Update..

Well, it is 9:30 on Monday night and everyone is in bed! Except me, of course. Now I know why Miranda is always up until midnight. It is the only time that you have to yourself!! Ha. It has been a great day. Layla didn't wake up until about eight and Lawson didn't wake up until after 9:30. He slept for 12 hours! I kept going in his room to check on him, but he was just snoozing. After breakfast we all got baths and got dressed and went to Oxford to have my engagement ring inspected. After that we went and ate lunch. We got home just in time to pick Logan up after school. Logan had ball practice at 5:30 so he and Nick left around 5. Lawson was still down for a nap so Layla and I snuggled up on the couch for some quality bonding time with each other and the Disney channel. When Lawson woke up he was as ill as a little hornet. He is teething and he has not been a happy boy the past few nights. Its ok though, he just joined me and Layla on the couch. When Nick and Logan got home it was time for supper. After supper it was bath time (for Logan), homework time and then bedtime. He has SAT's this week so he has to get plenty of rest. Nick was the fist to pass out, Logan was next. While I was in the kitchen making bottles I noticed that Layla was being awfully quiet. That is never a good sign. I checked her bedroom but she wasn't in there. Next stop - Logan's bedroom. She wasn't in there either. Where was she at? In the bed with her daddy. She was so tired. She didn't even tell me goodnight!! After some play time, Lawson was ready for bed too. It is almost too easy with him...just give him a bottle and lay him in his crib and is out out for at least eight hours (most of the time). So, here I am. I have cleaned up the kitchen, packed Logan's book bag and laid out his school clothes. It has been a good day. I got to talk to Miranda for a few minutes last night. They are having a great time. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. Well, I am off to bed. Hope everyone has a great week!

Playing Mommy For A Week...

Tonight's post will be short, I just wanted to blog before I go to bed. I'm sure that I won't have a chance next week, I am playing Mommy to three of the most precious children alive! Miranda left yesterday morning at five o'clock for Guatemala!! She is on a mission trip and will be gone for eight days! So, what does that mean? It means that starting tomorrow I get to live Miranda's life for a week. My "future Mommy" skills are really going to be put to the test! I am packing my bags and moving to Alexandria for a week and moving in with Nick and the kids. It should be a VERY interesting week. Nick has to be at work at five o'clock every morning so that means that he leaves at four thirty. SO.... I have to have three kids ( a seven year old, a three year old and a nine month old) up, fed, dressed and out the door at seven o'clock every morning in order to have Logan at school on time. THIS is the part that I am most nervous about. It overwhelms me to think about Miranda having to do this EVERY morning! Not only does she get all of the above accomplished but she also drops Layla and Lawson off and gets to work in Anniston by 7:45. She should really get some kind of award. It is going to be stressful but I am looking forward to it. I never get to spend as much time with them as I would like. It also gives me the chance to catch up with some old friends in Jacksonville since I will be so close. Layla, Lawson and I have a couple of lunch dates. So I said all of that to say this.... PRAY FOR ME!!!! Ha. Please also keep Miranda in your prayers. She has such an important job to do over there. Hopefully I will be able to post an update or two during the week but I'm not making any promises!

Work, Work, Work...

Today was very productive! Ross and I started working at the house this morning at about 8:30. The plan was to sand our bedroom. AGAIN. We worked on the sheet rock for about two hours and went out on the porch for a little break. Neither of us were really feeling into the tedious job of sanding and since the weather was so WONDERFUL we decided to work outside for awhile instead. Awhile turned into 6:30! We had started in the yard yesterday afternoon and we got a lot accomplished so we just picked up where we left off. We have three fairly large flower beds and three smaller ones (yes, his grandmother loved flowers!). Boy did we do some work! All of the flower beds were full!! They were full of both weeds and "bushes". These were "bushes" that I have never even seen before. Some of these things were rather obnoxious. Most of them were so overgrown that we had to get the chainsaw and cut them first and then get the tractor and pull the roots out of the ground. And when I say we, I mean we. I used a chainsaw today! Rickey (Ross' dad) keeps telling me that he is going to turn me into a county girl before its over. Ha. We have six crape myrtles in our front yard and seven in the back and they all had to be cut back. I look like I have been attacked! I have scrapes and scratches ALL over me! Seriously. It seemed like every time that I looked at my hands and my arms I was bleeding from somewhere. Even my legs are scratched up! It was a hard days work, but I loved it! I like to think that it is good for the soul. It always seems to remind me of just how amazing our God really is. Sometimes I get so caught up in weeding and trimming that I realize that I have been praying for 15 or 20 minutes. Its a job that has to be done but I feel like its MY time and it's more like a privilege than a chore most days. Now the sanding, that is usually another story. All I can focus on is the pain that is radiating from my forearms to my back! Ha. I'm really glad that we are doing it ourselves. I know that we will have an even greater appreciation for our little home when we finally get it finished.

Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice...

This was a great weekend! I had the house to myself this weekend (Mom was in Texas and Ross had to work) so I decided to take full advantage of it. I got caught up on some quality time with three of the most ENTERTAINING kids in the world! Thursday night Layla, Lawson, and Cloey spent the night with me. We had so much fun! We played and played until we couldn't hold our eyes open any more!! We started the night off playing dress up. This was followed up by barbies, beauty shop, grocery store, you name it. We ended the night with a slumber party in the living room floor, only to be completed with popcorn and watching Little Mermaid! Lawson just sat back and watched us girls being so silly. I think that I might have enjoyed it more than them!! We had so much fun!! I CAN NOT wait to have little girls of my own! But of course I will be just as happy playing outside in a sandbox with little boys! Here are some pictures from our "slumber party"...



A princess and The Little Mermaid.

Layla has changed into Tinkerbell and now Cloey is The Little Mermaid.

Miss Priss...

Love it!!

Precious!!

The rest of the weekend was just as wonderful! I took Cloey back to her dad Friday afternoon and Layla, Lawson and I headed back to Alexandria a little later. I spent the night with Miranda and we all got to spend some "family" time on Friday night. After hanging out with the family and going to dinner Miranda and I sent Nick and the kids back home. We were feeling up for an adventure! The night ended up at Artistic Designs in Gadsden where Miranda and I got a tattoo! It's never a good thing when we go on an "adventure"! Ha. It was so much fun (and VERY interesting!). I came back home on Saturday afternoon to spend some quality time with MYSELF. It's not very often that I get to have the house to myself for the weekend so I really try to enjoy it. We had two WONDERFUL services today at church! We also met this afternoon for our Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Esther. This is the only the second time that we have met but I am loving it. I LOVE the women in this Bible study. Not only are they my sisters in Christ, but they are my friends. We have so much fun!

Ross and I worked on the house last week. We have been working on the sheet rock in our bedroom. I have a love/hate relationship with this sheet rock business! I HATE sanding it!! I had sheet rock dust in my hair, in my eyes, in my nose, between my toes, you name it. It makes such a terrible mess! Despite all of my efforts, we have tracked dust ALL through the house. Oh well. At the same time, I love that I am getting to work on MY house. I know that I will have a greater appreciation for it when we are done. We have a LONG way to go.

We have also decided to get married at our church. It is just the most logical place. It's close by, more people will be able to attend, but most importantly it is FREE! It doesn't get any better than free. As for the reception, we are still unsure. We have talked about having the swimming pool fixed at Mom's and getting her yard landscaped and having the reception there. It is also free! I need to make my mind up! What do you think?

A Sunday Visit...

On Sunday Ross and I went to Chris and Ginger's to visit. It was wonderful! While we were there we got to see Brian, Katie and Jack!! It was a great ending to a long week. It was really a great day all around. Ross joined Corinth Sunday morning! Yay!! I have to say that I am SO blessed! I am short on time but I just HAD to show off these precious babies!!









Bronson....just happy to be here!

Such a happy boy!

Brian giving Jack a popsicle!

Kendall.

Kendall playing with Jack.

Brian and Jack.

Jack. What a precious boy!!

Bronson. Little slobber bucket!

I'm Back...

It's about time! I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus. It all started when I realized that I was spending WAY too much time online. This was time that could have been better spent studying my Sunday school lesson, working on a bible study, praying, and so many other things (like laundry!). Sort of ....an Internet fasting...if you will. Of course I was only convicted about the religious things not the laundry and floor mopping! haha. Anyway.


The past two weeks have been so hectic! It started LAST Wednesday when I got a panicked call from my cousin Brandy informing me that our little cousin Abby (who had turned a year old a few days earlier) had been rushed to the hospital because she was having trouble breathing and her little feet and hands were turning blue. So, off to the hospital we went! After poking and prodding her for days and running every test imaginable (flu tests, blood work, scans, e.k.g, e.e.g, and even a spinal tap) all they could come up with was a heart murmur. She was in the hospital from Wednesday until Sunday and every time that it looked like she might get to go home her fever would spike back up to 103! To make matters worse, on Saturday she came down with the measles! So needless to say much of my week was spent at the hospital. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. She had an appointment today at Children's Hospital with a pediatric cardiologist. The good news is that he didn't find a heart murmur. Praise the Lord! The bad news is that her fever is back and she is back in the hospital and they are looking at another four to five days. This time it is a respiratory infection. She is one sick little girl. She still needs lots of prayers. As does her mother. She is exhausted.


On a lighter note.... my cousin opened a restaurant in Fort Payne on Saturday. It is called John Stone's House of Pizza. They serve pizza, subs and wings. They have very good food. Mom and I helped them out on their big "opening day". We were slammed!! I am working for them again this weekend. Hopefully we will be busy.


Hmmm.. any new news?..... Yes! This past Sunday some of the women at my church started a Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Esther. I am SO excited!! It is a big commitment - it takes about an hour a day- but it is a commitment that I am willing to make! I have much faith that God is going to bless our little study group and open our eyes to many things. After all, the Bible study is entitled "It's Tough Being A Woman"! Amen to that!


Well, I am off to bed. I have a raging case of strep and I am praying for a miracle cure by this weekend. I am needed in so many places. Everyone please remember my family in your prayers. We have a lot of sickness going on and we all seem to have a very full plate for the time being....

So Excited...

I just wanted to say that I am SO excited that I was able to turn April into a blogger! I don't get to see her kiddos as much as I would like but now I can see them everyday. Yay!!

Pictures From Logan's Birthday Party...

Thinking hard about that present!

Bama won!

There is nothing better than a hot dog from a ball park!

Me and Ross.

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Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow...

It snowed today! Ok, it was only like an inch (if that) but that is a big deal around here! It's about time. Since my last post I haven't had very much time to work on wedding plans. I did however get my "notebook" put together. I have everything there is to know about planning a wedding including guest lists, budgets, etc... I have everything neatly organized into categories with its own little tab. I have printed off all of the pictures that I have saved onto my computer of the things that I like and want to remember. Photographers, caterers, flowers, dresses, you name it. This makes me feel better to know that I have some kind of order. (OCD? Possibly).


The beginning....

I really wish that this happened more often...

Logan's birthday party was Saturday. I can't believe that my sweet boy turned 7! He was only two when Miranda and I met. Layla will be four in July and Lawson is already nine months old. Where does the time go? We went to Tuscaloosa to a baseball game and we had so much fun. It was so cold! They were giving rain and thunderstorms but we managed to get by with just a few light showers. There were 23 of us, 13 of which rode down in the church van. Ross and I were lucky enough to be included in the van group. Ha. We had five kids with us (in the van) ranging in age from 3 to 10. It was quite the adventure! We had a blast though. Logan got to meet the coach and all of the players signed his baseball. They also gave him a shirt and a few other things- he got the works! Kudos to Miranda, it was a great idea.

****(Just a little side note while I am thinking about it- the date on my pictures are never right! My camera is crazy and every time that I turn it off it resets the date and I rarely remember to fix it before I start taking pictures. So, all of the pictures that say they were taken in 2006 or 2143 please ignore!)

Well, tomorrow is another day and it looks like it is going to be a busy one. I have to have Mom in Gadsden at nine in the morning for a doctors appointment and then we are going to do some dress shopping! Wish me luck....

I will post pictures of Logan's birthday party as soon as I get them downloaded onto my computer!