Happy New Year....

That time of the year again. Time for the dreaded "New Year's Resolution."

Last year I decided to work on me. As I look back, I think I did a pretty good job. Everyday I see improvement. I am down 35 pounds since January 2008, my spiritual life is better than it has ever been, and Madeline is growing up to be a smart and beautiful little girl.

So this year I will continue to work on ME.

Hope you all have a wonderful 2009. May God continue to bless us all.

It's a Princess Christmas

Madeline LOVES princesses. So this Christmas was definantely a 'princess Christmas.'

The princess castle...and the CInderella broom set. She hasn't put the broom down yet.....hhmmmm, this could be a good thing.

The Princess Loot....

Princess Ginger.

Merry Christmas

Four Years and counting.....

Happy Anniversary, Chris!!

What do you do when you are bored??

Boredom. We all experience it at one time or another. But what do you do to pass the time? I like to read or watch some mindless TV. Well, listen to the tales of a 2 year old. I have to give her some credit...how did she think of this at the age of 2??

Madeline has been in day care since she was 9 weeks old. It's a daily routine that she is used to and I think she really enjoys. She recently got 'promoted' to the Preschool 1 class, which is for 3 year olds. She was the oldest 2 year old in the "Two's" and lately her teachers have noticed that Madeline has been 'acting out' and getting in trouble for doing thing that are very out of character for the Madeline at day care (note: I think she has 2 personalities, one at day care and another at home). Nothing bad, just little things. Since these things are so out of character for her, they came to the conclusion that she was bored in the 2 year old class. We made the decision to move her up where she will have more stimulating activities and less down time.

So, what does a 2 year old do when she is bored. Here is one example. Since Madeline is the oldest, she pretty much does everything on her own, including bathroom trips. She can take care of business on her own and she is able to reach the soap and turn the water on and off. On a recent trip, they noticed that Madeline was in the bathroom for a long time, so they decided to check on her. What did they find? Madeline had taken a wad of paper towels, stuffed them down the sink and proceeded to turn on the water and flood the bathroom. Her reaction? That sweet little "what" smile with her head cocked ever so slightly and her hands up in the "I don't know position."

Ahhhhh, I am so proud!!!

Fall in North Carolina

This past weekend we went to Samantha's one year birthday. We had a great time, some good grub and great family time.

The evening then progressed to this.....a bunch of people who are probably a little too old to be attempting forward and backward rolls.

Chris was quick to show off the forward roll.

Then Aunt Bernie joined in

Even Layla was wondering what in the world they were doing. She had to check out Bernie to make sure she was OK.

After being shown up by the younger cousins Johnathan and Angela, Chris decided it was time to take on the backward roll.

His first few tries were unsuccessful.

Then Johnathan gave some lessons.

Finally, Chris made it over

check out the face.....

Fall

Well, fall is finally upon us. I think we are past the random 90 degree weather that usually pops up here in NC. It is officially hoodie weather, and I couldn't be happier!!

Here are some pics of our recent fall outings:

Pickin' Pumpkins at the NC State Farmers Market

The NC State Fair:

Checking out the big pig

Feeding the goats

Smile. This is the apple she 'bought' with the money she made from harvesting her crop at the Farm Bureau 'farm'.

She thought the chickens were so cool.

And for a bit of ag nerdiness...here is a picture of the Grand Champion Barrow.

Jesus Messiah

After hearing Daddy play "Jesus Messiah" 524,235 times, Madeline has mastered the song.


Here are the lyrics she is singing:

Jesus Messiah
Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer
Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners
The ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all

Tales from the beach

Last weekend we took a long weekend and headed to Myrtle Beach, SC. We usually hit MB every year once the vacation crowds have gone for a weekend of shopping, pool time and a little bit of beach time.

Last year Madeline wasn't too big on the beach. She liked looking at the ocean from a distance, but she wanted no part of the water or sand. This year started off a little shaky, but she did venture out to make some sand castles- as long as the water didn't touch her.


MB is great for shopping. Lots of outlets- and someday I'm sure that Madeline will actually enjoy shopping. Luckily many of the outlets have lakes with fish to feed, toys to ride on and goofy cut outs to pose with.

Out trip ended with a trip to Ripley's Aquarium. Now this Madeline LOVED. She is still talking about the sharks, Nemo and the sea horses. (Note: bad mommy- camera betteries went dead...).



Only one bad thing to report. Our first meal in MB was at the new Mellow Mushroom. YUM-O we thought- something good and familiar. The service was HORRIBLE, the pizza did not meet the usual Mellow Mushroom standard....and Madeline refused to eat the pizza...in fact she was scared of it. Chris would put a piece next to her and she would squeal and say NO. Sorry to disappoint, Sellers!!

Happy Birthday, Uncle John

Kids...they do know everything.

This weekend was the race in California. My brother and our friend Chris went to the race to do what else but drink beer. Madeline knows that Uncle John likes beer. And she knew Uncle John and Mr. Chris were going to the race. Here is proof of how smart a 2 year old can be. They can put 2 & 2 together to make connections between things they know (and proof that they do listen to what you tell them).

Madeline: “Daddy, look at the airplane.”
Daddy: “Where do you think it is going? Tennessee?” (her boyfriend just moved to TN)
M: “No.”
D: “California?”
M: “Yes.”
D: “Who lives in California?”
M: “Meme and PaPaw, Buster, Peanut, Snickers.”
D: “Who else?”
M: “Uncle John and Aunt Sarah.”
D: “And Mr. Chris?”
M: “Yes, he is at the race with Uncle John.”
D: “What do they do at the race?”
M: “Drink beer.”
D: “What else do they drink?”
M: “Tea.”
D: “They drink tea.”
M: “Yes.”

That’s end. End of conversation. Well at least she is optimistic to think that they drink something other than beer (but I’m sure any tea that was consumed had the words “Long Island” in front of it!)

Time for goodbye's

I hate good-byes. I have had my share of them in the past. Good bye to my "BFF's" in high school (whom I lost touch with), good bye to my college roomies (whom I miss very much), good bye to friends and family as I moved across the country.

And now it's time for another. This week we are saying good bye to our dear friends The Sellers, who are setting out for Savannah, TN. But this time is different. This is the first time I've had to say good bye to someone as a family, someone that all of us are close to. It's amazing how you can pray that God will put some friends in your life that will make a difference and that you know right away that you will still be friends with when you are old and rocking on the porch (drinking sweet tea, of course. Just give in, Becca).

But it's even harder this time cause I have had to tell Madeline that her boyfriend "Piton" is moving away......

We miss you already Sellers Family. See you at the inaugural "SG Reunion" in Gatlinburg!!

Kids say the weirdest things....

Kids are hilarious. They say and do the funniest things- and sometimes it's hard to not laugh (when they do/say something they shouldn't).

So here is the latest "Oh My moment."

We are on our way to church Sunday evening when I hear Madeline say, "Look at the butt, Mommy." Strange, I think. I know she can't get out of her car seat, so I am pretty confident that it isn't her butt I am suppose to look at. I turn around to see what she is doing and I had to contain myself before I could even say anything. Look what your daughter is doing I tell Chris. So he too turns around, Madeline says "Look at the butt, Daddy" as he quickly turns back to me and say "Oh my, where did she learn that."

What was she doing?

She had her knee straight out in front of her and she had the skin on her knee folded so it resembled a butt.

Now let me tell you, the adult in me thought that was hilarious, but the Mommy in me hid the laugh. She did her new trick again on the way home from school on Monday (this time she told me that she learned it at school). I very nicely told her that nice little girls don't talk about butts......

Celebrations!

August began with some wonderful celebrations!!!


Chris' b-day was started early in the morning by this greeting......

Does it get any sweeter than that? This was really the first birthday that she really understood what a birthday was. She sang to Chris all week!! The day was capped off with a great steak at Texas Road House with some dear friends!!

We also celebrated Drew & Laurie's wedding!! Thanks to Angela, Aunt Bernie, Uncle Durwood, Samantha and Nonny for watching Madeline so mommy and daddy could go to the wedding as adults!!!

California- hot temps, high gas, one pound burgers and Sweet Tea???

We made our whirlwind trip to Cali to visit the family last week (5 days, 5 airports). This trip was a real test- as I made the flight alone with a 2 year old (wow JT- I admire you and your long flights). Luckily for me, Madeline is fascinated with the airplanes and the hope of seeing the pilot. Although she knows that planes go in the sky, she wasn't too keen on the idea of US going in the sky. So to calm her fears, I assured her that we were going on the new plane that did not go into the sky. Then the landing came, and since we never took off, there was no need to land, right? Each segment ended with her standing in her seat yelling "Good Job, Pilot."

As I have mentioned before, there are a few thing that I do miss about Cali...so of course my trip included a trip to Mervyn's, See's Candy and Me & Ed's pizza. However I was devastated when I got back to NC only to realize that my stash of Linguisa was still in my brother's freezer in Cali.

Here are the highlights of out most recent trip:

High Temps- The thermometer was topping out about 105 while we were there...but hey, it's a DRY HEAT (after living in the dry heat and the humid south, I can safely say that HOT is HOT).

High Gas....the picture says it all.

One Pound Burgers- My parents have a restaurant near the house that they frequent--and so that meant that we became frequent eaters there (in Fresno for 2 1/2 days...we ate there 4 times). Luckily the grub is pretty good and they have a nice variety. My brother and sister-in-law joined us for dinner, and my brother decided to take on the "El Capitan"- a mammoth one pound burger.

Yep- he finished it. He was suppose to get his picture on the wall, but they were having technical difficulties with the camera (or maybe it was operator error).

Sweet Tea- McDonalds here in the south has recently added Mickey D's sweet tea to their menu. No surprise as sweet tea is a staple in the south. Our many airport stopovers included a trip to Pittsburgh, PA. I was really surprised to see Mickey D's sweet tea on the menu(mid- Virginia is about the cut off for sweet tea). This made me wonder...is it possible that the rest of the U.S. is getting to experience the heaven that is SWEET TEA?????

AHHHHH, there it was, in Modesto, CA--my brother surprised me with a Mickey D's sweet tea. So enjoy all of you non-southerners.....



(Side note- My dad said they had a poster in the McDonalds in Fresno advertising the "New Southern Style Chicken Biscuit" --followed by the Spanish translation, of course).


So, Chicken Biscuits and Sweet Tea in Cali-is that enough to entice me to move back? No, I think I enjoy the humidity!!

Going back to Cali.....

Heading to fabulous Fresno.....will update when I return. Did I mention it is 107 degrees in Fresno this week????

Thank you PaPaw and MiMi

John Deere Green....

No good aggie can be without a John Deere. PaPaw and MiMi Hopper sent Madeline her first Deere. Of course it had to be put together, so until we could get it done, she sat on the box and would say "I ride my track-tor." After a couple of hours, I finally got it together and Madeline was so excited to ride her tractor.

So be on the lookout for a blondie plowing up the road!!

Madeline says Hi.....

Greetings for Uncle John and Aunt Sarah...

In the Wild

We recently took a family trip to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. The NC Zoo is wonderful- over 5 miles of walking trails. The zoo is broken up into 2 sections- Africa and North America. The Africa side has recently undergone some renovations, and it was absoulutely beautiful. All of the trails are shaded, and the exhibits are large open open areas, providing the animals natural habitat (or as natural as you can get for the middle of the NC). This allows you to see the animals as several points along the trail.

Madeline talked all week about wanting to see the elephants. While we were there, the elephants were cooling themselves by throwing dirt on themselves- she thought this was really cool.

I think her favorite animal ended up being the Baboon's (bad mom- no pictures). She laughed so hard at the baby babboons chasing one another, tackling one another, and pull each other off the rock by the tail. The next day she asked if the babboon's had to go to 'time out.' Well, at least she understands the purpose of time out!

Here are a few more pictures from our trip. I would highly recommend the NC Zoo. Long nap guaranteed.

Chevy vs. Dodge

I am a Chevy girl. I have purchased 3 cars in my adult life- all Chevy's. My 98 Chevy S-10 (Rusty)- what a great little truck, my beloved 01 Chevy Monte Carlo SS- man I miss Monte, and then there was our 03 Trailblazer (or TWNN- Trailblazer with no name).

Due to rising gas prices and the amount to driving that Chris will have to do with his new job, we decided to get a smaller vehicle to save on gas. So last week we purchased a 2007 Dodge Caliber.

Cute little car. If the Dodge Neon and the Dodge Durango had a love child, it would be the Caliber. Although sitting closer to the ground is going to be an adjustment, it does have some cool features. An plug in for an MP3 player and the electrical outlet in the center console is cool, but nothing as cool as these.

What looks like an ordinary glove box on the outside.....

Is actually a beverage cooler on the inside. It'll hold 4 cans/bottles and is vented to cool from the air conditioner.

And what is that- A UFO??? No, it is the illuminated cup holders. These are important- WHY?? I guess just so we can say we have them!!

I'm still a Chevy girl- always will be. But illuminated cup holders- that is cool!!!