Life In A Southern Town

Look Mommy, I got dressed all by myself!

2010-08-12T08:16:00.001-07:00

Dave Ramsey & Jon Would Be Proud

2010-04-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

So I was talking to my financial planner today, Jon, and after we discussed the important business at hand he told me I need to update my blog! I figure since we are trusting him with our financial future, I better do whatever he says - even with regard to my blog!
Since I am on the subject of finances, I might as well camp here a moment. First, I will give a shout out to my forward thinking husband who began planning for his retirement the day he graduated from college. Conversely, I used the 401k I accumulated during my tenure with the United States Senate to buy a nice red Mustang. After all, isn't that what every single girl needs? Unfortunately, for women good financial planning usually involves getting married. That is a very dated and flawed perspective, but many women still plan for their financial future that way. The good part of my Mustang story is, (besides the fact that the car was awesome) the year that I cashed out my 401k I didn't work therefore I didn't pay the penalties on the early withdrawal. Then, I sold that Mustang before I moved to Hawaii for grad school and I used the money I made on the convertible to fund grad school (and by 'fund grad school' I mean pay for an apartment in Waikiki) which was a long term investment in my future. So see, cashing in my 401k wasn't THAT bad of an idea. Right?
Turning to my serious tone, it is astounding the amount of people today who fall into my camp versus Jason's camp. My camp being those who never consider long-term financial planning. Of course once Jason and I got married he got me on board with a reasonable savings and retirement plan and I am hooked! We are firm believers in the basic philosophy of financial guru Dave Ramsey. We do not use credit cards, we pay in cash. The average American has $8,000 in credit card debt. We have zero. We have no debt other than our monthly mortgage (which does not leave us house poor like so many of our friends who are endeavoring to keep up with the Joneses' - who are the Joneses anyway?) And we have enough savings built up to stave off several months worth of disaster, should disaster arise. Plus, we have college savings accounts building for all four of our children. Believe me, those months I really want a mani/pedi instead of contributing $$$ to my 1 year old daughter's college fund do hurt sometimes, but I know this small sacrifice now will pay untold dividends down the road. And truth be told, if I want a pedicure I can get one. It's all a matter of prioritizing resources and sometimes a day at the salon gets priority! Jason and I make serious sacrifices in order to provide a sound financial future for our family. We conserve, cut corners, & clip coupons. We don't take our kids to Disney World on borrowed money and we don't spend February's paycheck to give our children an outlandish Christmas. To quote our buddy Dave Ramsey, we live like no one else, so later we can live like no one else.
The Bible teaches that we are not to live in debt. Therefore, I believe if God lays out a plan for us then he will provide a way financially and otherwise. Case in point, when I felt God leading me to move to Honolulu to attend graduate school at the University of Hawaii. All of my circumstances were indicating this was His plan, however, the money to pay for it all was not available. I was seeking His vision and clarity with all of my heart. It was June of 2000 and I had been accepted to start UH in August, but with no scholarship. It was time to sell my car (yes, the Mustang) and move out of my duplex in Montgomery and pack my belongings and move to Honolulu. But, the money was still not there. I called an amazing prayer warrior friend and told her it was time to get on our faces before our omnipotent God. I went to her house and for two hours we talked, prayed, and read scripture crying out to God to move in this situation.
I left her house, drove home, and when I got home I went straight to the computer to check my emails. I still get teary eyed thinking of opening up the email from the Chairman of the History Department at the University of Hawaii and reading the words, "Ronda, we have reconsidered your request for scholarship and I am pleased to inform you that you have received a full scholarship to the University of Hawaii". I literally tripped over my own feet running to the phone to call my friend and share the miracle!
If God reveals His plan to us, he will also reveal His provision.
Jason and I are far from the Rockefellars, but we live in the black and that makes us rich. Dave Ramsey says that regardless of how much money you bring in, if you are able to live in the black and contribute to savings each month then you are building wealth. I guess the opposite of building wealth would be getting poor so I feel good about what we are doing.
I will end with the quote from my financial planner's voicemail, Jon ends his message with the line, "and please, take the time to plan for tomorrow".
Yes, let's all do that!

Surprise!

2010-03-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

When I was little, one of my favorite things in the wide world was getting a Surprise Plate for a snack or lunch. Mother would hype it up and I'd get all excited to see what surprises were on my plate. Somehow eating an odd combination of foods made perfect sense and it managed to get me to eat things I might not otherwise enjoy. The staples on our plates were always marshmallows and olives. Guess we always had both of those on hand! Beyond that it could be anything edible!
Eli and MJ have been a little run down today so I decided we needed a Surprise Plate as a pick me up! Too bad I didn't have any olives.

Guess who gets anything she wants from her Daddy?

2010-03-22T07:39:00.001-07:00

A Rose By Any Other Name

2010-03-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl growing up in Montgomery we had the most amazing rose bushes in our yard along the front of our house. Of course we had azaleas too, we were in the South after all. But I was just mesmerized at the size of our rose bushes - much taller than I was - and the perfect, beautiful blooms they displayed were stunning. It seemed that half the year we had enormous red roses in our yard. I was an adult before I learned that what I always thought were roses were actually Camellias.
The Camellia is the state flower of Alabama and you can see them blooming all over the state during the winter. The first state flower was the goldenrod, but that got put aside in 1959 for the lovely Camellia. Although the Camellia is our state flower, it is actually an Asian import and probably arrived in Alabama via some European settlers. Thank you European exploration!
The Camellia and Hydrangea are my two favorite flowers. I can just sit and stare at their beautiful blooms. In fact, my wedding cake was covered with Hydrangeas, which has a great bloom in August, the month I got married. Of course when I married a man with a degree in horticulture, I immediately began to lobby for a yard full of Camellias and Hydrangeas! Fortunately for my husband, we purchased a home that already had both in the yard! Jason did transplant both of our Camellias and our Hydrangea to more suitable spots for their cultivation. In our backyard, nicely viewable from our porch area we have a lovely dark pink Camellia. Today is a warm sunny day so Josey and I went out and took some pictures of it. We have a light pink Camellia on the side of our house, but it isn't faring too well. Perhaps it needs additional cultivation. (that is an inside joke between my husband and me, please excuse the indulgence).
An aside: I have a cousin named Camille. I always thought she was named after the flower, but she was also born around the time Hurricane Camille slammed into the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana Gulf Coast killing 143. Either way, I think the name Camille is as beautiful as the Camellia flower.
For nostalgia's sake, I loaded the babies up in the car today and drove to my old house...the one with all the Camellia 'rose bushes' in the yard. Sadly, there wasn't one in sight. Perhaps they bloomed already, or perhaps they've been replaced by some lesser bush. Whatever was there appeared to have the big green leaf of a Camellia, who knows.
Okay, I believe I have exhausted my discussion of the Camellia. I'll conclude with some pictures.

This is the Camellia bush in our backyard:
The color has begun to fade, but you can still see how beautiful the bloom is:
Jason & me cutting our wedding cake in 2004 - it was covered with flowers, mostly hydrangeas:

Behold, The Power of Television!

2010-03-02T06:16:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday TO ME!

2010-02-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

The tradition in our family is to have birthday cake for breakfast when someone is celebrating a birthday. Here are the pics of Eli & Margaret Jane enjoying my birthday cupcakes:
Jason has been out of town for the past five days for a work project in Georgia. I am not used to him being away like this and I am not a fan! Fortunately, he is not very far away so Monday night he came home to have dinner with us for my birthday! He got here around 6PM, I didn't realize how much I was really missing him until I saw him. He walked through the door with birthday cupcakes, a beautiful card, and a fun new cd for me! The kids hugged and kissed on him and we enjoyed a nice dinner. He had to leave out early the next morning and I'm hoping he'll get home tonight.

Nature vs. Nurture

2010-02-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

Since having children I have often contemplated the role of nature vs. nurture in the child-rearing process. There are numerous behaviors that have manifested themselves in my children that I have certainly never taught them, then there are many that I want to believe I have instilled.
For example, when I had my first baby I was intent to train him to be a good sleeper. My doctor, as well as the books by all of the 'experts', assured me that I could indeed train my child to sleep. Sure enough, when Eli was 5 weeks old he slept through the night for the first time and not long after that it became the routine. It was not easy, it did not 'just happen' but my consistent efforts worked and I was elated. However, to a person, when I told people what an easy baby I had they told me "JUST WAIT, your next one will be crazy, wild, impossible...nobody has two good babies". This was discouraging news because I had gotten quite used to my happy, healthy, good-sleeping baby. When I expressed my concern to my pediatrician he assured me that if I did all the same things with baby number two that I did with baby number one I would have another good sleeper. When Eli was 6 months old I got pregnant with baby number two. (Yes, that news led to a temporary meltdown but that is for another posting). My beautiful daughter Margaret Jane was born just after Eli had turned one year old. We brought our little princess home from the hospital and after 3 weeks she slept through the night for the first time. I felt a sense of confidence (and relief) unparalleled in my adult life. My little princess began sleeping through the night on a regular basis at about 5-6 weeks old. Nurture came through in flying colors and to date I have proved all of the critics wrong. You can, indeed, have two good babies. I have two sweet, smart babies that both sleep through the night - don't hate me.
Now that my babies are 2.5 and 1.5 I am exploring the nature vs. nurture concept all anew. On the one hand, Eli turned into a terrible two as if some mystical force gripped him around May 2008. Whining, temper tantrums, complete stubbornness. I had not taught my son to fall out on the floor, kick his legs, and demand his way. (or had I?) And I certainly did not teach him to yank every toy from the hands of his baby sister or knock her to the ground if he perceived she was getting more than him. Nature had taken over and it was ugly.
Earlier today, as I was exasperated after a long, tiring day of chasing around a one and two year old my daughter fell down and bumped her head and began to wail. Without missing a beat my son ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her, kissed her on the cheek and said, "it's okay baby, I'm sorry you are hurt".
Nature or Nurture?
Or how about this one: Eli just yanked a toy away from his baby sister and shoved her to the ground. Jason looked at him and asked with a half sarcastic tone, "Now, Eli, what would Jesus do?" Eli looked at his daddy and said, "Jesus would paddle my butt".
Let's call that nurture.

Christmas

2009-12-16T17:56:00.001-08:00

Most of my friends have abandoned their blogs and are spending their time on Facebook or just emailing. I really enjoy my blog and actually write a lot, then never post what I write. My goal for 2010 is to write more and goof off less! I realized today that it has been a month since I have posted on my blog. Far too long to go between postings. Our family is thoroughly enjoying the Christmas season so I decided to post a sampling of our pictures from this December. With the exception of a gift or two, I usually have all of my Christmas shopping complete by Thanksgiving. So, starting December 1 our family can relax and enjoy the fun of the holiday season. Stress, busyness, 'stuff' is not what Jesus Christ came to this earth to give us. He came that we should have life and have it more abundantly. More abundant life is what I am striving for. Not there yet, not even close. But, I can say that I geniunely enjoy Christmas and refuse to allow myself to fall prey to the hectic pace some allow during this season.

I took Eli and MJ to Southern Homes and Gardens and attempted a few pics, what was I thinking?

This is our typical night, hanging out enjoying each other
Is this the most beautiful girl you've ever seen or what? And yes, she is always that happy!

Josey love is the best kind of love there is:
sometimes the 'perfect' picture just doesn't happen!
My best baby:
MJ enjoying the Christmas tree:

I Really Do Feed My Babies

2009-11-14T18:02:00.001-08:00

Fall Then & Now

2009-10-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

We took the family to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday and as I was looking at the pictures I was thinking about how similar some of them are the shots we took last year. So, of course I had to go back and compare. I guess I am going to have to create an album with photos that are similar just taken year after year. I'll do a bigger post on the Pumpkin Patch later, but for now here are some then and nows.

Sweet Weekend Pics

2009-10-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Eli's favorite new thing is to act like a monster - pretty sure he got this from watching Scooby Doo:

Night Night Kiss:Margaret Jane LOVES to play with Josey:
Josey is the sweetest puppy ever:
Puppy Love:
MJ is now wearing Eli's old froggie jams - they were our favorite on him. Everytime he sees her in them he asks where his are:
Eli cheering himself on during potty training:
MJ is finally able to take care of herself around Eli. Here she had snatched his biscuit off of his plate and boy was he mad. As much as he hits and shoves her a little biscuit snatching is nothing:
My sweet husband came home from work Friday night and had stopped and bought MJ these cute flannel footed pjs since she did not have any to wear and it was getting cold outside:
Saturday morning sweet Jason snuck out while we were all still asleep and brought home biscuits, a tricycle, and Elmo (the latter two totaled $1.00 at a yard sale!) It was like Christmas morning:

Do you recall Orange Beach in the Fall

2009-10-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

I may never go to the beach in the summertime again! This past weekend Jason and I took all the kids to the beach for the long weekend. We stayed with Jason's brother Jim at his condo in Orange Beach, AL on the beautiful Gulf Coast. The weather was amazing, sunny and warm with a cool breeze. The ocean and pool water was plenty warm for swimming. Ideal conditions to enjoy the beach. The kids had the best time. Hugh & Grant's favorite part was searching for sand crabs by flashlight on the beach at night. Eli enjoyed playing in the sand on the beach. Margaret Jane loved it all! She particularly enjoyed the water, both the ocean and pool. I took about 250 pictures, so I had a hard time selecting just a few for the blog. But, this should give you and idea of our wonderful time.

Grant & Margaret Jane on the slide at The Crab Trap
Hugh & Grant playing at the bay
Grant at The Crab Trap
Jason & his brother Jim
Eli with some sun under his eyes
I just love this pic of MJ, that face cracks me up
Eli playing in the sand

We could not keep MJ out of the ocean!
At Jim's condo
Eli on the balcony at Jim's

Our oldest and our youngest
Our boys

Eli cleaning up the day we had to go home

Golf Anyone?

2009-10-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

For the past few years the Robert Trent Jones Course in Prattville, AL has been the host of the Navistar LPGA Classic. Jason went last year and took Hugh & Grant and this year he wanted us all to go. (Well, what I mean by that is he wanted me to get a babysitter for the babies so I could join them!)
Thanks to a good friend of ours that works for the City of Montgomery, we got free tickets to the Sunday round along with VIP passes for the skybox located on the 18th green. We had a wonderful time, it was an overcast day but the rain that was predicted held off until literally minutes after the tournament ended. When we arrived we walked several holes and checked out the golfers, then we went to the 18th hole and sat in the skybox for a while. There we were able to enjoy a complimentary meal and sit and watch some of the golfers finish up the day. After that we headed back out to watch the leaders on a few holes then we finished the day up back on the 18th. We saw several friends and enjoyed mingling with the crowd (estimated at 11,000). Lorena Ochoa won the tournament. A native of Mexico, Ochoa also won this event last year. We followed Honolulu's own Michelle Wie for a few holes and enjoyed watching her intensity on the course. We were glad to be able to see an up and coming star in ladies golf, Alexis Thompson. Alexis is a 14 year old phenom who played the tournament as an amateur, she was very accessible and even took time to take a picture with Jason and the boys! Fan favorite and reality show star Natalie Gulbis didn't make the cut for the tourney. Too much time spent working on her star status and too little time working on her game, perhaps.
We were thrilled to hear that Prattville had their contract extended to host the Navistar for another year. We cannot wait to go back.
CORRECTION: Natalie Gulbis did in fact make the cut for the Navistar tournament. Her tee time was so early Sunday morning she was finished by the time we arrived and I made the erroneous assumption that she hadn't made the final cut.

This was our view of the 18th green from the skybox:
Looking back on the skybox area:
The tournament was filmed for the Golf Channel:
Hugh & Grant looking for golf balls:
Tournament winner Lorena Ochoa:
Honolulu, Hawaii's Michelle Wie:
Ochoa approaching the 18th green:
My guys with 14 year old golfer Alexis Thompson:

Out on the town

2009-09-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Jason and I have had two occasions recently to get dressed up and go out. In August we went to his 20th high school reunion for Hueytown High School, home of the Golden Gophers! Those pictures are the last three. We had a wonderful night meeting and catching up with his old friends. The first two pictures are from a black tie ball we went to in Montgomery. The girls with me below are college friends. One is the PR Director for the City of Montgomery and the other lives in Nashville and is a singer/songwriter.

Margaret Jane's First Birthday Party

2009-09-25T13:25:00.001-07:00

Eli waited patiently for the party to begin:
Margaret Jane's cake. A friend of a friend copied this from a picture I gave her. I was so pleased with how great it turned out! And, it was as tasty as it was beautiful.

Mother, Uncle Jim, and the birthday girl

Cousins and friends and brothers celebrating with MJ
Jason's dad, Robert and his brother Craig watching some football on the porch:
Mama Jane with Margaret Jane
The kids had a silly string fight
Eli helped MJ eat her birthday cake

I got this picture of her enlarged:
My 'grandmother', Mrs. Waldrup. She and her husband were our neighbors for 20 years while I was growing up:
Cousin Thomas stopped by to hug the birthday girl:

It's her party and she can cry if she wants to!

Princess Margaret at One Year

2009-09-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

Eli & MJ

2009-08-25T05:40:00.001-07:00

Eli was 3 weeks past his 1st birthday in this picture and Margaret Jane is about 3 weeks shy of her 1st birthday in her picture. Always interesting to compare:

My girl is growing up!

2009-08-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Margaret Jane will be one year old in a couple of weeks. For her birthday, her Mama Jane & RaRa bought her a new pink and brown car seat! Jason got her adjusted in the seat today and we cannot wait to get it in the car. MJ hasn't been the best at taking long car trips. She does good for about thirty minutes, then she often melts down. And it gets ugly. She screams relentlessly until we arrive at our desitination. The last time I went on a trip with her I swore would be the last time I go on a trip with her! But, now that she's got a new seat I am confident the next trip will be a different story. In the last picture below she was still strapped in her seat and we all walked off. She wanted OUT of the seat so she could play with her brother...and as you can see when she wants something she can make it quite clear!

A gift of the woods

2009-08-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

Jason and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary last Friday, August 14. We decided we wanted to take a getaway to commemorate this special event. Since the traditional gift for the 5th anniversary is wood, Jason took me to the woods. Well, the mountains actually but they were surrounded by beautiful wooded areas!
We went to Highlands, NC. It is a quaint little town founded in the 1880s tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is located just over the Georgia line in the southwest corner of North Carolina. The town is located at 4100 ft above sea level so the air was cool and light - a nice respite from the August heat in Montgomery. We spent our days hiking, shopping, and sightseeing and spent our evenings eating at wonderful restaurants then retiring to our back porch to enjoy a roaring fire.
The home we stayed in belongs to Jimmy & Gloria Creel, Jimmy is Jason's dad's first cousin. The Creel's were so kind and generous to allow us to enjoy their mountain retreat. The house was built in the 1920's and refurbished in the 1990's after a fire. With 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths, we had plenty of room to relax and enjoy ourselves.
The first morning we arrived Jason got up early and headed out to the back porch. I was still in bed and heard Jason BOUNDING up the stairs talking excitedly. He told me I had to come downstairs to see the bear in our yard! Sure enough there was a 500lb black bear walking by our back porch! I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures out of the window which didn't turn out too good, but enough to prove we really saw a bear! He didn't find anything to eat at our house so he went next door, stood up on his back legs and knocked down the neighbors birdfeeder and ate the contents! It was very exciting.
The evenings were so nice and cool it was a great opportunity to sleep with the windows open. The first night I laid there in the bed trying to pretend not to hear the LOUD crickets and frogs. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and said, "If they're going to do that all night we've got to close those windows!" This city girl needs quiet in order to sleep!
Some of our favorite cousins, Ray & Sonya Abner, drove up from the Atlanta area and spent a couple of days with us. It was fun to get to visit with them and we all enjoyed exploring the area together. We had lots of fun adventures I'll expound on with the picture below.
We were NOT ready to leave on Sunday. We stood in the house coming up with reasons why we should stay, but we finally dragged ourselves away and decided we must return to the mountains sometime soon!

Jason & I in front of Dry Falls, you can walk behind the falls without getting wet, thus the name.
A mountain butterfly:
Jason & Ronda:

This is the Log Cabin restaurant, located in Highlands. We had our anniversary meal here:5th anniversary picture! We've taken a picture every year at our anniversary dinner, except I JUST realized we didn't take a picture last year. I was 8.5 months pregnant with Margaret Jane and I guess I didn't think about taking my camera or I didn't want to remember how I looked!
This is the beautiful Episcopal church located on Main St., Highlands. Of course all of the major Protestant denominations are represented on Main St. And of course the Baptists have the least attractive church - that seems to happen a lot.
The Creel home:
Our cousins Ray & Sonya. This picture was taken before dinner on Saturday night, we went to Paoletti's Italian restaurant. The food was delicious, but OH the service was excellent. Love good service.
Sonya:
Jason & Ronda in front of Dry Falls:
This is the view of downtown Highlands as seen from atop Sunset Rock. Jason and I enjoyed a picnic lunch here one day:
We hiked Whiteside Mountain, a mile straight up. The hike itself was beautiful and of course the view was wonderful. We got a light rain about the time we reached the top. We had the mountain to ourselves, so Jason had to take the picture for us.

Ronda in front of Little Slipper Rock:
We hiked the mountain sitting behind this neat little house:
Our black bear walking down the driveway!
Everyone needs a fireplace on the back porch! We sat our here every night enjoying the cool weather and checking our emails!
This is the living room of the house:
Just before we started up the mountain we ate lunch at the Cupboard Cafe in Dillard, GA. I LOVE a meat & three! Country fried steak, collards, black eyed peas, fried okra, mashed potatoes, fried green tomatoes, and cornbread. YUMMMMMMM.
Ray & Sonya:
The view from behind Dry Falls:
Main Street, Highlands:

Our favorite restaurant in Montgomery is Sinclair's. It used to be a gas station. We passed this old gas station in the mountains which is now a candy/gift shop and they have the same Sinclair logo as our restaurant in Montgomery. Thought that was neat!

Margaret Jane's Favorite Snack

2009-08-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

A Southern Delicacy

2009-08-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, having four kids is wonderful, a blessing to be exact. However, there isn't much down time in our lives and certainly very little time for Jason and I to spend time together...alone. So, last night Jason and I got to enjoy a RARE night at home without any kids. We did not accomplish a thing except for cooking a delicious supper together. I had picked up a rotisserie chicken earlier in the day at Costco, so we combined that with some creamed corn, black eyed peas, and fried green tomatoes for a meal that would impress even the most discriminating of Southern tastes. Jason made the fried green tomatoes, his first time to try it. They were simply marvelous. We enjoyed our meal outside on our beautiful porch overlooking our new pergola. All just wonderful! Next time you'll have to come join us, ya hear?

Cute Cousins

2009-07-22T18:49:00.001-07:00

My dear friend Tammy, who became my cousin when I married her Cute Cousin Jason had a baby boy within about a week of when I had Eli. It was fun for us to be pregnant at the same time with our little guys and of course we have had a lot of fun watching our sons grow up together. Tammy and her family live in Kentucky so our visits are few and way too far between, but when we do see each other we make sure to take pics. I am sure I have more pictures of our two cute boys, however this is the group I could get together for now:

The boys were 2 or 3 months old here, please note they're wearing matching outfits!

The boys with Tammy's dad Tom:

Gosh, I need to bust out the calendar to figure out their ages in this pictures!
Summer they each turned one, I was very pregnant with Margaret in this picture:
Another from the summer they turned one:

March 2009 at a Montgomery Biscuits game:July 2009, they both just turned two years old! I just love Michael's curls, I'm still waiting for Eli's hair to get some body:)

Brother & Sister

2009-07-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Fools & Babies

2009-07-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

We had two traumatic events with our littlest ones this past week. Both things reminded me of the old adage that God looks out for fools and babies (and aren't we glad?!).
While we were at the lake last weekend, Jason took Margaret in the bedroom to change her diaper. When he laid her down on the bed she looked up at him and stopped breathing. I cannot imagine what was going through Jason's mind, but he kept cool and she soon began to choke something up. He rolled her onto her side and she threw up a small button. She was completely fine, thankfully, but wow it was scary to think of the what ifs (primarily, what if I had laid her down for a nap not realizing the button was there). But, we cannot live our lives scared of the what ifs. Gosh, isn't that a challenge for all of us?
The next thing happened today while I was home with the babies. Eli had been napping for about an hour when I heard him crying. He usually naps for about 3 hours so I figured something had awakened him and he would go on back to sleep. When he didn't settle down, I realized the crying was getting increasingly loud and emotional. I went in to check on him and found him with both legs outside of his crib and his right knee had actually come through the slats and was stuck and twisted. It was terrible. Eli was scared and in pain. I barely touched his leg to try to move it and he wailed in pain. I called Jason but when he didn't answer I remembered that he was in a meeting at the time. This one was on my shoulders, I had to figure out what to do. I tried two or three times to free Eli's leg to no avail. I kept picturing my old Adam-12 lunchbox with the kid who had his head stuck through a wrought iron fence. Where's a good cop when you need one?

Just before I was about to call my neighbor and ask him to come over and saw the slats off the bed I managed to create enough slack in the slats to raise Eli's leg up high enough to gently push his knee back through the slats. I quickly picked my little guy up and held him close and, through my own tears I asked him if he was okay. He lifted his big, sad eyes and looked at me and said pitifully, "I'm okay mommy". It took him a couple minutes to want to walk on his leg and it remained sore to the touch the rest of the day, but no damage done.
So, that's our family drama report for now. Hopefully my heart will have a while to rest now!

Grant's Big Day!

2009-07-07T11:20:00.001-07:00

Grant asked to have his birthday party at the lake this year and he wanted Coke floats! He got some very fun gifts and had a great time playing with his brothers, sister, and cousins. And, the Coke floats were a huge hit, everyone enjoyed them. He is 9 years old now, just one more year in single digits. He is having a great summer going to the lake, camp, and hanging out with family and he is excited about starting 3rd grade this fall.
Grant's birthday was the Saturday before Father's Day, so it was very nice for all of us to be together and celebrate our father's the same weekend. On Sunday morning everyone attended The Church in the Pines, a beautiful setting for worship on the lake.

Uncle Darryl serving Bailey a Coke float
The party crowd!
Grant wanted to light the candles on his cake
Grant opening his gifts

The kids at the park

2009-06-27T11:56:00.001-07:00

It was 100 degrees outside and Eli was not happy during the majority of our outing.

Yes, that is a cigarette in Eli's mouth. No, I didn't realize what it was when I was taking the picture. That boy is such a rebel!

Eli Tackling MJ

2009-06-26T19:07:00.001-07:00

The kids were playing so sweetly, which is how it always seems to start. Then, Eli decides to tackle his little sister. So far no injuries to speak of, just making her a tough little girl. Notice in the third picture he's kissing her on the cheek and she's smiling. I guess that is his way of asking for forgiveness.

So Much

2009-06-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am quite behind on postings, as it has been a busy/fun few weeks in our world. I don't have time to play catch up now, but will try to over the weekend. Meanwhile, I wanted to share the latest photo of my two babies, Eli and Margaret Jane. This was taken in the living room at my parents' lake house on Lake Martin. I was trying to get a picture of the two of them in their swimsuits. Eli didn't want a picture with his sister, he wanted me to take his picture by himself. Margaret was being super cute and cooperative and I really wanted a picture of them together. I was getting aggravated at Eli and finally said, "ELI, just taken one picture with your sister!" He scooted over to her, leaned in and gave me a grin. And with that the photo shoot was over!

Funny Boy

2009-06-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

I went to get Eli out of bed this morning and he was lying in his crib with nothing on but a diaper and a big grin. After I stopped laughing, I asked Eli what happened to his clothes. He pointed to them on the floor and said, "clothes right there". I said, "Eli, why are your clothes on the floor?" He said, "So I could see my belly button".

Eli's New Favorite Food

2009-06-12T09:21:00.001-07:00

And he only wants to eat it straight out of the jar!

The Evolution of a Fit by Eli Walker

2009-06-12T09:19:00.001-07:00

Dedication & Birthday

2009-06-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

The end of May brought two very special occasions for our family to celebrate. Eli turned two years old on May 30 and Margaret Jane was dedication at church on May 31. Since all of the family was coming for the dedication, we held Eli's birthday party that afternoon.
Jason's brother Jim came into town on Saturday afternoon, so the kids enjoyed seeing their Orange Beach Uncle. Sunday morning found us getting all of the kids dressed and ready for the big day. Jason looked gorgeous as always in his pink tie and navy jacket. I even dusted off my four inch pink heels and wore a brand new dress complete with pink polka dots.
A host of family and friends met us at the church to join us as we committed ourselves to raising Margaret Jane in the knowledge of the Lord. The service was wonderful and the time of dedication was very special. My big concerns: MJ spitting up on the preacher; Eli insisting on running around on the stage; me tripping down the stairs in my aforementioned four inch heels. I am glad to report no such thing happened. Jonathan Green, our worship minister, said some great words to our family and challenged Margaret to become a Proverbs 31 woman. After Jonathan spoke, our pastor Lawrence took MJ to walk her through the congregation. When he first took her from me he lifted her into the air and she grinned from ear to ear and gave the crowd a precious show! Then MJ's three big brothers, who were all perfect gentlemen on stage, got certificates congratulating them on their little sister.
After church everyone went back to my parents' house for lunch from Jim-n-Nick's BBQ, always a crowd favorite. We ate on the back porch and made one long table for all 21 of us to sit at. I had a series of crosses as centerpieces on the table and asked each family present to take a cross home and when they look at it to please pray for our children.
After everyone finished their seconds...and thirds we sequed into Eli's party. In spite of being tired, Eli seemed to enjoy himself. He ate cake and opened a lot of great presents. And of course there were party hats and blowers!
We are so thankful for what God has given us and that we have such wonderful family and friends to help us celebrate such milestones in our lives!

Eli's birthday party
Eli ate plenty of cake!

Jason and me helping Eli open his gifts:Eli getting ready to "put the fire out" as he said:
The party crowd:
Our cousin Thomas with Jason:
Our family during the dedication service:
Our pastor, Lawrence Phipps, with Margaret Jane:
All of our family and friends who came for the service:
Jonathan talking to MJ during the service:

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it's a contrived holiday, but Jason and I always enjoy celebrating Cinco de Mayo! Each year we go out for Mexican food to celebrate what most Americans believe to be Mexican Independence Day. However, the actual holiday commemorates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla. Regardless, any excuse to go eat chips & salsa is a good idea to me.
This year we took a step out and decided to go to Jalapeno's, the most popular Mexican restaurant in town, owned by a girl I grew up with. We knew it would be a full house, so we decided to get there early so we could get in and out before the real party started. Our plan did not work. We got there later than planned...5:45pm and the place was already packed. It took us about an hour-forty five minutes to get a table. Why didn't we just leave, you ask? Well, we could have, but part of the fun was enjoying the crowd and band while we waited. Catch was, we had two babies with us! We now know that Eli & Margaret Jane are born socialites. Those two kids enjoyed themselves the entire time and hung in there for the entire 3 hour experience.
Our friends Dondi & Vickey Costin joined us for the fun and we are so glad because they are moving to Europe this summer (USAF) and we will miss them terribly. We are so glad we got to hang out with them, and Eli and MJ had fun with them too!
The restaurant is divided into three rooms, two dining areas and a lobby. The band was set up in one of the dining areas, we waited in the lobby. However, once the band got going, Eli insisted on being front and center listening to the band. And, in case you don't know, there's not much use arguing with a 'almost' two year old! He wins! Eli became such a band groupie, they finally gave him a tambourine and let him play along.
We waited out the multitudes and got our table and enjoyed our delicious dinner. Eli ate chips AND salsa along with most of my quesadilla. Margaret Jane enjoyed her very first lemon, and didn't seem to mind the noise, crowd, or heat. Okay, that's not true, we did have to get her some fresh air a time or two!
Although next year we probably won't go to THE hot spot in town, we are glad we did this year as we had a great time celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Vive le chips and salsa!

Eli REALLY wanted to hop into the fountain:
Eli joined the band with the tambourine.
Dondi & Vickey
Eli eating chips, MJ eating her lemon
MJ only cried when her lemon would slip out of her hands!
The band and crowd
Eli enjoying chips & salsa
Jason making MJ laugh

Pretty In Pink

2009-05-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Biscuits Baseball

2009-04-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Jason and I were recently invited by some friends to join them in a Sky Box at a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game. The Biscuits are our local AA baseball team. In about 2004 we built Riverwalk Stadium and brought our team to town. Jason and I went a lot of games the first couple years, then for the next couple of baseball seasons I was too preg to enjoy a game...but we're back now! Our friends Jennifer and Greg invited us to the game and we were joined by our cousins Tammy and Paul in town from Kentucky. We all brought our kiddos and had a wonderful time!

Jason & Ronda at Riverwalk Stadium
Jennifer, Tammy, & Ronda with Biscuits mascot Big Mo
Paul & Mallory watching the game
Michael Paul & Eli, these cute cousins were born one week apart

Tammy & Jennifer, Tammy mom is sitting beside her and that is Jennifer's beautiful daughter Avery Kayte sitting beside her

Easter 2009

2009-04-15T05:34:00.001-07:00

Coloring Eggs

2009-04-14T13:51:00.001-07:00

Every Monday & Thursday

2009-04-06T18:04:00.001-07:00

Daddy Time

2009-04-06T17:53:00.001-07:00

Brother & Sister

2009-04-06T17:47:00.001-07:00

Eli helped his Daddy mop pollen off the porch.

2009-04-06T17:43:00.001-07:00

Can you tell he's doing something he knows he shouldn't?

2009-04-06T17:38:00.001-07:00

How Generous is God

2009-03-29T18:52:00.001-07:00

Enjoying God's Creation

2009-03-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Alabama Wildlife Federation created the Alabama Nature Center in Millbrook. Also known as Lanark, this Center is a hidden treasure in Central Alabama. Jason's company helped create the nature trails, so he let us in on this wonderful destination. Also, our older boys spent a few weeks going to day camp there this past summer and loved it.
This afternoon we had beautiful sunny skies with a light breeze so we dropped the babies off at my parents' house and we took the older boys for a day enjoying nature. There are several hiking trails, we ventured down all three for a total of five miles of hiking. I cannot begin to detail all of the beauty we saw on our hike, you'll just have to enjoy the pictures and try to imagine for yourself how great it was! Bridges, creeks, ponds, peaks, valleys, and flowers of every sort. Spring is just beginning to bloom in these parts, so not as many flowers as there will be in a few weeks but it was beautiful nonetheless. Of course it was great to have our own tour guide...Jason has a degree in horticulture so he was able to point out the variety of flora and fauna throughout the park.

Scaleback Success

2009-03-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of each year the state of Alabama holds a statewide weight loss competition called Scaleback Alabama. Participants form teams of four with family, friends, colleagues, etc. Each person on the team must lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Then each team that meets that goal is put into a drawing for monetary prizes.
I entered last year with three colleagues of mine, but discovered 2 weeks into the competition that I was pregnant. Pregnant women are not eligible to participate in the contest, although as sick as I was I just about lost 10 pounds in the first trimester! So, I had to fess up to the pregnancy and our team was disqualified. So, this year I wanted to participate so I enlisted Jason to be on my team. Then to find our other two team members I turned to the world of Facebook. Our friends from church, Anthony & Kimberly Miller rose to the challenge and joined our team. We weighed-in in the middle of January and the race was on! After a lot of hard work from each team member, we all weighed in this morning and the results were fantastic! Our team of four lost a total of 60 pounds (ok, it was actually 59, I'm rounding it up to 60!) Jason led the charge with a loss of a whopping 18 pounds. I am proud to report that I lost 14 pounds. My baby weight is officially gone, now I'm working hard to lose those darn newlywed pounds...content fat I believe they call it. I'm not very content with it!
Since each person on our team lost at least 10 pounds, we are now in a drawing with the first prize being $1,000 per team member. Wouldn't that be great?! I'll let you know how it turns out...

The Joys of Solids

2009-03-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Margaret Jane at Six Months

2009-03-05T11:35:00.001-08:00

Snowy Sunday in the South

2009-03-01T11:31:00.000-08:00

The weatherman said it might snow today, and sure enough when Jason and I got up at 6:00am it was snowing. So, like little kids we ran through the house waking everyone up and got outside as quickly as we could. Turns out the best time for snow playing was from 6:00 - 7:00am, the flakes were huge and falling hard. When Eli walked out the door and saw the snow for the first time he threw up his hands and squealed with delight. Reminded me of the time we had a family reunion at the beach. My little Michigan cousins, who were 3 or 4 and had never been to the Gulf Coast ran out onto the deck of the beach house, saw the sugar white sandy beach and squealed "It Snowed!!!"
Hugh & Grant built a mini-snowman, then one that was a little bigger. After all our play we headed for church at 8:00am then went to lunch with our Sunday school class afterwards. It's mid-afternoon now and it's still snowing, but no longer sticking.
Fun snow day!

The boys made a mini-snowman:

The tomato eyes didn't stick, we had to use fruit chews instead:
Eli in the snow:
Jason & Josey:
Grant & Hugh had so much fun:
Eli seeing the snow for the first time:
Our Cameilla in the backyard:

Margaret Jane even got in on the snow fun:
This was Eli's reaction when we told him he had to come inside to get ready for church:

Top Ten Best

2009-02-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

In December 1997 two of my best girlfriends and I went to stay with a friend who lived in New York City. We were there the week between Christmas and New Year's. We spent New Year's Eve at a fabulous Italian restaurant in Times Square, then went to a party, then headed back to our friend's apartment which was located right in the heart of Times Square. At about 11:30pm we headed up to the roof of her building with a number of the other tenants and could hear and see the crowds gathered down below. We could hear Dick Clark himself prepping the crowd for the big countdown. It was electric. We were having an amazing time and shortly after Midnight one of our friends giddily exclaimed, "This is one of my top ten best New Year's EVER"! To this day we laugh when we talk about her saying that, because it was, without exception, THE best New Year's Eve any of us had ever had.
Jason knows that story, so I laughed when he turned to me this past Valentine's Day, as we were cruising down a rural west Alabama highway snuggled in a Hansom Cab with all four of our children, and said, "Is this one of your top ten best Valentine's Days EVER"?
It was, in fact, my best Valentine's ever. We spent the afternoon at the farm of one of Jason's colleagues in Lowndes County. They had horses, turkeys, a rabbit, pigeons, dogs, cats, and an abundance of chickens. The kids had so much fun. All three boys rode horses and Hugh & Grant jumped on the trampoline. Margaret Jane got loved on by a horse and I think Eli kept a big grin on his face all day! And my favorite was the beautiful 160lb Great Dane, Romulus.
And, as I mentioned earlier, we were treated to a horse-drawn carriage ride -- how fun is that?! We even left with two dozen fresh eggs. This city girl was in country heaven - thanks Gena!

This is Romulus up on the trampoline:
Grant:
Eli hopped up on everything with a seat:
That's Gena in the black hat, unfortunately I didn't get a picture of her where she wasn't looking down at an animal:
Here we are in the Hansom Cab:
Me getting some Romulus love:

Eli riding a horse, he loved it:Hugh:
Grant:
I think the big boys stayed on the trampoline for over an hour:

How about that big Tom Turkey!Margaret Jane even enjoyed the animals. Again, Gena is looking down!

More Pray

2009-02-09T17:05:00.001-08:00

I had a particularly cruddy day recently. Now, please keep in mind that my cruddy days are comparatively mild. I have wonderful, healthy children; I have an amazing husband who is loving and fun; I have a nice home and food in the pantry.
So let me set up my bad day story by reminding you that in the past five years I've gone from being a single girl living in Hawaii to being a wife and mother of four. Please hear me that my life now is so much better than it ever has been. However, on some days I have a hard time letting go of my former Rondacentric self. Some days I revert into that 5 year old kid stomping out of the room when she doesn't get her way and slamming a door or two...sad but true. I realize dying to my self-centeredness is a process and that God is teaching me, growing me, refining me. Meanwhile, I have an occasional pity party -- an occasional cruddy day.
Late in the afternoon of my recent bad day, Eli wanted a snack so I put him in his chair and scattered some Honey Nut Cheerios on his tray and filled up his juice cup with watered down Crangrape. Then, holding Margaret Jane, I sat down beside him with a sigh and leaned my back against the wall preparing to crank up the music in my head that would accompany my pity party. Just before the volume went to 10, my one year old son looked at me and said, "Pray". That is not unusual for him, as he loves to pray before he eats, even before he snacks. I said a quick prayer and returned my focus to the angry tune playing in my head. Then my Eli said something that caused the needle to scratch off the record and snapped me out of my mode of self-pity. He said, "More". He had plenty of juice and Cheerios, so I could not imagine what he wanted more of, so I asked him, "More what?" He then said, "More pray".
Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the face of my one year old son and heard the voice of my sweet Savior. More prayer was exactly what I needed, more conversation with a God who loves me exceedingly abundantly more than I can imagine and who seeks to bless me in ways I cannot fathom. Jesus is so incredibly patient with us. All the blessings He has given me, and I am going to grumble and grouse over a thing or two not going my way. When he could have easily rolled his eyes and thrown up his hands in disgust at my lack of growth, my Savior instead spoke to me in the sweet voice of my son and reminded me that He is what I need in every circumstance. So next time I am tempted to sink into the mire of ridiculous self-pity, I instead will remember what I truly need is More Pray.

Eli & Margaret Jane

2009-01-30T18:40:00.001-08:00

Book Reviews

2009-01-28T13:13:00.001-08:00

I have a long-standing passion for books, passed on to me from my father who had a library in our home while I was growing up. One of my favorite things to do was to stand in his study and just stare at the shelves filled with books. I would read a title off the spine and ask my Daddy what the book was about. He had a little of everything, from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring to Gone With the Wind to The Pentagon Papers to a 12 volume set entitled World Religions, and he had read them all. As a little kid, I was as captivated by the exciting titles and beautiful dust jackets as I was with the world of knowledge and adventure captured inside each volume.
When I was in the 5th grade my paternal grandmother (Margaret Bernice - who my Margaret Jane was named after) gave me a hardback copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, it was the first grown up book I remember receiving and I was hooked. At that point I moved past my Dr. Seuss and Encyclopedia Brown days and became a more sophisticated reader.
I now usually opt to read historical non-fiction. I also read books in the spiritual/inspirational category like The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormy Omartian or anything by Max Lucado. My favorite author is John Grisham and I cannot wait to get my hands on his new book, The Associate.
During my first pregnancy, my ability to enjoy a good book took a big hit. Initially, I was so sick all I wanted to do was sleep. Then towards the end it hurt too much to sit or lay in one position long enough to read more than a page or two. So by the time I had Eli, then got pregnant again in the blink of an eye with Margaret Jane my reading days got shoved to the back, dusty corner of the bookshelf.
But, with the turn of the calendar to 2009 my resolve to get a little of the former Ronda back strengthened. This included reading more. My first read of the new year was The Shack. I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I grabbed myself a copy, and I certainly had no idea that it was such a widespread read. I didn't care for it, but am glad I read it. My next book was the book I just finished reading for the book club I started (let me know if you want to join). It is called Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan Lake and it is a wonderful read that I highly recommend. The author is a Southern girl who spent much of her adult life in New England and now lives back in the South. Since I have a similar journey in and out of the Southland, I like her perspective and appreciate her writing style. She can turn a fabulous southern phrase...for example:
Speaking of her Yankee father who settled in the South, the main character in Blue Hole says, "My father believed in what he called The Enunciation, and clung to precise, Dartmouth-man diction like a lifeline, like if he let one "g" go unsounded, he might be sucked whole, quicksanded into the slurred Southern culture around him".
And describing Southern women: "Now, all Southern women keep as a weapon against an uncouth world a certain smile that can be whipped out of storage and tacked up in an instant, covering over a multitude of too-candid moments".
Good stuff. Good book.
The book I'm currently reading is far different and oh so endearing. It is entitled Happy Tails by Linda Hultin Winn and only the dog LOVERS reading this will appreciate this one. The author, who adores her two puppies in a way non-dog lovers find completely ridiculous, manages to tell funny, sad, and heartwarming stories about puppies while linking them to the love God has for each of his children. Sounds crazy, I know. But, I will tell you that it has spoken to my spirit in ways little else ever has. I love my Josey, and to think of God's unconditional love for me being comparable to my unconditional love for Josey makes sense to me. Yes, I have a finite mind.
So, there you have it, my first 3 book reviews of 2009. Ronda the Bibliophile is back! Now if I can only recapture Ronda the Skinny and Ronda the Lucid!
And, any excuse to post a picture of my Josey:

Comparisons

2009-01-21T10:55:00.001-08:00

I snapped this picture of Margaret Jane today playing in her exersaucer. Then I pulled up a picture I took of Eli at the same age in the same toy. So, do you think they look alike?

Margaret Jane at Four Months

2009-01-14T08:05:00.001-08:00

Margaret Jane is now 4 months old. She had her check up yesterday and is doing very well. She weighs just over 12 pounds and is long, but I cannot remember the number (I should know those things, huh?) I love a baby at 4 months. I remember so well when Eli turned 4 months old. He evolved into such a fun, interesting baby and MJ has done the same. She is so alert, laughs, smiles, and is interested in everything and she is still a very sweet, happy baby. She rolls over to her side and isn't far from rolling from back to stomach. I'm putting her on a more predictable nap schedule (3 a day) and will start her on rice cereal soon. Also, I've gotten out the exersaucer for her to play in. She's a little small for it, but enjoys it for a while. She is still a 'Momma's Girl', favoring me over everyone else, even her Daddy. Hopefully she'll take to other folks soon, meanwhile I love the attention I get from her!

Walker Family Portraits

2008-12-29T18:35:00.001-08:00

Every year at Christmas time the Walker family gets family pictures made, here are a few from this year:

Here's the entire Walker clan:

Robert & Jane with their nine grandchildren:

Robert & Jane with their four sons - in birth order L to R - Rob, Jim, Craig, Jason:
Rob & Joy:
Jason with his three boys:
Jason with his baby girl:

And of course I had to add in one funny outtake, this was the last picture of the day and our youngest two had done SO WELL the entire time...until this pose:

Christmas in Hueytown

2008-12-29T18:19:00.001-08:00

Last Friday we packed up the SUV with the six of us, strapped on our new rooftop luggage bag and headed to Hueytown to celebrate Christmas with the Walker family. For those of you not from these parts, Hueytown in west of Birmingham and it's where Jason grew up. Our sweet Josey stayed with her Uncle Darryl, Aunt Jesi and her cousins Angel and Callie.
We had a wonderful time visiting with Jason's parents, three brothers, one sister in law, and five neices and nephews. Here are a few pics:

Luke with his Daddy Rob, Rob is first born of the Walker brothers:
Group shot while the kids were opening their gifts, those are brothers Craig and Jim standing:
Emme, Bailey, Jackson, & Carson:
Jane & Jason cooking breakfast:
Jason giving Eli one of his gifts:
Cousins Emme & Bailey. Of the 9 grandchildren there are three girls, should have gotten a picture of Margaret Jane with her two girl cousins!
Eli & Margaret Jane playing in the den:
Another group shot, that is Rob's wife Joy in the foreground:
Eli playing with the kitty cat on the back deck:

My baby doll in her party dress

2008-12-25T13:50:00.001-08:00

Eli at the Zoo

2008-12-20T18:37:00.001-08:00

Santa in Town Lake

2008-12-20T10:46:00.000-08:00

Another Visit with Santa

2008-12-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Santa was in our neighborhood tonight so we went to visit him. Above, Eli is dancing to Jingle Bell Rock. Below, Eli is still not sure about sitting in Santa's lap. He'd rather eat his sucker and watch Santa from afar. As for Margaret Jane, just let her suck her thumb and she's good to go.

Walker Girl

2008-12-19T07:13:00.001-08:00

Margaret Jane with Jason's boss Rick Pate at the company party last night:
MJ was a good sport being passed around and enjoyed by everyone:
Jason and Margaret Jane:

Walker Boys

2008-12-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Josey

2008-12-17T09:12:00.001-08:00

Our LCBF (Sunday School) Christmas Party

2008-12-17T05:20:00.001-08:00

Our hosts Benj & Paula Trolinger

Misty Vermillion & Michelle Kitchens
Getting ready to play Dirty Santa
John Mark Vermillion & Jason
Ready to eat
Dondi striking a nice Christmas pose
Our teachers Russell & Amy Dean

Brad & Libby McGill

Brad McGill, Jeff Kitchens, Dondi Costin

Eli & Margaret Jane with Santa

2008-12-15T11:02:00.001-08:00

Kid Pix. No purpose other than your enjoyment.

2008-12-15T05:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas Orphans

2008-12-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is receiving Christmas cards. I rush to the mailbox every day to grab my daily stash of greetings. I love to read the family updates and see pictures of my friends and family near and far. Jason also enjoys seeing the cards and we always chat about the pictures folks send out. What we don't understand is why there are so many pictures of just the children. No parents. How sad these little Christmas orphans are. What gives with you folks who refuse to be in the Christmas picture? Hate to get your picture taken? Think you look bad? Hey, I've had two babies in the past year and a half and there is no way I can hide the extra poundage I'm toting, but I bit the bullet and got in the picture anyway. So if I can do it you can too. I love seeing your children, especially if you live far away I enjoy seeing how they've grown. But you know, I'd love to see you too! If it's too late to do it this year, make sure you're in the picture next. Let's band together and rid the world of these Christmas orphans.
Of course I know there are those of you who think the whole process of sending out Christmas cards and pictures is laughable perhaps even stupid, to you bah humbugs I say...let me know so I can take you off my Christmas card list!
And below are a few of the outtakes from our Christmas card photo shoot, the pictures that didn't make the card. Enjoy:

Eli was done with picture time:

Trying to turn Josey around:Josey loving on Margaret:
Eli wants to get down and play, I've got the death grip on his knee:
Eli spotted his grandfather, MJ is sitting sideways:

Eli had just socked Grant in the face:Josey is posed beautifully, unfortunately she's facing the street and not the camera! And both boys were tired of kneeling on the concrete:

Candyland Christmas Trees

2008-12-08T06:45:00.001-08:00

The boys and I made our annual Candyland Christmas Trees on Saturday morning. This year Eli got in on the action for the first time! He enjoyed eating his candy as much as putting it on the tree. No surprise there. And we're not exactly sure what happened to Grant's tree (the red one) it seems to have melted. We don't know if it was a materials issue or an assembly issue, but either way I think we'll always laugh about the year all the candy slid off Grant's tree. Grant does have a broken finger, maybe that factored in somehow. As I did last year, I've put the newest picture of our trees below, plus the pics from years past. Then I've added a few pictures taken while we were in the process of making our trees:

2008 trees:
2007 trees:
2006 trees:
2005 inaugural tree:
Getting everything set up:

Hugh & Grant working on their trees:

Eli putting candy on his tree (yes, I helped him!)Mmmmmm, frosting!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

Every other year we spend Thanksgiving down at Orange Beach with Jason's family. November is a great time to be at the beach, the temp is usually comfortable enough to really enjoy being outside (it was in the low 70s this year). We arrived on Thursday in time for Jason to fry up a turkey and for my mother-in-law and I to finish off the sides. The kids spent a lot of time in the indoor pool, even Margaret got in on the action and had her first swim. On Friday the guys (Jason, two of his brothers and his dad) went golfing then Friday afternoon we had a birthday party for Hugh's 10th birthday which was that day. Friday night while the kids swam, Jason and I got to sneak away for a nice dinner. We went to Louisiana Lagniappe, which is now my new favorite restaurant in Orange Beach. Lagniappe, pronounced LAN-yap, is an old Creole word which means a little something extra. It is located in San Roc Cay, right on the Bay. The beautiful interior decor is only trumped by the delicious food. I had crab cakes and fried shrimp and Jason had cajun shrimp. You're particularly in luck if you're a fan of grouper, as they serve it up every delicious way imaginable. Next time you're in the area, I highly recommend it if you're looking for a nice night out...don't take the kids, this upscale experience is one for the adults to enjoy.
Hugh & Grant on the beach:
Walking the beach:
Eli just kept walking right on into the water up to his knees, then he freaked cause he didn't realize what he was doing:
Eli & cousin Bailey
Eli wanted More Cake!
Hugh's Party:
Jason and two of his three brothers (Craig, Jim & Jason):
Margaret, Hugh, Eli, Grant:
Jason and the guys went golfing on Friday:

Bailey, Craig, & Carson:
Jason, Craig, and the Walker cousins:
Margaret Jane in her first bathing suit!
Eli was ready to hit the beach:
Hugh requested homemade cranberry sauce so I made some for him:

Eli climbed his first tree:

Our First Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

The picture above is from our first Thanksgiving together, November 2004. We celebrated the day at Jason's brother Jim's condo in Orange Beach, AL. We also celebrated Hugh's 6th birthday. We will be in Orange Beach again this Thanksgiving and will celebrate Hugh's 10th birthday. Thought you might enjoy seeing these pictures from our first Thanksgiving.

Jason's brother Jim taking out the Apple Pie:
Hugh's birthday lunch at The Original Oyster House:
Jason & Jim:
Ronda cooking up some sweet potato casserole:
Hugh & Grant:
Making Hugh's birthday cake:

A Day is as a Thousand Years

2008-11-26T04:49:00.000-08:00

If you've ever been a new mother raise your hand. Now, if your child is older than three years raise your hand. Okay, I'm talking to YOU!
They say (whoever they is) that at some point after giving birth a woman will forget the worst parts of labor and delivery and opt to get pregnant again. Should she not forget the worst of it, the theory goes, no woman would ever have more than one child. The same must be true for the newborn years. (did I say years?) Women, (and in the case of very involved fathers, men) tend to forget how hard it is to have a newborn once that little cracker gets to be about three years old. It is at that point that they start hovering around new mothers, smelling their little babies, getting all googley, and saying those words I hate to hear, "Oh, it goes by so fast".
Have you ever said this to a new mother? Keep reading cause I'm really talking to YOU! As a new mother in the throes of late nights, diapers, and feedings I can tell you it does not go by so fast. In 2 Peter 3 the Bible says that "...with the Lord one day is as a thousand years..." I can say that with a newborn one day is as a thousand years as well!
Now, I have no doubt in 5...10...30 years I will sit around with my girlfriends as we watch our babies graduate high school, get married, and have families of their own and we will all get misty eyed and say "where did all the time go?" "IT WENT BY SO FAST". But, trust me, that ain't happening now.
So the next time you are tempted to tell a new mother how quickly this time goes by, please don't. She does not want to hear it.

Warning: opinions expressed below

2008-11-22T17:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we took Margaret up to Children's Hospital in Birmingham. She's been a noisy breather since the day she was born. Very noisy. Eli was the same way but our doctor was not concerned so neither were we. We never got him checked out and sure enough he grew out of it. Now, everyone around us panics a little when they hear Margaret. They want to know what is wrong with her. Does she have a cold? Is she in distress? Can she be fixed? Because as my brother never fails to mention - she struggles for every breath!
As you know from my previous ramblings, Margaret is a wonderfully happy baby. She eats well, sleeps well, and is generally a very content baby. So, I have not been worried about her noisy breathing. However, at her 2 month appointment her pediatrician suggested it might be time to take her to Children's for a pulmonary evaluation. I tried to talk him out of it, because I believed there was nothing wrong with her. But I caved in when he said we could wait 4-6 weeks before taking her to Birmingham in the event her breathing cleared on up. However, when you're referred to a specialty clinic you take whatever appointment you are given. We went yesterday.
It was the first time either Jason or I had ever been to Children's Hospital and we were very impressed. The facility is very nice, filled with beautiful kid-friendly artwork, murals, and toys. Since Christmas is upon us, there were about 30 Christmas trees in the main lobby. My comment was, "this is a great place to come unless you have a sick child".
Now on to the point of my post. Margaret is just fine. There is nothing wrong with her save for a tiny baby esophagus which the doctor said will strengthen and expand as she grows and she will outgrow her noisy breathing. No surprise to us. But, here's what I feel the need to comment on. There was tiny Margaret Jane, lying flat on her back in nothing but a diaper, her arms bound above her head, her legs wrapped tight to make them immobile, starving because she had to stop eating at 6AM, and being force fed barium (a liquid the patient drinks so stuff will show up on the x-ray). She was very upset and screaming her head off. The nurse turned to me and asked, "is she usually this fussy?" I let that one slide. Then, the nurse conducting the test said, "we are watching the monitor for acid reflux". Then, almost as if she was excited to find it she said, "Yep, there it is. She's got acid reflux". Jason and I looked at each other and if he hadn't said it I would have. He said, "Well, if you strapped me down to a table naked and force fed me barium you could give me acid reflux too". And all day long everyone kept asking us if Margaret spits up. Okay, people, here's the deal. Babies spit up. All babies spit up. Why do we have to hang a label on spitting up? Do some babies have a more severe spitting up condition that makes it difficult for them to ever eat or sleep? Of course. Let's get those babies help. But talk about over diagnosing something. We weren't there because she spits up, we were there because she breaths like Darth Vader. Stop trying to find something wrong with her! I won't go through the laundry list of medical issues that I believe are grossly over diagnosed in our society today since I'm probably offending enough people with my acid reflux rant. But, why do we have to put a label on every bodily function then throw a bunch of medicine at it? It would have been so easy for the medical staff at the hospital to convince us that something was wrong with Margaret, especially if that was what we wanted to hear. It was an interesting game that could have gone either way. We could have left there with a prescription for some pills to give our healthy two month old, or as it happened we ignored the suggestions that something minor could be wrong with her and we just left -- very thankful our child is healthy as we were surrounded by some very sick little children. Props to the doctor we saw (after 2.5 hours of waiting) because when she mentioned the acid reflux from the test we told the doc that MJ doesn't have it. She took our word for it and said, "Yeah, I could diagnose anybody with acid reflux from those tests".
My point exactly.

Happy Birthday Hugh!

2008-11-18T14:04:00.000-08:00

In the Walker family we feel one day is simply not enough to celebrate a birthday...so we celebrate birthdays all month long! November is Hugh's birthday month. He is 10 years old on November 28! His celebration started this past Sunday when he got together with some of his buddies for pizza and a movie - Madagascar 2. His birthday will continue with a big party at the beach during Thanksgiving. Here are some pics from the pizza party:

Jason & the birthday boy:

Eli giving Hugh a birthday kiss:
Eli holding court at the party:
Hugh, Grant, & Eli:
Hugh & his buddies at Mellow Mushroom:

Margaret Who?

2008-11-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today is my Dad's birthday, so Jason and I had the family over for supper. I made my usual chili & cornbread. We had a wonderful evening visiting, eating, and watching a little college football. Mother's best girlfriend from high school, Becky, is in town from Geneva so she came for the party. And, my standing joke is that Eli is SUCH the center of attention in our lives these days I refer to our baby girl Margaret as 'Margaret Who?' cause it's truly all about Eli! Here are some pictures from our fun birthday get together:

Eli insisted he help Daddy open his gifts:
Mother and Margaret Who:
Here's my signature dish, chili topped with cheddar, cornbread, sour cream and chives:
Jason, Me, and Margaret Who:
Hey, here's Darryl & Jesi w/ Margaret Who, I guess she did get a lot of camera time tonight:
Jason and Darryl playing pool before supper:
Sweet Josey puppy is also an oft forgotten member of the family in light of the true star, Eli:
Eli's favorite person at the party was BY FAR his Daddy Ron:
Here's Mother's girlfriend Becky with Margaret, Becky held MJ a lot tonight!

Another pool shot with the dining table & Jesi in the background:

Margaret Jane at Two Months

2008-11-14T06:22:00.000-08:00

Margaret Jane had her two month check up yesterday and she is doing very well. According to the blasted growth chart (which you know I hate), she is on track to be tall and skinny. We'll see. She was just sweet as pie for her appointment, up until it was time to give her three shots. She quickly calmed down, then slept for several hours afterward.
If you've been anywhere near my daughter, you've heard her breath. Even if you've been down the street from my daughter, you've heard her breath! (If you recall, Eli was the exact same way - loud breather and he got over it completely -- eventually.) The doctor hoped her breathing would have gotten better by now, so he wants us to take her up to Children's Hospital in Birmingham for a heinous battery of tests to see if she has a problem. He does not think she has anything serious and he believes this will clear up soon. So, we're going to wait about 6 weeks until we take her up there and pray it clears up in the meantime.
Margaret is a very content baby who eats and sleeps well and smiles a lot.

Happy 2 Month Birthday Margaret!

Kids Are Funny

2008-11-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

Had to share these three funny things our kids said lately:

1. I cooked some Toaster Strudel for breakfast this morning. I cooked them in the oven, and Jason asked me if we have a toaster. I said, "No, we got one for a wedding present but it caught on fire". Hugh's eyes got really big and he said, "It caught on fire at the wedding"?

2. Eli crawled up onto the couch to sit by Jason. Smelling him, Jason said, "Eli, you stink". At that point our little one year old looked up at him and said, "I know, I pooped".

3. Since they live with two girls, I've been training our older boys to knock before they open any door. I was in the nursery when Hugh came in and asked, "Is anyone in the bathroom"? I said, "I don't know, did you knock"? He said, "Yes, but no one answered".

Kids are funny.

Eli & Margaret Jane

2008-11-06T07:55:00.001-08:00

Daddy's Girl

2008-11-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

Last night we took the kids to the Fall Festival at our church. Eli isn't quite old enough to get what is going on, but he sure got that people kept handing him his favorite treat...Tootsie Pops!
Eli dressed up as Scooby Doo. We taught him to say Rut Ro (he couldn't get the Raggy part). He was very cute in his costume and didn't even mind the Scooby hat on his head as long as the strap didn't cover up his mouth and prevent him from enjoying his juice. Margaret Jane was a pumpkin as you saw in the pictures from the Pumpkin Patch. Hugh & Grant were ghosts this year, we stopped by and Trick-or-Treated with them on our way to the church.

This is Scooby in his carseat en route to the festival:
Eli wasn't sure who was behind the masks...he had to lift up Grant's mask and when he saw who it was he just giggled with excitment!
Daddy Ron met us there to enjoy the fun:

This is Margaret Jane and her cousin Thomas. No, that is not a ghost standing behind them, I had to edit out a random woman who got in the shot and I'm not very good at iPhoto editing.

Life with two babies

2008-11-01T06:22:00.001-07:00

It's been an adventure having two little ones to take care of every day. Two in diapers makes for an entire day of holding, feeding, changing, playing, etc. Some days are just plain exhausting, but every day has it's funny moments:

Here Eli is doing his favorite disobedient act, climbing up onto the coffee table and walking around. He knows he's not supposed to do this, but it seems any time I'm feeding Margaret Jane, this is just what he wants to do. Sometimes he'll stand up there, raise his arms in the air and say "Get DOWN".

Then there are times when sweet Eli decides he will help me clean house and he'll dust the table:
The other day I tried to take some cute pictures of Margaret, it was not going well anyway...
And then Eli came onto the scene and it was over!

Cake Bake

2008-10-27T12:03:00.001-07:00

This weekend the boys and I made a Halloween cake together. Other than putting it in the oven, Hugh & Grant pretty much did it all. When it came to frosting and putting on the sprinkles I told them to do it however they wanted to. I figure, when you're doing stuff with your kids it's about having fun, not trying to make it all perfect. Well I was pleasantly surprised at what a neat job they did! Of course we all had to have a piece as soon as the last sprinkle went on. In the last picture below, Eli is telling us to pray before we eat our cake.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-25T17:17:00.001-07:00

I love going to a pumpkin patch on a sunny fall day. Today the Walker family spent the afternoon at a new patch in Union Springs, about 40 minutes from our house. In the past we've been to the patch in Clanton and had a great time. This is the first year they've had the patch in Union Springs and it was a very fun time. They had an inflatable slide and moonwalk, a petting zoo, a giant corn maze, and of course pumpkins. I imagine next year it will be even bigger and better. As you can see from the pictures below the big boys enjoyed it as much as the little boy, and Margaret was the cutest pumpkin there!

Here's the whole crew on the wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch:
Eli loves his Daddy's shoulders:

I think this shot of Hugh turned out great:
Grant scouting the pumpkins:
Eli learning about pumpkins...and tall grass:
They had a corn kernel sandbox! Hugh & Grant buried Eli in the corn:
Eli & me:
Eli checking out the pigs, deciding which one he think will win the big race:

The guys watching the pig race:I asked Eli what a sheep says, in this picture he is saying "baaaaaaa", which, since he stuck his tongue out sounded a little more like "blahhhh".

My Cute Kid - Warning: Shamless Bragging Below

2008-10-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

I wish I could freeze Eli in time. I LOVE a one year old! He is so cute and funny and is learning and doing so much every day. Not so much the newborn baby Margaret...everyone talks about how quickly the time passes when your children are young. Well, NOT when they're newborns! But, I can see how that would be true with a toddler. I love watching him learn and explore new things. And, I wanted to share a few things he did this week:
The other night Jason and I were sitting on the couch watching Eli play with his toys when I realized Eli had pooped. Exhausted and not wanting to get up and change him, I said jokingly, "Eli, why don't you go change your diaper?" At that request he scooted out of the room and Jason watched him as he went through the kitchen, into the den headed for his bedroom. He stopped in the den, turned around and had a thoughtful look on his face. Then he went back into the kitchen, got one of his diapers out of his diaper bag and brought it back to me. Jason and I just looked at each other stunned!
Then yesterday we were in my bedroom while I was getting ready to go to the store. Josey was in the backyard and barked that she wanted back inside. I said, "Eli, why don't you go let Josey in" (I've never said this to him before). He zoomed out of the bedroom, down the hall all the way to the front of the house to the door in the den where Josey was standing. The door was ajar so he opened it, but of course he couldn't get the storm door open. So, he stood there tapping on the glass storm door staring at Josey until I came and opened it. So cute.
And last night as we were reading his Noah's Ark book he got all the animal noises right for the very first time...a lion says "roar", a frog says "ribbit", a dog says "woof", and a duck says "quack".
I am amazed at how much a one year old understands. And, how much he talks. He's even beginning to put several words together to form thoughts. He wants everything in the house turned on and always points to a light, or fan, or radio and says "turn on" sometimes he even says "I turn on" or "turn on please", which sounds more like "turn on peas":) He's also said "Bye Bye Mommy". Of course he speaks a lot of jibberish that only he can understand, but it's cute too!

Saturday Night Fever

2008-10-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

The picture above is from last night, on our first date night after Margaret was born, she's 5 weeks old. The picture below is from our first date night after Eli was born, he was also about 5 weeks old!

My wonderful husband took me on a date last night! It was our first date since Margaret Jane was born, and I sure did need it. We started the evening by going to see the movie Fireproof. I cannot recommend it enough. Unfortunately it's been out for about a month and probably won't be in theaters much longer, but see it if you can. If you're not familiar with the movie, it was done by the same church in Georgia who did Facing the Giants. Fireproof is about doing marriage God's way. It is an intense movie, I found myself fighting off tears throughout the entire show. So many good points are made about marriage and relationships. Jason and I both were challenged to continue to work at our marriage and the way we communicate and interact with each other.
After the movie we headed to Bonefish Grill. Bonefish does a dish called Bang Bang Shrimp that I cannot get enough of. So the shrimp, coupled with our crabcake appetizer made the perfect meal for me. Jason got the Mahi Mahi with sauteed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes. Delicious. As always, we enjoyed a long, leisurely dinner talking with each other.
Reality hit when we left my parents' house with Margaret Jane crying for food and Eli calling for DADDY very loudly!
We wouldn't change a thing.
One more thing about the movie. The group Casting Crowns has a song that is in the movie entitled Slow Fade. Jason and I had never heard this song, but just the small portion of it that was played during a scene stuck out in our minds. The song talks about the manner in which sin enters our lives and the way satan destroys people and families. The fall is not quick and obvious. Instead it is a slow fade from who were are to where satan wants to take us. We are all susceptible, every one of us. Let's not ever believe that we are above failure, for that is when we are most vulnerable to satan's attack. Here are a portion of the lyrics to Slow Fade:

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made,
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Well Baby

2008-10-13T11:40:00.001-07:00

Margaret Jane had her one month check up today - she's actually 5 weeks tomorrow. Doc says she is doing perfectly. She weighs 10 pounds and is 21 inches long. Although she is still a good sleeper, she hasn't been doing the sleep all night thing on a regular basis. She's up once during the night, which is still good for a 5 week old - but I'll be glad when she ditches her middle of the night feeding!

Our Big Family!

2008-10-12T18:39:00.001-07:00

Just the Kids
Just the boys...Eli decided picture time was over
Then he took his pants off!

Game Day

2008-10-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Jason, Hugh, & Grant are headed out to Auburn to watch the Tigers play the Razorbacks. Hopefully this game will be better than the one last week!

Family Pics

2008-10-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Jason & Margaret

Jason reading Eli a bedtime story
Mother & Margaret
Sleeping Margaret
Eli Hammering

Silent Night Part II

2008-10-04T06:41:00.001-07:00

Okay, now I know it wasn't a fluke. Last night Margaret slept from 10PM to 5:30AM. How about that? A three week old who sleeps through the night. If she keeps this up I will owe her big time...is it too soon to buy her a car?

Silent Night

2008-10-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that our son Eli is a great sleeper. At 5 weeks old, he slept through the night for the first time (from 10PM to 6AM). And it wasn't long until he began sleeping from 7PM to 8AM which he does to this day, never waking up through the night.
When I was pregnant with Margaret, Eli's pediatrician assured me she would be as good of a sleeper as Eli as long as I did the same things with her sleep training as I did with Eli. I was doubtful, but quite hopeful. I know so many folks who have multiple children who are all different types of sleepers. But, the doc says (aside from some unusual circumstance) how your baby sleeps depends on the parents' approach to getting the child to sleep, in other words it's nurture vs. nature.
Well, at just 3 weeks old Margaret slept through the night last night! She slept from 11:30PM to 5:30AM. Not the 8 hours I need, but I was thrilled nonetheless and after she ate at 5:30 she went right back to sleep where she remains to this hour. I'm cautiously optimistic, but it seems she is on track to be a good sleeper like her big brother.
I might survive this thing after all!

The Great Outdoors

2008-10-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We even had our good friends Michael and Kim Horn over to watch the Auburn game. Fall is definitely in the air and I am glad. We love to have all the windows and doors open and let the cool, fresh air into the house. We are also enjoying our great new porch that Jason remodeled for us this spring. I need to share some before and after pictures to show how much work he did...you can see a bit of the porch in some of the pictures below.

Escape from Alcatraz

2008-09-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Guess who left the house today? ME. hoorah! Margaret and I did go to church Sunday so technically I left the house then, but I was so tired I was kind of in a haze the entire time. I had tons of people coming up to me hugging me, excited to see me, telling me how great I look. One girl even said, "Wow, you're one of those women that just bounce right back after having a baby!" Talk about putting lipstick on a pig! I had them all fooled.
But today I am feeling rested and I dropped both kiddos off at my folks' house and went to a shopping center about 5 minutes from their house. I had some items to return at a baby store so I got to use my store credit for a fun shopping spree there. Then I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and got some placemats for my new breakfast table. Then I went to Costco and bought some diapers for Eli. Oh, what a day! Margaret did fine being away from me for a couple of hours and of course Eli loves to be at his grandparents house. Then I took Margaret and we went to see some friends who were anxious to snuggle with the sweet baby girl. So, it was a much needed 'mental health' day for me and I sure needed it. I'm a little tired and sore now, but mostly I feel I'm getting back right - as Jason would say.
This motherhood thing is tough, as all of you mothers know. I wish women would feel more comfortable admitting to each other how difficult it is and how we just have days that we struggle and feel completely inadequate and insane. Sometimes I think women feel we must always put on the brave face and be strong and in control - or act like we're strong and in control whether we are or not. I believe this misguided behavior stems from years of women being so tough on each other. Let's face it, women are quick to judge other women for the choices they make and the way they do things. Some stay at home, some work. Some breastfeed, some use formula. Some homeschool their kids, some can't wait to get them out of the house. Some puree their own baby food, some buy food in jars.
You know what? Who cares. Let's continue to do what we feel is best for us and our children and love and respect the women in our lives who make different choices than we do.
And, please note this is coming from a woman who is the former winner of the Most Judgmental Woman in the World Award. Being a wife and mother is transforming me and I am so glad.
Okay, Margaret is napping and Eli is still at my folks' so I am going to fix myself a big glass of ice water and sit on the couch and enjoy doing NOTHING for a few minutes.

A Day on the Links

2008-09-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Jason took Hugh & Grant to their first golf tournament yesterday. The Navistar LPGA Classic was held at the beautiful Robert Trent Jones course in Prattville. It was a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon just perfect for enjoying some great golf. The shot above is a nice view of the 18th hole and the crowd.
The boys spent part of their day searching for golf balls in the rough. I think they scored 3 balls each, quite a highlight of their day.

And the winner was: Lorena Ochoa. Here she is in her cool pink shorts heading confidently to her next shot.
Jason actually got quite a few pictures of Lorena and some of the other more notable ladies, in spite of the fact that there is a strict no photographs rule at these tourneys.

Handsome Boys

2008-09-27T07:54:00.001-07:00

I think this is such a great picture of our oldest two boys, you can see they are handsome just like their Daddy. Hugh & Grant camped out on our back porch last night and had a great time. Hugh is in 4th grade and doing well in school. Fourth grade is the year they emphasize Alabama History. His class is going on a host of fabulous field trips. Since we live in the state capital, there are lots of opportunities for them to have hands on experiences with Alabama History. Being a history person myself, I am making Hugh do a special project (isn't he lucky!). It's one I made all my students do when I taught at Hawaii. He will interview someone regarding an event in Alabama history they experienced first hand. It will give him some insight into the importance of oral histories, plus I believe these personal accounts can impact the memory in ways the written word cannot. Grant is in 2nd grade and is excelling in school as well. He penmanship is neater than mine and his enthusiasm for learning makes us proud.
This fall they are both playing soccer. Grant talks about playing football one of these days. They enjoy watching college football with their Daddy and me, Jason has also gotten them into golf and NASCAR. On Sunday Jason is going to take them to the Robert Trent Jones course in Prattville to watch the Navistar LPGA tournament.
As for their younger siblings, they are crazy about them and are so loving and helpful with them. Last week Eli was staying with my folks while I recovered from having Margaret. At dinner one night I commented that Margaret wanted to join us for the family mealtime. Hugh said, "Well, it's not really a family meal since Eli isn't here". My heart swelled at how much they love their baby brother and sister!
I'm going to get some pictures of all four of them this weekend...don't worry, I'll share!

My Little Boy

2008-09-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

"Juice"
"Peek A Boo"

"Bed Head"
He looks like such a big boy now!
About to put something in his mouth
Love that face

2008-09-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

The hospital where Margaret was born puts pictures of their newborns on digital billboards all over town, so her picture scrolls through the rotation on each billboard about every 10 minutes. Jason and I went tonight and took a picture of Margaret's billboard. The picture didn't turn out very well, perhaps because it's a digital billboard, or perhaps I zoomed in too much. Regardless, you get the idea of how cute it is! Okay, Eli just put the telephone into the washing machine...I better go.

You Got to have Friends

2008-09-21T10:42:00.001-07:00

So many family and friends visited Margaret in the hospital and many have been by the house since we've been home. It was my intention to take a picture of everyone that visited us, but since I experienced quite a bit of lost time in the hospital, I didn't get it done! Here are the pictures of the folks we did get:

This is our friend Cindy from church. Cindy brought us a wonderful supper and her famous & fabulous chocolate pie!

Libby McGill and her daughter Margaret - friends from church
Jewell Wray & April, Jackson & MaryEsther Duncan - April is a childhood friend
Brittany Burcham, a friend from church, works in the PR Dept. at Jackson Hospital. She came by several times to check on us! She is also the one that put Margaret's picture on the billboard.
My dear friend Melissa McDaniel from church got stuck changing one of Margaret's poopy diapers!
This is Jason's boss, Rick Pate
Michael, Kim, Cade & Carson Horn. Kim & I have been friends since High School...wow, we can say we've been friends for 20 years!
This is Joan Kirk. Mrs. Kirk was my first grade teacher, now she is my next door neighbor!
Dondi Costin, a friend from church. Dondi is a chaplain in the USAF.

This is Carolyn Gibson, she was the Alpha Gamma Delta advisor when I was at Troy and she has remained a dear friend every since:

War Eagle

2008-09-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Uncle Darryl & Aunt Jesi

2008-09-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

My brother and sister-in-law came over last night to spend some time with Margaret.