made

Chris and our preacher

Hide them well, Colby!

Waiting for the kids to come hunt the eggs

Matthew, Grant, and Maddie Happy Easter!!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

2007-04-11T21:26:00.000-05:00

...hoppin' down the bunny trail straight to the Elrod house. It's a good thing Mr. Bunny likes to get around quite early because the boys were awake at 6 AM ready to look for their baskets of goodies that were left for them. This is what they found...

Chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Peeps, Silly String, eggs filled with candy and money ($1 in quarters), cotton candy, Slim Jims, a new toothbrush, and a new game apiece for their game sytems filled their baskets.

After an attack of the Silly String!

The next 3 pictures were taken on Easter Eve. Chris helped the boys dye Easter Eggs which were eaten for breakfast the next morning. YUM!!

Easter Egg Hunt at Church

2007-04-10T21:35:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, the boys hunted Easter Eggs at our church's annual Egg Hunt. Hundreds of plastic eggs are scattered all over our church's front lawn for the kids to run and collect once the ribbon barrier has been cut. The eggs are empty but kids receive a treat bag once they are finished filling their basket to the top. The decision was made to not fill the eggs after we figured out that the candy was melting and creating a mess inside while sitting out in the sun waiting to be gathered. This year, however, that wouldn't have been a problem. It was COLD! I'm talking coats-gloves-scarves-and-hats-cold. Brrrrr! Still, the boys had fun and even got their picture made with the Easter Bunny.

Waiting to Begin

GO!

Matthew and William looking for a Prize Easter Egg

Graydon, Easter Bunny, and Grant

Heading home...

Mr. Q and Miss U Get Married

2007-04-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday, Grant was in a wedding. He was the Best Man (although, initially, he thought it was called the Great Man... HA!). A bit unusual for a kindergartener? Not if you're a student in Mrs. Jones kindergarten class at Lewisburg Elementary. She has implemented a fun activity to get the kids to remember that Q and U are partners in forming the beginning of lots of words. Each year, there is a wedding ceremony to unite Mr. Q and Miss U. The student's names are drawn out of a hat to see who gets to play what role. There is the Bride and Groom, bridesmaids/groomsmen, best man/maid of honor, ushers, ringbearer, flowergirl, preacher, servers, guestbook attendant, photographer, and singer. After the ceremony, there is a reception complete with an honest-to-goodness wedding cake, groom's cake, punch, mints, and nuts. Of course, at this reception, QUaker oatmeal cookies and Nestle QUik chocolate milk are served, too! All that were invited were encouraged to dress in wedding appropriate attire... there was even a Bride's side and a Groom's side. The kids had lots of fun and learned a lesson all at the same time!

Waiting for the Bride... L-R: Preacher James Lewis (DeSoto Hills Baptist), Preacher Freddie, Groom Benton, and Best Man Grant

Getting Married

Miss U (Josie) and Mr Q

Escorting (sort of) the maid of honor, Lee

Dancing at the reception

Having a bite of cake with his friend, Reed

Grant and Mrs. Jones

Me and my Best Man :)

Cutting the Grass

2007-04-10T20:48:00.000-05:00

Matthew loves to cut the grass. He's always been fascinated with all things yard work related. Last season Chris got a riding lawn mower and gave his old push mower to Matthew. This year, ever since the first green blade of spring grass made it's appearance he's been asking to mow the lawn. The other day, Chris let him drive the riding lawn mower all by himself. He did a great job and we were quite impressed with his grass-cutting skills. Anyone need a lawn boy this summer?? *smiling*

Last Time at Nana's

2007-04-10T13:19:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, Chris's Nana moved from the home in Raleigh where she has lived for the past 10 years or so. She is moving into apartment complex that is for senior citizens. Chris helped her move some things last Friday and took the boys with him to visit at her house for the last time. Here is a picture of the three of them on her front porch. We sure will miss visiting Nana at her old house but will look forward to seeing her new place.

The Pink Palace

2007-04-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

On the last day of Spring Break we took the boys to the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis (http://www.memphismuseums.org/). We had originally planned to go to the zoo but it was so windy and cool that day that it wouldn't have been much fun to be outdoors for long. So we talked the boys into doing something else. The Pink Palace was originally built to be a private home for Clarence Saunders... the founder of Piggly Wiggly... but it was never completed. Eventually, it was turned into the museum that it is today. The museum is now host to hundreds of exhibit displays, a gift shop, a planetarium, and an IMAX theater. Below you'll find a description of these theatres... they are so cool!

IMAX is the ultimate movie experience. With crystal clear images up to eight stories high, and wrap-around digital surround sound, IMAX takes you to places you only imagined. Forty-five hundred times larger than an average TV screen, IMAX and IMAX 3D giant flat screens soar up to eight stories high and have a slight curvature that extends beyond the field of geometric recognition. Because these screens fill your peripheral vision, you feel like you’re right in the action.

One of the features of the day was Hurricane On the Bayou... a history of Louisiana's wetlands and the effects of Hurricane Katrina and others on the area. It was really neat. Great soundtrack, too. :) After the movie, we explored the museum for a little while. It's not necessarily a children's museum, per se, but the boys are old enough now to appreciate the exhibits that are on display.

Don't look now but there's a triceratops right behind you!!

The skeleton of some cool dinosaur... a mastodon, perhaps? I can't remember...

The entrance to a replica of one of the first self-serve Piggly Wiggly stores

A replica of a camp setting in Africa

A typical 1950's kitchen... aren't we glad for the conveniences that we have today??

This was one of my favorite displays... I love the "Little House On the Prairie" type of stuff...

This says "Patterson Transfer Company... Established 1856... Memphis and Nashville... Mail Coach"

Grant loves to collect crystals and was fascinated by this one

An old-timey dentist office

A Civil War cannon

You can see the diversity of the exhibits that are on display. These are just a sample of hundreds that are available for viewing. You could easily spend hours in the museum but it's well worth the time. We enjoyed our Spring Break visit! :)

The Piano

2007-04-10T11:26:00.000-05:00

Uncle Phillip has a piano at his house. It belonged to my grandmother and I remember playing it every time that we went to her house. I never learned how to really play, but I always enjoyed picking out a song note by note until I got it just right. To this day, about the best I can play is the DoReMi song from the Sound of Music. HA! Phillip, on the other hand, can play very well. When my grandmother died, Phillip inherited the piano. I'm so glad he did. Now my boys like to play on it whenever we go visit. Matthew can play Mary Had A Little Lamb pretty well and Grant's getting there. Matthew has always been musically inclined... perhaps the piano could be one of the instruments that he learns how to play.

Puppies at Pawpaw's

2007-03-29T08:43:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago was Spring Break for the boys. I decided to take them to AR to spend some time with Uncle Phillip, Pawpaw and Aunt Sarah. When we got to Pawpaw's house, we found that he had puppies under the front porch. Eight puppies!

Matthew had fun pulling them out one by one and putting them on the porch. They were only 3 weeks old at the time and just as cute as could be! The boys had a great time playing with them... and then begging me to let them take one home. Grant was partial to the runt of the pack... a lil' black and white puppy.

Matthew just liked 'em all.

They're looking forward to going to Pawpaw's again.

Painting

2007-03-29T08:37:00.000-05:00

Since we moved in last year, I've wanted to paint one wall red in my breakfast area. We finally got around to it a couple of weeks ago and Matthew got to help. He feels so big when gets to do something that Daddy does. They finished in one evening and I love the result!

St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-29T08:12:00.000-05:00

We celebrated St. Patrick's day twice this year. The boys woke me up on Friday morning by pinching me because my jammies had no green on them. Well, I thought, this must be St. Patrick's day. We made a big deal of everyone wearing green, talking about shamrocks and leprechauns, and eating green food. Boy!... Was I surprised when I sat down at the computer on Saturday morning and saw "Happy St. Patrick's Day!". What!?! Didn't they know that was yesterday?? Oops! I was the one in the wrong! *heehee* Soooo... we all wore green again, I made green pancakes for breakfast, and we celebrated one more day.

May God grant you always...A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you. ~Irish Blessing

Just Stuff

2007-03-08T13:37:00.000-06:00

Career Day

Today is Career Day in Grant's kindergarten class at school. He decided that he wants to be President of the United States. Ambitious! He's been on this kick for a while. Last month, his class was asked to contribute drawings for a book of what they'd like to be when they grow up. Yep... he was the only one that dreamed of being the President. Here he is this morning:

***Grant***

He's growing so quickly and is such a little sponge right now. His interests are so varied and we are forever looking up something on the Internet to answer his questions. He loves old coins and foreign money. The latter interest began when I took out an old piggy bank of mine that was full of money I had collected from other countries. We'll look through the money and pick out our "favorites" based on the coin design. His favorites, of course, change every time. ;)

Animals are another of his interests. He has quite the collection of stuffed animals and asks for a new one all the time. Here are a couple of pictures of him and some of his favorites:

Daddy brought the bear back from a recent trip to NYC

Uncle Phillip purchased the bobcat for him in TX. It was a reward for being good while Daddy was in NY. Thanks for the bribe, Flip! :)

Another thing that he's curious about is geography. He's been learning in his class about the United States/Mississippi/Olive Branch. He likes for us to show him on a map where something is located. He and Chris got on GoogleEarth the other night and looked around our town, where relatives live, and even took a peek at the Great Pyramids in Egypt!

He's just an active lil' boy that enjoys being outside, collecting rocks, exploring the woods and trails around our house, playing with his friends, using his imagination, and learning all he can about the world around him. I ask him all the time if he'll stop growing and stay 5 forever. He just smiles and says "I can't do that". *sigh* If only he could...

***Matthew****

Matthew is growing quickly, too.... he's now almost as tall as I am! He's got a fiercely independent spirit, a great sense of adventure and love for the outdoors, and a big heart for his friends and family.

His interests are mostly things that pertain to being outdoors. Anything with a camouflage pattern catches his eye. He loves to go camping, fishing, and exploring. He's got a knife collection of about 15 assorted pocket knives, all-purpose tools, and even a fileting knife for fish. Oh, and one hatchet that Uncle Phillip got him for Christmas. Scooters, bicycles, 4 wheelers and motorcycles are his preferred modes of transportation. Mowing the grass is one of his favorite summertime chores.

He also enjoys standing on his head, doing cartwheels, listening to Chris's I-pod, and playing his electric guitar. It's hard to believe that in just a bit over 4 short years he'll be a teenager! Oh, my...

Playing guitars with Uncle Phillip

Our boys are their own unique selves with differing interests and personalities but one very important thing in common... they are loved just for who they are.

Valentine's Day

2007-02-23T10:30:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks before Valentine's Day, Grant had asked me if I was going to get him and Matthew a surprise like I did last year. Truthfully, I had completely forgotten that I had done anything for them other than making a special dinner. I then remembered that I had placed a small box of chocolates and something else Valentine-y on their plates before they sat down for dinner. You just never know what little things they'll remember and look forward to the next year. This year, I made each of them a special treat sack with some goodies that I had picked up at the store. Before they got ready for school that morning, I had them sit on the couch and close their eyes while they awaited the handing over of their gifts. Here they are anxiously waiting:

I then let them look inside to see what they got:

They each got a small box of chocolates, a heart-shaped Ring-Pop, a box of Conversation Sweet Hearts, and a pen with a heart on the end that lights up when you write. Just a few lil' fun things. :)

"You're always FIRST with me!"

"You've got me HOPPIN'!"

Showing a little Valentine's Day love

Hope each of you had a great Valentine's day and got to spend it with someone special!

The Children's Museum

2007-02-08T08:24:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, Chris took Matthew to a Memphis Tiger's basketball game. A friend at work offered Chris the tickets but there were only 2 of them. So that Grant didn't feel left out of a special activity, I offered to take him to the Children's Museum... one of his favorite places to visit. He was so excited and asked if he could plan our whole day. Okay. His agenda? We went to the Children's Museum, out to lunch (Wendy's... Daddy and Matthew joined us because the game was over but Grant wasn't too happy that it wasn't just the 2 of us), had ice cream at Baskin Robbins, and went to Blockbuster to rent a movie (Treasure Island). It was a fun day of just getting to spend time together. Oh... the Tigers won!!

What Will I Be When I Grow Up?:

A Doctor??

A Construction Worker??

A Grocery Store Worker??

(This was his favorite thing to do... shopping at the mini-Kroger store)

A Pilot (like Uncle Phillip)??

Oh, the possibilities...!

Oops!!

2007-02-05T08:57:00.000-06:00

Why do these keep posting backwards when I think I'm posting them in the right order? Hmmm... Oh, well! :)

Last of the Cabin Christmas Pics

2007-02-05T08:36:00.000-06:00

More Random Pictures:
Meme and Matthew

Shooting the bow and arrow

Chris, Pam, and Patrick

Scrapbooking:

Pictures with Nana:

Goodbye:

Our cabin

More Cabin Christmas Pictures

2007-02-05T08:18:00.000-06:00

More PJ Pictures:

Chris's mom, Nana, and me

Mesmerized by the TV

Random:

This was Chris's job all weekend... keeping the fire going! :)

Patrick (Chris's brother), all the kiddos, and Chris

Christmas at the Cabin

2007-02-05T08:02:00.000-06:00

(Yes, this is another post that's chronologically out of order but I only recently was able to download these pictures from my mother-in-law's camera... that's my excuse.)

For the past several years, we've hosted Christmas at our house for Chris's brother & his family, and Chris's mom & Nana. This year, my sister-in-law had the idea to do something different and rent a cabin for the weekend. So, the weekend of December 8-10, all of us loaded up and went to Village Creek State Park near Wynne, AR for our Christmas getaway. We got there on Friday evening and left late Sunday morning. We exchanged gifts, ate a nice Christmas meal, played games, scrapbooked, and just enjoyed visiting with each other. I think we may even try to do it again this year! :)

Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree :)

Opening Presents:

Hayden and Tanner... our nephews

Pajama Party:

Me and my sister-in-law, Pam, with our new jammies

Snow Day!!

2007-02-04T15:35:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, we woke up to a blanket of white across the yard. The winter weather had started the day before and the kids didn't have school on Thursday due to some ice patches on the roads out here. The kids enjoyed the day off but were really disappointed that there wasn't any snow on a "snow day". Things were different, however, on Friday morning. Chris woke me up at 5:30 to tell me that the kids wouldn't be going to school. I thought "Great! I won't wake the boys up and I'll get to sleep a bit later.". Nope. Grant was up about 10 after 6 and couldn't wait to look out the window. An hour later we were outside making snow angels, tasting the snow (what kid can't resist eating some snow?), having snowball fights, and sledding down the hill in our backyard. Matthew was the ingenious one that came up with the idea of using the big toybox lid as a sled. It worked great! :) At the end of the day, we had gone through several changes of clothes and shoes, a few mugs of hot chocolate, and lots of little boys running in and out of the house. Some say that there will be more snow again before winter's over, but chances are that was our one Big Snow of the season. We'll see! :)

What it looked like across the neighborhood before the kids came out and the sun melted it all away

Me and the boys

Our house

Below are some pictures of our sledding fun! :

I wasn't just posing... I actually did slide down the hill and it was fun!! :)

Wheeeeeeee!!!

We had a wonderfully cold and snowy day! :)

More Snow Pictures

2007-02-04T15:16:00.000-06:00

My little snow angels... okay, well, most of the time! *smiling*

Grant
Matthew

Grant, Jamie (neighbor kid) and Matthew

Davis (neighbor kid) and Grant having a snow fight

I love this picture
Matthew's snow angel

Matthew said that this looked like Narnia

More Fair Pics

2007-01-19T13:56:00.000-06:00

At the petting zoo

Matthew is the last one on the right... this ride brought you up to the top and then quickly lowered you a bit at a time. Kinda like an elevator on the loose!

This ride spun high round and round... like flying

The Fair

2007-01-19T13:31:00.000-06:00

(I realize this is not in chronological order with all the other posts... oh well.)

What comes to mind when you think of the fair? A day out of school? Bright lights at night? The yummy food... cotton candy, corndogs, turkey legs, BBQ, ice cream? Exhibits... the Largest Vegetable, the Prettiest Roses, the Yummiest Homemade Goodie? How about the rides that thrill and turn your tummy upside down? Matthew took his first ride on a roller coaster... the Zippin Pippin (Elvis's favorite ride!)... at the fair. He was 4... thanks "Uncle" Dean! :) I personally prefer to just walk around, sample the fair food, and people-watch. What do you like to do??

Chris and I took the boys to the Mid-South Fair in Memphis earlier this fall. We chose to take them out of school early so that we could take advantage of free admission day. It so happened to be "P" day in Grant's kindergarten class and the kids wore their pajamas to school. I was sure I had put a change of clothes in the car for him but I didn't. Oops!! He said he didn't mind going to the fair in his jammies... that's why you'll see him posing in his Spiderman pj's. :)

We had a great time walking around, riding rides, and eating way too much food that is sooo good but sooo bad for you. :) Here are some things we did:

Grant on the Chinese Dragon Ride... he's in the 3rd car from the left

Honk Honk! Big Rig coming through!

Sand art that was sculpted throughout the week

Matthew in front of an old Memphis fire engine

Tooth Troubles

2007-01-03T12:30:00.000-06:00

Doesn't everyone need a little drama of some sort over the holidays?? On Christmas night, Matthew had an accident. He was over at the neighbor's house playing with his friend. Their dog was tied up over on the corner by the garage. As Matthew came out of the garage, the dog walked in front of Matthew and caused him to trip over the taut leash. He fell face first on the concrete. Busted his lip and broke off part of his front tooth. He came home crying and with a bloody mouth. What a sight to see when I opened the door!! He was a trooper, though... a dose of Tylenol and a cold washcloth for the lip was all he needed to make him feel better. I took him to the dentist today to get his tooth fixed. Here he is in the office and with Dr. Wilkinson:
Notice the bottom corner of the tooth on the left

The "Magic Gas" mask... he looks more like a fighter pilot to me! heehee

All done... Matthew was feeling a bit loopy from the gas they gave him

He felt a little sick on the way home... a combination of no breakfast and the gas they used. I let him lay on the couch for a little while when we got home before getting him to eat a bowl of Cheerios. He was trying to make out that he was worse than he really was so that he could stay home from school the rest of the day but that didn't work. Off to school he went... new tooth and all!!

More Christmas Day Pictures

2006-12-28T19:40:00.000-06:00

Matthew giving Uncle Phillip the present that he had bought for him at the school Holiday Store. It was a travel coffee mug for him to use in the plane.
Chris's mom (Meme) and the boys

Chris's best friend... aka "Uncle Dean"... and the boys. He brought Matthew a V-Cam Now (he can record 7 minute videos) and Grant a new bike:

Matthew with his new hiking stick

This was actually taken on Christmas Eve morning

My lil' pirate and his ship... the Black Pearl

You can't see it very well but, this is the hatchet that Uncle Phillip got Matthew

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Morning

2006-12-28T18:41:00.000-06:00

When I was younger, I remember waking up early in the morning... okay, middle of the night... on Christmas day, going into my brother's room and waking my brother, Phillip. I'm sure I woke David Lee, too, but I don't remember him sneaking around with me and Phillip. We would come up the hall into the living room, take a peek at all the presents under the tree, go through our stockings and then put everything back in place just as it was. Couldn't have any tell-tale signs that we had been sneaking around, although I'm sure my parents knew. This year was the first year that there was sneaking around at our house. You would think that the older child would wake the younger and get him to go look under the tree. Nope... not here. About 3 AM in the morning, Matthew crawled in bed with us and told us that Grant had woke him and was in the living room. I got up and found Grant sitting in the dark in front of the tree with his new flashlight shining on the presents. He had woke up, came in the living room and scoped out everything, then went back and woke up Matthew. Matthew says that he didn't take a look around before coming and tattling on Grant but I'm not so sure about that. I put them back in bed and told them not to get up again until I woke them in the morning. I decided to sleep on the couch for the few hours left before dawn so that I could catch any little feet that might come back for a second peek. About 5:30, Matthew ran through the living room to our room. I got up and told him he had to wait until at least 6 o'clock. I reminded him that he and Grant could not come out of the room until they heard the Christmas music playing. That would be their cue that it was okay to come in the living room. You see, my mother did the same with me and my siblings. We had to wait in our rooms until we heard the Christmas music and then we knew we could rush down the hall and begin opening presents. This is the boys right after they heard the music:
The boys always look in their stockings before opening presents. Santa fills them with little treats, toys, and candy:Then we move on to the presents. Santa's presents always come first because they are not wrapped. This year, Matthew got a new pellet gun and camouflaged wading boots from Santa. Grant got the Pirates of the Caribbean Black Pearl ship and a new camouflaged toy gun.

(sorry you have to tilt your head to see this... I thought I had corrected it in my photo program)

Next come the presents from Mommy & Daddy and others:

Uncle Phillip and Matthew

The Aftermath

We hope each of you had a great Christmas Day surrounded by friends, family, or both. May God bless you all in the New Year!!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2006-12-27T20:34:00.000-06:00

When we got home from the Elrod party it was time for the boys to go to bed so that Santa could be making his way to our house. First, though, we had to leave cookies and milk for Santa and Grant had to sprinkle the Reindeer Food in the driveway. We chose to leave Santa a variety of cookies including chocolate chip, candy cane, Kolacky, and Spritz. He also prefers 2% milk. ;) Here are the boys leaving the cookies:

The chocolate chip cookies were still baking in the oven at this point.

Here is Grant with his bag of Reindeer food and out in the driveway sprinkling it around:

Then it was time to climb into bed while visions of sugarplums (or presents!) danced in their heads:

Mommy stayed up really late so that she could take a picture of all the wonderful things that Santa left under the tree and in their stockings:

And so we slept and waited until Christmas morning...

Oops Again!

2006-12-27T18:55:00.000-06:00

I'm still trying to figure out how to post several posts at once and have them end up in the right order. Again... scroll down and then read up.

Christmas Eve--Part 2

2006-12-27T18:27:00.000-06:00

This year at the Elrod party we decided to play Dirty Santa. The girls each brought a girl's gift and the guys brought a guy's gift. We then drew numbers and either picked a new present out of the pile or "stole" a gift that had already been opened. I ended up "stealing" a $25 gift card to O'Charley's from my mother-in-law. That was lunch on Tuesday... Thanks, Susie!! :) Chris ended up with some little emergency kit items and Phillip got a meat grinder. We had a good laugh about that one... HA!!

Phillip and his meat grinder

Matthew bought Papaw a Nascar notepad set from the Holiday Store at school. He used his own money to buy gifts for several people this year. Here are Papaw and Matthew with his gift:

The rest of the pictures are just random pictures from the evening....

Me and my sister-in-law, Jessica

Jackie, Matthew, Chris and Grant

Susie, Jackie, Matthew, Chris, Me, and Grant (who was tired of having his picture taken... obvious?? heehee)

Christmas Eve

2006-12-27T18:01:00.000-06:00

Since Christmas Eve day fell on a Sunday, we went to church together that morning as usual. We were joined by my brother, Phillip, who was visiting for the weekend. We took a few pictures that morning before church:

After church we ate lunch at Atlanta Bread Company and then came home to do a bit more baking. Phillip made another batch or two of Spritz cookies and I made sausage balls for our get together later that evening. About 4 o'clock we went to Chris's dad's house in Southaven (about 10 minutes away). Phillip came with us and fit right in with the rest of the gang. After munching on appetizers and then dinner, we let the 4 cousins open their presents. Mamaw handed out presents one at a time so that we could see what each kid got instead of just seeing a flurry of wrapping paper being tossed in the air.

L-R: Hagan, Matthew, Grant, & Austin

More on the rest of the evening in the next post...

Oops!

2006-12-25T14:44:00.000-06:00

Somehow those posts wound up backwards! Start at the bottom and read up for the correct order! :)

Baking Christmas Goodies--The End

2006-12-25T14:36:00.000-06:00

At the end of the day we had made 3 kinds of cookies, chocolate covered peanut butter patties, fudge, chocolate covered cherries, peppermint bark, Magic Cookie bars, chocolate covered pretzels, orange-nut balls, mint chocolate covered Oreos, truffles, Turtles, and pecan logs. Here are some of the things we made:

We had a long but fun day of baking, sampling and visiting. I can't wait until next year!!

Baking Christmas Goodies--The Middle

2006-12-25T14:18:00.000-06:00

Mother always made Spritz cookies... and her mother always made them, too. They're a family favorite and we made plenty! Uncle Phillip pressed the cookies out into shapes and the boys decorated with lots of sprinkles.

After we finished baking on Saturday, Phillip decided that we had not baked enough Spritz cookies and so we made more on Sunday afternoon.

We all had so many things to do... stirring, melting, dipping, and mixing! Here we are hard at work:

Baking Christmas Goodies--The Beginning

2006-12-24T08:05:00.000-06:00

Chocolate, sugar, flour, caramel, peppermint, nuts, cookie dough...

Beginning in 1985, my mother and her very good friend, Jamie, got together every year to bake candies and other treats for Christmas. They would set aside one full day... usually a Saturday... to make candies and cookies of many different kinds. It has always been an all day long event... starting early in the morning and finishing in the early evening. I remember Mother would bring home tins and plastic containers full of all sorts of sweet treats at the end of the day. We were only supposed to get into them when given permission but of course us kids were always sneaking when no one was looking. For the first several years it was just Mother and Jamie that did the baking. As all of us children (me & my siblings and Jamie's kids) got older, we were allowed to help out in the kitchen. Although Mother died in 2004, we have kept up this holiday tradition. This year, we decided to bake at my house.... for years it's been at Jamie's house. My brother, Phillip, and Jamie came over. Jamie's daughter, Mandy, would have come but she had another family Christmas get-together to attend. She was missed! Jamie got here about 8:15 in the morning and we began assembling all ingredients.

There was another counter opposite this one that was just as full! I began melting caramels to make Turtles and Jamie began working on the dough for Candy Cane cookies. She let Grant help her roll out the little ropes of dough to twist into the candy cane shape. Grant said it was like playing with Play-Doh.

Trimming the Tree

2006-11-27T21:37:00.000-06:00

The Christmas 2006 Finished Tree

It happens every year the weekend after Thanksgiving... the annual holiday tradition of putting up and decorating the Christmas tree. I remember when I was younger that our family would go out in the woods on my Grandad's property and pick our tree. Daddy would chop it down and we'd bring it home. Whether pine or cedar, it always smelled great! Now, after a year or three of fresh, expensive trees, we have a nice fake one (do "nice" and "fake" even go together??) that has paid for itself already for years to come. It's 7.5 feet tall and has what looks like tiny ice/water droplets on the ends of some of the branches. For a fake tree, it's pretty. This past Saturday morning I began the task of going in the attic and looking for all the Christmas decorations. I must've brought out a dozen boxes... okay, maybe not but it sure seemed that way. Especially to Chris! HA! I've about decided I'm not putting out every decoration that I have this year. What is it... less is more?? ;) Anyway... we got out the tree and Chris helped assemble it. It's really fairly easy... 3 sections and the branches just fall down. After a little fluffing and a light check, we were ready to begin. I started with the many many feet of red beads and wrapped it round and round the tree. Next came the ornaments. I separated the non-breakable ornaments that the kids were allowed to handle from the more fragile ones. I gave them their pile and let them do their work. Surprisingly, they didn't clump all 52 ornaments together in one spot! heehee After some minor placement help from me, it was my turn to finish up putting on the rest. My ornaments are very eclectic. The themed fancy trees look oh-so-pretty but I prefer one with sentimental value. We have fancy glass ornaments and homemade paper ornaments made with love by 2 little boys. We have ornaments that belonged to Chris and I as kids and even 2 ornaments that belonged to my parent's when they decorated their first tree. So many memories in such simple tree decorations. Next came the red and white bows all carefully spaced out. Last came the tree topper. I think I do something different every year. I've made bows, put on a Santa Claus hat, and even had an old fashioned St. Nick perched atop the tree. This year I made my own bow and it turned out beautifully if I do say so myself! ;) I then spread out the tree skirt and it was finished. Christmas Tree 2006 was done and it is quite lovely! Stop by and take a peek if you happen to be out in our neck of the woods! Oh... during the tree trimming, we listened to Christmas music and Chris made us all hot cocoa. It was a wonderful evening of spending family time together. :)

Grant placing the first ornament on the tree

Sorting the ornaments

Chris just sat back and took pictures ;)

Enjoying some hot cocoa

Chris making the hot cocoa for us

We hope each of you enjoys a blessed and wonderful Holiday Season!!

More Thanksgiving Pictures

2006-11-24T18:52:00.000-06:00

Daddy and me.... Daddy had a minor car accident (he's okay) 2 days before T'giving and the airbag went off. That's why he has a red nose and, according to Grant, looks like Rudolph!! HA!

Full and sleepy after a big dinner

Siblings and nephews relaxing... ignore the "salutes" =P

PawPaw and Matthew

PawPaw and Grant

David Lee enjoying a plate full of desserts... YUM!!

I love this picture! David Lee, Sarah, Phillip, and me

This tree is out in the front yard at Daddy's... I used to climb it all the time when I was growing up. In fact, I pushed my brother, Phillip, out of it once! I'm nicer to him now... HA!

Y'all may be seeing this one in your Christmas cards this year! :)

Sisters!! I really like this picture, too! :)

Me and Jamie... She's always been like a second mother to me. She and her family are life long family friends. I grew up babysitting for her children... her oldest daughter and I were in each other's weddings. It was good to visit with her on Thanksgiving day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2006-11-24T18:32:00.000-06:00

I hope each of you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Day! It's always good to be together with family and friends... those that love you the most. This is the first year that our family has resumed regular Thanksgiving festivities since Mother died in 2004. Chris and I and the boys went to my dad's house in Arkansas for the day. We stayed the night with my brother, Phillip. Along with my siblings, we were joined by another family for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Janet, who has been seeing my dad, and her family came along to be with us. She prepared most of the dinner... all I had to make was broccoli/cheese/rice casserole and rolls. Oh, I also made homemade caramel corn but that was mostly for Phillip. ;) All total there were 16 people at the house. After dinner, Phillip and David Lee joined each other with their guitars out on the back porch for a little playin' and singin' session. That was fun! Even Matthew got in on the act. Later in the afternoon, Phillip, David Lee and myself went over to our "other parents" house... Tommy and Jamie's. They practically helped raise us and their children are like our siblings. They're a wonderful family and it was so good to spend some time with them. That evening we all took turns playing the original Nintendo game system. Super Mario Brothers... what a blast! There were only 2 controllers and 5 of us wanting to play so when a character lost a life we just passed the controller off to the next person. Never did rescue the princess but we all had fun trying! :) In the end, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed just being together.

Enjoying the wonderful weather after a good dinner

Playing a little music

David Lee and me

David Lee (singing a tune... HA!) and Sarah

Uncle Phillip and Matthew

Matthew and Uncle David Lee

More Patriotic Pics

2006-11-14T08:50:00.000-06:00

For some reason, the rest of these pictures weren't posting to the previous entry. Hmmm... Anyway, these are just a few more.

Patriotic Program

2006-11-14T08:34:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, about 4:30 in the afternoon, Matthew casually tells me that he has a 3rd grade program that night at the school. WHAT?? "Matthew... go get your notebook from school." "Mom... there is no note." Right. "Mom... call the school and see." Okay. Sooo... I call the school. Lady answers. I ask if she can clear something up for me because my son seems to think there's a program at school tonight and I know nothing about it. "Oh, yes ma'am! You didn't get the note??" Note?? No! I didn't get a note! If I had would I be calling the school asking if there was a program that night!??! =P Anyway... I ask what time they need to be there. 6:00. Time was then 4:45. Great. "What do they need to wear?" "Anything red, white or blue. Patriotic." Okay. "Matthew... go get dressed now!" He looked great! Navy blue slacks and long sleeved solid red shirt. Patriotic enough for me. I called Chris and told him to just meet me at the school. We get there and as we're walking in I notice something...every other child is wearing khaki pants and a white shirt!!! Good grief!! I walked Matthew down to his classroom and explained to the teacher why he was dressed the way he was. She asks Matthew..."Did you not give your mom the note I sent home a week ago??". Ummm.... no. lol Fortunately, another mother overheard me talking to the teacher and offered an extra white shirt that she had to Matthew. He did a great job singing in the program even though that's not his favorite thing to do. He soooo does not like to perform in front of a crowd! I did get tickled watching him and the little boy beside him play a game of elbowing each other during the performance. They were on the front row, too! Boys! All was well in the end... ;)

Doesn't he look handsome?? :)

Matthew is the 3rd from left past the microphone

Carving Punkin's

2006-11-14T08:17:00.000-06:00

On the Friday night before Halloween, our family spent the evening carving pumpkins. I had bought a book of templates to carve something interesting on the pumpkins this year instead of the standard triangle eyes/nose pumpkin face. Matthew picked a skeleton face and Grant picked a "Home Alone" face (if you don't know what I'm talking about... you'll see). We cut the tops off, cleaned the "guts" out and started carving. I kept the "guts" and actually toasted the pumpkin seeds for a treat. I remember my Mamaw in NY doing that once and I've always done it since.

Hope each of you had a great Halloween!!

Chris getting started on Matthew's pumpkin

I think I'm working on Grant's pumpkin

Working hard

Matthew's finished pumpkin

Grant's pumpkin is on the left beside him... Matthew's is on the right beside him. Too bad they came out a bit blurry. Oh, well.

Trick or Treat

2006-11-14T07:57:00.000-06:00

This year, same as in the few years past, my lil' goblins... I mean the boys... got to dress up twice and go on a hunt for some sweet treats. First event was Trick or Treat a Trunk at our church the Saturday before Halloween. Each year, all members come and park their cars in the parking lot. They then sit beside their vehicle while hundreds of kids from church and the community come scavenging for candy. Hot dogs and drinks are served first and candy hunting is the rest of the evening. Everyone has a great time and we hope that it's a good outreach to those in our community. Then, of course, there was Halloween night. The boys went trick or treating with the neighbor friends, Davis and Lauren, and their cousins, Austin and Hagen. Matthew dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow this year (what little boy didn't?? heehee) and Grant was Frankenstein. :)

Matthew... AKA Captain Jack Sparrow

Grant... AKA Frankenstein

Jack and Frank ;)

Matthew, Davis, Grant, and Lauren (neighbor friends)

Matthew, Hagen, Austin, and Grant (cousins)

Checkin' out the loot!

YUM!! Elmo likes suckers!! :)

At the Corn Maze

2006-11-14T07:21:00.000-06:00

Every year, the Agricenter here in Memphis hosts a Corn Maze for all to try to find their way through. At night it is a haunted maze. Ummmm... not for us! heehee We went on a Sunday afternoon after church. This year Chris and I took the boys, Grant's little friend (Graydon), Chris's mom (Meme), and my brother (Phillip). Uncle Phillip had actually flown in for the day so it was a nice treat to have him tag along with us. The weather was beautiful that day! Very warm for end of October. We began our journey through the maze a little after 1 pm. Around 10 til 2 we finally found the halfway point. Halfway!! We chose to escape at that point.... we had heard one too many "Are we lost?" by then. heehee After we got out of the maze, the boys wanted to shoot the corn cannon. There are different targets set up in a field... business targets. If you hit one, you got a gift certificate or other happy from the business. Would you believe that Grant hit the furthest target out in the field?? He got us a gift certificate to Whole Hog BBQ! YAY Grant!! Of course, Matthew didn't think it was quite fair that he didn't hit a target. Next year, Matthew, next year. ;) After we left the Corn Maze, we decided to go get a little treat. Thank you, Uncle Phillip, for treating us to delicious Bruster's Ice Cream! Yum!! We then went home and rested for a little while before going back to church that evening. It was a very good day! :)

Meme, Uncle Phillip, and Chris waiting on us to catch up!

Uncle Phillip, Graydon, Matthew, Chris, and Grant

Matthew, Chris, and Grant (who didn't want another picture taken and refused to look at the camera!)

Ma and Pa :)

Matthew and Graydon (Matthew didn't know which side he was on... heehee)

Graydon and Grant

Vanilla, Vanilla, Cookie Dough :)

YUM!!!

Fall Fun

2006-10-28T10:33:00.000-05:00

Recently our family was invited to attend a hayride/bonfire with one of the Bible classes from our church. Some friends of ours have purchased 86 acres of land out in the country about an hour away from us. We joined them and several other families for some chatting, eating, and fun. We arrived about 4 and left about 8 that night. The boys were worn out! There was a pond, haybales, and woods to run around, jump on, and explore. The weather was great... not too cold at all! Everyone had a great time!!

Just getting the bonfire started

Somebody had the right idea... that fire was HOT!!

Trying to keep the heat away from his face

Getting ready for the hayride

Is that Matthew and Caleb hiding in the hay??

That's my "Good grief! Come ON and take the picture!" look... heehee

All aboard for a little hayride fun!!

Happy Fall, Y'all!!

2006-10-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love it when the air starts getting that crisp, cool feeling in the mornings and evenings?? Fall has arrived!! With that comes the beginning of so many good things... beautiful colored leaves, sweaters, chili, Halloween, fires... I could just keep going! It's one of my favorite seasons!! I recently took our winter clothes out of the attic and began stocking our closets with warm, long sleeved things. A couple of nights we've had to turn the heat on just to knock the chill out of the air. The other morning we even awoke to frost on the ground! Yep... the seasons are changing. Yesterday we decided that it was time to get some pumpkins for Halloween decorations. We took the boys to this little roadside "Pumpkin Patch" and let them pick out a few pumpkins. There were big ones, little ones, striped ones, white ones and green ones. We found 4 that we just couldn't live without. ;) heehee The nice man that sold us the pumpkins even let the boys pick out two mini ones for free. What a nice treat! We've yet to decorate our finds... not going to cut them right away so that they don't rot before Halloween. Speaking of which.... Grant has decided he wants to be a robot and Matthew is going to be Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribbean. I bought Matthew's costume at Wal-Mart yesterday... we still have to go get what we need to make Grant's costume.
Below are just a couple of pictures that I took while were out yesterday. Happy Fall!

More Camping Pics

2006-10-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

I love this man!! :)
Rachel and Matthew... she's the boy's babysitter

On the sandbar at the river

Playing with slingshots at the river
Matthew chopping wood

Camping

2006-10-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

This past weekend (10/6,7,8) our family went camping with another family from church, the Hendrix's. They have 2 older children and their daughter is actually our babysitter. We camped at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park outside of Millington, TN. The Hendrix's have an RV that they camp in, but we just have a tent. We got out there on Friday evening and left late in the afternoon on Sunday. The boys had such a great time! Our activities for the weekend included bike riding, shooting marbles into the river with slingshots, walking along a sandbar in the river, and taking a hike. The first night I slept in the RV, but the 2nd night I actually slept in the tent with Chris and the boys! It wasn't terribly cold and I slept pretty well! I may enjoy this camping thing more than I thought I would! :)

Around the campfire on Friday night

Matthew and Andy chopping a log... Matthew loves to use the hatchet!!

On the sandbar at the river...notice the barge in the background of the boy's picture

Our family

Our New House... Part 2

2006-09-26T21:45:00.000-05:00

LAUNDRY ROOM:

The door leads to the garage.

BREAKFAST ROOM:

KITCHEN:

MASTER BEDROOM:

The white double doors lead to the master bathroom.

I haven't had a chance to take pictures of the boy's rooms or the upstairs playroom... those will come soon. Thanks for taking a peek! Would love to have any of you come visit when you can!

Our New House

2006-09-26T21:27:00.000-05:00

Although I sent out many exterior shots of our house as it was being built, I've never taken any interior shots to show. Please take a tour of our house... ;)

KIDS/GUEST BATHROOM:

MASTER BATHROOM:

The door on the left is where the toilet is located and the door on the right is our walk-in closet.

THE DINING ROOM:

THE LIVING ROOM:

The arched doorway to the far right of the picture leads to the master bedroom.

Rainy Day Fun

2006-09-26T21:18:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday (9/23) was a rainy day... I mean the bottom just let out for a while! Matthew, Grant and his friend, Graydon, and the neighbor kids played out in the driveway while it poured down. They had so much fun!!

Grant and Graydon... Best Buddies

After the Rain....

No Training Wheels!!

2006-09-26T21:08:00.000-05:00

We've been encouraging Grant for a couple of months now to let us help him learn to ride his bicycle with no training wheels. The answer was always the same..."No!!" Didn't matter how many of his lil' friends could already ride on 2 wheels, he just wasn't interested in trying to do it himself. Recently we purchased him a smaller bike in the hopes that would help motivate him. It did!! Bought the bike on Thursday... by mid-morning on Saturday he was almost a pro!! We didn't even get out there and run behind him holding on to the seat!! He just got out there all by himself, balanced, and took off!! Now he loves to ride on just 2 wheels all over the place out here! My lil' boy just keeps getting bigger! ;)

Oops!! There's still the occasional fall...

Soccer

2006-09-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

Early this summer, we signed Matthew up to play Fall soccer. He's on an Olive Branch city league. The team's name is White Lightning. After a month of practices, he had his first game on September 11th. They lost, but Matthew still enjoyed playing the game. He's not so much into the rules of the game as he just enjoys kicking the ball when it comes his way. ;) His usual position so far has been backfield defense. He plays 2 games/week through the end of October. We'll see if he wants to play Spring soccer, too.

Mowing the Grass

2006-08-31T21:44:00.000-05:00

Matthew has come home from school the past 2 days and asked to mow the grass. This is him today... hard at work!

Ever since Matthew was about 18 months old, he has had an incredible interest in all things pertaining to yard work. He and I used to sit out on the balcony of our 3rd floor apartment and watch the men mow the grass below. He got his 1st toy lawnmower for his birthday when he was 2 years old and we lived in New York. "Uncle" Dean got him a real, working backpack leafblower (it was semi-homemade and electric... not gas!) for Christmas when he was 4 years old. The kid just loves wheelbarrows, weedeaters, all lawn tools, etc... Maybe he'll have his own lawn service one day! =)

Happy Birthday...

2006-08-24T14:56:00.000-05:00

.... to Chris! This past Tuesday, the 22nd, was Chris's 34th birthday. I drove up to Memphis to get him this particular workout bench that he wanted, and wouldn't you know it... the store was out of them! *sigh* So, we went to the mall to shop instead. The boys and I ended up getting him a shirt from American Eagle and some Hugo cologne from Dillard's. He also got a little box of hand-picked chocolate sweets from Dinstuhl's. Mmmm... great local chocolate store in Memphis! I made him the dinner of his choice.... fresh salmon patties with roasted red pepper sauce, sweet-n-spicy fresh green beans, and corn. For dessert I made a homemade, all-from-scratch, delicious peach cobbler! Mmm...mmmm!! We invited our neighbors over to share dessert with us. I do believe he had a good birthday!!

The School Bus (& a couple of other pics)

2006-08-17T11:13:00.000-05:00

Matthew rode the bus home the first day of school. The 2nd morning, we walked up to the bus stop with the boys. As the bus approached, Grant began crying again... he didn't want to go to school OR ride the bus. After some pleading (from me to Chris!), Daddy agreed to take Grant to school and walk him in again. But, Grant did agree to ride the bus home that afternoon. He did... and liked it! The 3rd morning, both boys were ready to ride the bus to school. Here they are...

This is Grant getting off the bus on Wednesday...

These are just a couple of extra pictures... One of Grant and his teacher, Mrs. Jones, and the other of Grant at his table as we left the classroom the first day of school.

First Day of School

2006-08-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

This past Monday, August 14th, was the first day of school for the boys. Matthew is 8 years old and in the 3rd grade. Grant is 5 years old and in Kindergarten.

Chris and I drove them to school the first morning. We took Matthew to his class first and got him settled. His teacher's name is Mrs. Edmiston. He didn't want me to take a picture of him outside of the classroom underneath the "Welcome" sign. Daddy said he was growing up and that wasn't so cool to do! He reluctantly, however, let me take a picture of him at his desk before we left the room.

Then we were off across the hall to Grant's classroom. I felt myself tensing up and walking slower as we approached the Red Hall. I was about to turn my baby loose in Big Boy School for good. Grant eagerly jumped in front of the "Welcome" sign outside his classroom to have his picture made.

We walked in the classroom and put his lunch bag in his cubby hole. Then we sat down at his table. His mood began to change....

As it became clearer to him that we were about to leave, he began crying.... I wanted to do the same. He buried his head in my shoulder and said "I don't want to go to school!" I wanted to grab him up and take him home right then!!

We got up from the table and walked around the room looking at all the things the teacher had. We found a book that I had read to him the night before..."The Night Before Kindergarten". Grant thought that was neat that his teacher had the same book that we do. We walked back to his table and got him seated. He began coloring in the color book that was on the table. I told him to use the green crayon because that's one of Mommy's favorite colors. His teacher, Mrs. Jones, came over and talked to him for a minute, too....gave him some reassurance that he was going to have a great day. After giving Grant hugs and kisses, Chris and I reluctantly left the room. I held back my tears until I was out the front doors of the school. Chris rubbed my back and asked if I was okay. I said "No". I cried all the way home. That's my baby! My last one! What was I doing leaving him at school?? I was so sad all day on Monday. It was so lonely at home... and quiet! I couldn't wait until 2 pm to go pick him up. Matthew wanted to ride the bus home, but Grant didn't. When Grant got in the car after school, he was so excited to show me the stickers that he had got from his teacher. He had a good first day!! Matthew didn't have much to say, but he had a good first day, too. And so begins another school year....

Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...

2006-08-06T14:30:00.000-05:00

BUZZ CUTS!!!

Today was haircut day for the 3 boys (big & little) at our house. This was Grant's first buzz cut.... Matthew has been having his cut this way since he was three. I wasn't so sure that I wanted Grant's hair cut this way but, alas, Daddy prevailed. *sigh* heehee

Shaving Already?!?!

2006-08-04T15:31:00.000-05:00

Last night, Matthew was sent to the bathroom to take a shower before bed. He stayed in the bathroom longer than usual after he got out of the shower. Chris went in to check on him... Grant was waiting to get in the tub. He calls me back and this is what we found:

Matthew had been shaving his face! Chris opened the door in time to see his whole face covered in shaving cream... I was a bit late as I had to go find my camera. Matthew proudly showed us the razor, shaving cream, and Hugo cologne that he had confiscated from our bathroom. Chris let him finish the job... he didn't even cut himself! Oh, how little boys love to imitate their daddies!!

Who Doesn't Love to Look at Pictures??? =P

2006-07-30T22:38:00.000-05:00

Aunt Sarah and Matthew being silly
Grant and the go-kart
Uncle Phillip and Matthew
Uncle Phillip and Grant
Cousins: (l-r) Sandra, Sarah, Cathy, Darla, Beth, Laura
Me and Laura

Just thought I'd post some more of the random pictures that I took while in AR this weekend. Enjoy!!

Grandad's 90th Birthday Party

2006-07-30T22:06:00.000-05:00

This weekend we traveled to Judsonia, AR to celebrate 90 years of life that my Grandad has been blessed to live. His actual birthday is July 4th... a Firecracker Baby!...but this weekend was the best time for most out-of-state family to be able to attend. His 4 sons, 10 grandchildren (there are 11 of us... one couldn't attend), and 11 great grandchildren (there are 12... again, one couldn't attend) were able to celebrate with him. There were also numerous other family members and friends that came, too. We took pictures, ate, laughed, visited, ate, played and ate some more. Grandad spoke a bit about his long life... jobs he's held, his children and grandchildren, places to which he's traveled. Ninety years is a long time to accomplish much!! It was a wonderful time of being with family. =)

At the Playground

2006-07-27T15:29:00.000-05:00

After registering for school, I let the boys play on the playgrounds there. They had so much fun!! Swings, slides, fireman's poles, monkey bars... oh, my!! Here are a few pics of their morning fun!

Registering For School

2006-07-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

I took the boys today and registered them for school. Matthew will be in 3rd grade and Grant will be in Kindergarten. They will be attending Lewisburg Elementary. The school building is new... about a year old.... and is located about 10 minutes from our house. The boys will be riding the bus to school. They are so excited about that. We'll see how long that lasts... Matthew is used to us taking him and picking him up from school everyday. There are approximately 900-1,000 kids that attend the school. Each grade has their own hallway and it is color-coded. Grant's classroom is located in the Red Hallway and Matthew's is in the Yellow Hallway. The building houses K-5th grade. There are new middle and high school buildings being built, also. We met the guidance counselor, Mrs. Pierce, and she gave us a semi-tour of the school.
The boys are really looking forward to going to a new school and meeting new friends. I hope it will be a good year for both of them!

School Check-Up @ the Doctor's Office

2006-07-19T15:08:00.000-05:00

This is Dr. Hussain. The boys have been seeing her since we moved back to Memphis in 2001. She's been Grant's doctor from the very beginning... he saw her for the first time when he was 2 weeks old. An ear infection! Poor thing. Anyway...
Today was the day for before school check-ups. Since Grant will be in Kindergarten this year, he had to get shots. Three of them in the thigh. Ouch! He cried for a minute, but really was a big boy about it. Even got TWO suckers as a reward afterward! =)
Stats: Matthew is 8 years old and weighs a whopping 52 pounds. He stands 4 ft. 3 in. tall. He's in the 25th-40th %ile in each category. Grant is 5 years old and weighs all of 35 pounds. He's grown to 3 ft. 7 inches in heighth. He's the lil' fella standing in the 10th %ile for each category. They're both small, but healthy! Gotta love those lil' guys!! =)

Paying Bills, Etc...

2006-07-14T14:56:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness gracious!! I have about run the tires off of my car today with all the running around I've done. After living here for a couple of months, we decided to finally get our MS driver's licenses. Had to be at the center by 8 am because they only do out of state transfers from 8-11 am. There was already a bit of a line when we got there at 7:45. I had no problem getting mine, but Chris hit a bit of a snag... his wallet had been stolen before we moved from Memphis and he never got another copy of his SS card. Of course, they needed your actual card to verify your SS number and he didn't have his. Thankfully, there's a SS place right in town and he was able to run over there, get a copy of his card and then come back. Whew! Moving on... Okay, I have to admit that I (we... Chris didn't know either, really) was a bit naive about our utilities when we moved into this house. Everything was on and working (lights, water, etc...) when we moved in. Soooo.... I just assumed that somehow, somewhere in the process of purchasing the home and lot, our names were transferred to these services. After 2 and a half months of not receiving a bill, we finally got a note from the builder asking us to please go get the services put in our name. The builder had been paying our bills for us the whole time!! Why he waited so long to notify us, I don't know, but... This whole day was spent driving all over the country (okay, not really, but it felt like it!!) getting the gas, water, sewer, and electric (yes... 4 different places!!) all put in our name. We are almost legitimate MS citizens, now. We still have to get our car tags changed over, but that's going to have to come next paycheck!! Car tags here are not a set fee... they charge you a portion of your vehicle's value... we're looking at a few hundred dollars! OUCH!!
Whew!! It's been quite a day, but feels good to have accomplished so much. I'm ready for a nap! ;)

Playdate

2006-07-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

Today was a playdate for Grant with his lil' girlfriend, Emma. They met 2 years ago at Mother's Day Out. They paired up in class from the first time they met and have developed such a cute relationship with each other. Grant was invited to Emma's birthday party earlier this year and he was the only little boy there! heehee She just insisted that he come, too! ;)
Above you'll see pictures of the two of them over the last couple of years. Aren't they cute?? ;)

Summer 2006 Update

2006-07-11T17:11:00.000-05:00

Boy! So much going on this summer. Back in May, we sold our house in Memphis after 9 days on the market (FSBO). After much searching and deciding where to live, we chose to live in Olive Branch, MS. We had a new house built and it was completed by the middle of May. We have about an acre of land and woods on 2 sides of us. The boys are loving it!! We have great neighbors (that are over all the time! heehee) and a nice location. Come visit when you can!!
Grant's birthday was in April... he turned 5. Matthew's was in June... he turned 8. Mine was in June... and I turned, well, ahem... heehee The boys and I made a trip to visit my BIL/SIL and their kids in June. Then, we spent a weekend in Hot Springs, AR for a mini-vacation. Took the boys to Magic Springs and out on the lake. Had a great time! At the end of June, I made a trip to NY with my siblings and Dad to visit my mother's family. It was so nice relaxing and visiting with everyone. Whew! Hope we're home for a while now.
School will start for the boys on August 14. Grant will be in Kindergarten (where did my baby go??) and Matthew will be in the 3rd grade. I'm hoping to watch at least 2 kids in my home... as usual.
We've had some illnesses here and there, but we are all well, now. Thankfully, I never caught anything the others had... moms just can't get sick, right?? ;)
We've got more to cram in before summer ends, but it will all be fun!! heehee

Pictures

2006-07-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

For those of you who may not have seen any recent pics of our family (I'm sure that can't be many the way I email pics!! heehee) here are a few to take a peek at.

A New Idea

2006-07-11T16:21:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've been inspired by other friends who have created their own blogs to create one myself. Seems like the boys are doing something silly every other day and I'd like to share those fun, family experiences with others. I'll post when I can (because you know that moms have lots of time on our hands!! heehee) and add pictures here and there. I'm sure you'll find something interesting to read and/or a picture or two to make you laugh occasionally. Enjoy!!
~Cathy