SURPRISE!

I have the best husband ever! Yesterday for my birthday he got a babysitter and planned a date night. He took me to Bonefish for a delicious dinner - including strawberry shortcake for dessert - yummy! and he surprised me with a gift. He gave me this beautiful saphire butterfly ring. I had showed him this ring at BJs probably 6 months ago and told him I liked it. We haven't bought each other gifts in several years because we've been trying to pay off our van and cut down our debt. Well, he said that I deserved a present this year and surprised me with this. I think he's been saving his lunch money =). How sweet is that?! Not only that he bought me a gift but that he listened when I told him something I liked. He planned all this out about a month ago...he's just the best. So, thoughtful and caring, so good to me. I love you with all my heart and thank God everyday that he gave you to me.

Thank you again for my birthday celebration - you are the BEST!

Party Pictures

Here are the party pictures. Sorry it took awhile...we've had camera issues that I won't go in to... Anyway...NO I didn't make their cakes. Chris Patrick from Easley always makes cakes for me. She's very affordable and does an AWESOME job. She can make anything you want and her cakes taste good. At any rate as you can see they both had a great time!! Enjoy...



This is Alex with his new quilt for his bottom bunk bed... of course he wants to take it off and put it anywhere he wants to lie down. My parents and Shon and I went in together for this to be his gift. He loves it!

Happy Birthday, Alex!!

Alex is 3 today. I know I say it over and over but time goes by really fast. It just seems like yesterday that he was born. Happy Birthday, baby. We're having his first 'friend' party this afternoon and he is soooo excited!!
Pictures from both boy's parties to come. I love you little angel.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, Shon!! You are the best Daddy, husband and friend I know! Thanks for all you do. I love you very much. Have a wondeful day.

Aways and forever...

Mommy, I like you!

After picking Alex up today he told me he had gotten in trouble for disagreeing with Sarah. That is pretty typical. A few minutes later he said "Mommy, I wike you." This is also one of his typical, favorite things to say. I said, "You seem to like me a lot when you get in trouble." He said, "When I get in big twouble I wike you a whoe wot, Mommy!" He kept telling me that all know with a completely straight face. Later he got very quiet while I was helping John with his homework. I called him and he said, "I not messing with your make-up, Mommy." He came in to the living room and proceeded to do a little dance, with black eye shadow all over his face while saying "I'm so petty, so, so petty!" He keeps me smiling, belly laughing is more like it!!

FEB 5th!

WOW, it's already Feb 5th!! Where does the time go? I know I have been slammed at work. The flu has hit SWU along with several other nasty little viruses. They are keeping me busy! I like to be busy but not so busy I can't think!!! So, what's up? Who saw LOST last week? I'm interested in everyone's theories? Who has stopped making theories? Does anyone think there is a biblical tie? Savior Locke? Redeemed Locke? Lot of tortured souls on there... All I can say is it is some creative writing!! Shon is just about sick of it though.

John's new favorite show is American Gladiators -- hmm -- he likes that. Tonight Biggest Loser. He likes reality TV. Any TV... =)

Hope you all are well and FLU FREE!

Happy Birthday, Doodle Bug!

It was fun to look back and choose a picture for your birthday post. I liked both of these and just couldn't decide so I used them both. I can't believe that you are 7 today. WOW! Time just flies -- it only seems like yesterday when you joined our family. What a treasure you are!! It is a joy to be your mom. I am in awe of you and all that you are. I look forward to all that is ahead and all that we will learn together. I'm sure there will be a day when you read this and say, Moma why did you have to call me 'Doodle Bug'! I hope you have a wonderful day my love -- you have forever changed my life.

SNOW DAY!!

Yep, we got snow. The weather forecast was right! We received about 4 inches here in Six Mile, maybe a little more. It's really beautiful -- I know b/c we don't see it much and deal with it daily I can say that. John and Alex have really enjoyed it. It's amazing the excitement it brings to kids (and adults! right Ashley?). I'm thankful for the day off to relax and play with the boys.

Enjoy your day!

Looking forward...saying goodbye

Time sure is flying! It's the middle of January. We've been busy. Last weekend was a little tough for John. We lost one of the kittens. The smallest, Tiger, John's favorite passed away. We aren't sure what happened. He was tiny and never really seemed to catch up with the others. John went out to play with Shon and Alex on Saturday morning and he found him. This would be his first experience with death really. He doesn't really remember when my Papa John died. He cried so hard. It was quite emotional for all of us. We had to bury him and then he made a little grave stone for him with his name and 2008. It was quite nice. Hard lesson for him to learn but one he will experience many times again.

We look forward to all the birthdays we celebrate in the new year. We celebrated with Griffin yesterday. He enjoyed it very much. I love watching a 1 year old with all the traditions we force on them. He took it all in stride and absolutely LOVED his cake taking it all in, slowly, savoring it.

My John will soon be 7, yes I did say 7 and we will celebrate in a couple of weeks with a party. It will be a Clemson theme. He is excited and hopes to play football with all his buddies. He has grown a lot from 6-7 not just physically but emotionally. I specifically pray for his salvation now and coming to know the Lord personally in God's time of course. He amazes me. He is enjoying his new X-Box very much and plays it every chance he gets, negotiating each day to play one game before doing homework. He loves any kind of computer game and is often on the computer. He also is reading more and more and love his Magic Tree House series.

Alex was sick last week with a stomach virus. I of course hate this type of illness the most. Not much you can do for them. He's almost back to normal now. He's soon to be 3 in almost exactly a month. We will have a Thomas the Train party for him. His first with friends invited. He loves 'choo choo' trains as he says. We look forward to celebrating with him and letting him enjoy a 'real' party where he is the center of attention. He's usually a little more shy and withdrawn than John but I have a feeling this year he will come out of his shell and enjoy this very much. He loved Polar Express over Christmas, we still usually watch it daily or at least every other day. He now wears a watch and tells us it is 5 or 2 minutes to midnight. His new saying is 'hoie moie'(holy moly) for just about anything new or exciting. I don't know where he picked this up but it is very funny when he says it!! Disciplining has become quite the challenge, too! Standing in the corner is the best punishment for him, last night I told him that his nose would fit perfect in the corner and he proceeded to pretend to take his nose off and hand it to me. Very smart kid! I couldn't help but laugh!

I'm terribly disappointed that my Cowboys lost yesterday. Just wasn't their year I supposed -- now I'm pulling for Green Bay to go all the way.

Pray for the new semester. Students are back now and I'm just not sure I'm ready for them.

Happy Birthday, Griffin!

Griffin turned 1 on Saturday! Happy Birthday little guy. Times sure does fly! We didn't get to go to his party as planned because the Hay family had a stomach virus...boo hoo! Hope you are feeling much better now. Hope you had a great day Griffin and look forward to celebrating with you ASAP! You are a joy to us, we love you!

GO TIGERS!

That's the CLEMSON TIGERS!! Just chillin' out watchin the Chick Fil A bowl and cheering for the Tigers... They are not winning right now. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We did. We are very blessed. We had an amazing trip to the beach with Shon's family. It was fun and relaxing, the weather was nice and hard to believe it was December! We didn't want to come home. Tomorrow we will consume our share of greens and black eyed peas to hopefully increase our wealth for the year and then one more day off and it's back to reality.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

I think this must be John's best yet! We bought him an X-Box 360 (used) and he just was overwhelmed. He burst in to thank yous and gave us both hugs and then shed tears!!! It was just incredible...I had told him he couldn't have a video game and therefore he was very surprised. Just a really incredible moment with him, to see the real gratitude and joy. Amazing...we were all 3 crying. How blessed we are to be able to provide such amazing gifts to our children.

We head to the beach tomorrow with Shon's mom and step dad. His brother Clay and his wife, Elise will be joining us for some R&R! Looking forward to that after a busy Christmas season.

Blessings to all.

Daughtry

What more can I say. It was awesome. Sorry no pictures...I was honest and followed the rules and DID NOT take my camera in (Shon that's for you). Although over 1/2 the people there did have their camera. He really puts on a great show. He plays a lot of instruments, has an incredible drummer - who wore a kilt with no shirt, and he was so energetic. AND there is much to be said about a concert on a Sunday night at a Baptist College...NO ALCOHOL! YAHOO...considering the last concert I went I had beer spilled all over the back of me. It was GREAT. Thanks honey for this wonderful idea.

By the way...my Cowboys lost, =(

Early Christmas Present!

Finally the weekend is almost here! After a week of high 70's a cold rain is supposed to be on it's way. And for December graduation tomorrow...oh well, no complaints b/c we need the rain so badly. I am excited about the weekend especially b/c my wonderful husband is giving me one of my Christmas presents early this weekend. We're going to see Daughtry at Timmon's Arena on the Campus of Furman University. I love Daughtry. He was my favorite American Idol contestant and I have been a fan ever since. I can't wait! I'll try to sneak a picture for the blog. Thanks, honey this is an awesome gift!!

Have a great weekend!

Can you fix it...WHY?

I just couldn't resist posting these pictures! We had a small leak under the sink last night when the pipe came loose. Shon was 'fixing' it and of course the boys had to help Daddy! They are growing up so fast and it just seems that time keeps flying by. John is reading really well now and reads or tries to read just about anything he sees. He ordered a set of Magic Treehouse books from Scholastic's at school and those came in yesterday so we started one last night about the Titanic, it's really fun to read with him before bed. He's playing Shon's guitar now, too. Maybe lessons in the future who knows. He really seems to be enjoying it. Alex is potty training and when he has an accident he tells me "I want to put on a diaper, I not like wetting my panties!" He's doing really well though and accidents are occurring less and less frequently. He's started asking us "WHY?" to everything!!! It's exhausting. I've been thinking though to the parallel between him asking us why and us asking our heavenly father why. How often do we ask him why and expect an answer? Do we ask just to be asking? Do we ask to learn, really learn or just because we are nosy and want to know? Do we trust that he has our best interest in mind when he tells us to do something? I really try to answer Alex and not just say 'because I told you so'. Doesn't God do that as well if we really listen to him? It's not easy not to ask why, especially when bad things happen to good people. Just some thoughts...

How 'Bout them Cowboys!

My Cowboys took care of the Packers last night 37-27 and now are 11-1 and in the Playoffs! Way to go!

Run Yourself Ragged

I hope this is not how any of you feel after the long holiday weekend! Do any of you remember this game? While John helped Shon bring down all the Christmas decorations he saw once again Shon's games from his childhood. (My husband is a pack rat!!!) He just had to have this game brought down so he could try it. He's actually asked before, when we moved he saw all of Shon's games and wanted to play with it then. Shon probably wasn't ready to pass them down then....he's pretty, shall we say protective of his things. Anyway, John proceeded to play with this game for a solid hour. It was so interesting to watch him and his little mind work. Shon said he was exactly the same way, he'd play with it for hours when he was a kid. Like father like son...

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. We took Alex to see his first movie. The Bee Movie. He LOVED it, they both did. When we sat down and he looked at the screen he said 'That's a really big movie, Moma!" It was so adorable. He just sat and stared amazed the entire time. Great times!!!

Happy Birthday, Trey!

My precious nephew is 2 today. If you don't beleive in miracles just look at this beautiful little boy and there you will see our little miracle. I just can't beleive that it's been 2 years since he was born and had his heart surgery. He had a blast at his birthday party yesterday. He's not feeilng so well today though... say a little prayer that he feels better very soon.

I love you, little buddy. You are a joy to me and my family. I thank God for you and how he has already worked in your little life. Happy Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHON

Happy Birthday, to my sweetie! You are such a kind, sensitive, loving husband, father, son, brother and friend. Do you realize we have now celebrated more birthdays together than we have apart? I hope you have a wonderful day!! I'm so blessed to have you in my life and thank God for you every day!

LOCK DOWN

On the way to school one morning last week John told me a story that really made me sad. It almost made me cry. He said, "I guess you remember how to do a lock down practice?" I said no I don't think we did those when I was in school. He said, "It's when they close all the blinds in our room, turn off the lights, lock our door and we all get on the floor and cover our heads. In case there is a bad man, like someone who would rob a bank or shoot people comes to our school." My heart just dropped. I said, "oh, have you practiced this yet or are you going to?" He said, "We've already practiced it. I sure hope that never happens." I said, "Yeah, me too." It's hard to believe that we've come to a place in the world where we have to practice these kind of drills in Six Mile. Don't get me wrong I'm sure glad they do practice them but it still makes me sad...and it makes me feel for the parents who have lost their kids in school shootings.

Costumes

Here are the boys in their costumes. John is Peter from Chronicles of Narnia and Alex is a pirate. We took them to the Fall Festival at First Baptist Church in Pickens. They had a blast!

Happy Halloween

Showing off their works of art!














The boys working on Alex's 'punkin'.













Alex carving his first pumpkin or as he says 'punkin'.












By the way... Bon Jovi has announced the Lost Highway world tour. Jennifer and I have been wanting to plan a trip since our 30th birthdays. So...in conjunction the tour and planning our trip...we booked our plane tickets to Ft. Lauderdale today! We will be spending the weekend there soaking up some sun on the beach and seeing Bon Jovi while we're there! Yipee! Now that was worth waiting 3 years to plan the trip for.

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!