Christmas Tag!

I'm not sure that Kelsey tagged anyone, but I felt kinda bloggy(is that a word?) and it gave me something to blog about.
1. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
2. What is your favorite Christmas album? This year, it has been George Strait, but I'm going to a David Phelps concert on Sunday and I am sure it will be wonderful
3. What is your favorite Christmas gift you have ever received? Cabbage Patch Doll
4. What is your favorite gift that you are giving this year? Well, Jarrett is getting a power wheels four wheeler from Santa. Shhhh.... I can't wait to see him when he first sees it.
5. Favorite place/location to look at Christmas lights? Ransom Canyon- It is so breathtaking. I love taking people out there for the first time and when you come down that first hill that looks over the water, they get the full effect. It's beautiful.
6. Favorite Christmas treat/candy? Fudge
7. What is your funniest Christmas memory? In our stockings, at my parents house, we always get a movie from my mom. Even though we have gobs of gifts under the tree, this has become one our favorite traditions. You know it's there, but don't know which movie it is or what everyone else got. So, it's always exciting to open these. Well, a couple of years ago, Sean (my youngest brother) opened his movie. It was one of the Spider Mans, I think. After looking at it closer, he realized that it was the spanish version of the movie. We all got a pretty big laugh, at my mom's expense and haven't let her live it down yet. I'm sure there are many other funny memories, but that is the first that comes to mind.

I'm tagging everyone else.

Pics

Ok, I finally uploaded pics from my camera. So, I am just posting several of them. Kind of random, I know, but I thought I would share. As you can see, he is never still so it makes it kinda difficult to get good pictures.

Relaxing Weekend, Right!

Typically, if you get to stay home from work for a 3-day weekend, you would be relaxed and ready to go. Well, the reason we got a three day weekend was because on Friday Jarrett came down with the stomach bug. We were ready to walk out the door (why does it always happen then?) and I had just finished my hair when Jarrett comes in the bathroom. He was whiny and lifted his arms to be picked up. So, I picked him up and he threw up all over me and him. Luckily, we were in the bathroom on the tile floor. I yelled for Marc to come help. Needless to say, we took baths and got back in our jammies. I was hoping it was just a fluke puke, but it wasn't we continued for hours and hours about every 30 minutes. Poor guy, I felt so bad for him. He didn't recover really until Sunday. So, it was really a LONG weekend.

I did finally get my Christmas tree up. Since we were home bound, all weekend, I decided Sunday would be the day. I did it when Jarrett was asleep for a nap and when he got up, he was so surprised. I put all the non-breakable ornaments at the bottom, but he is still not allowed to touch. After a couple thumps,(I know, I'm terrible) he now KINDA stays away from it. We'll see how long it lasts. So far, not ornament casualties. I'll keep you posted. Here is one pic that I took with my phone. I have more on my camera of Jarrett in front of the tree. I will post them later.

Thanksgiving

Ok, I typed this entire thing about what we did for Thanksgiving and it was too boring to even post. So, I am shortening it down so when I look back next year, I will know what went on. We spent the weekend before in Portales with Marc's mom and family. Then, we went to Brownfield on Wednesday and spent Thanksgiving day with my family. It is so much fun to spend time with everyone. We don't get together near enough. Not everyone got to be there, but I'm hoping to get to see them in the next couple of weeks or at Christmas.

Now, for what I am thankful for. I am thankful that God is in my life and that He is a forgiving God. I am thankful for my wonderful husband who does so much for me and puts up with me even when I'm sick and grumpy. I'm thankful for my precious son, Jarrett, who is by far my best accomplishment and can make my day with one of his sweet smiles. I'm thankful for mine and Marc's families. They are so special and I don't know what we would do without them. I'm thankful for our warm house, food, clothes, and shoes. I'm thankful for our dogs, Daisy and Pepper, even though they drive me nuts sometimes, I do love them. And finally, I'm thankful for my great friends and coworkers. I wouldn't be able to make it day to day without having you as friends. I love reading your blogs and hearing about your lives. Mine seems kinda boring sometimes, so I like reading about other's.

Tag, I'm it!!!

Eight T.V. Shows I Watch:
Grey's Anatomy
Dancing with the Stars
Private Practice
Friday Night Lights
Las Vegas
House Hunters
As the World Turns
Bold and the Beautiful

Eight Favorite Restaurants:
Las Brisas
Cagle's
Olive Garden
Durango's
Thai Pepper
Outback
Chillis
Market Street

Eight Fun Things That Happened This Week:(This one was tough for me. Some of them are reaching a little. I have concluded that I'm pretty boring.)

I got a new 3-ring hole punch today! (I know, that's nerdy, but its fun.)
Jarrett has gotten really good at signing milk and thank you
I bought and started reading book 2 of the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury
I went shopping with my mother-in-law
I went to Barnes and Noble for one book (see above), didn't find it, but bought 3 others
I am now 3 Christmas presents down, a bagillion to go.
Visited Calvary Baptist with a friend of the family
Kaly, my new hair girl, fixed my cut that was driving me nuts.


Fun to come:
I get to spend 5 straight days with Jarrett and Marc next week.
We are doing T-giving this weekend in Portales with the inlaws
SHOPPING
I am decorating the house for Christmas
We are spending Thanksgiving day and the days around it in Brownfield with my family.
NO SCHOOL!
I plan to take many many naps.
Maybe, I will have time to read a little in between naps and playing with Jarrett and shopping and family time.

Eight Things I Look Forward To:
My Mamaw's 80th b-day
Jarrett's second Christmas (he'll be much more involved this year)
Holiday food
Twilight Movie
Resting over the holidays
summer (is it too early to be looking forward to this)
Two of my friends are pregnant and having babies in May! Fun times!
Shopping

Eight Things On My Wish List:
A healthy family (I hate cold season. Currently we are healthy, I just hope we stay this way.)
To sell our house
A new house
Another baby
clothes
shoes
to lose weight
Safe travels through the holidays

I tag Colby and Kristen

Brrrr!!!

Wow, it is finally cold. I've been wishing it would be cold and now that it is, I am wishing it wasn't. Actually, I really just wish the wind didn't have to blow. Anyway, I might have gone a little overboard this morning when getting Jarrett ready to go. He had on a long sleeve t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and then his coat with the hood pulled up. He looked like the little kid on a Christmas story. In his carseat, he couldn't move his head from side to side, only his eyes were moving. I couldn't help but take a picture.

Am I terrible or what?

Well, I have witnessed many times children who go through separation anxiety when their parents drop them off. Even at Jarrett's sitter's house, there is one little boy that cries every time. I was beginning to wonder about Jarrett. He has cried when we have left him in the nursery at church, but never at Debby's. I know this is a good thing because he loves her and she takes great care of him, BUT, I was kinda (selfishly) wondering if he would ever prefer me over staying there. Well, it sort of happened yesterday morning and so I thought it was just a fluke. Then this morning, I sat him down and he went to play. When I said "Bye" he came running to me with his arms up and didn't want me to put him down. That was enough for me. I don't want him to get super upset or anything. It would make me sad to leave him there crying, but just to know that he would like to stay with me made me feel better. I can't believe that I am admitting that, but it's true. I want him to love being with me more than love being at daycare. Is that too much to ask? Am I a terrible mom to want my baby a little upset when I leave him? Yes, I'm sure I am. But, I can't help it. I guess that is the human selfish side coming out.

Owy!

My sweet Jarrett got his first owy at daycare yesterday. He fell and scratched his face on a table. She said that he was really tough and barely cried. I think it hurt my feelings a whole lot more than it did him.

I am sure I have a long road of owys ahead of me. This kid is fearless. We like to call him Evel Knievel. He will step off of a big step without even thinking twice. When he sits on the couch, we really have to work on getting down right, otherwise he just bails off. Last night, Marc was laying on the floor playing with him and he decided it would be fun to not just sit on Marc's back, but to stand on it. This, of course, ended in him falling backwards on the floor because there was nothing Marc could do once he realized what Jarrett was doing. This morning, while he was in the bathroom with me getting ready, I turned around and he was in the bathtub. He hasn't been able to do that until today. We have all new baby proofing to do! Any suggestions???

Oh my goodness!

Well, I just finished watching Tech beat Texas. I'm too excited to go to sleep, so I decided to post pics from our weekend. I see that some of you are ahead of me on Halloween, so I better get busy. These pics are from my mother-in-law's camera. I haven't downloaded mine yet.

My baby's not a baby anymore!

Ok, warning!!!! This blog is a little boring. I am writing it more for me so that I can remember this the next time around. This is kind of bitter sweet. You want your kids to grow and do more things, but when they do, you want them to stop and stay little. Or, at least I do. Also, I am such a worrier. I always worry about if I am doing what's right for Jarrett. Being a new mom and not having a clue, I didn't know when Jarrett should no longer take a bottle. So, the week before he turned one, when my sitter said that he wouldn't be taking bottles over there anymore, I freaked out. I said, "I don't know if he's ready for that." Well, come to find out, he was. He never even skipped a beat and did fine. We continued to do a bottle at night and in the morning. Well, I was visiting with a friend that got "in trouble" by her doctor because her twins were still taking bottles and they are about 8 months older than Jarrett. So, of course I start planning on how to ween him from the two bottles that he still takes. I have done research and read about kids that cry and cry and want the bottle. Some parents are still giving their 3 year old a bottle. What do I do??? I am sure that I was thinking about this a little more than a normal person should. Well, last week, one morning, he woke up and refused to take his bottle. I tried several times and he kept pushing it away and shaking his head no. So, I finally figured it out. He was done with the morning bottle. Now, I switched to being worried about the night bottle. We go to the doctor in a couple of weeks. Me, being the people pleaser that I am, did not want Dr. Klepper to "get on to me." :) I am thinking this is going to be something traumatic for Jarrett because that is what the internet said. (I've got to quit believing everything I read.) Well, we decided to wait on Friday night to see when he would wake up to take his bottle. Guess what! He didn't. He slept until 7, which is way late for him. And he has done that the two nights since. So, apparently, those bottles were more for me than him. Now, I am glad that I don't have to wash bottles anymore, but sad that he is too big for a bottle. What's next, driving??? No, I think we should tackle the passy first. Any suggestions???

We took the kids to take the silly old timey pics in the mall the other day. Here are a couple of them.

My Dad!

Today, my dad turned 60. I can't believe it. He, by no means, seems that old to me. But, I also don't feel 30 either, so I don't know. The older I get, 40, 50, and 60 don't seem that old. Yesterday, my mom told me that this one has been pretty tough on him. My dad isn't one of those people that really gets bothered by things like birthdays, so I have really been thinking a lot about him this morning. I have two brothers, so it is safe to say that I am a Daddy's girl. I have always been and always will be. All of the pics are from my wedding. I need to take more pictures with him more often.

Ever since Marc and I got married, there have been times when I have said, "I think I married my father." The similarities go on and on. I am normally joking, but seriously, that really isn't a bad thing. My dad is the best man that I know. I am lucky to have found one that has some of the same attributes that he does. He LOVES his kids and LOVES his grandkids even more. You wouldn't believe how he turns to mush when it comes to Jarrett. He talks about how Jarrett's laugh makes his day and seeing pics of him makes him smile. I love this. You don't always get to see this side of your parents. He is Jarrett's only grandpa (Papaw) and so their relationship is so important and going to be one that Jarrett cherishes for the rest of his life. I can't wait to watch them bond over the years. I love him more than he will ever know! He is the best dad, grandfather, and now as an adult, friend. He is one of the strongest Christians that I know.

So, I said all of that to say this: Sometimes, I think I take him for granted and I don't want to do that anymore. It is so important to tell the one's that we love, how much we love them. That should NEVER go unsaid and we never know what tomorrow holds.

Whew!

All four grandkids, Evyn, Jarrett, Caleb, and Elijah

Hayride
Jarrett eating Fruit Loops

Here several pics from this weekend. We had such a good time. Like I said before, my fam was in town from Arkansas. So, we spent a lot of time with them since we don't get to see them often enough. This was my weekend.

FRIDAY: We got out of school early, so I met them for lunch. From there, we went SHOPPING! I don't get to do this very often because it is a little difficult with a 15 month in tow. I was the bad mom and left him at the sitter because it was right in the middle of his nap. Anyway, after shopping in the mall we went to the Peddler Show at the Civic Center. Growing up, my mom and I always went to this. My favorite thing is to sample the dips and soups. YUMMO! Anyway, it was great to walk around and look at all of the stuff. I did a little Christmas shopping. I actually got Marc's big gift. I normally wait until the last minute on his so I am super excited!!!! It isn't anything that he has asked for, so I hope he's not dissappointed. We'll see. We finished the day by going to eat with Marc's mom and then we crashed.

Saturday: I was out and about by 9:30 Sat. morning getting fall decorations for my house. I love fall!!! We then went out to Idalou for Pumpkin Fest. These are the pics that I can't wait to post. They are on my mom's camera and she hasn't sent them to me. Jarrett loves being outside, so he had so much fun. He got to go on his first hayride. We drove down to Brownfield and spent the night with my parents. Jarrett and I slept on an air mattress together, which we don't do very often, but he refused to sleep in the pack n play. My hiney (sp?) ended up on the ground with Jarrett smushed into me. No matter where I put him, he would roll to the middle. Not a lot of sleeping accomplished.

Sunday: We had an another open house to get ready for and go to Brownfield. There were a couple of positive prospects, so we will see. Keep your fingers crossed. Marc did mention the possibility of renting out our house, but that worries me a bit. If anyone has any experiences, good or bad, with this, please let me know. I have started praying about all of it and know God is going to lead us to do the right thing. It is just all very scary!

Ok, Ok, I know I'm behind.

Well, as Monica pointed out, I am slacking on my blogging duties. I just don't know exactly what I should blog about all the time. I think of things and then I think, "No one would find that interesting, at all." So, I am going to ramble on a little and you can read on or stop when you get tired of it.
#1. My sis-in-law and niece and nephew got in to town last Saturday from Arkansas. She homeschools and my brother is out of town all week on business. Anyway, my neice, Evyn is precious and always has been. My nephew, on the other hand is quite the character. He loves movies and cartoons and when he finds one he likes, he takes on that persona and pretty much becomes that character. His current thing is Ben Ten (sp??). He has this huge watch that allows him to "transform" in to alien type things. My sister-in-law watched an episode with him the other day and no longer lets him watch the show, but he still uses his watch thingy. Anyway, I said all that to say this. Jarrett and I spent time with them on Sunday. We went down for church and a b-day party. The kids love Jarrett like crazy. I walked in while Elijah was doing patty cake with Jarrett. His version is a little different. It goes like this: Patty cake, patty cake, bakers man, bake me a stinkin cake as fast as you stinkin can. Stinkin is his new word. I couldn't figure out what he was saying at first, but when I did, it made me laugh really hard. Not real sure where he picked that up. It's so funny how they repeat things they hear adults say.

#2 At church on Sunday, the preacher talked about the new movie Fire Proof. I know several people who have seen in and have loved it. They all say that you and your spouse need to see it together. So, at some point, I am going to get Marc to go with me. Also, they had the book The Love Dare for couples to read together. Has anyone else heard about this? I would love to start some sort of Bible study at work with you girls and maybe we could use this book to start us off. I am not completely sure what you do, but I just scanned through it. Every day, it gives you a dare, which might be "call you spouse and tell them you were just thinking of them." It is to teach you how to love. I know that I love Marc, but i know that I could do it a whole lot better. I am not completely sure how it works if you are reading it together. Won't you think that they are just calling because the book says to? Or, will it still make you feel good, even if it is because of the book. I guess it could get you in the habit of doing it and then later on, when it happens, it is for real. I don't know, but I think it sounds good. I really want Marc and I to do this together. Any suggestions on how to encourage him to do this? My husband is not a man of many words, but I really really want us to do this. So, give me some advice if you can.

#3 Last night, we were watching Dancing with... Jarrett loves music and will dance to anything. So of course, when watching this, he goes crazy. His new move is to turn in circles. (He doesn't actually spin, it's more like walking in a circle.) Well, this obviously makes him a little dizzy and he falls down. We laugh and he claps for himself. Laughter encourages him, you know. Then, he was walking carrying his blanket. He puts it over his head (like we play peek-a-boo) and just takes off. At first we thought it was kinda funny. Then as he is fixing to run right in the table, we realize what's going to happen. Marc saves him from injury. Yea for dad's quick thinking. Well, he heard us laugh, so now that is his new thing. If he sees a blanket or towel or whatever, it immediately goes over his head and off he goes! It is amazing to watch him change and learn new things. I never thought parenthood would be this great. I knew I would love it, but nothing like this.

Ok, I am done for now. I will try to do better for you blog stalkers. :) Love y'all! I am going to upload some pics sometime to post some more.

My Heart Smiles

Of course Jarrett does a lot of things that I think are fabulous, but I have a favorite one right now. When I pick him up out of his bed or when I walk in the door and pick him up, he starts patting me on my back. Sometimes he even lays his head on my shoulder (its not the normal I'm sleepy shoulder thing, its I love you Mommy shoulder thing.) I know, this doesn't sound like a big something, but I really think its like he is giving a hug but he doesn't understand hugs yet. It's like he is so excited to see me and so that's what he does. It doesn't matter what is going on with me or my life, I melt and it makes my heart smile. Can you imagine what I will do when he really does hug me? He already gives kisses and they are wonderful, but a big hug is great too.

My First Blog

Ok, here goes nothing. I am very new to this thing called blogging. I have several friends with blogs and am now joining the world of blogging. I already have a MySpace and Facebook, but haven't felt comfortable blogging and posting all of my pics for everyone to see. This seems a little more private and I am sure that I will soon be as addicted as I was to the other sites in the beginning. So, I may need some help from you veteran bloggers, so be patient with me.