Dannah's first...

There are many times my kids say 'bad words' and get in trouble. These words are not actual bad words - just words that aren't appropriate for a 3 or 4 year old to say. However, Dannah changed all that. One day me, Dannah, Jameson, and David's mammaw were heading to Starkville to visit Nannaw and the Starkville crew. We stopped at McDonalds for a restroom break; I was trying to get Jameson in the stall while getting Dannah to wash her hands. I don't remember exactly what happened but I hear my sweet little girl say the d word! I was in shock! I mean, did she really just say what I thought I heard?! Do I ask her what she said?! I asked her where she heard it before. She has always told me where she hears stuff and it is usually daycare, but this time she would not tell me. I did the typical parent thing - I better not ever hear you say that word again - and I haven't. She has no idea what it means. Later on I was telling Mammaw what she had said... guess who Dannah heard it from! Too funny! Bless Dannah's heart - she didn't want to get her Mammaw in trouble! I love her soul! Dannah has just about moved out of our house and moved in with Mammaw. I haven't quite figured out if it is the freedom she gets over there or the babying - either way, it's great for bother of them!

Happy Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day a day early this year because of vacation. I took the kids to the store so they could pick out their cards and gifts. Jameson wanted to get David new underwear and Dannah wanted to get him a work shirt. Jameson and I didn't see eye to eye on the underwear - the ones he wanted never would have left the pack. After a few minutes of arguing, he decided that he was going to get something else. For some reason Dannah jumped on the underwear gift. It kinda made me laugh - it was almost like she thought, hey, I can get him underwear and be done! I'd love to know what was actually going through her mind. Jameson decided David needed work tools - not just one, EVERYTHING! It did not matter size nor cost; he thought David needed it. And of course, Dannah 'helped' him find cool stuff. We finally narrowed it down to a wratcheting screwdriver and a precision screwdriver set.

My gift to David is still at the store. He has been wanting a tool chest for the back of his truck. We looked at some a while back, but when I went to get it-I was slightly overwhelmed. I had no idea which one was a good deal or would fall a part in a matter of days. So, I printed a picture of it along with a couple of family pictures for him to take to work and gave to him on Sunday. It's a good thing I just took the picture because he immediately started asking me questions about it - and I couldn't even pretend to act like I knew what he was talking about.

I hope David knows how much he is loved and appreciated. I think he is a wonderful father for our children. I am so thankful for all that he does and the impact he has on Dannah and Jameson. God is great!

Scrabble cake

I know the picture is a little blury - I'm going to put a clear picture when I get them all downloaded.

David's boss and his wife play scrabble a lot- actually, I think it is a family thing. So, for his birthday she asked me to make a scrabble cake. I have to say I really enjoyed the challenge. David grew up with his mom and grandmother baking and decorating so he knows a lot more than most men would even think about knowing in the baking world. Whenever I am making a cake, he is a great sounding board for me and often comes up with ideas to enhance the cake. The game board on this cake is completely functional. The tiles in the tray spell words and the tiles laying down spell his age. I also made a score sheet (David's idea) with the score and all. (The score came from the score sheet of our last game.) I also made a pencil to go with the score sheet. Everything is completely edible. I love decorating cakes and seeing how it transforms - I'm thankful that I'm usually not there to see the cake cut because I just about can't stand it. :)

3D circle cake

During the week of VBS, I was busy making a cake for a co-workers 4 year old little girl.

Saddle Ridge Ranch

This year was our first VBS - the kids went to First Baptist Church of Flora and had a wonderful time! It really helped that the theme was a cowboy ranch because the kids have spent a lot of time this summer dressing up as cowboy/cowgirl. I am so thankful to all the people that invested countless hours of preparation to make it a success. One of my favorite things is to hear the kids talking or singing about what they learned about God. Dannah even received a fish necklace one day because she knew the answer to the bible question. She doesn't forget anything... EVER! The final day they had a celebration. All of the kids were on stage singing... well, all but mine. David's grandmother went with me to the program. When Dannah saw us she waved and was ok. But at some point she walked across the stage to Jameson, who was doing anything but singing, and pointed us out. Needless to say, they both ended up sitting with us. However, they both walk around the house singing, "I am so h-a-p-p-y and I will tell you why, I know that my God loves me and he shows me all the time." God's love is not complicated - as we become adults, we make it complicated. I wish I still had their eyes and saw things as clearly as my kids. Thank you God for your presence in our lives!

SuMmER begins...

I spent the first week of summer entertaining two 4 year olds and two 3 year olds. Ayden spent the week with us and Dannah's best friend, Hannah Claire, spent some time with us also. (Anyone that has more than one kid knows that you can't have an odd number of kids and expect play to go well, which is why I have always said if I have 3 kids, I will have a fourth. Which is also probably why we still have just the two...)

It was an eventful week. I am proud to say that I attempted and conquered Wal-mart with Dannah, Jameson, and Ayden without bribing them with toys. woohoo!

Jameson and Ayden apparently spent some time being boys. When my mom asked Ayden what he did all week, his response was, "Me and Jameson played a lot and said a lot of bad words. I can't tell you what they are because they are bad." Come to find out their bad words are butthole, kill, booger, poot, and well, you get the idea. Needless to say they both have gotten in trouble; Jameson has even gotten soap in his mouth several times. I asked Jameson if he even knew what a butthole was and since he didn't he shouldn't go around saying words he doesn't know. So now instead of butthole he says mommyhole, Aydenhole, horsehole and so on. Oh, the things kids come up with!

Dannah of course was the 'leader'. She told me that she wanted to be a teacher when she grows up - she's getting a lot of practice with her little brother now! She cannot stand when Ayden and Jameson don't 'mind'. She crackes me up! One of her best friends is Hannah Claire. They met at daycare 2 1/2 years ago. They love to play dress up together and usually end up as princesses! I hope that they remain friends even though they will be going to different schools next year.

The kids had a blast spending time together and I got to bond with my nephew. There were a few times the first couple of days that Ayden would start to whine for his mommy and daddy. Then I figured out is was mainly when he thought he was in trouble with Aunt Jill. I don't think he ever really got in trouble - after all, it's my job to be fun not discipline! I wish I could spend that kind of time with all my nieces and nephews. We love them all and miss them so much!