Christmas Dress

I took these of Samantha today. This is her Christmas dress that my mom and I found at a killer after Christmas sale. I think she looks adorable in it!

O Christmas Tree

My cousin Brett requested to see pictures of my Christmas tree and here it is! I took this shot without the flash b/c it was the only way to capture the pretty sparkly lights.

Also, a picture of my mantle b/c I thought it turned out well this year. I did add bows around the hurricanes with ornaments after this picture, so use your imagination ;0).

And this is one of just a few Christmas shots I was able to get of Samantha. (James did not want his picture taken). We're going through a phase where she will not look at the camera! But I thought this shot was cute none-the-less.

Thanks to our troops!!

Be warned...this will make you cry!




Thanks to all of our troops! Thanks for serving and protecting our country! We are praying for you! Merry Christmas!

Having fun outside

We decided to go out this week and have some fun in the yard. James doesn't need much to keep him entertained outside....we have a nice hill out back, so he grabbed his baseball and was ready to go toss it and then chase it down the hill. (Who says we need big expensive toys, right? The cheap little ones seem to remain the favorites!) We had a really great time, and got some nice pictures too!

"James, who made this mess?"

I don't know!

**Made moments after waking up, while I was changing Samantha. We still have not found the perpetrator that created the mess.

"Samantha, the phone's for you!"

This is my phone...

Dialing. Samantha, who are you calling?

"Hello"

Halloween

Yes this is so stinkin late, and yes, I'm posting it in DECEMBER! Just one little pic so everyone can see what the kiddos looked like for our fall festival. James was a Lightning McQueen pit crew member and Samantha was a SC Gamecock cheerleader....

Watch out! It's a faux hawk!!

James and I were sitting eating a snack, and he got some water on his hand and then accidentally touched his hair. So, we started playing with his hair, and gave him a faux hawk! He loved it and thought it was sooooo funny. Then he started with some funny faces to go with it. Here's my funny and totally cool little boy!

Not me

'

Here it is again! My Not Me Monday post! Check out the home of the original "Not Me" at www.mycharmingkids.net!

~We did not drive 6 hours down to Florida this past weekend just to visit our great friends Kyle and Leah.

~The other day at lunch Samantha did not start eating before everyone else and stop eating after everyone did. She does not eat more food than I have ever seen a toddler eat before.

~ James is not a picky eater who eats way less than his 2-year-younger sister. He would never pass up eating for playing.

~ I did not get cranky with my husband the other day. I would never ever have a sour attitude. Nope, not me.

~ Kyle and Andy did not beat Leah and I at Cranium. We did not laugh our heads off.

~ I did not NOT take a single picture while we were in Florida. I would not let the cuteness of how attached my kids got to Kyle and Leah slip by without taking a single photograph.

~ I do not want to go shopping in the worst way but I'm trying to be really good and not stray from our budget. I do not want to throw every single one of my clothes away and start over.

~I do not feel like my kids are dressed better than I am. I am not jealous of my daughter's really cute little blue jeans, and I do not wish they came in my size.

~I did not go to my local Kroger today and find out that they are REARRANGING the entire store. I did not experience a total feeling of anxiety at having to learn the entire store all over again. No, not me....I would never get nervous about something so silly!

That's it!! That's my NOT ME!! Thanks to our friends Kyle and Leah for having us in their home this past week. We love you guys and miss you already! We'll see you soon!!!

Not Me...Nope, not me!

Welcome to my VERY first NOT ME post! I found this little bit of "therapy" thanks to my friend Jackie. The home of the original Not Me is at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ It's a great site and one I have fallen in love with.

All you have to remember is that this post is heavily laden with sarcasm...hope you enjoy!

~I have not been staying up later because of daylight savings time, convincing myself that I somehow have more time to sleep (even though I don't).

~I did not clean up the house to just have the kids destroy it five minutes later.

~I did not allow my kids to eat cereal for dinner b/c neither one of them would touch the chili I made.

~I have not become obsessed with Daveramsey.com and I am not checking my budget everyday to make sure we're on track.

~I did not video my daughter crying today because I wouldn't let her play in the bathroom. I would not record a tantrum because that might be encouraging it.

~I did not go to the pediatrician today without a shower, and then just decide not to shower all day long.

~I am not sitting at my computer right now at midnight thinking maybe I should take a shower because I am not getting up at 6:30 to go vote! *edit* Just so you know I actually didn't get up at 6:30 to go vote...instead I went at 11:30 when Andy got home from voting. Because I simply would not rather sleep in than get up at 6:30!

Join in on Not Me Mondays!! It's fun free therapy!

Ms. Piggy-tails

My baby girl finally has enough hair for pig-tails....enjoy the cuteness!!

Daddy's girl

Both of our children love their daddy very much, however, I'll admit that Samantha has a certain sparkle in her eyes whenever she sees Andy. I've watched her look at him until he looks back at her, then she smiles and pretends to be shy. When he comes home from work, she rushes to the door and insists on being the first one to kiss him. She loves to sing with him....I'm sure she's shaping up to be a Daddy's girl.

I love Larryboy!

For those who don't know Larryboy, he is from Veggietales. His "secret identity" is Larry the Cucumber. He reminds me of a superman/batman combo. Of course no one recognizes him as Larry the Cucumber just as no one recognized the Clark Kent as Superman with glasses on. Larryboy has become James constant nighttime companion. Our night time routine consists of a story of his choice, a bible story (from his bible), prayers, tucking in, and then the question, "Where is Larryboy?" Then we have to hug and kiss James, and also hug and kiss Larryboy (and James finds it funny when we tell Larryboy it's time to go to sleep, and James says, "No making noise" to him) Here are some pictures with Larryboy....I think it's adorable that he's become so loved...

Psalm 86:12

"I will praise you oh Lord my God with all of my heart." Psalm 86:12

(Fun with sidewalk chalk)

Samantha's little phone

Samantha got a little phone for her birthday from my mom's friend, Christy. She has fallen in love with this phone! The best part is that it lets you record your own message and then the biggest button on the phone plays the message. So, I recorded a little song I made up for her that goes, "Mantha, mantha, mantha, sweet little mantha, Mantha!" (to the tune of Dora, dora, dora the explorer, and "Mantha" becuase that's what James calls her). She absolutely loves it! She plays it, dances with it, and hugs it! So sweet!! Thanks Christy!

Is that butter?

Recently I made waffles for breakfast. I love butter on my waffles, and by that I mean that I possibly like more butter than syrup on my waffles. I know, I know....not healthy...but I don't eat them all the time so I consider it a treat when I do. Anyways, I was making waffles, and I stuck the butter in the microwave for a couple seconds just to soften it slightly. After making waffles, my son (who's every bit of 3, and yes I believe 3 is harder than 2) decided that he didn't want anymore waffle, he wanted cheerios. So, I poured him a very small bowl of cheerios, and then I had to go change Samantha. Well, when I came back after the seconds it took me to change he I noticed something in the corners of James' mouth. At first I thought he'd gotten into icing somewhere, and then I thought, "I don't have any icing." Well, it turned out that my son was dipping his cheerios into the soft butter! I said, "James, I know you didn't" Then, I had to take pictures of the evidence because this story is one for the memory books.

The Evidence...and just for the record he didn't get THAT much butter! The butter was already to the end so I think he must have "dipped" about 3-4 cheerios.

She thinks he's the coolest...

Samantha loves to follow James. She thinks he's the coolest guy out there, and why shouldn't she? He's her big brother! And I must say I think he's a great big brother. He's mostly willing to help her with things, and I think he's just as crazy about her as she is about him. Here's some cute pictures I caught of them together....

catching up...

I didn't realize how much I'd gotten behind on posting pics and telling stories until I started looking through my pictures. So, it's time to catch up! Here we go!!!

Samantha Walks!

Hey Everybody! Guess What??? I finally learned how to make a video ~ YEAH ME! (Thank you Andy) and Samantha learned how to walk ~ GO GIRL! Here she is...

Hope you all enjoyed our first video!

28 things I know about me at 28...

1. I love the Lord.

2. I love my husband more every day.

3. I love my children, and I know they make me a better, stronger person everyday.

4. I enjoy reading and I feel a little sad whenever I finish a book.

5. I love to laugh, I love to make my husband laugh, and I love to make other people laugh.

6. I love to sing, although I'm not that great at it.

7. I don't like to be stared at and I get nervous when a lot of adults look at me. However, I can make an absolute fool of myself in front of kids and not even think twice about it.

8. I skip when I'm happy.

9. I love the beach and especially the sound of the waves.

10. I enjoy projects.

11. I like to help other people organize but hate organizing my own stuff.

12. I'm a night person.

13. I know I should eat healthier, but unhealthy food just tastes so good!

14. My parents are awesome.

15. I love to shop.

16. I like to travel.

17. I enjoy people watching, and I'm fascinated that everyone is so different.

18. I'm not good at small talk, and I always think of something better I could have said about 10 minutes too late.

19. I love easy recipes....I'm scared to cook anything with too many ingredients or steps.

20. I do not like folding laundry.

21. I love dogs and babies...not necessarily in that order....

22. I have lots of creative ideas that seldom come to be more than ideas.

23. I hate spiders, and actually cried one time after walking through a web in the dark.

24. I'm good with kids, and I love to hear their thoughts and stories...they say the cutest things!

25. I'm a teacher, though it's not my paid profession right now.

26. I still get excited over new school supplies.

27. I like to volunteer.

28. And last but NOT least..... My friends and family rock! And Jesus is the Lord of my life!!

Samantha's FIRST birthday!

Samantha's first birthday was a great day. We celebrated in Easley and all of our family and some friends were able to come celebrate with us. We had her party at the clubhouse in my mom's neighborhood. Mom did a wonderful job with the decorations!! It was a cupcake theme and too cute for words!!

The birthday princess

Is that just for me?
Yeah!
What? You wanted me to try to stay clean?
The cupcake cake...it was almost too cute to cut!

Thank you mom for all you did!!! The party was great and the decorations were absolutely adorable!!!