Handsome little guy

I just loved this picture of my "baby boy" as I like to call him...or now he likes to say he is my "special" boy (since there will be 2 girls around now!)

Christi (Coats) Oswalt took this at school of him and emailed it to me. She is taking pictures professionally now and she gave me her website

http://www.cristioswaltphotography.com/

I do have tons of Christmas pictures to post to finish my 2009 scrapbook, so I should be catching up soon....hopefully I will have time if we get "snowed in"!

Season of Lent

I am going to be removed from the blogging world for the next 40 days, and I'll tell you why....many of you are already very familiar with the season of Lent, others may have heard of it, and it may be a new term for some! I know for me personally, it was a new term to me 7 years ago, when I joined my church! So.....

The period of 40 days prior to Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. The word "lent" comes from the Latin word for "lengthen," because the days of Lent occur during the springtime of the year, when the daylight hours increase. The period consists of 40 days because the number 40 has special biblical significance: Moses and the people of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years; Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days.
Since the days of the early church, in the decades and centuries after the death and Resurrection of Christ, Christians have regarded the period of Lent as a time for repentence and reflection. It is invariably marked by fasting (going without food and/or water for a period of time), by giving up something during Lent (sweets; the sports page), and by taking on such habits that will increase one's devotion to Christ. (It was explained to me that everytime you think about that thing you gave up that you are longing for, you will think of what Christ did for you and therefore, be drawn more to him). Lent begins on "Ash Wednesday" and concludes on Holy Saturday (which is the Saturday before Easter). Also recognized in this season is "Maundy Thursday", which is the Thursday before Easter, when we celebrate the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples.

.......So we had "Ash Wednesday" service at church last night,

In a very visible way, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, when we take stock and prepare ourselves for the journey toward Easter. Ashes remind us, with a shock, that we are God's creation, made for God, and not the other way around. Ashes remind us of the brevity of the gift of life, and the grace of eternal life in the heart of God. Ashes remind us that we are born to live, really live, before we die. Ashes remind us of a resolve to a Lent, and a lifetime, of a more authentic relationship with Jesus the Christ. For reasons like these it does not occur to us that we participate in a "strange" custom of ashes and dust. To the contrary. With hearts full of awe, we seek gold and God in the dust. "From dust we came, and to dust we will return"

For me, personally, altough it is a simple brief outward sign, the service and process are very powerful....to see many fellow Christians share recognition that we are so sinful and commit to prepare our hearts for Easter and to a greater commitment to following Christ's example. So, the picture above (an internet link, not anyone at my church!!) shows what the actual receiving of ashes looks like, physically, but to know what it feels like to find yourself closer to Christ in this process is very powerful.

So, all of this to say......I have prayed about it, fought it, went down kicking and screaming, but yes, Blogging and reading others blogs is out for the next 40 days......in years past, I have either given up foods (cokes, deserts) or commited to a 40 day devotion, and some years done nothing....but I feel a little more challenged by giving up blogging, because basically it is my hobby! So, pray that I won't give in!!

See you on Easter Sunday!

(By the way, be sure to read the funny stories under the post about 4 below this one titled "To play or not to play"....somehow it got out of order and is way down there and I can't figure out how to move it up!)

My Best Friend's Birthday

This was the the first of many Valentine's to come for Rob and I...actually our first official date...since we try to forget that first crazy date with Kendra and Chad! (I know the picture is small, scanning issues). As crazy as it sounds, when we look back, both of us say, that we started falling in love this night! So, as tommorrow is Valentine's day and his Birthday, I want to share a little about my favorite guy of the last 15 valentines....

Here are some pics from his "birthday party" last night...he had a meeting at work, and got home after everyone else was there (our families), so the kids wanted to turn out the lights, and we pretended to surprise him...they thought it was the greatest thing ever! Here is the cake we made...

My gift to him...

So here's to you Rob...

It is no coincidence that Rob's birthday is on Valentine's day......no it is actually extremely ironic! Rob certainly did not take any lessons from Romeo, cupid, or any other romance expert....he has been known to forget to get me gift for Christmas or my birthday (mind you, he only did that once, he learns quick!), and usually I find my gift before the occassion, because he just wasn't born with that knack of how to be romantic, adventurous, or surprising.....He likes to tell me every year that I won't get a Valentine's gift, because he doesn't buy gifts for other people on his birthday, but for 14 years he has lied!

I'll take the good with the bad.... He may never me the romantic husband every girl dreams of, but I am so blessed to be married to my best friend, as cliche as it may sound...Here are my top 11 reasons that I love my husband more and more every day:

1. He is my soulmate, God gave him to me and that is reason enough....

2. He is who I talk to about everything...there has never, ever, ever been a secret that I haven't told him (except that one time in high school, Rob you know what I am talking about...and I learned then that never again would I lie to him about anything!!)....

3. I love to spend every waking and sleeping moment with him (except an occassional girls night)....I will go with him to take the trash off if it means I can be with him....(I even get in an occassional squirrel hunt)....

4. I love to go to the Tiger games together, and I especially love to watch him watch the games at home.....I asked him the other day if when he is 70 years old, will he still stand in front of the tv and jump up and down like a 6 year old, but I promised him I will park his wheelchair right there in front of the tv if not!.....

5. I love that I cannot go to sleep without him at night...

6. I love to sit on the back porch and talk about life with him...

7. I love to go upstairs and read to the kids at bedtime with him

8. I love to go on little mini get aways with him (we usually do a night in Memphis for Valentine's and our anniversary, it has become tradition)

8. I love that little lips curled into his teeth way that he looks at me and the kids, as if to indicate he just can't get enough of us (I have never seen him give anyone else that look)

9. I don't always like it, but I love that he loves life through his squirrel dogs

10. I love that he has the kindest heart I know, and I love that he does that at his job, Crestview was blessed for 10 years, and now I believe that Atoka Elementary is blessed to have him!

10. I love his family!

11. Lastly, I love that I can rest assured that I will have his love as long as I live (and he has promised he won't put me in the nursing home by myself, he will be in that little twin bed beside me!)....

Happy Birthday Rob.....I know I am a needy wife, but you fullfill my needs more that you know!

I love you, best friend.....

(Christi took this picture at the Final Four..no, it's not posed!!)

Random Pictures from the weekend...

Lane getting her workout in her robe!

Bo only fell off about 3 times...because like most men, he could only do one thing at a time..if he looked up for a picture he lost his concentration and fell off...if he talked, he fell off, if he looked up at the tv, he would stop walking and fall off!

I had to take a picture of these "Tarzan pajamas"...in case you are in the market for a pair, I know the lady who makes them, she is related to me and is married to a man named Carl! Rob and I can't help but laugh (behind his back) at these when he puts them on...it is walmart jogging pants and a turtleneck with an image of Tarzan sewed on the shirt....I don't know how he doesn't sweat profusely in them....anyway, when trying to find some tarzan things at Christmas, I came across some iron-ons on Ebay, so I ordered a couple....well mom was going to use one of the images on a pair of pajamas, but she could not find any solid color pj's, hence the jogging pants and turtleneck...then when she went to iron the image on, she did it backwards and ironed it on the pink pillowcase she was using over the top of the iron on....so he got a hot suit with a pink tarzan on it....at first he kind of looked at it a little funny, but now, he loves them! Thanks Ellie for a memory!

Fireside after bathtime...glad they pretend to be modest for the camera..anyone who knows Bo, knows he will streak with the best of 'em!

The guys fit right in!!

Picture Perfect Snow Day....

Hot chocolate!


The best part of the snow...eating it!

This is a scary picture...reminds me of "A Christmas Story"...

Collecting Snow for snow cream...

We even got to play with Drew next door! Snowball fight!

Going over to see Drew on the Gator!

Daddy's Snow Angel...

Lane and Bo have been asking for it since Christmas....and we finally got enough to play in today! Lane kept saying that she didn't understand why it didn't snow at Christmas....but I told her it was still possible, so she now says, "It can still snow because it is still Christmas season!" ...So Bo said this morning, " I am so glad it is Christmas outside!" I have a new name for Rob it is called "Snowbird"...he has been waiting for a snow day from school all year....he was up at 3 am this morning and didn't go back to sleep till 7, after he was sure that all the little children would have their day at home today, he was so worried about those Memphis city and Shelby County kids because they waited so long to cancel school (I think he was just empathizing with the teachers if they had to go today!) So nonetheless, lucky for me today was my day to work in the schools, so I got to take a snow day too! Rob often calls me "cliche", you know the kind that likes New York at Christmas, jumping in the leaves in the fall, sipping a daquiri on the beach, popcorn with movies......so what else would I want on a snow day.....sleep late (except Rob), get up and cook a big breakfast with the kids, drink coffee, put on layers and layers of clothes, have a snowball fight (try to build a snowman in that sorry little dry snow!), come in for hot chocolate, have homeade vegetable soup for lunch, make snow cream, (a tradition that comes from my "Granny", I remember her making in for Clayton and I), take a nap, watch the Tigers win big, and then blog about our day.....just what I would have wanted today to be....usually it doesn't work out so perfect, some mishap during the plans usually occurs, but lucky for me, today I got a perfect snowday (except that sorry dry snow!). So, thanks Rob, Lane, and Bo for making my snow day!

January 20, 2009......History

When I look back at my memory book from 2009, I want to remember today. The inauguration of the 44th President of the United States. I have been watching the pre-inauguration activities this weekend, and it has made me even more proud of this country and excited about the possibilities than I was when Obama won the election. I loved the inaugural concert, and to see black and white come together and so much open conversation about togetherness and being an American (not a black or white)....watching those singers (old, young, country, rock, rap, black, white), I hope was just a taste of what is to come! I have butterflies in my stomach when I think about it! President Obama was just sworn in and the proceedings of today were amazing to watch, to see how many millions of people gathered to be a part of it. May God give this man all that he needs in the coming years to serve this country, and may he give us as the citizens the courage to follow him and be engaged in our government.....

Preschool Mornings....

Some memories from our mornings between 6:30 and 7:00, the time when I get Lane and Bo ready for school everyday..... (I warn you this is boring for anyone who is not me, but it's my memories to capture, so read at your own risk of boredom!!) I was just watching them this morning and thinking that this would be their only year in preschool together to get to be together in the mornings on the same schedule and it made me want to snap a couple of pictures and write about it.

I'll start by remembering Lane last year (when Bo got to sleep in since Miss Summer was there to keep him in the mornings...first of all "Shuckybear" (what a terrible nickname Rob has given her..) is not a morning princess, more like a sunrise grouchy bear.....I drag her out of the bed, take her downstairs, sit her on the potty (she usually can't hold herself up because she is still asleep, so she leans on me while sitting on the potty), then she does this cute 'i am still asleep', stumble walk into the living room(which I have video taped because I never want to forget that cute little hair all messed up, stumbling walk!), I turn on the t.v. (last year "Little Einstein's was the 6:30 show), and coax her into staying awake, which she sometimes does, and sometimes she stays asleep. Then I would dress her like a baby doll (and sit her in the booster seat for breakfast, which usually she'd finish on the bus with Miss Delores (who is such a sweet smiling face for us every morning!). By the way, we started out last year fighting most mornings over what she'd wear (she likes "sassy" and I like "sweet" (ask KK, she knows from my shopping at the Freckled Frog, how picky my 4 year old is (and was when she was 2 and 3!), nonethless, I got some advice laying out choices on Sunday night and letting here choose the night before, so that is what we do, and it works beautifully. That was last year, and most of that routine has carried onto this year!

So, on to this year, it is virtually the same with Lane, and quite different with Bo, he wakes up hugging and kissing me and then he starts in that he doesn't like his clothes (he is so hard headed that he doesn't even like to choose between my choices, he wants to pick all by himself!), but he gets over it,dresses himself (has never let me help!) and goes and watches "Mickey Clubhouse" with Lane. We then go eat breakfast and I kiss them and put them on the bus (still our sweet Miss Delores)!

Most mornings in our routine are good, but we do have some rough ones too.....I can remember giving multiple spankings and time outs to both kids in the same morning (in a 30 minute span) on occassion!

Thank you Lane and Bo for these morning memories....

Wonderful Maker

No, I am not obsessed with the sun....but I am also not going to deny God!! I know these pictures aren't as good as the sunrise ones I posted the other day....nonetheless, here is last night's sunset. I went running at about 5:00 yesterday, and as I turned around on Hall road when I got to Hwy 59, this is the sunset I saw (not quite as gorgeous as that red sky sunrise, but still pretty nice).....but to top it off, right as I saw it, my IPOD (which was on shuffle songs) started playing "Wonderful Maker" (this is an old hym in contemporary style). I listened to every word of the song and wanted to share it with you:

You spread out the skies over empty space
Said, "let there be light"
To a dark and formless world
Your light was born
You spread out your arms over empty hearts
Said, "let there be light"
To a dark and hopeless world
Your son was born
You made the world and saw that it was good
You sent your only son, for you are good

What a wonderful maker
What a wonderful saviour
How majestic your whispers
And how humble your love
With a strength like no other
And the heart of a father
How majestic your whispers
What a wonderful God
No eye has fully seen how beautiful the cross
And we have only heard the faintest whispers
Of how great you are
you made the world and saw that it was good
you sent your only son for you are good

If you have time, you can watch Jeremy Camp's video on "you tube"....amazing, it uses the imagery of a sunrise/set!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoYWDCwxExs

Also, worth mentioning and reminding myself of, is the fact that our Sunday school class yesterday was on "Resting in God"....and I went to a worship service last night (with some good friends from church) out at Pinecrest that was in honor of some of our youth....and the message that was recurring was "resting in God", creating space for him.....OKAY, so I am getting the message God, I'll try to do better

(By the way, the reason the pictures don't really do it justice, is because I am not a fast runner!! It was starting to get dark by the time I saw it, so I ran fast down Hall Road, back to the house to get my camera before it was completely gone, God, if you would give me that 7 minute mile I've always wanted, I could have done a better job capturing a picture of your sunset!!)

It's long enough!!

The last time I took Lane to Caroline's to get her hair cut short (in that cute little bob), she cried, and I said that would be the last time I made her cut it for a while anyway, so....now it has been growing out for a few months and it has finally gotten long enough to braid (or plat, as mamma says). So, this morning i took a picture because she was so proud that we were able to braid it without it all falling! I also snapped a picture of her washing the dishes this morning...she washed every single dish from breakfast today!

Movie Night

Lane and Bo look forward to movie night about everyother weekend...popcorn, a movie, but most importantly a pallet (spelling?), or as Bo says a "pilot". They get every pillow in the entire house out and most of the blankets. Lane asked me last night to take a picture of the popcorn popping in the microwave, so I thought I'd take a picture of movie night. I had to set the timer to get all of us on the pallet, so it is a pretty bad picture!

It's a Beatiful Morning....

Rob and I woke up to no electricity this morning (Bo was upstairs crying at 5:30 because his "closet light wasn't on)....so we spend the morning getting ready in the dark, we had to use a flashlight in the shower, couldn't blow dry our hair, freezing our butts off....so more than most mornings I couldn't wait for the sun to come up...about 6:50, I glanced out the window and this was the sunrise that God sent my way....by far the prettiest sunrise I have ever seen in my life, the picture doesn't do justice for what it did for me this morning.l Thank you, God, for the little things you do for me that I take for granted...

Crazy Bathtime...

Okay, so this may be the last time I can take pictures of Lane and Bo in the bathtub together, but I couldn't resist....last night, I started their water and they climbed in the tub...I went to take something to the laundry room and came back to see how they were doing...it had been long enough for the water to run about a foot high and they were standing up... i said okay let's wash up....only to reach in and feel that the water was ice cold....Lane had turned the hot facuet off because they said "We like it cold!"....i was about to start yelling at them, then I just laughed and went and got my camera because they just kept hugging and laughing (because they were trying to stay warm). Needless to say, I turned on the gas logs and we went to the den to get them warm after bath!

For my girlfriends...

A friend of mine showed me this clip, and as I watched, it was unbelievable how much we love, need, and enjoy our friends. I know that it is family first, as it should be, but to think about life without my friends is so boring and depressing! We are women who have the same sort of souls, who crave many of the same desires and feelings (that God just did not give to men, bless their hearts)...so please enjoy this clip from my heart to yours! By the way, this lady won a battle with cancer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_4qwVLqt9Q&eurl=http://bluepoppy.omworks.com/?ty=2009&sid=745&feature=player_embedded

Cupcake Maker....gone wrong!

Any other little girls out there get a "Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker" for Christmas??? Looks like a great girl toy, right??? Wrong! Momma and I used it last night for the first time with Lane and Bo....the cupcake part went great, in fact I said, this is a lot easier than the Easy-Bake-Oven...because you just pop one single cupcake into the microwave and it's done in 30 seconds...but then comes the icing....I opened 5 packs of frosting trying to get the right consistency to get it to squirt out like it does in the picture....not so simple, we had icing everywhere and ended up just letting them put lots of sprinkles on to cover up how terrible they looked, but know what? They never said one thing about it, that it didn't work right, that they were ugly, just devoured every bite of the nasty little cupcake and left us with this messy icing mess of a "cupcake maker" to clean up! Actually, I am going to try again tonight, but if anyone knows the trick to working this thing..let me know!