POTW & Wonderful News!!!

I was having some issues with my photo editing software so I didn't get to post this on Wednesday when I typed it.
I am now the proud aunt of another nephew. Woohoo! Landon DeWayne was born Friday, July 14th at 10:44 pm, weighing 6 lbs. 6 oz. & 18" long. We had driven up to Illinois after work and were there when he was born. We all got to go into the room and see him (the hospital was more lenient about visitors than I've ever seen - not the greatest thing for newborns, but I made sure Wesley and I scrubbed before we got close to the baby) and I got to hold him before we left. We also got to visit with Anthony's Dad, his wife and her daughter on Saturday in MS and on Sunday in Jackson. We also drove to Dover on the way back Sat. to pick up my niece, Trinity, because I wanted her to stay with us for a little while. My mom is keeping her for a week or so for Eric & Jennifer to get settled in with Landon. I took Trinity back to my mom and Wesley to Jody on Monday. Needless to say, my car needs a rest and so do I. But, I had the best time keeping Trinity and got really attached to the little booger. I wish so much that they lived closer. She just melts my heart when she says, "Mimi," her pronunciation of Mindy or, "Wuv you." So, anyways, back to the news....there's more. I found out yesterday that I will be promoted from my current position as a secretary to Business Manager (effective August 1st). Woohoo for me! I've known this was a possibility and that with all the responsibilities I've taken on at work in the last year that I would be getting a promotion, I just didn't know how much of one until yesterday. Comes with a nice raise to and that certainly doesn't hurt :) Without futher ado, here are a couple pics of Landon. The first one is of Wesley & Trinity watching cartoons in the waiting room while Jennifer was in labor. The second one is when Trinity saw her little brother for the first time. And, the last one is of Landon with his mommy.

POTW...I guess we can keep him

Our downfall was letting Wesley see him and get attached. Within a day or so of them meeting Wesley had named him Ace. His brother has a loving home with one of my co-workers and his two boys. Anthony got attached because of the all white whiskers on a black cat. I got attached just because he's so darn cute. Meet the newest member of our family. For those counting, we have one dog, two cats, and three and a half humans...(just kidding - seeing in you're paying attention). ETA: I guess I should explain how got him in the first place. I was driving home from my in-laws with their chihuahua(sp?), Buffy, in the car b/c we were dog-sitting for them and trying to keep Buffy from crawling all over me when I round a curve and see two black kittens on the right edge of the road a split second before I nearly hit one. I was so sure I had hit one that I stopped and turned around. I got out and called for them (I was nearly in tears at this point). I pick them both up and look them over by the light of my headlights. At this point I still think I might have hit one, but neither are bleeding, they're very tame and out in the middle of nowhere, so I decide to take them home for the night and then see if I can find homes. People drop unwanted pets off all the time in that area, which makes me angry. Anyways, long story short, Anthony didn't want to keep any of them because we already have enough pets, but he finally gave up the, "I guess we can keep him," last night. So, that's the rest of the story.

POTW...fireworks

Hope you all had a fun & relaxing fourth of July. The three of us watched fireworks at Paris Landing (Wesley with his dad) and Anthony & I ate dinner with Sunny & Brandon Hall, Sunny's parents, Russ & Diane Hammonds, and, of course, the triplets. Yes, that's right, I got to see the babies again and you would not believe how much they've changed in two months. The first thing I noticed was how thick their hair had gotten and the fact that they had necks (sounds funny, I know, but at 6 mos. their head just kind of sat on their shoulders). I had such a good time playing with them. They got me soaked playing in their little plastic pool on the back porch - which they love.
Without futher ado, here are the pictures of the week -- fireworks from last night...
If you've ever tried taking pictures of fireworks, you know just how hard it is to get any good shots. I got about 10 or 15 decent ones from about 80 shots. Good thing I'm digitial now! :)

POTW...

This is my older brother, Eric, with his family. I went up to visit him in Illinois on Sat. and to go to a baby shower for Jennifer. Their little boy, Landon, is due at the end of July. Trinity, my only niece, is truly a mess. She turned two in March and has started jabbering up a storm. They are planning on moving to middle Tennessee next spring, and I'm very excited about it. I don't get to see them more than a handful of times each year and I feel like I'm missing out on being an aunt. I'm hoping my mom won't be able to watch Trinity for a week after Landon is born like she planned so I can keep her instead.

Photo Tuesday again...

Happy Anniversary to me and Anthony (about 2 months early)! Anthony has been wanting to get bikes for a while so we can all three ride together. Wesley is itching to ride somewhere other than the stretch of sidewalk directly in front of our house, and it would just be fun to be able to ride around Sharon. So, upon my suggestion that instead of going away for the weekend for our anniversary like we did last year, maybe we should buy each other a bike, he decided we shouldn't wait until August, that we should buy them now so we could enjoy the summer weather and get a little exercise (we both are in bad need of that). We headed over to Wal-Mart on Saturday afternoon, picked out our bikes, came home and took a ride around the block before we went to a little get-together with our Sunday School class. Anthony's is the one in the foreground with the red seat and mine is the one with the pink lettering (of course). I just snapped some shots on Sat. when Anthony was taking all the tags and stickers off and didn't get an overall shot of them, but they're bikes so you get the idea. And, I kind of like this shot anyways...looks like the bikes are intertwined, like mine and Anthony's lives (I know, how cheesy is that??? - give me a little break. It's about two hours past my bed time.) Anyways, so far, we've gotten up early and rode about two to two and a half miles two out of the last three mornings. I'll let you know if we're still doing it by the end of the summer.

Another annoying quiz...

Well, not really annoying, just another quiz. I'm usually not one to take all those quizzes people email you (although I used to be, back in h.s. and early college when I wasn't aware of how much free time I really had - now I have too many things that need to be taken care of to take quizzes).
Saw this one on Karen Russell's blog, My Life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good) and copied it. Thanks, Karen, for providing goof-off material for my lunch hour :)

I am: learning to cherish the little things in life & stop sweating the small stuff.
I want: to be skinny again & to have more babies (in the future).
I have: plans for this afternoon to take Wesley to the movie Cars…his second time seeing it, my first.
I wish: life didn’t feel so much like a balancing act.
I hate: it when my days starts off in a funk because it’s so hard to get it going in a good direction after that.
I miss: my friends who have moved away…I’m not so great at long-distance friendships.
I hear: nothing…everyone’s gone to lunch.
I wonder: when I’ll actually feel like an adult – at 23, I still don’t.
I regret: not trying harder at things…classes, relationships, work, etc.
I am not: outgoing.
I dance: at home when no one else is there to laugh at me…except myself.
I sing: in the car all the time, usually when I’m alone so I can blast the radio.
I cry: when I’m really mad, at weddings, during sad movies…
I am not always: confident in myself…I fake it a lot.
I make with my hands: lot of things for the people I love – quilts, cards, scrapbooks – I’m very ‘handy’ (and also not good at telling jokes that aren’t cheesy) : )
I write: in my journal sometimes (used to be better about that) – used to also write creatively for fun.
I confuse: people when I give directions, just ask Anthony.
I need: to be loved & appreciated.
I should: go on more trips to places I want to experience.
I start: way too many things for one human to actually finish (see “I make with my hands”).
I finish: most of the stuff that I start. It’s sometimes late (either by my own deadline or someone else’s), but it does eventually get finished.

Feel free to copy and paste on your blog with your own answers.

Picture of the week...

This is a picture from last night at the T-ball awards (where they give out the trophies and take a team picture). The little boy with Wesley is Logan, one of Wesley's friends from daycare. Aren't they cute in their little jersey's? : )

Happy Tuesday!

Picture of the Week

This is my sister-in-law Lynsey and her boyfriend, who recently became her fiance, Jordan. Congratulations you two!

Picture of the week...

Anthony and I had a nice, relaxing Memorial Day weekend. One of the fun things we did was go to a car show in Big Sandy with some of his friends from work. It was so hot and humid, but we still had a good time and I got a few cool shots of the cars. If you're into classic cars/hot rods, you may recognize some of the ones in these shots...I can only identify the Mustangs :)





































In this last one, you can see (from L to R) Anthony, Rick Legens & Chris Legens (two of the guys he works with and good friends of his) and of course me taking the pictures. We laughed when we saw this picture because the three of them look like midgets, especially compared to the people on the left.
Happy Thursday!

Picture of the week numero tres

Got home last night and realized I forgot to bring home my laptop so I could post a picture, so here's today's and yesterday's...













The first one is Braden and Jace Brawner, Anthony's brother and his son, at the carnival last Saturday. Isn't Jace cute? He's a sweet baby.
The second one is of Wesley on the carousel. That's Mary Ann and Jace in the background. Jace was loving the carousel until it started moving and then he DID NOT like it. I'm sure it scared him when it all of a sudden started moving. In fact, I think this is only the first or maybe the second time Wesley has ridden on a carousel without me there beside him. One time he got on one by himself and started crying once it moved. The guy operating it had to stop and let me on. Happy Thursday! Maybe tomorrow I'll have something other than carnival pictures.

Picture of the Week Numero Dos

Here's another one from the carnival on Saturday night. Tune in tomorrow for a picture of Jace, mine and Anthony's nephew.

Picture of the week...and oops

Oops...forgot to post one last week. If you had been at my house, you would have understood. We had three t-ball games, a graduation (Anthony's sister), a graduation party (at our house...i.e. mad cleaning frenzy), a visit to the carnival while it was in town, and visiting with Anthony's brother, Braden, his fiance, Mary Ann, and their little boy, Jace (who all live in Seattle, WA). Needless to say, we were a teensy bit busy. So, to make it up to you, I'm going to try (extra emphasis on the try part) to post one a day this week. Here's the first one...












This one was taken by Anthony while MaryAnn & I were on a ride (Anthony & Braden were both too chicken to ride any : ) JK, they both get motion sickness). Wesley is going to be like me. He loves the upside-down, spinning-around rides and would have rode this one, but he was 3" shy of the required height. Maybe next year.

Sunny's & Brandon's baby gifts

Some of you may remember me saying I would post a link to pictures of the secret gift(s) I was going to give Sunny & Brandon Hall and the babies when I went to visit. Well, since I've visited and finally given it to them, you all can look too. Click on the link above (the post title) to see Kynsie's album (and a couple pages from one of the boy's albums). There is only one picture in the album (one I took while she was pregnant). The rest of the pages have spaces for pictures for Sunny & Brandon to add. They loved them by the way. : )

Picture of the Week...

sorry it's late...I was driving back from Knoxville last night and by the time I got back I was so tired that I just vegged out for the rest of the night. I went to visit Sunny & Brandon Hall and their beautiful triplets for a few days. This is the first time I've seen them in person and (prepare yourself for the gushing) they are the most adorable, happy, all around wonderful babies I've ever known (except for Wesley, of course). They are just precious. All three already have distinct personalities and looks. Kyan looks the most like Brandon, Braylen looks the most like Sunny and her side of the family and Kynsie is a combination of the two. I was so impressed by how well Sunny was doing (not because I didn't think she could do it, more because I imagined if I was in her situation, I would be losing my mind). She is an awesome mother, attentive and an advocate for her children, making sure their every need is met, but also balancing that with knowing you sometimes have to put your foot down for their benefit. All this is evidenced in how happy and healthy they are. Without further ado, here are some pics I took at a mini photo shoot while I was there....


Kyan

Braylen

Kynsie (I was making her laugh -hence the wide-eyed look).
I think you'll have to agree that they are just adorable.

Picture of the Week...

The first two are of a car that belongs to Anthony's boss. Look closely at the picture of the wheel and you can see me, Anthony & Molly in the reflection. The second two pictures are from when we went bowling with Megan (my sister), Eric (my brother), Jennifer and Trinity (my niece) the weekend Megan was home before flying to Germany. We didn't get to go to Trinity's birthday party so we gave her gift to her at the bowling alley. She is just such a cutie. She loves Dora the Explorer and one of the things we got her was a Dora bath doll. Every time Anthony would touch it she would scrunch up her face and give him a look and say, "Mine!" For some reason she didn't want anything to do with him, which is so funny because every other time she's been normal with him. She sure didn't want him touching her toys that night, but she didn't care if me or Wesley played with them. She and Wesley had so much fun chasing each other around and bowling. I wish my brother lived closer so I could see her more often.
Picture of scores taken by Anthony.

picture of the week rained out...

potw will have to be postponed until tomorrow...i'm still in my office working on a project for one of my classes that is due by midnight (might be my best procrastination work yet) and all my pictures are on my computer at home. check back tomorrow night and i promise i'll have a new one up. happy tuesday!

Our little MVP

As promised here are pics from Wesley's first t-ball game. For those interested, his jersey number is 11 and his team's name is First State Bank (don't ask me what the M on his cap is for...Martin, maybe). If any of you want a schedule of his games just email me or leave something in the comments and I'll email one to you.
The first one is Wesley diving to catch a grounder (playing shortstop). The other boy running toward the ball is Joshua Parham. Joshua and Wesley have been in the same daycare class since they were six weeks old, and their birthdays are less than a week apart. They have become like brothers, either they are fighting like cats and dogs or they are the best of friends. In the second one, Wesley is playing pitcher and catching a grounder.
All in all, I was really impressed with the two teams. I was expecting a few kids to skip bases or run the wrong direction, but there was none of that, only a few comical moments. Once when they were going back on the field I looked up to see Wesley's (very long) shirt untucked and his hat on backwards. He hates keeping his shirt tucked in and I can sympathize. Anthony has a pet peeve about caps being turned around the RIGHT way. I'm sure some of the other parent's got a good laugh out of me standing up on the bleachers and hollering, "WESLEY, turn your hat AROUND!" Wesley had a good time and is excited about his game tonight.
Happy Tuesday!

An apology...

Sorry I forgot about the picture of the week on Tues.; been busy this week with getting ready for Wesley's first t-ball game this Sat., his kindergarten screening, going to a business conference in Memphis for a day, finishing up a presentation for one of my grad classes, visiting with my sister, Megan, before she left for Germany (she finished AIT last Friday, got to come home for two and a half days and flew out for Germany where she'll be stationed for at least two years, although she will undoubtedly serve some of that time in Iraq) plus all the usual busyness of a job and a family. So, all of that is to say I didn't just neglect you, I had a good reason for it slipping my mind. I promise a picture of Wesley in his t-ball uniform next Tues.
Here's a picture of my mom, Margaret, Megan and me after her basic training graduation back in November. Hard to believe she's a grown-up now and not just my baby sister anymore.
And, if you know Sunny & Brandon, mosey on over to their blog to see some recent pictures of the triplets and their perfectly squeezable chubby cheeks (there's a link over on the right).

Picture of the week

This was taken just a few minutes ago. Wes was riding his bike around the front yard and I made him stop and pose for a second so I could take his picture. Right now we're sitting out on the porch on the swing, enjoying the nice warm weather and waiting on supper to cook.

ETA: The picture was inspired by the photography of Miss Tara Whitnaay. http://tarawhitney.typepad.com/me/

In honor of 01.02.03.04.05.06

I thought it was kind of neat that today was the only time for another century that the clock could read 01.02.03.04.05.06 (at 1:02:03 am) - although I think it happens twice in a century, once in the am and once in the pm, but Anthony argues that it's 13:02:03 in the pm. So, anyways, for this monumental occasion I thought I would celebrate by posting cute pictures of the munchkin that I took yesterday (notice the smudges of dirt on his face and that fake smile in the second one). I would have posted them at 01:02:03, but I was asleep in the am and at work in the pm.
One thing I'm loving about going digital (don't know why I always say 'going digital' like it's a new galaxy or something) is the instant gratification of seeing my pictures the second after I take them. I haven't gotten any printed yet so I'm wondering if opening up the prints will be as fun as it used to be when I didn't know what they were going to look like.
So, happy 1-2-3-4-5-6 day! Oh, just think, in June we can have happy 6-6-6-6-6-6 day. I'm sure all of you just cringed reading that. Okay, enough blogging, I've got to get some sleep.

Picture of the Week

The first one is Wes playing ball with his dad, Jody, this past Sunday. I even jumped in for a little game of woofelball (sp?) and you would have thought I had run a marathon I was so winded from running after Wesley. That was one heck of a wake up call...I need to exercise because I am majorly out of shape.
The second one is a lot less fun. This is just one illustration of what happened here in West TN on Sunday. I think the death toll has gotten up to 20 in just the state of TN now, but I'm not positive. Lots more have been injured and I read somewhere that about 1,200 structures were damaged in Gibson Co. alone. I keep hearing more stories of people's families who were either killed, hospitalized or their homes horribly damaged. I saw a news report that over 62 tornadoes touched down over the Southeast (I don't know if that means 62 individual ones or 62 touch-downs). I say all of this not to wallow in the horror and devastation, but to say, please keep the people of West TN and the other states affected by this in your prayers as they really need them right now. I am so thankful that we were protected.
So, that's my picture of the week.
ETA: A little bird asked me, "Ahhemm, are you going to give credit for the picture your husband took that's on your blog?" My talented husband did in fact take the picture of the truck and I adjusted the contrast and such before loading so I must give credit where credit is due.

More pics...

they wouldn't all load on that last post, but here's some more of wes playing with his cars...gotta love bed head! - you can barely see it in that third picture.

To my two readers...I'm still alive.

I doubt I have any readers besides April and Haley, so I won't waste time apologizing for my negligence since I've already emailed both of you with my lame excuses for not updating in a very long while. Since I'm currently procrastinating on studying for my finance exam, I'll just cut to the good stuff....pictures. The first three are pictures of the newest 'additons' to our family (our family of vehicles that is). The car is a 65' AMC Rambler which Anthony drove back from Pennsylvania in the snow in. The truck is an 86' (I think) Chevy Silverado that he traded his S-10 in for (which didn't have enough room for all three of us to fit in comfortably and did not have a/c - two things that this truck does have). He agreed to sell his El Camino for the Rambler. I also have a new toy....a new digital camera, my first one. I've haven't had it for a week yet so I'm still learning about it, but it is a hoss (for lack of a better expression). I was like a kid on Christmas morning the day it came, all giggling and giddy. All of the pictures below were taken with my new camera - just goofing around and trying to get the feel of it. The first one is of Anthony torturing our dog, Molly and the second is one of Wesley playing with some of his matchbox cars in his room. That look on his face is the "I know you're taking pictures of me, but I'm pretending not to notice and trying not to smile" look. I mentioned to Haley that I'm going to try to do a photo a week for a while and see if I can keep up with that. So, until next week...buh, bye.

Wonderful news...

I have the most wonderful news. No, I'm not pregnant. No, I didn't win the lottery. I finally mastered my mother's chicken & dumplings recipe. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal to you, well probably to anyone, but to me, the daughter who requests the same meal every time I go to visit my mother, it means I can actually fix it FOR MYSELF. If there ever was a better comfort meal than chicken & dumplings, cream corn and biscuits (and chocolate in some form for dessert) I have not discovered it. Now, fixing chicken & dumplings is not that hard, but fixing them like my mom does, with the perfect ratio of liquid to chicken to dumplings is something I have tried numerous times to achieve and have ended up with something either so thick you could turn the pot upside down and it would fall out in one congealed clump or so watery it's more like chicken noodle soup. But, hallelujah, I finally made them the right way. Let's just hope I can do it again the next time.
In other not so trivial news, I will be getting my OWN office at work. Ms. Debbie, my supervisor, got promoted to Dean's secretary and my boss wants to do a little re-organizing of duties so I will be handing over some of my 'secretarial' duties to the lady taking Debbie's place and taking on more of the budget managing duties and moving down to one of the professor's offices that are being vacated as she moves to another building. Long story short, I get my own office with a door and everything THAT I CAN CLOSE! No more constant interruptions. Maybe I'll be able to accomplish more work this way.
And, as of Monday, two of the triplets had come home (Braylen & Kynsie) and Kyan would probably be coming home in a couple days. So all of them should be home by now and doing well. I think that is just awesome because according to their due date they should not even be born yet. They weren't due until December 31st. I get to go visit and help take care of them the week after Christmas when the university closes down. I am SO excited.
In case I don't get a chance to update again before the big day, hope you and your families have a very Merry Christmas filled with lots of time to spend with family and a spirit of thankfulness for the birth of Jesus Christ, the real reason for the season.

Yayyy!!!

In case you haven't heard, I'm an aunt. Well, maybe an adopted aunt. Okay, really just a self-appointed adopted aunt of three beautiful babies (I actually haven't seen them, but I know what their parents look like so they must be beautiful). My friend/old roommate/matron of honor in mine and Anthony's wedding gave birth to triplets (two boys and a girl) late Sunday night. All are doing well. Their names are Braylen Michael, Kyan Garner, and Kensie Reese (I like all their names, especially the little girl's). All weighed over 3 lbs. and were born at 32 weeks (full-term is around 40 weeks). All three are breathing on their own. Praise God! There have been a lot of people covering them in prayer for these babies to be healthy and to be big enough and far enough along to escape most of the issues with preemies and multiples. I am ecstatic (as if you can't tell). My mom and I are heading to South Carolina next Wed. to be there for my sister's graduation from basic training so I'm hoping we can make a stop on the way down there to see the little ones for a minute or two and see how the momma is recovering. I also have to finish the three gifts I've been working on for the babies. I would tell you what they are but I don't want to ruin the surprise. I'll be sure and post a link to pictures of them once they are done and I've given them to Sunny and Brandon.

Not much to say...

Just wanted to post a few pictures of our dog, Molly, that I took while trying to use up the rest of a roll of film. Isn't she a cutie?!

I know, I know....

So, I've been a bad blogger. A horrible one actually - haven't posted in almost a month. For some reason, October just seems to have flown by. As requested by one of my friends, here is a picture of Wesley in his costume. This is the only one I have so far. When I get one back with a full length shot of him I'll post one of those so you can see his whole costume, complete with blinking lights and 'muscles.' He had a blast last night. We made a few trick-or-treat stops at one of our neighbors, Wesley's babysitter's, one of our friend's houses and my in-laws (Mimi and Pops to Wesley) and spent the rest of the evening at our church where they have Fall Fest every Halloween. I wish they had these when I was a kid. Our church has a dunking booth (which our preacher is usually in - Wesley didn't get him, but we did get to see someone else dunk him), two or three of those blow-up jumping things/obstacle courses, a maze (made with cardboard boxes), lots and lots of games that you can win candy at (or get candy even if you don't win) and a photo 'booth' where you can get your picture taken and printed in front of a fall display with hay and pumpkins and stuff. I was definitely pooped by the time we got back home. Wesley was unusually hyper for the entire night (especially considering he only had a single piece of bubble gum from his candy bucket - which was a batman head - I thought it was kinda creepy, but Anthony insisted that he needed it to go with his costume). I didn't capture it on film, but the cutest thing was Wesley 'flying' around with his cape billowing behind him.
So, I'll try to be a more faithful blogger, but I can't promise anything with the holidays approaching all too fast. I am usually one of those people that has half their Christmas shopping done by now, but that's not happening this year.
Edited to add: In case you were wondering, the lady in the picture is my supervisor and the other secretary in my department, Ms. Debbie. I have known her for about 4 years and Wesley adores her so we stopped by on the way to daycare last Friday before his Halloween party to show her his costume.