The Ezell Family

Olivia's First Trip to the ER

2012-01-27T08:16:00.000-08:00

Here we go head first into a new year, but first I have to go back and tell you about our last hurrah of 2011. We were getting ready for James' 40th birthday party at our house and mom was on her way to pick up the kids for a sleep over at her house. The guests were on their way. Bennett and Olivia were playing their own version of hide and seek when we heard the pantry door slam once followed by a very loud scream. Livi's little face said it all. Houston said that he thought maybe her finger got shut in the door and by the look on her face I knew we were going to the ER before I even looked at her hand. On her middle finger, the nail was hanging on by a piece of skin. We had her to Vanderbilt within 15 minutes. It's funny but I kept thinking about her being a teenager and self-conscious because she didn't have a fingernail. Funny what comes to your mind in stressful situations... She screamed the entire time and the first 15 minutes at the hospital.

After looking at it the doctors decided they would have to stitch her nail back on to act as a splint to hold open the space were her new nail would need to grow back through. They also said this would be the best way to protect that delicate skin under the nail. They originally thought they would try to do it without any sedation. I am so thankful they changed their mind, because even with it she was difficult for us to hold still enough for them to put the stitches on her tiny little finger. Afterward she was pitiful and didn't want to look at her finger for the first few days so we kept it covered by a Dora bandaid. The next week we had the stitches taken out and the nail fell off that same day. Her finger looks well healed now but we have no idea when or if she will get a new nail.

Bottom line, even that first night at the ER I felt thankful that Olivia would be OK and that this was just a tiny little thing in the picture of our lives. There were many other children we saw there that were not in the same situation.

Oh, and we didn't get to enjoy the party, but we heard it was a success!

Christmas in Pictures

2011-12-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Forrest house is always wild and definitely a highlight of the season!

Nice shot of Micah

Head of security

Mimi and the princess

Silly face

I am so thankful for my two wonderful grandmothers!

New riding toys from Mimi!

Christmas cookie making gone wrong!

Almost time for bed and we have our cookies and reindeer food out for Santa. In our letter Bennett asked Santa to eat the green cookies and leave the red ones.

Can you see the excitement on his face?!

Livi just stared at her doll house for awhile.

Nerf gear on and ready!

Trying to get a cute shot and captured this craziness instead...

I hope that your Christmas was wonderful!

Holiday Time

2011-12-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

Trying to catch up on the last few months has me realizing how bad I have become at taking pictures! Since my last post we have been doing all of our traditional holiday activities and enjoying our time together as a family. This year life has become extra sweet as my little lovies have become friends. They like playing together and really miss each other when they are apart. They are both very sweet to each other most of the time, and that makes me really happy! Of course, this isn't true all the time, and when they get upset with each other it gets really loud around our house! Usually it's Olivia making Bennett upset when she doesn't play by his rules or when she messes up something he's working on. She's a sneaky little thing and sometimes I catch her laughing after she makes him cry. Anyway, we are having fun times and really just enjoying being together as a family.

The kids at Thanksgiving lunch

Coleman was a little peanut this time last year! He's such a cutie!

Turkey cookies inspired by Pinterest

Selah's first Thanksgiving as a Dixon!

Love this shot!

Our tree. It is real and Houston thinks it is too small, but I just like cute little cozy trees.

This little angel is officially potty trained! Yep yep yep! We are diaper free at our house!

October is the Best Month

2011-11-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Optimus Prime and the sweetest little fairy princess!

Celebrating Houston's birthday!

This makes me laugh

October is always "the month of Erin" in my head, named after one of my lovely college friends. She loves October and so do I! This year October has been beautiful here in Nashville. We have played outside more than ever and enjoyed these last rays of warm sun before the cold months of late fall and winter keep us inside until March. October has been full to the brim with clinical days, school functions, soccer games, Halloween and Houston's birthday. Reflecting back on the last several weeks I am very thankful for my amazing friends and family who have helped me get through this very busy and stressful time at school. I couldn't have made it through this semester without help! I am also thankful for my Hubby of 5 1/2 years who turned 30 this year! I have dreaded turning 30 since I turned 20, but I think it might not be so bad after all.

Turning 4!

2011-11-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

Bennett, at four years old you love to be the center of attention. You are sweet and loving and love to snuggle. You are also passionate and emotional when you want your way (just like your mama). We have had many melt downs over this last year as you have learned to find you place in the world. We love your sweetness and your love for your family and friends. You are a precious big brother and protective of your baby sister. I am constantly surprised by your patience with Olivia. You have a genuine love for learning and a curiosity about everything that comes your way. You are fearless and love animals. You are energetic and constantly in motion. I am grateful to be your mother and I look forward to all of the memories we have yet to make. My prayers for you are that you will always find so much joy in life and that you will follow your heart wherever it may lead you.

On your birthday this year we had cake at Tuesday night dinner. You wanted a Transformer cake! We also went to Chuckie Cheese as a family. When we asked you which friend you wanted to take with you, you picked your Mimi... we were not surprised!

Soccer Time

2011-10-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

This picture reminds me of myself...I was such a little flake when I played t-ball. I remember picking dandelions in the outfield during every game!

June had fun too!

I am officially a soccer mom! Not sure whether to be proud or sad that Bennett is old enough for organized sports, but we have had a great time watching his team play these past few weeks! He plays 3 v 3 and we spend most of the time laughing at how cute and funny they are running around in circles on the field. We have had a great experience with this first season because of a great coach and a fun group of kids. All of our team shows up for everything. We are also fortunate that all of the kids on our team will go on the field and play. I really hadn't thought about how shy little ones can be, but we have played some teams where the parents are running around on the field holding their child's hand. I guess that's what you have to do sometimes, but it sure makes for some chaos out there!

Where have I been?

2011-09-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well... I have been busy! Doing what? This last month has been the beginning of my most challenging semester of school so far. My first week of school, Olivia had a fever for 4 days. That whole week was generally chaotic as I tried to figure out what our schedule is going to be like for the next few months. The most challenging part about being a full-time student with kids is juggling the schedule and the only real comfort I have had this last month is knowing that my family supports me and that I only have to do this one more semester before this is phase in my life is wrapped up. I have an inner struggle raging right now as I try not to wish away these next 8 months with my family, but I am SOOOOO over school. So sorry for the whine fest! I think I feel better now...

I have no photos because little man dropped my camera and crushed the flash. It's on my list to get a new camera sometimes soon. I am especially excited to put up some pictures of Bennett playing soccer! He is so stinking cute!

Let me tell you about our Livi girl...

2011-08-24T13:01:00.001-07:00

My angel baby turned two years old August 19th! For her birthday she had some of her friends over for a tea party, and let me just tell you that it was precious! It was unbelievably sweet how grownup they acted while they sat at the table and ate their treats. Olivia had a great time playing with her friends and eating her beautiful pink cake! After snacks the girls played and had their nails painted. I am so thankful to have this sweet little girl to liven up our lives!

Olivia, at two years old you love to play with your babies, have your nails painted, watch Mickey Mouse, get pushed in the swing, be read to, and sing song after song after song. Your favorite books are 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' and 'Rain Drop Plop.' You sing to yourself all the time. I think sometimes you make the songs up as you go along. Your favorite things to say are "like this!" "yeah," and "hey mommy". I crack up when you give your sideway smile and when you pretend to be asleep. You bring so much joy to our family and we love you so very much! Happy Birthday to you baby girl!

Ashley did a great job on the cake!

Check out these cuties! I love Sadie in her hat.

Cate got the best job.

Nail painting.

Time for a Puppy!

2011-08-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of August and I seem to have lost my motivation. I think maybe it was the extreme heat for weeks on end that got me. I sure love my sweet kids, but I am seriously missing preschool! I am sad to see the summer end, but will enjoy having a few hours a week of sanity. Their first day back will be August 29th. I think everyone in our house is ready! In the last few weeks we have had a few significant changes including a new puppy and moving Olivia into a toddler bed.

Meet June! She's 9 weeks old.

Now meet her nemesis...

Livi likes to hang out in June's bed...June does not appreciate it.

On a side not, this is what colored bubbles will do, so watch out!

The blankets on the floor are Bennett's version of a fort which makes me think he misunderstood the concept of a fort entirely.

My angel baby in her new bed. She likes to sleep with 3 blankets, her lovie, several babies, her pink puppy and a horse. She couldn't be more different than her brother who has never needed anything special to sleep with. I tried so hard to get him to attach to a blanket or something, but he refused.

My baby girl will be 2 years old in one week! Unbelievably bitter sweet!

Words to Live By!

2011-07-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, 'Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that the does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.'

Grand Turk 2011

2011-07-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

This year Houston and I had a great time scuba diving in Grand Turk for the annual Ezell family scuba diving trip! Grand Turk is in the Turks and Caicos Islands near the Dominican Republic and Haiti. It is a British Colony. Grand Turk is the capital of the islands, but not the biggest. The tourism industry is apparently exploding down there. We experienced the effects of this when we waited (for what seemed like forever) in the smoldering heat outside to get through their security to board our plane back to Atlanta. The airport was packed with tourists, but the local people didn't seem to be in any hurry. Our first day on the island I had a bit of trouble adjusting to their relaxed attitude. It was nothing to wait an hour for dinner to arrive! But after the first day we just accepted it and enjoyed the leisure time. Our dinner meals ususally took several hours which was a nice change from the fast pace of the USA. Generally the island was quiet and peaceful. The only exception was when the cruise ships would come in for a few hours.

We were out on the dive boat every day from 9 til 1. There were two day dives and then some of the group went out for night diving twice. I didn't do much diving but I did see some baracuda, a shark, a sting ray, and a lot of colorful, beautiful fish that I do not know the names of. One of my favorite days was when we took a boat to a tiny deserted island to have lunch and pet sting rays. We saw so many! That day we also saw several nurse and lemon sharks.

This was the TINY plane we took from Providenciales to Grand Turk. Our group took up the whole plane.

The view out our bedroom window!

On a bus tour of the island

Off this coast there have been about 1000 ship wrecks!

Houston about to go down.

These guys were awesome!

These guys were awesome too :)

They left us in charge of the boat during a dive!

Our dive master was Pepper.

Our last night

Finished! (well almost...)

2011-06-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

It may have taken me longer than I thought, but it was worth all the time and work! I have a few little details to finish, but my house is put back together and the paint cans are put away for awhile. I'm not sure what my next project will be. Stay tuned...

VBS Hangover

2011-06-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

Vacation Bible School is over for 2011 and I am sitting at my computer this morning in a haze. I am tired. I am a little bit grouchy too if I'm honest. The good news is that it was worth it and that we had a great time again this year! Hopefully Houston and the kids will overlook my grouchiness this morning...

Aside from VBS, our house has been just a little bit crazy these past few weeks. First, I am almost finished with my chairs. They are painted and waxed. My last steps are distressing them with a hand sander and then sealing them. Right now they are parked in our front living room taking up space... which annoys me. Cleaning up that room will probably be what motivates me to finish them this week.

Houston has had a big project of his own the past few weeks. He's building us a new deck. It is looking really good, but I know he is tired of it. He has made a million trips to the lumber store, Home Depot, and the dump recently. We are leaving on vacation next Friday so we are both trying to get these projects done before then.

(Hiding from the camera as usual)

My van was also involved in a little incident... It actually wasn't my fault. The van was parked (legally). And I wasn't in it. Basically there is no way I can be blamed. I'm just making that clear since many of you know that I am not a good driver. So anyway, it's not a big deal that my car was hit, but it is frustrating that the repair place couldn't fit us in for over 2 weeks. So, I have been driving around with no side mirror. This is a pretty serious stretch for me because I like things to be taken care of and put together. Can you relate? Please tell me I'm not the only control freak out there?!!

Then there was this disaster...

(Cutest disaster I've ever seen!) She was grabbing handfuls of noodles, taking a tiny bite, and then dropping the rest on the floor. She is getting so very sassy as she gets closer to two.

And then yesterday came the golf ball hail. Crazy!

Good Times!

Bennett Goes To Swim Lessons

2011-06-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

My choice of title for this post makes me realize that I've been watching/reading way to much Curious George lately. But anyway, Bennett has been going to swim lessons every afternoon this week. His first day was Monday and he was not in a cooperative mood. He was all over the place spashing the other kids and not really listening. I think he was a little bit over excited about being in a new pool with new friends. Tuesday was a bit better and then Wednesday was a really good day. By yesterday he was getting his face underwater and very proud of himself. I think his last big obstacle is going to opening his eyes underwater. I don't know that he is a natural swimmer, but he is very brave and eager to learn. It also helps that his teacher has been great. I'm proud of my little man!

Dining Room Table Redo

2011-06-04T12:46:00.001-07:00

Have you missed me?! I have had some computer issues that have kept me from uploading pictures in the last few weeks. And what's a blog post without pictures really? I am so excited to post about my biggest DIY project to date...our dining room table! This table and chair set was a hand-me-down from my wonderful sister-in-law Melissa! It was a beautiful table so you may think I'm crazy for messing with a good thing. However, it didn't exactly fit my style in the dining room so I have been wanting to paint and refinish it for about 2 years now. I have been really nervous to take on this project myself because I have no training or expertise in this area.

A few months ago I realized that I would have the perfect window of opportunity to work on this project after my school was finished but Bennett and Olivia still had a few weeks left of preschool. I did a TON of research before getting started. I knew that I wanted a distressed look, but that was about it. It turns out there are many many ways to distress furniture. In my research I came across a product called Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. It is wonderful! It bonds to the wood without stripping or sanding. This was huge for me since I knew I would have limited time to get it done.

I started the project a few weeks ago. I painted two coats of the base of the table. I got through one coat on the chairs before running out of paint. I ordered more paint and while I waited for it to come I started stripping the table top. I used a water-based stripper. It worked really well and I was able to leave the table in the house because the fumes were minimal. The stripping was time consuming. I painted it on then left it for a few minutes without allowing it to dry at all. Then, I scraped it off with a plastic scraper. After that I rubbed it down with steel wool and washed any leftover stripper off with water. Then came the sanding. I had a nice layer of dust all over the place by the time I was done. Next came wood conditioner, stain, then 3 coat of polyurethane with light sanding in between. THIS WAS NOT AN EASY PROJECT! It was seriously such a pain! I want to make sure that you know not to do this project unless you are prepared for frustration. But when all was said and done I was SO HAPPY with the finished project! For me it was worth all the time and effort because I accomplished my goal. I also discovered that I really enjoy distressing furniture and am hoping to start some new projects soon.

Back to the table...After painting the base, I used a mixture of brown and clear wax to lightly paint on. Then I used a hand sander to distress around the edges and create some worn spots. The last step is a clear wax over the whole piece.

The paint finally came in this week so the chairs are getting their last painting today. I am planning to distress them tomorrow. I want to have them done so that I can post the finished product next weekend. If you have any questions feel free to email me. I am no expert but could point you in the direction of some great resources. The chalk paint has to be ordered. It is a product that has been around in England for decades but is relatively new in the US.

At this point the only thing I had done was that little bit of paint on one base.

Painting chairs is tedious. Watch out for drips!

If mommy paints everyone wants to paint!

Here the table is stripped and sanded. The bases are completely painted.

The chalk paint can. Love this stuff! The color is called Old White.

My wax mixture was a little gross looking.

If you look close you can see that there is wax on the left part of this and no wax on the right. This is the effect the wax can give you. It's similar to wiping a stain on regular paint.

The table is finished except for the clear wax coating on the bases.

Dawn

2011-05-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

For me, the most precious part of the day is the very early morning. I can't remember a time when I wasn't a light sleeper. Almost every morning, I wake up just as the sun is barely sending the first pink light in throught the windows. There was a time that I was annoyed by this habit. I just wanted to sleep! First, because I was a college student who stayed up too late every night and then because I had my first baby and felt like a zombie most of the time. It's really only been in the last several years that I have started to see my early morning wake up call as a blessing of my day. There are many things I love about the early morning. I love the quiet of the house. I know that I am the only one awake and it's a peaceful feeling to be still in my own home. I love the sounds of the birds. Their chirping and singing makes me feel that the world is already getting ready for another day. I love the fresh feeling that today is still blank and just waiting for me to fill it up.

When I woke up this morning an unusual thought came to me about what time of day Jesus will come back for us. It's a thought that makes me feel afraid and peaceful at the same time. I'm afraid because I don't like surprises and I really have no idea what that day will be like. I also know that I will never be worthy of recieving God's promises, but I feel peace when I think about the people I've loved and lost that I will see again and I feel peace knowing that I have put my faith in a God who always keeps his promises. I wonder if it will be in my lifetime... or my children's lifetime? Don't you think it will be a beautiful day? I'm no scholar, but I can picture Jesus coming in the morning as the day slowly begins. The only wish I have for that day is that I could be with my family. That I could have my kids in my arms when I see Jesus for the first time. How amazing would that be? I can't think of a more spiritual experience.

Beautiful words from Revelations 21:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever."

Feeling Crafty

2011-05-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got around to a little project I have been thinking about for awhile. I love silhouettes and I had been thinking about having some done of my little ones when I ran across a super easy tutorial by my favorite blogger Miss Mustard Seed. I figured I would give it a try since I already had all the stuff I needed.

Do you want to make silhouettes? It is really easy! First I took a few side shots of my kids... the hardest part really. Once I found one that was at a good angle, I blew it up to the size I needed. I used Windows Photo Gallery because it did the job and was the least trouble for me. The sizing would definitely be more precise if you used photo shop. You can also download good photo editing software for free called paint.NET if you're interested. It does a pretty good job for the price :) Anyway, after you crop your shot, print out your picture on regular old computer paper. Then cut around that sweet face! You can use a craft knife if you have one, but I just used some good scissors. Then, you want to use that template to cut out the silhouette on some black card stock. It took me a few tries to get it how I wanted, but I am so happy to have captured their sweetness! They are my Mother's day gift to myself. I also made some for my mom!

Easter

2011-04-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

love my friend/sister :)

Nana and the princess

Check out these cute cousins: Aria, Selah, and Scarlett

Life lesson: never mess with a man in a John Deer hat...especially with candy at stake!

Ready to tackle some eggs!

Mimi and the princess

Sweet :)

Bennett wasn't sure what to think when he discovered that the Easter Bunny brought presents!

You can see that she wasn't feeling so good :(

Singing happy birthday to Wyatt and Daniel at the Forrest family party.

I just love red geraniums and had to have one for the front porch!

Our Morning Glory is so beautiful this year!

We had enough Easter fun to write three blog posts! Olivia was sick all weekend, but we tried to do as much as we could. Thanks to help from my mom (who now lives in our neighborhood!!!!) we were able to take Bennett to the church egg hunt on Saturday and then church on Sunday. I was sad that Olivia didn't make it to church in the beautiful dress her Nana made for her, but she did wear it for a few minutes for pictures before lunch. We also had a family party at our house Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon lunch at the Ezell's. It was the best Easter in my memory (aside from the sick baby). I am especially thankful for all the precious family time.

Painting on Glass

2011-04-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

After making a chalkboard a few weeks ago, I have developed an infatuation with chalk paint! I love that I can erase and write something new with so little effort! So, I started hunting for inexpensive glass canisters to see how chalk paint would work on glass. It took four coats, but I was happy with the finished product. If you are thinking about using chalk paint on glass I have a few tips for you. First, alternate the direction of your brush strokes with each coat. It covers better that way. Second, if you want the lines to be really straight, I would remove the tape after the first coat and freehand the next three. The tape pulls off some of the paint around the edges. Messy lines look cool to me, but may not be for everyone. If you want the lines to be really jagged, try ripping your tape in half before putting it on the glass. I saw this technique on several tutorials I scoped out. Let each coat dry one hour. Let the last coat sit for one day and then season by rolling chalk across the surface. The idea is to make it look a bit worn. Then you can wipe off the excess and get to writing whatever ya want!

Guess Who's Seven?!!!!

2011-04-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

Ella Marie is basically an adult I guess! I can't believe how fast these years have gone! My first date with Houston was the week she was born so her birthday is extra special for me. I can remember Misty once telling me that she just didn't know how to get through to Ella about personal space. Ella loved getting right up close to the littler kids like Bennett so that she could talk baby talk to them and give them hugs and kisses. Just a few short years later and it's easy to see how that same sweet and outgoing personality will set her apart in life. I am looking forward to watching her grow and mature into her mama's girl. She is so beautiful! My camera died before the cake and gifts, but you can trust me that the birthday girl was happy!

MEGA YARDSALE!!!

2011-04-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

‎20+ Family Yard Sale Saturday, April 16 from 6am-2pm!!! 1005 Glastonbury Drive in Franklin (inside Fieldstone Farms neighborhood)

These are pictures of our Thursday night group organizing and tagging for the sale last night. There are seriously THOUSANDS of items including furniture, beds, tv's clothes, brand new Hallmark overstock items, toys, bikes, bedding/drapes, and soooo much more! Please repost to get the word out!!

Come support the Whitfields and Thompsons as they raise money to bring home their boys. The Whitfields are bringing baby Jude home from Ethiopia in the next few months and the Thompsons are bringing home Will Hudson from China(whose 3rd birthday is today!) sometime this summer.

Chalk Board

2011-04-10T11:55:00.001-07:00

My most recent project has been this chalk board. I found the frame and chalk board paint on sale. Houston cut a piece of wood to fit the frame. After putting two coats of paint on it was ready to go! It was a really easy project. I am on the lookout for what to hang on each side of the frame. I used a stencil to paint the design on the plates above the chalk board. The plates had been in a drawer for the last few years so I had nothing to loose it if didn't look right. I also found that I could use a razor to scrape off the paint and start over if I made a mistake.

Pictures of a Saturday

2011-04-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty typical Saturday at our house yesterday. Bennett and I got out early to have breakfast and then watch Ella play soccer. She was awesome and Bennett had a great time playing with Miles and Griffin.

It may not be news to anyone but me, but I was pretty happy to have a nap in the afternoon! Houston spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning grilling some BBQ that was excellent. He has a new grill and has been testing recipes. David and Chris Anne came over to help us eat the BBQ. The boys got DIRTY playing outside with no shoes and were so funny when David hosed them down in the shower.

Number 19!!!!

Batman and Robin :)

Miles is proud of his baseball uniform :)

I love Bennett's face in this one!

Funny boys!

Happy Spring!

2011-04-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day it was yesterday! I love these days when the light streams in and the windows stay opened. The weather has inspired me to put some spring cheer around the house with a few new projects. The first one is a burlap wreath. I went with the white burlap and used a combination of two ideas I found by Emily at Jones Design Company Blog. I did not realize how messy burlap was to work with, but I still had fun. This project cost about $12 but I used the left over moss for my next project. It took me about 45 minutes to finish. Emily's wreath had a little flower detail that I forgot to add by accident. Sometimes my little helpers can also be a bit distracting :)

The sweetest little helpers!

All done!

The second project was this E that was inspired by Pottery Barn. I have seen several blogs featuring tutorials about making them, but that seems a bit silly. Really it's just moss hot glued to a letter and a ribbon attached to the back. The letter could be made of wood or cardboard. It seriously took me about 10 minutes and about $4. I think we have our quota of moss in the house at this point!

Check out this cuteness! Bennett is reading to her. This is one of those Mastercard moments: Priceless :)

Book Shelf Redo

2011-03-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon I got in the mood to FINALLY arrange all the stuff on the bookshelves in our office thanks to some inspiration from James Brown. I was really happy with how it turned out, especially since everything I used was stuff that we already had. This is the picture of the room when we first moved in:

This was the room after I painted it a few months ago. It is a bit blurry due to my lack of photography skills. Let me just tell ya that having a good camera does not make up for poor depth perception.

And this is the after! I am thinking about getting some baskets for the bottom shelves. Whatever goes down there has to be kid friendly since my little muckins like to play with everything they can get their hands on.

This is a canvas my mom brought us from her trip to South Africa. Houston is in the process of making a really big frame for it! I went ahead and tacked it to the wall to let the wrinkles settle out of it. I love it! Next up: curtains!

In other news, I am having some pretty serious baby fever the last month or so. Good thing I have other things to focus on, like finishing nursing school and taking care of my two little darlings and hubbie :) I am planning to take the summer off, take 2 classes this fall and then be finished in May. I still love going to school, but I can't help this baby fever! Maybe a puppy would help?

Find Beauty in the Ordinary and not so Ordinary

2011-03-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

When I remember to look around me, I see all the possiblities and all the beauty that is jumping out all over the place! Sometimes its the small stuff (some might say silly) like a clean house or a beautiful tree outside my window. Sometimes its the amazing stuff like a brand new baby having an extraordinary surgery, and doing WELL!

Open windows make me happy!

So do the cherry blossom trees in our neighbor's yard.

And our block tower :)

And baby girls in their bloomers and church shoes with pouty faces :)

And ESPECIALLY the face of Ginny and Sloan when they heard the good news that the doctors were able to remove the whole tumor during surgery!

Everley

2011-03-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

This tiny baby girl is loved beyond measure. The story of her arrival in this world is unusual. At 34 weeks, Ginny knew something wasn't quite right. She was in pain. After having 2 other babies, she knew this was different. Her doctor sent her for an ultrasound and that's when they discovered a mass in her tiny little belly. Tomorrow morning she will be going into surgery to remove the mass. Please send up prayers for this amazing family, Sloan, Ginny, Aria, Scarlett, and especially for baby Everley.

Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
Psalms 66:13-14

Fuzzy Pictures

2011-03-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

Please check out Bennett in the first several pictures. Is he not a complete monkey? I cannot tell you how many fuzzy pictures I have of him! I mean, he is like a phantom sometimes! Today I was reminded of this talent while taking pictures with my wonderful grandmother. I'm wondering when this phase will ever end?! We also stopped by to see Granny. That picture is also blurry, but the only one I got.

In other news, Olivia sat on the potty this week! This is her "cheese" face. She didn't actually go, but she also didn't scream bloody murder like her brother did his first time. She thought she was big stuff. Maybe the second time around will be a tad easier, although I don't plan on actually trying until she is 2ish. I learned today that my mom and all 5 of her sibblings were potty trained by the time they were 18 months! How's that for pressure? And that number includes 3 boys! Maybe cloth diapers would be a bigger motivator than disposable diapers?

Crafting

2011-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have never considered myself a crafty or creative person. I do like to write, and am fond of redecorating, but I guess I've never really learned to trust my instict and knowing what I like. I'm always so worried that I might change my mind, that I'm afraid to commit. I had a little personal epiphany the other day when I was reading some awesome design blogs...I am not the only one afraid to commit! And there is hope for me in the craft and design world that I long to be a part of. I have made a commitment to myself to take more risks and not be afraid to make mistakes. I might have to change my mind...or a paint color, but I'm giving myself permission. So, yesterday I decided to take my first step. I made a bulletin board for our office. It may not look professional, but I was very proud of my first solo craft. Disclaimer: I got instructions for this project from a great blog...but I can't seem to find it again.

I also wanted to show some pictures of our downstairs bathroom. The neon picture is the before, and the lovely mocha is the after (hopefully you picked up on that). I am really happy with the color, but it's time to get a fun shower curtain and accesorize a bit! It could also use new faucets, but that may have to wait a bit. I will try to get that done and post some updates soon.

Biscuit Making Hunk

2011-03-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

Check out this little cutie who helped me make biscuits last night! Little miss wanted to help too, but we ended up with enough flour on the floor with just one helper.

Bennett's New Bike

2011-02-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

Bennett has long outgrown his first bike and we knew it was time to get a new one. So, last Saturday we took him to Toys R Us and let him pick one out. He couldn't decide between the Toy Story and Cars bike, but we finally got out of the store with Toy Story. He also got a helmet which is his new prize posession. He likes to wear it around the house all the time. I guess it can't hurt to wear a helmet 24/7 can it? I mean, he's always protected from a head injury :)

Anniversary Number Five

2011-02-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

February 4th Houston and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! It's hard to express how proud I am of this milestone in our lives. As a little girl, I believed that being married would be so perfect... I thought it answered all of life's problems... I thought it made all wrongs right. I have always been a romantic and lived most of my childhood believing marriage had super power. After 5 years of marriage I realize that none of my childhood beliefs were rooted in reality... hopefully I'm not bursting anyone's bubble!!!

Today I am so happy to have my wonderful husband, and today I am at peace knowing that God is in control of so much more than we give him credit for sometimes. I feel this way because we have had some hard times in our relationship. There was a period of time when we were both uncertain that we could hold onto our marriage. Why am I sharing this personal information? Because I want to acknowledge the hand of God in bringing us to the place we are today. Without him, things would be so different. I'm not very good at sharing or expressing my feelings sometimes, but I felt that it was important to give all the glory to God for our gift to celebrate five years as a family. You just never know what tomorrow will hold. Everytime I think about Misty I am reminded that time is short...and I don't know about tomorrow. But today I am thankful :)

Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Psalms 105:1

Being strenghtened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:11&12

On our anniversary we stayed at the Opryland Hotel and had dinner at Old Hickory. This was special to us because it is where we stayed before leaving for our honeymoon after our wedding. The next day we went to lunch and then on a Nash Trash tour. It was awesome! Seriously hilarious! These two crazy ladies sing, dance, and do comedy for about 2 hours on a pink bus driving around Nashville. One of the ladies fell in love with Houston. She was near him any chance she got! Such a great memory!

Tips for Mothers

2011-01-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

I don't usually write about books and whatnot, but I came accross a list of mothering tips that I really love in the Wisdom for Mothers bible study by Denise Glenn. I especially love how simple they are....simple, but not easy. The list was written by Suzanna Wesley, the mother of John Wesley. If you went to Lipscomb you've probably heard of this guy. His was the founder of the Methodist church. Mrs. Wesley had 19 children so she certainly had some experience.

1. Eating between meals is not allowed.

2. As children, they are to be in bed by 8pm.

3. They are required to take medicine without complaining.

4. They are to subdue their self-will so that they might be open to God's salvation.

5. Teach a child to pray as soon as she can speak.

6. Require all to be still during Family Worship (this one gives me guilt...)

7. Give them nothing they cry for, and only that which they ask for politely. (AMEN!)

8. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented.

9. Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished.

10. Never punish a child twice for a single offense.

11. Commend and reward good behavior.

12. Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.

13. Preserve property rights, even in smallest matters.

14. Strickly observe all promises.

15. Require no daughter to work before she can read well. (Got this one no problem!)

16. Teach children to reverence God.

I love it! I hope you enjoyed it, too! FYI, you probably figured this out, but all the parenthesis were my thoughts.

Winter Update

2011-01-25T07:29:00.000-08:00

It's almost February, and I am happy about this because I am so ready for spring! January has been a month of cold and snow...a month of missed school and staying inside way too much. I have been trying to think of things to blog about for more than a week, but we really haven't been doing anything exciting besides playing in the snow occasionally. So, this will be a general update and some pictures of our night at the Garth Brooks concert...aka the best night of Houston's life.

Olivia is her sweet self. Her favorite things to do right now are sitting in her high chair (I do not understand why) and playing with the baby dolls she got for Chrismtas. She carries them around with some of her diapers. I LOVE watching her try to put the diapers on the babies. She calls them stinty diapies (stinky diapers).

Bennett lives to play Mario Kart, which actually drives me crazy. He's so funny to watch when he plays, but I can't help but wish we hadn't let him get interested in it yet. He has the rest of his life to waste his brain cells on video games, so I wish he could just be little right now. I will say that is has been a really good incentive for helping him to learn some impulse control. This is the first thing that he has really ever cared about enough to keep him in check with his attitude. On another note, he is also learning the books of the Old Testament. I would have never thought to teach him this so young, but the Children's Ministry at church is encouraging memory work, so we are giving it a shot. I am amazed at how well it is going. So far he knows Genesis to Chronicles, which was the goal for 3-6 year olds. It was pure comedy to try to teach him to say Deuteronomoy.

Me? Well, I have been doing a few projects around the house. I took the wallpaper off the walls in our downstairs bathroom and painted a few weeks ago. I have been thinking about doing this for over a year, but just now got the motivation to do it. It looks so much better! I am very proud that it only took me a week to accomplish. The color is a milk chocolate brown and is so much more soothing than the bright green wallpaper I took down. I also started class again a few weeks ago. I am loving it, and happy to not be as busy as last semester.

And Houston...He is working, and being a his wonderful self... He is lobbying hard for a dog sometime soon. Only time will tell when that will happen. I would love to have Livy out of diapers before dealing with a dog, but he has been waiting quite awhile, so we shall see. I would be all for some sort of miniature dog, but of course he wants a bullmastiff... of course.

Oh, and our five year anniversary is coming up on February 4th!

Christmas Continued

2011-01-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

All Bennett wanted for Christmas this year was a black train. He wanted a train like the Polar Express. Every gift he opened the week before Christmas he expected to be a train. Honestly, we really didn't want to get him another train. He already had too many to count. But when your kid only wants one simple thing, it's hard to resist. His reaction Christmas morning did not disappoint. He loved the little black train Houston found for him, and it was precious to see him so excited.

Livy was easy to please, as most 1 year olds are when it comes to toys. She was happy with her toys, but equally happy with the boxes they came in. I so love her sweet, gentle spirit. She is my sweet, sweet baby girl. Christmas day was extra special with snow all over the ground. The kids loved it!

We had a great time at all of our family Christmas parties. The holiday season always reminds me how blessed we are to have such love surrounding us. Now we are looking forward to what 2011 will hold. We are especially excited about all the new babies that will be coming this year for our friends and family.

Christmas Madness

2010-12-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas, and it's even better with kids!

Princess Livy

2010-12-17T10:54:00.001-08:00

My sweet girl is really more like 15 months at this point, but here are her one year shots from a few months ago. She wasn't really in the mood for pictures that day. We didn't get a lot of good ones, but definitely enough. Please check out her adoreable little feet! She is sweetness :)

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-06T16:43:00.000-08:00

So, now that I've said the sad stuff, I'll talk a little bit about the happy. We had lunch with the Ezell and Burton families. Although we were all emotional, we did manage to enjoy spending time together. Thanksgiving night we left for Camden to spend the weekend at the Whitfield farm. We had a great time riding four-wheelers, feeding the pigs, shooting skeet, and roasting marshmallows. Bennett was in heaven playing with Callie, Taylor, and their dolls. Sara and I spent our evenings putting together puzzles. How exciting are we?! We also headed to the Camden Walmart for some Black Friday shopping. It certainly wasn't anything like Cool Springs on Black Friday.

Giving Thanks for Misty

2010-12-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

This year Thanksgiving felt like a paradox for me. I was so very thankful to have my husband, sweet babies, and the rest of our family and friends, but I was also painfully aware of the absence of my sister and friend. I miss her every day, but Thanksgiving last year was the last day that I got to be with her. For this reason, Houston and I have been dreading this day for as long as she's been gone. She will never ever be forgotten, but it is so unbelievable that we have been without her for a whole year. I wish I could write a fitting tribute to how much I love her and how wonderful she was. I am not a talented enough writer to even come close. Only tears can really express all the feelings I have just thinking about how much I miss her. I hope that this next year will be a healing one, and that we can learn to let go of some of our sadness and pain. Misty, we will always love you and miss you precious friend.

A Trip to the Farm

2010-11-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

Bennett was really excited when we told him that we were going to see Grandmother at the Farm. He couldn't wait to play with her toys and check out the big tractors. He must have some farm boy in him because he loves playing in the dirt and seeing everything there is too see in the country. I actually spent most of the visit studying for a big test I had coming up, but I did get to enjoy spending time with family and eating well. We all had a great time! Bennett is already asking to go back! We love you Grandmother.

The Holiday with TOO Much SUGAR!

2010-11-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

Aside from anything scary, I really like Halloween, and it's pretty fun in our neighborhood because almost everyone gets in the spirit and hands out candy. We also have a little parade through the neighborhood so all the kids can show off their costumes. Lots of people decorate the outside of their houses, and the candy is top notch! Our neighbors even gave out whole candy bars!! This is expecially amazing when you consider that we used 6 big bags of candy and some of the candy Bennett got from trunk r treat at church.

Bennett wore two different costumes this year. He was Batman and Woody. I bought him Woody, and Mimi gave him the Batman costume for his birthday. Olivia was Minnie Mouse, although she only wore her costume for about 45 minutes on Halloween and was in bed by 6:30. She has dropped her morning nap, so she gets sleepy very early these days. It's amazing to me that she can sleep from 6:30 pm until 7 am!

So anyway, we had a really fun night walking around the neighborhood and eating too much sugar. Here are some pictures of Bennett and his lady friends. It was him and 7 girls! He loved every minute of it!

Missing Misty

2010-10-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

We had some fun with Ella, Miles, and Griffin this last weekend. They are so precious :) Makes me miss their mama. We love you Misty.

Can He Be Three Already?!!!!

2010-09-28T02:13:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely not kidding! Bennett is officially three years old! How can it be?! I feel so incredibly blessed to be the mommy for this impossibly precious little boy that I honestly feel a bit overwhelmed at times. He is a true gift to our family. Some of these pictures are from a party we had at our house Sunday night, and the rest are of him eating cupcakes on Monday with his friends at school. I love the one of him in the Batman costume! We love you little man :)

Backwards!

2010-09-16T07:40:00.001-07:00

Bennett has learned to dress himself really well... except for one little problem... He puts everything on backwards. I feel like we must have messed up somewhere along the way if his clothes are backwards 75% of the time. This morning he put a sweater on with shorts and crocs,on the wrong feet of course. He just makes me smile :) Princess Livy is very impressed by her brother. She makes me smile, too :)

Church Picnic

2010-09-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to our church picnic. This was the first time we have been able to go as a family. We had a really good time! Bennett was especially happy to do some serious jumping and sliding. He also rode a pony and got a batman painted on his face. Livy was happy to run around, but not so happy when she had to stay on our blanket during dinner. The food was really great and makes me sad that we don't have potlucks once a month like when I was a kid. I'm afraid my kids may not know the deliciousness of deviled eggs and millions of casseroles when they grow up. We had to leave before the music because of bed time. One thought that really hit me last night was how special it is to have time with good friends. You never know about tomorrow, so I want to treasure each special memory we have the opportunity to make!

Livy's Big Day!

2010-08-26T17:57:00.001-07:00

Sweet Olivia was one on August 19th and we had a great time celebrating her! She is a precious little girl who brings us so much joy with her sweet spirit. She has been walking for about a month now. About two weeks after she took her first steps she got the hang of it and has been walking everywhere since! She gets very excited when she is walking. She opens her mouth wide and squeals like she's surprised. She also says mama now and bye bye. Her favorite place in the house is the stairs. She loves to go up and then right back down. I have been very tired these past few weeks! We love you sweet baby girl!

New Pictures

2010-08-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday Wendy Tate offered to take a couple shots of the kids before another appointment she had scheduled at Nana and Pop's house. Of course I couldn't resist the chance to get a few new pictures! It was really tough getting a good one, but she did it in record time! I sure love my babies!

Scuba Vacation

2010-07-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

Gearing up for our 16 hour flight from LA to Manila

Octopus

Eel. Ugly huh?

Sea horse

Lion fish

We found Nemo!

Sea Turtle

Amazing! About to go diving in the marine sancutary at Apo Island

I love this picture of all our tanks ready to go!

Titanic pose

All the guys getting out. We dove in small groups.

They had a party for us the last night. Catelyn and I got our dresses from the local marked at Apo Island.

I'll just leave you to wonder what's going on here. That's Justin, Joe and Mila.

We rode on top of the Jeepneys that took us to the waterfalls. Even grandaddy!

Grandaddy and Gabi , one of our dive masters

volcanic steam vent

Getting in at the waterfall

Me and Cate on the bus in LA on the way home.

We have been back from our family vacation to the Phillipines for weeks. Unfortunately, our computer has been having some trouble so I haven't been able to access our pictures until now. Anyway, we had a lot of adventures while we were away. We stayed at Atlantis Dive Resort in Dumaguete. The people there were great, and the diving was unbelievable. Some of my favorite things to see were octopus, lion fish, scorpion fish, trumpet fish, sea turtles, and the beautiful coral inside their marine sanctuaries. Houston took tons of pictures underwater so we have some great documentation of everything!

Besides diving everyday, we also visited a local market. This was an experience that I will never forget. There were baby birds on strings that you could buy as toys... Also, the fish paste smelled lovely! On our last day we visited some waterfalls and saw some volcanic steam vents. It was crazy to see water by the road actually boiling!

The day we were suposed to come home, the plane coming to get us from Manila didn't make it before dark so we had to stay an extra day. By that point I was pretty homesick and ready to see my babies. We were away from them for 10 days! I was definitely not as ready for that as I thought I was before the trip, but we made some great memories that I will treasure forever!

Away We Go!

2010-06-23T18:29:00.001-07:00

Bennett thought this truck was Mater from the movie Cars. He was so cute wanting to get out and talk to it!

Olivia is lucky to have Ella

Livy likes to hang out in the shade when we're at the pool.

Bennett loves jumping to daddy! Isn't he hilarious in that floaty suit!?

Mommy's sweet girl

Big Brother loving his new slip'n slide!

It's funny how great a $10 toy can be!

Tomorrow morning Houston and I are heading out on a big family vacation to the Philippines. We are leaving our two sweet babies with my wonderful mama. I know they will be in good hands but have had many sad moments today. I know it will several days before I can hold them and love on them again. Anyway, here are some pictures of Bennett and Livylou...

Summer is Almost Here!

2010-06-01T08:20:00.001-07:00

Daddy and Livylou

Livy's first trip to the pool

Little Stinker!

Ella's loose tooth

Pop hanging out at Ella's softball game. Photo by Miles

Love this smile. Miles took this one.

Hanging out at Pie in the Sky to celebrate Jason's birthday

Ella took this one

And this one. Olivia loved her dinner!

Bennett and Houston feeding the ducks.

In my mind summer started the day preschool ended and the humidity levels went sky-high, but I guess we technically have a week or so left of spring. Anyway, the last few weeks we have been doing summery things like swimming, feedin the ducks at Centennial Park,and going to the ballpark. Our first trip to the pool last week was actually Olivia's first time in the water. She loved it! It was no surprise that Bennett was fearless and tried to swim all over the place. I had to rescue him a couple times...little stinker.

Vacation for Two Please!

2010-05-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

The first week in May, Houston and I went on a vacation without our little angels. We went with some good friends David & Sara and David & Chris Anne. We had a very relaxing, and much needed, break. This was actually the first vacation we had taken without family since our honeymoon. We boarded a plane at 6am in Nashville and headed south to the Dominican Republic. We were at our resort by 1:30 pm. One of the reasons we chose the Dominican Republic was because of the sugary white beaches and beautiful water. We were not disappointed. It was gorgeous. Most of the time we relaxed by the pool or under an umbrella at the beach. One day we rode dune buggies around the local towns and were literally caked with mud at the end. We also swam in a little cave in the middle of nowhere. Of course, by the end of the week we were all ready to get home to our kids, especially since we were gone through all of the crazy flooding that happened in Nashville. Unfortunately my camera failed me and most of my picture came out grainy and blurry. I will probably replace these pictures as soon as I get some from another camera.

Crazy Boy

2010-05-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

My little man is a daddy's boy in case you didn't aready know. Yes, he loves me when he skins his knee or wants a popsicle, but most other times of the day he wants to do whatever daddy is doing. He loves the blower, the mower, and all the tools in the garage. If Houston is outside for any reason and Bennett doesn't get to go, there will most certainly be a melt-down. He especially loves going to daddy's work, and showing off his super fast running to all the ladies.

On the flip side, there was that one time I caught him putting on my mascara...oh and all those times he walk around in my high heels :)

Happy Birthday Pop!

2010-05-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

We had a little party for Pop on the Sunday after his birthday. The kiddos ate outside while the rest of us enjoyed the air conditioning. Stan is blessing to us in so many ways. We respect the man that he is and pray that this year will bring some joy his way. LOVE YOU POP!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

2010-05-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

So, I am behind. I almost decided to skip the old stuff and start with what's going on this week, but I would just kick myself later for leaving stuff out. Anyway, Easter this years was special because we are now a family of four! I have always loved Easter. As a kid, I liked the fun stuff like dying eggs, wearing a new dress, and finding my Easter basket. This year I have found a special joy in knowing that we get to pass all of those fun traditions on to our sweet kids. Most of all, I hope that we teach them the joys of being together with family and celebrating the resurection of our savior

Not so Beachy Getaway

2010-03-15T14:01:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago I went to Orange Beach Alabama with some special friends. Little Miss came along too so it wasn't exactly tranquil for me, but I had a wonderful time. Back in the summertime we had a regular group of kids and mommies who went swimming almost every week. At some point we discussed taking a girls trip together. I'm pretty sure this was actually Misty's idea. It all came together around Christmas when some of the better planners in the group realized we could all use a trip this year. Thank you Marie for all you did to organize this! I named the post not so beachy because I was only at the beach for about 1 hour the whole time :)

Don't you love that precious picture of Olivia and Nora?! Best friends in the making for sure!

Bennett's Preschool Valentine's Day Party

2010-03-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Since January Bennett has been in preschool at Harpeth Hills on Tuesdays and Thursdays. From mommy's perspective he loves everything about his new school. One of his favorite things so far seems to be morning drop-off. He loves that someone comes out to the car to take him inside. Every morning he'll tell whichever teacher comes to get him that "it's me, Bennett!!" just in case they forgot I guess.

Once we pull into the drop off line I let him climb into the front seat with me. He loves sticking his head out the window to see if he sees any of his friends. He's such a funny little guy! He told his teachers last week that some of the kids were "making me nuts!" I guess he hears more of what I say than I think he does. He also says "but why?" all the time!!!! It's funny that I was just telling some friends the other day that Bennett has never really been much of a questioner. I guess I spoke too soon.

These pictures are of preschool. Some are of their valentine's day party. My favorite is the one of Bennett standing by the bags of valentines. He couldn't wait to get his! I also love the one where's he is trying to help Griffin put on his coat.

Questions about Vaccines

2010-03-04T19:29:00.000-08:00

Can anyone tell me what's up with immunizations? I have been discussing this topic with pretty much anyone who will listen and I am so confused. Are there any real scientific answers yet about the safetly of vaccines? Olivia has had soooo many shots. Today alone she got 5 plus an oral vaccine. Is she really at risk for hepatis B? Really? Really? And why is it so bad for her to have the chicken pox? Isn't better to get that as a kid then as an adult? Doesn't the vaccine wear off at some point anyway? Obviously I am clueless.

Thoughts

2010-03-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't been taking as many picutures as I should lately. As winter goes on and on and on I haven't found a lot of motivation to pull out my camera. Olivia had her six month pictures made Tuesday so hopefully we'll have some good shots from that. These pictures are from her 3 month shots. In case you're wondering, LeEllen made the dress she is wearing.

On a diffirent note, I want to take a minute to be thankful for how much love our family has felt over the last several months. On a daily basis, I feel the presense of God like I never have before. In so many ways, I have been encouraged to take comfort in His love. I love my family so so much, and I have the most precious friends I could ever ask for. To me, each of them is a gift from God. I hope that I can somehow repay them for standing beside me through such dark and difficult times.

I also want to mention that have been reading Crazy Love. It is realllllyyyyyy tough to read. When I first started I felt like such a huge failure, but the farther I get, the more I feel a sense of passion and purpose growing inside me. I don't know exactly what that purpose is yet, but it is certainly for something. If you're looking for a great read, I definitely recommend it.

Lots of Snow Around Here

2010-02-12T08:27:00.001-08:00

I have to confess that I've only gotten out in the snow to play two times to play this winter. That's a bit sad since we have a crazy two year old who could use some energy burning activities. The truth is that Bennett was less than impressed with sledding when we went at Greg and Linda's house. He was much more concerned with Greg driving him around in their golf cart...typical Bennett. The second time we went out was at our house. That time he pulled his wagon around awhile, but the snow part just seemed to get in his way. That day the snow was so hard on top that he was walking on top of it instead of through it. It wasn't exactly snowman building snow. I think I'm a true adult now that the first thing that comes to mind when the weather man say snow is, "I hope school isn't closed!"

TayTay's Birthday!

2010-02-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

Bennett had a great time at Taylor's 4th birthday party a few weeks ago. The kids decorated their own little pizzas to eat for lunch, and they all had their own little aprons. Even though Bennett isn't really old enough to hang with the big kids yet, he loves him some birthday cake and present opening!

A Trip to the Farm

2010-02-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our recent visit to see grandmother. We got to see lots of family. It was a great trip, but next time we need to stay a few more days.

My Angel Baby

2010-01-27T11:18:00.001-08:00

Since the day she was born, the thought that comes into my head when I look at my baby girl is "she is such an angel." So, that's why I started calling her angel baby from the beginning. I am just so in love with her precious smile and sweet laugh. I love her fuzzy hair and the fact that her ears stick out just a little bit like my papa's did. I love how she is as straight as an arrow when you stand her up, and I love that her eyes are always open wide. She is a joyful baby. She is a sweet gift from our loving God who always knows what we need before we do. Thank you, Miss Livylou, for being you.

Houston

2010-01-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

So, last night I was talking on the phone, and Houston had just gone upstairs with both Olivia and Bennett to put Bennett in the bathtub. When I got upstairs about 20 minutes later, the first thing I noticed was that Olivia wasn't buckled into her swing. She is such a wiggle worm that she will absolutely wiggle herself out if she isn't buckled. Anyway, I asked my sweet husband why he didn't buckle her in and he said, "I mean I had them both by myself for like 20 minutes. I did the best I could!" I'm sure my face must have given me away, but what went through my mind was, "SEE! It's not that easy! I'm not making it up!" He really is a great daddy or I couldn't tell on him like this. Love you honey.

New Pictures and Bennettisms

2010-01-04T10:08:00.001-08:00

Well, the older Bennett gets the funnier he is. Over the last few months I am constantly wishing I had a film crew around to catch all the crazy/ridiculous/funny things he does and says. For example, yesterday after church we stopped at the Taco Bell drive thru, and before we could even get to the ordering station Bennett yelled out from the back seat "I WANT A LARGE CHICKEN WITH NO MATOES!" Houston and I just looked at each other and lost it. Another one of my favorite moments went something like this:

B: Hey mama! Guess what?

Me: What Bennett?

B: Um, I think maybe we should uh... watch Mickey Mouse.

Me: Not right now. You've already watched a show today.

B: Umm... how bout Handy Manny?

Me: Mommy said no

B: Umm... how bout Thomas?

Me: What did mommy say?

B: YES!

I'm including pictures of Bennett waiting on the steps to go open his toys Christmas morning, some pics of Christmas eve with our families, and pictures taken on New Years Eve that display Bennett's new hair cut.

It's a New Year

2010-01-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

Several months have gone by since my last post. Loosing Misty has made it really hard to want to write about anything. Needless to say, we've had an extremely bitter-sweet holiday. We feel very thankful for the addition of Miss Oliva and, of course, Bennett is a joy, but it's still a stretch to say we enjoyed much of anything in the last few months. With that said, I am going to try to continue to post pictures and such for my few loyal readers and for the benefit of my kids later on since I do a pretty terrible job of writing in their baby books. Thank you to anyone reading this who has been there for us these last few months. I realize now how wonderful our friends truly are.

Halloween at Our New House

2009-11-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

This year Halloween was special because our neighborhood goes all out! Every year they have a cute little parade down a few of the streets and they serve hot dogs and such at the club house. We didn't do the dinner part this year, but we had lots of fun roaming around the neighborhood. It really reminded me of when I was a kid because no one was really driving. The kids just go from house to house on foot. It was definitely chaotic but really cute. Bennett kept falling down because he was running so fast. He would fall, drop all his candy and say "I sorry. I so sorry." Mom, Misty, Jeremy, Ella, Miles, and Griffin were there to add to the fun. We also had Ava and Ashley there for dinner. Strangely, I think their favorite think about the night was answering the door and giving candy out. We let them handle that job for a long time and they just loved it! The adults were glued to the UT/ Alabama game.

Pumkpin Patch, Trunk or Treat, Aria and Selah's birthdays!

2009-10-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks we have done several fall and Halloween activities. Selah turned two just a few weeks after Bennett and Aria turned three. At both parties the kids dressed in their Halloween costumes. I love this because it gives them a few more chances to show of their Halloween cuteness. Bennett is a puppy this year. We are borrowing the costume from Miles who was a puppy two years ago. I'm guessing Griffin might be the next in line to wear it.

A few weeks ago our life group went to Gentry's farm to play, check out the animals, and take a hay ride. Bennett loved looking at all the baby cows on the hay ride. I was a perfect day, but the farm was extremely crowded.

This past Sunday we had Trunk or Treat at church. It was lots of fun and complete madness! At first B had no idea what was going on, but after we got a few pieces of candy it came together and he was in heaven! He kept saying "there's more! there's more!" He had two mini cupcakes, two cookies, and a sucker, but he still fell asleep as soon as we got home. Mom was the designated baby holder. She kept Olivia bundled up and warm all night.

Houston's Birthday!

2009-10-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

This is a crazy time of year for birthdays! We have been to tons of birthday parties recently, and I just love it! I am such a sucker for kids and birthday parties, even the especially loud parties. Anyway, Houston had his 28th birthday on October 12th. We didn't have a party, but we did make chocolate chip pancakes for dinner that night, which rival cake in my book. Bennett made his daddy a card, and we had a cozy family evening. Houston and I also went out for a nice dinner the next night. It is such a treat to go out alone every now and then!

Check out my adorable babies!

Ava's Turns Three!

2009-10-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Ava celebrated her birthday a few weeks early this year since baby sister Nora was expected so close to her actual birthday. The party was at Pump It Up and the kiddos loved it of course! Truthfully, I think the dads liked it almost as much as the little ones. I wish I had gotten a few pictures of Houston with the giant boxing gloves on. Happy Birthday sweet Ava!

Bennett Turns 2!!!!!!

2009-10-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to post pictures from Bennett's birthday party for ages! I am so proud of our little man! He is just the funniest, sweetest, most adoreable little boy in the whole world! I've been looking forward to this birthday for awhile because I felt like this year he might get excited about his party. We started talking about a Thomas cake and how old he was going to be back in July. He has been a huge fan of Thomas the Tank Engine since his cousins Austin and Garner gave him their trains and train table when we moved. There are many day that the first sound I hear in the morning is Bennett's little feet and "I wanna watch phomas mommy!" I love it! So it had to be a Thomas party. Thanks to everyone who was able to be there on this special day. We love you Bennett!

It's party time in Kingston Springs

2009-09-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

So, even though Baby Girl wasn't quite 2 weeks old, we took a trip out to Kingston Springs to celebrate Noah, Micah, Jenny, and uncle Randy's birthdays. It was a beautiful, and slightly hot Sunday afternoon. The kids had a really great time eating cake and playing outside. The boys had a watermelon eating contest that was hilarious! A few minutes into the contest Celeste realized her boys didn't have a clean shirt to go home in, so they had to have a time-out to take off their shirts. They all loved it! Bennett didn't actually realize it was a race, but he ate almost as quickly anyways. After all the watermelon juice, the little ones were thoroughly hosed down in the backyard. Ansley was hilarious in the water. Her diaper was so soggy it settled around her knees! Bennett was asleep before we even hit the interstate :)

Note: Nana did not participate in our crazy face picture.

Sweet Baby Olivia is Here!

2009-08-27T14:39:00.001-07:00

So, I have been totally neglecting the blog since last Wednesday when Olivia made her grand entrance into the world. The main reason for this is not having two hands most of the time when I sit down at the computer. My time on the internet mostly involves what I can manage while holding Olivia in one arm.

Last Tuesday I had my 39 week checkup and was dilated to 3cm. That night I was pretty miserable because contractions kept me from falling asleep most of the night. The next morning I went to see Dr. Staggs again. I'm not exactly patient in the last few weeks of pregnancy and I was just sure I must be in labor. Dr. Staggs made my day when he told me he thought it was time and that I could go on to the hospital if I was ready...which I absolutely was. At Baptist I was having contractions at 6-7 minutes apart, but the weren't really helping me make much progress so I had my water broken and some medicine to get the serious contractions coming. We got the the hospital around 11am. About 5:30 I was still only dilated to 6cm, but when the nurse checked again at 6:15 I was at 9cm. At 6:30 she came in to tell me she was leaving, but wanted to check me one more time. By then Olivia was ready and it was time to push so she was pretty much forced to stick it out with me. She was born just 15 minutes later. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 21 inches long. The first thing that came into my head when I saw her was how much she looked like Bennett, but she really is changing so much every day. Now she just looks like her sweet little self. I feel so blessed to have such a little angel to hold all day long!

Baby Update

2009-08-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

I was at the doctor this morning for my 38 week checkup. Everything is going well. Olivia's heartbeat was good along with my blood pressure and sugar level. If she doesn't decide to come on her own, I'll be induced on the 21st. I'm so excited to know that it's only 10 more days until I get to hold my sweet baby girl! Please keep us in your prayers! Here's a video of Bennett singing. First he does "Jesus Loves Me," then the "ABCs," and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Getting Ready for Olivia

2009-07-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

So, this week I went to the doctor for my 36 week checkup. Tomorrow is August which means just a few short weeks until we are mommy and daddy to two precious babies! At my appointment I found out I am dilated to 1cm and about 50% efaced. I am also anemic. I would have been surprised if I hadn't realized a few days before that the vitamins I was taking don't have iron. I have been taking two of Bennett's kid vitamins for the past few months because it was easier for me to remember. Anyway, I should have known better or at least looked at the back of the bottle! Dr. Staggs said that it really isn't a very big deal. I go back again on Tuesdays every week until she decides to come. Here are some pictures of Bennett with his tool belt on helping daddy in baby sister's room.

Baby Shower for Ashley

2009-07-27T13:52:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I drove to Katie's house in Mt. Juliet for a shower for Ashley and baby Nora. Ashley is due about 9 weeks after me, so our baby girls are clearly destined to be best friends! I love baby showers, and had so much fun celebrating with so many of my favorite people! Baby Nora got some great stuff! We also had Gigi's cupcakes and some other wonderful food. I'm so glad Erin was able to come to be there! I was only sad that I didn't take more pictures, and we didn't get to go to Noshville for breakfast like we usually do when she is in town.

Playing at the Bicentennial Mall

2009-07-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Just this morning Bennett and I went to the play in the fountains at the Bicentennial Mall with Ashley and Ava. When we first got there we saw 5 or 6 fire truck surrounding the fountain. They were cleaning and told us that everything was closed, so we walked down to a grassy area and had lunch. By the time we finished eating the firetrucks were gone and it was time to play! Bennett LOVED it! He thought it was great to stick his face right over the hole where the water would come out. Then he would run to me and say "it cold!" Ava didn't love that the jets splashed her, but she and B both thought it was great to play in the drains. Strangely, I think the drain area was where all the kids wanted to play. I got some cute pictures of the madness.

Various Summer Pictures

2009-07-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

After my last post I did get some pictures of my big boy swimming, sliding and jumping off the diving board. I also go some great pictures this last weekend at Scarlett's first birthday party. Sloan and Ginny's back yard is perfect for a party because they have some amazing maple trees. I wish we could transplant them into our back yard. I'm having a little bit of tree envy. Houston planted a tulip poplar in our back yard. It's pretty big for a new tree, but it won't be much of a shade tree for awhile yet(check out the picture above). Speaking of our back yard, I'm also posting some pictures around the outside of the house mainly for a few of you who haven't been able to see it yet. Happy Tuesday!

At the Pool and Pregnancy Update

2009-07-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

This summer our family has spent a lot of time at the pool. Bennett and I usually go a few times during the week and then all three of us will go again when the weekend rolls around. At the start of the summer I really didn't know what to expect from Bennett. He is generally fearless and tough when he gets hurt, but he is also especially accident prone lately. Most days when I pick him up at preschool or Sunday school he has a new booboo. Even at home he is always barrelling through the house pushing his mower or looking for his trains. I was a little bit worried that he wouldn't understand his limitations in the water. A friend and fellow mommy from church, Marie, has experience teaching little ones how to swim. She has been a great help showing Bennett (and me) what to do to help him get around in the water. Houston has really helped him learn how to put his new skill (kicking and blowing bubbles) to use. In the last few weeks Bennett has learned to get around the pool all by himself in a swim vest. He even swims through the deep end and jumps off the diving board! I don't have any picture of him in the swim vest yet, but I do have some cute ones of the kids doing their swim lessons.

A quick update on the pregnancy: I am 32 weeks tomorrow, and very excited for our baby girl to get here at the end of August! So far everything has gone very well. Houston and I decided this week that her name will be Olivia Kate. I have had a hard time choosing a middle name, but we are both very happy with our final decision. Bennett walks around taking about baby sister, but I'm don't think he has any idea what he's talking about. I will try to get a few pictures of my pregnant self to post next time.

Happy 30th Birthday Misty!

2009-06-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is a big birthday year for Misty so I wanted to include some pictures of our little celebration last Saturday night. We had a great time celebrating with just the girls in the family. Beth brought a cake with an old picture of Misty on it. It was a little blurry but so funny! We really didn't do much that night besides sit around talking and eating, but we had a great time being together. Love you guys!

Mom's 50th Birthday!

2009-06-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

I hope it's not wrong of me to discuss mom's age on the blog. Normally I wouldn't do it, but this is a very special year! I am so lucky to have an amazing mom who is also the best person I know. Her birthday was over a month ago, but since we have been staying with the Ezells I have been very behind on my blogging. The pictures I'm including are from her birthday get-together. We went to Neros for dinner and some really yummy strawberry cake from the Puffy Muffin. I love you mom!

Warning: I am seriously pale!

New Pictures

2009-05-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Natalie and Shane Ivey tooks some family pictures of us over at Stan and LeEllen's house. I think they turned out so well! I really love having so great pictures of Bennett at this age! He is seriously the funniest and sweetest little boy right now.

TMI

2009-05-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

I am the worst blogger lately. During the last few weeks we sold our house, moved out in 2 weeks, bought a house and are hoping to be moved in by June 1st. For now, we are staying with Stan and LeEllen while I try to finish my finals. I am 24 weeks pregnant this week. I went in for a checkup today and everything looks good. I heard the baby's heartbeat which always makes me smile. I was super excited to have LOST weight since my last appointment...4 pounds thank you very much. I was a bit sad after my last visit because I had already gained 16 pounds. This week my total weight gain so far is 12 pounds. This is good because I gained tons the last few months with Bennett. I gained about 40 pounds with him and have been trying to keep that number down a little bit this time so I don't have to work so hard later on. Anyway, I doubt anyone needed this much info about my weight, but it certainly made my day!

Bennett at School

2009-04-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I decided to take some pictures of Bennett at school with his friends. These pictures were taken just after they had woken up from their naps. Unfortunately, kids at this age aren't very cooperative with picture taking. He loves going to school most days. His teachers are very sweet and his little friends are adorable. He will probably be moving to a older class before the summer session starts so I wanted to have a few memories of these precious days. He will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer so I have some time to relax and get things ready for his new baby sister! We found out last week that we are having a baby girl! We are both so happy! B loves to say "sister" even though he really has no clue what it means. I am so amazed at how God continues to take care of us. There are times when I don't always understand his plan, but I am constantly amazed by his love.

Bennett and Sophia

2009-04-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

This post should have been done weeks ago. We went to Randy and Linda's house when Jenny and the kids came in town for spring break. We got to see lots of other family members that night, too including Nana, Mom, John, the Black family, aunt Peg and a few others. It was one of the first warmish days we had this spring so the kids enjoyed playing outside most of the evening. I wish I had taken more pictures but really only got B and Sophia. They both have tons of personality and are so close to the same age that they gravitate toward each other a little bit. I didn't get a lot of great smiles in the pictures, but I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time.

New Bathroom and Bubbles

2009-03-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that we were redoing our bathroom so I thought I would post a few pictures of what it looks like now. You have to picture the mirror hanging above the vanity and a little bit of decor that I have not gotten to yet. Apparently I'm not good at taking these types of pictures but hopefully you can get the idea.

The video speaks for itself. Bubbles are a new phenomenon to Bennett.

Lately

2009-03-04T16:37:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's taken me so long to do a new post! We've actually been staying at Stan and LeEllen's house for a couple of weeks while Stan and Houston remodeled our bathroom. The most exciting part about the last few weeks is that we no longer have a pink bathtub! I have seriously looked forward to this day since we moved in. Other than that, things have been pretty uneventful the last month.

B did get his first real haircut. We went to Snip It in Cool Springs which is a place that just does kid's hair. He was fine when we walked in the door, but as soon as they called him back a little boy started screaming. Of course B lost it, too. In the end, he let the nice lady cut his hair, but he cried through the whole thing. It took her maybe 5 minutes from start to finish! She must have a lot of screamers. He looks very cute and grownup with his new haircut.

I'm including some pictures from the last several weeks including a picture of Stan and LeEllen before the Lipscomb Gala. Since we were staying at their house I pretty much forced them to let me make their picture since they looked so nice. There are also a few of Bennett in his Sunday school class.

January

2009-02-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

January has been an exciting month so far for our family. First, Bennett started school 4 days a week, then I started nursing school 4 days a week. We have been pretty busy adjusting to our new schedule. I try to be out the door by 7:15 to take Bennett to school and be at Belmont on time. If you know me very well, you know that I have a lot of difficulty being anywhere on time. Nursing was probably the worst profession to choose for a person who is frequently late. It just isn't done. In fact, they strongly encourage everyone to be in class 5 minutes early. I've only been late 1 time so far this semester because I ran into 3 wrecks! How does that even happen? So, I'm thinking positive and using this as the perfect opportunity to correct one of my more annoying character flaws. Houston will certainly be happy if I become an "on time" person.

So anyway, B is the oldest in his class at church and school now. This is humorous to me because he is already so big. He dwarfs many of the kids his own age. Sadly, we had our first bully moment Thursday when his teacher had to tell me that he bit one of his friends at school. I am so sad about it! His teacher was very sweet and said she was totally surprised because he isn't aggressive. So, pray for my parenting skill which are apparently about to be majorly challenges.

On Friday we had fun playing with Garrett, Ava, Ashley, and Katie at Pump It Up only to wake up from our nap that afternoon with an obvious case of pink eye! I guess that's what preschool will do for you. Sorry to all the poor kids at Pump It Up we exposed! So, we have been hermits all weekend trying to keep B away from the rest of the world and hoping we don't get it, too. To cheer him up we bought him a beta fish on Friday. He calls it doggie. I guess he thinks all animals are doggies. Speaking of vocabulary, he can say lots of fun stuff now including mommy, dada, doggie, poopy, baby, cheese, cracker, uh-oh, bye bye, hi, thank you, please, ball, car, truck(sometimes), banana (nana), and pop (what he calls Stan). He can also point to his hair, belly, eyes, ears, and nose. He learned the body parts from LeEllen and mom. I can't take credit.

Yesterday mom stopped by on her way back from Nana's house to bring by some of her wonderful home made chocolate pie and a Valentine's day gift for Bennett. Most of these pictures are of B opening his gift. He got the cutest monkey hat ever! He also got a mini basketball goal (that has entertained him all afternoon), some books, and candy. Thank you Nana!

Bennettisms

2008-12-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

There a few things that Bennett lovers should know about how absolutely adorable he is. First, he has a fascination with hats. So far he has loved Houston's baseball caps, a football helmet, a santa hat, his home depot hard hat, and basically anything else he can put on his head...including my headbands...sorry Houston. You might also like to know that B would be adorable with glasses. He looks a little bit like the little boy in Jerry McGuire don't you think? Lastly, Bennett had his first experience with Mexican restaurant cheese dip today. He is already a big fan!

Christmas at the Zoo

2008-12-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

This post is out of order because it actually happened before any of the other Christmas parties, but it was so cool that I had to include it. Houston's big family Christmas, or "Big Ezell" Christmas as we like to call it, was at the Nashville Zoo this year. It was great idea! Before the party started the kids were invited to go into the elephant and giraffe barn. They are such amazing animals! It was a really fun experience for the kids and adults. The giraffe closest to us was a male and VERY friendly. He especially loved Isaac, as you can see in the picture of the little boy with the nervous look on his face! He would just lower his head over his stall right down to us! It was almost like he was looking us in the eye. Bennett has a CD we listen to in the car called "Giraffes Can't Dance." The story is about a giraffe named Gerald so I'm affectionately calling the giraffe in the pictures Gerald, too. So, after visiting the animals we started the Christmas party. Grandaddy and Linda did the planning, and it turned out to be a great party! Houston won a huge stuffed Cheetah as a door prize! Lots of people dressed up in Safari clothes. There was face painting, masks for the kids, and animals with their handlers for us to meet and pet. Not your typicial Christmas party, but I really hope we get to do it again next year!

Christmas in Bells

2008-12-28T17:22:00.001-08:00

The last stop on our Christmas tour was visiting grandmother in Bells. I was really excited about this visit because I hadn't seen some of my family in awhile. A highlight of visiting grandmother is the delicious food. We were not disappointed. The food and company were great! Bennett was the youngest one there and loved being the center of attention. He is becoming quite the entertainer and loves showing off.

Christmas at Home

2008-12-28T17:13:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning was pretty special for us, but probably not that exciting for anyone else. We set out B's presents from Santa the night before. I didn't know if he would notice them or not, but he most certainly did! He sat right down on the his new riding toy and then ripped into his dump truck. He was climbing all over his new chair that mom got him. He is such a precious little boy. Just watching his happy face was the best present I could ask for. Houston wanted new clothes so I gave him some shirts for work. He gave me lots of stuff including shirts, headphones, a bracelet and earrings. We were all very happy.

Christmas in Oak Hill

2008-12-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

I only got one picture of the Burton/Ezell party at Ryan and Melissa's house, but it's cute enough to stand alone. We actually got all the cousins sitting down AND looking at the camera! At this particular party B got someone's drink and spilled it all over himself. He was soaked!

Christmas in Kingston Springs

2008-12-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

So, Christmas Eve night we went to Uncle Randy and Aunt Linda's house. I was especially excited this year because Nana was able to be there with us! It is always amazing to me how many presents we can get in one room at their house! As usual, there was tons of good stuff. Bennett got a tricycle from mom that I am very excited about! She gave Houston a Wii which has definitely changed things around our house. I think Houston is actually playing Madden football right now in the living room. Micah got an entire Alabama football uniform. It didn't take long for Tuscaloosa to warp the Dixon brains! Anyway, B liked wearing the helmet around even though it was really big for his head. I pray that he never becomes an Alabama fan himself because it would probably give Houston a heart attack. We had a fun night and are so thankful to have such a wonderful family.

Last Day at Mother's Day Out

2008-12-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

It was only a few months ago that B started Mother's day out, but since I decided to go back to school I had to find an actual preschool. At Crieve Hall he can only go 2 days a week, and we needed 4 days. Anyway, Monday was his last day. I was pretty sad. His teachers there were wonderful. I will miss them a lot. Fortunately, I'm also really happy with the new school. I think B will love being with other kids 4 days a week. Here are some pics from that day. I hate that I didn't take any of his class, but I think his teacher is going to send me some.

Goodbye Old Faithful

2008-12-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

This week we said goodbye to the Honda (sigh). Houston put it on Craigslist and it was sold a few days later. It was a bittersweet moment for me. That car has had a pretty impressive run. It has been with me 4 1/2 years longer than my husband after all....haha. On the other hand, it's nice to have a change. It was really Houston's car now and I know he is ready for something bigger. He should be getting a new one sometime this week.

Blue Pajamas

2008-12-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

I have been a terrible blogger the last few weeks. I forgot to even take any pictures on Thanksgiving. Don't hate me. It's been a busy few weeks. I've been getting everything set to go back to school in January. I'm doing nursing school at Belmont. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile, but I've had a really tough time finding a good school for B. Thankfully Tara helped me find a school that I really like in Green Hills. It's convenient to Belmont and I actually know Bennett's teacher from my Lipscomb days. Houston has also decided to change jobs this week. His company was bought by a bigger agency so he felt that this was the right time to make a change. We're really happy about his new job, but it's been a bit stressful, especially for Houston. So anyway, I took these pictures last night. B was hoarding his graham crackers. He had 3 in his mouth and a few in each hand. He kept making funny faces like he was thinking "don't even think about trying to get one of these away from me." I love how much his personality is coming out! If you ask him to get his shoes he can go get them out of the basket and bring them to you. Then he'll back up into your lap and lift up his foot. He has also learned to stuff his clean diapers into the diaper champ. It's a little bit annoying to keep picking up the diapers, but I love that he's made the connection. My last bit of news is that B is getting 2 more teeth. He already had his front 8 and now he's getting two more on the top. What do you call these two teeth? They're the ones past the pointer teeth. Someone fill me in. Enough rambling....

Leaves Are Falling

2008-11-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

These are just a few pictures we took of B recently. He's changing quickly so I try to get my camera out on a regular basis. I love that he was smiling so big for us, but I somehow missed the big buggie in his nose. Oh well. The holidays are right around the corner so I should have some more interesting pictures to post soon.

B Goes to Disney

2008-11-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

We have been pretty busy these last few weeks so I haven't posted as much as I usually do. This past week we headed to Disney World with the Ezell family. We have been looking forward to this trip for almost a year, and we had so much fun! I couldn't believe how crowded it was in November! The weather was almost perfect although it was a little chilly for swimming and water rides. Bennett did really well. He wasn't scared of the characters and he never cried on a ride, even when it was really dark. He did get a bit grumpy since he wasn't getting as much sleep as he does at home. Our one terrible moment was on the plane ride home. He only had a 45 minute nap that day so he was really tired. Overall, we had tons of fun and made lots of memories.

Guess Who Loves the Bath?

2008-10-24T22:06:00.001-07:00

BENNETT DOES!!!! Here are some recent funny pictures. They pretty much speak for themselves.

Ava Turns 2!

2008-10-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a big day! Ava had her 2nd birthday bash. Ashley did a great job with the party planning. The kids loved the bouncy house, the food was yummy, and the company was great. Bennett is such a busy bee these days. We were both totally exhausted after an afternoon of good food and fun. Even after eating an entire cupcake, he was still asleep less than 5 minutes after we left. Also, he had his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I really didn't plan for this to happen, but I guess it's good to know that he isn't allergic.