Great Visit...Bad Storms

This week we had Adam's Mom, sisters (Molly and Grace) and baby nephew (JoJo) come for a "girls" get-away...what a great time we had together! We enjoyed just hanging out, shopping (while the big boys were at preschool), cooking together, and visiting with one of Molly's good friends Luda, who drove down from Atlanta to meet baby Joseph.





While she was here we enjoyed a fun game of Scattergories, some of the answers were hysterical! Here are a few that gave us all a great laugh, one category was "Things you're afraid of", it had to start with a "B" so I put "Brown Bears" (not black bears, but brown bears, really?) Donna kept putting any answer that came to mind whether or not it started with the right letter, the best example was this one, we were supposed to list "Something you order off a menu" that started with an "O", she excitedly proclaimed her answer to be "Egg Salad Sandwiches" mmm...great answer if the letter was "E" but since it was "O" don't think that one works! Grace's funny answer to "Something that is sticky" that starts with a "C" was corn....you know all that sticky corn? Don't you always think "man, if this corn wasn't so sticky?!!" We had a great time and made a funny memory with our answers!


The next morning, the electricy was out from the severe thunderstorms we'd had that night which meant the T.V. didn't work, so Peyton set to "fix the TV." Here, he and Lawson are "working" on the problem at hand!




We'll NEVER forget our 2 nights spent in the basement bedroom of our house while tornados ripped thru Birmingham! We were all in there, 5 adults and 4 kids, 4 years and under and of course Tucker too...it really was fun, we played Candy Land, and had Chutes and Ladders along with Memory on standby...we read a couple of books before it got dark...then we took to trying to keep a 4 and 2 year old from blowing out the candles or setting the room on fire by knocking one over! It was an adventure for sure! Thankfully we'd already made dinner so when the electricity went out it was no problem...we simply packed up the Chicken Noodle Soup and Tomato Basil Bites and had a picnic in the basement...Peyton called it a "party in the basement", it will forever be a memory we think back on and laugh about...Adam kept going out to the car to listen to the radio for weather reports, P and L were good at first but the newness of the situation wore off and they became quite rowdy...after 4 or so hours in the basement we were glad to get the "all clear" to head back upstairs! We then had to negotiate through a pitch black house...finally around 3 am the power came back, and all those lights that had been left on were just blarring, what a great way to be awoken, huh Grace?! Seriously, we are very blessed and thankful to God for His protection on us because there is utter devistation in parts of Alabama as you all know from the news reports, but just around the corner from us it truly does look like a war zone. Here are some pictures from our basement experience:

Here you'll see a tree completely uprooted, one on a house and another laying across the powerlines.




This is our neighbors home, its hard to see in the picture, but the tree is completely covering the front of their home.


It really was a nice and relaxing visit with family, thanks guys, for making the trip out! Here are some pictures of all of us together and Grammy getting sweet kisses from her grandsons, they sure love you!

Easter Visit

My family came for an Easter visit, and what a great time we had! My Mom came a few days early, thanks to Trent Fulbright who brought her down with him on a business trip to Birmingham.



Playing on the floor with Gigi.


Emerson's first time to sit in the Bumbo...what a cutie!


Loving on Aunt Whitney...


G-Dad and Emerson...


Dying Eggs




Here's our finished products, pretty don't you think?!


When Dad and Whitney got here we dyed easter eggs, hung out, shopped, ate a lot of tastey food and enjoyed a good time together! The boys had a blast playing with G-Dad, Gigi and "Whikey" (according to Lawson). It's been fun doing the Ressurection Eggs with the boys, they're beginning to understand the story of Jesus' love for us...Peyton is learning that Jesus paid the price for us by choosing to hang on the cross and "it would really hurt and make a boo-boo"...yes it would (it certainly did)! Each time we do the egg that has the crown of thorns in it he says, "they'd push it onto his head, and it would hurt, yeah, it would hurt" all the while he's shaking his head and tilting it to one side like he always does when he's talking so serious and directly.

Here are some pictures of the boys hunting for Easter Eggs



And here is Easter Morning..."Mom, no more pictures!"


We had fun being together, I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful family! The Lord has blessed me indeed!

"Tucker, you stink!!"

The other day I was sitting out on the deck reading while the boys were playing in the backyard and I heard Peyton say, "Tucker, you stink!" I didn't really know what he was talking about...I mean, Tucker definately could use a bath but we were outside, so I was pretty certain he didn't stink that bad! So I stood up and looked out the screened in porch. I found Peyton using his little blue plastic shovel to "poop scoop" the backyard! He's seen his Daddy do this many times and I think he decided to take it upon himself to help out. I was not about to stop him since we can use all the help we can get around here, and if he wants to help "poop scoop" then he can go right ahead! Though its kind of disgusting, I thought I'd document their efforts so here are some pictures of them being helpful! They'd scoop up the yucky stuff and take it down to the green belt behind our house...what great little helpers I have?!!

Sweet Baby Emerson!

I realized the other day that most of my posts have been about the bigger boys, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to my littlest angel! He truly is the worlds easiest baby! He's laid back most of the time and easily naps in his carseat, which is a good thing since we're on the go a lot with getting to preschool and doing activities with the "big boys"! He's definately got sleeping through the night down by now which is HUGE, he's been sleeping from about 8:30-3:45 or 4 am, which is GREAT, and he's doing it in his big crib! For a while there I wasn't sure if he'd ever make the transition from the swing to the crib, but he's done it like a champ!! Last night was a bit of doozie at the end, I got up with Emerson at 3:45 to nurse, then had trouble laying him back down cause he was fussy and it was closer to 4:45 when I finally got him settled and asleep again in his crib...then at 5:15 my little Lawson came bumbling into our room (which has become quite the habit in the last month or so), I think he may be sleep walking with his eyes open, not sure what's going on! I put him back in his bed and fell asleep only to be awoken again by both Lawson and Peyton at 6:20...oh heck, why not start the day?!!

He has begun to suck his thumb...which is a good/bad thing!



Truly, these days are the longest, and I won't say that there aren't hard days, because there most CERTAINLY are, but it is really fun and all worth it when I get to experience new things with the boys and see them learning, growing and developing. Holding Emerson, seeing him smile and coo melts my heart each time and reminds of how much fun this job really is! He truly has the most precious little smile which he's been praciticing a lot lately and his "talking" (coo-ing) has really increased as well. Just yesterday he noticed the carseat toy that I attached to the handle, he even figured out how to push the spinner, and had it going around and around! He's becoming very alert and is "looking" around and seemingly taking it all in. It's hard for me to believe that we're 1/4 of the way through his first year, I can hardly believe its mid April, I feel like the last 3 months have FLOWN by. I'm trying to savor each moment with him, because when I look at Peyton, I'm reminded just how fast time truly does fly, 4 years have gone by in the blink of an eye!

Here's Emerson sitting like a big boy!

I have to brag on my husband!

We all know the joy of piles of laundry sorted on the floor and ready to be loaded into the washer, then thrown in the dryer, only to be folded or hung up and put away, its quite a process and there's usually large loads especially with 3 little ones who are active! Well, I woke up yesterday morning to all the laundry folded and put up in everyone's rooms! What a marvelous treat! My sweet husband had gotten up early, to not only do the laundry, he managed to have a quiet time and take a run...and I was up by 7am, so it's not like I was sleeping in late! He just decided to get up and give me a brief reprieve from the everyday duties...how thoughtful is that?!! My love language is a pretty good tie between gifts and acts of service...and this sweet act spoke to both! Here's a fairly recent picture of us out on a date!



He had a long day yesterday since he got up early and then had an award dinner to go to with the Hospital and didn't get home til after 8pm. When he came through the door he set the most beautiful flower arrangement before me! He knows how much I love blue hydrangeas, and the pink roses and purple tulips were stunning. Needless to say, my love tank was filled up for sure, after a day of his service to me that morning and the thoughtful gift that evening! I'm definately enjoying the fact that he's finished with his MBA program now and has more time and energy to do thoughtful things like this! I certainly feel blessed and very loved! Thanks Adam!

A visit with friends!

The last few days we have had some of our best friends visiting from Little Rock. They arrived on Friday and what a blessing it was to us! Carol and John Spenst, fast became one of our best couple friends over our two and half years stint back home in Little Rock. They were a real answer to our prayers and we're so grateful for their friendship! Here we are at the zoo.




One night we went to eat at California Pizza Kitchen (which is quite the feat, when you tell the hostess, "that will be 4 adults, 2 babies in slings, and 3 children, 2 of which are in boosters")...yes, thats 5 kids 4 years and under! Our table was out in the middle of the eating area and we were quite the sight I'm sure, but I have to say we were really impressed with how well the kids did, they were little champs and very well behaved, we were all able to carry on conversations and really did have a pleasant dining experience!

We watched movies and sat out on the screened in porch visiting while the kids played...it was really such a treat!


Adam was so glad that John was able to celebrate with him since he finished his two year MBA program as of Friday, hip hip hooray, so glad that's behind us! Then Monday came and Carol wasn't feeling very good so she decided to forgo making the trip to Little Rock by herself with the kids and ended up staying an extra couple of days which was such a pleasant surprise! We took the kids to the McWane Science Center on Tuesday and let them run out some of their energy. They had a good time at the water tables and climbing on the indoor children's play area.






This morning was bitter sweet for me, seeing good friends go but also realizing what great friends we have...we look forward to spending more time together in the future and making more memories! I've not figured out how to place a link to click on directly in my blog so for now you can copy and paste this link http://www.johnandcarolshow.blogspot.com to see Carol's fun pictures and post of their time here!

And They're Off!

For Christmas Peyton got a Lightening McQueen bike and he really liked it...however it was a love/hate relationship; for a while he wanted to ride it but wanted Adam or I to constantly hold onto the seat...it was quite an effort, but after much coaxing and the "you can do it Buddy"...he's off and riding! It's hard to get him off of it now! Most people don't realize how hilly Birmingham is and our drive way has quite the incline, so the other day Adam and I took the boys to a park that has a flat parking lot and they were off!





One day last weekend Adam was mowing the backyard and Peyton went out with him to play. I was in the house doing some cleaning while Emerson and Lawson slept. The mower was going and I decided I should probably just check on Peyton, I started looking for him over the deck rail, but couldn't find him nor did I hear him...I started calling his name then I heard "Mom, I'm up hear!" I looked up to find my four year old son half way up the HUGE magnolia tree in our backyard...yes, he had climbed up there and was quite pleased with himself! Since then, he's continued climbing up the tree almost daily and I have to remind myself that he's a boy and that I need to let him venture out...I'm hoping he'll not fall down out of it!



A couple of Sunday's back, Peyton's Sunday school teacher told us when we were picking him up that she'd been asking him some questions. She asked him who was his best friend and he said "Lawson"...well when she told me that, my heart just melted, since that is his younger brother! It's fun to see them playing together and really enjoying it!. They definitely irritate each other too, but for the most part they have a great time!

Fun Times

The past 2 weeks have been filled with fun!  Adam's family came for a visit over Spring Break, and we finally got to meet our little nephew JoJo who's just about a month younger then Emerson! What fun we had with Poppy and Grammy, Grace, John, and Molly! We got to visit the Birmingham Zoo, which the kids totally enjoyed, and the train ride was the highlight for them! We ate lunch one day up at the Tip Top Grill, which is a fun burger place here in Birmingham that is on top of one of the ridges and has quite a spectacular view! Here are some pictures from their visit:

Here is Emerson (on left) with Little Joseph and then a picture of all the cousins!


After they left, Gigi came for a quick visit too, we had a great time shopping, putting out Easter decor and making an arrangement for my front door, the time went way too fast, its never long enough! Sadly I had to drive her back (half way) to meet Dad....the three hours back by myself with my peeps gave me a good trial run for making the whole trip all alone! Thank heavens for a DVD player; I steadily kept the movies playing, the snacks and juice flowing and for the most part they did great!