Early Gift

My adorable husband thought that it would be a great idea to have our family portrait taken as an early Valentine's gift. We haven't had one since the girls were 1 and 3---and it was an insanely stressful, sweat producing event at the picture place!!!! Since we will be somewhere in the middle of the US by then, I agreed to this gift.

He found an old classmate that now does photography and she agreed on very short notice to take our pics. We met with her today in Fayetteville.

Uh, did I mention that she only shoots outside!! Yeah! The 4 of us, in 40 degree weather, for 40minutes did not make for an awesome afternoon!! (as you can imagine)

There was whining, runny noses, red noses and... our triple layers of clothing were no match for the wind today! It was a chilling afternoon:(

However, we cheered (& warmed) the girls up with some hot chocolate and pastries from a nearby coffee shop:)....mmmmm

Hopefully the pictures will not be too terrible?!

When we get them, we will be glad to share:) Anyway, thanks David for the great gift!

I love you!

Do you remember these things?

What fun!!

Gosh---what fun these balls were!! Some of you may remember, others maybe not:)

Dalaina got one for Christmas--inspired by her cousin's--and she has fun with it!! I just love watching because she giggles while she bounces!!

Of course Faith uses it too!!! Only, she gets a little more "air" in her bounces:)

Just thought you all may enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed the real thing!!!!

Just Because

I thought they looked exceptionally sweet today---so here are some photos

I can't believe they are almost 3 and 5 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time is just flying by :(

Pinwheels :)

Our friends brought over some pinwheels today for the girls---what a great gift:) They played with those things all day---in and out of the house!!!!!!!!!!

They kept moving all around until the wind caught the wheel and then they giggled:) while it spun!

Thanks Bert and Theresa!!!

It's Dirty

One of the first things David said today was that the truck needed washed!!!! I mean, how dirty could it get in a week or so?! Whatever; the girls were more than happy to assist with this:)

Plus, in the time it took him to wash that thing, I cleaned the entire house and did 2 loads of laundry---plus had peace and quiet the whole time!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I guess I made out:)

We were out eating yesterday with some friends and Faith recited her bible verse for our friend. After she said it, she replied with this statement, "It's like a prayer with a bunch of numbers after it." We all laughed---she was very matter of fact:)
She told her daddy the other day that she sounds like Cinderella's step sister's--hahaha (for those of you not familiar with the movie-they are very out of tune/pitch/everything)
It's these things that make motherhood a complete joy! It also helps to have these times documented so that when you want to rip your hair out , you can remember the good stuff!!!!

Just jumpin' mom

Bit of info here to set the scene: our home does not have an open floor plan. So, when you are at the kitchen sink, you cannot see the living room!

OK, so we had dinner Sun evening, David went to work as usual, and I did the dishes. Well, when I was finished, I went to the living room to see what the girls were doing. This was the scene:


Um, every pillow (that's 20) from the sectional was on the living room floor!!! They strategically placed them to cover all of the hardwood:) They were jumping from the couch to the floor, from pillow to pillow, and from the floor to the pillows! Just jumping around as if it were everyday activity!!!!





I asked what they were doing--"just jumpin' mom" No harm, it looked like fun, so I turned on their new CD and I joined in:)

Faith played her piano and Dalaina was in the "clapping band" (whatever that is)







It was great! The neighbors stopped over--the boy said, "I can't believe you let them do this!"
I am still unsure if that meant I was "cool" or "crazy"
The other blessing was that it drained all of their energy and they were asleep in 5minutes after they hit the pillow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOOK MOM

Picture if you will---I am standing at the kitchen sink---washing dishes I'm sure--when Faith says, "Look mom!"

I turn and I see Faith dragging her sister across the floor-on her belly!!!! Now, I also noted that Dalaina's sweatshirt was riding up. I thought that might hurt her fragile skin! So, I lent a hand to teach them the "proper" way to drag each other around:

Of course, Dalaina wanted to pull her sister and have her turn! I thought for sure that she wouldn't be mighty enough---Oh contrare!!! She was able---and giggled proudly the entire time:)

Of course, then I wanted my turn to be dragged around!!! I lay down on the very small blanket and gave each girl a hand and away I went! Of course, it was not near the speed I was hoping for:( I had to assist with my tippietoes...slowly through through the room I went. It was not as much fun as I remembered from youth. The girls loved it all the same:)

............oh, there is no photo of me being dragged around!

Tacoma or Bust!

Well, we have some exciting news---although, many of you will not be as excited:( We have found new jobs in Tacoma, WA. We start on Feb 23, 2009:) We will be leaving AL the second week of February:)
This is a temporary situation; we will be working by contracts-13weeks at a time. Our goal is to stay for a year to a year and a half. We will see how this goes.
We have been blessed and found a furnished 3BR 2 Bath house that is 2 miles from the one hospital:) It has a 2 car garage also (so we can stay out of the rain & snow!)
Anyway, we will continue to keep you all posted via this blogsite. And, our phone number will not change:)
When I find the paper with our new address, I will share it with you all.
Until next time, take care and God bless:)

WHAT?!

While I am not at liberty to discuss every detail of this situation, I'll paint you the quick version of it, and you can fill in the blanks:)

I went to town for a 4 hr class on Wed and when I returned home, no one was there. I was sitting on the couch reading through some emails and in my peripheral vision, a silver mini van pulled into the driveway?! Well, I don't know anyone with a silver van. So, I went to the door and stepped out onto the porch. I looked over at the driveway and saw my children and husband climbing out of this van!!!

Oh, and there were fluorescent numbers (05)on the windsheild...imagine my face if you will!

I asked why he had a van and he replied that he bought a truck!!!!!!!! Confused as to why there was a minivan in my driveway, I probed for details.

Turns out, the minivan was to use until that evening when the "truck" would be available to pick up!


He bought an 08 Dodge truck!!!

I don't have many nice thoughts to share about the rest of the conversation, so I'll just post the picture:




Um, "it has a Hemi" and "I got a great deal" were not consoling remarks either!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tweet Tweet!

Our friends bought us a bird feeder for Christmas. The girls have been waiting to hang it. Bird feed appeared on our front step Sunday after church (thanks Theresa!)...and so, today was the day! Anyway, they bundled up and helped dad fill it and hang it from the post. Then, patiently they sat on the deck, out in the cold, starring at it ---waiting for a bird:)
They were making bird calling noises so the birds would come!!!

Um, disappointingly enough, none showed up:( However, they did play outside in the 40degree weather for about 30minutes!!

Stay tuned for the post when they finally catch a bird eating from the thing!

NO shame!!

Everyone has photos lurking somewhere from when they were little:) Most of us even have the embarassing ones of us naked in the tub or something! Well, I caught Dalaina just before her bath--she was gathering things to play with in the tub:)




There is just something irrisistibly cute about a toddler in their knickers!! (maybe I am a little biased)



Then, she had to prove to me that she was a big girl and that she could take them off all by herself-which she did! (and oh how I praised her for it!)
Anyway, I just thought I'd post the embarassing photo now while she doesn't mind!!

The things they say!

We have an appointment for Lovey next week for her spaying and shots. Faith said, "Mom, it won't hurt Lovey to have shots, mom, because she has fur." And I thought, hmmm, what do you say to that? I just smiled and nodded...
Dalaina said, "I'll give her lovin' mom and she'll be ok." Again, I just smiled and nodded. I do love motherhood and enjoy the innocence of a child:)

Black Trees

Back in the day, these trees would give away the location of moonshiners. The carbon dioxide and yeast released into the air causes a mold to cover the trees!

Lynchburg, TN

We took a drive Monday afternoon to visit the historic Jack Daniel's Distillery. I am not a whiskey drinker, nor David, but this was an educational, free tour. It was a nice time together as a family and we so needed to get out of the house!!!!

The distillery was established in 1866 by Jack Daniel---and it's located in a "dry" county!

The whiskey is "mellowed" through charcoal for flavor and smell. They use maple trees and burn them for 3 hrs to make the charcoals. The whiskey drips down through 10ft of charcoal.

The whiskey is clear when it is put in the barrels. The barrels give it the rich color.

This barrel house holds 6,000 barrels. Every bottle of Jack Daniel's that exists around the world is made, bottled, and shipped from this distillery!

We ended our tour with a cup of lemonade--the girls had a great time!

From the natural spring water to the stinky sourmash room, it was definitely worth the trip:)

A New Year?

New Year's Eve is like any other day for Faith and Dalaina. They played and did what they normally do. That evening we went to David's cousin's house for a visit. The girls had fun visiting- they played in the dog's cage!!!! Eventually, they went off to sleep---past their bed time. The adults stayed awake for the much anticipated ball drop in NYC. This is how the girls welcomed 2009

Their new sleeping bags were perfect for this occasion. The girls were very happy to take them and use them:)

Anyway, we wish you all a happy and safe new year filled with much joy!!!

Special Day

I decided before I went to bed the other night that I would make the girls French toast with hot chocolate for breakfast. I don't know why, sometimes I just get ideas:)

Anyway, so they awoke and I told them about breakfast---they didn't really know what French toast was... Faith was watching me make it on the griddle and told me that I was doing it wrong! She told me that to make toast I had to use the toaster oven:) Observant she is, and bossy!

Anyway, I let them eat in the living room because Alice in Wonderland was on Disney. They had the best morning ---eating anywhere but the dining room is fun!!! Plus, they have never seen Alice in Wonderland!

It was great to watch their expression as they watched:) They had a good time!