Living Life...and Loving It

Alive and Well!

2010-05-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Clarks did survive Disney World if any of you were wondering what happened to us!! It really has been six months since I have blogged! But now that Mr. Paul has been so kind to fix my layout, maybe I'll keep up with this think more! Thank you so much Paul!

To update everyone on what's happening around here:

Ty is playing T-ball for the 1st time. He has one more game left Thursday night. He likes it when he gets to bat, but it's a little boring out in the field right now. He turns 5 next Monday!! Can not believe I have a child that is about to be 5 years old! The big party is Saturday. Once again, Thomas the Tank will be our party theme! Hey, whatever makes a kid happy, right? Who cares if it was last year's party! He wants the exact same cake and everything! Easy enough! Ty will also graduate from Little Friends Preschool Monday night! The theme is Rumble in the Jungle and it's a surprise for all the parents! He's learned his part, but he says it's a secret until Graduation! I can already feel the tears coming on!! You all know how I am!

Andrew is 20 months old!!!!!!! Need I say more!? He's into EVERYTHING that I don't want him in! He loves his family! He loves his Bella (little puppy), and he says her name better than any other name, except mama, of course! He will play ball for as long as I will let him. If he can get out the back door, he's going straight to the ball bucket where all of our balls and bats are kept under the carport. He will even get a golf club and try to hit his baseball with it! He climbs all over the swingset, and I've learned to just let him go. He doesn't cry too long! The sandbox has been our favorite place to be the last several weeks! He and his baby Bella will just lie in the sand together and love on each other!

My sweet little blessings!!! I love, love, love being their Mommy!!

Beach Trip last Friday!

Rivercats 2010!

Practice Game!

Getting Ready for Disney!

2009-11-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

In about 6 hours we should be on our way! We have a 4 year old that can hardly contain himself! He is finally in the bed for the night.....we hope! Ty has been helping me pack and get everything ready....for awhile now! He helped me pack our food basket. I took one look at the basket and knew he must've cleared my cabinets. There were cans of chicken broth, cream of broccoli, cocoa, about 5 cake mixes, and anything else you could imagine!! I really don't know what he had in mind as far as meals, but I don't think we'll need quite everything. Here's a look at what he had packed.

Ty thought he needed to help Ben clean out the car Wednesday night. After about 30 minutes of them cleaning, this was Ty.

Grandaddy's 1st kill of the year!

Thank God Andrew's not getting a bowl cut!

Ben's white perch fishing trip.

Happy Birthday Mother & Daddy!

Hope to have lots of great pictures to show when we return! Now, I'm off to bed! Have to get some shut eye. 4:30 will be here in a hurry!

Finally.....an update from the Clarks!

2009-11-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

My Little Indian boy!

It's been so long since I've blogged, I may have forgotten how to do everything on here. I think I've updated everything on my profile and even the birthday tickers. So, maybe I'm good for at least 6 months on that!! (That's for you Ms. Sandra! I guess I can officially say I'm a stay-at-home mom now!!....No longer the 4th grade teacher!!)

Anyway, I guess the big news around here is that we're leaving for Disney World next Saturday!!!!!!! We're very excited to say the least. It's been about 20 years since I've been, and Ben has never been before, so it will be something our family will remember forever! (well, maybe not Andrew just yet) Ty has some new Mickey Mouse pj's and he is wondering if he can show Mickey his new pj's. I explained that Mickey would not get to see them, but he assures me that he will. I guess Ty thinks Mickey Mouse is going to be spending the night with us! Who knows?? We'll be heading out early, early, early Sat. morning. Our plan is to scoop the boys up out of the bed, and hopefully they will sleep for a long, long, long part of the ride. We'll see how that goes! Can't wait to see Ty's little face when he sees everything!

Ben has just finished his class this semester. He's been putting in alot of late nights getting his papers written. He just brought in a yellow post-it note with all but two of his assessment grades. I must say, so far so good.....All A's! I'm so proud of his determination to get his degree at such a busy time in his life!!

Andrew is everywhere! I mean, literally everywhere. He is now almost 15 months old. If I let him get out of my sight, I can just expect there to be some sort of mess to clean up. Right now, he's able to get into the kitchen cabinets. His favorite thing is to get his Puffs, take the lid off with his teeth, and dump them out all over the floor!! He has done that several times now! He's saying Ty & Da-Da really good.
He will say MaMa occasionally and today he said "bye" very clearly. He does not like for me to leave him at all. He is for sure a "Mama's boy" right now. Usually, if I'm getting ready to go somewhere, he's hanging onto me for dear life. He is quite the stinker!!

Ty is, well, still Ty!! He is loving Little Friends and Mrs. Katy! He had his Pow-
Wow last week and did such a good job! I loved watching my little Indian all dressed up in his Indian gear sing songs and do all the hand motions. Last month we had the 4-year old's Halloween party in our yard! We had games, a hayride and Trick-or-Treating! Lots of mamas and a few daddys helped get everything just right! I think all the children had a blast!
Ty is always saying something that is making me laugh. Usually if I say I'm sorry to him for something, he comes back with, "That's okay Mama, I know you didn't mean to." I could just eat him up when he says stuff like that. If he hurts himself playing, he'll come up to me and show me his boo-boo and he'll say, "It's alwight Mama, it just hurts a little." I know I need to be writing everything down, and I'm not. One day, I'll be trying to remember these sweet little words, and I won't be able to.

So much has gone on since the last post, but I'll just share a few of the latest pictures. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thank you Lord for blessing me with a wonderful husband who loves you and two healthy, precious children!
Ben & Ty at the fair. Ty rode it all this year!!

Ty and Ben at the Coterie Race

The Tinman & Incredible Hulk Trick or Treating!
Ben & the boys at the Coterie Race. Have no idea what Ty is doing and looks like Andrew has had all he can stand!!

Ty running in the Fun Run!

One Year Old Already!

2009-09-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been two months since my last post and LOTS of things have happened around the Clark house. We stayed busy all summer with many different things going on. Ty has started Little Friends Preschool and loves his teacher Mrs. Katie. He came home the second day and told me he had told Mrs. Katie he loved her. It's such a wonderful feeling knowing my child is with someone he loves when he's at school and away from his mama. Also, being a stay-at-home mom has been awesome so far. I shared with some ladies at ladies prayer group that I'm in a totally different frame of mind. I'm in such a better mood in the afternoons. I may be tired when Ben gets home, but it's a whole different feeling from before when I was teaching. I don't feel ill, and usually supper is DONE! That's a really good thing too!

Ty also had his 1st dentist visit and it went GREAT!! Dr. Worley's staff in Opp is wonderful. We had been reading The Berenstain Bears Go the Dentist to get him ready for our visit. He thought everything was going to be just like the story. When they took us back, Ty went to an exam room and I was taken to a different room. I asked the ladies if he was going to be ok. I really thought I had to be with him. They assured me he would be fine, and he was. I realize now, it probably worked out best for him not to be in the same room with me. When we got to the car to leave he said, "Mama, my dentist lady was great!" Well, Dr. Worley is a man, so he was talking about his dental hygenist. She was a cute, young girl and was so sweet to him. I think by the time we got to the door, he had talked to everyone of the ladies and even the receptionists. I wonder where he gets that?? And no cavities was great to hear too!

Andrew just celebrated his 1st birthday yesterday!! It doesn't seem possible. My, how time does fly! We had all the family on Saturday for the party. The weather cooperated, so we were able to play in the pool all afternoon. Thanks everybody for helping celebrate our sweet baby's 1st birthday.

He started walking at 11 months and is going everywhere. His little short legs can cover some ground in a hurry! His favorite things to "get into" is my spice cabinet and his garbage can. The salt and pepper shakers are the perfect fit for his little hands. He'll have a pepper mustache and I'll know where he's been! And I don't know why, but he loves the blue bags that I put his diapers in. He gets one and carries it all over the house. I finally tricked him the other day, and put tissue in a blue bag and put it in my spice cabinet. When he opened up the cabinet, he grabbed the bag and off he went. So instead of pulling out all of my little spices, he took the bag and was gone. He's now eating everything we eat! And, I mean everything. He can slurp down spaghetti noodles with the best of 'em! He could sit in his high chair all day and eat if I would let him. He's a very good eater. We keep telling Ty he's going to catch him. Not to mention, it is a little nice not to have to buy all that baby food.

Our church honored all the babies with a baby dedication service three weeks ago. It was wonderful. Bro. Matt's message was right on. What an awesome responsibility we've been given when we're blessed with these precious children. My prayer is that my children will always know how important it is to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. I pray that we will bring our children up in the admonition of the Lord for the rest of our days. And that one day, if they are blessed with children, my grandchildren will be taught the importance of being in God's Word and in His will.

This past Sunday night was another very special service at church. Ben was ordained as a deacon. This was such a wonderful experience for us that we will never forget. (I am still sick over the fact that I did not have a camera or video camera with me.) Ben did have an idea though. He said we could put our same clothes back on and go back to church and take some pictures!! So, I don't know....maybe we will. I am so proud of him! I pray that he never loses his desire to stay in the Word and have that intimate relationship with the Lord. I just pray that when the trials come, we can put our complete faith and trust in our Lord and Savior and let him work instead of trying to take things in our own hands. It was such an awesome service!

I'm going to post some pictures from all the things that have been going on with us for the last two months. Hopefully, it won't be two months before I post again!

Andrew's Baby Dedication

Ty's First Day of School

End of Summer Beach Vacation ~ Destin

The water was still as a pool. It was perfect to play in. This was definitely the time to be there. Hardly anyone was there. The weather and water couldn't have been more beautiful!

We were so glad that Kristen, Maggie Ruth, and Jack could come down and enjoy the beach with us for a couple of days! Jack ate his share of the sand while he was there!

Maggie Ruth and Ty laying out by the pool!

Check out this adorably cute couple!

Andrew's Play Cake

Amy and the Bobsey Twins~ Allie and Emma

I see a fight in the works already

4th of July

Swim Day with John Luke and Sawyer

Family Beach Trip in July~ Destin

Ty loves to help clean the house. He'll make up his mind to do something and I won't even know he's doing it.

Ty and Ben were working on a project. He has to get his tools out and work right alongside his Daddy.

Nine Month Photos

2009-07-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Andrew's 9 month photo shoot is up and running. I thought they turned out well. Once again, how do I ever decide which ones to buy?? I want them ALL!! Go to http://www.amynicholsphotography.com/ and click on Enter Site: Client: Password: andrew

Enjoy!!

What We've Been Up To

2009-06-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I haven't updated in awhile. {Amy, this is for you. My 5 year old niece always checks to see if I've updated.} It's been very busy around our house the past several weeks. Playin' in the pool, Goin' to the beach, the zoo, playing church softball, goin' to the beach, and finally more playing in the pool. We've been enjoying the HOT, HOT summertime weather in south Alabama, so I hardly have time to get on this thing. So this is going to be a pretty long post. Hopefully, I can get caught up on everything! Hope everyone is having a HAPPY SUMMER!!

Beach Trip #1

This little baby LOVES the water! He would have his face all the way in the water before I would even realize it!!

Montgomery Zoo

Last week we ventured to the zoo before Ben left for Wisconsin. They were honoring military families, so we all got in free and lunch was on them also!

We also got to go in the Mann Museum. Ty thought this Polar Bear was really cool.

Couldn't resist... I told Ben this was one of his long-lost relatives.

Ty loves taking pictures with his camera! The problem is, sometimes you have no clue what you're looking at after he's taken it!

As hot as it was, there were no complaints from this little guy! What a sweet baby!

Ben was really into these little river otters!

Beach Trip #2

Last week we had a fun day at the beach with lots of friends. I look back at the pictures of all the kids in the water and wonder if we were absolutely out of our minds....I don't think so. We had a great time even if we did get a little too much sun!

All the guys!

Ty and Jacob

This was Ty's way of getting warm.

Three tired kiddos ~ Logan, Amy & Ty

The whole crew!

Putting up Vegetables
This is something we always do. For as long as I can remember, we've gone to my Grandaddy's to pick peas, butterbeans, squash, tomatoes, pull ears of corn, dig potatoes, cut okra. And, we're still doing it. Only now, it's my daddy's garden. He always plants a little of everything, or should I say alot of everything. He also roots any kind of flower he finds beside the road while he's working. He and my mother spend most of their spare time working at Grandaddy's, either making another flower bed, planting a garden, setting out new plants, mowing, or weed-eating. It's a very big area, so by the time they're finished, it's time to start all over again!!

They've done all the work outside and it looks so nice! I know my Grandaddy would smile if he could see what they've done.

Ty helping Grandaddy in the garden.

These hydrangeas have multi-colored blooms. They're pink, blue, and lavender. Some blooms have all three colors.

The kids all have their swings. Looks like we'll be adding another one pretty soon for Andrew!
Andrew was trying his best to escape from his palette we had made him. He was trying to crawl without his knees touching the grass.

Ty shucking corn.

I love these gladiolas. {aka Glads in the south}. They are so pretty!

This is my daddy's gladiola bed. They are beautiful.

A Perfect Day for a Lemonade Stand

Yesterday Allie and Amy set up their very own lemonade stand. What better day for a cold glass of lemonade and homemade cookies? With the temperature almost at 100, I have to say that lemonade did hit the spot girls.

I think lemonade is a much better choice than a plastic bag of hickory nuts, washed I might add. {Kelley, our neighbor Chris, and I did this when we were little}. We picked up hickory nuts, washed 'em, bagged 'em, and rolled them out by the road in our wagon to sell. I'm wondering if we sold any at all! If I had to guess, I would say that most people by-passed a hickory nut stand!

Young entrepreneurs: Amy and Allie

Allie can always take a break to hold Mr. Andrew!

So this is what we've been doing for the last several weeks! I think this is why I never have time to get on here.

Ben has almost made a week in Wisconsin. And has about another week and a half to go before his school is over! He is enjoying mild temps there. It's in the mid 70's in Wisconsin. He says he's going to have to get readjusted to the heat when he gets home. Yep, I would say so.

This will be the last school that he will have to go to for awhile! Yay!!!!!! Ready for him to be home for good!

Hopefully, I can post before another month has passed. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

It's Official......

2009-05-29T12:52:00.001-07:00

Out for summer....for good! Last Friday morning was a good day. It was the last work day at school! I resigned from my teaching position last week to be at home with my boys! This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. I feel so blessed to finally have this opportunity to stay home. It probably won't actually sink in until school starts back in August. At least Ty seems to be happy that his Mama is not going to have to leave him in the mornings anymore. It will be so nice not to miss his school stuff anymore.

To celebrate the start of summer, we took Ty and Andrew to Dream Park last Thursday before the rain came.

When it started raining, we headed to Burger King to let Ty play. There just happened to be two sweet little girls there that Ty got to play with. The girls happen to belong to a friend of mine. The oldest of the two was like a little mama to Andrew. She was the sweetest thing. Ty came back to the table and told me, "Mama, I just made up some new friends." He was so funny. He had a great time playing with these girls. I promised the girls I would get these pictures on, so here they are.

I think Andrew was loving all the extra attention! He had the sweetest little smile the whole time Meredith Grace was holding him. Christy ~ I just know these two would make great little babysitters for you this summer!!

Laura stopped playing for a minute to get in the picture with Andrew and Meredith Grace.

I'm wondering if there's anyway I can bring this sweet little girl home with me for just a few hours!!

After we left Burger King, we decided to go to Ben's Mom and Dad's house to take the Mustang for a spin. It's a '64 1/2 that Bro. Anthony bought and has had restored to its original color. Ben likes to go and just sit in it and crank it up and listen to it. He has always loved old Mustangs and almost got one when he turned 16, but his Dad talked him out of it because it had no air. Anyway, he is always telling me that he is going to have one one day. Well, his Dad decided to tell him that the car was actually his. He had been having it restored for Ben and wanted to see him be able to enjoy it!! Ben COULD NOT believe it and thought he was dreaming (and still does).

These pics were actually taken before he knew that the Mustang was his.

Now, I'm just waiting for a volunteer to watch my children so we can take the Mustang to the beach!

ALL ABOARD!

2009-05-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

What a rainy day for a party. I tried my best trying to persuade Ty to let's wait until this weekend to have his party...so it would be nice and sunny. Ok, trying to get a 4 year old to postpone his party, well, you can imagine how that went over. So....the party must go on! And go on it did. We set up everything under the carport and everything turned out just fine. Can you believe it stopped raining and the sun even popped out for about an hour??? I couldn't! That made my day for Ty! I was so wanting him to be able to get in the pool with his little buddies. When Ben volunteered to get in the icy, cold water with all the kids, they all went crazy wild screaming they were so excited. So, despite all the rainy weather, the party turned out great. Thanks to all of our family and friends for coming and making my son one happy little boy!

Thanks for the crayon holder Mrs. Angie, Maisy, Braelyn, and Trevin. We love it! All of our crayons stay nice and neat now!

Allie & Emma look just a little chilly!

Little Friends Graduation

2009-05-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

I never knew my child could sit still for a solid hour without getting out of his seat. Well, he did Monday night, along with 13 other 3 year olds. I'm just wondering what Mrs. Donna and Mrs. Helen told all those little stinkers to make them stay in their seats for that long.

All the little kids did such a great job! It amazes me what they can learn at such a young age. Ty's class sang several songs. It was all based on a dinoaur theme this year. For the last several weeks, Ty has been stomping and roaring like a dinosaur He finally got to perform the whole thing for us. He did such a great job. We were so proud of him.

Cason, Ty, & Melo watching the balloons after the balloon release. They stayed like this till they could no longer see the balloons. Ty looks like he's still holding his balloon.

Mrs. Helen with Ty and Cason

Happy Birthday Ty Benjamin Clark!

2009-05-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today, this little fireball changed our world! WOW!! I can not believe it has already been four years! And I have a feeling, the time will just start flying by even faster. He woke up so excited this morning. Every time someone called to wish him "Happy Birthday" he would say, "Hello, I'm 4!" (several times I must say!) Even though today was not the big party day, we went to Robinson Park to eat lunch and play on the playground before the big rainstorm came. Thanks Aunt Kelley, Uncle Micah, Allie, & Amy for joining us.

The big Thomas birthday party will be Saturday!! More pictures to come.

If you can't tell, that's his "4" he's holding up. He is so proud he's finally four!

Blogger Help

2009-05-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Can someone tell me how to move my sidebars back up the side of my blog. Everything is at the bottom of my blog. The help link was not that helpful. Made some reference about the margins of maybe a blog or the sidebars being over the margin width. Has anyone ever had this happen and know what I need to do??

Thanks so much for any help!

Springtime Faves!

2009-05-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

#1 Red Geraniums- who does not love these beauties? Their colorful blooms will perk up any spot. I love to put lots of potted geraniums out back on my deck.

#2 Asparagus fern - I don't think there is another plant that screams clean and fresh like this one. Its rich green color looks so healthy almost year-round.

#3 Periwinkles - so, so easy to grow & they bloom all throughout summer.

#4 Hydrangeas - Simply breathtaking! Probably my favorite springtime flower. I love to cut these fresh from my yards for sweet little bouquets.

Now, I have lots of work to do. Hopefully, I can get my flowers potted and just maybe I'll have some that look half as good as these!

Tender little treasures

2009-05-06T21:51:00.001-07:00

squash plant 03
Originally uploaded by mclark09

I can't wait to plant these "special" squash plants Ty brought home from school! He is soooo proud of these little plants! I heard him say, "Yummy squash." Then, he made this horrible face. He had actually tried one of the tender little leaves. He thought it was the actual squash. It didn't take long for him to realize the leaf wasn't so tasty. Maybe we'll have some pretty little yellow jewels to show off soon!!

Need a Vacation??

2009-05-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

If anyone is interested, I have a VACATION GETAWAY TO DESTIN I am trying to sell. It is for 3 nights/4 days & only $79.00!! You choose the date that works for you. I have already paid for this, so if you are interested, you would just pay me. Please email me if you are interested and I will give you all the information. My email is soldierswife.clark@yahoo.com. If you know of someone that would be interested in this, please forward my email to them. This is a first-come, first serve deal. So HURRY UP and find out about this really great deal!!

Where Do I Begin....?

2009-05-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

There has been just a little bit of action around our house the last several weeks, so I will try to get caught up on everything in this post.

I'll start by saying "Happy 30th Birthday Ben!" His big day is today, but we had all our family over last night to celebrate. He leaves for his summer camp early early Saturday morning. We just hung out at the house tonight so Ben could get all the yardwork done before he leaves. I cooked Corky's ribs for supper!! If you ever have the opportunity to buy Corky's ribs, do it! They were fabulous! I had ordered ours through QVC! I am becoming more and more like my mother in this area. I love shopping from the comfort of my home. Anyway, who has the time to shop with little ones? This is much more convenient for me.

So, please keep the little ones and me in your prayers while Ben is away. We only have one more school to endure after this summer camp. It will be next month while Ben is in Wisconsin for two weeks. (I think we'll just tag along!)

In other news, we have had a very sick little baby at our house this week. Andrew has had chronic congestion and cough for quite some time now. He started running fever the middle of last week and I took him to the doctor to try some different medicine. He stopped running fever over the weekend, long enough to allow me to attend the Women's Conference in Pensacola. When I returned, he seemed ok, but still not well. On Monday morning, my baby was so sick he didn't even fight his breathing treatment. All he could do was lay against whomever was holding him. He looked pitiful. I got him to the doctor, and after going over to the hospital to have blood drawn and chest x-rays, we soon learned he had pneummonia in his lower left lobe. He was admitted to the hospital around lunchtime Monday. He started getting his antibiotic and fluids through an IV and was soon feeling and sounding much better. After a long day in the hospital Tuesday, we were sent home late that afternoon. He had two 20 minute naps. Have you ever tried to contain an 8 month old to a twin bed all day long?! Very tiring for me. When the nurse came in and told me I could take him for a ride in the wagon, we were out the door in 5 seconds flat! And, he loved it!! I have never put him in our wagon, because it always seems too windy to get him out or too cool. So we rode down the elevator and back up just to get out of that tiny hospital room. He thought he was a big boy! All he could do was smile at everybody.

Once we got home and ready for bed, we had another scary encounter. He had a reaction to his new medicine and started throwing up. He turned as white as I have ever seen him and his lips turned blue! Ben had him and was ready to go back to the hospital. I decided to call the pediatrician on call and get advice. I figured we would just have to sit in the ER for 3 hours if we chose that route. After he stopped vomiting, he seemed to be able to rest for the remainder of the night.

He woke up Wednesday morning and seemed to be almost back to his happy little self. He still has a cough and may have it for two more weeks, but his breathing sounds much better. I'm just relieved he is much better. It's so hard when little ones get sick. You just want to take the sickness for them. Thank God we're hopefully on the mend!

div>

Two weeks ago we had our Spring Break. We didn't have a thing planned, which was really nice. On Wednesday, some of us girls from church took our kids to Open Pond for a picnic and bike riding. On Thursday, Ben took off work and we headed to Enterprise to spend the day at Fun Factory. Kelley and Micah took the girls and we had a really good time. I think the grown-ups had just as much fun as the kids!

Ben's new toy!

MeMe and Andrew

Andrew's First Easter

2009-04-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day to be in church worshipping our Risen Lord and Savior! AND what a wonderful service!!!!!! How can you leave church and not know, I mean REALLY know Christ as your personal LORD and SAVIOR?? The perfect message to so many people that only appear in church maybe once a year.

Our weekend was filled with egg hunts, being with family, and several really good meals. Here are just a few of our Easter pictures. Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Andrew was excited to see his treats! (But not so excited when his mama almost made him choke on his first little Sweet Potato Puff.) Oops! But it says melt in your mouth.....I guess it melts only if you don't swallow it, right?? Anyway, I did feel awful.

I'd like to know what these two are planning.

My two little Easter bunnies - I love these two little boys!

Allie, Amy & Ty - Andrew was taking his powernap.

Too good of Andrew not to include! (despite my closed eyes)
That little nap was just what Andrew needed. He was so happy!

The Garner Family

Easter Bunny even brought Ben something.

Full Speed Ahead!

Andrew with his Gram and Grandaddy! His face lights up when he sees these two!

Gram & Grandaddy and all of their "little treasures! "

Watch Out Tiger!

2009-04-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

I think we've got a golfer on our hands. I think Ben is excited, just a little! Ben tries to take Ty golfing with him everytime he goes, and yes, he even lets him hit (putt, whatever). I'm not up on my golf terms, just yet. Last week, we went outside and saw where somone had left a set of childrens golf clubs. (Thanks, Mr. Garland!) Well, let's just say that's all it took. Ty has been out taking his practice swings and even hitting the golf ball. Ben and I just look at each other and shake our head. It's like he's concentrating so hard, and when he doesn't hit it, he just keeps on and on until he does. Yesterday, I actually used his driver and hit some across the road into the neighbor's yard. I've never played golf before so, I was pretty pumped about it. If you had been driving by my yard, you would've seen me jumping up and down and probably would have heard me screaming like a little kid that had just done something for the first time. The only golf I've ever played is putt-putt, so this was a major milestone for me. The whole time Ben is smiling and saying, "We may have a golfer yet."

Later last night, Ben had his driver in the house and was trying to show me several different ways to hold the club, how to keep my arms, keep my head down, how to shift my weight when I swing up, and then shift again when I come down. I was laughing so hard by the time he finished, I told him to just let me do it my way for awhile. I don't think I'm quite ready for the professional tour just yet!

I love these first two pictures!

I think it's pretty good form myself.

Leaving you with all free stuff from Rite Aid last week!

Michelle, look at this! I was so excited!! Thank you for all your help so far!!

Little Friends Easter Party

2009-04-11T06:47:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday Ty's Little Friends class had their Easter party. Since I was involved with SAT testing at school, I didn't get to go. However, Ben did, and was able to get lots of pictures for me. (By the way, there are many advantages to being in education, but that's one big disadvantage. It's not easy to just take a couple of hours off and do what you need to do and get back to work. You either take the whole day, 1/2 day, or you can just miss out on whatever is going on, which is what I did.) That's just a sidenote for those of you interested! HA!

Anyway, when Ben got home from work that afternoon, I asked how the party went. His response was, "Good." Okay, why have men not figured out that we women want ALL the details. I wanted to know everything about the party. How many eggs did he find, what games did they play, what mothers were able to go, what did they have to eat for the party, and anything else I could think of to ask. You know, all that stuff matters to mothers. It may mean nothing to them, but when it's your children involved, I want to know everything about it. After not getting much out of Ben, I just decided to ask Ty. Don't worry, he made up for all the details that Ben left out. He told me all about it.

But really, I was glad Ben was able to leave work for just a little while to go and be with Ty when Mommy couldn't be there. There's always next year, right?

Ty with his good friend Jordan checking out what they've found .

When I asked Ty who the little girl was, he said, "Morgan!" It was as if he were saying, "How dare you not know her, Mama!"

Hall & Oates

2009-04-11T06:03:00.000-07:00

Ben came home with Hall & Oates tickets this week! A couple of months ago, he heard they were going to be at the Montgomery Riverwalk Ampitheater. So, this afternoon after the church egg hunt, we'll be headed for some Hall & Oates. For those of you too young to remember, some of their songs are Ooh Child, Everytime You Go Away, Private Eyes, & Everytime You Go Away. Those are the ones that I remember. Since Ben had older siblings, he listened to alot of that kind of music, and still prefers that over some of the newer music. Anyway, I'm excited about it! We'll leave our boys behind for just a few hours while we go and enjoy ourselves. I think it will be a fun trip!!

Six Month Photos

2009-04-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Andrew's six month photos are up if anyone would like to take a look. I thought they turned out really good. (I could just eat that baby up.) Now, just trying to decide which ones to get. Everyone with children knows all about how that is. Go to http://www.amynicholsphotography.com . Click on site, and then click on clients. Password is andrew.

Shonna Reeves, thanks again for the seersucker stripes. It was his first time wearing it, and I have to say, he looked adorable in it!

Too Busy to Blog

2009-03-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've just been too busy to get on the computer. Anytime we have warm, sunny weather, my yards are calling me. I can't stand to be inside when it's nice outside. I have a feeling as the weather gets warmer, I'll be spending much more of my time outdoors (as long as Andrew will allow me, that is). I guess a 6 1/2 month old and a 3 1/2 year old may have a little something to do with me not having time to blog lately too!

Here's some pictures of the last several weeks.

Ben with his 10 lb. bass he caught last week!

What in the world are these two up to??

Caught Ty in the bed with these on one night. They help him go to sleep!

My happy baby!

Ty all ready for Nerd Night at AWANA!

Ty and Pops reading stories

Ty in his new personalized shirt I found online.

Curly sporting his new "A is for Andrew" romper.

This is Ty "getting ready to go camping." I found this heaping mound of clothes on his bed one night this week. He (and George) had cleared everything out of his closet for this "camping trip." By the way, I wonder when this kid George ever goes home:) After I took a couple pictures, I told them to get everything back in that closet, that I did not want to see this mess again. Ty said, "I pwomise I won't do this again, Mama. I pwomise, okay?" I had to walk out on that one and say, "You better not Ty Clark." Man, I need to be writing this stuff in his baby book!

More pictures of the big bass!

For Josh and Lyndsay

2009-03-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Our Sunday school class will be meeting at David's this Friday night in honor of Josh and Lyndsay Elliott. They will only be living in Andalusia for 2 more weeks and will more than likely be moving to Mobile. We are going to miss them terribly.

We will be meeting at 6:30 to eat supper, and then going back to our house for dessert. I wanted to invite any other couples that are not in our Sunday school class that would love to join us. So, if you would like to join us, just send me a message and that way I'll have a number to tell them when I call and reserve us a spot.

Tubes Again!

2009-03-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Allie is getting tubes again this morning. Say a little prayer for her. Allie, the boys & I will be bringing you a special treat this afternoon! I'm praying everything goes well today!

Hair Gel for a Six Month Old?

2009-03-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I went to Rite Aid today and bought some Frizz-Ease for my 6 month old baby!! Is that not the craziest thing anyone's ever heard of?! I'm just not ready to cut this baby's precious curls off yet. But, we've definitely got to get some serious control of it.

In other news, Ty is cleaning his room as we speak, and I just overheard him telling himself he's doing a great job. I wonder who he's heard that from? He and "George" have been extra tight the last two weeks. I'm thinking its because Ben has been away again and he just needs that male figure with him. He and George have done everything together. They played with his kitchen earlier in the week together for almost an hour, and then they both helped me make Kelley's Buttermilk Pie. I had to take a picture of the two of them sitting at the counter snapping their fingers together. Some imagination!!

Also need to wish my sister a belated Happy 36th Birthday. Her big day was Tuesday and we did all get together and eat at my mother and daddy's that night. Can't believe my big sister is now closer to her 40's than her 30's. Can't believe I'll be 32 in a couple of months for that matter!

Ben comes home from North Carolina this Saturday!!!! Woohoo!!!!! I told him after he got home and got settled I might sneak out and take a little retreat to the beach (and take Karen Kingsbury along with me). Okay, maybe just take one or two of her books with me. Wouldn't that be nice? Sitting on the beach with a good book and no interruptions.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

This is Ty with the Buttermilk Pie that we made for Aunt Kelley's birthday. He and George had to help hold the mixer.

This is Ty and "George" snapping their fingers to the Children's Praise CD we were listening to. When Ty told me to watch him snap his fingers, he asked if I saw George too. I asked him where George was and he said, "He's right here beside me!" Like I was a crazy woman or something for not noticing him already. He even turned to the chair beside him and pointed to him.

We're almost crawling! Andrew gets in position and rocks back and forth and then kicks his feet behind him. He just hasn't figured out how to put it all together yet. I don't think it's going to be long. Notice the wild hair. Hence the hair gel!

Up and ready!

Uh oh!

8, 9, & 10! This is Andrew doing his push-ups. He's getting a head start on his physique!
We get in the floor and do our workout each night!

I want to put a little ponytail in that hair so badly, I can't stand it!!

Happy Birthday Amy!

2009-03-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

Amy celebrated her 5th birthday today with lots of friends & family at the PHS Playground! The weather turned out nice and she got so many pretty summer outfits! I think all the kids had a really good time. Amy, hope you had a great day on Birthday #5! We love you ~ Uncle Ben, Aunt Mendy, Ty, & Andrew!!

What would we ever do without sand and dump trucks and backhoes? These kiddos sure do love 'em.

Five Years Ago...

2009-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

It seems like it was just yesterday when I think back to that sad day five years ago. I was 23 weeks pregnant and having some pains at church that morning. As the day went along, so did the pains. Not ever experiencing labor before, I had no idea that's what was going on. After speaking with Dr. Wells on the phone, we went to the Labor and Delivery at the hospital. By now my pains were much more frequent and I knew that something terribly wrong was happening. I'll never forget the words that Dr. Wells said after he examined me, "This is not good. You're going to have this baby." All I knew how to say was, "And it can't live, can it?" He said the words that I knew was the truth, but certainly did not want to hear. "No, unless we can get you stabilized enough to transport you." He told me that Sacred Heart was the closest hospital with a NICU unit and we could go as soon as I stabilized. At this point, I was in complete shock. I remember feeling numb to everything. Ben was there with me, as was all my family by now. Ben was so upset, but was still trying to comfort me and assure me that everything was going to be ok. Soon after, my water broke. At this point, we could not stop labor, but somehow I stabilized enough to be life-flighted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. As I was wheeled out to the helicopter pad, I kept thinking, "This can not be happening to me. This is a dream." But, it certainly was not a dream. It was all too real. Still in shock, I couldn't hardly put thoughts together to even pray. I remember finally being able to pray, "Lord, please take care of this baby and me." That's all I could get to come to my mind the whole time in the helicopter.

Once we got to Sacred Heart, the doctors were preparing us for all the possible scenarios. We had to decide what to do. I just remember that night praying, "Lord, I don't know how to handle this, but you do. Just please take care of this for us." We could still hear a strong heartbeat on the baby, so that was good. What we didn't know was when I would actually deliver. With my water breaking, we knew we could not stop it. Whatever was going to happen, would happen. The doctors had said that sometimes the amniotic fluid can build back up around the baby, but they were concerned, because they don't want you to go a long time after your water breaks without having the baby. This allows infection to set in. All this was in my mind. I didn't know how we were going to handle it. We started talking to our family about what we would do if the baby was born alive. The doctors said it may even be too small to inject needles along with everything else that they would need to do.

I dozed off and on during the night. The next morning the pain was back and my contractions were closer together. Around lunch, they came in to check the heartbeat. I was kind of in and out all morning, but I remember very vividly when they had me hooked up to the machine. I heard no heartbeat. At that moment, I knew the Lord had answered our prayers. I did not know what we were going to be faced with, but He did. He had already taken care of everything. I know this must sound strange, but I had such a peace come over me when I didn't hear the heartbeat. I knew it was that "peace that passeth all understanding."

Not long after, the nurses were asking me if I was ready to try to deliver the baby. I remember thinking, "How can I have this baby when it's not even alive." That was probably the hardest thing I went through. Knowing I was going to have to work to get it here, and not have anything to take home with me when I left that hospital. After I had the baby, we were told it was a boy. Our firstborn baby was a little boy. We had already decided on a boy name. He would be named after Ben, and we were going to call him "Ben David." We were able to hold this precious tiny baby boy in our arms. I checked him out from head to toe. He was actually bigger in pounds than the doctors had previously guessed he would be. He was 1 pound and 4 ounces and 11 inches long. He was completely perfect, just a little too small to survive this cruel world.

On the way home, I couldn't help but to wonder why this had to happen to us. I know you're not supposed to question God, but I couldn't help but to wonder why. Five years have passed and I still don't know why we had to go through that terrible trial. However, I do know that God has a purpose for all things. I don't understand how non-Christians can go through situations like that. How do they survive it? How do they have the desire to pull themselves from the bed to even start a new day. I was able to do it because God was my STRENGTH during those terrible days that followed the death of our baby.

I think the Lord intends for us to learn from the trials that we go through, and to also be able to minister to someone else one day that may go through the same thing we've gone through. I think He wants us to lay every thing down for Him and just fall into His arms and let Him supply us the strength we need to get through tough times. So many times we try to "fix" everything ourselves and we just end up making a bigger mess than it really is. In the end, we should learn to just trust Him more. Something I've learned from going through this is to "not sweat the small stuff." I see people worry about some things that aren't even serious enough to worry about. I have to remind myself often to not worry about little things that do not matter. We women know how to get worked up over the smallest things. Also, I've learned that we're not in control of anything. As much as we'd like to think we are, we're one breath away from any type of situation that can change our life forever. Ben and I thought we were in control of our lives. The Lord showed us in a matter of hours that HE was in charge of our life. We have no say in it whatsoever.

We had so many people lifting us up in prayer daily, sending cards, and visiting us. We couldn't have gotten through that time without all the prayers. I remember little Allie was just 3 years old when this happened. (Ty's age) Wow! She really didn't understand what was happening, but she just knew that her Aunt Mendy was sad and cried a whole lot. She wouldn't say very much at first when we came home. She didn't know how to react to me, but I can remember her seeing me cry and she would keep the kleenexes coming. She was so sweet. She would just bring me a Kleenex. Isn't it sweet how God uses little children to help dry our tears and comfort us when we're hurting? I'll never forget how sweet she was to me during those sad days.

After six months, we learned we were pregnant again! We had no doubt that the Lord was going to bless us with precious babies. Nine months later, Ty Benjamin Clark arrived on the scene and hasn't slowed down yet. I know that had we not experienced what we did, little Ty would not be with us. I can't even begin to imagine my life without this little fireball of energy. So, here we are five years after that horrible day, with two precious boys! We have been doubly blessed! We know Ben David is in a much better place than we can imagine, and that he will be waiting for the rest of his family to join him. Thanks so much for reading our story. I hope it can encourage someone that maybe going through a difficult time in their life right now.

Tagged....

2009-02-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

Beth tagged me last week & I've just gotten a chance to do this. Here we go.....

1. What is his name? Benjamin David Clark

2. Who eats more? Ben does...he is usually working on his 2nd or 3rd plate of food when we're trying to get the kitchen cleaned up at my mother's.

3. Who said "I love you" first? Ben did while we were at Shocco Springs in '95. Wow, that was a long time ago. I was a senior and he was a sophomore. What young love!!

4. Who is taller? I think Ben is by just a few inches!!

5. Who is more sensitive? Me

6. Who does the laundry? We both do.

7. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

8. Who pays the bills? We both do.

9. Who cooks more? I do, unless we're grilling, then he does.

10. Who is more stubborn? We both have a stubborn streak in us, but probably more me than him.

11. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I am. I kid him all the time saying that I'm always the one to say I'm sorry first. He says I'm wrong, but I'm right on this one.

12. Who has more siblings? He does - 2 brothers and 1 sister. I have 1 sister

13. Who wears the pants in the relationship? We share them. Sometimes he makes the call on things, sometimes I make the call on certain things.

14. What do you like to do together? We love to just be able to do stuff at home together. We don't have time during the week to do very much. Sometimes our weekends consist of eating out and making a trip to Wal-Mart. That's another story for another day. I'll have to post on some of our Wal-Mart stories one day. During the summer, we love to be outside working, playing ball with Ty, playing in the pool with Ty and soon Andrew. We also enjoy going on our little family vacations to the beach and the mountains too. I wish I could say he loves to go shopping with me, but he hates it, and that's ok, because I just can't bring myself to enjoy his game of golf. Maybe one day....

15. Who eats more sweets? That would be me. Ben eats so much of the real stuff, he has no room for desserts.

16. Guilty pleasures? Ben - when he gets the chance-hunting and golf. Me - gosh, I feel all I do is feed baby, fix bottles and wash bottles, I need a guilty pleasure. I guess it would be blogging.

17. How did you meet? We have always known each other because Ben's dad pastored at Carolina Baptist Church for 13 years. So, we just grew up knowing each other. It was not until I was a senior in high school that I had a Health/computer class with a bunch of sophomores. Ben and I were computer partners. I got to hear his hilarious stories of how his dalmation tried to rape him in his shed. That was just one of the stories I remember laughing till I cried. The rest is history. He'll probably die if he knew I put that about his dog...maybe he won't ever find out!!

18. Who asked whom out first? He did.

19. Who kissed who first? He dared me and I did! What a rebel I am!!

20. Who proposed? He did July 31, 2001. I was with the Clark family at Orange Beach. He was training for his post office job in Montgomery and wasn't supposed to come until the weekend. He surprised me on Thursday. He had already talked to my parents while I was gone with his family. We all ate supper and then Ben and I went down to the beach. I knew something was up when he found a chair for us to sit on...instead of walking. We sat forever swatting knats. I'd had enough and was about to get up and go back to our condo when he grabbed my arm and sat me back down. He got down on his knee in front of me and had (I think) written a book to me - I didn't think he would ever show me the ring!! By the time he pulled it out, it was pitch dark, so we ran back up to the lights to see it!

21. His best features and qualities? Ben is a godly, Christian man that loves the Lord and his family. THE funnest Daddy and most wonderful husband. He will try to do just about anything at home if he knows it will help me. Hard working - wonderful provider. He has the kindest heart that I know. He is giving of his time to whomever may need something. He is a compassionate, fun, hilarious person. Even when I am so aggravated at him, he's going to do something that will make me laugh, no matter how hard I try to hold it in. I love him just a little bit!! (Chances are you'll see this man in Wal-Mart at 11:00 pm. He is worse than a woman about needing stuff at the last minute. If we are ever out of something, I don't even have to ask, he's out the door to Wal-Mart (usually with Micah). I tell him that's just his way of getting out of the house!!)

22. Tag you're it. Who do you tag? Tammy Holt, Kim Turman, Lori Griffin, Ginger Wilson, Julie Hardy, Christy Watts, Elizabeth Wood and whoever else that would love to.

The old car in the pics belongs to Anthony, Ben's brother. It was their Grandaddy's and they were out taking it for a ride. Just thought they were kind of neat!

Ben playing football in the yard with all the kids.

What a Night....

2009-02-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

While Ben has been in Oklahoma, Ty's bedtime routine has somewhat been altered. Ty tries to come up with every excuse possible to delay going to bed. From complaining that he doesn't feel well, hasn't taken his vitamin, needs some food, water, you get the picture, to "my eyes won't close." By the time all these excuses have been used, I'm completely exhausted. I knew last night that I had to come up with something that would work. Spankings do not seem to phase him (Ben's spankings are much more effective than mine). As I was sharing with my "motherly" teachers at school today, they had some suggestions for me to try. They told me to let him help me make a chart of all the things he "has" to do before going to bed. And let him check them off when they're done. Well, that was the first thing we did this afternoon. He started naming off everything and I was writing them down on his chart. I told him he would get to put a sticker in the box when he finished doing those particular things. Well, he was ready to get ready for bed at 5:00 this afternoon. Just so he could put the sticker in the box. I thought, "this is a good sign."

We also made a calendar for while Ben is gone. We put a sticker on each day that he is gone and this lets Ty see how many more days we have to go before he comes home. This was a big thing for him. He was excited to be able to put all the stickers on the calendar.

I also brought home a little incentive chart that I use with my students at school. I thought we could use it for sleeping through the night in his bed. I told Ty that each morning he wakes up in his bed, he gets to add a sticker to the chart. When we get one row filled up, you guessed it, we're headed to Wal-Mart. He 's going to get a surprise. I know that's probably a bad mama, but at this point I'm desperate for anything to work. I told Ben on the phone, that something has got to change. So.......... at 7:30 tonight we were getting baths and at 8:00 we had all of our "things to do" checked off of our list and were in the bed!!!!!!!! Yes!!!!!!!! By the way, when he said he just couldn't close his eyes, I was ready. I told him that we could find some special glasses that would help him close his eyes. Well, he really liked this idea and went straight to his toys and found a HUGE pair of glasses that had come in his McDonald's Happy Meal. They were hideous, but hey, they worked. We called them his "Special Spectacles." I left him with the specs on his face and went to my bathroom to get a shower and get clothes ironed for tomorrow. When I got out of the shower there was silence. I decided I'd go take a peek and see if he was really asleep or just waiting for me. He was definitely asleep and yes the glasses were still on. I went for my camera to take his picture and he roused up. I knew it was too good to be true. He started crying out for me that he needed his mommy. Well, I went in and laid with him and he reminded me that we had not said our night-night prayers. After saying prayers, he still didn't want me to leave him. He was still trying to use the excuse that he just couldn't close his eyes. He put his glasses back on, I said "Good night," and walked out. He's been asleep ever since. Hopefully this is going to help me have some sanity. By the way, Andrew has been asleep since about 7:45 and hasn't made a peep! Let's just hope Big Brother can get back in his routine!

These were taken over the last several weeks. While cleaning out Andrew's closet, Ty hopped into Andrew's bed and they were having a good time together. Andrew loves his brother! He loves to watch Ty do anything and will laugh at all of his silly sounds and faces!

Andrew thinks he's a big boy in his new Bumbo! His legs are almost too fat to even fit in it!

First cereal feeding. I think he likes it!

I thought this was so sweet. This is what I see every afternoon I get home. Andrew is passed out on Pops. Sometimes Pops is passed out too!

Thank you Mrs. Kathy

2009-01-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, our King/Lee holiday to be exact, I was looking through Ty's baby book. I was hoping to do a little updating until I found the envelope. The envelope that held his baby hair from his first haircut at one year old. The outside of the envelope read "Ty's locks". I looked inside and found no hair. I started to get sick at my stomach. Instead, there was a name card bible marker and some other little thing. I just kept staring into the envelope hoping that the sweet little baby hair would magically reappear in the envelope. I picked up several other things that was around the envelope hoping to find the hair had fallen out, or just stuck to something else. No such luck! Ben walked through and I told him I could not find Ty's baby hair that I had saved. He calmy told me to just keep looking, that it had to be there somewhere. I told him that I had and it wasn't anywhere. Okay, I'm really starting to get sick. My hands started sweating and my forehead just broke out into a full-blown sweat. Ben went on about his business outside. Ty happened to come upon me in my all-out search for his hair. I calmly held up the envelope and asked, "Ty, do you know what happened to the hair that was in this envelope?" Ty said, "Uh huh, I threw that hair in the "crash" can, Mama." At that moment I went into complete meltdown mode. I'm trying to ask him why he had done that through pitiful sobs. He couldn't understand why I was crying over hair being thrown away. So, he takes off running out of the room screaming and crying himself. He does this alot if he does something he's not supposed to do. I picked myself up off the floor and went outside to tell Ben what had happened. He came in to try to look for the hair in the "crash" cans, but I knew it was long gone. There was just no use.....the baby hair was gone forever. I finally quit crying enough to comfort Ty. He was so upset. All he could do was say, "I'm so sorry Mama. I'm so sorry Mama." I kept thinking to myself, "Of all the junk in that room that he could've thrown away, and he picked that." Ben kept telling him that he was much more important than hair, but that we just wanted to be able to keep his baby hair.
Well..........never fear, Mrs. Kathy is here!!! Ty and I had haircuts today and I was telling her about our catastrophe and that we would just have to let his hair grow out a bit to get another cutting from it. She was able to cut some long strips for me when she thinned the top of his hair. Leigh came back with an envelope and, well, we have hair again! I figured 3 year old hair was better than none at all. I told Ty he was to never do anything to that hair. So, to any of you mamas out there that has extremely inquisitive little children, like Ty, please put up anything that you don't want trashed.

**Still can't get my pics on here. I've found them but when I click on the upload image button, it does nothing. If anyone knows what I need to do, please tell me. Will try again later!

Finally Back!

2009-01-28T20:39:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been way too long since my last post. Thanks to extra security put on our computer, I couldn't do anything. It slowed my computer down to the point I could no longer sit and wait for everything to come up. Anyway, lots has happened since my last post. I'll start with Andrew. He will turn 5 months on Saturday. He had his 4 month check-up several weeks ago and was a whopping 16 lbs. 8 oz. and 26 inches long. He is so much bigger than Ty was at this age. Ty was only 13 lbs. at his four month check-up. This little boy loves his "ba-ba". He smiles when he sees his bottle getting ready. He is such a happy little thing. He really only cries when he gets hungry. He started his cereal this month and hasn't really gotten the hang of the whole swallowing thing yet. He spits more out than he actually swallows. He has been sleeping through the night for about 4 weeks now, which makes his mama really happy! He's like clockwork; every morning around 5:30 he wakes up smiling. He actually slept til 6:00 earlier this week. He has started making this cute noise when I lay him down to change his diaper. It's like he's singing his own little song. He is such a little loudmouth. He'll start his singing and will just laugh out loud after he finishes. He is such a funny little baby!! I hate leaving this precious baby every morning. He's always in such a good mood! It's what gets me through the day till I'm back home.

Ty is learning lots at Little Friends. Mrs. Donna is his teacher and he loves her. His favorite word is still "Why?" This word accompanies everything that is said in our home. He brought home the cutest bird feeder this week. They made them from buns with peanut butter spread on them and dipped in bird seed. We had to hang it outside for the birds to munch on. I love getting sweet little things that he makes at school. And especially the little drawings that I don't have a clue what is, but he can describe it perfectly.

Ben is away once again in Fort Sill, Oklahoma for a two week training for work. I really don't tell my husband enough how thankful I am for him. I have missed him tremendously this week. Ty has missed his daddy also. He asks everyday when his daddy is coming home. I think we're going to have to get use to it for a while anyway. Ben will be gone for about two weeks out of every month from now til June. Next month he'll be in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wish I could take off and go along with him. Ben said it has been snowing where he is. I wish we could see a little snow here so the kids could have fun playing for a little while.

Well, I think I have updated enough for now. My sweet husband has put all of my pictures somewhere and I don't know where to look for them. So, I'll have to post pictures later I guess.

Who is this kid anyway?

2009-01-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Who does this face resemble? Every now and then, Ty will do something that will look just like Kevin off of the movie Home Alone. While we were in the mountains, several people told us how much he looked like Kevin. He loves to get out of the tub, spike his hair up, and "be Kevin." Here's a Kevin shot I got last week. Never a dull moment!

Another Wonderful Christmas

2009-01-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

What an exciting time at our house this year! Ty woke up at 7:30 so excited that Santa had been and there were presents under the tree. He was thrilled that Santa had even taken the time to eat the cookies he left for him under the tree. This was by far the most excited that Ty has been, and I think it's just going to get funner with each passing year. Ty did get his backhoe and several other surprises. So, he was happy. However, he did notice he didn't get a grill. I quickly reminded him Pops & MeMe gave him a kitchen and that he could cook on that. Oh well, we don't always get everything in life we want, do we? Andrew got a sweet little paci clip and some other surprises. Santa knew his momma can't keep up with a paci! Here are some pictures from our Christmas! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Santa even left me a little something!

All Set for Santa!

2008-12-24T22:54:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

The Things We Do For Our Kids......

2008-12-15T22:45:00.001-08:00

Eversince the first inflatable went up at the Butler's "Christmas City", Ty has been saying he wanted "that" at his house. I hated to break the news to him that we would never have that amount of stuff in our yard. We've never had outdoor decorations until last year. We did get two lighted deer to put in our front yard. I guess he thinks he can keep asking and we'll keep adding. Well, everytime we're on 55, he talks about "The Butlers." The other day he asked if we could just have one of the blow-ups. Again, I told him that we were not buying that stuff to put in our yard. He just can't figure out why I don't want all that stuff in my yard.

While in the mountains, we saw some beautiful little villages lit up in all colors. We thought we could try lighting some trees in our yard. I did give in and go to colored lights for our tree this year since Ty has said he wanted his tree to be like Nana's. She uses colored lights for the kids and that's what Ty had his mind set on. I do have to say, it looks pretty with all the different colors. We mixed it with clear and it turned out really pretty. At first, Ty wasn't so sure because he wanted all color. It didn't take him long to "realize" (his new big word) he liked it.

Yesterday afternoon Ben got outside to string some more lights! Isn't it amazing at what you'll do to make things fun for your kids? Ty loves his outside lights. And it's a good thing. Cause this is about as close as it gets to "The Butlers".

Getting ready for Christmas

2008-12-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas! I love the hustle-bustle it brings with all the parties, plays, shopping and decorating. Even though it often times gets a little hectic, it is still my favorite holiday. This past weekend was yet another busy one getting ready for our Sunday School party. Saturday morning was spent getting the house finished decorated. I love to use real cedar and pine just because of the smell it fills the house with. Since my mother and daddy have cedar trees, we have been cutting trimmings from them for the past four years now to use on my mantle. Real-live garland and greenery beats store-bought any day to me. Ty was at church practicing for the children's Christmas play so it gave us some time to get most everything done. When everything was finished, I was off to The Loot to buy my favorite candle. If you've never tried Mulled Cider by Tyler, you've got to. That's at the top of my favorite things right now. It will definitely put you in the holiday mood. As soon as I got home, I lit this little jewel to work its magic.
Our newly formed Sunday School class met up at David's Catfish for supper, and then came back to our house for cake and several rounds of Catch Phrase. I know several of us have played this game before, but it never gets old to me. It's so funny to watch everybody. We had a good time playing Dirty Santa, although the guys didn't think it was necessary to steal anyone's gifts. Don't worry, we girls made up for that. We had a great time visiting with everybody and decided it needs to become a monthly ritual. We can't wait to do it again.

Early Visit from Santa

2008-12-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Santa stopped by for a quick visit this past Tuesday night. Ty had been sick with horrible congestion and our visitor certainly perked him up for a few minutes. Ty has been asking for a backhoe and a bulldozer for quite sometime now. He got a small bulldozer from Santa on Tuesday night, and I could tell he wasn't very enthused about it. Later, when I asked him if he liked it, he said, "But I wanted a big bulldozer." Well.....maybe Santa will come through for him in a few weeks.

The whole time Santa was here, Ty was more worried about seeing the sleigh and the reindeer. He kept going to the window and looking out. He kept asking where they were. Santa was really good. He talked to Ty about how important it was to mind his mommy and daddy, and even told him that it was Jesus's birthday, and that was the real reason we celebrate Christmas. We thought he did a really good job!

Andrew on the other hand, didn't even know Santa was in the house. He just looked up at him like, oh, it's you. Anyway, here are a few of the pictures.

They're not Mrs. Prindables.....

2008-12-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

but they're not to0 bad for the first time. My mother and I thought we would try making some caramel apples for a party and for little Christmas treats. If anyone has ever done this, you might could shed some light on the subject. The caramel package said to let the apples cool for 10 minutes after they've been dipped (before covering with nuts or any other toppings). After the 10 minutes of cooling, we had to really press the pecans, M&M's, and chocolate chips in the caramel. They didn't want to stay on very well, because the caramel had already hardened. This was a trial run, so if anyone has tips, I'd greatly appreciate them.

Ty had fun making his own M&M apple

The finished product

I survived.....

2008-12-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

After countless kisses, smiles, cooing, and just a few tears (from mama), I got in my car and drove to work. Man, it was not easy leaving that sweet baby. He woke up in such a happy mood this morning, too. Even though leaving was not easy, it put my mind at ease knowing I did not have to pack up the house and drag him out in the cold. Ben's mom is coming to our house. That is such a huge blessing. When we decided Mrs. Sherry needed time to enjoy Mr. Garner's retirement, we prayed for someone to keep the boys. We also prayed for someone to come to our house. Both prayers were answered. And I wonder why we get in a panic about things? You would think by now I would just be able to say, "It's all going to be alright, because He's going to take care of us."

Thanks so much for the prayers. I know God gave me the strength to get through the day. I had been dreading this day since before Andrew arrived and would cry just thinking about it, but I really did well. I had a good day at school, and the thing I'm telling myself is "just 3 weeks and I'll be back home for 2."

Winter Wonderland

2008-11-30T20:14:00.000-08:00

I was a little apprehensive about our trip to the mountains with a 3 month old baby. I can't get over how well he did. I think all the prayers were heard because he was a little trooper throughout the whole trip. Our goal for Thursday night was to make it to Chattanooga to spend the night. Andrew slept from the time we buckeled him in his seat to the time Ben was getting the key for our room. He opened his little eyes as if to say, "Okay, I can wake up now, we're here." He was the best baby. He let us do whatever we wanted to do. We even braved the very cold temps and went to Dollywood on Sunday night. He stayed bundled up in his Snugli inside Ben's jacket and was much warmer than we were. Ty loved the 4D Polar Express ride at Dollywood. Even Ben and I thought it was pretty cool. His favorite, the Dollywood Express was shut down. He was one upset little boy. That may have been a good thing though, with it being so cold.

We did get to play in the snow for just a little while. Ty kept saying, "I want to throw a snowball at you, Mama." Well, he did, and when he did, he started crying because his hands were getting so cold. We were glad that didn't last long.

We went to Cade's Cove and saw the biggest buck we will ever probably see in our lives. We couldn't keep count of the deer and turkeys that we saw. We enjoyed it so much, we went back the next morning. Another day of lots of animals, even a wolf on the second day. And yes, I finally got to see some black bears. We saw a mama and her two cubs and the next day we saw another black bear. That was pretty awesome, too!

We always have to go to Apple Barn. We love seeing all the apples and Ty had to bring lots of apples back with him. The Dixie Stampede has a wonderful Christmas show. They do a real live nativity scene. If anyone is there during the Christmas season, it's definitely worth seeing.

This was the second year in a row that we've been and are hoping it's going to be a tradition for our family. Here are some of the pictures from the trip.

Too cold for Andrew!

The Polar Express Show

Ty taking his ticket from the conductor for the Polar Express ride

My little Eskimo Baby

How Could I Forget......

2008-11-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

this little man with such wild hair.

Last night was Crazy Hair night at AWANA. This is Ty's favorite hair-do. This is what he would leave our house looking like {all the time} if he had his wishes. The funny thing is, he thinks he's really looking good! You can tell by that look in the first pic. Just thought I would leave everyone with a good laugh!

Headed to the Mountains

2008-11-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

Our family of four is getting everything together for our trip to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. I forgot just how much you have to pack for a baby!! We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon when Ben gets home from work. I'm just hoping and praying that Little Andrew will travel well. I guess we'll see! We'll be getting back home next Tuesday & I'll be sure to post some of our pics. Maybe we'll see snow!! Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Little Indians

2008-11-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Little Friends preschool to see lots of little Indian girls and boys all decked out in their Indian attire. They were so cute dressed in their tye-dyed shirts, necklaces, headdresses with feathers, and their faces were painted. They sang several Thanksgiving songs and Indian chants using their tom-toms that they made out of oatmeal boxes. Ty held his tooth just about the whole entire time. He finally decided to sing along at the very end of the program. His story was that he thought he had a splinter in his tooth. After they sang, they feasted on a fine meal of turkey and all the trimmings. Here are some of the pictures from the Pow Wow.

This was Ty's "look" through the whole program.

I guess he's trying to figure out what's going on with the tooth.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's just a few pictures from this week

All bundled up for school

Such a big boy. Sunday morning before church with one of his shoeboxes

One tired little fella'

Andrew's Bathtime

Operation Christmas Child

2008-11-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when everyone is buying their items for the Operation Christmas Child shoebox project. I decided to do my shopping Monday while Ty was at school. I figured it might be a little easier without someone behind me picking up every toy and wanting to know what it was and what it's supposed to do. I love Christmas shopping and I always enjoy picking out items for the children that are much less fortunate than we are that will receive our boxes. Last year we decided to do two boxes for little boys that are Ty's age. So, again this year, we chose to buy for two little boys. I browsed every shelf trying to find all the age appropriate toys. I can't help but get excited just thinking about how these little boys will react when they receive their boxes.

Later that day when Ty saw all of our toys, he was so excited. He has examined and reexamined each toy about a bagillion times. He seems to keep getting into the boxes after I've arranged everything in them. He just can't stay out of them. I noticed a chunk out of the bar of soap and I could see teeth marks. When I asked him about it, he said, "Mommy, I think it just got that way." After we talked several minutes about it not being that way when I put it in the box, he admitted trying to taste it to see what it was. We got a good honesty lesson out of the shoeboxes project too.

Ty has had to show everyone that comes to our house everything we have bought. He's been so excited about everything in the boxes. Today, I told him that we could just tell Santa to bring him a shoebox full of goodies. He said, "That sounds like a good idea to me." I looked at Ben, Ben looked at me, and we both shared the same look on our face. Boy, wouldn't that make Christmas shopping a whole lot easier. Really and truly, we could spend alot less on our children and they would be just fine.

I think this is such a great missions project to share God's love with those that are less fortunate than we are, and it hopefully teaches our own children to be very appreciative of what they have. We hope & pray that God will use our little shoeboxes to reach others for Him!

On a side note: I can't say that I've ever done much shopping in the way of clothes at Dollar General. I can now! I found some really cute Christmas sleepers and onesies for Andrew that I just couldn't pass up. I'm all for a good buy, and for just $2.50 who could pass these cute little things up. I think they'll hold up just fine for no longer than we'll need to wear them.

Mr. Andrew getting a head start on spreading a little Christmas cheer in yet another DG outfit.

Just a cute little face.

Veteran's Day Parade

2008-11-11T22:21:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day to honor our veterans at the parade and then at the Veteran's Memorial today. Ben and Ty rode on the float honoring Operation Iraqi Freedom vets. Since little Andrew has a cold, my mother kept him at home. We're hoping his congestion clears up SOON!

10 Weeks/Coterie Fun Run

2008-11-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

Andrew was 10 weeks old Sunday! How do I even begin to describe my feelings for this sweet baby boy! When you have one child, you just wonder how in the world is it possible to love another baby as much as that first-born baby. Oh my goodness! This little bundle of joy will melt your heart in a hurry. Holding him in my arms is like therapy for my soul. And that little smile.....well, it's just so darn cute. I am certainly not looking forward to Dec. 1st. {The day I go back to school.} I know that too shall pass.

span >**I had to post some pictures of Andrew's curls to show Christy Watts. I couldn't get over how much Audrey and Andrew's hair was alike.

Andrew laughing at his crazy daddy

Andrew's new trick is sticking his tongue out at us.
Sheer joy!
Look at all those curls!

Mama, I've had enough of the picture-taking.

The Coterie 5K was Saturday. Ben decided to run and won 1st place in his category! Yeah!! I'm just afraid now he's gonna think he can do a triathalon. Anyway, Ty and I were at the finish line waiting for him to come through. He actually hurt something right at the last turn of the race. By the way he was running, I could tell something wasn't just right. He didn't look to be in the best of shape, as a matter of fact, he looked like he couldn't hardly go another step. In spite of his pulled muscle, he still won in his division and brought home the gold!!!!

Ty ran in the Tot Trot (the street in front of the courthouse). He was so cute running. Ben had told him not to get tripped up on his or anyone else's feet, so he looked down at his feet the whole time he ran. He didn't do bad. Didn't get first, but I was just glad he was out there. {By the way, they don't have winners in the Tot Trot, they just let them all get out there and run.) As a very competitive person, this mama is definitely going to have to learn control when it comes to sports activities involving my children. I was having a ball cheering Ty on during the Tot Trot even though there were no winners. I think I'm going to have a competitive little boy, too. As soon as he finished running, he asked, "Do I get my award now?" All the little kids did get a medal for racing, but I don't think he was satisfied with just a medal. He asked on the way home, "Mama, why didn't they call my name out?" I had to then explain that none of the little ones got their name called out. Anyway, it was a great day for a run. Maybe I can join them next year.

Here are a few pictures. My batteries went out on my camera right before Ty ran, so I'll post some of him later.

Right before the big race!

Polar Express??

2008-11-06T21:29:00.001-08:00

Just wondering if anyone has ever taken The Polar Express train ride in the Smoky Mtns. We love the movie and (Ty loves trains, too) thought it would be fun to take him on it while we are in the mountains. I did some checking and found a few not-so great reviews. But, they were from several years ago. I was hoping someone had actually done this little tourist attraction and could tell me about it. It's only an hour and 15 min. roundtrip. I thought that sounded pretty good. I don't really think anything much longer than this would be a good idea with a 3 year old and a 2 month old. Anyway, if anyone has done this or knows of anyone that's done this, please let me know how it was. I read that there is one in Bryson City, N.C., Chattanooga, and Calera. We would most likely do the one in Bryson City. Thanks so much!

This is the day....

2008-11-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

As we watched the election results roll in last night, I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach. Ben & I sat there and wondered what changes are in store for us, our children, and one day our grandchildren. I'm afraid many Obama supporters will endure much change that they aren't even aware of. I just hope they're ready for it. As I held Andrew, all I could think about was, 'This man believes in killing babies, and he's just been elected as our next president.' What is wrong with the American people? Where are our morals? Do these people at Grant Park celebrating even realize this issue, along with many others, is not of God? Even in his celebratory speech, he named different groups, including gays and straights. This is not right in God's sight.

We finally couldn't take it anymore. We'd seen all the whooping and hollering and crying that we could stand for one night. All Ben could say is, "We've just got to pray. We know who's in control." And we do. We, as Christians, have got to pray for our leaders. We can all pray that their hearts will be turned to God and they will seek His guidance in every decision that's made.

After going to bed with heavy hearts, we woke up to a sweet, precious baby (who slept through the night, for the first time~ WooHoo!!) in a very happy mood. As I was feeding Andrew, I could hear Ty singing while he was eating his breakfast, "This is the day, this is the day that the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord hath made." Wow! I think that was what I needed to hear to start my day. As I heard him singing, I thought, 'That's right, this is a new day, and our God is still in control, no matter who is president.'

On a much lighter note:

Ty checking out his little lizard friend.

Trick or Treating (in last year's costume ~ Go figure)

Andrew is 2 months old & a whopping 13lbs. 2oz.~24 inches long. He is getting so big, so fast! Slow down, Little Man!!!!

I could just pinch those chubby, little cheeks!

Don't Forget to Vote!

2008-11-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

Get this Vote Mccain Myspace Comment from UGotBling.com

Election '08

2008-10-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

'Twas the night before elections
And all through the town
Tempers were flaring
Emotions all up and down!

I, in my bathrobe
With a cat in my lap
Had cut off the TV
Tired of political crap.

When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I peered out of my window
Saw Obama and his boys

They had come for my wallet
They wanted my pay
To give to the others
Who had not worked a day!

He snatched up my money
And quick as a wink
Jumped back on his bandwagon
As I gagged from the stink

He then rallied his henchmen
Who were pulling his cart
I could tell they were out
To tear my country apart!

' On Fannie, on Freddie,
On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, On Pelosi'
He screamed at the pairs!

They took off for his cause
And as he flew out of sight
I heard him laugh at the nation
Who wouldn't stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think
On this one final note-
IF YOU DONT WANT SOCIALISM
GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

Lookin' Good!

2008-10-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Is this one good-looking thing or what? Ben, aka Carl, knows he be lookin' good! This is what he came up with for dress-up at AWANA tonight at church. The kids were encouraged to wear their costume and participate in Trunk or Treat. This is the 2nd year we've done this, and all the kids {and adults} enjoy it. Volunteers open up their trunks for the kids to come by and get candy. It's a great alternative to being in the crowd on the square. Here are some more crazy costumes from AWANA.

Cute little Puggles

What a crew!

Sarah Palin (Madison) made a last minute campaign stop at Carolina Baptist Church. I believe she was trying to get in some south Alabama hunting while she was here. She was just too cute.

Bryan Cox aka Dr. Matt Brady

Staff SGT. Clark

John McCain (Brody) is worried about the up-coming election, while Clancy the Clown (Mother)tries to cheer him up.

I'm glad to see McCain is in better spirits. Is that his wife Cindi with him?

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Last night Ben and Ty carved one of our pumpkins. Those pumpkin carving kits sure do beat free-handing it, like I remember our parents having to do years ago. Ty just loved getting his hands in the pumpkin mush {Not sure what the inside is called, I'm sure it's probably not called mush}.

How come little boys love getting all messy? I guess messy is funner, maybe.

The finished product~

Saturday at the Fair

2008-10-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

After our company left Saturday, Ben and I took Ty to the fair. The two things he had on his mind were the ferris wheel and cotton candy. As soon as we got there he used his money his Grandaddy gave him and bought the "Monster" bag of cotton candy. Next, we stood in line for the ferris wheel. I forgot just how fast the ferris wheel actually goes. I kind of got queasy on my stomach and could not look down. All the while, Ty was looking all around asking what all of these different rides were. He wasn't scared one bit. He wanted to ride the big rides so badly. We just stuck to the kiddie rides....maybe next year.

If you're wondering what he's doing in this picture, he's just waving. Everytime the plane went around, he waved at us. It really looks like he's doing something else.

After riding rides, we met Joe, Joy'l, & Clay Herrington and Joseph Garland, another guy that Ben works with, at the bowling alley. Ty and Clay had a good time bowling. This was Ty's first time ever bowling and he loved it! I think he liked his Skittles that Mr. Joe bought for him just about as much! After one game, we headed to my mother and daddy's to pick up Andrew. I think that's enough activity for one day.

"Let's see, which one should I use?"

Who In The World??

2008-10-28T12:00:00.001-07:00

Does anyone know who this man/monster is? I found him lurking around my house last week. Pretty scary, huh?

Weekend Visitors

2008-10-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

We were so happy to have our family from Mobile Saturday for a visit with us. Ben's brother and wife, Anthony & Chanda, and kids, Trey, Emma & Cason, came to see Andrew and visit with us. We always enjoy our time when we get to see them. Ty was so excited to hear they were coming. He loves his cousins. Cason is 6 months old and just precious. He was the happiest little baby all day. I know he and Andrew will make good playmates soon. We just wish we could see them more often.

Trey was already gone when we took this picture. Allie and Amy came over to play and visit with Emma.

This is the box our recliner was in. We were letting Ty use it as a little playhouse. I'm glad we had not gotten rid of it, because this is what they did all day Saturday. This is Emma drawing and decorating it for Ty.

Allie and Cason

Aunt Chanda and Andrew

Ty, Aunt Chanda, & Andrew

I just love this girl. Even though we're not in the same town, Chanda & I talk often. She is really like another sister to me. I would jump for joy it if she told me they were coming back to Andalusia. Maybe one day......

Birthday Girl

2008-10-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

To add to Allie's birthday tribute from a couple of weeks ago, here she is celebrating her 8th birthday with her family last weekend. Friday night she had several friends over for a spend-the-night party. They had a night of Old Mexico, bowling, Dairy Queen, and a hayride where they "jammed out" to her music. Allie got her first Paula Deen cookbook from Gram. We're expecting something yummy, Allie!

A Day in the Country

2008-10-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday afternoon, Kelley invited Ty and me to go with her and the girls along with her neighbors, the Piggott's, to Cheryl Betts' house. Cheryl lives out in the country and had invited us to come see her horses, donkeys, and chickens. The kids all got a turn riding Gunner. They had a ball playing on the hay bales and tire swing, along with riding the horse. Thanks Cheryl and Mrs. Betts for entertaining our children for an afternoon! They loved it!

Will, Emma & Ty feeding Gunner

Aunt Kelley and Ty feeding the horse

"Watch out Kelley & Micah - She may be adding a horse to her Christmas wish list!"

Playing on hay bales: Ty loves Will Piggott! Will is one of the sweetest and most polite little boys I know. Will always plays & helps out with Ty when he is around.

Cheryl telling us about Gunner

Amy and Emma checking out the chickens

Going for a ride

Ty wasn't scared one bit to get on that horse!

I can't believe I let my child get on that huge horse!

Poor old Donkey wearing an Auburn costume!

Ty, Emma, Amy
Will, Sarah, & Allie

Happy Birthday Allie!

2008-10-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago a sweet little baby girl entered the world...Allie Michelle Garner. I can't believe she is already 8 years old. It seems like only yesterday she was closing those little eyes to let me put eye shadow on them. She loved make-up from the get-go. Those baby days are gone and she is growing up right before our eyes.

Allie, hope your day at school was the best yet! Happy Birthday from Benny Boy, Aunt Mendy, Ty & Andrew! We love you, Allie Bug!

Witches Brew

2008-10-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

I remember singing this song, "Witches Brew," when I went to East Three Notch. Ty has been coming home from Little Friends singing this song and loves it. They sing another song called "Spooky Walk." It's like a version of "Going on a Bear Hunt." He loves it and I can't find it. I can find the lyrics, but not the actual music to download. I found a link to download it from but didn't have any luck. It's savefile.com/projects/1032300. If anyone tries it and has any luck, please let me know how you did it. I would love to have it.

Camping Trip continued.....

2008-10-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well, the camping trip was a success! After going to the PHS Fall Festival, we came home to get the campout under-way. I was able to get Mr. Andrew to bed and I joined them for just a little while. Ben got the fire going and we cooked our hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire. Ty was in and out of the tent the whole time I was out there. He just could not contain himself with so much excitement! He did however, sit still long enough to eat his hotdog and chips. And yes, he was able to use his blue camping cups for his Dr. Pepper! After we ate, I left the camping to the boys. They stayed all night without having to come inside one time! I asked Ty the next morning when he would be going camping again and he said, "Next week." Not so sure about that. Ben said the whole time they were out there, Ty kept saying, "I'm enjoying our campout, Daddy." Those sweet little words made it all worthwhile!

By the way, we bought a box of Funky Flames in Wal-Mart. If you've never tried these out, they're little packages that you throw on your fire and they make your flames turn bright colors. I suggest that you by-pass the Funky Flames. I don't know what we paid for them, but they certainly weren't worth it. We saw just a little bit of color at the very base of our fire. I don't think Ty even realized a difference in the fire. So, next time there won't be any Funky Flames for our campout.

The tired little camper

After the boys came in from camping, we got ready to go recliner shopping. The last several nights, Andrew and Ben have ended up either propped up in the bed or on the couch, so we decided it was time for a recliner. After finding one that we could both agree on, Ben and Ty headed for Ty's first dove shoot, while I headed to Ft. Walton to do a little shopping for the boys. My mother went with me to help out with Andrew. I think I should've left him with the boys for the dove shoot. I don't think he appreciated his mommy and his Gram taking him shopping. This ended up being Andrew's first and last shopping trip (at least for awhile, anyway). Everytime we went into a store, he would start screaming and I would have to stop and feed him or hold him. I think he was just making sure he got his point across that he did not like shopping. When we left the mall, we went through a Wendy's drive-thru to eat something on the road. He started it up again and I had to pull into another parking lot to get him calmed down. The whole time I'm just watching the clock on my dash and wondering what time we're ever going to get back home. After about 20 minutes sitting in the parking lot, he finally went to sleep. I guess he had just worn himself completely out because he slept the whole way home! In spite of all the unforseen pitstops, I did get lots accomplished for both boys...even if it was 10:30 before we finally made it home.

Ty, on the other hand, had a great time dove hunting. He took his little toy gun with him and even picked up some of the dead birds. He likes doing "big boy" stuff with his Daddy. Ben said he would say, "Daddy, I havin' fun!" I guess I might as well just get used to all the things that boys like to do, because it's all just beginning.

Having a little campout....

2008-10-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Growing up, my family spent many weekends camping on the Conecuh River. No, we didn't have the luxury of a cabin out in the woods or even a camper. We roughed the wilderness in an 8-man family tent. We loved it!! I can still remember getting up in the mornings to the smell of breakfast cooking on our little Coleman stove. By the way, those were some of the best breakfasts I have ever had. I have so many wonderful memories of our days spent at the river.

So, saying all that, we've wanted to take Ty camping for awhile now, but being pregnant and having a baby just doesn't make for the best of camping conditions. So, we said, 'why not the backyard?' Ty was thrilled to hear of our plans to set up camp in the backyard. I don't think he could be any happier if we were setting up camp in the Smoky Mountains. Ben and Ty were in Wal-Mart earlier this week checking out all the camping gear and trying to figure out everything they would need for their campout. Ben informed us that we would go back to the store on Thursday night and buy whatever we needed then. I guess they were just scoping everything out on the first trip. So, today I began to question Ty on what he thought he would need for his campout. This is what he said:

Here is Ty's shopping list:

1. a green bowl to cook the weiners in

2. a tent

3. orange weiners - he later said "No, we need red weiners, very red weiners, like your shirt." (I had on a red PHS t-shirt)

4. Dr. Pepper & Pepsi

5. a sleeping bag, but I have that already

6. silly song CD to listen to (gotta have music, right?)em>

So we have our shopping list and we go to Wal-Mart. He finds everything he needs, along with a few extra items:) white powdered doughnuts and chips. We had to hurry and get out of that store before he found anything else to add to his collection. Now that everything is ready, we'll see how long the campers can handle being "out of the house."

As for Andrew and me, well, let's just say we'll be waiting in the house for the campers to return. It won't be long and we'll get to join them. I'll let you know how the "trip" turns out.

So much to choose from - how will we ever decide?

He thought he needed a coffee pot.

He reluctantly puts the coffee pot back on the shelf.

We had to go with blue bowls and cups since Wal-Mart doesn't carry green. The Ty-Man is loving his camping dishes! I wonder how many times these will actually get used??

What's for supper?

2008-10-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

My mother went to the garden and gathered these turnips and brought them to me. So, all I had to do was wash and cook them. Just one more reason why I like this time of year! More fresh veggies!

**Next on the to-do list
With the new season comes new recipes. I have been wanting to make a pumpkin roll and just have never done it. Once, I worked with someone that called this her "specialty." Maybe the husband and children will love these and will call them my "specialty" one day. We shall see!
Libby's(R) Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling - Allrecipes

Ty thought he needed his picture taken while getting ready for school this morning. So here he is.

Amy loves to hold Andrew.

Happenings over the past week.......

2008-10-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was Andrew's first Sunday at Carolina. He did so good. We took him to our Sunday school class and then went to preaching. He just grunted a few times. When we got in the car to leave & Ben said he did so well, he didn't have to get a spanking. Yay! No spankings for Andrew just yet!

Getting ready to go!

Proud big brother!

Waiting for the BUS!
This was taken one day last week while Ty was watching for the bus. He can't wait to be able to ride the bus one day. We spend our mornings and afternoons watching for the bus. Yippeeeee!! What fun! I know he has his pj's on, but this was actually in the afternoon. Sometimes when he gets home from school, he strips down and puts his pj's back on. Go figure! This particular day, I noticed the house got really quiet. I peeked in the dining room where he was waiting, and found him curled up in the chair (with Molly). I guess he had had a really eventful day at school and could just not hold out any longer.

Last Sunday we attended a special retirement reception at PHS honoring a very special person to both Ben and me. Mr.Jim Garner was recognized for his many years of service as principal. Ben and I were very fortunate to be students under his leadership at PHS. After 5 years of being employed by Covington County Schools as an aide, Mr. Garner hired me as a 4th grade teacher. I was very fortunate to be able to work for such a man of high christian standards. We have also been under his teaching at church for about 6 years. He has touched many lives through his education experiences. PHS will never quite be the same without his presence.

Sweet Brothers - Ty loves his brother and he loves to hold and kiss him.

Saturday afternoon fun
My neighbor, Sharon,was pulling her daughter Ashley, along with Allie, Amy, cousin Emory, and Ty behind the golf cart in a plastic pool! Now, how much fun is that! Same idea as skiing or intertubing except on dry land. I don't think Ty's ever had so much fun with a pile of girls before.

Sweet Baby Andrew - 1 month old

Too Good Not to Share!

2008-10-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

So many people have been so good to us over the last month to fix and bring meals to us. I love to try new things and I thought I would share some with you. It seems that I'm always cooking the same things, so it's nice to have something different every once in a while.

Apple Pie

3-4 Gala or Braeburn Apples, sliced & peeled
1 can Musselman's Apple pie filling (at Dollar General)
1 pie crust (Wal-Mart brand is best) there is 2 in a pkg.

Put apples in pie plate (in crust of course)
Put pie filling over top of apple slices

Mix:
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon (the better the cinnamon the better the flavor)
Spoon over apples
Splash 4 tsp of lemon juice over top
Put 2nd pie crust on top

On top:
1 Tbsp. milk (spread over top with fingers)
Sprinkle with a little bit of a cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 40-50 minutes.
This apple pie was still warm when we cut into it. It was absolutely divine!

Chicken Enchiladas

3-5 chicken breasts (about 3 1/2 cups or so)
2 cans cream of chicken
1 pint sour cream
4 cups shredded cheese (Fiesta blend)
1 can green chilies (4 oz.)
1 can black olives, sliced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 pkgs. flour tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce

Mix the 1st 7 things and put in tortilla (down the center) and roll. Put in 9x13 pan. Spread enchilada sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil & bake at 350 for 45 min. Uncover for last 5 min. It makes alot! Freeze some if you want to. You can spread it past the 20 tortillas too.

These delicious dishes were prepared for us by Ashley Jones. Thanks Ashley!

**Shonna, I would love to know the sauce you used on your pork chops if you get a chance to post that or you can email me. We loved it! Also, what kind of brown rice did you use?

Just Finished

2008-10-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

Over the past several months, I have been reading a series of Christian fiction by Karen Kingsbury. She was a speaker at the Ladies' Conference in Pensacola in April and will be back again this year. I don't think I have ever gotten into fiction so much as I have now. I have just finished the Redemption series. She makes it so relative to our everyday lives. If you like to read, and haven't checked out any of her books, I highly recommend them. If you read one, I think you'll be hooked. Check out her website www.karenkingsbury.com to see all of her books.

One Happy Mommy!

2008-09-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yay!! Ben is finally home from Camp Shelby and I survived the two weeks without him (barely). I am so thankful for my husband and what he does to help make our household run. He actually does load the washer/dryer, dishwasher, sees that our 3 year old is ready for preschool, gets him to preschool, diapers the baby at wee hours in the morning, and even makes coffee and fixes mine just how I like it. I could keep going, but I'm sure all of you have super husbands that do the same things. So, I really missed him is quite an understatement!
Ben was home with us for the day on Friday and we loved it. After a lazy morning lounging around the house, we decided to get out and go find some pumpkins and fall flowers for our front porch. When we got to Blue Goose and picked out our pumpkins, they were just the regular orange pumpkins that you find. Ty got all upset and was saying, "No, this is not the right kind of pumpkin. I'm talking about a pumpkin with a smile like that." He was pointing to a fall banner that was hanging up that had a fall message and cute little jack o'lanterns all over it. After finally convincing him that we could do that with our pumpkins, we purchased our pumpkins and flowers and headed home. Ty couldn't leave the pumpkins alone. I'm not sure how long they will last. I'm afraid he may find a stick or some other thing to carve his own "smile" in his pumpkin. So....we'll enjoy them for as long as they last!!

Halloween Costume #2

2008-09-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

We thought we had Ty's Halloween costume all planned out. Mrs. Tracy (our wonderful nurse at the hospital) had him all set with a complete doctor's suit (mask, gloves, cap, and dr. shirt). The child couldn't keep it off during our hospital stay, or once we got home for that matter. But.... Ben returned home from Camp Shelby (from his 2-week school) with a little something extra. Ditch the doctor scrubs, we will now be sporting this:

Meet our newest Army man. (just got to find the boots now. Notice the stance-hands and feet are perfect, just a little scary to a mama.)

Of course, we had to do a serious shot.

I'm just not sure I'm liking what this has led to. Now, Ty is saying he wants to be an army man like Daddy when he grows up.

Due Date

2008-09-17T23:07:00.001-07:00

Today is September 18th, Andrew's due date. I can not even imagine still being pregnant as huge as I was 2 weeks ago. Thank the Lord He saw fit for Andrew to come on into this world and save me of 2 weeks of extra misery! Fortunately, I was able to work up until going into the hospital. But my ankles (in my case, cankles) were horrendous everyday by about 8:15 in the morning. I even took a pillow to put in a chair to prop my feet up. Try teaching 4th graders with your feet propped up in a chair. Doesn't work too well. Just too much getting up and down. Every afternoon after I got home from school, I would plop down on the couch with my feet propped up on about 5 pillows and a 3 year old trying to wedge his body around me, or as close to me as he could possibly get. Usually around 7 or 8 at night, my ankles would eventually go back down to almost normal size. Not to mention all the times getting up and down going to the bathroom. Just think, all of that uncomfortableness (I think I just made up a new word) for this....

And I would gladly do it all over again.

This is what I found when I laid Andrew down for his nap.

Mr. Ty constantly reminds me that he is still my baby!!

Trip to Wal-Mart

2008-09-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

Ty Clark is definitely something else. After I picked him up from preschool, we ventured out to Wal-Mart, which was Andrew's first Wal-Mart trip. I was dreading it at first (going by myself with a 3 year old and a 2 week old) but it went surprisingly well! They both did super! Ty loves all the Bath Bubble products, especially Thomas, Hulk and Mickey Mouse. Well, once we looked at every type of bubble bath on the shelf, we proceeded down the aisle. Next on the shelf was all the lotions and body sprays. I only glimpsed for a second and I saw Ty get this really ugly face. I heard him say, "I don't like all the mommy stuff." I wasn't sure what he was meaning until I looked at him and he said it again while he pointed at the make-up. I assured him we weren't looking at make-up today, so that was good with him. He put his happy face back on.
After making our rounds, we stopped by the toy dept. to look at some Thomas railroad track pieces. After looking and trying to decide for nearly 15 minutes, Ty finally made up his mind on which piece to get. He puts a package of 3 tanks in the cart and we move on. As we are leaving the toys, Ty sadly turns around to look at the toys one last time and waves at them saying, "Bye Bye toys." It was as if he were about to be separated from his toys or his family for life. His little voice was just so pitiful.
We finally get out of the store and head home. As we are going home, I asked Ty what he wanted to be when he grows up. In my mind I'm thinking he's going to name some type of profession and he simply says, "A man." That wasn't what I was expecting but that was a good answer. Then he went on to say, "I want to be a big man just like my daddy one day."
After we get home, I start unloading the bags and to my surprise, along with the 3 Thomas tanks, there was another package with Emily train and a tank! I couldn't believe that little stinker snuck it into the cart without me knowing it.
Later in the afternoon, Ty and I started cleaning out our carport. I was getting ready to blow it off with the blower. As I was getting Ty to help me get things put up, he asked me what I was going to use to blow off the carport. When I told him the blower, he said, "Girls can't use blowers, just Daddy's." I thought this was pretty cute. I guess he's just never seen me using the blower before. I'll gladly turn the "Daddy duties" back over to Ben next week when he gets home. We sure miss Daddy alot!
Just some cute pics of Ty-

Growing Baby!

2008-09-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Check out these cheeks! I just love them!

Andrew had his two-week check-up today, and boy do I have a growing little fella on my hands. Last week he was back up to his birthweight at 7 lbs. 12 oz. This week he was already at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 22 inches long! I couldn't believe he had gained a whole pound in a week. It shouldn't really surprise me that much, because I really feel like all I do is feed this little baby.
Here is a picture of Andrew and Allie this weekend. This little outfit that Andrew has on is the cute little outfit Allie bought with her own money. She was shopping with her Gram and me in Dothan several weeks before Andrew was born, and she had several items to buy with her own money. When she found the little onesie, she asked Gram if she had enough money to buy it and Gram told her she was just a little short. So sweet little Allie put one of her items back just so she could buy this little outfit for Andrew. That was so sweet and generous of you Allie! Andrew loves his little onesie!

Couldn't leave Miss Amy out. She is a little natural at holding Andrew. She's had so much practice with all her baby dolls. She looked like a mini-Mama holding him and patting his little bottom with her legs crossed like a little lady. We got a kick out of watching her!

Little Shadow

2008-09-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Since Andrew's arrival, Ty can't get enough of his Daddy. He's constantly asking when his Daddy will get home from work. From the moment Ben walks in the door, Ty is right beside him. They have to do everything together. I would love to know what's going through that little mind of his. I think Ty must think Andrew is going to take his Daddy away from him. Over the last few weeks, Ty has started saying, "When I grow up, I wanna be just like my Daddy." It's so sweet. He loves his Daddy so much and he sure is missing him right now. Ben left Friday morning for Camp Shelby, Mississippi for a two-week school. I think I've got my work cut out for me with a 3 year old and a 10-day old. The older Ty gets, the harder it is for him when Ben is gone. We've been marking the days off of our calendar, but he still asks everyday, "Does Daddy come home this day?" He just doesn't quite understand the concept of two weeks yet. It seems lately that Ben has had to be gone quite a bit. But we can handle two weeks...we just don't want it to be more than that!!

Silly Boys!

Last week we thought it would be fun for Ty to roast some marshmallows. He loves to eat marshmallows out of the bag, so we decided we would burn our brush pile behind the house and let him have a marshmallow roast. He roasted one with a little help, and decided that he had had enough. I think it probably took a little longer than what he expected.

Aunt Kelley helping Ty

Ty had rather just eat them out of the bag.

A Good Report

2008-09-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

We went for Andrew's one week check-up yesterday and got good news. He's already back to his birthweight, which was 7 lbs. 12 oz. Dr. Gabe said this was great and that he was ahead of the game. She said they don't expect babies to be back at their birthweight until their two-week check-up. So this was good news to me! Also, she said his bilirubin level was still elevated, but she didn't think it would be over 9 or 10. We did not have to go back to the hospital to get stuck, so that was very good. I'm hoping and praying that next week when we go for his 2-week check-up, his color will be back to normal. Thanks for the prayers! Slide show is pictures of Andrew at home and just some fun things the kids got to do this past, very hot weekend.

More Andrew

2008-09-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

More photos of Andrew's arrival and friends and family that were there to welcome him into the world.

Andrew's First Outing!

2008-09-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

Andrew resting with Uncle Micah.

After coming home from the hospital on Tuesday, we've made three trips back there over the last 3 days. On Wednesday I noticed Andrew becoming a little orangey. We called Dr. Gabe and she had us go to the hospital to have Andrew's heel stuck. We got the results later that afternoon, and unfortunately his jaundice level was at 13, up 7.5 from when we left the hospital on Tuesday. So we went back on Thursday (twice) because the first test didn't do right. Our little fellow had to get stuck twice in one day. We got those results back and it was even higher at 14.7. Dr. Gabe told us they would not put him under the light unless it was around 16 or 17. We were all too familiar with this since Ty had to be admitted back in the hospital for 3 days after we had come home with him. We certainly didn't want to go through that again. We went back Friday and our numbers were just a little lower at 14.1. So that was a relief that it had not jumped up. We're just hoping and praying that when we go to the Dr. on Monday, it will be lots lower.

Andrew weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. when we left the hospital, so he lost 10 oz from his birthweight -7 lb. 12 oz. That was another thing that concerned us, but he had gained 6 oz. when we were in the Dr. office on Thursday. This little boy likes to eat! He's doing so good with his nursing and Dr. Gabe said he should be back at his birthweight in no time.

So....after all the trips to the hospital, we decided to get out today and go somewhere. Ben has drill this weekend, so we didn't want to stay by ourself all day. So, we headed to Aunt Kelley's house. We stayed there for most of the day before heading home. I have some great help from those two little girls. They are going to be so much help for me!!!

Ty and Amy got to go for a tractor ride.

Waiting for Andrew Photos

2008-09-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share more pictures from the hospital while we were waiting on Andrew. The junior M.D. is Andalusia Regional's latest staff addition. I have to say, Dr. Clark was my favorite doctor!! Thanks to our sweet nurse, Tracy, she had him decked out. Ty was loving the extra attention! I think we have our Halloween costume for this year!

Andrew's Finally Here!

2008-09-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15 Andrew Thomas Clark arrived Sunday morning, August 31, 2008 at 2:30. He weighed 7 lbs. and 12 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. What a precious miracle from God. We are so thankful to have this little guy here with us. Big Brother Ty can't get enough of Andrew. So far, Ty has been so sweet and loving to his little brother! We brought Andrew home from the hospital yesterday and everyone is doing great!

Hurry Up and Wait!

2008-08-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we went to the hospital today to run a test that checks my cervix and to see if I was having any contractions. After about an hour of the test, it showed that I was having contractions about every 5 minutes. My doctor decided we would take the stitch out today instead of Friday. I was relieved to finally have that done. He thought we had timed it perfectly because my cervix looks ready. I was still having some contractions after the stitch was removed, but was not progressing as far as dilating. Anyway, we left the hospital around lunchtime and ran some errands. I was able to get down to school by 3:00 for my diaper shower that the teachers gave me. We got soooooooo many diapers, wipes, lotions, and lots of pampering Mom gifts, too. It was so nice! The PHS teachers are a wonderful group of people to work with! We came home, unloaded the car, and I started walking. I walked up and down my road hoping something would happen. I'm about to go and soak in my tub and actually pamper myself before Andrew gets here. One of my friends said soaking helped her go into labor, so we're going to try it. Just wanted to update everybody on what was going on. We'll keep you posted if anything happens!

Ty and Andrew's Room Makeovers

2008-08-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

I know I promised to get pictures of the nursery and Ty's room on here when we finished. Well, they've been finished for quite a while, but I just haven't had the chance to get it done. So here they are. Hope you enjoy it Ashley!

Closet is stocked with lots of diapers and wipes. I wonder how long these will last?

Canvas paintings my mother found at Our New Baby in Dothan.

You can't really tell what the bedding looks like, but I had Tina make it out of gingham and stripes that match the gingham window treatments .

So everything's ready. We're just waiting on Andrew! Maybe it won't be long.

Ashley, I used the green in Ty's room. I think it looks a little darker because Ty doesn't have as many windows as Sawyer had in Andalusia. I was still pleased with the way it turned out. And, Ty loves his new big boy room.

There's a funny story behind the window treatments. Ty had little navy valances in his room before we painted. I was just going to reuse them to save some money. Well, I had new window treatments made for the nursery and also for our bedroom. When the lady came to hang them for me, Ty could not understand why they were not for his room. I tried to explain to him that he didn't want baby curtains, because he was a big boy. He didn't like the idea that Andrew got new curtains and he didn't. He went to his room and laid across his bed and cried, saying, "I didn't get new curtains for my room." Why a 3 year old was so concerned about having new curtains was beyond me. I think that is just the beginning of what I'll be dealing with from here on out with one getting something and the other not. Needless to say, when Ben got home from work, that was the first thing Ty told him. That he didn't get curtains in his room. Ben looks at me and says, "Go pick out some fabric for Ty tomorrow and call Tina." I coudn't help but smile at him. I told him this was just the beginning of it. Tina is the lady that makes my curtains. She's great if you ever need any made!! So, I just smiled and said "O.k." The next day Ty had fabric and in less than a week, he had his new curtains up and was so excited. I've never seen a little boy as excited about window treatments as he was that day. Everybody that comes to our house has to see the new curtains. He loves showing them off. He also likes to show off his brother's room too.

This armoire belonged to my Granny. I was so glad to be able to use it in Ty's room.

This is a canvas painting with a verse that I'm understanding more and more everyday with a little boy.

Mancil Family Shrimp Boil!

2008-08-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Since my Granny passed away in Feb. of 07, the Mancil family has not had the opportunity to be together again. It was way passed due, so my cousin Mike in Birmingham, Kelley, and I started talking in June about trying to get together to do something. We decided on a shrimp boil at our house so all the kids could swim. Two weeks ago we had most of the Mancil clan here and we all had a ball. There were a few that couldn't be with us, but we're definitely going to get together at Christmas so maybe everyone will be able to be here. We played all afternoon in the pool, and our new-found sport Ladderball, which is also known as Hillbilly Golf to many folks, and ate. Mike and Chris brought some raw oysters and most of the fellows enjoyed those. I think Vanessa and Jayme were the only brave females that took part. Ben got an oyster shucking lesson from Mike. My daddy and Uncle Jerry matched up in a game of Ladderball...we were a little worried things might get out of hand, but fortunately, they were on their best behavior. After we ate, we watched some old home videos of past Christmases held at my Granny's house. It was so funny to see all the old hairstyles(Mike's mullet in every video), and clothes that we wore back then. It brought back some good memories to see faces that have been gone from our family for the past several years. I know my Granny would've been proud that we could look back and enjoy some of those special times we had with her.

Chris and Jayme's two boys are Christopher and Alexander. Jeff and Tonya have the two girls: Taylor and Brooke. Ken and Amy's two boys are Trenton and Kale. And, of course everyone knows mine and Kelley's kids.

Ken wasn't able to come in from Oklahoma, Uncle Jim's family in B'ham wasn't able to make it, along with Aunt Kathy, Nikki, and Shawn from Eufaula. So, we were missing four in the cousins picture: Ken, Nikki, Shawn,& Luke.

Hopefully, we'll have everyone for our next get-together. We're looking forward to it!

Playing Catch Up

2008-08-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

**Sara Beth, Allie, and Kelley this one's for you.

Since my computer was hit by lightning after the July 4th holiday, I have not blogged very much at all. My computer is still down, but at least I can use Ben's laptop. Please bear with me as I do some catching up. I had promised these girls I would get our 4th of July cook-out on. We had a good time playing in the pool, and snacking all day. After we ate, we all went to the Social Security Office to watch the fireworks, and then back to Kelley and Micah's for a game of Compatability for the old folks.
For those of you who don't know:
Katie and Aubrey are two precious little girls that belong to our friends Sunny and Kevin Chandler. They were home visiting Nana and Daddy Jim.

A Day at the Park

2008-08-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

The last day of summer vacation Ben came home early from work to take Ty golfing. Ty likes to come up with "a good idea" every now and then. He loves to play golf with his daddy. He always says, "that would be a good idea, wouldn't it?" about whatever he's thinking about at the moment. So, the boys played golf and gave me some time to do some things I wanted to do and then I met them at the Dream Park. Ty could live at the park and never get tired of it. It was a great way to spend that last day of summer vacation!

I love this little smile.

He thought he was a big boy doing the monkey bars.

These were some little kids that followed us all over the park. Ty had a blast with them.

Sweet looks

Ty mastered the metal pole on this trip!

First day of Little Friends!

2008-08-23T15:16:00.001-07:00

My baby has officially turned into a big boy! He started Little Friends Preschool this past Monday and loved it! The first day of school they were to bring their favorite stuffed animal. Ty was able to take Molly to school so he wouldn't be scared or nervous. Those of you who aren't familiar with Molly, well, she's been around since before Ty was born. She's a little brown bear that plays music when you pull the tail. She has been with Ty from the beginning. He sleeps with her, plays with her, and takes her just about wherever he goes. So, you can probably imagine the smell of this prize teddy bear. We've tried washing and cleaning her up, but there's just no hope. But....Ty loves her and that's what matters.

Anyway, Ben gets to take Ty to Little Friends and drop him off every morning and then he picks him up at 11:30. I can't wait to be home with Andrew so I can go pick him up. Ben said he got out of the truck the first day and walked up to the house with the worker like such a big boy. I'm sure that would've been very hard for me to watch without crying. It's probably a good thing I don't get to drop him off.

He made me a sweet little card the first day of his handprint with a verse about getting bigger. You can imagine what I looked like after I finished reading it.

Sorry it's been so long since our last blog. Maybe I'll do better.

Almost there!

Diapers, Wipes, Bibs, and More Wipes!!

2008-07-31T21:56:00.000-07:00

Several girls from church gave Ashley Williams and me a Diapers and Wipes Shower tonight....Yeah! It was sooooooo nice! We both got so many nice things!! I can't wait to see all of those packs of diapers and boxes of wipes in Andrew's closet. We are truly blessed to have such sweet friends that would take the time to do this for us. Thank you girls so much! And yes, Ashley is pregnanat for those of you that can't tell!! You could hardly find her tummy in that cute little outfit she was wearing!
Lyndsay Elliott, me, Ashley, Shonna Reeves, and Kristen Wiggins. Thanks girls for a wonderful shower. Also, Beth Colvin helped with the shower, but was not able to be there.

My sweet nieces, Allie & Amy

Sara Beth Kelley, Heather Fleming, DeAnne Dubose, and Suzanne Cotton

Kristen Wiggins, Lyndsay Elliott & Sandra Kelley

Sweet little outfits for Andrew and Eli from Shonna Reeves!

Allie bought Andrew an outfit with her own money! That was so sweet of you, Allie. I know he will look so cute in it.

Joy Sowards, Adrian Cox, and my mother

Thanks to everyone. I can't wait for Andrew to finally be here! He's already got so many nice things waiting for him!!!

Meet Andrew Thomas Clark!

2008-07-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, we finally have a name!! After tossing several names back and forth for so long, we finally have agreed on Andrew Thomas. We both liked Andrew and Thomas is after my Daddy. It's really the craziest thing. Ben is in Arkansas for two weeks and when he called home earlier tonight, we made it official. Don't know why it took being so far away from each other, but anyway, we do have a name.

The 4-D was done last week and we actually waited a little too late to get some really good shots. I just thought this was so sweet with him laying on his hands. He's already a little stinker. It was just like he knew we were trying to get a picture of him and he just would not cooperate. He kept his hands hiding his face almost the whole time. Anyway, we're getting closer and closer with each new day. We're ready for this little fella' to get here. All the baby clothes have been washed and we've got the room just about ready. We can hardly wait to meet our new baby!!

Back in Business

2008-07-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks of being out of the blog world, we're now up and running. So much has happened over the past several weeks, so I'll try to get busy and catch up. Glad to finally get caught up with everybody.

Yummy Blueberry Muffins

2008-06-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last week one morning, Ty woke up with blueberry muffins on his mind. We had a good time together baking in the kitchen. I am so thankful I have the summers home with Ty. While we were busy baking, he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I glad you don't have to go to school." It melted my heart. I thought to myself, if he only knew.... it is so nice not to have to get up and get us going so early. I love our leisure mornings at home.

Alligator Trot '08

2008-06-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning Ben ran in the Alligator Trot in Florala. It'a 5K race around Lake Jackson. Ty had a good time playing with his little friend Clay. They didn't have any toys to play with, but it didn't take very long for them to improvise. I think I could send all of our toys away to a needy family and replace them with sticks and boxes. Ty would be just as happy, I do believe.

Before the race

We had just a few minutes to play on the playground before we had to be at the finish line.

Ty and Clay found a way to pass the time in these boxes.

All Aboard!! Clay is in the back trying to push Ty in the train.

Please Save Me!

2008-06-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

With a new addition approaching sooner everyday, I decided it was time for a litte organizing. I started cleaning out the baby's closet yesterday. And man...how can two people accumulate the most stuff? Time to start giving away, throwing away, and boxing up for the attic or else poor baby wouldn't even have a place to call his own. Not only am I trying to clean out baby's room, but every other closet in the house!! And I think I'm just about crazy at this point. When Ben comes home in the afternoons, I guess he just kind of feels sorry for me and he says, "OK....what can I do to help you." My sweet husband....I'm just glad he doesn't mind the house out of order. We literally have stuff pulled out of every room in the house. Trying to find the perfect spot for everything. I'm sure you all know about that. I'm tired of finding little piles here and little piles there. Enough! It's got to have a designated place! So.....hence the organization mission! Can't rest till mission is accomplished! I did catch Ty watching TV in his new tub for ALL of his outside bats and balls! I love it when he doesn't know I'm watching!!

I had the girls one afternoon this week for Kelley and they all had a ball on the Rhino. I think Ty is a little too brave sometimes. I guess he's just "all boy!"

2008-06-05T17:22:00.001-07:00

Six Years and Counting!

2008-06-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Ben and I celebrated our 6th anniversary last weekend at the beach with our rambunctious 3-year old. It may not have been the most romantic way to spend an anniversary, but we wouldn't have had it any other way. I couldn't have imagined going off and having a ball without Ty! We went to Outback for dinner, followed by The Track. Ty couldn't wait to get on the go-carts. We were really hoping he would be tall enough this year to ride, since last year he had to watch everyone. We measured him and he was right at the 3 ft. marker. Whew!! I don't know what we would've done if we would have had to tell him he wasn't tall enough. So....without further ado..........we headed for the go-carts. It was hilarious! Ty and Ben flew around the curves with grins from ear to ear. I'm still trying to figure out who had the most fun...Ben or Ty! Saturday we spent the day in the pool and then at the beach. We ended our weekend at Destin Commons for a milkshake at Johnny Rocket's. When Ty saw the water fountains, his mind was made up....we had to make a trip back to the car for the swimsuit. He had a blast running around trying to stomp the water out. He really looked like he was trying to fight the water. Oh, and next time you're at Johnny Rocket's, make sure you take time to make milkshake mustaches! That's the goofy pictures of Ben in the slideshow. There's one of him that looks like he's an old man. I told him that's what he would look like when he gets 60 or 70. And we were trying to be as discreet as we possibly could be without making a scene. I think several people near us still got a good laugh out of the whole deal. It was a great way to end an awesome weekend! Anyway, hope you enjoy the slideshow!

Happy Birthday Ty!

2008-05-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ty's 3rd birthday last Saturday, May 17th with lots of friends and family. Ty has been talking about this birthday for quite some time now. Everyday, we would have to look at the calendar and count the days to "his big day." He wanted to know if all his friends would be able to come. He had a great time!! Here are some pics of "The Big 3!"

Ty is ready to go camping with his camoflauge sleeping bag Gram and Grandaddy gave him!

This was a little rubber frog that friends Conner and Brady gave him. He loves it!

Ty's very own helmet! Now, maybe we can go to Wal-Mart without having to try on every helmet in the store. Aunt Kelley, Uncle Micah, Allie, and Amy gave Ty the helmet, bats and balls. We're ready to play!!

The big surprise - Ty's first bicycle!!

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate this special day!!

The Big News!

2008-04-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well, as most of you know, we had our ultrasound today to find out what our baby is. This was all new to us since we did not find out with Ty. I was so nervous. Yes, I've had many ultrasounds before, but this was just different. I was beginning to think I would just let it be a surprise again. But, once we got in there and she checked all the measurements and she let us look at the screen to see if we could tell, I wouldn't have had it any other way but to know. Of course, we had no idea what we were looking at. When I asked her if she knew, she said "Oh yeah, 110% sure." She showed us the screen again, and there it was.....another little boy!!!! Can ya'll believe this? Could it possibly be another Ty?? Well, I love my little Ty-Man, so I know this one will be loved just as much. Ty was actually better at the news than I thought. He had his heart set on a baby sister, so I had been trying to prepare him that it may not be a girl. When we told him, he was quiet at first, but then later began to act more excited. Sometimes when we were telling our family he would forget that it was a boy and say sister, but I think he's going to be fine with it. They're going to be so close and hopefully, the best of friends. Well, now all we need to do is come up with a boy name besides Rocky. Thanks Aunt Kelley for the great name. Now Ty thinks our baby is going to be called Rocky. We've got to change that real quick like. Well, friends, just continue to keep us in your prayers for a healthy baby boy. Hope I didn't bore you all too much with the little details. I was just trying to make the news even more anticipating!!