Alumni

Five years ago today I became an alumni of the University of Tennessee! It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed! It was an amazing feeling to walk across the stage that day!

Jesus vs Santa

This issue controversy has come up several times this season; mostly talk around me, but it has definitely got me thinking about what I'm teaching Major and how in the scheme of his childhood/life that will affect him. Josh and I grew up believing in Santa and didn't believe in Jesus less because of it. Josh grew up in a home where he learned about Jesus and was exposed to "the story". He was raised in church and his parents provided a foundation of faith for him. I, however, did not grow up in church. Well, I started going in elementary school (maybe in the 3rd grade) when my dad had us on the weekends. I didn't grow up hearing about Jesus or that he was the reason for the season, per se. I didn't go to church on Christmas Eve or regularly or celebrate the birth of Jesus. Still, I learned that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas. I have been thinking a lot about should we just tell Major that Santa is pretend so that he doesn't get confused about whether or not Jesus is real. I've gone back and forth about being misleading to him. I don't want him to ever think that I am being dishonest and that he can't trust my word. I follow this blog and I think she is amazing! PLEASE click on that link and read her post. There is no way that I could have said what or how I feel any better. In our house, we teach Major about Jesus first. He knows Jesus was born in "Befweham" to be our Savior. As simply as I can put it to a spoiled three year old, I teach him about giving to others who have less. We talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus which, to him, means being nice and helpful to friends. He is learning and that makes me proud. Just tonight he picked up his bible and said "this is heavy, you have to be strong to carry this bible". I smiled because that means one thing to him but a completely different thing to me. The bible is "heavy", it is serious and to carry God's Word, to carry it in your heart, to share with others, to minister, you have to be strong. That's something that I am in a constant struggle with. Anyway, that huge tangent to say read JOY'S HOPE. She said it perfect about how I feel about Santa and Jesus. I definitely think with the right amount of balance you can let your children experience the magicalness ( I know that's not a word) of Santa while also teaching them and showing them about the love of Jesus.

Here are some pictures of Jesus' Birthday last year at our house:

 So if you haven't already clicked over...GO! Go, Go, Go!!!

Fatty McFatterson

Ok, so I am tired of being fat. I mean, really, when did these extra 10 pounds just sneak on over? I feel so gross, nothing fits, I look fat, my face is fat, ewww, ewww, ewww. It's time to make a change. Josh just got hired on full time and got a benefits package with WEMA which means that we get a basically free membership to Jimmy Floyd starting in February! Yahoo!!! I really am thrilled about this! But until then I have to get things under control. I am at my highest weight.....which I will not mention here.....and as much as I say it isn't about the # on the scale, we all know it is. So I am really, honestly, truly, gonna do something about it. The bottom line is that I just want to feel better, I want to go down just one jean size and have more energy and stamina. I want to just FEEL BETTER. Losing 10 to 15 pounds would get me there. I would be at a good and healthy weight without being too skinny. Since high school I have gained 18 pounds :( That's kinda a lot when you have no reason whatsoever to have gained it. I don't really want or need to go all the way back to my weight in high school but I need to take some responsibility and loose some of this. So maybe posting on here will help me be accountable. I am going to the store tomorrow....all good and healthy food for me :) I will try to be brave and post a fatty picture of myself on here as a sort of "before" and hopefully will have a much thinner and better feeling "after" picture before long. So here goes.........

Scrapping

I was able to follow through with my plans and scrapbook a little last week. I am still so behind, but I usually am this time of the year. Seems everything happens so fast starting in October. Usually in January and February when the weather is yuck I will catch myself up just in time for spring. Anyway, here is a sample of some of the pages I did or am in the process of finishing....

This is one of my favorite pages I think I've ever done. I love this pic because that tree is just so old and sturdy and fits perfectly where it stands and Major looks so tiny next to it. You can't actually see Major in this picture, just Josh. Kinda puts into perspective what a small speck we really are in this big ole world.

What's the Bladder? (haha, what's the matter) :)

So I have a UTI, it sucks. I hate them. I get them a lot. My sweet little Watertown Dr is super awesome and will call the pharmacy for me within a 6 month window, but guess what.....this little problem came a little too late. It has been a whopping 7 months since my last one :( UGH Talk about peeved. It's kinda like your brakes wearing out a week after your warranty or something. So anyway, I haul Major to the doc with me and do the dreaded pee in the cup and in 5 min she is back telling me what I already knew. Only this time she wants to refer me to a Urologist. She said her reasoning was partly because of the frequency of infections that I have and she also mentioned that she had "reason to believe" something else may be going on. Uh....can't leave me hanging for 3 weeks like that, but she is. So I have an appt on December 3 with a Urologist to determine what's going on. Anyway, I don't usually post stuff like this, but if you can say a prayer for me that whatever the issue is, it can be resolved easily and as painless as possible. Thanks y'all!

Major's THIRD Birthday Party

Major's 3rd Birthday party was so much fun and was a big success despite the cold. I had an idea about this party over the summer and went back and forth about it. I'm glad I did it! It was a lot of fun to plan and I think all the kids enjoyed themselves! We had a carnival theme, complete with 2 bouncy houses, junk food and games. I had 5 "stations", each were suited to a 3 year old. The first was a bean bag toss, the second was a duckie in the pool game, the third was a ball toss, the fourth was a kissing booth and the fifth were pony races. Each kiddo made a little bag and got prizes at each station. Major was being, well, Major at his party so there aren't a ton of pics of him, but I still think he had a good time. Here are a few of the pics and please excuse the backgrounds in some of them....I wasn't thinking about that during set up, nor can I edit bc these were taken on someone else's camera and "shared" with me. Also, excuse my hair...it was a hot mess that day.

Major's Sweets Table

 

 Another view of all those yummy sweets

 Drink Table with a very special banner above

Major's cake: each layer was a different color

 Plates and Napkins

 Party Favors: Each kiddo was sent home with a popcorn bucket filled with a circus animal, a giant lollipop, bubbles and playdoh. 

 Background is terrible, but this is Major's Happy 3rd Birthday banner that I lovingly made :)

Fruit on a Stick

Josh cooking hotdogs

Bouncey House

 My dad and my bro enjoying the photo props

 Josh and I having a little fun!

 Josh's Granddaddy and Grandmama

 Maj getting a little help decorating his bag

 Games

Give a kiss and the jar says "take a kiss"

IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO....

Presents!

Hugging his best friend, Leo

 Bless it! He looks a little confused!

 I think Major had a great 3rd Birthday. I had fun planning his party, but still can't believe my baby is 3! Crazy! We alove him and are blessed to be able to celebrate with everyone that loves him too!

A whole buncha randoms

So I got a big girl phone...Haha! I think it's called the EnV Touch. Also, I think it is a little outdated already thanks to the Droid, but it's still an upgrade from my Zach Morris phone. I have internet and everything! I don't know how to use it though :) I know 12 year olds everywhere are laughing at me. Haha!

Next random, I love, love, love a cold rainy day like today...every once in a while. It is the perfect day for a sweatshirt and a cup of hot chocolate. Both of which I took advantage today.

I finally took the time to look and see how behind I was on scrapbooking. Wowza, like a lot! I didn't scrapbook at all while planning Major's party because everything from that party took all the space in both my brain and my craft room. I need to do a post on that party, but my camera broke and I don't have access to the pics just yet. And telling you about the party wouldn't be the same without b-day pics.  So, starting tomorrow night, when Josh is working a 24, I am gonna get to working on catching myself up.

Speaking of Josh, I am just super proud of him and so happy to be called his wife. It has taken me a long time to be able to really be ok with him being a FF/EMT-IV. I still have moments where I break down and hate him being gone. I still don't really like the uncertainty or the spontaneity of it all, but when I go visit him at the station, I am just filled with happiness and a proud heart. Maj and I went to see him the other day and we were there 5 minutes when he got toned out. Super bummer. Major was crying, "I don't want my Daddy to leave". It was sad, but when I saw him drive off in that ambulance, once again I was overwhelmed by how proud I am of him. It's not easy, I don't think it ever will be, but he is doing something that he is so passionate about and that makes it bearable. When he comes home, you can tell he misses us. The way he looks at us, hugs us and then plays with Major is so special. We love him and miss him when he is gone, but are so thankful he is serving people in a way that fulfills him and makes him happy.

A Birthday Note to My Birthday Boy

My big boy, you are 3!!! Three whole years old! It is so hard to believe. I just looked at your baby book and am in awe of the little, tiny 7 pound baby that you were when you came into this world. The days of bottles, bouncy seats and diapers went entirely too fast. Your first smile, first laugh, first crawl, first steps, first haircut, and your first 3 years just came and went in the blink if my eye. There will be many more milestones and many more firsts; many more things in your precious life to look forward to, but on your special day I just want you to know how loved you are. Before you were born, Daddy and I dreamed about you, hoped for you and prayed for you but we had no idea how deeply, over the moon in love with you we would be. We had no idea the impact you would make in our lives or the way you'd shape the people that we'd become. We had no idea that love could be as boundless as you've shown us it could be. The moment we saw your squished up little face we knew that we were meant to be a family. We knew in that moment what God's plan for us was. Major, you are so precious to Daddy and I because you made us a family, you completed us. We are so proud of the little person that you are becoming! You are so funny and lively, energetic and mischievous. You are sweet as can be but mean as a snake too. You are a bundle of energy and more fun than we ever thought possible. You are perfect. Perfect for me, perfect for Daddy and perfect for our family. Happy Birthday my sweet little man. I love you more than I could ever say. 

National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month so in honor of that I thought I'd write a little about Major and our adoption story.
Obviously, our lives have been forever changed through adoption. The whole process for us was pretty surreal. It seemed like for a  long time Josh and I were fighting to do what we wanted to do, meaning like every other young married couple, we thought we would just get pregnant and have a family when the time was right for us. That wasn't the case for us however; we really struggled, and after a lot of tests and doctors visits and treatments we were left overwhelmed and still at square one. God was working all that time though. He knew what we needed to go through to get to where we needed to be. I think that our fertility struggles were necessary to get us to Major. From the time we decided on adoption to the time Major was born was just 4 months. I know that as perfect a situation as we had, it was all God's doing. Major is the perfect addition to our family and as his third birthday approaches, I am brought back to all the memories and emotions that surround his sweet story. We are forever grateful to his birthfamily for making the sacrifices they did in order to provide Major with a life and family that they couldn't. We are still overwhelmed and humbled by the fact that they chose us to raise their son. Adopting Major is the best thing Josh and I have ever done. So Happy Adoption Month! :) Here are some pictures from his Birth Day.

 Welcome to the world, Major!

Holding him once he was all cleaned up

 Leaving the hospital

Halloween

This year, we decided to "take one for the team" as Josh says and dressed up as the characters from the kid show Yo Gabba Gabba. We dressed up with our friends the O'Neal's and as ridiculous as we looked, it was a lot of fun. The boys kept calling us by or Gabba names instead of Daddy or Mama. Funny! Here are so pics of the night. We started out at Trunks of Treats with the church and then went trick or treating in a neighborhood.

Here are the character's from the show

And here we are: 

 Plex and Brobee getting treats

 Toodee and DJ Lance Rock

 Muno

 DJ Lance

 Cutest little Gabba Gabba's

 Toodee and Foofa

 The O'Neals' minus one very precious lady bug

 The King's