Manly Men

These are pictures of my manly man son playing with his manly man trains in front of his manly man basketball goal.

This is the conversation my manly man son and his manly man father had in the car this evening:

Little Man: "Daddy, I need my paci!"

Big Man: "No, you are a big boy like Daddy. Do I use a paci?"

Little Man: "No, Daddy. But, I need one to go to sleep." (whining, etc.........)

Big Man: "You don't need one now. But, I'll get you one when we get home and bring it to you in bed. What color do you want?"

Little Man: "A pink one!"

Big Man: "No, Brady. Pink is for girls."

Little Man: "No Daddy. Pink is for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

G-Daddy told me to delete the post of Brady's princess dress debut. He is not gonna like this one either. But again, this is my blog, where I try to tell the truth and document REAL life. And, if you will notice, I am referring to them both as manly men because that IS the truth.......minus pink paci requests from the little guy and an over obsessive addiction to lip moisturizing by the big one ;

Me, Myself and I

I got tagged by my friend Leslie to list 20 things that you may not know about me ;) Here goes:

1. My first love was Michael Jackson. When I was five, I saw his “Thriller” tour in concert from one of the top rows of Neyland Stadium. I had all things Michael—a purse, shirts, hoodies, posters, etc. At my rehearsal dinner, my cousin gave my hubby a silver, sequined glove and told him, “I thought you might need this for the honeymoon.”
2. I am obsessed with Better Homes and Gardens special edition magazines. When I am without the kids, I find the longest line to stand in at the grocery store just so I can read them without actually buying them.
3. My favorite book in the entire world is Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. I love the children’s version too! Jeremy read it to me over and over as we were going through infertility and a difficult pregnancy. It is wonderful!
4.I have a gross appendectomy scar. It used to really bother me, but now I just tell nosy people, who ask what it’s from, that it’s a stab wound.
5. The first time my now hubby came to visit me in college, I fell down the stairs and carpet burned my face.
6. I still wear my cheerleading “wind-shorts” from high school--a lot. I probably shouldn't, but I do anyway.
7. My favorite part of delivering my children was the catheter. Call me crazy, but after having to haul myself out of bed to the bathroom 20 times a day for weeks, I thought being able to just pee in a bag was amazing!
8. I have issues with certain restaurants. If I’ve ever had a gross experience at one (like a hair in my food or a view of a nasty looking cook in the kitchen), I have to cross it off the list forever.
9. I am addicted to buying Karson hair bows. If she goes out without a bow, I seriously feel like a bad mother.
10. I bribe my kids—mostly with cookies and trips to their grandparents’ houses.
11. I believe that life begins when that little embryo implants in its mommy’s womb. And, I admit that I think that people who believe otherwise are uneducated. And, those, like our President, who believe that there is ever a need for partial-birth abortions to protect the health of the mother are just plain wrong and need to get their facts straight. For facts, click here
12. I love when my hubby is on vacation and lets his face get a little scruffy. It makes him seem a little dangerous or something.
13. I can’t imagine not having a formal dining room, though we never, ever use ours. I love plates and china too much not to have a room solely dedicated to them. But, I can see why those without my plate obsession would not see the need for one.
14. I love contemporary, causal worship! I think loud, exciting worship music and dancing is practice for Heaven!
15. I am a very conservative Republican. I even voted for Bob Dole. I also shook his hand (the good one) in 1996 at the Tri-Cities airport in my SHS cheerleading uniform. It was a proud moment.
16. I LOVE living in Kingsport and living 3 streets over from my parents. In fact, I would love to buy the house that is for sale right behind them and cut a hole in the fence for easy access.
17. I want my children to be able to hide the word of God in their hearts. I believe teaching my children about Jesus is my most important role as a parent.
18. I think I am married to the best man on earth! He is my Prince Charming. I love watching him play with our children---especially when I can hear them all laughing hysterically together!
19. When I sleep, some part of me has to be touching my hubby for security. Usually it is my foot because that is the only part that can reach him with a little person (or 2) between us.
20. I feel really, sincerely sorry for Oprah. I wish someone would help her understand the TRUTH that there is only one way to Heaven (not many paths) because she is leading so many folks astray.

Mirror, Mirror.....

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

Is it okay that I like dress-up better than football?

Yep, it's official. Jeremy, Papa and G-Daddy are ALL gonna kill me for this one :)

Well guys, I hope he likes cleats as much as he does slippers!

Here he is crying cause he just can't get the shoes to fit.....and I was worried that he might turn my little Karson into a tom-boy.......at least we don't have to worry about that!

(Okay, okay. He isn't really girly. He is all boy and loves, tractors, tools, trains and balls. I just wanted to give the men in my life I hard time. After all, this is my blog, and I am the boss!)

My addictions

So, I got tagged by my friend Audrey........and I am supposed to admit 5 of my addictions. I'm pretty sure I have more than 5, but these are at the top of the list:

1. A girl truly isn't Southern unless she is slightly addicted to monograms. I admit that I am all about anything personalized/monogrammed. In fact, when I shop, I look for cheap finds at garage/consignment sales that can be made totally cute and preppy by just adding a little KJO to them. Okay, really it's KOJ. Actually, most of the time it is KOH for Karson Hannah--which is even more fun!

Honestly, only 1 of these items is from a consignment sale. Can you guess which one? (Actually, there are really only 2 things it could be...... because you know I would never buy someone's old pillowcase or a stranger's used towel. )

2. If you've ever been to my house, you know I am totally addicted to toile. The twin's nursery features blue/pink toile and my Christmas tree skirt and ribbon are toile. I have toile napkins in the dining room and toile boxes in the bathroom---it is everywhere! In case you are thinking, "What the heck is toile?"---here is the definition: • n. a type of printed calico with a characteristic floral, figure, or landscape design on a light background, typically used for upholstery or curtains.

Here is just a very,very small sampling of my toile collection.

3. Y'all already know that I am addicted to the Internet. My hubby tells me this at least twice a day, every day. I am really only addicted to these 3 sites.

I use blogger to stalk friends and those I don't really know but think are cool. I use picnik to make cool pictures to entice others to stalk me. And, I am addicted to crackbook.....I mean facebook because you don't even have to try to be nosy to get info there. People you haven't seen in fifteen years post what they are doing at that very moment and it just shows up on the screen........very fun!

4. I just got DVR. Jeremy and I are totally technology challenged (neither of us have text messaging or Ipods). But, now we think we are big time cause we can record anything and watch it at 3:00 in the morning. Okay, I can watch it at 3:00....he goes to bed at 9:30. Anyway, DVR totally supports my addiction to reality shows.

These are my favs!

5. Finally, I have some food addictions. If I was stranded on a deserted island, these would be the food items I would hope to have in my possession.

Shorty You're My Angel.....

When we began our love affair, over 8 years ago, Shaggy was all the rage....no, not a hair-style or a dog....the Jamaican, reggae artist. I'd love to say that our song is something traditional and timeless such as "At Last," or even something that might appear on "Monster Ballads." But, it's those Shaggy hits like "Angel" and "Boombastic" that take me back to those early days of our relationship. Anywhoooooo, December marked 8 years for us as a couple--------and six years of marriage. Though we have definitely faced some trying times together, we have also been blessed with so much joy, laughter and love. I love my hubby so much! Here are some random things about him that make me smile:)

1. The fact that he pursued me.........He will never own up to it, but it is true........He likes to pretend that I was obsessed with him and had pictures of him from high school plastered on my ceiling, but that is simply not the case....it was ALL you bud.

2. He has broken off his tight (ankle) relationship with Levi Strauss and finally befriended the Gap.

3. He lets me wear his good running socks........even though he doesn't like it......he lets me.

4. He never calls and asks, "What's for dinner?" He calls and says, "Can I bring home anything for dinner." (He is still really trying to find out what's for dinner.....but it's a lot nicer way of asking.)

5. If we ever get separated at the mall, I always know where to find him......Baby Gap (with a purchase in hand)

6. He is VERY calm in emergency situations..........a rock.........really.

7. He can't carry a tune but he still sings a great lullaby version of "The Gambler" to our kids at bedtime.

8. He ALWAYS prays before a meal.......and always makes sure our kids do too.

9. He is an awesome picture hanger (measures/spaces everything perfectly).

10. He has a heart for SHS youth and is a great role model for them at small group Bible study.

11. He loves living in Colonial Heights and South football--- just like me :)

12. He gave up his cool SUV for a mini-van, but he is now all about the van!

13. He looks pretty darn awesome with his shirt off.

14. He builds great blanket tents in our den.

15. When he accepted Christ, he was so excited and called everyone he knew to tell them.

16. When we were going through infertility, he went to EVERY Dr.'s appointment with me........every single one..........even when the Dr. said he didn't need to.

17. He takes baths (in his shorts) with our kids........even at 3:00 am on a work night with a feverish little girl.

18. He really cares about people and loves his friends.

19. He always dances with me at weddings.........even if no one else is and it's just us on the floor.

20. He trusts God completely.

21. He has a prince's peak (a v in the neckline of his hair). That was on my list.....really.

22. He is super smart.........at math especially and I need lots of help in that department.

23. He could care less if I don't shave my legs or skip a shower.

24. He is teaching our children about Jesus.

25. He loves me no matter how much I nag, steal the covers and use his toothbrush.

P.S.----We celebrated our 6 year anniversay in Nashville this weekend. We did a lot of shopping---mostly for the kids. Again, I found Oz in Baby Gap. We enjoyed a great meal at the Cheesecake Factory, a movie starring Clint Eastwood and a bed with NO children!

Oh.......and these too!

Kickin it with Some Friendly Monsters...

We took the twins to see Sesame Street Live the other night. I was pretty excited to take them because I remember going to this show when I was little, and I am quite the Sesame Street expert since I watch it almost every day. Poor, sweet Jeremy went because he loves his kids and is the greatest daddy ever! He was invited to go to the Tennessee/Kentucky basketball game that night, but he declined to go watch Elmo with us instead. His boss, who has three children, did give him a couple of pointers about the show. He told him to go to the dollar store and buy some cheap glow sticks, so he wouldn't have to break the bank on some crazy, expensive ones at the show. Awesome advice.......and it worked too........until intermission when a guy holding a million mylar Elmo balloons started selling them right in front of our seats! Jeremy and I kept our cool and were satisfied with our $1 a piece glow stick purchases. But, at Karson's first, "I want that," Grammy hit G-Daddy up for the dough. And, before I knew it, there I was standing in line with forty other crazy parents buying an $8 floating Elmo head.Waiting for the show to start
Braids and his daddy
Karson and daddylovin the $1 glow stick!

(The ones they were selling at the show were cooler, but they cost $15!)

I think G-Daddy even enjoyed the show!
Brady was more interested in the glow stick than the show. And, he really preferred Karson's fairy wand glow stick over his sword one. Luckily, Karson was more into watching all of the dancing and singing.
Finally, here is the infamous Elmo balloon. This is his first and final appearance in our playroom. Moments after I tied him to the slide and took his picture, a little girl, who will remain nameless, popped him and hid his remains in the closet!

Please Pray!

I love to visit Kelly's Korner. Kelly suffered from infertility in the past, but she finally gave birth to a long awaited baby girl (Harper) on Friday. The baby was born with a terrible case of pneumonia and is very, very critical. I cannot imagine what this sweet, first-time mommy must be going through. Please pray for baby Harper and her parents. God is all-powerful and mighty. He can do ANYTHING! Please pray that this precious baby will be healed.

"Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses. But, we trust in the name of the Lord our God!" Psalm 20:7

Zacchaeus You Come Down!

As you know, we are in the process of having all of the pine trees that surround our yard cut down. The twins love watching the men working in the yard---especially Brady, who is obsessed with any kind of construction equipment. Today, as I was getting lunch ready, the twins were watching the men work through the glass doors in the kitchen. I left the room for a second and when I came back Brady was yelling, " Zacchaeus, you come down! Zacchaeus come down from that tree right now for I'm going to your house today!"

I almost peed in my pants laughing! There was a man way up in the top of a pine tree, and Brady was pointing his finger at him yelling. I had to go get my camera and get this on tape. It was too funny and precious to forget! Pause my music and watch for yourself.

I stink at videos and had the camera sideways.....watch it anyway.....it is cute!

Baby Boy Jones is Here!

Welcome to the World!

Gavin O'Brien Jones

We just got back from seeing our brand new nephew at UT Medical Center. He is so little and so new! I can't believe my little brother has a baby! He seems like a natural Daddy. It is probably from all those years of taking care of his very own cabbage patch kid doll, who was named Hal--it's true ;)
Everyone is happy and doing well. I am the proud Auntie who really wanted to steal this little bundle of joy and take him home with me. I think the tired parents would have let me, if it weren't for that darn security tag attached to his belly! Don't worry! I will come and take a night shift...if I can find someone to take my own night shift here!

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father..." James 1:17

Congrats Dave and Cara!

Thanks for the Memories

So……slowly but surely, the pine trees are all being cut down. Our yard still looks like a tornado hit, but we got a GREAT deal on the tree removal………so we are happy about that! Oh...my hubby scolded me for saying that only two trees fell……..it was three. Anyway, in addition to our tree disaster, we also had two other minor household emergencies last week. Our old, but tried and true, garage door springs finally decided it was time to retire after 30 or more years of hard labor and broke free. We also got another nice little surprise when we found the cabinet under the sink in our master bath completely flooded. But, thanks to my dad we are now good to go.

However, it wasn’t until last night that I began trying to regain some order in the bathroom. As I went through all of the stuff that had survived the flood, I found a couple of items of interest. These are things I no longer need but for some reason have never been able to part with.

Fertility Drugs (actually needles and pain medication for my IVF procedure) circa 2006

Until now, I just couldn’t let go of these for some reason. They were a reminder that I fought a good fight I guess……..that I went into battle and won. It was truly a battle…..a painful one….one I don’t ever want to go through again! So, I decided to say bye-bye forever and tossed them.

I don’t ever, ever plan to see your kind again, but thanks for ALL your help!

Bubble bath and lotion (from our honeymoon) circa 2002/2003

Back in Jan. of 2003, I thought these should be kept as a token of our love fest in Mexico. But, fearing someone might end up with one heck of a rash from these outdated little guys, I decided to say good-bye and thanks for the memories!

Maybe we will see your kind again………someday………..when the kids are out of college, and we can once again return to the Palace Resorts.

The Positive Test circa 2006 (Finally 2 pink lines!)

This is the test with the result that I waited to see for over a year and a half! It is the second one I took that day……….the one that I went to buy after the Walgreen’s cheap-o brand showed me a plus sign……..the one that made me fall to my knees with thanksgiving, disbelief and joy…….the one that changed my life forever!

Don’t’ worry friend……I’m keeping you forever…..pee-pee and all!

What happened was just this.........

The wind began to switch - the house to pitch...

and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch......

Luckily, There was no witch....

Just a grumpy mommy, with walking pneumonia, in her bathrobe

Today, the Oz family almost got swept away to the Land of OZ..........really. After going to bed at 4:30 am (yes, really) because I was taking care of my sick, sick, little girl with a temp. of 104, I was awakened this morning by what I really thought was a tornado. After assessing the gale force winds outside, I grabbed both my kiddos, who were sleeping in my bed (one because she was sooooo sick and the other because we felt sorry for him), and ran with them downstairs. Just to let you know, we have NO basement and NO interior rooms in our house. I had the kids in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room when I saw a rocking chair fly off our front porch and land upside down in the shrubbery. The next thing I knew, the house shook, and it sounded like there was someone trying to beat down the back door. At this point, I was pretty terrified and ran for the kitchen phone.....to call my dad of course. And out of the kitchen window I saw this:

Two huge pine trees had been completely uprooted and came crashing down in our yard.

See the windows in the above pic......that is our bedroom.....where moments before I was sleeping with my two little munchkins.

It is a complete miracle that the trees totally missed our house. But, I do think the fence needs some TLC.In 1968, someone had the bright idea to plant rows of pine trees around our entire yard. We have been taking the dead ones out one by one. But tomorrow, they are ALL going bye-bye!

I am SO thankful that the Lord protected our family and our house! The way they landed was truly amazing! However, I must admit that I'd rather be spending those tree chopping funds on this:

Or this

Or even this

But most importantly this

Honestly, I am truly grateful that God took care of us this morning and gave us a little wake-up call to help us realize that the trees need to go--------sooner rather than later!

Times Like These........

Whether it's finishing the lyrics to a song on the radio or "reading" from memory a page of a book you've read aloud a million times, I think most of you parents out there will admit that from time to time your child will do something that makes you say to yourself, "My kid must be a genius!"

And then there are times like these.............

........when your child runs through the house with a bucket for a hat.

These are the times you want to throw away that MENSA application and sign them up for self-defense classes instead :)

Blog Stalk and Learn....

For the past couple of nights, I have been totally obsessed with stalking design blogs. I should totally be sleeping beside my cute hubster, but instead I have been surfing the web ---reading some awesomely simple and easy design ideas. I have also discovered a secret……a secret for satisfying this stay-at-home mama’s need to break out of the house every now and again and go shopping. The secret………THRIFT STORES! After checking out the goodies found by Thifty Décor Chick and Just a Girl, I decided to try my hand at thrift store shopping. So, with an open mind, a whole hodgepodge of spray painting ideas and 20 bucks that I swiped from my hubby’s wallet, I set out on my mission. After two disappointments at The Habitat Store (closed) and The Salvation Army (relocated), I found my first two treasures at none other than Goodwill.
Check these out: 8 glass punch bowl cups for less than $3! I already had a beautiful punch bowl, and now I have cups to go with it! Can you say party?
I also found this cute little porcelain bunny for 99 cents. I thought it would look cute in Karson’s room (Her room has a sort of shabby chic/vintage theme).
I stopped at a couple of other places before finding my last purchases at a tiny consignment store. ***Note: Beware of consignment stores—sometimes their prices are crazy high for just plain junk. But, if you look really carefully, sometimes you can find a great bargain!

I found this little lamp for just $8! I think it has a lot of character. I am totally going to “mistreat” the shade (see the nester’s site for great ideas on “mistreatments”.)
Finally, I picked up this little vintage looking frame for about $4. I like that it hold 2 pictures—one for each of my little angels! All this for about $16—I’d call that a success! So, all you mama’s with no job and no cash to call your own—swipe a couple of bucks from your man and head out the door! Thrifting will satisfy your need to shop without getting you in trouble!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

When I was little, we celebrated Jesus's birthday with a cake just for him. This is a tradition that I have carried on with my own children. This is our 3rd Happy Birthday Jesus cake. The twins' first Christmas, we had a cookie cake. Last year, I bought one at the bakery. This year, I just went with an 88 cent mix from Ingles---and I must say that it was by far the most tasty!We lit 7 candles for the seven members of our family who were there--to remind us that

Jesus came to earth for each one of us!

After the Christmas Eve service at our church, we ate cake and finger foods at my parents' house. My brother and his wife (Cara) weren't able to join us because they are on baby watch---watching for signs of labor that is. Even though Knoxville is only an hour and a half away, it is an hour and a half too far if you are about to give birth. (However, the baby is still in his mommy's tummy--with no signs of an appearance. It won't be long though!)

The 2008 matching pj'sHearing your child's laughter is truly the sweetest sound in the entire world! Can I get an Amen? We are so blessed that they love each other so much!Karson and Brady with MemaKarson loves to play with "baby Jesus." My dad made this stable, and we've had the same nativity figures ever since I can remember. As a little girl, I loved playing with this too. So, did my brother---I guess that's why G.I. Joe's were often spotted as guests of the Christ child. Today, when we picked up the twins from Grammy's, a couple of dinosaurs had found their way to the stable as well. I knew dinosaurs were in the Bible!
Karson has a serious obsession with a certain blue dog. This is what I will be watching for the rest of my life.....or until she decides to watch Cinderella for the 1,000,000th time.