Christmas Pictures

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

What a busy day! It started of wonderfully by meeting a dear friend of mine from St.Louis. Katie and I have known each other since kindergarten and have been best friends ever since! Every time we are together, it's like we were never apart. She and her husband are Candace's Godparents. And her sister just married and moved to Memphis, so maybe we will be able to see a little more of each other! She came down for the weekend so we met for lunch and then back to our place. After playing a few rounds of "go fish" she gave us all special gifts and had to go. We got dressed and headed to the Collierville Town Square for some picture taking! Scott's dad was our photographer and he did a great job. It was freezing cold and windy but the girls did so good. When they behave it makes me enjoy the moment also. When we finished, the four of us went to 5:00 mass (church) and to dinner at a Chinese buffet (gag, yuck, gross but Scott and the girls like it so I had to compromise). Before the day was over, we took the girls to see Santa! Carly asked for a V-Tech Pocket Plus and Candace asked for a cupcake maker and a puppy that grows and knows your name. So I will up late tonight searching for a website that has free shipping on those items, if I can even find them at all. Tomorrow we will get our tree and decorate. Then go to dinner with Katie, her sister, and brother-in-law. Busy weekend but we are getting alot accomplished. Good Night & God Bless!

The word on the street.

This was just too funny not to share....

Candace calmly approached Scott and I and asked us the wackiest question. Here was our conversation:
Candace says, "Hey, do you know what the word on the street is?" Well, obviously, Scott and I were looking at each other strangely and trying not to laugh, but said, "no Candace, what is it?" She replied, "UNANIMOUS!...What does that mean?" So I explained to her that when a group of people agree on something, it is unanimous. So she was kinda like, "oh ok".

A little while later she asked us all to raise our hands if we liked ice cream and of course, we all raise our hands. She said, "Hooray, it is unanimous! We all like ice cream, can we have that for dessert?"..."You know, that IS the word on the street!"

Maybe this is one of those ~ you just had to be there~ things, but we think it is hilarious!!

Good Night! God Bless!

Piper

Well Scott already got his Christmas gift. We have had Piper for almost a week now. She is a full blooded black lab puppy. We got her from friends of ours. She is the runt from a litter of 7. Her full name is Piper Autumn Haley. She was born on September 17, the first day of fall. (That's were Autumn came from.) She is wonderful, sleeps good, is doing well on potty training, and gets along great with Annie & the girls! We just love her!

I am thankful for...

....my mom, dad, and brother being able to come over and spend time with us today. My beautiful, healthy girls and terrific husband. My car, my job, a roof over my head. To live in a free country especially to have the freedom of speech and prayer.

I do hope that all of you had a relaxing day with family and friends and food on your table. Take time to remember these days for they will soon be gone. Cherish what you have in front of you. God Bless!

This song....

Last night I realized that I have to stop trying to make everything right. I can't do it all, have it all, give it all. I have to let God take over. It is now out of my hands and in His.
I have always loved the Wizard of Oz and the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. During my favorite tv show the other night, Jon & Kate plus 8, this song was played. I got chills and even tears in my eyes. They were in Hawaii renewing there vows. I visited their website last night and it was so inspirational.
(For those that are not familiar with the show, they have 8 children. A set of twins and sextuplets. They are not much older than Scott and I. They are very honest people and do all they can to make the kids lives the best possible. They are very open about their love for God, which is rare in today's times. She puts Bible verses on index card around her house for inspiration.)
Anyway, back to the reason of the post, for some reason last night something came over me. It was a since of peace. Like it will be ok. I prayed that this peace will continue on into today and days after. It has. Scott was late getting home this morning for work and normally I would be very irritated because he has the car and I was worried about Carly getting to school on time. When he got home, I smiled at him. He asked me if I was in a bad mood probably not noticing my smile and just out of habit or instinct asked me that question. When he realized that I wasn't, it made his morning better. I can't tell you why I feel this way but I think it started with this song. Somewhere over the rainbow dreams do come true and this is a wonderful world! I do believe that I will wake up one day and realize that these gray clouds are far behind us. But I can't do it alone. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and God Bless.

It's Been Awhile

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog. Not much has been going on but yet we have been so busy.

I have finished planning our next vacation. We are going to Orlando in May. The four of us along with my grandma, aunt & her fiance, my cousin, and maybe my mom & brother will all go with us. We have a 3 bedroom condo that sleeps 12 so there will be plenty of room. I also rented us a mini van to drive down there, that will be fun for the girls. Most of you know our disastrous story about our flight home last time...so we decided to drive this time. I have also planned a special lunch inside Cinderella's castle. This will probably be our last trip down there for awhile so I am making sure that we get everything done!

Carly moved up to her next level in gymnastics. She used to be on the little team called "Dolphins" now she is on "Hoppers". She is practicing hard for her Olympic Day in December. Candace will have her dance recital in December also. Carly has her last soccer game this weekend. Thank Goodness!! We are all a little over this soccer thing!

Oh, Halloween was fun. Carly ended up being Snow White and Candace was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. We just went around the block so girls were not too tired the next morning.
Well, can't think of anything else. Thanks for reading this and keep checking back. I promise to do better!

Little Girl with a BIG Attitude

Oh the opinions of a 4 year old....

A few months ago my mom had taken the girls to the mall and they stopped in at The Disney Store. Of course the girls picked out their perfect Halloween costume. So when they got home they told me all about them and begged me to buy them. Being the great mom that I am (haha) I went online and put a Tinkerbell outfit, wings (and not just any wings...they light up), shoes, crown, wand, a Belle dress, shoes, crown and wand in my "shopping bag" and proceeded to checkout. Well let me just tell you that the total was over $120! A...I don't think so!! So for weeks Scott and tried to change their minds and about 2 weeks ago we thought we were successful. They agreed to be cheerleaders. WELL today my sweet little Candace told me that there is no way that she would wear the ugly outfit to school and that all the other girls are going to be princesses and she wanted to be Belle. So now I was feeling guilty because I was the one that talked her into the cheerleader outfit to begin with and she was going to be left out at school. After talking to Scott, we decided to go to The Disney Store and see what was left. Let me remind you that Halloween is in 3 days. So we get there and luckily they had one dress left in her size. No shoes or wand but they had a dress!! Great!! We thought the problem was solved but oh no...life is not that easy! Carly can't be a cheerleader now because Candace was not. We looked and looked but no Tinkerbell outfit. Nothing! That must be a very popular costume this year. So here I sit with about 48 hours left to try to find something suitable for Carly. She is not my picky child and is eager to please...but I would love to find her what she wants since that is what I did for Candace. We will see.

It just amazes me how a 4 year old can be so strong-willed. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. They are both so different. I just can't believe it.

Weekend Wrap Up

Wow I can't believe that it is almost Halloween! This year has flown by!


To celebrate the upcoming holiday, some friends of ours had an adult Halloween party on Saturday night. And all I can really say about that is that I am not as young as I used to be. We had a good time but were exhausted on Sunday morning! We won't be having anymore of those nights any time soon!


We took the girls to see High School Musical 3 this weekend and it was a really cute movie. Also, the four of us, plus my mother-in-law and her mother, went to the Carrie Underwood concert last night. It was wonderful! Little Big Town opened the show for her and the girls loved them too! Candace feel asleep about half way thru but she at least got to hear her favorite songs, Jesus Take the Wheel and Remember Me.


So I am just planning for another busy week ahead. Carly has "Rumble in the Jungle" tomorrow at school and I have volunteered to help. I am assuming this will be just a fun themed day. Not real sure. Unfortunately in kindergarten we are not as informed on things like preschool. So I am usually asking her all the questions! And then the usual dance, gymnastics and soccer. The girls are excited about Friday and of course I will let you know how that goes!

Cedar Hill Farms

Besides having colds/allergies/flu, we all had a fun week. It was filled with the usual gymnastics, dance class, and soccer games. But we were also able to eat lunch with Carly at her school on Thursday. She was so excited and had told all her friends we were coming. Candace thought she was such a big girl when she got to go thru the lunch line a buy her lunch like Carly does!

On Saturday we attended Scott's company picnic at Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando, MS. This was our first picnic with CN and we had so much fun!! Besides the typical pumpkin patch activities like pony rides, corn maze, and hayrides.....they had wonderful food, raffle tickets, and a miniature CN train for the kids to ride that blew bubbles out the stack! Scott is so happy with his new company and when daddy's happy, we are all happy!

My First Blog

Well, I am going to try to catch everyone up on what has been going onthe past couple of months. We had a great summer. We went to Gulf Shores with friends over Memorial Day weekend. Then the girls and I went to Destin in June with a old friend of mine and her kids. The girls took swimming lessons and learned so much! Carly also did a cheer camp at the YMCA.

As most of you know, we were trying to have another baby. I conceived in July but that pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage in September. We understand that everything happens for a reason and are going to start trying again in the spring.

So Carly started Kindergarten in August. She loves it! She is already reading and writing "stories". She also started soccer and continues gymnastics.

Candace goes to preschool 3 days a week and takes dance on Tuesday mornings.

We will be adding a new addition to the family around Thanksgiving. Her name is Piper Autumn Haley. (Autumn because she was born the first day of fall.) She is a black lab. Scott is soooo excited!!