Goodbye 2009! Hello 2010!

I have had a wonderfully blessed 2009.  I am truly thankful for all the gifts God has given us this past year.  Blake and I were not affected by the economy other than everything is more expensive.  However, we have a house over our head and we have food on our table.  We are able to provide for our children.  We were able to go see Phish 3 times this past year.  It was a first for both of us.  We spent time in Indiana with cousins, saw my sister get married, watched my best friend get married, skied for the first time as a family, and went to the beach with my brother.  I graduated from college!  Blake is trucking right on with his schooling.  WOW!  That is a lot of praises to be sooo thankful for. 

Steven earned a couple merit badges this past year.  He was baptised this year!  He played with the school football team.  He has grown and started really looking like a teenager just since August.  His voice is changing and he weighs 128 pounds.  He is just a hair taller than me.  He received two electric guitars this past Christmas and is starting to really get into music more.  He is still in concert and stage band and will travel to New Orleans with the stage band in April.  He has had a much better year this year schoolwise and is slowly(and I mean slowly) starting to get organized. 

Bryce is a chatterbox.  He is so bright and knows how to do just about anything.  He is so curious and likes to get into anything.  His favorite saying this week is "That silly Bryce."  It is so funny.  He is 3 feet tall and weighs 28 lbs.  He knows all of his colors and likes to sing, dress up, and dance.  He is watching Scooby Doo, Cailou, and Max & Ruby.  He loves trains, tools, playdo, dinosaurs, and pirates.  He has to stay busy and with the yucky weather lately it is either too cold or wet to go outside. 

Well, I have caught up on our life in 2009.  We can't wait to see what the future holds in 2010.  I feel like it can only get better. 

Temporary Break

We are still enjoying the holidays. I will try to post some but getting the laptop out with a toddler usually is not in my best interest. We are loving being at home and relaxing with each other. I will catch us up soon. I wish all of you out there a Happy New Year!

You Hate Christmas????

I saw this morning on facebook someone who updated that this person hates Christmas!  Well, I am sure that some can have horrible memories of this day and the material reasons for the season BUT it is the day that Jesus was born.  That is more than enough to be thankful for and to be a little more jolly!  It is a time of year when everybody is just a little nicer to everyone.  The traffic may be more congested but if you keep the real reason in your heart Christmas should never be hated.  I do believe that some are more materialistic than others so maybe that is the reason.  Plus, you are what you are.  It is a choice to not like something.  I guess for me Christmas is just such a great time of year.  I love the music and listen to it constantly without boredom!  While I do miss those who are no longer with us, I still love this time of year.  I love the story of Jesus's birth and think it has to be the top story in the Bible!  This year I LOVE the magic of Christmas.  Bryce is old enough to know what is going on and he is super excited for Christmas morning but he also knows what the day really is too!  My wish to all of you is that you ALL have a Merry Christmas. 

Some Bryce-isms

Bryce is a character, as some of you know.  He keeps me laughing and amazed most of the day.  Yesterday, I asked him to come back to the couch so I could read a book to him.  Instead of an okay, I get, "Hold on Mommy, I busy!"  To say he is verbal is an understatement!  here are some of my favorites:

After receiving anything he says, Thank you!  And it is so sweet and heartfelt.

When he is doing just about anything and it is to his liking he will stand back and say, "oooooo perfect"

Last night was a great night.  When Blake walked in the front door from work Bryce came running and gave him a huge hug and told him, "Yea Daddy, I love you so much, I miss you!"

"Yea, that what I talking about."

It's official. He is now a truly big boy! We finally changed over the crib to the toddler bed this past weekend and Bryce feels truly big. He was so proud and told everyone so far about his bed. The only problem is that he felt safe in the crib and he gets scared while trying to go to sleep. We are working on that and hope that the transition will be a quick one. So far, we are still sleeping through the night. Let's pray that doesn't change!

Roll Tide! SEC Champs!

What a game on Saturday! I never thought that we would win like that. I expected it to be a fight tooth and nail but no all we got was a little crying!

Great Game Bama! Here we come Pasadena!

Snow in Alabama!

For us here in the southeast, snow is never around. We usually never get the flurries the weathermen tell us are coming. People flock to the stores to buy bread and milk because if the power goes out they can at least have bread and milk sandwiches. I thought to myself, "Self, what if we buy chili? Maybe we can still use the turkey fryer to rig up something to heat up chili with!" After that wonderful thought I never thought anything of snow again until around 6am the next morning. After being aroused from my slumber by a toddler loudly calling, "come get me out my bed mommy!" I noticed through the blinds that everything looked white. Well, Bryce was off and ready to get dressed and go outside. So, Blake andI, dressed and headed outside before 7! I am glad we did because the snow was gone by 9. Steven also ran a race that morning in the freezing cold. I think the low was in the 20's but he braved the elements and was up and running early! He finished 4th in his mile race. I have no idea how many people ran but I know it was cold!


Sorry, this is a cell pic. But look at those feet. They both look like they are off the ground.

These are a few of my favorite things......

So the tree is up and I meant to post this last Friday to go along with Kelly's Korner's show us your home for Christmas post. But, true to form, I am behind and just catching up. Here are my favorite ornaments that I have. They are Gone With the Wind and they are Hallmark Keepsakes. That is my favorite movie next to the Griswolds. I have the Barbie dolls too. I know, I know....go ahead.... I am a dork! My only beef is that they have not made a Mammy ornament. She would be a great one! I started collecting in 1997 so I am missing a few but ebay has some that I am looking for! WOOHOO





Okay, so I think I mentioned that I fell in love with a Santa picture at Kirklands and waited almost two months to buy it because I just knew it would be on sale on Black Friday. Well here it is! We also have our elf on a shelf. He has no name yet and probably won't get one until next year. Bryce hasn't caught on to it and Steven knows who reports to Santa!
The last of my favorite Christmas things would be our stockings. Steven and I had our made by my Grandma. Mine says love, Grandma on it! Since my grandmother had already left us before Blake and Bryce I ordered some from LL Bean for them and they fit right in! Blake finally got his this year. We have always put it off and finally ordered one this year. We always meant to but something always got in the way. Probably kids!

If you really know me, you know I love Strawberry Shortcake. I still have my blanket from my twin bed that was decorated in her designs. Here is one of my first Christmas Ornaments circa 1980!
Steven also said that I had to post his football player! They sure played this weekend against Florida like this guy looks! Maybe that is why Tebow was crying! HAHAHa, Ok that is all the fun I will make of Florida.

I am catching up slowly but surely, so hold on to your hats folks!

The Perfect Tree

So, the night before Thanksgiving I had noticed that Home Depot had reaalllllly tall trees in stock. We tried to find a tall one last year and just couldn't find one tall enough! Christmas is my favorite time of year and when we were buying a house I looked for houses that would look cute at Christmas. That Wednesday we were all going to be home since the holidays can be busy plus Steven takes on selling trees at Marvin's with the scouts. We headed out when Blake got home from work and he and Steve quickly spotted the one they wanted. At the back of the trees. They worked hard moving them all so we could get to the big one. The workers from Home Depot must have thought we were nuts to want a tree already! After we loaded it up we headed for home so the boys could get to work.

They trimmed up the bottom and moved very quickly to get it in the holder so we could add water. The bottoms can sap up and I think one year this happened. We had a crunchy tree one year so we were trying something a little different. Here is the Carroll Family Christmas Tree! It wasn't going in our yard!

The next trick was getting the netting off. Since it had to be out from the wall we had to work some magic getting the netting off. Bryce and Steven were of course there to help and Bryce had to have his ladder and his apron on. They fluffed for me so I could take their picture. They are so sweet together!


I think they both learned that putting the lights on is not half as fun as going to get the tree so they went to play upstairs while Blake and I decorated. Bryce came down when we finished and said Ohhhhh Perfect!

My Favorite AUNTIE!

ROLL TIDE

Christmas Card Deals are Everywhere!

There are tons of deals going on for sharing your Christmas spirit with those you love.  I have ordered three different sets of Christmas cards and even have some great return address labels to go with them.  Now, some of these deals include shipping, some do not.  Here's the run down of what I have found:


SeeHere:  Get 50 free 4X8 photo cards and only pay shipping  use promo code NEWBABY.  I had a hard time using it in internet explorer but it works great in Firefox.

Vistaprint:  They have their address labels currently free, you pay shipping.  These are super cute and totally worth it!


I hope this helps with your holiday season.  I can't wait to start mailing ours out. 

Wow, is it really November 30?!

While I cannot believe that it is already the end of November, I am very excited that it is the Christmas season! We are shopped out and almost done with gifts. Thank goodness! We have maybe 3 more to go and are in no hurry to finish that up. We can pick these things up anytime. I made some cake balls for the Alabama game on Friday and now I am ready to start some holiday baking. This past weekend also was the anniversary of when my Grandma passed. It has been seven years and it doesn't get any easier. I see so much of her in Bryce! He would have her wrapped around his little finger and she would not believe how big Steven is now! I miss her more and more but I know that we will be together again.

So, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and maybe did a little shopping. We are gearing up for the next couple weekends being busy, busy, busy!

Wow! What a game!

Wow!  I was not expecting this game!  I was so afraid it was going to look like this at the end of the ballgame!  The first quarter started with Auburn scoring not one but TWO touchdowns!  Where did this team come from?  Have they been hiding people all season? 

Thankfully our boys somewhat pulled it together and made it for the win securing our hopes to a national championship again!

Our aunt and uncle came and watched the ballgame with us!  I was so excited because Auntie Helene' is my age and we are two peas in a pod!  Brandon brought Bronson over for the boys to play and Blake was let off early so he made it in time for the second half.  This was one of the best games with the best rivalries of all time, in my opinion.  I honestly thought Bama was going to lose...to AWBARN!  So, next week will be another blood pressure rising game but hopefully we will pull that out also.  Thank Goodness for Roy Upchurch!  He was begging to play the Cody-5.  This is a very popular play and thankfully it won the game!  Way to go Bama!  Roll Tide!

Happy Shopping and Roll Tide Roll

Hope everyone's Turkey Day was great! I am off to Kirkland's today to gather up some Christmas Decorations. I may hit up Target too but I have to be home quickly because Blake has to be at work by 830! We totally forgot that he has to ask off for this day. He was off on Fridays for three years and last year he asked off. Well on Sunday I was very excited about the three day work week when it hit him.....he never asked off. I totally assumed that he was off and never mentioned it. So, hopefully the bossman will decide that they should take off a little early but I don't think it will be early enough to watch the game.


For my husband's sake, I hope the game is quick and is a killer! There is no need for Auburn to score anything! Now, on my end, I hope that it is a good game and that we have to work for it. I don't like to watch blow outs because they can get boring! Oh well, I will have two boys to keep me occupied! Roll Tide my friends!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am truly blessed and so thankful! I love my kids and my husband. They are always there to support me and love me or just give you a nudge when you need it. I am thankful to have steady employment, with steady paychecks! :) I am thankful for my house and the warmth that is in it. I am thankful that we have food and do not want for anything. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and that you are thankful for all your blessings also!

We're getting ready

ROLL TIDE

Phish

Phish was spectacular this weekend in Cincy! I love when a band I love comes to my hometown! I lived outside Cincy for 5 years and my siblings were both born there. There is a ton of nostalgia when I visit. We left around 10 on Saturday morning and headed out after we dropped the little guy off. He was happy to go because our Uncle Keith is here! He is only here once a year so we live it up when he is here. Anyway I digress......so my main goal on Saturday was to get to Aurora, In and meet up with my cousin Amy. Then we were going to eat at Skyline Chili! Only my most favorite eatery ever! Now, I know you southern people do not know what this is but it is so good and I think that it is even better for me because I remember eating there so much with my grandparents when I was little. Living in Alabama we have to suffer through the frozen or can goods to make it without Skyline but when I hit my old town, it has to be the only place we eat! I will admit that we ate here two times. We even had them make us some to go for Sunday nite since it will be a while before we have anymore. Doesn't it look scrumptious?!


We stayed with my cousin and her husband who is home on leave from Iraq! Amy was going to try to surprise him with tickets but she wussed out early and told him about it early. Blake and I had floor tickets and we were super close! I was so excited and noticed that there were more married people there than I had ever noticed! I got lucky and didn't have a "head" stepping on my toes all night long like Blake did. Here's the view before the show from our seats!



Sorry for the blurry pics but they were taken on my phone. Phish was on fire this weekend and I hope it is just a preview of what to expect from them for a couple more years!

Wordless Wednesday

What a weekend

My weekend started on Friday.  Bryce woke up with a fever and a rash around his shoulder blades.  So, unfortunately I had to call in to work and stay home with the boy.   I know, can you here the distress in the voice.  I love to stay home and would full time if I could figure out how to be paid without a job.  Well, good ol' Dr. H said that toddlers get rashes and to just watch it.  I love those answers but then again I don't.  I usually want to know why something is going on but kids do break out so who knows.  He did tell us to get some benedryll.  We made a quick run to the Publix to pick that up PLUS I had codes for free movies out of the blockbuster box.  Up came out last week and while the boys may be receiving it for Christmas, it didn't stop me from renting it.  Bryce loved it and had to watch it all day.  The benedryll kicked his butt and around 430 he passed out.  I just love a sleeping baby.  Well, I say baby but he is a big boy! 

Saturday was another great day.  Bryce still had his rash but we were able to stay around the house.  We did have to run to the grocery store to finish up our shopping for the week and take back the movie. We ended up renting another because I had more of those wonderful codes.  This time we chose Monsters Vs. Aliens.  It was cute but a little old for him.  I had to get my coupons together before we left and Bryce is such a helper.  Here he is helping mommy cut out coupons.  Thankfully that one was a dud because Bryce is a great user of scissors.

After we ran our errands, we came back to our house to settle in for the day.  We made some tea and chili and just waited for the Alabama game to come on.  Bryce somehow has got it in his head that Santa says Roll Tide!  It is hilarious but we have no idea where he gets it from.  Blake and I have not said anything like that to him.  His teachers at school are Auburn fans.  That leaves Steven and I don't think he did it either.  The game was great!  A big win with a large spread!  Here's my helper again. 

Sunday was just another day of the same stuff.  Blake cut us some firewood and we let Bryce ride his tractor.  He was begging to mow the yard.  When Blake finished we got out the tractor and let him get at it.  He is such a nut!  He is getting into the Christmas spirit and I found him a Santa hat and he loved it.  He wears it everywhere.  He looked so funny sitting on that tractor with shorts on (we live in Alabama, home of the crazy weather patterns), a jingle bell, Santa hat, and an Alabama jersey!  I probably took at least 50 pictures!  He is just so cute. 

Here he is in his outfit!  I love it!

I promise that we do love Steven too but he was out of town this weekend with the church group at his first youth gathering.  I am so excited that he is getting into the youth group.  Some of my oldest and best friends came from church.  He came home around 530 and was exhausted!  He said he slept most of the way home.  We cooked some chili dogs and called it a night in our house last night.  All of us in bed by 9!

Hats Off to........... Well.............. ME!!!!!!!

After many years of hard work and some years of slacking, I have officially finished my degree!  What a long, strange trip it has been.  I was to be bare foot and pregnant the rest of my life when I found out I was pregnant at 16.  Life was supposed to end.  The principal at my high school told me that I didn't deserve to go to his school.  The co-op teacher told me that the only school I should go to was Horizon (alternative school) because that's the best I would ever become.  Now, I have finished with a Bachelor's in Marketing!  WOOHOO!!!!  I started in 1999 and changed majors 3 different times.  These were not easy changes but drastic changes.  So, this nursing student is now a wannabe sales and marketing lady who would love a chance to get her foot in the door.  I am waiting for business affairs to make sure that I don't owe any money but with financial aid that shouldn't be a problem and then I have to wait six to eight weeks to actually get the hard copy of the diploma.  The only downside is that they only hold one commencement a year and that is in October!  Still, anyone who faces adversity can make it through anything as long as they put their mind into it!

Miracles, that His business

I asked yesterday for prayers for a little guy named Stellan.  He is gorgeous and I have a soft spot for boys, especially at that age when they are too cute!  Pastor Eddie said numerous times Sunday morning that God answers prayers when it is not humanly possible to fix things anymore and let  me tell you that he fixed Stellan!  Not just a little bit, but the surgery was a great success that I am sure will finally give some peace to MckMama and her many small children.  This is so amazing and makes me feel so great!  While Stellan still has such a long recovery in front of him, the doctors feel certain that they have helped this little fighter overcome his SVT and survive the surgery.  To make a long, long story short, Stellan is too little for these surgeries and should not have had them done because of size and it could ruin the heart for good and leave him with a pacemaker or dead.  His condition makes his heart beat tooooooo fast and it cause the body to rapidly deteriorate.  You can catch up here if need be but
WOW GOD IS SO GOOD!

On another note and update.  Molly Moses, the girl who had a horrific boating accident, will be coming home sometime this week!  Look at that two praises in one day!  That is certainly amazing!  I don't know if anyone reads this who can but her family is asking for her ride home to be decorated for her.  I believe they will come over the hudson bridge and down 6th ave to Plaza street!  She loves purple so anyone who can make signs or hang balloons think about it!  I will update when I hear about what day for certain!

Heavy Heart Given to God

Why is it me that is so upset that this awesome kid is waiting for a life or death surgery?  Meet Stellan.  Most of you have read or at least heard of him before and now he is once again fighting for his life MckMama is doing okay but can you all just please say a prayer for him.  God knows what is going to happen but He is also in the miracle business when it is out of humanly control.  I cannot imagine how I would act if my precious boys looked like this!

Stellan took another turn for the worse last week and luckily he was well enough to go home and spend a few days with the family before him and his mama flew to Boston for a very dangerous heart surgery.  He needs our prayers!  God will take care of him, rather it is to leave him here with his family or to take him to an eternal home.  I pray for this baby not to suffer and to feel no pain.