Dancing with the Stars

Our local school foundation sponsored "Dancing with the Stars" using local talent. A good friend of ours husband was chosen as a "celebrity" dancer and so of course we had to attend. Also my dad's oncologist was participating so that made it even better. It was such a splurge but oh so fun!

Big girl in church

A few weeks ago I took Caroline in "big" church for the last hymn. She did really well and was amazed by everything. So this morning I decided to take her in and see how she did. Our hope was to make it to the children's message which was about 40 minutes after we arrived. Just like before, she looked around and was mesmerized by the drums, guitars and people singing. When we stood to sing, she threw both hands in the air. Then she grabbed her bulletin and held it in one hand and kept her other hand raised. She thought she was a BIG girl. We made it through the first two songs and were almost finished with the third. I was so pumped, my girl had almost made it. The children's sermon was just a few minutes away. As they were finishing the last song, singing softly, she made a big announcement "Mommy I need to go potty! Be right back Mrs. Paige..." Those around us just smiled as we quickly left the sanctuary.

My heart was happy and I smiled as we left. My baby girl is growing up...

A quick trip to visit Mrs. Virginia

Andy's out of town this weekend with the boys...his friends Chris and Chris. So mom and I decided to head out of town ourselves. However, ours was just a day trip to visit Mrs. Virginia. Mrs. Virginia doesn't drive very far anymore, her children's choice not hers, and it's been at least a year since we have seen each other. So we left early this morning for the 2 1/2 hour trip. Caroline did great! We were about 5 miles from our exit when she announced "I got to potty now mommy!" Nothing close by, no restroom in sight. I speed up and she is in the back saying "I going to wet my panties mommy, I got to potty." It's amazing how those words can put some fear in you and make your heart start racing! Finally we found an exit with a gas station and literally RUN inside. I sat her on the potty and the flood gates OPENED! Thank God we made it!

We had a wonderful visit! Caroline enjoyed all the fun Easter stuff Mrs. Virginia had out. She also loved that Mrs. Virginia wanted to give her whatever she wanted! Gotta love grandparents!! I forgot my camera so I had to take a picture using the camera on my phone...Man I had forgotten how hard it is to take a "good" picture when you have a delay! Hopefully it won't be this long again before we get to see each other.

Interesting Prayers

Caroline's prayers got pretty interesting tonight...A dinner she prayed for our meal and prayed for "my sister." Mom and I laughed about it and didn't think anything else about it. Then while saying her prayers at bedtime, she prayed for "my brother." While all of this is funny and news to me, I wonder if she is trying to tell us something???

Zoo trip

This morning we headed to the zoo with Kipton and Mrs. Ashley. This was our second trip to the zoo. It's fun to see how much the kids have grown since our trip last fall. The weather was great! The kids really enjoyed themselves. After the zoo, we headed over to the picnic area to enjoy a picnic lunch. Within minutes of getting in the car, the kids were OUT!

Lunch is packed and ready

Caroline was speechless...I think she may have met her match!

love this picture, looks like they are waving at each other

she enjoyed "pushing" her stroller

the flowers were beautiful!

all just memories now!

In the kitchen with Mema

Last night we headed over to Mema's for dinner-hoecakes and cheese grits! YUM!!! Mema has been working with me for several years now...We didn't take pictures because Mema said they didn't look too good. But let me tell you, they tasted WONDERFUL! And to top it off, Delores made a YUMMY pound cake! OH SO GOOD! I think I should have walked home after all that deliciousness!!

Spring Fun

We are loving the fact that it was in the upper 70's/lower 80's today! We went to Lowe's this morning and bough some ferns for the front porch. We came home, had lunch and headed out. We had a blast! Caroline was actually a pretty good helper...I was impressed!

enough with the ferns, I want to ride my scooter

ok, so maybe I changed my mind...

We finished the ferns, hung them up and washed the pollen off the porch. Then we decided to "wash" the cars.

We finished our time outside running through the sprinkler. She didn't realize that she had to spray it up in the air to get me so I actually didn't get wet. She however, GOT SOAKED and loved every minute of it!! :0)

Jay's birthday party

We made it back into town today to wish Jay a happy 5th birthday! Man it is hard to believe that he is already 5!!! The weather was great and the kids had a blast!

Grace is such an amazing cousin! The girls adore her!

girls being girls

Jay loves his "cell phone"

Caroline and Great

the kids really were walking on the "yellow" brick road thanks to the pollen

Caroline and Ansley Kate

trying to catch up

Happy Birthday Jay!

Weekend Getaway!!!

Andy and I received a wonderful gift for Christmas. A good friend gave us cash and told us to use it for something fun...not towards bills or budget items! So I immediately began planning a weekend away. I thought about a great city with a fun downtown and Andy's favorite-hockey!! So I made reservations, got childcare for Caroline and bought hockey tickets. I gave Andy the gift as part of his Valentine's present and we were scheduled to leave the next weekend. Well sweet pea got sick and we had to reschedule!

So this past Friday we were finally able to head out of town. We enjoyed the ride and actually enjoyed the silence for part of the trip. We listened to something other than kids music which was great!!! We arrived in plenty of time to unload and relax before heading to the arena for the hockey game. Andy LOVED the game and was so excited that there were 3 fights! After the game, we headed back to the hotel and walked around the park near the hotel.

our room

one of the views from our room

the other view from our room

Yesterday we slept till 8:45! WOW, it's been a long time since we have seen 8:30 in bed! We lounged around, got ready and headed down for a delicious breakfast. Then we headed out to explore the downtown area. It was wonderful! We enjoyed "The Marble Slab" for lunch, oh so good! After several hours we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a nice nap while it rained outside.

looking back towards our hotel

our hotel

the great park by our hotel

another view of the park from the bridge

We enjoyed a delicious meal at Sassafra's. It was fun to have a quiet meal and discuss life. Where we have been and where we are going. Think about what's next for us and our family. After dinner we took a nice walk and ended up back in the park. We sat on a park bench and continued to talk about life... what we thought life would look like 10 years ago and how it actually compares to now. We decided to stop by one of the fun shops for ice cream with homemade waffle cones! YUMMO!!! :0)
We loved our time away! However, when we woke up this morning, we couldn't wait to get home. We couldn't wait to get our hands on our little doodle bug!! We met Chris and Charissa at church. Caroline was so excited to see us. She said "I missed you, where did you go?" Later this afternoon she asked Andy "did you take mommy on a date?" One thing that I always remember about my parents going away was the gifts they always brought us when they came home. Almost always we got a t-shirt and then a little something else. We found Caroline this cute shirt and lunch box. She also got a "Fancy Mancy" book as she calls it...
We had a wonderful weekend. So thankful for Mr. Andy and Mrs. Susan watching Caroline on Friday so that we could leave early. Chris, Charissa and Catherine for sharing their home with our girl for the weekend. And Tomi Jean and family for keeping Lucy.

This is the STUFF!

We have given up TV for the week (actually Monday-Friday) and therefore that leaves a lot of time to listen to our XM radio. I love that channel 66 "the message" plays a lot of songs that our local Christian Music station does not. I was listening the other day when a cute, catchy little tune came on. Not sure if you have heard the latest song from Francesca Battistell This is the Stuff or not? If not check it out, I have posted the lyrics below however, the tune is really great. It speaks about how the little things really drive us crazy but do they really matter in the big picture??? Maybe I am the only one who struggles with this, not sure!

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35
Sirens and fines while I'm running behind
Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world
Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
And I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

Oh Oh Oh Oh
This is the stuff You use

Funny stuff

Tonight while getting dressed for bed, Caroline and I were talking about when she was a baby. She informed me that "I was a baby mommy, but I not baby Jesus!!!" I laughed and said "yes darling you are so right...you aren't baby Jesus." I do hope that as she gets older that she realizes just how special Jesus is and learns to depend on him and not herself.

A few hours later...

So it's now 8:10 and a curly haired little girl is still awake in our house! Andy had a meeting at church and it's just us. I told Caroline about 10 minutes ago it was time to lay down and GO TO BED! We have school tomorrow...I picked up her monitor to find her playing in her crib. Sitting on the couch, her door closed, I said "Caroline lay down!" She replied "I lay down mommy" as she is working her way to her pillow. I said "thank you now sleep good." She replied "I will mommy, you sleep good." I said "I love you Caroline." She said "I love you more mommy." I replied "I love you too much." Then she said "I love you bushel peck and hug round neck." So sweet!! I love that girl.

A fun, family filled weekend!

We were blessed with a beautiful weekend. The temp was in the upper 70's, the sun was shinning and we were all healthy! Yesterday was my nephew's 4th birthday party. Andy had a commitment at church so it was going to be just the doodle bug and myself. Well his plans got cancelled around 10:30 and he was going to be able to go with us. I had the bright idea...we could stay home and waste a few hours OR we could make a slight detour and head to the beach for an hour or so. Guess what my beach loving husband decided to do-GO TO THE BEACH!! Caroline got so excited! She started telling us about getting in the water and playing in the sand when we realized she didn't quite understand what we were talking about! We weren't going to the actual beach, we were going to do some shopping at the beach... (Poor thing, even after we left Wilson's party, several hours later, she asked "Are we going to the beach now???")

Peyton enjoying the trampoline and some popcorn

Caroline loved the puppy. However, when the puppy went to get the stick out of Caroline's hand, she didn't like it to much. She said "dat dog eat my finger!"

the birthday boy

Daniel working the concessions

Caroline and GG

great day for a birthday party

Wilson loved his birthday present

Happy Birthday Wilson

The party was great! We had so much fun. We had nachos, popcorn, hot dogs, pretzels...you name it, lots of fun carnival food! Caroline had a great time playing with the kids but loved playing in the dirt most of all! :0) We also managed to visit with my grandmother for a little while as well.

Caroline's taking a nap right now with her daddy and I am enjoying a quiet house. Once she wakes up, we are going outside!!!! We have an outdoor birthday party in a few hours. Then maybe off to the park for a little while before we go to church.

Hope you had a great weekend as well!

New book and other exciting things

YEAH, I recieved my 3rd blog book in the mail this week. It is so much fun to look back at the past year and see just how much my girl has changed! The last two books remind me somewhat of my high school annual. This one looks like a COLLEGE book or something. I had a whopping 240 entries compared to the last two years being 116 and 134. Caroline absolutely loves looking at them and talking about those that she see's in them. I would highly recomment anyone who uses their blog to record important info and history to check into printing a book. We use blog2print and make one for each year. Let me know if you are interested...

These days my girl can communicate just about anything to us. I love to hear her talk and it's so much fun to get into a conversation with her...

• I asked Caroline to throw something away...She looked at me and said "but der plenty in der mommy." Yes but it's out of date.
• We were playing dress up this morning and I started laughing, she said "what you laughing at mommy. you too silly!"
• Andy and I were signing off tune and adding words to some of her favorite songs. She said "yall do it right ok"
• "Lucy is my best friend mommy"
• I walked out for church one morning and asked Andy if my dress looked ok. Caroline immediatley answered "mommy you look perpect. bootiful too!"
• This morning we were looking at the picture from last night. I asked her what it was. She said "I don't quite see her."
• We are preparing to put Caroline in a toddler bed. We have it in the garage. We asked Caroline if she knew what it was and she said "I don't know. Looks like it's for my crib..."

What a day!!!!

What a day it has been for the two girls that live in our household!!! (and nope, I am not including Lucy in that equation...) There have been lots of opportunities for prayers, repentance and hugs! Being at home full time definitely allows both of us to see the sinful side of each other...The good news is that tomorrow is a new day and carries new mercies for both of us!

Tonight as Caroline was eating her dinner, my sil called to talk about my nephews birthday party this weekend. As we were chatting it up, I looked over and realized that Caroline had gotten the bottle of Ranch out of the fridge and was helping herself. She proceeds to empty almost all of the bottle onto her plate as I am watching in what seems like slow motion...YIKES! I put her in time out while I cleaned up and then we discussed what she did and why it was wrong.


M: Do you know why mommy put you in timeout?
C: I spill da Ranch. (tears streaming down her face)
M: Exactly! What should you do next time?
C: Please help mommy!
M: Exactly!
C: I love you mommy!!! (big smile and reaches to hug me)

Oh the little monkey captures my heart again...reminds me why I love being a mommy! After that, we enjoyed reading books, saying prayers and rocking before bed...hopefully we will both have early bedtimes!! :0)

Not such a good idea

Today we decided to take advantage of the LOVEY afternoon. It was a little cool but the sun was shinning. She enjoyed her scooter and then found the sidewalk chalk. Then she decided to get her bubbles out. Which was great until she decided she would put her billion bubble in her hair...not a good idea! She quickly realized that she had a "tangle in my air (hair)." I did the best I could but she finished the project by pulling the remaining pieces out...OUCH! Hopefully she won't make that mistake again!