Better late than never, that's what I always say!

These are some pictures from our trip to Myrtle Beach back in September. Better late than never, right?

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Getting THAT phonecall...

It is every mother's worst nightmare to get a phonecall about your child in distress and you are not there to help them. Last night, it happened to me. First let me start by saying, in the end, all was okay. Anyway, I was at my weekly bible study when I heard my voicemail ding on my cell. We must've been talking too loud and I didn't hear the phone ring. I immediately thought it was John asking about Addie (we were trying a new bedtime routine as I am weaning her from nursing). I checked the voicemail and this was John on the other line, "CALL ME NOW! I NEED TO TAKE JACKSON TO THE HOSPITAL!"...click...

uh...yeah, it was THAT phonecall.

I frantically called him back to see what in the world could have happened. When he answered all I could hear was Jackson screaming in the background yelling, "Daddy, help me!" As the horrible thoughts went running through my head, John explained that Jackson had swallowed a Skittle wrapper (the "Fun Size" from Trick or Treating) and he was having a hard time breathing. Zoe and Jackson were playing downstairs while John was upstairs giving Addie a bath so he wasn't sure of what exactly happened. All he saw was one side of the wrapper on the floor and Jackson screaming that he couldn't breath. While John was explaining what happened, Jackson was still screaming in the background, this time saying, "Please God, don't let me die! Save me!"

I told John to call 911, because I was 25 minutes away and he needed help now! So we hung up and he called 911. Needless to say, driving up to my house with the flashing lights of a firetruck and ambulance is NOT fun. (by the way, it only took me 15 minutes to get home - shh!)

I ran in and there were 4 ENT guys there with Jackson and he was okay. As soon as he saw me, he started crying and melted into my arms. He asked me, "Is it okay if I cry now?" (I guess John had been telling him to stay calm, for fear of the wrapper blocking his air passage, and to be brave.) I assured him he could cry now and he just let it out. I don't think I let go of him for a good 20 minutes. The ENT guys had checked his airways and windpipe and everything sounded fine. The wrapper must've stratched his throat and that's why he kept saying "It's right there, I can feel it in my throat." In the end, they said it would pass through his system. With our extreme thanks, they all left and Jackson got a bowl of Sherbet to help his throat and then off to bed. He wanted me to sit with him until he fell asleep so I did. As I sat there with watching him sleep, I thanked God for keeping him safe and showing me in just another way how much my children mean to me. I truly couldn't imagine my life without each one of them.

Prayer for the day...

Lord, on this election day, grant us the president that our country needs, not the one that we deserve. I know you are in control and I can rest completely and fully in that. In your most precious and all-knowing name, Amen.

I received an email earlier today with these great reminders:

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

God approves this message!

ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS REALLY IN CHARGE!

Student of the Month

Jackson was awarded Student of the Month for the month of November at his school today! We are sooo proud of him! His teacher really loves Jackson, with good reason of course! We had the honor and privilege of celebrating this special recognition with Zoe last year too. Wow! What amazing children I have! Ms. Putnam (Jackson's teacher) wrote to the principal, who awarded Jackson, that "he is always kind and helpful to other students. He displays appropriate behavior and always tries his best! He is working hard to become a good writer." With this award he received a free meal at Longhorn and his name printed in the school newsletter. John and I are so blessed by our sweet Jackson as well as all three of our precious children! Keep up the great work, JT! We love you!!

Halloween fun!

Here are a few pictures of the Halloween fun we had! Everyone kept commenting that the kids were Batman and Cat Woman - that wasn't the plan, but they kinda thought it was cool. Zoe was really a leopard. Yes, that is poor Addie with no costume. Yes, just give the Biggest Loser Mom award. To be honest, I just never found one that wasn't huge and bulky for her and she's not a big fan of things on her head so that cut out about 90% of the costumes. She didn't seem to mind and had a ball riding around in the wagon for the first time. Oh well, I'm sure she will tease me about it when she's old enough. Next year, I'll be sure to dress her as something great! As you can tell from the last picture, Zoe was so tired at the end of the night, she fell asleep on my mom. Now, that's a good Halloween!

Addie's new place to play!

When my mom and I discussed making new curtains in the dining room I should've know that panel drapes that puddled ever so nicely on the floor was not the smartest thing! Don't get me wrong I LOVE them, but the practicality of them with a one year old around the house kinda slipped my mind. Addie finds them a great new place to play, she loves to hide in them, yank on them and pull them back and forth. I am constantly fixing them. How could I ever get upset though? Look at how cute she is making a complete mess of my new drapes!

One year already!!

Happy, Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl! I truly cannot believe our little Addie Marie is one today. This day comes with mixed emotions for me. I am so happy to have such a wonderful, adorable, sweet, precious, healthy daughter. I am so sad that one year is flown by and will no longer have a "baby" anymore. I am excited to see her grow and blossom as the amazing little girl I know God has blessed us with. Please tell me every mother goes through this!?

We celebrated her special birthday with some close family friends and my parents this past Saturday and today, her actual birthday, was pretty low key. We spent the morning on a field trip with Jackson. There aren't many one year olds that get to hang out with 20 Kindergartners learning about the Pioneer days on their birthday, right? At least, the tractor ride out to a pumpkin patch was fun! :)

As I sang. Jesus Loves Me, to her tonight before putting her to bed, I thanked God for the precious, beautiful little angel He has blessed me with. I am truly and totally in love with my little girl! Happy Birthday little love!

Lemonade stand at the garage sale!

Each Fall and Spring our neighborhood has a huge garage sale. I spent nearly all week preparing for it. I spents hours going through bins and bins of Jackson's clothing just to get rid of it all! I thought, surely this stuff will go quick - everything for $1 - come on you can't beat that, right!? Well, four hours and nineteen dollars later we packed it up and stuck it in the trunk to go to Goodwill. I couldn't believe it! What a waste! Well, not really. Even though we didn't do financially well, we had a blast as a family. It was a beautiful fall day and the kids just played outside with our neighbors all day. It was so fun to see all the kids outside running from house to house checking out all the junk...I mean, goods! Zoe came up with an idea of a lemonade stand to attract more buyers. Great idea, sweetie! Can you believe they made more money than we did!?

Lemonade mix...$2
Total profits from garage sale...$19
Watching your family have a fun day...priceless!

Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Liberty

Yesterday, Zoe came home from school telling me that they had to wear pink today in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness day at school. I told I had an even better idea, they could wear their T-shirts from Race for the Cure. (Unfortunately, we have had a conflict with every race that has happened in Georgia or Tennessee since May, so we have not been able to wear them yet for an actual race!) Zoe and Jackson were so excited with my idea!

I took a picture of them this morning so you could see them in their t-shirts! These shirts were made as a surprise for my mother-in-law, Sharon Linak....a.k.a. Grammy, who battles with breast cancer. My sister-in-law, Allison designed them and got them printed. In May, the John's family participated in the Race for the Cure in Columbus, Ohio. We were going to do it down here in Atlanta, but Zoe's dance recital was on the same day. The next two were in TN, but we went to Myrtle Beach one weekend and then the next was this Saturday and we are involved in the kid's Fall Festival at their school. One of these days, we will be able to participate! Addie even has her own onesie and of course John and I do too...t-shirts, that is. So, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and my amazing mother-in-law, here's a couple pictures of the kids from this morning!

Oh, the things Daddy can do with a diaper box!

The tradition lives on! When Zoe and Jackson were little (notice the picture) John would give them rides whenever a diaper box was emptied. Believe me, that was too often! He would pick them up, spin them around, and push them around in the "diaper box car". Well, we now have another candidate for the game, "Things you do with a diaper box!" John decided to give Addie Marie her first ride today. She loved it and then Zoe decided she wanted a ride too! John is such a great daddy - he pulled our 10 month old and 6 year old around the house. Notice I said "pulled" instead of "picked up and spun around" - John's a little older, a little wiser and the kids are a little heavier! Anyway, Zoe and Addie loved it! I got some of their ride on video. Too cute! Nothing gives a mother greater joy than watching her kids having fun! Especially when their daddy is the one making it so much fun and providing the laughter! I am so richly blessed! And the best thing is I know this is only one among many more rides in the "diaper box car"!

Where a kid can be a kid!

We recently went to Chuck E Cheese for a neighbors birthday party. As a mom you gotta wonder how many germs those hands are picking up, but as a kid all you think about is...fun! Zoe and Jackson had a great time playing - especially Jackson, the video game king. Zoe wandered around until she found her groove on the horse you can ride and race. (Don't let her know that her horse isn't supposed to be going in circles the whole time!) Hey, at least she had fun!

this is a dangerous thought- Jackson behind the wheel

Zoe and Avery

gotta get a picture with Chuck E, it's a requirement!

love the pizza face, JT!

even daddy got in on the fun!

Addie's new trick

Like any little baby, Addie loves to play in the Tupperware cabinet. It's great fun for her, although she does create quite the huge mess! Well, at least the mess is in one spot for the moment. Along with her exploring she also found the cabinet where I keep the bowls and colanders. She kept putting the colander on her head and was looking out through the lines. It was hilarious to see her little mind work as she kept putting it on and taking it off. I love, love, love having a baby and watching her experience the little things for the first time!

Egg on my face!

Well, I've been scolded for not posting blogs more often. It seems whenever I sit down to get started something or someone calls me away from the computer. Oh, the life of a mom! :) Anyway, I thought I'd post some pictures of our sweet daughter Addie Marie. Every day of a baby is exciting. She changes so much each minute it seems. I truly cannot believe she is 10 months old! Truthfully, it makes me really sad that she is almost a year old. Each time she grows out of an outfit or conquers a new milestone, a little bit of me wants to stop time and cherish that second. Our children are growing too fast! Addie has been such a complete blessing in our family. We often say that she fits the third child role so well. She is so easy going and a pure joy to be around. By far, she is my best eater of the three kids! Now, that might not seem like a big deal but if you have a picky eater in your family you can appreciate it. Zoe has ALWAYS been picky about her food, Jackson got a little better and then came Addie. She will eat everything and anything. She has recently tried tuna fish and kept coming back for more. Crazy girl! The other morning I thought I'd try eggs for breakfast and she loved them! She didn't quite finish them, because she ate about half for bagel with cream cheese right before I gave the eggs. The only bad thing about her being such a great eater is that she wants EVERYTHING we eat and I can never eat a thing without Addie at my feet looking up at me. Who could resist!? Here are a few pictures of our happy eater!

spaghetti for the first time!

yummy eggs!

eating pizza!

Well, THE first day of school came and went without much drama or tears! Yah for us! Both kids woke up before the early 6:15 alarm and were excited to start the day! Today is Friday and that definately wasn't the case this morning. The early morning schedule has caught up with them, that's for sure. The good news is they can sleep in tomorrow, I assured them of that as I peeled Jackson out of bed this morning. We were blessed with great teachers and that makes a big difference. John and I drove the kids to school and Jackson was the first to be dropped off. He went straight to his seat and started coloring. I gave my big boy a kiss and he waved goodbye. That was it! No tears! Nothing! I can't say I'm totally surprised, he is such an outgoing guy, I knew he would have no troubles. Next was Zoe and it went pretty much the same. Having done this already last year, she was no problem at all! She walked in, hung up her "Hannah Montana" (another story for another day) bookbag and sat down. What a big girl! Of course, I had to include some pictures!

Leading up to THE day!

Well, we went through it last year with Zoe and now it's Jackson's turn....the big first day of Kindergarten. In 9 days he will be off to the new world of elementary school. I did okay last year as we left Zoe in her classroom, except for a few tears as we were driving away from what seemed like such a huge school for such a tiny little girl. I can't believe the time has come for Jackson's turn. Last week, we went to the library and left with 17 books and one special one that big sister Zoe picked out just for Jackson, A place called Kindergarten. She wanted to read it to him and teach him about all the fun he is going to have at Liberty Elementary. These two have such a sweet friendship (of course, they have their brother/sister moments) but they are truly best buds. When Jackson was first born and Zoe was only a little over a year, I thought I would nearly lose my mind, but those hard months were all worth the double poopy diapers, double cribs, double mess, double crying fits, etc. when I happen upon moments like the ones in the pictures below...

Jackson's Baptism

On Sunday, July 12, Jackson was baptized! We are so proud of him! He was so excited to do it, he was even the first one in line when it came time for the baptism. (Of course, he was goofing around on the steps leading to the pool while the congregation was singing and he slipped in the pool and bumped his head! Oh Jackson, we love you!) What a special and precious event in his life and in our family's life. As Christians, we believe baptism is a symbol or an outward showing to announce to people that you have become a Christian. This is something we really had to work with Jackson to understand. Being Baptized doesn't save you - only Christ can do that, by accepting His free gift of Salvation. Following baptism is an act of obedience and a special event in our lives as Christians and we are so thankful to share this event with our precious son! Here are some pictures of him before and during. Once again, thank you for rejoicing with us! Praise God!

Happy Jackson before the baptism!

Talking to Pastor Matt - what a precious face!

Getting ready!

Buried with Christ in baptism,

raised to walk in the newness of Life!

Having fun with Addie

Addie, our newest addition of 8 months loves her brother and sister! Having Addie in our family has been such a joy that we didn't even know was missing from our lives until she was born. What a sweetheart she is! Zoe and Jackson are amazing with her and so helpful to me. I wanted to post a cute video of the beginnings of what we pray will be a forever loving relationship between our children. Enjoy her laughter - is their anything sweeter than a babies belly laugh!?

A wonderful evening!

Last night was a precious and memorable night in our family. I sang Zoe and Jackson a song before going to bed, a song that my grandmother, Helen Paul, used to sing to me. It's an old hymn called, Mansion Over the Hilltop. It's a song about having mansions in heaven and walking on the streets of gold. After singing that song, my 5 year old son, Jackson, began to cry. I asked him was wrong as I hugged him. Through his alligator tears, he exclaimed, "Mommy, I don't think I'm ever going to see the streets of gold. I don't want to go to hell. I want to ask Jesus into my heart so I can go to heaven." I called for John to come into the room and Jackson told his daddy the same thing. John led Jackson through a beautiful prayer asking Jesus to forgive him and to save him! What a special moment we were blessed to share with our son! Being the 5 year boy that he his, after he dried his tears, he asked us, "Will I be able to walk through walls in heaven!?" Too cute!

Each morning the kids and I work on some reading and writing during the summer to keep their minds fresh for when school starts up again, this morning Jackson wrote in his journal. Each day there is a question to write and draw about. Today's question was, "What was the nicest gift you ever received?" He exclaimed with excitement, "I can write about Jesus and how I asked into my heart!" That page in his journal will be a keepsake forever!

Thanks for reading this and rejoicing with us as John and I claim the verse, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." III John 1:4

What am I doing!?

Wow! I have no earthly idea what I am doing! A few friends have blogs so I thought I'd give it a whirl! While reading all their cute family stories, I thought, "I want to do that too!" So yes, I have joined the blogging bandwagon. Unfortunately, my littlest one is waking up (earlier than she is supposed to - isn't that always the way when you are trying to get something done) so I will have to continue this later. Bye for now!