"Perfect" Moments

Last night we took a family outing to the mall to see Santa Claus and to get Scout's ears pierced! 

We decided to see Santa Claus first just in case Scout didn't fair well with the piercing experience.

After all, I didn't want her crying and upset in the picture. Right?

So we walked down to where Santa was located, and we patiently took our place at the end of the line. 

There was another family of five waiting in front of us.  There kids were a little bit younger than ours.  There were two older kids probably around ages 4 and 5 waiting with excitement to see Santa.  They stood by mom and dad and barely made a peep as they looked with awe at Santa and waited for their turn.  The baby, I would guess around age 2, wasn't too thrilled about her impending visit with Jolly Ol' Saint Nick!  She cried and screamed the entire time.  The mom finally decided to take a walk with the toddler.  The dad turned around to talk to us.  He told us about last year's Santa experience with the two older kids beaming and the baby trying her hardest to escape.  His reply was that it was the best picture ever! 

I laughed at his story, but in the back of my head, I was thinking, I was glad it was them and not me.

The mom returned, and they walked up to take their turn with Santa. 

The older children ran, the boy actually jumped on Santa's lap.  The baby, well, she cried. 

The parents never broke a sweat, never yelled at  the child, never threatened her, they just smiled, laughed, and appreciated the moment for what it was...LIFE! 

I thought about what I would have done, how would I have reacted in that moment...wanting the perfect Santa Claus picture to display on the mantle?  I watched the family and smiled.  It was a perfect moment.  Isn't funny how God puts people in our path at just the right time?  I will probably never see this family again, but I am glad I did last night.

The parents survived, so did Santa, and the picture was taken as a reminder of the precious moment.  They wouldn't have traded the moment for anything.  And I realized something I have been trying to put into words over the past few months...the moment was perfect for them because it wasn't perfect.

Does that make sense?

It is the imperfect moments that make our life.  Those funny, candid moments that we remember most.

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Our visit with Santa went off without any tears. 

All three kiddos marched right up to Santa and told him exactly what they wanted for Christmas.

Jake asked for a TV and a little Auburn football.

Scout told Santa she wanted anything that is for a girl (It must be hard living with two brothers!  LOL), and

Cole asked for a big boy bike.

After our Santa Claus visit, we ventured down the mall to get Scout's ears pierced.  She has been begging asking us for a while if she could do it so we decided tonight was the night.  She was so excited.  As we left Santa, I announced that it was time to get Scout's ears pierced.  Jake's reply, "Yea, we get to see Scout cry!" and Cole chiming in with "Yea!"  Gotta love brotherly love!

 Before

 During



After!

Much to her brother's disappointment, she did not cry at all! 

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I want to thank you  for all of your sweet comments about my last post whether on facebook, by text, in person, or on the blog.  I know it may have been confusing to some of you.  I was a little nervous to post it, but it was something I wanted to share.  If you have any questions or comments, let me know.  I will answer if I can.  I had over 100 people visit my blog in one day!  That's a lot for me.  Thanks! 

Wanting What I Have

I have been asked, as many of you have, what I want for Christmas this year about a hundred times!  In the past, especially when I was younger, I would gladly sound off my list of Christmas wants:  new clothes, gadgets, jewelry, you know, all the things I could not live without!  This year though I have found myself struggling to list what I want  which got me thinking... and that was a good thing. 

I needed to think about what I wanted, and most importantly, what I have.

To start off, I surely do not NEED anything.  I am blessed beyond measure. 

I have three beautiful children who are healthy and smart.  After ten years of teaching school full-time and struggling to be a mom and a teacher, I have found a part-time teaching position at my old high school, and I love it.  And after five years of back surgeries, health struggles, and  personal struggles that we could have never imagined, I finally have the man I married back, healthy and strong.  And even though there are wounds that are slow to heal, we are closer than ever because of all the pain.  I watched Don play football this weekend in the park and the sight took my breath away.  Just eight months ago, I thought I would never see that.  And in addition to all of that, we have found a church home, and recently became its newest members last month! Despite sounding cliche...Life is good! 

I said Life is good....not perfect, and I am ok with that!  Actually, I am great with that. 

As many of you know, this year has been tough for me.  I hate to even type that because I know that many of you have struggles far worse than what I went through. 

But at times this past year, I found myself wishing days away,

wanting them to pass by as quickly as possible. 

I wanted to survive the moment, get out of it alive, and as soon as possible.  And then

I found myself on my knees praying to God for strength and help.  And wouldn't you know it, things started to change.

 Eight months ago, I literally fell to my knees and begged God to help me,

my husband, my family.  My husband struggled with pain that I could not comprehend,

but with God and each other, he is well.  I am forever thankful for that. 

So in my pondering over what I want, I found myself thinking a lot about this past year; a year I wanted to forget.  Actually, less than a week ago, I told someone I could not wait to say goodbye to 2011.  Isn't it funny how we wish time away at certain points, and at others we try so desperately to slow it down?  For most of 2011, I simply wanted to survive moments.  I did not live them, cherish them, and hold them tightly.  I should have. 

Eight months ago, my Christmas list would have sounded a lot different than it does today.  I could have listed all kinds of things I would have wanted, things I thought I needed.  And I am writing this to hopefully explain to myself and others the journey I have been on this year.  It was hard, and it is not over, and I am ok with that.  Actually, I am great with that! 

So when I am asked this year what I want for Christmas, my reply will be...

 I want exactly what I have.

Merry Christmas to all of you! 

It's a Boy!

I bet that title got your attention, didn't it!

Well, it is a boy!

Meet Max!

He is the newest addition to our family.

He's cute, and I am crazy!

I don't know what possessed me to buy another dog

except that cute little face,

or maybe it was the three cute little faces at home.

Jake, Scout, and Cole were so excited to get a new puppy.

Max is a great addition to our family even if he does pee everywhere,

chew on everything, and bark all night! That will change, right?

All I Want for Christmas...

I know it is July, but the song

"All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"

definitely comes to mind!

Missing Shoe

Jake lost one of his shoes about two weeks ago. On several occasions I have asked him, Scout, and Cole to please look for and find the missing shoe. Each one "looked" for the shoe (I am sure), but no one found it. Since I was sure the shoe did not walk away on its own, I knew it had to be somewhere in the house. So today, I offered a one dollar prize for the person who found the missing shoe. Jake and Scout set out on a mission. I could hear them upstairs opening closets and drawers searching for the shoe. I decided I would search again downstairs... under the couch, in cabinets, and under tables. The shoe was no where. I walked through the dining room and a plant in the corner caught my attention...just maybe, the shoe was behind it. And what do you know, the missing shoe was there! I called to the kids to quit the search, the missing shoe had been found. Jake was upset because he would not get the dollar. Cole came running into the den and declared that the dollar should be his. When I asked him why he should get the dollar when I was the one who found the shoe, he got this grin on his face and replied..."because, Mom, I am the one who hid it there!"

All I could do was laugh. What goes on in this little head? :)

Book Blog Updated!

Looking for a good book to read this summer?

You can read about it on my book blog, The Book Worm.

Dress Shopping!

I took Scout dress shopping this week to look for some cute summer sundresses for her to wear. Shopping for little girls is hard. If you have a young girl you know what I mean! The clothes are so grown up looking, and it is hard to find something age appropriate that doesn't cost a small fortune and that we both like. This is the dress that Scout (who is 5!) wanted to buy! Forget that is was 10 sizes too big and metallic blue! She was absolutely in love with it! After all, it was blue just like Cinderella's dress. :)
Notice the dress she is holding on the floor! It's the one I liked! Ha! It was so cute, seersucker with a cute little fish appliqued on it. Adorable!

Needless to say, we left without buying a dress!
I love this girl! She is sweet, sassy, silly, smart, and spunky.

Words of Wisdom

I ran across this quote on a blog and absolutely fell in love with it!

New Friends!

Cole has been having so much fun at school this year!

He only goes two days a week, but he has learned so much.

Recently, Cole has brought home some new friends from school.

First, Cole brought Honeybear home for the weekend.

Each child in Cole's class gets to spend a special weekend with Honeybear.

Cole was so excited to finally get his turn.

They played...

they read... and they snuggled!

It was a fun weekend!

Then Cole brought home this "friend" from school...

Meet Hairy Henry!

Too cute, can't wait to see who/what comes home next!!!

Book Blog Updated!

I just finished reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Great Book!

Check out my book blog - The Book Worm - to read about it if you are looking for a good book to read! Oh, and after you read the book, you can go see the movie coming out April 22nd starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson! A good book and a movie with Robert Pattinson...two of my favorite things! LOL :)

Like reading? But not sure what to read. Become a follower of The Book Worm. I will be updating frequently with some of my favorite books.

Spring Farm Day!

Every year we look forward to Spring Farm Day at Landmark Park.

It is one of our favorite days of the year.

My sister Lisa and her family, my parents, and my crew

all went this year and had a wonderful time.

Nicholas, Jake, Cole, Nolan, and Scout

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Spring Farm Day 2011 Pictures

Can't wait until next year!

Give Me an "A"!

This little guy gave me all A's... AGAIN!

Another perfect report card!

Way to go Jake!

We are so proud of you, and we love you so much!

Say a Prayer

My little sister called this morning in tears because her little boy Nolan has been sick. What started as a simple stomach virus quickly progressed to something more serious, and he is now in the hospital being treated for dehydration. He is extremely lethargic, and they can't get him to eat or drink. He is on IV fluids now. Hopefully he will be better soon.

We love you Nolan!

Weekend Discoveries

We had a wonderful, low-key, simple weekend,

and we discovered a few things along the way.

Pigtails are absolutely adorable!

Dads are wonderful coaches! Moms and grandparents are great cheerleaders!

Baseball is fun!

(Even if you're not on the team!)

And...

Spongebob pajamas are really cute (if you are four years old!)

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

TGIF!

It is Friday afternoon! School is out!

The weather is beautiful, and we are ready for the weekend!

Sunshine and Rain

I took this picture of Cole yesterday outside the library. I love the sunshine on his sweet face. He saw this dandelion and wanted to make a wish. Precious.

I miss the sunshine today. It has been raining all day with severe thunderstorms and tornado watches. It is crazy how drastically the weather can change in one day. School even dismissed early, but despite the bad weather, we made the best of it. Popcorn, a movie, blankets, three kids, and one mom snuggled on the couch. Kind of makes me love the rain, too.

I took Scout and Cole to the library today after I picked them up from school. Jake needed a few more books to finish up his independent reading log for school. He loves to read, but he isn't too crazy about going to the library. He would rather play outside after school so we went before we picked him up. I think this is Scout's favorite place; she was so excited. Cole likes it too, but mainly because they have a train table to play with! Scout loves to look at the books. She would stay in the library for hours. She looked at about 100 books before making her final selections. We ended up checking out 20!

It's About Time!

You are seeing correctly!

I have finally updated my blog!

:)

Well, since I am finally back , I thought it might be time to post

about our New Year's trip to Walt Disney World.

Better late than never right?

We had a great time at Disney World.

It was a last minute decision to go,

and despite the huge crowds and long lines, I am so glad that we went.

We were suppose to go a year ago,

but had to cancel our the trip the week before

because Don's back started hurting again.

Well a lot has happened in a year.

Don had two more back surgeries during 2010, and even though

he is still recovering, with the help of a motorized scooter, he was finally able to go to Disney.

Whatever it takes...right?

We only went to the Disney for two days.

The first day we went to the Magic Kingdom.

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was shining, and it was really warm.

We enjoyed riding several of the rides even if some of the wait times were over one hour!

It's a Small World was one of our favorite rides.

Jake loved Pirates of the Caribbean!

The kids loved the Dumbo ride!

Cinderella's Carousel

Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

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The next day we decided to get up early and arrive at the park when it opened. Good move! There were not a lot of people there,and we were able to ride several rides with little to no wait!

My little sister and her family were there also so we were able to enjoy the Magic Kingdom with them for a few hours!

Me and Lisa in front of Cinderella's castle.

Lisa and her boys on the teacups!

I love that Nolan is barely able to peek over the edge of the cup! :)

Nicholas, Nolan, Cole, Jake, and Scout waiting "patiently" in line!

Scout finally got to see the princesses!

My favorite "princess"!

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After lunch, Don, the kids, and I headed over to Disney's Animal Kingdom!

My wild little animals!

This was my favorite park!

We watched the best parade!

There were some great floats, and we were able to see all of the characters!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the parade.

Cole was so funny during the parade. He had gotten a pair

of binoculars at the gift shop and looked through them the entire time

even though we were right up front.

We also went on the animal safari while we were there.

The animal safari was by far our favorite ride!

We saw so many different animals. Most were just walking

right by our bus. It was really a neat experience.

This was Jake's favorite animal on the safari. He had to buy a stuffed one at the gift shop before we left.

We planned to return to the Magic Kingdom to see the New Year's Eve fireworks show,

but this is the sign we saw as we left Animal Kingdom...

so we returned to the hotel and went swimming and rented a movie!

It was a great way to ring in the new year!