Anniversary Trip

Ok, Finally the pictures from our trip...
Shon trying to drive in Atlanta traffic! =)
The aquarium... a clown fish.
Aren't we cute!
One of the huge whales.
Totally being tourist...dinner, yummy! at the Hard Rock...FUN!


Twelve, yes I said 12, years ago today my wonderful husband proposed to me. Best day of my life!

Big boys don't cry...

Alex keeps telling me "I a big boy, Moma" Well, yesterday I asked him if he was a good boy at daycare. He said 'I cied (cried) when I couldn't have a big marker. I cied and cied." I said, Alex "Big boys don't cry." He said, "I do, I cy whenever I want to." I just thought that was so sweet and so to the point. I want him to always be like that. Sensitive and able to cry whenever he wants/need to.

It's been a crazy week returning from Fall Break. The students always bring lots of germs back with them... I have pictures from our trip to Atlanta. I'll try to get those posted this weekend.

Homecoming at SWU

Saturday was Homecoming at SWU. Despite the fact that I had to work it was a great day!! Family was invited and the boys had a GREAT time. This year it was all centered around athletics. There was volleyball, girls soccer and then a showdown between SWU and IWU(Indiana Wesleyan Univ). It was a lot of fun. It was a western theme with BBQ and horse and buggy rides. There was face painting for the kids and a huge slide as you can see in the pictures. 1st there is John, then me, Alex and Annica (Monique and Coach Schmitt's little girl). PS...yes, I did get a hair cut... I included a picture of the game. The team played extremely well. IWU is ranked #1 and we're #2 in the Christian rankings...it was an awesome game. You can see Alex was having a great time (flirting with all the girl students!!).

Shon and I head to Atlanta for the weekend - tomorrow to celebrate our anniversary. I'm so excited to get away and enjoy sleeping and relaxing. (thanks Moma and Daddy for babsitting!) Pictures next week!

John has his first

LOOSE TOOTH! We are sooooooooo excited!!

10 years ago today...

I said I do to my wonderful husband. The years have flown by!! It is almost impossible to believe that we have been married for a decade now! And together for 17 years.

Shon, it's been an awesome ride. You are the most sensitive, sweet and caring man. Watching you with our boys is such a joy. You are an exceptional father and I am so blessed to be on this journey with you. I look forward to all that we have ahead of us.

Thanks for everything. You are the best. Always and forever.

Happy Anniversary Moma and Daddy!

Today is my parents 36, WOW!, wedding anniversary. That is a long time. I don't mean that in a bad way...just literally that is a lot of years to spend with the same person. It takes a lot of love and commitment to survive 36 years of marriage now days. I'm very proud of them. They haven't had all easy times either. But, I've seen them have faith in each other and faith in the Lord that together the 3 of them can get through anything. I love you both very much and I hope you have a wonderful day!!

(It's ironic the only 2 pictures I had of them were from vacation, not together and with Ashley's child....go figure!!)

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged, thanks to my good friend Candice..
Rules of the tag: Each player starts with eight random facts/habits or embarrassing things about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

OK, so here are my 8 random facts.

1. I love football. Always have. Go Clemson Tigers and Go Dallas Cowboys. I have both team schedules on our calendar on the fridge.
2. I'm totally addicted to diet coke.
3. I married my high school sweet heart, 7 years to the day after we started dating. We will celebrate 10 years of marriage September 27 and 17 years together!!
4. I love soap opera's (Y&R and General Hospital)...I know, I know...I grew up in the 80's what can I say??
5. I actually love just about any TV. I have all my particular shows I watch...Gray's Anatomy, Lost, American Idol, Friday Night Light's, Brothers and Sisters, House...I really need Tevo!
6. I am HUGE Bon Jovi fan. I will be attending a concert next year when they go on tour for their new album Lost Highway. I saw them in Atlanta and Greenville during their last tour.
7. I totally adore my parents and have the up most respect for them and all that they sacrificed through the years to provide for me and my sister.
8. I love being a Mom and wife and couldn't ask for anything better than the wonderful life the Lord has given to me. I am so blessed.

So, I think I will tag...Ashley and Michael who haven't posted in FOREVER. I will also tag Shon and let him post here on my blog. That will be fun for everyone to read.

More conversations...

We had a little trouble with a shirt this morning for Alex, it wouldn't go over his head. John said, "His head is getting too big for his shirt." Alex proceeded to stick his tongue out at John.

On the way to daycare after taking John to school this morning Alex said,
"Can you pick Sarah up and bring her to my house, Mommy?"
"We can play with my farm."
I said, "Maybe we will sometime." Keep in mind that he and Sarah don't really get along all that well.
He said, "I'll share!"

I asked Alex what he wants to be for Halloween his answer was, "My Daddy!"

He definitely keeps us laughing!!!

Boy cat or girl cat?

Well, I have had so many request for pictures and the story so here you go.......
Some of you may remember that last summer we were having problems with snakes so we decided we would get cats to help with the problem. Well, my good friend Susan found 4 kittens. What she thought was 2 boys and 2 girls. They had been abandoned. So, we took the 2 little boy kittens. John named them Ranger and Munchkin. For a whole year now we thought we had 2 boy kittens. We really hadn't thought much about it. They were brothers....well Sunday afternoon Ashley and Trey came over for dinner and Ashley went out in the garage for something and when she came back in she said 'Lori, did you know that you have a kitten out here on your steps?' Of course I was like no, what are you talking about. Well, we spent the next 30 minutes trying to figure out where this kitten came from. Thinking our BOY cats had brought us a kitten. Then Shon found 2 more kittens. I even called my cousin, Eve, who is a vet to find out how to take care of these kittens. They hadn't even opened there eyes. Well, then Shon came running in the house to tell me that Ranger was NOT a boy and that he/she was actually the moma. So...you would think that I would have noticed that my boy cat was actually a girl or maybe that my boy cat was pregnant but NO. We didn't noticed any of this....but hey we're thankful for this wonderful new addition to our family. The boys are soooo excited and I'm just glad not to be the only female in the family anymore. =) Thanks to my cousin for all her advice and help. Thanks to my Moma, Daddy and Ashley for laughing there heads off at me and thanks to Shon for saying we can keep all the kittens!!! God is good at surprising us!!

First Day of School

This was John's picture on the first day of school. Iknow I'm a little behind. It's just been a little busy lately. With my school starting back, John starting back and soccer starting. Hopefully, I will get some soccer pictures this week, too. He seems to be enjoying soccer. Alex just had to join him for the picture.

We now have 3 baby kittens...anyone want to guess on how that happened?? Ashley and Moma you don't get to guess since you already know...

What do you want to happen this year?

Prior to beginning the school year John had to complete a get to know you questionnaire for his new teacher. The last question was tell me one thing you want to happen this year. When I asked him the question without hesitation my sweet, innocent little first grader said, "I want to lose a tooth. I can't believe I haven't lost one yet!" So, cute...wanting to grow up soooo fast. Tomorrow is his last day before school starts. We met his teacher today. Mrs. Alexander. Cool thing is I've known her since she was 5. She was Ashley's best friend all through school, since kindergarten. I know for sure she will take good care of him so I won't have to worry about him one bit each day.

Survived!

Well, I've survived another New Student Orientation. It's almost over. We just have a dessert fellowship tonight. A group of freshman and transfers are coming to the house for dessert tonight. That should be easy. After a few LONG days it was nice to have a break. The boys went to Shon's mom Saturday and spent the night. I just want to say that I have the BEST husband ever. He is so supportive. Not only was he totally ok with students coming to the house but he helped get everything ready AND he took me on a date last night after my busy days at work. He's just the BEST! Thanks honey for always supporting me and my ministry to my students.

By the way we had over 200 at orientation...how awesome is that!! Pray for us as we begin a new school year.

Alex can now...

RIDE THE GATOR!






He's been trying for a long time and is finally tall enough to press the gas pedal and drive at the same time. Now, the garage did take a couple of hits and so did several toys. Moma had to get out of the way a couple of times and so did John but after several attempts he got the hang of it...he can't reverse just yet but as you can see in the 2nd picture he's decided he likes towing his 'baby' gator with the larger one. He was so proud of himself!! This is quite an accomlishmnent in his mind.

Conversation between brothers...

John has soccer camp this week and Shon took a 1/2 day off today to spend the afternoon with him after camp was over. He told him he could choose anything he wanted for them to do and he chose for them to go and ride go carts. This is the conversation we had in the van this morning on the way to work, daycare and camp.
Alex: "Mommy, I go outside. It's not dark."
Me: "Maybe later today we will."
Alex: "Maybe my Daddy take me outside."
John: "No, Daddy will probably be to worn out after riding go carts today to take you outside."
Alex: "When I get bigger, I ride go carts."

Too funny...

Exhausted!

After playing outside all day on Saturday John told his Daddy...."I'm exhausted, I don't know what that means but I'm it." They do say the darnedest things!

Fun times with friends...

Sunday night we had Jim, Jennifer and Griffin over for dinner. It was so fun to spend time with them! Especially little Griffin. He's at such a fun age - 6 months - which is so hard to believe!! He's talking and smiling all the time. He can roll over on to his tummy but after awhile he gets a little annoyed and is not sure what to do next. He really loves sitting up and is almost doing it all by himself. My boys had fun with him as well. I think he may have been a little overwhelmed with their noise at first. It was a great time!! Good food, good friends, good times!!

Fishing

On Saturday we went to Lake Keowee and did some fishing. This is one of John's (and Ashley's) favorite things to do!!! We ended up catching 16 fish!! Mostly cat fish. We grilled burgers and had a great time!! My dad caught a HUGE one. The one (yes only one) that I caught was tiny. We're gonna fry them up and eat them on Sunday. Yummy!

Updates...

My goal this week is to blog more often!! I can't believe it is the middle of July already! Where has the summer gone?! Only about a month and school will start again! Man! Couple of pictures to share from a couple of Saturday's ago when Trey visited. He's playing with John's army head-set in one and in the other he and Alex are taking a nap together in Alex's crib. I thought for sure Alex would want to nap in our bed but no he said 'I sleep in my bed!!' So, they napped together. So cute! Hopefully, they will be best buddies one day.

More vacation pictures...Happy Birthday

A few more pictures. But, first a belated birthday wish to my sister Ashley. Yesterday was her birthday. We celebrated last night with dinner at Mimi's. It was yummy! Happy 28th! Hope you had a great day.
There are pictures of Ashley and Trey, Trey is crying because he doesn't want to get off the ride. Alex is riding the choo choo train at DollyWood...his favorite thing. He begged all day to ride the train and then made it 1/2 way through the ride before falling asleep. Then there is one of John driving the car at DollyWood. He enjoyed driving the car!

Happy 4th of July tomorrow. My hubby is grilling us some ribs!

Finally...

I know it's taken me forever and I have more pictures but here are a couple from vacation. The second is our view from our cabin. We had a wonderful time in the mountains. It was beautful, the weather was great. The boys loved it! Alex picked up on the commercial with the dogs singing the song 'there ain't no bugs on me'. He would say that often during the trip. John and Shon had the BEST time riding go-carts. They did that several times. We went to Dollywood. We relaxed. It was fun! I'll have more pictures later with more details, soon. It was great!

I have Bon Jovi's new CD as well. I'll comment on that soon.

VACATION!!

We leave out in the morning for vacation. We're headed to the mountains for some relaxation! It's been a busy, busy week. It's a lot of work to get ready for a vacation. I'm ready for it! Pictures and details when we get back. John is very excited...Alex has no idea what to expect. Pray for our safe travel.

More pictures...

I've neglected to get the other pictures up from the wedding. It's been a little hectic at work with several meetings and other things. Anyway, here are a few more. One more story about John. We were waiting for everyone to get their sparkling grape juice so the best man and maid of honor could make their toast to the bride and groom. John likes the grape juice and was drinking his fast I told him to save it for the toast he said "I don't want any toast with mine". Very cute...I had to explain what a toast was. =)

Great weekend!!

I have lots of pictures to share! I won't share them all in this first post. First the kindergarten celebration was fun. It was very relaxed and informal. No ceremony or anything. We just went to his classroom and saw his work and then went out on to the playground and watched them play together. The first picture is of him and his friend Alyssa Dear. This is his best little girlfriend. It was kind of sad though...her parents weren't able to be there at the celebration for whatever reason.
The next picture is of John and Brianna at the rehearsal dinner. Everything went perfect for the wedding. It was great. John did excellent. I couldn't have been more proud. Everything was perfect for Brianna and Ben as well. They looked beautiful and couldn't have seemed more happy.
The 3rd picture is John and Brianna before the wedding. And then the 4th is of John and the flower girl Hannah. They got along very well. I will post pictures of the 2 of them dancing together a little later. Very, very cute!! John told Hannah's mom that this was his 3rd time as a ring barrier and he was ready to be promoted to groomsmen! I guess we'll see how that goes...

Here Comes the Bride...

We leave tomorrow to head up to NC for my work study, Brianna's wedding. John will be the ring bearer, or ringer as he calls it. This is her with Alex last month at her couples shower at the house. My kids adore her. And honestly so do I. She's like a little sister or maybe even a daughter although I'm not old enough to be her mom. I'm looking forward to the wedding...it'll be a busy weekend but I'm sure it will be beautiful. I'll share pictures.
We also have John's kindergarten celebration in the morning before we leave. He's excited about that as well. It should be a great day.

Training Wheels No Moore!

After a couple of days of intense practice the training wheels have finally come off!! There was a lot of pride in this milestone I must say for my little 6 year old. He was so proud of himself he could hardly stand it! And of course we were proud of him as well. I know there are many, many more milestones to come. Including his kindergarten (graduation) celebration on Friday. Shon asked me if I was going to cry...I said no...hmmm...maybe I was wrong. I'll let you know.

I have the BEST husband ever!!!

Last week my husband told me to plan NOT to work my regular schedule last night. I usually work late on Wednesday evening. He told me to get my student to cover for me, that he had a date planned. He got a babysitter and everything! So, last night he took me to dinner at Wild Wings (yummy!) then this is soooo romantic...he took me to see the 20th anniversary special presentation of Dirty Dancing on the big screen. One of my all time favorite movies. So, so sweet and thoughtful. It was awesome to see it on the big screen. Of course I can pretty much quote the entire movie. The craziest thing is that 20 years ago when it came out I was 12 and my parents wouldn't even let me see. I've more than made up for it last night was probably the 100th or more time I've seen it.

I would have to say this is one of the most romantic things he's done for me! Very sweet and thoughtful. Thanks baby! I love you...

What did you think?

So what did you think about American Idol last night? Of course I LOVED it!! Wasn't Jon Bon Jovi just beautiful? That smile, oh wow! Playing the guitar...it was just awesome. The contestants did well, too. I loved Blake's! He did a great job. So did Phil and LaKeisha. Jordin who I love was not my favorite last night. Of course a 17 year old can't appreciate Bon Jovi. Melinda did well. She has a trained voice to me... Anyway...just wanted to give you my take on it.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE BON JOVI PERFORM TONIGHT!!

American Idol Tonight

This is the night I've been waiting for all season! Jon Bon Jovi is going to be on as the mentor to the contestants. Make sure you watch!!!! I can't wait to see that gorgeous face! =) I will update you tomorrow on what I thought...

You can check out his website for news and updates on his new album. No time to post a link to it now. I'll try to do that later tonight or tomorrow. www.bonjovi.com

Happy Birthday, Candice!

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!!! I know it will be the best birthday ever now that you are Mrs. Lanning. =) You know I love ya!

Griffin

Jennifer just sent me some new pictures of Griffin this week. I really liked this one. He's growing so fast. Babies do that!! I don't get to see him as often as I would like to. He'll be 4 months old very soon.

John and college

Over the weekend while we were gone Papa Ernie took the boys to Clemson to get an ice cream at the Student Center. He explained to them that Shon and I went to college there. When John was telling us this last night I asked him if that is where he was going to go to college. He quickly told me no. I said well where are you gonna go. He proceeded to say "New York City"! I said you gonna get a scholarship to go there right?! He said, "No, I'm just gonna take you with me." I told him I'd remind him of that when he turned 18 and was headed off to college. Too bad they don't stay 6! =)

Hope this puts a smile on your face today in the midst of the tragedy at VT. I look at my beautiful boys and it just breaks my heart...my prayers go out to those people.

Kid's conversation

Conversation between Alex and John yesterday on the way to school/daycare:

Alex: "Bwight wight, bwight wight!"
John: "You just have to deal with the sun, Alex."
Alex: "Bwight wight, bwight wight. In my eyes."
John: "We all have to deal with the sun, Alex. Me, Mommy and Daddy we just have to deal with it."
Alex: "O tay. See cows?!"

Shon and I leave for Charleston in the morning for a long weekend! Business and pleasure...I have the SC College Health Conference but we're staying for the weekend! Yippee........

GOOD Friday!

On our way to the park today John told us that we had a lot of Dogwood's in our yard. He then proceeded to tell us that we should remember what Jesus did for us when we look at the Dogwood, how he died for us... he learned this at church on Wednesday night. Simply stated, simply true.

HAPPY EASTER!

Congratulations Daniel and Candice!

Over the weekend we went to the wedding of my good friend Candice! It was a beautiful wedding and you can tell how much in love she and Daniel are. I'm so happy for her and wish them many, many years of love and joy. Love to you both!

Hair-Do!

Reddi Wip = perfect hair mousse!

Don't Call Me Daughter...Call Me Daughter

We gave John a CD player with headphones(SpongeBob)for his birthday. He really likes this gift. Thinking at the time that I bought this that he could listen to his CD's like his Chick Fil A story ones and his other songs, etc. Well, he 'borrowed' one of Shon's CD's, Pearl Jams Vs. He really likes the song Daughter from that particular CD and has taken to singing the song very loudly while we are riding in the card. Alex has decided to copy him. So...John will sing "Don't call me daughter..." and Alex will sing "Call me daughter..." it's just so cute. Shon and I just sit in the front and laugh b/c they are just too cute. I need to get a tape recorder b/c that will be some wonderful blackmail material one day...

I know...my child is probably the only 6 year old listening to Pearl Jam, huh?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Michael!

Happy Birthday, Michael!! Hope you have a great day!! You're getting ever closer to that big 30!! I think you're a pretty good guy...despite the fact that you're a Gamecock fan. You're a great Daddy to Trey!!

Happy Birthday, Moma, Ma, Gan Gan and Mama K.....!

As you can see we have a lot of birthday's in the month of February. They all start with John's on January 31st and continue right up until Michael's on March 8th. Today is Moma's Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you are having a good day. You are a wonderful Mother and the best friend I could ever have. I'm so glad that we are not only mother and daughter but that we are friends as well. You are the best and I couldn't make it through life without you! Thanks for all you have done for me and all that you continue to do for me each and every day. I'm very blessed and I thank God for you.

I need to update my picture...the boys have grown a lot since this one at the beach...I'll try to do that this weekend when we have dinner to celebrate.

Happy Birthday, Nanny

Today is my grandmother's 87 birthday! Wow, that's a long life! I hope if I make it that far I have as good of a life as she has! With a loving family around me and pretty good health. I love you, Nanny and wish a wonderful day!!

In other news...did you see that Jon Bon Jovi is gonna be a guest on American Idol. How cool is that?! I'm so excited!

HMMM....

Couldn't really think of a title...just miscellaneous thoughts going through my mind today. The students are leaving for Spring break...yes Spring break. It's early, but it couldn't come at a better time. There is a tremendous amount of sickness right now so I'm glad they are going home and getting away from one another for a little while hopefully they won't bring their germs back....

I'm officially 32 now. Doesn't feel any different to be 32...Amazing how fast the time goes by though.

Alex and John are doing great. John is going to the rodeo tonight with Papa - he's very excited. Alex is spending the night with Papa and Gan Gan. They both have fun evenings planned. Shon is having guys night out and I have Prayer Partners tonight with the girls from Sunday School. So....tomorrow we celebrate my grandmother's birthday. Lot's of birthdays in the family this month!

I leave you with a verse I like that was on my calendar yesterday -

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace." Numbers 6:24 - 26

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!

I just can't believe that you are 2 years old today!! WOW! Where does the time go? You are such a joy to our family! Your little personality is developing and becoming your own and it is a pleasure to watch. I love hearing you tell us how old you will be today - twwwoooo - and that you're going to have a 'Melmo' cake at your party tomorrow. I look forward to seeing what all you are going to become. You are precious to me. I love you.

Mind reading!

I went to the grocery store yesterday. Each week the night before I go as I'm making my list of what we need I always ask Shon and John if they have any items they'd like to request that I buy. Well, I had bought John some mini blueberry muffins that he likes yesterday. When he saw them as we were unloading the van he said 'Oh, Moma you bought me blueberry muffins and I didn't even tell you to.' I asked him how I knew he wanted them and he quickly replied 'you read my mind.' He was very serious, too. Thinking back there were many times when I would have thought my mom was a mind reader and when I thought she had eyes in the back of her head, too. Maybe, secretly mom's do...they do seem to know us better than anyone else, don't they?!

SNOW DAY!

Who doesn't love a snow day?! It's just great. Of course I didn't get my hopes up last night when they were predicting it but when I woke up this morning about 6am we had about 4 inches of the white stuff covering the ground. It was beautiful! I woke John up to see - he wasn't too excited to be woken up - but once he saw it he was just as excited as me and could not wait to get outside and play! It quickly turned to rain but we still had a great time sledding, throwing snowballs and building a snow man. This was Alex's first snow and the first one we've seen here at our new home. It was great...no work and now school. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! WE LOVED IT!!! Maybe we'll get some more this year...a snow day a month would be just perfect for us.

Happy Birthday, John!

6 years ago today this beautiful little boy entered my life. I just can not believe it has been 6 years. I remember the drive to the hospital that Wednesday morning - I don't think Shon and I said anything all the way there...lost in our thoughts I suppose. What a joy it has been to be John's Mommy! He's such a special little boy and it is so much fun to watch him grow and learn. Just look at how much he has changed! I'm fascinated each day by the new things he learns and tells me. What a wonderful blessing from the Lord.

I love you sweet boy. I hope you have a wonderful day today!

GET YOUR FLU SHOT!

What a week! John has had the flu...poor little guy. He started on Saturday night with fever and coughing. I felt so sorry for him. We got the diagnosis on Monday and the whole family was placed on Tamiflu. Luckily, no one else has come down with anything and Lord willing thanks to a lot of prayers hopefully we will continue to stay well. I must say the little guy has managed to keep smiling through it all. I think the worst was yesterday...he coughed all day...non-stop. AND...his 6th...yes I did say 6th...birthday party is Saturday. I think he's gonna be well enough for it thank goodness.

Look at this adorable new picture of Trey. Ashley and Michael had new pictures made over the weekend. I'll try to share more later. He's growing so fast and dare I say he's walking....too cute!! Just gotta work on saying 'La La' that's what I've decided will be easier than Lori.

Keep those prayers coming for NO MORE GERMS for the Herron's!

Prayer Request

Well, our students are back and the semester has begun. The Lord works in mysterious ways we all know that....I have two very important prayer request. Within about a week of each other 2 of our students have been diagnosed with leukemia. Marcus George who I believe is a sophomore and Candice Farrell who is a freshman. We prayed for Marcus in Chapel on Tuesday and then today we prayed for Candice. They both will of course not be able to be in school this semester and will both be enduring Chemo. As we were about to pray today it occurred to me that maybe God's whole purpose in their lives was to have them here at SWU so that they would know that he would be holding them like lambs in his arms during this storm...and so that they would know that there was a community that would take the time to stop in the middle of the day to pray for their needs and who would continue to pray for their needs through this entire, difficult journey. Not every college would do that...not every college would even know a student was gone for whatever reason...like I said our Lord works in mysterious ways.

Please lift these students up in your prayers. Pray for their families as well as their doctors and nurses.

Terms of endearment

Well, my sweet boy Alex is now to the stage of copying what we say. The other night Shon and I were having a discussion. I wasn't exactly happy with Shon or what he was saying and so my response to him was "Honey...." and for about and hour and a half after that Alex would say very loudly directly to his Daddy, "Honey...Honey..." and he'd get this huge grin on his face. I think he very much knew he was teasing his Daddy. He even woke up the next morning still calling his Daddy honey... for those of you who know my children he said it with the southern drawl, too. Something like this.....hunee.....I don't think I'll be able to call Shon honey again without smiling.

Griffin Alexander Hay

Griffin Alexander Hay

Born 1:20 pm today

6 pounds 19 inches

The emergency C-section was a little scary but everyone is doing fine!! He was ready to come out - feet first...and 5 weeks early. The only disappointing part is Jennifer will miss her baby shower tomorrow. We are going to celebrate in their honor though because they need the loot...they didn't even have a car seat until tonight.

I'm so happy for her and her husband Jim. She's waited a long time for this and she is going to be a wonderful mother. He's beautiful by the way, just beautiful. I'm already in love. Now I have 4 boys to love...John, Alex, Trey and Griffin.

Thank you Lord for taking care of Jennifer and Griffin today and bringing him safely to us. You truly see the face of God in a new born baby.

Happy New Year from The Herron's

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great New Year's Day. I love New Year's Day. What could be better than good ole Southern cookin...black eyed peas, collard greens, corn bread and hog jawls all supposed to bring you luck and riches (I've been eating them every year my entire life and never gotten rich!) and college football all day long!!!!!!!!! It's my favorite day of the year.

I always think though at the beginning of a New Year what is to come with a New Year...happy things, sad things many unknowns. Births, deaths, weddings, etc. So much in a year. We only know who holds the coming year in his hands and that is all we can hold on to. So, much has happened in the year that just passed. I look at how much my children have changed in just a year. John is half way through kindergarten and growing up so fast. Alex is walking and talking and developing his very own personality much to John's surprise....they shared quite an encounter at dinner the other night...it went something like this....

Alex wanted what John had. John said "No!" Alex said "John, I want it." And then proceeded to take it from him. John became angry and tearful. Alex looked at Shon and said, "John, hot!" Just priceless moments like this are so much fun. And I'm quite certain we have many, many more to look forward to. Alex vocabulary is expanding very rapidly - I'm sure we will all be very entertained in the next few months as he learns to use his new words.

Baby watch is on for my best friend Jennifer....I'm giving her a baby shower Saturday. She called this morning to let me know she had spent last night at the hospital with contractions already dilated 2-3cm.....looks like baby Griffin might want to be here for his party on Saturday, too. =) He's not due for about 4 more weeks so we're hoping he'll wait at least a couple more weeks...

Again, Happy New Year from our family to yours...

Merry Christmas

I'm getting this in at the very last minute!! Christmas is almost over. Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Hope you got everything on your list...and enjoyed a day with your families and friends. We had a wonderful Christmas. Eating tons of yummy food, spending time with our families and enjoying the boys. Every year gets to more and more fun for John...He woke up about 3am to see if Santa had come or not. He came and told me he had and what he had left. He said..."Mama, I just couldn't go back to sleep!" But, he did and didn't get up till 7:30...then of course the playing began. Alex enjoyed it as well but at times it was a little overwhelming. He loved his toothbrush from Santa (in his stocking). He brushed his teeth all morning. =)

I now know how much joy my parents felt each year when my sister and I would open our gifts or see what Santa had brought us. There is nothing quite like that anticipation and excitement in their eyes. It's a joy to give to your children! I would imagine the Lord felt the same way when he sent the greatest gift of all to us on this day - his son. What a beautiful, precious gift. I want to make sure my boys always remember that as the meaning of Christmas.

And to you and yours...Merry Christmas...

Hustle and Bustle

Man this time of year is soooo busy!! How does it get so busy in such a short period of time? This is John's last week of school and the last week of school for students here, too. Graduation is Saturday. Unbelievable.

Just need to remember to keep our focus on the 'baby Jesus' as John tells me every time we see the nativity seen anywhere. Christmas and how we celebrate it is different for everyone. We each have our own traditions and celebrations but our focus and intent is most important. Our pastor spoke on Joseph yesterday. I had never heard a message on Joseph before. You know he was a really good man. My pastor made a good point on that. He was a righteous man and was right with the Lord even before Mary became pregnant. He said something that really stood out to me...are we righteous and ready for the Lord's call in our lives? Would we even recognize that call? Joseph did, he answered it, would we?

Say a little prayer for my grandmother please. She had to be admitted to the hospital this weekend with some heart problems. She's doing better and hopefully will go home this afternoon or tomorrow.

Merry Christmas~

Trey's link

Check the new link to Trey's CaringBridge site, just click over on his name under links. There are new pictures from his birthday party...very cute!!

I liked this quote from my calendar on my desk yesterday...

"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together." Vesta M. Kelly

Discipline

I think the hardest part about being a parent is disciplining. My boys are such good boys. Sometimes though as all children do they need to be disciplined. Last night John needed a strong hand of discipline. It was hard for me...as we've all heard from a parent harder on me than you. But, really it was. I thought about how hard it must be for the Lord to discipline us as his children. This verse stood out to me "My son do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TREY!

Trey turned 1 year old on Saturday! Isn't that just so hard to believe?! He's such a sweet little boy. I am so blessed to have him in my life. Looking back over his first year it just reminds me all there is to be thankful for and how blessed we really are. I couldn't love him anymore than if he were my own son. Check out his CaringBridge site.


Congratulations to Candice who is now engaged!! I wish you all the happiness in the world girl you deserve it!! God is so good.

See my post below on SugarLand - saw them in concert last night in Clemson. It was awesome!! Jennifer Nettles is so adorable. Not sure where she gets all that energy. Hope they tour again soon!

Sugarland

Have you heard Sugarland's new CD? Well, you should either download it or buy it. I'm still in the buying CD world. Maybe after Christmas I will buy the Ipod I've been wanting and get in to the downloading world. Sugarland is awesome and the new CD rocks. Jennifer Nettles is really good. I like all the songs but some favorits are:
"Want To"
"Happy Ending"
"These Are the Days"
"Everyday America"
"Mean Girls"

Check it out. When you go to he website you'll hear a couple of the songs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHON!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHON!! I hope you have had a good day. I love you very much. I won't put your age I'll just say that you have now celebrated more birthdays with me than you ever celebrated without me. ;) You're so very important to me and I love you with all my heart.

Candice did an absolutely AWESOME job on our pictures!! Go here to her blog to check them out. Thanks again Candice!!

Voting

I am behind in posting I realize...no Halloween pictures yet. I need to get to that very soon. They have 'fixed' our computers at work so that we can't download any pictures from our computers. This is due to students placing inappropriate pictures on Facebook and MySpace so....I find it harder to find the time at home to post pictures.

Stay tuned for family pictures...Candice came down this weekend and took our pictures in Falls Park in Greenville. I'm sure they are going to be awesome. She took about 400 shots - some posed some candid. I can't wait to see them. I'll be using some of them for Christmas cards...

I voted today. I always feel like I'm choosing between the lesser of 2 evils. My sister and I had a pretty heated discussion about it last night. I'm a little more liberal and she's a little more conservative. The cool thing is thought that we can share our opinions and still love and respect one another. That's a credit to our parents and the home we were raised in! I just don't like to let moral issues cloud my judgment when it comes to politicians. I like to keep church and state separate. We'll see how it turns out I guess. It was cool how the touch screens worked and how they had an explanation for all the amendments. It was a very easy, fast process. I was the 86th voter at my precinct and the older lady who checked me in was very excited with the turn out. She made me smile =).

Look for a Happy Birthday shout out tomorrow to someone very special!!

Pictures...

Here are the pictures. First we have John's whole class and then we have my little Ladies man. These were the 2 little girls in his group. Of course any opportunity to be in a picture with the girls...... =)!

Promises, memories, etc...

I know I promised field trip pictures and I will post them when I get home this afternoon. We had camera issues and then I just got lazy!!! Sorry for the delay in keeping my promise.

11 years ago today Shon proposed to me. He took me up off of Hwy 11 on a picnic and with the trees all beautiful in their fall colors he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. He made me very happy that day and continues to do so each day. It really doesn't seem like 11 years ago, it seems like only yesterday.

It's a busy week at work with Homecoming this weekend. Many, many activities are going to be taking place.

WAY TO GO TIGERS!!

Fall break and field trips

I went with John on his first field trip yesterday. I promise I will post a picture later. I don't have the camera with me at work today. It was a really fun trip. We went to a little farm in Pelzer. The bus ride there was quite the adventure (loud!). We went on a hay ride, though the corn maze, bat cave and alligator aly. We saw chickens, a goat and donkey, turkeys and a huge pig. We got to pick out a pumpkin each and had a picnic lunch. It was a beautiful day. I enjoyed getting to put faces with all the names I hear about. I got to meet Alyssa Dear and I got to see that my John is quite the ladies man. He got a big hug from a beautiful little girl Alexis (he hugged back, too!). Anytime, the little girl's moms were taking pictures he gladly joined in for the picture. It was a great day. He fell asleep on the bus ride back. I still can't believe he's so grown up. One thing is for sure though I couldn't be a teacher and I have the highest respect for those of you who are (ASHLEY!). I look forward to many more field trips with my boys though! It sure doesn't take much to impress 5 years olds. Although there was debate over which was better recess or the farm, I think the votes were tied at 50/50.

It's fall break here at SWU this week and the quiet has been so nice. It comes so fast after we start back and is so appreciated once it gets here. I love Fall it's my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing, there is a crispness in the air and of course there is FOOTBALL! Wow - those Tigers really pulled out a close one this weekend...I missed it though..went to a wedding and when I went in it was 17-3 and when I came back out to the van before the reception they had come back to win. Had to rely on the highlights on the news. Anyway...I'm looking forward to tomorrow and Friday off. It's supposed to be nice weather although a little cooler which I'm looking forward to. I like the first hint of sweater weather.

Alex is great too by the way...his new words are down and gone gone. Of course he's usually referring to food when he says gone gone. And down is always when you pick him up and he is not ready to stop doing whatever it was he was doing. He likes telling the kitties 'no no' and in the mornings telling John to come on when he's ready to go. His version is 'dohn, mon'. Too cute I must say.

Pictures to come...promise.