thankful thursday...

1) the snow is melting & i got to get out of my house today. a HUGE yea!!!!

2) that k after many, many, MANY talks & a few spankings is finally beginning to obey the first time.

3) that toys r us let me return the smart cycle that k got for christmas. he wanted it, so mamaw bought it but only played with it maybe 3 times total. i was so nervous before returning it - that they weren't going to let me & i would be stuck with this bike forever. but not the case. easy return & i walked out with a gift card.

4) for my heater during the cold weather we had this week. i'm sure i won't like the bill when it comes but its money well spent!

5) for the close relationship i have with my parents. i talk to one of them everyday. they are so awesome!

6) for my FREE stuff that i have gotten this week (3 bottles of gillette's... guy shampoo for chad)

7) for the m&m's i'm eating right now... i'm having a chocolate attack!

8) for the 60 prints FREE i got at shutterfly.

i hope you will take a little time, maybe you won't write them down or post for everyone to read, but STOP & think... remember back to earlier this week & ALL THAT YOU HAVE TO BE THANKFUL FOR!!!

God is good!

ice, ice & finally some SNOW!!! only for about 30 minutes did it SNOW. HUGE snowflakes came down from the gray sky - it was beautiful. and i wish of k's came true. he has been wanting it to SNOW since before christmas. not enough to build a snowman but still fun to run around in.

since all this ice we have been stuck in our house since monday (yuck!) & i'm going CRAZY!!! i'm a go kinda girl so not being able to leave (daddy chad says i can't drive in this kind of weather... because my car... not my driving!!! ha)

since being stuck indoors for over 48 hours i have watched A LOT of tv, ate every meal at home (yuck again!), played wii, board games, finished the spare bathroom (putting shower curtain / picture frame / vase in their right places)
i have also touched up all the door frames, around our bathtub, & vanity. the boys helped me paint this: (i love things with our initials & i loved that it was only $1 at hobby lobby!!!)
and my last project - picture canvas. i got the idea from pottery barn kids but they were WAY expensive. i am doing one of each of the boys & then pic of them together. i have 2 more to go & then its ready to hang on the wall! i almost forgot about this... i have had this "BELIEVE" uppercase living sticker since before thanksgiving. chad found me a scrap piece of wood for me & tada i turned it into this! ha

i guess its a GOOD thing that i have been ICED in for days. other wise, none of these projects would have gotten down! :)

wow! when i started last july, my plan was to write about our crazy events that the boys take me on (daily), post some pictures for the family to see. never did i imagine i would meet & read so many great post. and my husband never thought i would become so addictive to this blogging world! ha

for my 100th post i am going to share with you

100 things that make me smile:

chad / kaden / brock / my mom & dad / mscdt / jjdhsl / lmcl / ron & marsha / rkk / mamaw & papaw / teenagers... certain ones! (ha) / chick-fil-a lemonaid / long finger nails / getting a good deal / color yellow / the beach / hearing my boys laugh / a clean house / chad unloading the dishwasher for me / new clothes / pedicure / a good haircut... (thank sherri!) / finishing a book / actually working out / seeing my boys smile / doing things for others / getting the mail / getting something for FREE / the smell of cut grass / empty laundry basket / JESUS / MS girls friends sunday school class that i teach / going out to eat / marking things off my to do list / taking a good picture / the sunshine / mamaw's banana pudding / date night / jason's deli chicken salad sandwich / blogging / a clean car / being tan / getting into a hot car / having quiet time / singing... LOUDLY! / old HS friends / college friends / new friends / summer time / college memories / still being able to fit into my wedding dress / helping chad at the church / sour patch kids / mt. dew / 9th & 10th grade small groups at our house / being organized / fresh flowers / being 30 & loving life / just walking thru a store... by myself / hot bubble bath / going to the park / celebrating birthday's / new shoes / waffle house on christmas morning / taking a student to lunch / getting a comment on my blog / VACATION!!! / my home state... georgia / going out of town / krispy kreme doughnuts / holding a small baby /watching rachel ray cooking show / my boys getting along / building a snowman / a sweet card from chad for no reason besides he loves me / my paycheck / a warm fire / the boys helping me clean the house / warm choc chip cookies / yankee candle... pumpkin pie / a good, clean movie / fresh fruit / hawaii / trying to be crafty / are you reading all of these... if so let me know?!?! / finding & making a good, but easy recipe / brownies & ice cream / playing spoons / spring break camp.. my favorite event we do with the youth group every year in march / hearing encouraging words / learning something new / planning an event / watching decorating shows on HGTV / popcorn with LOTS of butter / seeing kaden play sports / being smoothered with hugs & kisses by my boys / getting dressed up / looking at old pictures / being with my family in texas... crazy bunch of people! / my wedding day

last night i came across a few bloggers from oklahoma & they all had this logo. each week there is a photograph contest. check the site here for all the rules/guidelines. each week has a different theme & this week is JOY.

this picture makes me SMILE because k loves to be outside. it doesn't matter if its hot, cold, raining, snowing... he wants to be out in the yard playing, digging, building, or playing a sport. this one is the most recent & one of my favorites!

i need your help...

how do you: when a word is highlighted & you click on it, it takes you right to that page/link.

how??? how do you do that???

please help this girl who is clueless... let me in on the secret please!!!

"S" is for...

rachel had a fun idea on her blog today and i decided to join in!

here are the rules:

if you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and i’ll assign you a letter. you write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. when people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on!

rachel gave me the letter "S"...

let the fun begin...

1. Summer time - k being out of school / long days / late nights / warm weather / vacation / youth camp / mission trips / swimming / being tan... just a few of my favorite things to do in the Summer

2. chips & Salsa - could eat this for a whole meal on some days!

3. Sour patch kids - my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE candy!









4. my Savior - the one i live my life for - following & serving

5. Soup & Sandwiches are what i eat most days for lunch.

6. where i went to college in waxahachie, texas. meet chad there & many, many great friends.

7. Singing - i can't sing but i still enjoy doing it.

8. sandals - dressy, casual, flat ones, with heels, flip flops - this is all i wear in the Summertime with a nice pedicure.

9. my Sweetie, even though i don't call him that.


10. route 44 cherry limeade from Sonic. i run errands during their happy hour so i can get one for less than $1.

*that chad is my bff. he really is my favorite person to be around.

* while visiting my parents this past weekend my mom took me shopping. thanks mom - i love you!

* that kaden now enjoys schools. we have no trouble getting him up & off to school. our biggest challenge now is him not liking what we picked out for him to wear.

* for my sweet, sweet boy brock - yesterday he said the word "cute" as he was walking into the kitchen. i asked him what was cute & he said, "you!!!"

* that the boys bathroom is almost finished with a tile makeover. only the grout to do & then hopefully i can get the dust back under control.

* my mother-in-law who keeps brock every wednesday so i can go up to the church a little early to help chad before the youth service.

* the lady who handed chad a $100 bill last night. she said "late christmas" - i say "thank you Jesus!" & maybe a date night coming up soon!!! (hint hint chad, if you read this!!!)

little eyes... little ears...

i have always heard it but now i believe it.

little kids actually pick up, remember things that they see/hear on tv even if they aren't really watching it.

that or my kids are just really smart?!?! ha ha

2 stories:

brock & i were in cvs last week. i was paying & he says "obama"
this is what he was looking at:

shocked - i did a double take! how does a 2 year old know who he is??? i guess we have been watching way too many news shows where all they talk about is him.

or maybe again he's really smart!!! ha ha

then last night kaden came up to me & asked why obama kills babies & does he use a gun to do it???

i was not ready to discuss abortion with my 5 year old but that is what he is for... its the sad, sad truth.

so i decided that i want to throw away/get rid of all our tv's, but then i thought i would miss them, so that is not going to happen. i will from now on be REALLY careful about what is on, esp if the boys are in the room.

out of town / on the road...

me & the boys left friday after kaden got out of school.

we headed to texas for a surprise party for my mom.

the pretty cakes one of my sister-in-law made

9 out of the 21 family members

on SATURDAY my mom & i left the house at 5am to head 3 states over to pick up my grandparents.

we were in the car a total of 15 hours that day... yuck! it was great to spend that much time talking to my mom without any interrupts from kids. that made it worth it & also eating at zaxby's!!!

my dad had kaden & brock all.day.long by HIMSELF! he kept them busy with games at chuck e cheese, micky d's, park, throwing rocks in the lake, cici's. when we got home my youngest had some new art work on his face...
OUCH!

SUNDAY we hung out as a family, sherri gave me & the boys haircuts, christain snuggled with all the kids & everybody wanted to eat vanilla wafers & milk with me. and use the same milk as me... GROSS!

being with my family is always fun & the boys just LOVE seeing & playing with all their cousins. (and of course grammy & pops too) (and all the aunt & uncles - ha ha)

at my house anytime the boys play basketball, football, scoccer, whatever they play together it ALWAYS turns into a wrestling match.

if you have boys, is it like this at your house too???
this time dad got involved... and won!!!

this is the sermon series we are doing at ignite for the next 6 weeks.

chad has chosen 6 different students to pick a movie that impacted them & then they speak about it.

last night a sophomore talked for about ten minutes about & encouraged us all from the movie, "chronicles of narnia"

so good.

the one word he choice to talk about was called "CHASING."

i think it was no accident that the night before i started a book & the first chapter all it talked about CHASING God.

it doesn't matter that i'm a busy mother, have a dirty house, floors that need to be swept, dirty dishes full in the sink, laundry to be put away, children not obey... CHASE God first & all other problems will seem small because i first had time with Him.

last night the student's words were simple, but motivational.

and challenging.

i've known it for like forever that God wants us but it stuck last night & that one word... CHASING i can't get out of my mind.

this is what God wants... He wants us to CHASE Him. He wants us to be passionate about Him & for Him.

so a new journey has begun today... will you begin to CHASE God too???

not sure???

i'm not sure if this is a little crazy, a little strange to some of you or just cute to me because he's my little baby.

this is what i found when i got out of the shower this morning...

my 2 year old playing a game on his dad's iphone.

its one of his favorite things to do when chad is home.

over & over we here him ask/saying, "game, game"

and to me its just crazy that a 2 year old knows how to do it!!!

chad can just hand him his iphone, he knows how to unlock it & then find the game he wants to play.

i think i'll call it CRAZY CUTENESS!!!

finished...

so one of my goals/resoultions for 2009 was to read atleast 12 books... 1 book a month


at first i wasn't sure why choose this as my first reading for the year or why i bought it besides it being like a dollar at mardel's. (i tell you - i love good deals wherever i can find them!)


but so glad i did... it made me smile, cry, learn that my life isn't so bad after all & challenged me to be better at being a mother, a friend, wife, church goer.

the whole book is just little 3 or 4 page story of life lessons she has learned about family, friends, relationships, having a baby, losing a job, college journeys, vacations & many, many more.

she puts her lessons & stories into such simple & easy to relate to illustrations that really get your attention & make you think.

i HIGHLY recommend this book to be added to your reading list... if you have one!

LOOK...

just look what i did this morning why helping (or atleast i thought i was helping) kaden get dressed for school...

i put his shoe on the wrong foot!!!!!!!!!!

i tied it & was helping on the other shoe before he noticed & told me.

so funny!!!

we all had a good laugh this morning because of it!

i'm blaming it on lack of sleep... ha ha

CAUGHT...

i walked into the house & CAUGHT brock eating something.

i asked him if he had been eating chocolate. he laughed & smiled REALLY big & said no.

the evidence all around his mouth tell me differently...

"yummy, green trees are good!"

one of my new year resolutions was to put more vegetables on the table for dinner.

up to this year the only vegetable my boys would eat were green beans.

i know, i know shame on me!

i don't like many vegetables myself & my thinking is "why even buy them if i won't even eat it?!?!

last year i changed... a little! remember i made & tried chili for the first time & like it?!?!

so friday night we had a nice dinner of grilling out & eating some vegetables that kaden actually tried & liked!

this is a HUGE deal! the boy is extremely picky... nothing but meat on his hamburgers, no kind of sauces, no rice or pasta... sounds a lot like me when i was younger! (my mom is thinking... payback time!!!)

so i've learned my lesson... put new things out there on the table & one day they may actually eat it & like it.

just wondering now... does the same work for cleaning up the playroom? if i keep saying it will it eventually sink in & he will remember without me having to tell him???

perfect day...

my thursday looked like this:

my mother-in-law gave me a few more garnier fructis style coupons so i hit the closet walgreens & bought 5 more of their products. walked out of the store paying ZERO $$$!!!! love that!!!

then heading over to old navy. didn't find what i was looking for (jeans for the boy who thinks sliding into a room is the way to enter & has holes in every pair of jeans!) but i did find these - for $3.50 a pair.

it was BEAUTIFUL outside so we went to the park for a little while (the little girl in the picture is my niece)

then we headed home to clean up. we had long time friends, (college friends) coming over for dinner. it was such a fun night catching up.
its now friday... yea! another nice day here - close to 70, so we are having a family work day outside after kaden gets home from school... putting those boys to work!!! teaching them young!!! ha

fianlly... i can post pictures!!

not sure what happened...

i have pictures to post from the basketball game last night.

it won't let me.

i've tried & tried & tried like ten more times.

it still won't let me.

i have to give up now... fix dinner for the boys, get dressed & go to church.

and i doubt i will try after that - i'm usually ready for bed after a youth service.

so check back tomorrow.

sorry about such a lame post today... :)

osu cowboys!

a nice family (thanks peri!) gave us 4 osu basketball tickets for last nights game.

we went up there with chad's brother & his family, who have osu season tickets... HUGE fans they are!

we ate at a hole-in-the-wall place. why is it that such small & run down places make such good food?!?!

it was a fun night.... being with family, good food & they won!!!

are you ready for this....

12 garnier fructis styles products for $1.40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it was a high leaving the store - i was super pumped!

how did i do this you might ask?

well, walgreens has it on sale for $2.99

then they have a walgreens coupon for $2.00 off

i then had coupons from the sunday paper & ones that i got from church in the coupon box we have there

gave the lady everything & all i had to pay was tax!

CLEVER BOYS...

while on the phone yesterday... in the closet were i go so i can actually talk, listen & have a conversation without being interupted... anybody else do that?!?!

i come out & this is what i find...

my boys had gotten every pillow off my bed, from the living room, their room & the dog pillow (the big tan thing on top - that is what the teenagers call it even though we have no dog!)

they stacked them just right & then the fun began!

i'm glad no one got hurt & i had a nice long conversation, too! ha

smell that???

i smell something familiar & it takes me back to that time, location, what i was wearing, doing. its crazy.

anybody else like this???

let me explain a little more in detail...

i was the winner of a $30 gift card to victoria secrets last month at a christmas party with some friends.

my husband is thinking yes!

i thinking yes, too! but only because i have been wanting some lotion & shower gel from there.

i used it back in my college days, honeymoon, & first few years of marriage.

in the store i smelled "love spell" first (the purple one) & in just a few quick seconds my mind raced with memories that took me back to the warm beach, miami airport, gay week (ha ha), first trip alone with my husband, key lime pie, hard rock cafe, hand in hand walks on the beach, great view, sunrises & sunsets, good food, renting bikes, swimming, riding sea doe's in the ocean... my honeymoon in the keys.

and i think to myself... got to get this one!!!

i smell a few more before i found "amber romance" (yellow) and this took me back to my first year in college... living in a dorm, trying to find out who i was, being very homesick, college classes, homework, making new friends - some great ones & then some not so great ones. i decided i had to get that scent as well.

i had a few more dollars to spend & a decision had to be made to what i would get... something new. so i got "sweet daydream" (pink)

i am hoping that in a few years i will go into victoria secrets & pick up the sweet daydream bottle of lotion & my mind will flood with memories from today, from this time in my life, the happiness of my boys, their smiles & laughs, being so in love with chad, not regretting anything... living life FULL!!!