Is that a SCRUMPDIDILYUMPTIOUS BAR with a chance to find a golden ticket?!

I had to share our little happy today. I had to run in Walgreen’s and what was right there on the counter where I was checking out????? A WONKA BAR! A SCRUMPDIDILYUMPTIOUS BAR TO BE EXACT! WITH THE CHANCE TO FIND A GOLDEN TICKET!!!! Okay so a little background may help. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder has ALWAYS been one of my FAVORITE movies!! Well I had it on VHS of which we can no longer watch because we no longer have a VCR. A couple of weeks ago I saw it on dvd as I stood in the check out line at the grocery. I couldn’t resist. I bought it and brought it right home for Caroline and I to watch. To my delight, she loved it as much as I do. So today when I saw the Wonka bar I couldn’t resist. It was like staring in our own movie. Caroline was excited as I at the find and I’m not sure who would have been more excited if we had of found a golden ticket. Maybe next time. But it was fun to feel like a kid and share that feeling with my own child.

JA Carity Ball 2010

This past couple of weeks our JA chapter has been busy preparing for our annual Charity Ball. After 6 active years of service I will be moving my membership status to a life member this year so this was a special Charity Ball for me. Despite staying Thursday night until 1:30am setting up, back Friday for more set up and staying Saturday night until 1:30am for clean up the event was a blast. I even managed to reserve Friday afternoon for our family time and Christi’s boys spent the night too. I didn’t manage to get many pictures this year but I did get a few. I can say it is nights like these when you see what all your hard work has accomplished that I am torn about going life. I will definitely miss these active years and all the friends I have made and the fellowship we have.

                                                     Brad and I smile for a quick picture.                              

April and I. Boy do I miss those times!

Outgoing members: April Howard, Aimee Hooper, Carlyn McMillian

and WHERE IS SHERRI WALLACE???

The joys of loving your neighbors!

Friday was just too nice to be inside so after our short picture session with the buttercups we decided we would stay outside to play. Caroline grabbed her sidewalk chalk and we headed next door to see if Carter could come out to play. Carter wasn’t home yet and Bonnie was cooking supper so we headed across the cove to visit Maci. This is one of my favorite things about living in our subdivision. God has blessed us with the best neighbors. We all have kids close to the same age and they LOVE playing together. About 5 minutes after we got to Maci’s we saw Carter get home but I told Caroline he had to eat supper first. And then I swear within 10 minutes here come Bonnie and Carter. Carter was so excited to come play there was no way he could have had time to chew any of his food. Then Brad finished up on the roof and here he came, then Bonnie’s parents and Jaycie, Bonnie’s brother and sister and Adam and then Chase came out to join us. We had the best time just talking and letting the kids play. And the kids… they played and played. Carson wanted Jaycie to come with him and I kept having to tell him “be careful, Jaycie is trying to learn how to walk.” He was so funny. He would take her little hand just for a minute and say walk walk and just walk right off without her and then come right back to get her again. It was like he was saying “you just walk like this” The kids found some sand to play in and there wasn’t a one of them that didn’t enjoy that. By unanimous decision they will all be getting sand boxes this summer no matter how messy they are. The time just got away and before we realized it we had stood outside talking until 7:30. We still had burgers to grill and baths to get but we had already had the best afternoon visiting. It just made our day perfect to eat a good grilled burger. Boy this summer is gonna be fun!  These are the joys God gives us when we love our neighbors as He has commanded us to.

Enjoy My little Buttercups!!!

Although today has turned out to be SO cold outside, I had to share some recent pictures I took of the kids. Okay so I know photography 101... The sun has to be to your back, BUT…

And there is always a BUT… like the fact that we have this little spot close to our house where wild buttercups grow which are some of my favorite flowers. So Friday God blessed us with the perfect day, and this special spot I drive by each morning I could resist no longer. I love this little spot where right in the middle of busy life God chose this little forgotten about field right in the middle of town to share some of His little sunrays of spring. I love all buttercups and daffodils. They are one of the first signs of life as winter comes to an end sometimes even before green grass starts to poke it’s head up. But what makes wild buttercups so special to me? The ironic places they pop up. In long forgotten about places, where old homesteads use to set, in pastures, and by old rusty cars, in over grown fields or just by the side of the road. It reminds me of God’s mighty hand, His ability to see beauty in things we have long ago discarded, His ability to put a smile on my face just by making His flowers bloom. It reminds me that there is no thing too small for God to give special attention. So even though it was after 5, I learned that sometimes you just have to look right at the sun to see that perfect picture God wants you to see.

Just to keep you up to date.

Has it really been almost a month since I have updated our family blog? Some months I do so good about keeping things up to date and some months I am not sure where the time goes. Since our last entry we have been busy with all the little things of life that make our life so special to us. Some good and some bad but here is just some of what our month has held for us so far. ENJOY!
February ended with Brad and I attending a concert at Mingle wood Hall off Madison. Brad called me from work one day to tell me that he had won tickets on Kix106 to go see Randy Houser. Not listening to country music much anymore that I have found K-Love in my car I had no clue who Randy Houser was or what he sang, but what does one do when they win tickets on the radio? You go to the concert! Especially when someone mainly my husband wins something for the first time off the radio. We had a good night. It is always fun to have a date night just Brad and I. We even saw Jerry the King Lawler. Sorry back to those childhood memories of watching wrestling with daddy.

Brad, Caroline and I went to the dentist at the beginning of the month. This is the second time Caroline has visited the dentist. The first time was really just in hopes of letting her see the dentist is not a scary place to go. Unlike the first time, she actually let them clean her teeth. However, we haven’t decided it is a good idea yet to actually let the dentist see our teeth.

This is Caroline the morning after our visit to the dentist showing me how clean her teeth are …EVEN after sleeping all night.

Now is my moment to brag on Brad. God has really blessed me not only with a good husband but a wonderful dad. In order to have my 3 day work week so that I can have more time at home with my family, I end up with long 12 hour days. With that comes a few sacrifices, one being that I am unable to attend church with my family on Wednesdays. Have no fear Brad makes sure the kids get there every Wednesday night. This past Wednesday night was crazy hair night for the kids at church. Brad made sure to get a few pictures for me before they left. Thank you God for finding us a church we love to be involved in and for blessing me with a husband that knows how important you are and wants to raise our children knowing that.

Caroline getting over being sick and Carson doing whatever big sister does.  They made a pallet in the living room since they didn't feel good.  And Carson just wanted to be right beside Caroline sick as she was.

Being sick takes a lot of sleep to get better.  I was changing our sheets and this was Caroline waiting on me to get done.

Now yesterday, Caroline and I decided to have a mother daughter day. We had SO much fun just the two of us. I think it is very important to have those special days, to spend one on one time with each of your children to make each of them know just how special they are. Caroline has been a little under the weather for the past few weeks. Two Fridays ago Caroline’s preschool called to let me know that Caroline was sick and throwing up… a lot. A lot was an understatement. When we got home she was throwing up at least once an hour until early the next morning. Her and I spent most of the night being covered in throw up to jump in the bath get cleaned up and change clothes once again. By Sunday she was all better and so Monday was back to normal. By Wednesday when Brad and the kids returned from church she had a fever of 103 and it stayed that high until Thursday night. Two weeks in a row I decided we would go to the doctor to be sure it wasn’t more than we thought. Just a little virus thank goodness.

So Saturday, we decided to have a special day to celebrate feeling better. We had a day of shopping. I had to find a dress for Charity Ball next weekend so Caroline was my little dress zipper. She had so much fun picking out fancy dresses and deciding which I should try on next. Next it was on to let her pick out some shoes. We went just to return a pair that was the wrong size and left with 2 new pairs each for her and Carson. Then we went to Build A Bear. We have never been, but we had a gift card that Caroline received for her birthday (yes last September) so we decided we would make that our special treat for being so good all day. When we went in she looked around for a minute and Caroline turned and looked at me and said “…if I get just a little one can I get Carson one too with my birthday card?” Well of course. I was so proud of her for wanting to take care of her little brother and make sure he had one too that I told her that would be a really sweet thing to do and because she was so sweet to think of Carson I would buy them both clothes for their bears. Caroline had so much fun making her little bears. It was so fun to watch her excitement as she worked to make the perfect bears. After such a long day she fell asleep on the way home before she could give Carson his bear so this morning before church she was so excited to give Carson his bear she made just for him. These are the moments I cherish and am so glad our children were born close together. Their relationship grows closer each day.

Brad and the kids before church this morning.  I these times.