Proud of My Boys

I feel a little guilty as I look back, and realize I haven't posted about the boys in a long time. Especially when they are up to big stuff lately! The last full day of school was last Wednesday. Coy just finished 5th grade, and his last year @ David Youree. I am now the mother of a middle schooler! YIKES!!!!!

I couldn't be more proud of the year he has had. He has become a much more independent student. He worked hard all & made Honor Roll all year long. He has been asking for a cell phone for a couple of years, but we've told him "maybe when he goes to middle school." Tim & I talked about getting him one for his birthday (which is the week school starts). We decided to go ahead & get it now~as a reward for his hard work this year.

The last full day of school we put it in his bed & called to wake him up =) He was happily surprised!

Here he is with his medals for honor roll & art club:
Seth has also done very well this year. He just finished 2cd grade. His teacher gave him the award for The Most Improved Student. After he received his award, the teacher let him come sit with me for the remainder of the assembly. The first thing he did was put his award on Gloria Grace. He is such a good big brother =)
The boys got their report cards on Friday, and our local Krispy Kreme Donuts gives up to a half dozen donuts per child for A's. I think the boys will continue their hard work next year~~That was a good HOT~Melt in your mouth~dozen donuts.

DYE Eagle Stomp

Friday was the DYE Eagle Stomp. This is the one big PTO fundraiser @ the boy's school. I have been blessed to be able to help with "first aid." Which is actually just applying band aids to scrapes, when the "stompers" wipe out :(

The boys had fun. They walk/run with their class for 30 minutes, and then they have fun & games. The principal & various teachers take turns in the dunking booth. There are inflatables, corn hole, & free snow cones :)

Gloria Grace joined in the fun, until it was time for her nap. Grandma came & took her to her house for the rest of the day.

I can't seem to get blogger to let me type in between the pictures, when they are lined up on the left side. I'm not re-uploading them.

The first one is Gloria Grace looking a little sad that she's not going to get to stay & party all day :)

The second & third are Seth & Coy's class'.

The fourth is Coy Painting my face. He is in the Art Club this year :)

The fifth picture is him letting me paint his face, and the last shows how well the face paint doubled as sunblock :)

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Better Post Before February is Over

I just realized I haven't written since the last day of January. We only have 2 more days in February, and we're on into March. Time is flying by around here!! This month has been mostly same old stuff different day. A few snow days. A lot of really cold days. I'm not trying to wish away time, but I am ready for some warmer weather.

Last Saturday it got up to 60° ☼ It was fabulous. I painted my toenails red & broke out the flip flops. On Sunday, we had snow flurries :~P

The boys have been playing basketball. Coy's team played their tournament game on Wednesday night & it went into overtime. They did not win the game, so they are done for the season :( :)
Seth's 1st tournament game is today. We'll see how many more games, if any they get to play.

We are gearing up for the beginning of being busy. Lourdes sent me a message that she has dates picked out to visit us in a few weeks. :) :) :) Words can not fully explain how excited I am to see & hug that girl!!! I miss her, A LOT!!

The end of April I am either going on the mission trip to Mexico, or running in the Country Music ½ Marathon in Nashville. I am running, training as if I am going to run the ½, but praying that God works everything out for me to go to Mexico. I am hoping that we get a phone call from Gladney soon. I will go on the mission trip & freshen up on my Spanish, and return from Mexico to take off to Colombia :) That would be super duper cool.

Well, that is the skinny of what's going on around here.

50th Day of 1st Grade & Pumpkin Carving

Life has been very busy. It is making the time go by super fast. Just wish we had a referral, so we could bring our darling G.G. home super fast. I have set the crib up in her room. I have not put the bedding in it, but as soon as I do, I will post pictures. The crib will easily convert to a toddler bed, so we are set. Thanks Retta & BooBoo.

This past week on Tuesday, Seth's class celebrated the 50th day of school. They were asked to dress up in 50's attire. All of the classes got together & had root bear floats :o)

Here is Seth's get up :o) Too Stinkin' Cute if I do say so myself. You can't see in the pictures, but he's even sporting a wallet w/a chain attached to his belt loop & had a black comb in his pocket to re-slick his hair as needed :) This afternoon, after school, the boys carved their pumpkins. Here are their finished products:

3 Teeth in 1 Week--The Tooth Fairy Needs a Loan :)

Seth was playing on the swings w/his friend & his friend accidentally kicked him in the mouth. It knocked out another of his teeth!! That is 3 teeth out in 1 week. I need to get the poor kid a mouth guard & some temporary dentures ;o)

I thought I would throw this picture of Coy on here, since I've posted so much about Seth lately. Don't want to leave Coy out, plus it is so sweet. I worked Wednesday & had a really long & hard day. I didn't get home until the boys had already gone to bed & were sleeping. I went to kiss them goodnight & this is how I found Coy. It looks like he fell asleep praying. I am sure he was asking God to bring his sister home ASAP :o)

LifePoint VBS 2009--Crocodile Dock

Ok, so I am way behind on posting the happenings of our summer. I guess it is better late than never. Good times were had by all at the Crocodile Dock. There were lots of kids @ LifePoint that week. I had the privilege of being Seth's group leader, along with 7 other little crocs. Tim was a recreation leader during both boys outside rec time. Here are a few pictures from a wild & crazy week of VBS.

Seth on wacky tacky day:

Coy loved his crew leader Kaleb :o)

Boy's Only Weekend :o)

Last week was Spring Break. It started out w/Tim taking the boys camping. Can I just say I LOVE when the boys have a weekend away :o) Even though I had planned on just working extra, I still enjoy a little quiet time in the house. They left on Friday, and came home on Monday. They went camping on one of Tim's uncle's farm. It's in Waynesboro. The boys love it there. There is a cold water creek. Actually it is near freezing cold, fresh off the mountain side. Well more like a big hillside, but anyway--you get the point. It's really pretty there. Here are some pictures from there trip.
The boys home away from home:

The aforementioned cold water creek:

One of the reasons they love to go to Waynesboro, never ending places to ride:Another thing they like to do, my little pyromaniacs:
Smores:

A supper silly face, with beautiful blue eyes:

My Boys Today

Seth got his first tooth when he was just 3 months old. He turned 6 in January, and was yet to loose a tooth. The other day he said look at this thing in my mouth. It was a permanent tooth. It had grown in right behind the baby tooth. I called the dentist to ask about it, and they wanted to "look" at it. I asked them did they think they would pull it, and they said no. Guess what--Seth lost his first tooth today- The dentist pulled it. . .

He's holding the tooth in his hand:

They gave him this little treasure box to put it in:
He's so cute:

Now on to Coy. He got up this morning not feeling well. He complained of a "sore throat." He was not running a fever, and he's had a tough week @ school, so I really thought he was just faking it to stay home from school. By 10:30 he was complaining of severe belly pain---this is how he reacts to strep throat. Tim took him to the walk in clinic, because I was in the middle of small group. Sure enough. . . he has strep. Doesn't he look pitiful:

School Days. . .

As most of you know, Monday was the first full day of school. They phase in the kindergartners, so Seth didn't get to go until today. All week he has been saying it was not fair that Coy gets to go, but he doesn't. We'll see how he feels about that in a few weeks :o)
Here is Coy on his first day of 3rd grade (Monday):

Seth on his first day of kindergarten aka--"big school" this morning:

Boy my house is quiet :o) :o) :o) :o) :o) :o)

Help Me Not Feel So Crazy

Ok. I was all set & ready to take my children to the Cumberland Science Museum. I was just waiting on my Dad to come look at something on our camper. He comes in we go straight outside, and I am out there 2minutes (if that). I hear screams from in the house. No one is injured just pure boy aggravation going on. I am over the boys living to see who can aggravate the most. I came back in to say we were not going anywhere today, and you'd have thought I cut off their arms. Then they begin trying to reason w/me about how they will be good, if I will take them to the museum. I am standing my ground. We are not going anywhere. Can I get a little mama support here? Anyone else having similar attitude issues @ their house? Pray for me. . . It's gonna be a long day.

Yummy Yummy Yummy

Every year the boys keep asking me to plant a garden. They really have no idea how much work a garden is, but I decided that we could give it a try. Last year we planted a few tomato & pepper plants in containers. This year we went all out :o) Paw Watson came over w/his tiller & helped us make a place. We planted tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, and lettuce. It was kind of late to plant broccoli & lettuce, because it was already getting hot when we planted them. We might get one bunch of broccoli out of the 4 we planted, and all of the lettuce is growing, but they are small. We have already had a few cherry tomatoes to eat, and picked our first bunch of squash. It was YUMMY :o)

Spring May Finally Be Here :0)

I looked out my playroom window, and saw these pretty purple flowers. We had planted them last year, and they Sprung back up :0) Does that mean spring is finally here? It is beautiful outside. In the low 70's. I hope it stays this way.

Seth in his soccer uniform. He's on team Spain :0)

Coy in his soccer uniform. He's on team Australia :0)

It is becoming harder & harder to get a good picture of the two of them together :0P

What a Wonderful Time of the Year.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. We were able to go to Christmas Eve communion service @ church, and then went to dinner w/Grandma, Papa, & Bena. We got home, and read the Christmas story in Luke. We let the boys open one present-- I picked it. They were a little disappointed to find out it was pajamas, but after their baths I let them open one more. They each got a digital camera. Coy set his up on movie mode in front of the fireplace. He was trying to catch Santa. (He doesn't believe anymore, but just wanted confirmation) We set out our cookies & milk, and apples for the reindeer. We didn't have anything to put together this year, but still ended up staying up 'til nearly midnight. We had to be sure the kids were asleep, and then finish putting the presents under the tree.

The boys were up bright & early, and played non-stop. They both got Heelys. Coy had one pair of ripped jeans, and a skinned up knee before he figured them out. Now he can do turns, and thinks he is the Heely master. :0) Seth is not so sure, but has enjoyed wearing them--looking oh so cool. They are both trying to learn there new Nintendo DS, and have enjoyed chatting w/each other more than any of the games.

Both sets of grandparents, and Bena came over for dinner. As usual we all ate too much, and needed a nap. Seth & I ended up falling asleep about 6:15pm. I woke up around 8:00pm. Seth slept until the next morning @ 7:30. :0) Coy & I ended up staying up 'till almost 2am watching Transformers. Fun Times :0)

Tim has been on vacation this week, and so I have worked 3 nights. I am glad to be done for the week. Hope to have some R & R this weekend. Here are some pics, enjoy. . .

Coy & his Heelys

Seth jamin' on his Lightning McQueen MP3

There must be Santa--Mom would never have bought a Nerf Dart Tag :0)

Coy

Seth

& The Winner Is . . . Chili Supper Fun Fun Fun :0)

Every year David Youree PTO sponsors a chili supper. It raises money for the PTO, and the individual teachers classrooms.

They have a silent auction for different themed baskets. Last year, Coy conned me into the Titan basket. I think I paid like $75.00--CRAZY--It didn't even have tickets to a game. I told him not to even ask to bid on a basket this year. Surprisingly--he didn't even ask :0) They are fun to browse though.

And then there is the chili & hot dogs. You can't get much better than a bowl of chili & a hot dog at an elementary school on a Friday night. Boy have we got a kickin' social life :0)

Santa was there, too. We had a nice little photo op w/the jolly old guy . . .

Coy & Seth


Coy



Seth


Last, but certainly not least, the DOOR PRIZES :0)

Between Grandparents, and our own tickets. We won several things. A yummy sugar cookie smelling candle, $20.00 to Blue Coast Burrito (I love Blue Coast), a Logans bucket full of peanuts w/coupons for 2 free appetizers, a tin of cookies from the cakewalk, and a family fun pack for four adults, and four kids to any Saturday night race in 2008 @ the Music City Raceway. How cool is that? We never win anything. Winning is fun :0)



I'm thinkin' we're gonna go to Blue Coast for lunch, and Logan's for Supper tomorrow :0)

What Are You Thankful For?

I put this question to my children. . .

What are you thankful for?

Here are there answers:

Seth: Momma & Daddy, Me & Coy, Max, and Spirit & Honey.

Coy: My house, Mom & Dad, Seth, PlayStation 2, my pets.

Then I said, Do you know what it means to be thankful?

Seth said, "I don't know, just because I know." :0)

Coy said, "To be happy you have that stuff." :0)

I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for. . .

God's grace
my husband
my boys
my family
my church family
a warm home filled with more stuff than we could ever really need
friends
our health
a flexible job
warm sunny days
a good book
opportunities to grow in my faith
experiences that change my perspective
more than i could ever list here :0)

What's been happening . . .

Well, as usual, we have stayed quite busy around here.
Last Friday night, the boys helped me make corn casserole, and chocolate cake for Room @ the Inn. It is a ministry of our church: http://fbcsmyrna.org/ We took our part of the meal to church, and shared it w/homeless men from the Nashville area. It was a humbling experience. The boys were playing around w/the guys, and played some checkers. Talked about school/life. It was something I'd like to do more often. Fortunately/Unfortunately--there are so many people that want to participate, there are no other spots for us to sign up for :-( I told the coordinator to call me if any came available.
After church, we went to Emily's 9th birthday party. She was kind enough to save the pinata, until the boys got there. That is there favorite part of birthdays. I hear Emily is wearing out the "Troy" slippers I found her. :0) Got to wish my niece, Halie, a Happy Birthday on Sunday. She is in RI. Unfortunately, we don't get to visit often, and don't get to talk much either. We are going to try to start writing. I talked to the boys about it, and they are excited to have pen pals. Carlie and Halie :-)
I ended up working Saturday, because they had cancelled me on Tuesday. Tim also had to work, so the kids hung out w/Grandma. Tim has been working a lot of overtime. Don't get me wrong it is a good time of year for extra $, but he hates working extra. It makes him slightly cranky :0). They are working again tomorrow :-( Thankfully, I will be off. I worked my usual Sunday night/Tuesday night this week.
Wednesday night, the boys & I went to church. Seth's class sang a couple Christmas songs. We haven't been going regularly on Wednesdays, so I didn't have him perform. He wouldn't have liked it. He's kind of shy about stuff like that. Anyway, after the kids sang, everyone helped pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan's Purse sends shoe boxes, or shoebox size totes w/small toys, school supplies, soap, washcloths, toothpaste, etc. all over the world to children that would otherwise not have anything for Christmas. During VBS this summer, the kids made "Jesus Loves You" Bears. One went into each box. It started out a little crazy--the boys get a little over excited in crowds, and I had not slept very much, :0). It turned out to be a nice experience.
There are so many needs, not only this time of year, but they just seem to be pointed out more during this season. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed. I really want the boys to serve. Not JUST out of obedience, but because they see how much need there is, and WANT to make a difference. I want to make a difference, and pray that God keeps me on track.
This morning, Seth & I headed off to Coy's school for awards day. He got perfect attendance. He got a gift certificate to Fazoli's & free ice cream from the cafeteria at school. Pretty good motivation to show up everyday :-)
Winding down the week . . . Tim was kind enough last night to tuck the boys in by himself, so I could go hang out w/Darby & Kristi for a little while. We had some YUMMY dessert--just because :0). It was the highlight of my week. :0)
That about sums it up. Need to get back to cleaning. . . FUN--FUN Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Since My Last Post . . .

Tim & I went on our Chattanooga get away. It was fabulous. We had such a great time. We were able to eat what & when we wanted. Take our time seeing things. Sleep in. We got there late Thursday afternoon. We ate at Sticky Fingers-- Tim's favorite Chattanooga restaurant :0) We found our hotel, checked in, and headed for downtown. We went to the Aquarium, and checked out the riverside. The weather was beautiful. I had wanted to go to this murder mystery dinner thing, but we were still stuffed from the 20 wings, and cheddar fries we shared :-) We ended up going to see Rendition. Then we ate at Big River. It was 10:00. We never eat supper at 10:00-- but we could so we did :-)

Friday we were going to do all the Chattanooga sites the Incline Railway, Rock City, and Ruby Falls. After Rock City and Ruby Falls, we were ready for a nap. :-) So we went back to the hotel & took a nap. Well I slept. Tim watched TV. Friday night we went on the Southern Belle dinner cruise. It was nice, too. Good food, good music, straight up good times :0)

Saturday we slept a little later than usual. Had a really nice FREE breakfast --make your own waffles -- at the hotel. We got checked out, and headed back downtown. They were having a rowing event. There were 5000 rowers, and all their friends. It was kind of neat to check out the happenings, but we didn't stay down in the crowd too long. We went on to the incline railway, since we had purchased our tickets as a package deal. It was pretty neat, too.

My favorite of all the places was Rock City. We've been there before, but it has been a while. We actually went there on our honeymoon 12 years ago. It is really a beautiful place. It renews my awe for God's power & creativity.

Then . . .

Back to reality :0)

We arrived home late Saturday afternoon, and picked the boys up from my mom's house. They were actually not too bad until Sunday evening. I was trying to take my nap & watch the football game, as I usually do because I work Sunday night shift. Seth came into the house very upset at his brother. I am not going to embarrass him by going into the details of the story, but Coy was not very nice at all. He got himself grounded for the entire week from TV, computer, and video games--he can't even use his mp3. Then, he goes and gets in a fight w/one of the neighbors yesterday off the bus. So to add to his grounding he is not allowed to play w/anyone all week, and is going to bed at 7:30. Yikes I am at my wits end w/him. I keep trying to remind myself that "this too shall pass" I just wonder what's next. It is hard for me not to get pessimistic, when he acts this way. I am hopeful that after a week of tough love he'll figure some things out. I'd appreciate your prayers.


I'm going to try to post pictures from Chattanooga tomorrow. Until then . . . Happy Blogging :0)

Finally a Post :-)

Ok, so maybe I'm not such a good blogger. I thought I would love to get on & post stories. I love to talk about my kids, and they absolutely provide plenty of material. I don't know why I haven't been better about posting. I am going to try to start making more of an effort to post. I know you all are just dying to hear about my life happenings. What better time to start than right now.

Since posting pictures from Mexico, we have been non-stop.

The week after I returned I worked my usual two nights, and also taught 2 CPR classes on my off night. I was wiped by the weekend, and caught a little cold. The cold only lasted a couple of days though. Now all is well, and returning to somewhat "normal." If there is such a thing. :-)

Seth has finished baseball. His team went 10-0. Seth learned so much about baseball this season. His coach was always so positive. They are going to celebrate their season w/ a party at The Snappy Tomato. It is a new pizza buffet place here in Smyrna. It is really good. We tried it out the other day :-)

Coy finished his first six weeks of school. He is doing well. I have been a little unsure of his teacher this year, but so far, things are going fine. The PTO sponsored a movie night last night, so I spent all day yesterday at the school popping popcorn. I have a new appreciation for movie theater workers :-) We sat on our bean bags on the gym floor, and watched Meet the Robinsons. It was a fun time.

Tim has been working a lot of overtime. He doesn't like to work extra, and I really don't blame him. Thankfully, they cancelled todays overtime, and he has this Thursday & Friday off :-)
We are planning a nice little weekend get away. My in-laws, and my mom have agreed to watch the boys. We are going to go to Chattanooga, and spend a couple of nights. :-) I reserved a dinner cruise Friday night. I saw a few other things on line that looked like they might be fun. If any of you have a suggestion as to something you've done, and loved in Chattanooga--I'd love to hear about it.

Well that about catches us up. Until the next post :-)

Favorite Photo Friday

The boys love to monkey around. They are always climbing something. I cherish the times they play happily together. Some days those times are few & far between. Today, though, is a good day. Thanks be to God. When we were pregnant w/Coy, we could not wait to find out what we were having. It didn't matter, boy or girl, we would be happy. We just wanted to know, so we could "be ready." Everyone was thrilled to have a boy in the family. There were no boys on Kelly's side. Coy came & rocked our world. He has been all boy & then some :-). When we were pregnant w/Seth, we really wanted a little girl. Partly because Coy boy was so much work, and partly because-- well wouldn't that just be the ideal family? One boy one girl. Well God knew what he was doing, obviously, Seth was the perfect addition to our family. He is also all boy, but in a little more laid back kind of way ;-). I love them both tremendously, and wouldn't trade God's plan in for anything. We do not plan to birth any more children ourselves, but are open to God's plan for growing our family. Right now I will do my best to keep up w/the two little monkeys I have . . .

One Week Down--Many More to Go : - )

The first week of school went super, and we have started off to a great second week. Today, when I picked Seth up, his teacher said she wished she had a whole classroom full of Seths. It is really nice to get compliments. Coy's teacher sent home the first class letter, and said the class had a wonderful first week. He had all smiley faces on his agenda. I pray for the trend to continue. Here are the boys on the first day of school . . .