What a Wonderful Weekend.....

Friday: Shane and I took Tyler to see Sesame Street Live - Elmo Makes Music. The show was great and Tyler loved it!! The 3 of us had a great night. Kaylee didn't go. Apparently 4 years old is way to old for Sesame Street. She opted to spend time with her Gram and they played putt - putt golf.

Saturday: We had a great day of BBQ, football and friends. We had a house full of some of our favorite friends (although some were unable to attend). All 6 kids were fabulous and played great together.

Sunday: Naps, family time and getting ready for the upcoming week.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend also. I have been taking lots of pictures of the kids and will post them soon!!

Is three really a crowd??

Shane and I have been undecided for a while on whether or not to have another baby. I have always wanted 3 or 4 kids but sometimes I feel as if my 2 are just as much stress as 4. Tyler definitely keeps me busy as he is always up to something and Kaylee can be so sweet but so sassy!!

The past several months I have really been telling myself that I was completely happy with the 2 beautiful children God has given me and that three would just be hard. For example - when you have a third child and you have to get a hotel room where does one of the kids sleep? I know questions like that are silly, but those are the kind of random things I think about.

Lately I have had this overwhelming feeling come over me and every time I look at one of the kids, I absolutely fall in love with them just as I did the day they were born. I can't help but think of how wonderful it would be to have another child to love as much as I love Kaylee and Tyler. Next to Shane, they are absolutely the love of my life!!

So, as to whether to have another or not - still undecided. Any suggestions or comments??

My kids were extremely funny today....

Most school mornings in our house are an absolute train wreck!! This morning was no exception. The kids fought from the time their little feet hit the floor until Kaylee got out of the car at car line. Needless to say, I was a little frazzled by the time we left our house. I always have to fight with Kaylee about what she is going to wear. This morning she didn't understand why I wouldn't let her wear her new "dress up" dress we brought back from New York. I finally talked her into a cute outfit and got her ready. Tyler is usually my easy one to dress. However, this morning he not only insisted on doing it by himself, we didn't see eye to eye on the shoes he was going to wear. I had picked out Sperry's that went nicely with his red Polo shirt and khaki shorts. He picked out his green frog rain boots. Guess what - he won!! I guess he just caught me in a weak moment. The bad thing was when we got to school everybody told him how cute he looked!!!!!!! Ugh!!!!!

This afternoon after we got home from school the kids were outside playing and Kaylee walks in the door and says "congratulations mom, Tyler has poop!!!!!!!" Where in the world did she get that from?? Then tonight we were at Target and I asked our very pregnant cashier when her baby was due. She said she was having a boy and he was due in 3 weeks. I finished paying and as we were walking to the car Kaylee asked if it was going to be 7 or 10. When I asked her what she was talking about she said "mommy, her tummy was so big I didn't know if she was having 7 babies or 10 babies!!!" She is always coming up with funny sayings that make me laugh!!

I think days like today are just God's way of saying let them be little and enjoy every minute!!

I'm a Jersey Girl

At least for the next couple of days. We got to NJ late last night and so far I only have one funny story. After George picked us up from the airport I wanted to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a snack. I ordered munchkins and a large coke....... The man looked at me like I was absolutely crazy. I repeated it and he asked me if I was talking about calories?! I thought maybe he just didn't understand my "southern accent", so I asked George what they call cokes. After several minutes of confusion we realized the little man was confused because they don't sell fountain drinks. I settled for chocolate milk and then we were on our way.

We are just hanging out at George and Liane's house today. They are crazy enough to have all 10 of us "out of towners" stay at their house (which is beautiful by the way). We are cooking out tonight and just catching up.

Tomorrow the Newark FBI office is hosting a Memorial golf tournament for Jeremy. Over 120 law enforcement officers, special agents and supporters will come together to show their support. I know it will be a tough day full of emotions and I ask that you pray for TK, Cole and Jeremy's family.

Saturday morning we are headed to NYC. I am very excited. Since shopping is my passion (or addiction), I will be spending most of my time on 5th Avenue. TK will be spreading some of Jeremy's ashes in a special undisclosed location.

All in all it will be a crazy and emotional weekend....but definitely a memorable one. :o)

What does this mean for his future??

So, today I walk into the dining room and see Tyler wearing this pink tutu. His Dad freaks out every time he plays dress up with his sister. I'm not real sure what I think about it. Our house is completely full of "girl stuff". Believe me, he is not "girly" in any way, shape, form or fashion. So until I start to see him showing "girly" tendencies I will continue to let his sister have fun dressing him up - plus it will be great material to embarrass him once he starts dating.

Why???

While Shane and I were gone to Knoxville the kids stayed with their Aunt TK. We called to check in periodically and she said they had been really good. She took them to church this morning, I talked to her after lunch and she said that my kids had been great! They went home with their Gram and Poppy after church and we got there to pick them up late this afternoon and they too said the kids had been wonderful. But, it never fails the minute they see us they lose their minds and start acting terrible! Why is that??

Needless to say we appreciate them being good for others, but we would like to see that sometimes too. And really it doesn't make sense. More than likely the other people that they stay with would not spank them, so why would they act up for us? I know it is probably an age old question and I may never know the answer - but I am very curious.

I don't have a title for this one...

As many of you know I made an incredible life changing decision after Jeremy passed away. For those of you who don't know I would love to share with you that I accepted Christ. Although my journey is still very new I feel like God is doing incredible things in my life right now. Just this week I feel that He has surrounded me with certain people and circumstances. As I post this blog Shane and I are on our way to be with the family of little Aiden who passed away Wednesday.

This week I met a girl who's best friend's husband is very sick with a rare cancer. After listening to her and finding out the sick man is an FBI Agent, I told her that my best friend's husband was also and FBI agent and passed away suddenly in January. I just feel that God put us there together Tuesday to be with each other. I have read her friends caring bridge site and can't help but be awed by their faith. I ask that if you feel compelled please pray for the Watson family. He is 37 and they have 2 girls ages 10 & 3.

As I was in the middle of the above paragraph I received a phone call from my mom that my Grandfather in Texas has had a heart attack and is in ICU. Isn't it ironic that I was in the middle of posting about the different circumstances He has given me to handle this week....

I ask for prayers for everybody I have mentioned today. I will keep you posted on my Grandad.

Please Pray....

I received some very sad news today and I would like to ask for prayers from any of you who are willing to pray. One of my good friends lost a grand baby to SIDS yesterday. His name was Aiden and he was only 3 months old. This family is such a wonderful Christian family and they have such a unique and awesome story.

They are our age and have 2 little boys of their own that are 9 and 7. They have also adopted a 3 children. Two of them were infants when they got custody of them. One is deaf and the other was born to a mom with a drug addiction. Since then, they also adopted a very sweet 17 year old who happened to be pregnant. They made the most out of the situation and she had this baby in May and is an exceptional mother. Needless to say, everyone is in shock and broken hearted. Shane and I will be traveling to Knoxville Saturday for the service. I can't express to you enough how special this family is and they are just asking for prayers.

HELP!!!!!!

O.k. so this probably not news to many of my girlfriends who are moms, but getting ready for a consignment sale is HARD WORK!! I spent a total of 20 hours last week (with Ms. Betty's help) just getting everything hung up. That in itself is no simple task. Everything has to be hung a certain way, on a certain hanger and with certain safety pins. Such a pain. So, tonight one of my really good friends came to help me price my stuff (she just made like millions on stuff she sold at another consignment sale). We worked for 5 hours and only got 60 pieces tagged and priced!! And we worked really hard. The bad part is that I still have a ton more to do. I think the biggest problem is I am selling everything my children have ever owned, and trying to get all of that ready at one time stinks.

So, for anyone who would like to help me get everything ready for me to drop off next Tuesday (9/09) I would love your help. And I promise I will help you if you decide to do it. Or if you just want to come keep me company while I work on it - that would be great too. :o)

No Tears....

Well, today was the first day of school for the kids. Not real school but Children's Day Out from 9:00 - 2:00. So, we pull up to the car line to drop Kaylee off, and everything goes smooth. The teacher comes and opens her door, unbuckles her and she hops out. She proceeds into the church building like the big girl that she thinks she is. I was a little sad to see her act so grown up but I didn't tear up. Next, we go across the parking lot and park to take Tyler into his class. As we are driving through the parking lot, I saw several moms crying. I felt so guilty because I was so relieved to finally have them both out of my hair for 5 hours!!!!!!!! I felt like a terrible mother. I did miss them once I got home, but I got so much laundry and cleaning done!!

They both had a great day and I got good reports from both of their teachers. They are sound asleep now which is huge for us. They normally don't go to bed until at least 10:30. I don't think they have been in the bed and asleep by 9:00 since they were newborns. :o)

Missing Jeremy....

Many of you know that in January we lost one of our very best friends. There is not a day that goes by that I am not reminded of what a great person he was and how much I miss him. This weekend being the opening weekend for college football, I have been especially sad because his third love (after his wife and his son) was AUBURN FOOTBALL!! He lived for anything Auburn. The last time I saw Jeremy was actually at the Auburn / Alabama football game in November. We had so much fun! We spent the whole game together. I can't help but picture Jeremy up in Heaven watching the game with his shaker yelling "War Eagle".

I know TaraKy has struggled with this being the start of football season without him however, she never ceases to amaze me. She has been and continues to be so strong. So, I just want her to know what a wonerful job she is doing being there for Cole and how proud Jeremy must be. I love you TK.