Our year all wrapped up

This year seems to have flown by. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago when Alex and I were heading out for the movies, only to get up in the middle of the movie and walk out because it was that bad. :) So much has happened, it is hard to just hit the highlights...

It has been a year full of new beginnings, sad endings, births, celebrations, cook outs and dinners with friends, the start of many new relationships and the ending of some others, struggles and successes, major accomplishments and goals met, short outings and long trips, unfortunate news and yet prayers answered, hurdles overcome despite all odds, and most importantly to me is growing closer as a family through it all!!

I love my husband and my family and look forward to a great 2009 with them all.

Happy New Years!!

Just a few of our Christmas moments

The night before Christmas Eve we had our Christmas get together with Alex's dad's family and this was a picture taken of us.

Left to Right: Alex, Ashton, Andy (Alex's dad), Me & Maddie, Debby (Alex's mom) & Clint (Alex's brother)

When we got home, we found a package that had been left for Ashton from some "friends" of ours. It was a nice little drum and a pair of cymbals. Ashton decided that before bed he, Alex and Maddie needed to "play band". So, of course, I couldn't resist another picture.

I'm not TOTALLY sure which of the three are MORE in to the "playing band". (Check out Alex's face!!) LOL

Christmas Eve, Alex had to work for a little while, so the kids and I went to my grandparents' house to visit for a while. We had a nice time and it was good to ge to see them. A few years ago, we started a little tradition and we have dinner with Alex's parents and the kids open their presents there. They had a great time playing and seeing what they got. Ashton was particularly excited about his "I Spy" Cars book.

And Alex was pretty pleased with RockBand. And let me just tell you.... we have played and played and played. He thinks he is a pro at it now. LOL

Before we headed home, we decided to take a family picture. We don't seem to get too many of these and I want to cherish them as long as I can possibly get the kids to cooperate! So, this is our Christmas Eve photo for this year. And trust me, there were some FUNNY ones, but this is one of the more tasteful and semi cute ones.

Christas morning, the kids got up EARLY. Alex was NOT pleased with that. As you all know, Alex treasures his sleep and doesn't seem to ever get enough of it in his book. The kids were just so excited that they couldn't wait.

I think I took about 100+ pictures over the course of three days, but thought I'd spare you all that. This is just a couple of cute ones showing how excited they were. Ashton loves his "tracing thing" that Santa brought and Maddie loves her computer to do her letters that Alex and I got her. All and all it was a wonderful few days packed with lots of family and friends. I hope that you all had just as good of a Christmas as we did!!

Much love,

The Perrys

Our Weekend and Great Friends

Alex and I had a date night on Friday. It was SSSSSOOOO nice to get a break from it all and just enjoy each other!! We really need to do that more often. We had dinner, which was super quiet, and then headed out to do some shopping for the kids. We are always done way before now, but this year things have just gotten in the way and we're a little late finishing up. That is okay though.... it gave us a reason to get out and spend some time together without the kids. :)

Saturday, we had dinner with some friends and let the kids exchange gifts. They LOVED it!! Ashton is so excited to tell everyone what he has gotten and Maddie likes her new boots so much that she wants to wear them EVERYWHERE. It makes me super excited to see them on Christmas morning!! I'm starting to feel like a kid all over again... getting super excited and counting down the days until THEY get to open their stuff. Funny huh?! The kids had a great time playing together and the adults had some fun playing games too! It is a blessing to have such great friends and get to spend time just hanging out!!

Sunday, the kids and spent the afternoon napping. Yes, we all took naps. Doesn't happen around here very often, but we did. Alex had some shopping to do, so he headed out and we all crashed. It was a nice, lazy afternoon at our house!!

Tomorrow starts a whirlwind of Christmas gatherings for us. So, in case I don't get to post again, I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Program at Church

Last Saturday night, our church had a Christmas Party and the kids sang two songs for the crowd. Maddie was so excited and had been practicing at home like crazy. She gets on stage though and every single picture I have looks like this....

She did not sing a word, instead just stared at all the people watching her. I don't think we have to worry about her pursuing a career in singing. LOL

Ashton, on the other hand, sang away. He seemed to really enjoy himself. We looks so big standing up there with his little hand in his pocket like he is cool stuff. LOL

Santa and his Reindeer

This past Saturday, Santa and his live 8 reindeer we at Providence to visit. I had to run to JoAnn's to pick up a few things, so I talked Alex in to taking the kids to visit and HOPEFULLY get their picture made with Santa.

We managed to get there right as it was opening and surprisingly, there was not many people there at all. It was great. We got in and out and were on our way.

Ashton and Maddie thought the reindeer were neat, but didn't want to get too close. Any one that knows our kids, knows they only like animals from a distance.

Here is a shot of the reindeer. Alex and I were amazed at how large their antlers were. (And yes, Katrina, I was one of those people that didn't get up to the fence to take my pictures.... LOL)

Finally, we got in line to see Santa and get the kids picture. Well, as you can see.... Alex and I had to have our picture taken too.

On an exciting note....

We have been telling Maddie that Santa would be taking her passy when he came on Christmas Eve and leaving her presents instead. She knows that is where Ashton's went and has been fine with it. Well, on Saturday morning when we told her we were going to go see Santa she ran to her room, got her passy and said that she was going to give it to him so he would bring her presents. I really didn't think that she would go through with it, but while we were in line to see him, she told me to get it out of my "poppit" aka pocket and give it to him for her. It was cute! So far, she has done great. The first two days it took her a long time to fall asleep, but since then, she has been a super big girl. YEAH!!!!!!!

Christmas with Grandma and my family

Last Friday night, we did Christmas with my family and my mom, Grandma. We headed down to Casey's house, my sister, just after lunch with hopes that Maddie would nap on the way there. Well, that didn't happen!! Instead, we watched Christmas movies.

The kids had a great time all playing together. After dinner, we let them all open their presents from each other and Maddie LOVED her "princess" dress from Addison and couldn't wait to show it to everyone.


Ashton has NO IDEA what this game is, but he was excited about it! He has asked me several times when Courtney, my sister-in-law, is coming to play it with him. She told him she would come play one day and he doesn't forget ANYTHING! LOL I tried to tell her that she couldn't just tell him that because he wouldn't be forgetting it. Guess we're going to have to call her over break and get her to come visit.

Fun in the Snow

Last Thursday night, we had a little bit of snow at our house. The kids had just finished helping us cleaning up after dinner and I happened to walk through the dining room and saw that the ground was covered. WOW! I didn't even realize it was snowing. The kids were SUPER excited and couldn't wait to get outside. Alex didn't really want to take them and I had a bad head ache, but hated to not let them play. It isn't like we have snow too often for them to get to play in. So, I finally agreed to carry them out very briefly. We bundled up and headed out. THE LOVED IT!! Maddie refused to smile for the camera, but she had just as much fun as Ashton. This was really her first time to actually play in the snow. Last year she was still too little to really do anything with it. The two of them ran around like crazy kids, laid down and made snow angels and even threw balls of snow at me taking pictures of them. They had a great time.

Christmas Cookies

I haven't done much blogging the last week, not because I didn't have stuff to blog about, instead because my camera wasn't working and I couldn't put my pictures with it. We've actually been doing a lot and I've had some great pictures too.

Last week, the kids and I decorated our sugar cookies that we'd made. The kids had a lot of fun cutting them all out with their "cutters" as they called them and so I decided we'd tackle the decorating. As you can see, I let them do them the way they wanted.... some are cute and some, not so much, but regardless of their appearance it was a lot of fun!

Last year, Alex and I had a small little Christmas party with some of the people he works with. It was nice and we all had a great time. This year when we started talking about doing it again, we decided to make it a variety of people and not just people he worked with. We started on the guest list and it just kept growing and growing. I finally had to pull the plug because I wasn't sure how many more we could get in our house at once. LOL

Everything went really well and everyone seemed to have a good time. I was excited!! I planned on some little goodies for the kids to do, but they got so distracted with playing that we never even did them. Ashton and Maddie asked "are we having another party today?" on Monday morning. I laughed and said, not today....

Tuesday, I took the kids to school and headed to Mt Juliet to meet up with a few girls for some shopping. I have gotten really behind on my Christmas shopping this year and I'm usually much better than this. I've just been super busy with sewing that I've managed to keep putting off shopping. Plus, Alex's parents and us adopt a family together every year and I was so focused on getting their stuff together and back to the family early that I haven't done much of my own shopping. Yesterday, I managed to finish up what we lacked for the adopted family. I also picked up a few more items yesterday that finished a couple of people, but still have more to do. Today, I plan to get back out there while the kids are at school again and see how much more I can finish up. I am determined to get some stuff done because our Christmas with my family starts this weekend. I've gotta get busy.....

Have a great rest of the week!!

This Week's Wrap Up....

I've been really bad about keeping up with my blog the last few weeks. I really should do it more because when I sit down, like now, I've got so many things I could tell you about but don't want you to be reading for an hour. So, just to hit a few high lights for the week.

First, the kids and I got up one more and spent about an hour or so making sugar Christmas cookies. They had so much fun. After we were done, I started thinking and I didn't take a single picture!!! What was I thinking?! I missed a super cute opportunity.

Thursday night, Alex and Ashton had some "boy" time and they went to the Predators game with a friend of Alex's, Gomer. Ashton had a great time. Right before they left for the game, he told me that he was going to have popcorn. Alex told him probably not because he didn't have any money. So, I took Ashton in the other room and got him a $5 bill and told him to put it in his pocket and he could buy his own popcorn. He immediately asked me where was the rest and where were his coins. He prefers coins over bills anytime! WOW, what it would be like to be young again and think "coins" are better than bills.....

Yesterday, the kids and I got up and out of the house early for some errands and a little Christmas shopping. Boy was it cold!! The kids were both ready to go home in just about half an hour, so needless to say, we didn't accomplish a whole lot. :( This is probably the first year ever that I've been so behind on my shopping. I'm typically done by this point.

Las night, Alex and I had a MUCH needed date night. With life and hectic schedules, we've not had a date night in a while. We went to the 107.5 The River, Acoustic Christmas concert. We've been three years in a row now. Last night, it was downtown at the War Memorial building. I didn't think we'd ever make it with the traffic. Nashville was having their Christmas parade and there was also a Christmas run. It was a total mess. We finally found a parking spot, got in the super long line and waited to get inside. It was so cold and it seemed like forever before we made it to the doors. Once inside we quickly found a seat. The concert was pretty good. There were a couple of acts that were "interesting" to say the least, but overall it was a great night out.

Some much needed Mommy time

Yesterday, I finally got to use a gift certificate that I have literally had almost a year now. I went and got a massage. It was so nice!!!! I've been doing a lot of sewing lately and my back has been hurting from sitting there at my machine. I was super excited to get to finally go and use the gift certificate my dad gave me for Christmas LAST YEAR. Had it not been about to expire, I'm not sure I would have ever gotten to go. LOL

Last year, Alex and I had a small Christmas get together at our house. It was fairly small, but still fun. We decided to do it again this year, but expand the guest list a little bit. I'm SO excited about it!! I love having people over and this is just even more exciting because it is Christmas time and I can decorate the house. I've had my trees up since last week and I spent last night working on some more decorating and plan to do even more after church today. I'm not sure that it will be as fun taking it all back down, but we'll enjoy it until then at least. :)

Being Thankful

For those of you that don't already know, we've had a lot of things going on around us lately. Alex's grandmother, Gee, was diagnosed a few weeks ago with having a tumor. Upon further testing, it was determined that it is cancer. Because of the location of the tumor, it can not be removed. Alex has always been very close to "his" Gee, as he frequently calls her, so the news has been particularly difficult for him. It is very disheartening to learn that someone you love and care so much about is sick. However, Gee has been to several appointments with her doctors and has also gotten more than one opinion. So far, she has gotten pretty good reports. She will have to take a chemo pill, but the pill she will be given will not cause her to lose her hair or become nauseated, which is great! Her doctor has assured her and the family that her condition is treatable and she has had many patients do well with treatment. We are all very optimistic, but realize that she will need our love, support, prayers, and help to get through this. If you would all please pray for Gee and our family, we would greatly appreciate it!!

With all that has been going on in our life, as well as so many people around us, it has made me realize all that I have that I should be thankful for. I want to take a minute to tell you just a few of those things.

1. I'm thankful for a God that loves me unconditionally.

2. I'm thankful for a husband that goes to work every day so that I can stay home with my two children. (I love you Alex!!!)

3. I'm thankful for the daily hugs and kisses I get from Ashton and Maddie.

4. I'm thankful for a sister that is always there to encourage me, support me, cry with me, listen to me or help me in any way I might need whether I ask for it or not.

5. I'm thankful for my parents, my brothers, my sister, my sister-in-law, my two neices and my nephew.

6. I'm thankful for Alex's family and how they love me as though I've been apart of their family forever. (Of course, it feels like it has been forever, right Alex?!)

7. I'm thankful for my friends, both old and new. You have been so supportive of me. I could never thank you enough. I'm very blessed to have you in my life!!!!

8. I'm thankful for the gifts and talents that God has blessed me with.

9. I'm thankful for The Journey and how it has become such a big part of my life as well as my families' lives.

10. I'm thankful for my health and the health of my husband and children.

11. I'm thankful for my country and the freedoms that I have.

12. I'm thankful for Dr Pepper, hot showers, flat irons, Tuesday/Wednesday School, shopping, AIM, text messaging, and email.... without some of these things... I'd be lost or at least think I would. LOL

I encourage you all to take a minute to think about just some of the things you are thankful for. Once you get started, it will be very difficult to stop. I think I could've listed a million things, but figured I better stop.

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!!!

Early Thanksgiving

This past Friday, Ashton, Maddie and I spent the day preparing for our Thanksgiving lunch with my mom and sister in Lawrenceburg. We made a turkey and boy was that an adventure. We made pies and a couple side items. Ashton likes to help cook. He thinks he is such a big boy. Early Saturday morning, Alex, the kids and I loaded up and headed down. We had a really nice visit. The kids played while we finished up the food, we had lunch and then the kids played some more while we taught my family golf. For those of you that don't know, golf is a card game the Reed's taught us. We had already showed Casey and Brandon to play once, but my mom had never played and Casey needed a quick refresher. Needless to say, we made it all the way through the game with only a few minor interruptions. It was a good time. We headed back in the afternoon so that the kids could get home in time for dinner and bed.

I know this week is always busy for everyone, so I hope it is a good, safe one for us all! Enjoy your time with your family and count your blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Perrys!!!

Nice break

Today, I dropped the kids at school and ran some errands. I then met my sister in law, Courtney for lunch. She brought Baby Max (as Ashton and Maddie call him) with her. It was good to get to see them both and even better to get to sit and chat with Courtney without any kids to interrupt us. Courtney and I don't get to spend much time together and it was nice to get to do that. After lunch, we took Max for some shopping at Target. Courtney and I neither one can pass up on Target. Heck, who can?!

After that, it was about time to head to pick up the kids from school. Courtney headed off to pick up a few other things and I was off to follow my orders from Ashton. This morning on the way to school, he told me that today I needed to "pick up my best friend, Kaleb and his mom, Miss Trina and then pick him up from school". So, I ran by and picked them up and we headed to get the kids. Ashton was SO excited to see them. I think it just might have made his afternoon. They were super excited to get to play. As Kaleb said.... "we've not gotten to play in a long time". Those three are so cute together some times.... LOL.

Our Rock Stars

Last night, The Journey had a Volunteer Celebration dinner. It was a lot of fun. We had a chili dinner with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize winners as well as awards for those that have served or volunteered within The Journey or in outreach events. It was really nice!

After the awards were over, the praise team led us in some worship. It was great. The kids had brought their guitars to jam like the band does and were having a good time. Robbie had a special little surprise for them at the end of the night. They sang Sing, Sing, Sing as the closing song and let all the little ones come up on stage with their guitars and jam with the band. They LOVED it!!!! Here are some pictures of our little rock stars!

Ashton, Maddie and Joey "the man"

Ashton and Maddie hanging out after the show....

Ashton really enjoyed his time on stage! I have a feeling he will have to get some lessons from Joey "the man" soon! LOL

Great Weekend

Thursday afternoon Casey and Addison came to visit. The kids were SUPER excited to see them. They miss BB, KK and Addison so much!!! Ashton and Maddie loaded Addison up in the jeep and took her for a ride. When that wasn't any fun anymore, they decided to let her give driving a chance.... lets just say that was FUN. She couldn't reach the gas, so Maddie did the "foot work" and Addison did the steering wheel and I almost got run over. It was fun stuff!!

The kids got to spend the entire day with her on Friday and had a blast. They went to Pump It Up, had lunch and played and then they had dinner together. It was a big day and they really enjoyed it! This morning, we all went to watch Ashton play soccer. He had a big audience.... Papa and Grammy, Casey and Addison and Papa Monkey and Emily were all there to watch. His season will be over next week, so he was excited to have so many spectators watching him. It was a nice day of getting to visit with Casey and Addison.

Maddie's Nap Today

Today, Maddie wasn't really happy to be taking a nap. She kept getting out of bed to play. I could hear her walking around and getting in and out of drawers. Finally, the noise stopped, so I went to make sure she was in bed and not still playing. This is what I found and I couldn't resist a picture and of course a blog!

What is so funny is that it actually looks like she is climbing back in to her bed and literally hits the bed. Her toes were still on the stool!!!

A night by the fire

Last night, we had a couple of friends over to have a hot dog & marshmellow roast. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We did a lot of laughing and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We roasted our hot dogs and then made chili dogs out of them! I've not had a chili dog in a while and I have to say, they were pretty good!

These three really didn't care much about eating, they just wanted to keep cooking!

Here is Alex and Maddie having them a little conversation. They look so sweet staring at each other!!

Shortly after their conversation, the night took a turn you might say.... I went inside and come back out to a conversation about some kind of contest. Next thing I know, Alex and Erik are having a contest to see who can get the most marshmellows in their mouths and still be able to say some phrase. Well, Erik didn't make it too long before he almost threw his up. Alex kept going. These are a couple of pictures of the two of them. The rest of the group laughed so hard watching I'm surprised Alex didn't get choked himself.

I can't remember for sure but I think Alex ended up with 12 or 15 LARGE marshmellows in his mouth. It so was gross!!!

The night ended up with all the kids asleep and the adults sitting down to play some cards. I have to say it turned out to be a great night!! Especially becuase I BEAT Erik Reed really bad! I think his score was about 3 times as high as mine. WOW! For anyone that knows Erik, knows that he isn't too happy and he is out for pay back!

This Week's Wrap Up....

Monday, the kids and I went to Providence for some shopping. Ashton had gotten a few things for his birthday we had to exchange. Alex and I got him a pair of "tie shoes" and they were too small. Apparently our son's foot has just exploded and we didn't realize it. Ashton puts on his shoes himself each day, so I really haven't paid any attention to his shoes in relation to his foot. Well, I got a quick reality of the situation when I returned the "tie shoes" for bigger ones. His foot has grown 2 SIZES and I didn't even know. This child has been wearing shoes too small for months now and he hasn't said a word. I asked him why he hasn't told Mommy or Daddy his shoes were too small and he said, "Its okay Mommy... I can still wear them." I felt so bad!! So, now we are on a mission to buy Ashton more new shoes that FIT. LOL

After doing some exchanges and other stuff, we had lunch with Grammy and some friends. It was nice! The kids got to play and they definitely enjoyed that. Maddie's eye has been looking yucky, but Alex and I just assumed it was her allergies bothering it or another clogged tear duct, which we've dealt with many times before. Well, the later in the day it got, the more red it was looking, so I decided to drop by the dr's office to just double check and make sure it was nothing else. They weren't 100%, but decided to treat her for pink eye. YEAH!! So, Tuesday, Maddie got to stay home from school and play with Mommy. But she got to return on Wednesday, which I was glad because they had a "Pumpkin Hunt" at school. They got all dressed up and trick or treated the offices at the church they go to school at as well as all the other classrooms. They seemed to really enjoy that.

Yesterday morning, we decided we'd FINALLY cut our pumpkins. The kids have been dying to do it, but we just kept forgetting. It was an adventure to say the least. Ashton and Maddie neither one would help clean them out. I was shocked. I really thought Maddie would get in to it, but they just watched. :(

Last night, we had some friends over for Halloween. A group of people from our church decided to go trick or treating in our neighborhood. It was fun! The kids had a great time and really enjoyed trick or treating this year. I'm already ready to take them out again!

Ashton and Maddie dressed up like pirates. We were totally decked out with eye patches and ear rings. It was fun!

Ashton was totally in to the sword. He kept asking me how to hold it. LOL

Here is a close up of Maddie's ear rings. She was excited to have ear rings like Mommy.

Oh, did I mention that Alex dressed up too?!?! A couple of the other dads were dressed up, so Alex threw this together at the last minute. WOW! He went from not so much hair to a WHOLE LOT of hair. LOL! Ashton didn't seem to mind, but Maddie was definitely not digging it!

Ashton turned 4 years old today!!!

Today was Ashton's 4th birthday. He was so excited!! He has been telling us for days that he is about to be 4 and not 3 any more. After church, we gave him a couple of the presents we got him in order to hold him over until his party. He sat "patiently" waiting for Alex to get the video camera ready before he started.

This is him getting a small taste test of his pirate ship birthday cake after blowing out the candles.

We decided to get a pinata this year and I have to say, it went much better than I thought it would. Especially considering we put it in the house!!

I was actually surprised at how much it took to finally break it. The kids each got to take several whacks at it before the dads kind of helped with the hits and held it still to try and get it open sooner! All and all it was a fun day. Ashton said he had a great birthday! That is all that matters.

WOW! It has been a long time....

I've neglected to blog in about a week. Alex had to go out of town for one of his quarterly work meetings and the kids and I hung out here. Things are always a little chaotic when Alex is gone. The kids can sense it being different and don't always act their best. Plus, I've been trying to get prepared for the booth I've got at the West Fest this Saturday. I'm really excited about it, but also a little stressed out too.

We've really not done anything too excited since we got back from vacation. Ashton had a soccer game on Saturday morning and then we went to Octoberfest, but that was about it. Here is a couple of pictures from that.

They had some large military vehicles of some sort there and the kids were dying to check those things out. Ashton had to pose in this one!

This is a picture of Alex and the kids inside of a military helicopter that probably holds about 15 or 20 people. It was pretty neat to be that close to something like that. I've never realized just how big they are.

Maddie was dying to check out the animals, so Alex took her inside the fence to check them all out and feed a few. However, Ashton had to hang out on the OUTSIDE of the fence. He is a little more sceptical of animals and would prefer a barrier between him and them.

Home from Vacation

We made it back from vacation in one piece!! Friday we thought we'd just hang around the house and take it easy, but that really didn't happen. Alex took my car to have the tires rotated and balanced, I went to lunch with a girl from my women's bible study, and when I got back, Alex and Ashton left to go do a "boys" outing. They went and played glow golf at Opry Mills. Ashton LOVED it!! He has been talking about it non stop since. It is something the two of them will definitely have to do again. Maddie and I just stayed home and got a few things done. It was nice!

Saturday, I got some much needed rest and Alex took the kids outside and worked in the yard. They had so much fun! The kids love "helping" Daddy. Of course, their "helping" isn't always help. LOL. Sunday, we went to church and then had a couple over for lunch. They are in our small group and she is apart of my women's group on Wednesday nights. It was nice to get to know them better.

Alex had to go back to work yesterday. The kids weren't real thrilled with that. They enjoyed having him home for a week. I tried to keep them busy though to pass the time. We played games and then they watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks" while I worked on some sewing projects. I have had a lot to do lately and I'm super excited about it!

Yesterday afternoon, Alex and the kids spent some time together hanging out while I went to get my hair cut. I've been trying to grow it out for "Locks of Love" again and I've really been struggling. You have to have 8 to 10 inches in order for them to accept your hair. It always seems to take forever to grow it out long enough to cut 8 to 10 inches and still have any length yourself when you are done. I had just enough to cut for "Locks of Love" yesterday, but the catch was that I was going to have VERY short hair. For anyone that has known me for a long time knows that in 6th grade I talked my mom in to letting me have a HORRIBLE hair cut. I was tortured in school for years to follow and therefore have always been terrified of big changes when it came to my hair. Well, yesterday I decided to step WAY out of my norm. I cut 9 inches off my hair and now have the shortest hair cut I've had since I was in 6th grade with that terrible hair cut. It was exciting to know I was doing it for a good cause, but a little scary to see what Alex would say when I got home. I know, I know... some of you are sitting there thinking "it is only hair and it will grow back". Believe me, I know that and that is where I am at now, but it has taken me years to get over that bad hair cut and the torture, criticism and jokes that went along with it. So, stay tuned for a picture of the new hair cut! It is definitely a HUGE change.

Beach Wrap Up

Today, we are heading back from the beach. We've had a pretty good time!! I had a goal of finishing up a book that I started forever ago and I managed to do that. So, I'm pretty excited. I also got some additional reading done too. It rained one entire day and we were stuck inside, but otherwise it has been fairly nice weather. Ashton has been super good, had tons of fun digging in the sand and chasing the birds. Maddie didn't feel so good to start the trip off, but has slowly gotten better and enjoyed the last couple of days out on the beach.

A bit more from the Perry Beach Vacation

We have encountered A LOT of jelly fish while we've been here. I, myself, have never seen them so big. Here are a few that Alex and Ashton scooped out of the water with the kids shovels. Ashton loved helping Alex "bury" them in the sand.

The waves were a bit more strong yesterday, so the kids didn't really get in to the water. They are really excited to be finding shells and especially "sand coins". (Ashton & Maddie always tell Alex in the morning before work to go earn "coins". So when we showed them a sand dollar they started calling it a "sand coin".) So, the three of us walked up and down the beach a few times checking for shells and "sand coins".

Ashton has REALLY enjoyed digging big holes and then climbing in them. He and Maddie would lay down in them and pretend to be asleep. Of course, Maddie is the typical girl that doesn't want to have sand all over her. She has Alex lay our beach mat down in the hole so she could lay on it. :)

We made it!!

We arrived in Orange Beach about 10pm last night. Ashton fell asleep about 7:15-7:30 and Maddie stuck it out until about 9:30. It wasn't too bad of a drive except for the rush hour traffic we hit just outside of Montgomery. The kids did pretty good.

Here is the view from our balcony. We were immediately out there this morning when we got up. Of course, we "slept in" until 7:30 this morning. Which for anyone that knows us, knows that is late for our children!

After some breakfast, we headed for the beach. Ashton had to take a break from the hole he was digging to show his Daddy his "muscles". WOW they are big, huh?!

The weather couldn't be better! It is just warm enough, but not so hot that five minutes in you are ready to get back inside. I love it!!! It just reminds me of WHY I love coming down here this time of year.

The waves are basically non-existent too, which you can't beat that with Ashton and Maddie. She loves to get out in the water. Ashton is getting better, but he isn't as sure. This morning they could both walk out for a long ways without it being much more than waist deep. It is great. They picked up shells for about everyone imaginable and watched little fish swim around. So far, we're having a great time!

Off to the Beach!!

This afternoon, Alex, the kids and I are heading to the beach for a week. Maddie has to be the most excited of us all. Two nights ago she woke up every few minutes for almost an hour and a half asking if it was time to go the beach yet. She'd ask if Daddy was coming, were we going to play in the sand, were we going to swim, are we still going.... it was on and on and on. I thought I was going to die. The last thing I want to talk about at 3am is the beach. Needless to say, the time has come and we are leaving today. She was so excited this morning when I told her that TODAY was when we were going to the beach. I'm very curious to see if this is going to be our first trip with the "are we there yet?" conversations. I'll keep you posted!

We hope everyone has a good week! I'm going to try and post some pictures as the week goes along, but no promises.

New Series for our Women's Group

Last night our women's group started a new video series. It is another Angela Thomas called "When Wallflowers Dance". We did the introduction video last night and it looks like it is going to be another good one. I really think we're going to have another good group this time. We lost a few people from the last series, but we also gained a couple and we're excited about that! I really think that we've grown as women in the time that we've been together and formed bonds and friendships within the group. It is an exciting process and one I'm glad that I became apart of. I encourage all women to get involved in a women's group. You won't regret it!

Family Fun

Friday, I took the kids to join some friends for a morning at Pump It Up. We've not been there in a long while and I thought it would be a nice treat. Afterwards, we all went to have pizza and do a little shopping. Mommy always to throw some shopping in to our trips. LOL. The kids had a great time!!

Saturday morning, we headed out early for Ashton's soccer pictures prior to his 9am game. He was a little unsure on the whole picture thing. Finally the lady was trying to get him to smile, laugh, do anything other than look sad. She said "your daddy has stinky feet" and Ashton broke down in tears. He told her to not be ugly to his dad. Needless to say her shot at making him smile went the total opposite way. We "probably" won't be getting good pictures out of this one.

The game time, however, was much better. Ashton may not be too great at soccer yet, but he is loving it. He smiles from ear to ear the entire time he is on the field. I can't wait to see how excited he gets when he actually scores!

He does score here, but this is just him practicing with the team right before the game started. I'm sure it is just a matter of time and he'll do the same in the actual game. :)

Here is a cute shot of Alex and Ashton on the "bench" watching the rest of the team play.

Sunday, we went to church and then came home and took it easy. We had some family time and then had some friends over to visit for dinner. It was a nice end to a peaceful and relaxing weekend!

I've been slacking, I know.

I've been slacking a little in the blogging department. Sorry! I'll try to get back on track.

Monday, the kids and I went to Mt Juliet and did a little shopping. We ran in to some friends (Jamie, Ansley and Jack) and so we all had lunchtogether. It was nice for the kids to get to play because they don't get to play together as much as they'd like.

Tuesday, I spent the day attempting a scrapbook for the upcoming fall festival. I really wanted to get something cute together for people to look at..... So, Katrina offered to help me out, since she is the scrapbooking queen! We didn't finish it, but we are well on our way. I did officially do one whole page, but otherwise I was pretty useless. I'll have to give Katrina all the credit on this one.

Wednesday, after I dropped the kids off at school, I ran some errands and then had lunch with my dad. We rarely get to sit down and have much conversation because the kids want to show Papa Monkey everything they can do or anything new they have. It was a pleasant visit and we really got to kind of catch up on what has been going on. By the way.... Maddie has finally adapted to going to school and for two weeks now we've had no tears or breakdowns over going. I think she is actually enjoying it now!!!! I'm VERY relieved!!!!

Today has been a pretty lazy day. The kids and I spent the day at home. I did a little sewing and picking up around the house, then we watched a movie together. While they laid down for naps, I went to a sewing class. No, I didn't leave them home alone.... Alex was home early today! LOL

Tomorrow is going to be a big "play" day. We haven't been to Pump It Up in forever, so I'm treating the kids to a morning of playing. We are going to get up and go to toddler timer and then probably have some lunch with friends. I'm sure I'll have some cute pictures since we've not been in a while. Stay tuned and I'll try to stay a little more up to date!

Courtney

Picnic at the Lake with Daddy

Today, Alex took the kids to the lake to have a picnic while I was at a Women's One Day Getaway. They had lunch, played with the ducks and seemed to really have a good time. Here are several pictures from the day.

Ashton and his big "cheese" for the camera!

The two of them just looking at the ducks and taking it all in.

And this is Ashton "hugging" his sister. Some might say this looks a little more like "choking", but this is what he calls "hugging"! LOL