We woke up and opened presents and played with the toys that Santa brought. I cooked a light breakfast and then we were off to Georgia for Christmas with Jason's side of the family. (ALL of us went to GA! 4 puppies, Dutchess, Leland, Jason, and I!)
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas Day!
We woke up and opened presents and played with the toys that Santa brought. I cooked a light breakfast and then we were off to Georgia for Christmas with Jason's side of the family. (ALL of us went to GA! 4 puppies, Dutchess, Leland, Jason, and I!)
Santa came to our house!
We went to the candlelight service at our church on Christmas Eve. I was very impressed that Leland stayed awake and sat through the entire service! It was such a good service and we had the pleasure of Sara Evans performing at it. Out of the 9 services our church had, she performed at the one we went to!
After church my Dad came up to our house. We typically spend Christmas Eve with his side of the family, but with the puppies being born, we decided to stay at home this year. We had some yummy turkey sandwiches out of the turkey breast I cooked earlier in the day. It was actually the most relaxing Christmas we had. We just sat around and watched a movie. Dad bought Leland Madagascar 2 and he LOVES it (I do too!), but Leland will sit through an hour or more! It is a really cute movie if you have never seen it!
After Dad left, we read our Christmas books and Leland left some cookies for Santa. Santa came to visit and left some fun stuff for Leland!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Words of Wisdom....
A friend of mine posted this as his status on facebook the other day, and I thought it was GREAT!!
As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasnt supposed to let you down probably will. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures and love like you've never been hurt. Every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasnt supposed to let you down probably will. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures and love like you've never been hurt. Every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
2 down, 2 to go!
We had 2 family get togethers for Christmas over the weekend. On Saturday my Mom's side of the family got together. On Sunday Mom and Larry and some friends came over to our house for Christmas. I cooked a turkey and all the fixins to go with it!
We had a good time and Leland got to open his first present! He got a Curious George video set from his GiGi and PapPap and a jumper! He loves them both!! He also got his first pair of boots from Mommy and Daddy. They are soft bottom John Deere boots and absolutely PRECIOUS!!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Goofy Sparkle Toes!!
I finally found an Elf on the Shelf book! I am so excited to start this tradition with Leland at Christmas time. It is a really cute book and it comes with an Elf that you have to name (the book tells the child to name the elf). We had no idea what we wanted to name him, so Jason googled Elf names. You know you can find anything on the Internet!
There is a website that lets you put in your first and last name and it tells you your elf name. We put in Leland's name and Goofy Sparkle Toes was our response. So, that is the name of our elf (Sparkle Toes for short!)!!
If you are unfamiliar with the Elf on the Shelf, it is an elf that works for Santa and sits somewhere in your home (a different place each day) to "watch" over your children to see if they are being bad or good. He then goes back to the North Pole at night to report to Santa. The book tells the child that they are not allowed to touch the elf or the magic will stop. I think its a really cute idea! I'm sure it will be a lot more fun next year when Leland understands the concept. For now, he likes the book!
I also purchased a cheap copy of The Night Before Christmas. This is my favorite Christmas story and I wanted Leland to have a copy. He likes it as well. He does well sitting through longer stories. He loves to listen to someone talking to him!!
Some of the Christmas traditions we are starting for Leland include:
The Elf on the Shelf, the book The Night Before Christmas, his Santa I've been SOOO good Love, Leland plate to leave something for Santa, and he joined Jason and I on our annual trip to the lake at Christmas time this year! Jason and I have been going to the lake at Christmas time for the past 2 or 3 years and we plan to continue for many years to come! I love going to the lake house in the winter time. It is a nice get away even if its just for the day or a night!
There is a website that lets you put in your first and last name and it tells you your elf name. We put in Leland's name and Goofy Sparkle Toes was our response. So, that is the name of our elf (Sparkle Toes for short!)!!
If you are unfamiliar with the Elf on the Shelf, it is an elf that works for Santa and sits somewhere in your home (a different place each day) to "watch" over your children to see if they are being bad or good. He then goes back to the North Pole at night to report to Santa. The book tells the child that they are not allowed to touch the elf or the magic will stop. I think its a really cute idea! I'm sure it will be a lot more fun next year when Leland understands the concept. For now, he likes the book!
I also purchased a cheap copy of The Night Before Christmas. This is my favorite Christmas story and I wanted Leland to have a copy. He likes it as well. He does well sitting through longer stories. He loves to listen to someone talking to him!!
Some of the Christmas traditions we are starting for Leland include:
The Elf on the Shelf, the book The Night Before Christmas, his Santa I've been SOOO good Love, Leland plate to leave something for Santa, and he joined Jason and I on our annual trip to the lake at Christmas time this year! Jason and I have been going to the lake at Christmas time for the past 2 or 3 years and we plan to continue for many years to come! I love going to the lake house in the winter time. It is a nice get away even if its just for the day or a night!
Random
I couldn't get a good picture of him sitting in his Bumbo chair in his Christmas robe because he wanted to look at the lights!!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
It's nights like these, as I sit awake at 2 am while everyone is asleep, that I miss people like my Ninny, Granny, and Tisyn the most. I've had a lot on my mind for the past few months and a lot has to do with family drama mixed with financial issues and just not having a lot of family time.
I miss talking to Tisyn (no I'm not crazy). He somehow had a way of looking back at me and his eyes somehow said everything would be OK. I really miss my Ninny and often wish that I had more time to spend with her so she could share more of her wisdom. I definitely took after her with my cooking and crafty skills. More than anything, I wish that my Ninny and Granny were still here to meet my beautiful baby boy.
I do not wish for any material thing for Christmas. However, I do only have one Christmas wish. I wish for peace, love, and happiness to join my family again. I'm not talking about one particular side of my family, I am talking about all 4 sides because they all have issues.
I am learning more and more that life is too short to deal with family drama. I am tired of dealing with it. Everyone has issues that others can not change. I am very thankful for the family that I have and none of them are perfect.
God has blessed me in so many ways this year. He blessed me with an amazing son and an opportunity to stay at home and raise him. He has also blessed me with an awesome, hardworking husband that is willing to work 2 jobs in order to care for his family. He has blessed me with the opportunity to start my own business in hopes of it growing into something spectacular. He has blessed me with my good health, nice car and house, and food. Most importantly, the freedom to enjoy it all and for this I am truley grateful.
Not all things this year have been blissful. We have been hit hard financially with the loss of my job, but through our faith in God, he has made everthing work out for us. I have put my faith in God a lot more than usual here lately because I have come to the realization that he knows whats in store for me and I just have to go with the flow and he will show me what my purpose is.
With that being said, I am tired of dealing with all the petty stuff.
1. My house will never be spotless. There are only so many hours in the day. I have to prioritize my time. I have to sleep, work on projects for the business, and most importantly spend time with Leland. Anyone that has ever been to my house knows it is never "dirty". I will even go with it is never "messy". I would much rather keep the house as clean as I can and spend as much quality time with Leland as I can than to obsess over a clean house.
2. I'm tired of dealing with money. I hate it! I see now how money makes people bitter and tears in between people. I am tired of worrying how bills will be paid. Some how or another we have managed since July and we will continue to manage. We are not hurting for anything. I have become a saving nazi and will continue to do so in order to continue paying off our debts, bills, and grow our savings.
3. I have learned to appreciate quality time with my husband, even though it is very hard to come by.
4. Most importantly, I am so tired of dealing with family drama. The more I sit and think about things that are going on, the more I realize that God wants me to forgive and move on. I do not know the reason people act the way they do. I do not know why people choose to not call for weeks/months at a time to check on us, but think that everything is OK. I can not change people, but I can distance myself and my family from the drama.
I am turning over a new leaf and wash my hands of the dramatic situations that are tormenting all sides of my family. As always, I will continue to do whats best for Jason, Leland, and I. I will not allow myself to get caught up in the non-important matters of life. Life is too short. I want to spend as much time with the people that actually care about me and my family. The emotions of the drama filled family are trying to work their way at Jason and I, and I won't have it. We have plenty on our plates and don't need any extra.
It is my number one goal to make a happy home for Leland and take advantage of any quality moments Jason and I get to spend together. I will continue to put everything in God's hands and let him show me through all of our troubles.
I really wish others in our family would adopt this new philosophy. Quit worrying about everyone else and take care of yourself. Stop fretting over the small stuff and enjoy as much quality family time as you can. Get over issues that you can't change because life is too short and you don't know when you or someone else will leave this earth. Learn that you have 5 minutes to call/e-mail someone to check up on them or at least show that you care. Don't act like everythings OK when there are issues that need to be worked out on the table. At least agree to disagree and figure out how to make the other person feel better and move on. Don't just ignore others feelings and the issues.
I miss talking to Tisyn (no I'm not crazy). He somehow had a way of looking back at me and his eyes somehow said everything would be OK. I really miss my Ninny and often wish that I had more time to spend with her so she could share more of her wisdom. I definitely took after her with my cooking and crafty skills. More than anything, I wish that my Ninny and Granny were still here to meet my beautiful baby boy.
I do not wish for any material thing for Christmas. However, I do only have one Christmas wish. I wish for peace, love, and happiness to join my family again. I'm not talking about one particular side of my family, I am talking about all 4 sides because they all have issues.
I am learning more and more that life is too short to deal with family drama. I am tired of dealing with it. Everyone has issues that others can not change. I am very thankful for the family that I have and none of them are perfect.
God has blessed me in so many ways this year. He blessed me with an amazing son and an opportunity to stay at home and raise him. He has also blessed me with an awesome, hardworking husband that is willing to work 2 jobs in order to care for his family. He has blessed me with the opportunity to start my own business in hopes of it growing into something spectacular. He has blessed me with my good health, nice car and house, and food. Most importantly, the freedom to enjoy it all and for this I am truley grateful.
Not all things this year have been blissful. We have been hit hard financially with the loss of my job, but through our faith in God, he has made everthing work out for us. I have put my faith in God a lot more than usual here lately because I have come to the realization that he knows whats in store for me and I just have to go with the flow and he will show me what my purpose is.
With that being said, I am tired of dealing with all the petty stuff.
1. My house will never be spotless. There are only so many hours in the day. I have to prioritize my time. I have to sleep, work on projects for the business, and most importantly spend time with Leland. Anyone that has ever been to my house knows it is never "dirty". I will even go with it is never "messy". I would much rather keep the house as clean as I can and spend as much quality time with Leland as I can than to obsess over a clean house.
2. I'm tired of dealing with money. I hate it! I see now how money makes people bitter and tears in between people. I am tired of worrying how bills will be paid. Some how or another we have managed since July and we will continue to manage. We are not hurting for anything. I have become a saving nazi and will continue to do so in order to continue paying off our debts, bills, and grow our savings.
3. I have learned to appreciate quality time with my husband, even though it is very hard to come by.
4. Most importantly, I am so tired of dealing with family drama. The more I sit and think about things that are going on, the more I realize that God wants me to forgive and move on. I do not know the reason people act the way they do. I do not know why people choose to not call for weeks/months at a time to check on us, but think that everything is OK. I can not change people, but I can distance myself and my family from the drama.
I am turning over a new leaf and wash my hands of the dramatic situations that are tormenting all sides of my family. As always, I will continue to do whats best for Jason, Leland, and I. I will not allow myself to get caught up in the non-important matters of life. Life is too short. I want to spend as much time with the people that actually care about me and my family. The emotions of the drama filled family are trying to work their way at Jason and I, and I won't have it. We have plenty on our plates and don't need any extra.
It is my number one goal to make a happy home for Leland and take advantage of any quality moments Jason and I get to spend together. I will continue to put everything in God's hands and let him show me through all of our troubles.
I really wish others in our family would adopt this new philosophy. Quit worrying about everyone else and take care of yourself. Stop fretting over the small stuff and enjoy as much quality family time as you can. Get over issues that you can't change because life is too short and you don't know when you or someone else will leave this earth. Learn that you have 5 minutes to call/e-mail someone to check up on them or at least show that you care. Don't act like everythings OK when there are issues that need to be worked out on the table. At least agree to disagree and figure out how to make the other person feel better and move on. Don't just ignore others feelings and the issues.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tis the holiday season.....
Well maybe not so much! Why is it so hard to get families together these days? Everyone is busy with their families and it is hard to get everyone together, especially for Christmas.
It breaks my heart that Christmas (lets add any holiday for that matter) has become one big hassle to get everyone together. I know that God gives each family test to deal with, but I feel as if we have been given a handful of test at one time!
We have come to take in the fact that Christmas in our family will not be the same this year. For one, we have a new baby and are trying our best to make it a wonderful holiday season for him. However, when you add family issues, Jason working two jobs, unexpected puppies, and people dead set on making family traditions for their own families, I don't know how we are suposed to make all this work.
Is it too much to ask for a family to get together and spend a few hours together on Christmas? We have traditions that we would like to start for Leland, but the most important thing to us is getting together with family.
God I pray that you will work our family issues out and let us get together with our family for Christmas, no matter where it is, and make the best of a not so good situation. I also pray that you will put the true Christmas spirit back in people and let them see that it is not a hassle, but the best season of the year and all that matters is spending some quality time with family whom you love the most!
It breaks my heart that Christmas (lets add any holiday for that matter) has become one big hassle to get everyone together. I know that God gives each family test to deal with, but I feel as if we have been given a handful of test at one time!
We have come to take in the fact that Christmas in our family will not be the same this year. For one, we have a new baby and are trying our best to make it a wonderful holiday season for him. However, when you add family issues, Jason working two jobs, unexpected puppies, and people dead set on making family traditions for their own families, I don't know how we are suposed to make all this work.
Is it too much to ask for a family to get together and spend a few hours together on Christmas? We have traditions that we would like to start for Leland, but the most important thing to us is getting together with family.
God I pray that you will work our family issues out and let us get together with our family for Christmas, no matter where it is, and make the best of a not so good situation. I also pray that you will put the true Christmas spirit back in people and let them see that it is not a hassle, but the best season of the year and all that matters is spending some quality time with family whom you love the most!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
4 Pups!
We wound up with 4 babies! The first little girl was born around 4:45am and a boy and girl joined her about an hour and a half later. We thought she was done because she wasn't showing many signs of labor, but to our surprise about 2 hours later another little girl arrived. They are all healthy and cute as can be.
We still have absolutely no clue who the Daddy is, but they all look like bulldogs. They all have a pug nose and after tomorrow will have docked tails and dew claws. Time will tell as they change in a few weeks, but for suprise puppies, I think they will be pretty cute!
As if our lives were not busy enough, I am absolutely exhausted! I was up all night Tuesday with Leland and Dutchess. It is a handful to take care of Leland, puppies, Dutchess, a house, business, and husband! I will make it somehow, but WOW God is testing me right now!!
I have learned, in the past 2 months especially, that you can't plan anything and just have to take one day at a time and do what's best for us. That's exactly what Jason and I have been doing and hopefully everything will work out for the best. Everything happens for a reason, even if you can't see the reason right that moment!
Looking for a Photographer???
I know a GREAT one! She is one of my best friends since high school. Her name is Lindsey Ruona and she is currently in Mobile, AL, but comes to Birmingham very often. She has just started a new photography business and she did our Christmas pictures. I have seen much more of her work and it is awesome!!
Check her out:
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Make it 3!
An hour and a half after the first little girl came, one more girl and a little boy joined the crew!
LONG night.....
I had a very interesting night and that explains why I am on the computer at 5:00am!!
Last week I noticed that Dutchess was getting a little round, but I thought it was just because she was eating a lot better and healthier now at our house. Mom came over and kept insisting that the dog may be pregnant, but I thought that there was no possible way as she stays in the house with us all the time and even when we are gone. She was on her cycle when we first got her and to my knowledge was not around any other dog at my Dad's house, or so we thought!
I still didn't think much of it last week, even though I had a hunch that she might be prego, but I really started to think it yesterday morning when I saw that her milk had obviously came in and she kept panting all day. I got on the internet to do some research and she was showing all the symptoms of labor for dogs. The true test, as the internet said, was to check the dogs temperature. It said that normally dogs temperatures are 101 degrees and when it drops to around 97 degrees, pups will follow within 12 to 24 hours. Well I bit the bullet and checked her temp and sure enough it was 97.3 degrees. I called a few people that knew about this kind of thing and they all told me that you just have to wait, so we did.
Dutchess laid on her bed most of the night, but still panted, so I didn't sleep very well for trying to listen out for her. Leland woke me up at 2:30 and couldn't breath, so I had to suction his nose and he was not going back to sleep after that. He was also not a happy camper! I finally got him back to sleep, but he would only sleep on me, which means no good sleep for me. I finally got him laid back down at 4:15 just to realize that Dutchess was having the baby!
She had one baby girl. I can't tell who she looks like (Mom or Dad), but she is cute! Mom and baby are doing well and hopefully we can all catch a long nap today!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Life of the Rooks
- Jason and I were married on March 1, 2008. We are each others best friend and wouldn't trade our lives for anything! Jason was born and raised in Newnan, GA and I was born and raised in Birmingham, AL where we now live. We have an awesome family that is always there for us. We had a beautiful baby boy, Leland Matthew, on July 22, 2009. He is now growing like a weed and so much fun! We have a very hectic life, but we love it! We take everything that God gives us and deal with it the best we can. We know he has a plan for our family and can't wait to see what the future brings!!