Party of Five!!!!

Emma's American Girl Trip

2011-08-04T18:12:00.004-05:00

Because we got to spend a trip with Hannah, we thought it only fair that Emma got a special trip as well. Our destination this time?........The American Girl doll store in Atlanta. You can't imagine two more opposite trips! But this one was certainly perfect for Emma -- filled with dolls, clothes and every kind of girly thing you can think of!

Emma poses with the AG doll of the year.

Emma's doll, Emily, receives a make-over complete with new hair-do. (And no I am not kidding!)

Emma's personal shopper, Ms. Kay, shows her around the store.

After shopping we dined next door at the AG cafe.

Emma poses with Emily and her new doll, Rebecca. Yes, even the dolls get special treatment - and their own seats - at the cafe.

My "peanut" and me

More DC Tourist Highlights

2011-08-04T12:00:00.006-05:00

Cooling our feet in the pool at the WWII Memorial

Paul & Hannah waiting for the bus at Arlington

View overlooking Arlington from Robert E. Lee's house.

Tomb of the Unknown

Iwo Jima Memorial

The Capital

Library of Congress

Inside Library of Congress

July 4th in DC

2011-08-04T10:33:00.004-05:00

Leave it to Paul to find us a hotel with this view for the 4th. We were able to sit and enjoy the fireworks from the comfort of our room. Not bad!

DC Family Time

2011-08-04T09:46:00.003-05:00

Fabulous dinner with fabulous company!

Delicious authentic pizza lunch at one of the Diconi's favorite spots.

Uncle Paul enjoying some Wii time with the boys. ("Lovely" picture of Hannah included).

Pool time with Andrea and boys

Cousins

Ben, Hannah, & Patrick

DC Tourist Stuff

2011-07-07T17:16:00.003-05:00

Washington Monument

Museum of American History

National Archives

White House

2011-07-07T16:59:00.005-05:00

We finally made it to DC! And quite by accident, our first stop was a last minute hotel stay only one block from the White House. Pretty cool!

After seeing the White House, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. The lobster mac & cheese was awesome!

Jake's Birthday

2011-05-11T17:52:00.000-05:00

To celebrate Jake's 4th birthday, we headed to our favorite pizza place.....Mellow Mushroom!

Emma & Jake laughing it up

Downtown Franklin

After dinner, we then headed to our favorite dessert place downtown......Sweet Cece's. It's a frozen yogurt bar that has a wall FILLED with every topping you could ever want. Heaven on earth!! Emma gets busy making her choices.

Jakes instructs Paul on what to put in his cup!

Wilson crew stuffing their faces!

Yummy!

My "baby" boy!

Easter Morning

2011-05-01T20:56:00.004-05:00

Jake (3), Emma (6), Hannah (10)

The men of our family

Dying Easter Eggs

2011-04-24T20:43:00.005-05:00

Silly Boy!

Hannah enjoys viewing her 3D egg stickers with 3D glasses.

Emma's Masterpiece

Father/Daughter Dance - February 2011

2011-04-24T20:31:00.003-05:00

Soccer

2010-11-27T22:01:00.002-06:00

Jake's first soccer practice. LOTS of running and giggles. It was great!

Coach John gives Jake some pointers for kicking the ball in the goal.

Jake hangs out with his new friend Beckam.

My soccer star before we left the house.

Jake's First Day of Preschool

2010-11-27T21:49:00.001-06:00

Several weeks after the girls started school, Jake finally got his chance and began preschool at First Pres. in Franklin. He was so very excited and it has been a wonderful transition for him. His teacher, Ms. Connie, is a great fit for him, and he has loved every day since.

What a stinker!

Jake is eager to show off his new Toy Story lunchbox and firetruck shirt.

First Day of School 2010

2010-11-27T21:42:00.002-06:00

Hannah - 4th Grade

Emma - 1st Grade

Jake - Tagging Along

The girls start their first day of school at their new school in Franklin, TN.

New House - Franklin, Tennessee

2010-08-29T21:24:00.003-05:00

Although the actual move was not one one of our better ones, the first week in the new house was definitely one of the best. We met wonderful neighbors, fell in love with the new house all over again, and spent every morning soaking in the beautiful views in the backyard. As tired as I was, though, it was impossible to get mad at the children when they woke me up very early EVERY morning with peals of laughter and squeals of delight from the back deck. They couldn't wait to get out the door -- still in their PJ's --- to explore the yard and scoop out the tree frogs from the very neglected hot tub.

Moving In Day - Franklin, TN

2010-08-29T21:04:00.006-05:00

Although we (Momma and I) were SOO very busy during the THREE days in took to get everything off the moving truck, I managed to get these quick pics of Jake. He was so "whooped" by the process he actually crashed on the couch right in the middle of all the activity.

Moving Out Day

2010-08-29T20:21:00.006-05:00

Well....here we are on move number EIGHT. This time from Memphis to Nashville. On day two (I think!) of the move, we had a lot more waiting left, but no furniture in the house and three very tired, grumpy children. So...."Mean Mommy" trapped everyone in one room (Nola included) and assigned everyone a corner. Eventually everyone dozed off and I was able to snap a few pictures so I can (eventually) laugh at this day.

Jake's Halloween Party

2009-12-17T09:40:00.002-06:00

Knowing ahead of time that Jake would have NO part in dressing up in a "real" costume, we opted for the football player look. These pictures are from the costume parade and party at his pre-school.

Waiting for the parade to begin

Jake's class takes their turn walking around the gym. I really like "Handy Manny" in front of him!

Jake sits with Ms. Tammy (one of his teachers) to watch a funny little performance by the music teacher.

I'm pretty sure the party was his favorite part of the day!

Canale Farms

2009-12-17T09:24:00.004-06:00

Back in October, our church rented out an entire farm for an afternoon. It was a very fun, and very nice experience. We started the afternoon with a wagon ride around the entire farm.

View from the wagon as we rode.

Hannah takes a turn on the horses.

Then Emma took a turn.

Finally it was Jake's turn.

Paul and Jake spend time doing "guy stuff". Love this picture!

Jake's First UGA Game

2009-12-16T20:55:00.005-06:00

Well my posts are way out of order now --- I was too excited about Emma's tooth not to post it! But I can still catch up, right? So here are the pics from our (Paul, Emma, Jake, & I) trip to Nashville to the Vanderbilt/UGA game. Hannah quickly opted out and begged to stay with a friend. Paul was very excited as this was Jake's first game. All things considered it went fairly well. The worst part was the weather......it was FREEZING! So we only made it to half-time. But it was fun to get away.

Save Now

Jake displays his ticket

View of the field

Emma really enjoyed getting decked out in her brand new UGA cheerleading outfit.

Paul and Jake try to steal a peek of UGA before we head out.

I must admit I think this was their favorite part.....returning to the hotel - where it was nice and warm - and eating pop tarts. Go figure!

Emma Loses Her First Tooth

2009-12-05T16:20:00.003-06:00

After WEEKS of trying to pull Emma's first tooth......we finally had success!!

Zoo Field Trip

2009-11-13T17:44:00.002-06:00

Earlier in the school year I had the pleasure of chaperoning for Emma's class trip to the zoo. Jake tagged along as well and we had a great time.

Emma and her friend, Presleigh, pose near the panda habitat.

Jake pauses to enjoy the giraffe.

Emma (far right) and a few classmates get a good giggle being splashed by the fountain.

Emma stopped for a quick picture (on the way out) with this great Elvis pumpkin. What would Fall in Memphis be without Elvis??

Clown Day for Emma

2009-11-11T08:40:00.004-06:00

In early October, Emma had clown day at school. Thankfully, Paul was home that morning to help Emma get ready, because clown decorating is NOT my expertise! I was so impressed with his work.

Once they got started, she didn't like the paint on her face!

But the finished product sure was cute! Way to go Paul and Emma.

Emma seems to like playing this part.

Tiger Walk

2009-11-10T20:09:00.006-06:00

Back in September, the girls' school held a fundraiser that involved sponsoring them for the number of laps their class walked. It's a big ta-doo around here we soon discovered, but also a lot of fun. Jake and I went and walked with both of them.

Hannah shakes her bee shakers at Jake and I as she makes a pass.

Hannah's class takes a break from walking to dance a little.

Emma's class is the "Lightnin' Bugs". She shows off her "tail".

Emma and her amazing teacher Mrs. Lavelle

The "Lightnin' Bugs" stop walking to do their cheer/chant: "Who let the bugs out? Who...who...who?

Shakin' their lightnin' bug bottoms!

Emma's class

Paul made an appearance at the event to come and eat lunch with the girls. No easy feat considering he had to drive 20 minutes, eat for 15, then jump in the car and drive 20 minutes back to work. But I think it was worth it to see Emma's face light up. Who wouldn't want a Daddy like that?

Adventures in Potty Training

2009-10-02T09:14:00.003-05:00

Well who knew that "tighty - whities" could be so darn cute!! Potty training a little boy is the next installment in my learning curve of raising a little boy. It's certainly interesting! Although many folks have told me how difficult potty training a boy can be, I've been pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite. He has been very willing and able to work on this big step in his life (with the help of M&M's of course!). Let's hope he continues to make great progress!

Hannah's New Glasses

2009-10-02T09:01:00.003-05:00

A few weeks into the school year, Hannah began complaining about having trouble seeing the board at school. I was a little surprised (I'd had her checked last school year), but Paul reminded me that with both of us having poor eyesight, chances were pretty good at least one of our three would have trouble. Anyway, the exam found Hannah was very farsighted and a few days later we went and picked up her new glasses. She was AMAZED at the difference they made and constantly moved the glasses up and down to compare her sight. It's been a smooth transition and I'm so proud of how Hannah has embraced her new self. I think she looks absolutely beautiful!

Paul Turns 36

2009-09-27T14:57:00.003-05:00

The older we get the more we seem to opt for the "low-key" birthday celebration. For Paul's 36th, we stayed at home, celebrating with his favorite pizza, a one day reprieve from "Daddy Duty", and finished it off with a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cake. I think he enjoyed it!

Here he is emerging from the man cave for his "surprise" celebration.

The celebration decor...

and Paul blowing out his candles. Yes, yes, I know the candles say 35, but our number 6 seemed to have disappeared in our hour of need. Happy Birthday, Babe!

First Days of School

2009-09-18T12:39:00.007-05:00

Here is our Hannah; Age 8 - First Day of 3rd Grade

It was such a relief to start school knowing where everything was, teachers, etc. rather than our middle-of-the-year move earlier. She was excited and ready to start back.

Although Hannah and Emma are now at the same school (hooray!), Emma started a week later than Hannah. The kindergarteners had a "staggered" first few days to get them acquainted with all the big changes. For chronological purposes, I should have posted the second set of pictures of Emma first, but got mixed up. Anyway......the first two pictures of Emma are on her second day of Kindergarten. On this day we finally had her teacher assignment and she is entering her room and finding her seat. She was so very excited.....and Mommy was so very sad -- Completely bittersweet!

Emma is OFFICIALLY a Kindergartener!!

Here is Emma on her first "staggered" day of Kindergarten. She went and spent the day at school, but did not yet know her teacher.

She was SOOO aggravated at having to stop and take these pictures. She had been waiting for this day forever!

Here she is climbing off the bus that first staggered day. I just love her expression! Much to her dismay I insisted on taking her myself the first few days, but in the afternoons she rode home on the bus with Hannah and Mr. Clements (waving in the back).

And a week after Emma got started, my baby boy made his first trek to pre-school. Wow!---I can hardly believe all the big changes going on in our house this school year. It takes my breath away at times. Jake attends "school" two days a week and he has loved it from the moment he stepped in the door. He asks every day if he's going to school that day.

My precious boy

Here's Jake with the dreaded "cheeese" smile showing off his "racing car" lunch box.

And here he is at school with "Miss Anese" (aka Ms. Denise). As hard as it was for me to walk out that door his first day and come home to an empty house, I have grown to look forward to those two days and the semi-freedom they provide me. It's amazing that God provides things that sometimes we don't even realize we need!

Slick Rock, Alabama

2009-08-26T13:07:00.005-05:00

Recently Paul scheduled to attend a festival in Alabama over a weekend, so we decided to make it a family affair, take the RV and all go together. We hooked the RV up at a campground called Slick Rock (about 20 minutes from the festival site) and as you can see it was really nice. Lots of trees, right on a lake, and very peaceful & quiet. Well, as quiet as it can be with three children in tow. Although we didn't get to spend a lot of time there, we enjoyed it and even I would enjoy going back for a festival-free weekend there.

A shot down to the lake from our camper location.

Paul got some night crawlers to fish with and he and I both commented on how large they were. At first, Jake was quite disgusted with the things and then gradually became intrigued when he saw his sisters with them. Here he is getting better acquainted and then.....

they soon became his new best friends. He carried the box with him ALL over the campground and then began experimenting with dropping them from various heights. Look closely...you'll see one in motion above.

Let's try another one!

See.....even when he was done dropping them, he had to carry the box so they could color together. Hilarious!

Hannah concentrates on a sidewalk chalk masterpiece.

My little stinker!

Pretty rainbow, Emma!

Fishing

2009-08-24T16:08:00.002-05:00

One recent weekend afternoon, we made an impromptu visit to a lake not too far from the house. Locals had mentioned it, but we'd never been. Herb Parsons Lake was very pretty and we were surprised at the size of it -- bigger than I had expected. Anyway, Paul did a little fishing and the children enjoyed looking on.

Jake observes the "art" of baiting a hook.

Fishing wasn't too exciting for them, so Jake and Emma decided to dig around with sticks instead.

Bowling

2009-08-24T13:39:00.004-05:00

Toward the end of summer break, I took the children bowling to ease our boredom. It was Jake's first time so, of course, that adds to the fun. We had a good time.

Hannah looks happy with her score.

I'm impressed -- I thought her form was pretty good.

Jake and Emma take a snack break (with smuggled in food!). Lovely expression on both of them -- it's the dreaded fake smile pics.

Jake waits with excitement as Emma's ball makes contact.

Waiting for his ball to come flying out of the fun rolling machine!

Again, anxiously waiting the results of his own ball.

This picture is just priceless to me! Every time the ball would hit the pins he would jump up and yell, "YES!" I certainly wasn't expecting this level of excitement and it was so very entertaining.

Emma's Horse Camp

2009-08-19T15:20:00.003-05:00

We were so fortunate this summer to be able to send the girls to different camps. Hannah really wanted to try basketball camp and Emma really wanted to try horse camp. So here she is on the last day. Parents got to come and watch them do all the exercises and things they'd learned during the week. Emma ended up with one of the more ornery horses, Tux, but she handled him just fine. It was awesome watching her climb up and handle this big ole' horse. The pictures don't do it justice - b/c it was dark in there - but at least you can get an idea.

Hannah's New Bike

2009-08-19T13:21:00.002-05:00

Well...it "only" took 8 years but Hannah is riding a bike. After a bad experience (at age 5!) she had no interest in getting back on a two-wheeler, but finally this summer she was ready to tackle it. So after we got back from our trips, we bought her a bike and within 30 minutes she was riding like a pro. Since then we've spent lots of time going around the neighborhood (me walking with the little kids and Hannah riding). She has completely mastered her bike and we couldn't be prouder.

July 4th

2009-08-19T11:57:00.005-05:00

While back in Georgia we had the pleasure of spending 4th of July with The Keiffers. This is the wonderful family of Wally's girlfriend, Kylene (or Kymene as Jake calls her!). They invited us over to their house and I was so thrilled to finally get to spend time with Kylene's parents, brother and sister. They were so incredibly gracious to us, providing tons of fun things for my little monkeys to do. We had a fantastic time. The only downer being that Paul wasn't able to be there with us. Maybe next year!

We managed to get everyone still for a moment to get a family picture.

This picture is of all the Keiffer's and their significant others. Kylene's parents (second from left). Kylene's sister Ashley and boyfriend (front left), Wally and Kylene (third from left), and Kylene's brother BJ and his girlfriend (on the right). What a great looking group!!

Debbie (Kylene's mom) with Jake and Hannah

Debbie again with Hannah and Emma -- What a great grandmother she's going to make!

Emma and Ashley -- it was so funny how Emma was immediately drawn to her b/c Ashley is also the "middle" child and we're always comparing how much they seem alike. This was the first time they'd ever met.

"Kymene" and Jake -- As far as Jake is concerned this is HIS "Kymene" and Wally was simply in the way! Very funny! And what an incredible picture, I think. Jake was spellbound by the sparklers and mini fireworks in the yard, but didn't want to stray too far from Kylene. And for those of you who haven't had a chance to meet her yet........YES, she is just as sweet and kind as she is beautiful!

Hannah's first time with a sparkler. She's pretending not to be a little scared!

Debbie and Emma hold one together.

Slippin' and a Sliddin'

2009-08-09T02:04:00.005-05:00

Well as people say....life is always full of surprises. After our week at the beach earlier in the summer, the children and I arrived at my mother's house in Georgia to discover that my brother's scheduled leave from Iraq (for late in the summer) had been suddenly cancelled. You can imagine how terribly disappointed we all were, but that's the military and so we dealt with the news, enjoyed our week with Mimi, trip to Nana's house, then Callaway Gardens, and then finally headed back to Memphis. Well.....as we are literally driving into Memphis - not even all the way home yet - I get a call on my cell from my mother's house, and to my great confusion, answer the phone and hear my brother's voice!!! As we all know, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away", but in this case, the Lord taketh away AND THEN giveth!! Wally had been granted his leave, but left Iraq the same day it was granted. He had no idea it was going to happen and in fact it all "went down" so fast, he really didn't have time to let any of us know. He showed up at our mother's house completely unannounced! What an amazing surprise. Luckily he was given two entire weeks, so we were able to spend a week at home getting our ducks in a row and then turn around and head back to Georgia. Can you picture it?? Me - the only adult - three children and dog, NOLA, in tow making the 9+ hour trip!! We had to break it up and spend the night in Montgomery, but we made it and made great memories in the process. And let's face it....there's not much I wouldn't do to get to spend some time with my "baby" brother. Anyway, the pictures below are from our return trip to Mimi's. I bought a slip-n-slide to bring along for the hot days. It sure was fun watching the children re-live a favorite childhood memory of mine.

After two passes, Hannah was a complete pro.

Emma, on the other hand, not so much. She couldn't quite get her form down.

"Aunt" Wally made a fabulous pass (fully clothed!) to show them how it's "really" done. Look at Jake's expression.

Jake didn't even bother. He just hung out at the "pool" end playing with his cups.

And then he decided he'd give Wally a hand cooling off.

Summer time sure is fun!

Callaway Gardens

2009-07-28T17:41:00.008-05:00

The morning after Nana's birthday party, we drove over to Callaway Gardens to meet back up with Paul's Uncle James, Aunt Sara, Cousin Andrea and her boys Patrick and Benjamin. Although it was a quick visit - because we had to get back on the road to Memphis - it was wonderful and I'm so glad we were able to do it. We started with a delicious breakfast at a restaurant there and then drove over to see the butterfly garden/house.

The entrance to the butterflies

James gets a head start on the exhibit.

Hannah stops for a quick picture

Jake's got that "deer in the headlight" look, like he's doing something wrong, but he was just tossing fish food to the fish below him.

I managed to get a shot with Jake and Emma. Her expression is lovely, isn't it?

Family photo op

One last parting shot of the exhibit. It was really beautiful and peaceful to me. I wish I could have spent more time sitting and enjoying it.

Emma and Benjamin walk hand-in-hand to the car.

We squeeze in one last picture of the cousins together. Unfortunately it might be a while before we're all together again.

Just couldn't resist putting this one in of my "little man".

Nana Turns 87

2009-07-10T10:32:00.009-05:00

After leaving the beach, we spent the week in Thomasville and fortunately were still in Georgia to attend Nana's (Paul's Grandmother) 87th birthday celebration. We had an incredible time and it also doubled as a Wilson family reunion.

The girls give Nana a big "hello" hug. It's been WAY too long since we've seen her.

Jake enjoys the goats and horse behind Nana's house.

Jake and his cousins Patrick and Benjamin are all entertained by the goats.

Aunt Carolyn helps teach Jake the art of bubble blowing.

Emma involved in a relay race arranged by Grandmomma (i.e. Brenda). She did a fabulous job planning terrific games for all the children.

All the cousins look on while Benjamin makes his mad dash.

The adults look on (under the shade!) as the games continue.

Grandmomma explains the rules of one of the relay games.

Claudia and Emma take off

Jakes tries his hand and carrying the water during a relay

I think he got more water on his shirt than in the bucket.

The adults engage in a bubble gum blowing content

James displays quite a beauty.

Nana's beautiful birthday cake that Brenda had made in Americus. (Nana's first name is Jewel -- and she really is!!)

Emma and Nana having a discussion

Ben helps Nana get the candles blown out. How cute is this!

Benjamin, James, Sara, Patrick, and Andrea

Jeff, Wayne, Margaret, Bailey, Bentley, and Carmen

James and Jake get acquainted

Some very worn out children pile onto Nana's bed to watch TV.

Emma, Ken, Hannah, Jake, and Brenda

Nana & Jake share a snuggle.

At the end of the day, I finally got this great picture of Jake with Nana. They hit it off like peas in a pod.

Cape San Blas, Florida

2009-07-10T07:49:00.012-05:00

Thanks to my hard working husband, we were able to rent a house at my favorite beach spot -- Cape San Blas, Florida -- for a week in early June. Just like the last time we went, our trip just happened to correspond with my mother's birthday and we were able to celebrate, in person, with her. It was an incredible week that flew by way too fast. Our only regret was that my brother - overseas in Iraq - was unable to be there with us. Hopefully next time we can truly make it a family affair.

We arrived late on a Sunday afternoon and after unloading, rushed down to enjoy the beach and the gorgeous sunset.

Certainly God's handiwork

Unlike the last time we were here - because Jake was only six weeks old - Jake got right down to business, digging, and digging, and digging. He LOVED every minute of it!

Paul helps show some digging techniques

Look at this view!! The beach remained virtually deserted our entire week. Truly my perfect vacation.

Our gorgeous big girl, Hannah.

Our gorgeous - and sassy! - little girl, Emma. She reminds us SO much of my mother (both looks and personality) that we nicknamed her LJ for "Little Jan"

My precious boy. He showed absolutely no fear of the water. It was so wonderful to watch him explore and thrive. He was in heaven.

Look, Mommy!

A dolphin - look closely! - in the distance. It was actually very close to the shore.

Emma and her partner in crime enjoy the waves splashing around them.

Jake giggles as he runs from the waves.

Mimi and Hannah enjoy their daily morning wave riding. They were talking and solving the problems of the world!

Mimi and LJ spend a moment in the pool.

Look at Emma finally swimming! Way to go!!

Emma and her swimming coach - AKA Daddy - pause for a picture.

Jake enjoys jumping into the pool with Paul.

Way to go, Jake!

Whheee!!!

Emma agrees to be buried......

Emma regrets to agreeing to be buried!

And of course, on our last day, I insisted on a family photo that everyone grumbled about, but it was so worth it to have us all together. It's such a rare treat!

Mimi and her chicks

Me and the most wonderful mother in the world.

My two boys

I think this is one of my favorites -- look at the happiness in their faces. It's so sweet.

On the way back to Mimi's house in Thomasville, Georgia, we stopped at Angelo's Seafood Restaurant. A favorite place for us to eat. This is a shot of the Apalachicola bridge from our outdoor table. Mom has a picture of Paul and I here when we were still dating, so we recreated it for fun.

Jake enjoying the seagulls while we wait for lunch.

We may be a little older since our first picture here, but look how far we've come. I certainly love Paul even more than that day.

God's precious gifts

Hannah and Mimi share some sugar.

Emma's 5th Birthday

2009-05-14T15:09:00.011-05:00

To celebrate Emma's 5th, we had a petting zoo come to the house complete with a Thomas train. The train got the festivities started by riding the kids around the neighborhood. It was really cute.

Emma enjoys the train with some classmates.

Hannah takes charge of Jake while they ride around the neighborhood. What a great big sister!

They also brought ponies to ride and even Jake took a turn. I'm sure my neighbors were thrilled about the "gifts" the horses left in the street!

Jake finishes up his turn with Daddy's help.

Emma actually got the first ride on the smaller, white horse. Perfect for 5 year old princesses.

A quick shot of the trailer holding all the animals including goats, a calf, and a llama. And yes it is true that llama's spit. This one demonstrated her abilities quite well, but thankfully it wasn't on any of the children. One of the handlers was lucky enough to deal with that!

Next we move on to turtle races. Jake was fascinated with them while in the bucket.

Jake watches as two of the turtles battle it out.

I think it was a tie!

Then they also brought some caged animals. Here Emma cuddles with a ferret.

Jake gets a closer look at the rabbit.

And then the ducks.

Feeding the animals in the trailer was fun. Hannah shakes a little goat spit off her hands!

Jake thought the tickling tongue was quite funny!

The new 5 year old has a blast feeding the baby goats.

Hannah gets a turn bottle feeding the calf.

Then Jake gets a turn too -- sort of.

After the animals got packed up we headed inside for lots of hand washing and then ate pizza and Hello Kitty birthday cake.

Emma gets ready to blow out her candles.

She did it!! Well we say this every year for every birthday, but I can't believe Emma is five years old and will be heading to Kindergarten next year. The years keep getting faster and faster, but Emma is her same sweet, sassy, funny self.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jake!

2009-04-29T21:49:00.011-05:00

So this is the face that greeted us when we went in his room to sing Happy Birthday. I guess we must have startled him because he cried and screamed at us, "NO Happy Birthday!!!" Welcome to the Terrible Two's!

Aaahh - here's the sweet boy we love. We got him settled down and all ready for his Birthday cinnamon roll breakfast.

Way to go, Jake! With no practice, he blew out the candle the first try.

Eeww -- he got a finger full of wax rather than icing! Not what he was expecting.

We started our evening birthday celebration with pizza -- Jake's favorite. Here he is clowning around at dinner.

We finished that off with an Elmo b'day cake - Jake LOVES Elmo - that was delicious.

Here is the precious look on his face when he saw his cake for the first time.

Getting ready to blow out the candle.

Gettin' down to some dinner music (90's Rock I think)

Can't believe our baby is two!

Jake's Present ---- A train table and set that I put together all by myself (yes, I am very proud of myself!) I hid it upstairs in Paul's "man room" for the week so I could work on it when I had time.

Here he is catching a glimpse of it for the first time. He was very excited and ran over to investigate.

He can't wait to get his hands on it as the girls look on.

Love this one.....he is showing his surprise when he discovers it makes noises when the train rolls over certain parts of the track. Very cool!

Deep in concentration

Chooo Choooo!!!!

Woah!! It makes noises over here too!!!

A boy and his toys. I love the simplicity of little boys!

Jake opens a present from Mimi......

a counting, croaking frog book. Fun!

Jake rips into a package sent from Grandmama and Bobo

Alright!!! A train with stacking blocks! I don't know who is more excited....me or Jake. Now he's got a train to play with downstairs too. We all must have been on the same brain waves.

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T12:23:00.005-05:00

We decided to get up early and go to early church to try and avoid the Easter crush. Afterwards Paul had the great idea of driving over to a different area of the subdivision to take some family shots. I think they turned out pretty great!

What a beautiful sight -- how blessed we are to be together!

Me and the girls

My little buddy

Paul and Emma

The Three Musketeers

Leave it to The Sisters to have some fun!

My Three Angels

I love this one -- it seems to just capture childhood.

Dyeing Easter Eggs

2009-04-13T12:04:00.006-05:00

We managed to prolong the dyeing of eggs until the Saturday before Easter. Fortunately this year there was no crying during the process -- only after when Emma dropped and cracked one of her eggs. Oh what fun!

Hannah puts the finishing touches on her dye.

Emma then tries her hand it -- she chose yellow.

A pretty green was her next choice.

Jake got to try his hand at dyeing this year as well. He actually enjoyed it.

Paul helps a little with the process.

Ta-da -- Jake especially enjoyed putting stickers on his eggs

Spring Creek Ranch Egg Hunt

2009-04-13T11:40:00.007-05:00

Here's a group shot of the neighborhood children (including Hannah and Emma) before the hunt began. Jake didn't want any part of this process!

Emma gets busy filling up her basket

Partners in crime!

Poor, Jake. He was really feeling poorly this day, but we hated for him to miss his first egg hunt so we thought it was worth a shot. As you can see it did NOT go over well. He cried the entire time, so he and I left so the girls could continue to enjoy the fun with Paul. Maybe next year!

What Sisters Do Best.........

2009-03-12T20:59:00.005-05:00

.........First......
Use your little brother as a sticker canvas; Somehow Elmo managed to escape unscathed.

Jake's such a good sport!

What a mess!

.....Second........

Transform a rolling suitcase into a ride! (Yes, that really is Jake's head sticking out of the suitcase!!)

Good thinking, Emma! (Says Jake)

Partners in crime

One Last Snow (I Hope!)

2009-03-12T20:50:00.003-05:00

Just a few quick early morning pics of - I hope - that last snow of the season. This Georgia girl is ready for some warm weather, but it sure is pretty.

Back to New Orleans

2009-02-19T08:58:00.009-06:00

Two weekends before Mardi Gras, Paul and I decided to make an impromptu visit back to N.O. to revisit Carnival. So we loaded up the RV on Saturday morning (complete with dog) and made the trek. We knew it would either be a great visit or a terrible visit. Luckily, it turned out great. I arranged for the girls' best friends to meet us on the parade route in Metairie as a surprise for both of them. Their expressions were absolutely priceless and completely worth the seven hour drive. This is Hannah with her best friend Macy.

Best Friends Reunited!

Emma waits patiently for the parade to begin.

Jake waits patiently for the parade to begin. (Yes, I know he needs his own folding chair!)

A group picture. The best one we could get under the circumstances.

My precious boy

A rare photo of me - thanks to our friend Dawn.

And here is Dawn. A dear friend and also AT&T employee.

Dawn spoiled Paul by bringing him EIGHT POUNDS of crawfish - fresh and hot out of the pot. He was in HOG HEAVEN.

Jake gives Chris Crawfish a kiss!

The parade finally begins!!

Jake snags a cool balloon hat from the clown float while the parade stalls.

And here is Emma with her beloved "Pakenzie". She - along with her parents and brother - showed up just about the time Macy and her family were leaving. Neither Emma nor Makenzie had any idea they would be seeing each other. It was sooo sweet!

Hannah and Makenzie try to score some loot while Emma stuffs it all into a bag.

Best friends rock!

Dawn also spoiled the rest of us by bringing a Randazzo's cream cheese King Cake. The girls are stuffing their faces and hoping to find the baby.

At the end of the first parade we headed over to the AT&T parade stand to catch some of the acts performing on the stage across the street. There was a big crowd.

Jake and I enjoy the music and watching the folks below.

One last look at the view down the street before we headed back to our spots for the second parade. Carnival was just a blast!

Tennessee Snow

2009-02-11T19:57:00.007-06:00

On January 20th, we awoke to our first Tennessee snow (well at least for THIS move to Tennessee!). Ok, I know all our Northern friends and family are snickering at this "snow", but the girls were thrilled and insisted on running out in it before heading off to school.

Emma doesn't remember the snow from the first time we lived here so she especially thought it was cool.

Here's the view out our backyard.

And here's the view from the front door. As you can see our subdivision still has a lot of undeveloped land and we LOVE it.

So this is the same view but on the 28th of January. This was a lot better dusting and they actually cancelled school for this one. Funny, I know but I guess they were worried about the buses. It really was beautiful.

This is a shot down the street, towards the back entrance of the subdivision.

And this is our house, for those of you that have been asking to see pics.

A shot from the screened-in porch into the backyard.

Another picture of the backyard

So mid-morning we got a call that the golf course (attached to the subdivision) was inviting all the kids from the neighbor to come over for sledding (on the course!!), hot chocolate, and s'mores. I was hesitant, but we ended up having the BEST time. We met the nicest people and everyone was so excited to be out of school. It ended up being a wonderful day. The other children eagerly offered up their sleds so Hannah and Emma could have a ride. This was a first for both of them and it's easy to see how excited they were.

This is the golf course. You can see the roofs of some of the houses in the neighborhood way in the distance.

Hannah and Emma zoom down the hill.

Emma enjoys the beautiful snow.

Hannah gets busy roasting a marshmallow for her s'more after they tire of sledding.

Emma chows down on her s'more. What a cutie!

Although I didn't mention him earlier, Jake was with us during this entire excursion. He reminds me so much of Emma at this age; he's very much a "watcher" in new situations and so was very content to stay by my side and see what everyone else was doing. He really enjoyed his s'mores as well!

As we left the course, I just had to stop and take this picture. It's the road leading out and it was just so beautiful.

Get Me Daddy!

2009-01-29T09:37:00.006-06:00

One of the joys of the new house is a perfect path that makes a circle around the staircase. Paul and Jake love to chase each other around the circle, hiding along the way in order to jump out and scare each other. Jake's in "ready mode" in this shot wanting Paul to follow behind him.

When Paul doesn't follow, he comes back to investigate and of course Paul jumps out to scare the beejeezus out of him. Look at his hands!

Mommy! Daddy got me!

Jake's turn to "get" Daddy.

Easy Bake

2009-01-28T20:54:00.004-06:00

As a previous owner of an Easy Bake oven, I couldn't wait until Hannah got old enough to have one as well. So....she got one for Christmas and we finally - after searching high and low for a 100 watt (not soft-white) bulb - broke it out and got busy cooking. She was so excited!

Hannah also got quite a few mixes to go with the oven, but she settled on vanilla and chocolate sugar cookies.

Here's the finished product. Not bad!!

Wow...it really tasted good too. Easy Bake was just as great as I remembered and now Hannah and I can share some memories.

The Memphis Children's Museum

2009-01-28T20:16:00.006-06:00

Thanks to an AT&T promotion, we were all able to visit the Memphis Children's Museum. Getting the opportunity to check out all these different museums is certainly a perk of moving around! Emma channels her inner dental hygienist and practices doing some brushing.

Jake then channels his inner "Aunt Wally" by riding the police motorcycle.

All my monkeys boogie down complete with disco ball.

Jake loved shopping with a "Jake-sized" grocery cart. I guess his years in Louisiana helped him make his shopping choice.

Emma had a great time dressing up in the theatre...

then she slapped on a tail and boogy-ed down on stage - without reservation.

Jake, however, is content to watch his sister from the sidelines. I think he's trying to figure out what in the world she is doing.

Our Marine Says Goodbye

2009-01-28T20:02:00.004-06:00

Well our fairytale Christmas had to come to end once the New Year arrived. We all had to say goodbye to my brother Wally as he headed back to Iraq for his second tour. Saying goodbye certainly doesn't get any easier, but it helped that we all knew what to expect this time around. We will be counting the days until is return - we're hoping sooner rather than later. Please remember all of our service personnel in your prayers - including Wally. The sacrifices they make are truly indescribable.

Merry Christmas 2008

2009-01-01T14:38:00.001-06:00

Of course by the time Paul and I got up at 6:30am, the girls had already been up for hours (we later discovered). So, we had to settle for posed pictures with their loot from Santa. They both seemed pretty excited about the suprises, though.

Hannah indulges me!

This picture is my favorite. I think I REALLY captured the Christmas excitement. Jake had just gotten a close-up look at the ball pit Santa brought for for all three of them and was anxious to get in it.

I think Santa made a good choice!

Here's Jake with his big gift from Santa. He loved it and couldn't wait to start "zooming".

Hannah wasted no time in getting comfortable to try out the new DS game she got from Santa.

Wally and Kylene manage to smile through the marathon gift opening session. Obviously NOLA is happy too!

Jake enjoys his own personal ball pit that Kylene brought for him. She and Santa sure do think alike!

Emma models the beautiful scarf and hat set Grandmama made.

NOLA has found a place in Mimi's lap now but is equally as happy.

At the end of the day, Emma just couldn't hold on any longer and we found her sacked out amid all the noise of the rest of the house. She gets an A for effort, though, and for trying to disguise her nap with her Leapster!

Christmas Eve 2008

2009-01-01T09:38:00.000-06:00

We had an especially wonderful Christmas this year with my brother Wally, his girlfriend Kylene, and my mom Jan here with us. It was amazing having us all here together but bittersweet because Wally will be returning to Iraq in early January. We celebrated Christmas Eve with our usual dinner -- Honeybaked Ham, sweet potato casserole, dressing, collards, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pecan pie. We stuffed ourselves silly!

Hannah and Emma pretended to enjoy dinner but were required to try at lease one bite of everything.

Although suffering from broncitis, we were able to coax at least one smile from Jake.

Paul and Mimi share a hug.

Me (sans make-up)and the crew. Jake is in the middle of a tantrum.

Wally and Kylene

Jake begins the "open one present" tradition by opening a gift from "Granny" Evelyn - a dear friend from Momma's church.

Mimi and the girls make cookies for Santa

We all enjoyed "The Night Before Christmas" being read by Hannah before we hearded the children off to bed.

A Visit From Bobo

2009-01-01T09:21:00.000-06:00

Just before Christmas we had a wonderful treat with a visit from our "Bobo". He came at the perfect time and was able to go to Emma's Christmas program at her new school. Emma is in the second row from the back, fifth from the right.

Bobo and Jake conspire about manly things while waiting for the program to begin.

Bobo, Emma, and Jake enjoy cookies at the reception afterwards.

You Know It's Time for a Haircut When......

2009-01-01T08:46:00.000-06:00

You are mistaken for Elvis or Shoney's Big Boy!

So.......I finally got up the courage to take my "baby boy" to have his first haircut (without the clippers, though!). We opted for a scissors only cut for now. Here's the before....

During.....

and after! Isn't he handsome?!

Overall it was a good experience and we will gradually work our way up to the "big boy" cut.

Winter Warm-up

2009-01-01T08:40:00.000-06:00

What better way to battle the Tennessee winter cold than snuggling? I'm glad I was able to capture this rare moment between siblings!

Moving to Memphis

2008-12-16T15:24:00.001-06:00

Well the time finally arrived and it was time to move on from Mandeville, Louisiana. Living there was a wonderful experience, but we were excited to move back to the Memphis area as well. We were very happy to have the same crew moving us again, so we knew everything would go smoothly.

Jake had an awesome time playing inside the trailor.

Every little boy's dream --- running up and down the ramp into the trailor!

Once we arrived in Collierville, TN, Emma took a break while the movers unloaded the trailor.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-04T23:20:00.000-06:00

Emma enjoys ringing the first door bell.

Our handsome devil

An adorable kitty

Our "pretty" witch

The goof troop suffers through a pose before we head out. We had a terrific time and to my suprise Jake was able to hang with us through the entire outing and was able to stay awake until 7:45. Alas, no margaritas were passed out this year! I guess we'll have to start our own tradition!

Orange Beach, AL

2008-11-04T22:47:00.001-06:00

In early October, we took one last long weekend (before the move to Memphis) to regroup and enjoy each others' company in Orange Beach. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend. The weather was perfect as we took the opportunity to tell the girls about our move. They took the news well and began making plans for their new rooms! It was especially fun watching Jake enjoy his first "real" trip to the beach. He loved it!

Jake tries "catching" water in the splash pool.

Jake was fascinated by the seagulls!

My big girl!

Emma enjoys the surf.

Mommy's New Best Friend

2008-10-07T21:08:00.001-05:00

After weeks of pulling Jake down from kitchen chairs, step stools and yes, the middle of the kitchen table, I finally realized I had to get him something to safely expend his boy energy and exercise his climbing gene (aka monkey gene). Wha--la!! My new best friend front and center in the dining room.

His first climb on the slide.

Look at that smile!

Hi Mommy!!

Happy Birthday Paul!

2008-10-07T20:50:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Paul's 35th with a small family party, complete with an UGA icecream cake.

Paul and his favorite girls.

Jake in the throws of his usual naughtiness. That grin sure does get him out of a lot of trouble!

GO DAWGS!!

2008-10-07T20:36:00.001-05:00

Now what home in SEC doesn't begin brainwashing early! I think I see a future quarterback in our midst.
Paul and Jake celebrate the Dawgs' first winning game of the season.

Don't Mind Me!

2008-08-23T12:22:00.001-05:00

Hi Mom! Don't mind me. I just hanging out here in the tupperware cabinet!

Look.....I'm just going to help you organize a little bit -- shuffle things around.

Oh, Boy! I'm not sure what happened, but somehow I seemed to have made a mess. Love you, Momma!

First Days of School

2008-08-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

Hannah's first day went great. She returned Friday, August 8th to her same teacher. She is now an "expert" (2nd grader) in her multi-aged class and was very excited about welcoming the new "novices" (1st graders), one of which happens to be our neighbor. I think it's going to be a great year.

Emma sends Hannah off with a hug her first day.

And here's Emma starting 4 year old pre-school on Wednesday, August 13th. She will still be attending only 3 days a week. It's all I can stand to part with her. I know next year she'll be gone all day next year! Her teacher seems wonderful and we're all hoping for a better year for her.

Vacation in Bermuda

2008-08-14T13:29:00.001-05:00

In late June Paul and I took a much needed vacation to the island of Bermuda. This is the view from our hotel balcony. Imagine waking up to this every morning! The private cove to the right is where we spent much of our time. The staff raked the beach every morning! The hotel was very quaint and we had a wonderful time exploring every inch of the island on our scooter. The only down fall was how much we missed the children! Ironic, isn't it. Can't wait to get away......can't wait to get home!

2008-08-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

View #2 from balcony

View of hotel from our balcony

Our first night in Bermuda

The walkway leading down to our room, upstairs on the right. You can see the ocean in the back and the wonderful mural painted on the wall.

A view from the hot tub.

The pool and hot tub and another wonderful mural that I enjoyed. They were all over the property.

View from the infinity pool.

Dinner on the Beach

2008-08-14T12:56:00.000-05:00

The beautiful view from our table. Paul enjoyed some earlier snorkeling out by the far rocks.

Enjoying each other's company.

Enjoying the sunset as the manager lights a torch.

Hamilton & St. George,Bermuda

2008-08-14T11:03:00.001-05:00

Paul and I ventured out one day to the town of Hamilton and then to the far end to St. George. We rented a scooter and after getting over our initial fear (crazy drivers and very curvy roads) we enjoyed ourselves. It was different getting used to seeing the British flag everywhere.

Paul takes a minute to let me snap a photo in the shopping area of downtown.

These beautiful trees with orange foliage were just awesome. I couldn't get enough of them. This is a little park in the middle of downtown.

The park entrance

A beautiful shot of Hamilton homes and sailboats.

This is the inside of St. Peter's Church - the oldest Anglican church in North America. This is located in St. George, Bermuda.
The outside of St. Peter's Church

More photo's inside St. Peter's
We thought it was so interesting how the pews were sectioned off. Apparently parishioners once paid (via auction) to sit in designated areas. The ones closest to the front were most expensive.

A beautiful cozy sanctuary across the street from the church where Paul and I sat and enjoyed ice cream.

A favorite tourist stop on the way back to our hotel at the end of the day.....The Swizzle Inn. The favorite saying....."Swizzle in and swagger out!" They serve the island signature drink rum swizzles.
Paul is channeling is inner Ponch (CHIPS anyone?). I hope you find this as hilarious as I do!

Emma's Dance Recital

2008-05-24T19:45:00.000-05:00

Today Emma performed in her first dance recital after taking lessons this school year. I must admit getting her there every week was a struggle. She cried and fought me every step of the way (after asking to take!). But somehow we managed to get through it and made it to the recital. Getting there proved no easier, but once there she enjoyed herself and did an awesome job on stage. And....she looked absolutely beautiful!! I'm not looking foward to when she starts taking an interest in boys!
Emma in her costume before leaving for the recital.

2008-05-24T19:33:00.000-05:00

Paul and Hannah sit in the audience while waiting for Emma's dance in the 2nd half.

Beautiful Emma shows off the bouquet her Daddy got her to celebrate her day in the spotlight.

There's our girl! (Second from the left)

She's a star! (at least to us!)

After the finale' Emma shows off her bouquet and trophy.

2008-05-24T18:56:00.000-05:00

After the recital, we headed over to BOPS - a new frozen custard place here - and celebrated with custard.

It looks like we made the right choice!

Jake was just about DONE by this point in the day.

Hannah was a great sport sitting through the three hour recital. She enjoyed the treats as well.
Emma and I get some snuggle time.

A Gymnastics Party for Emma

2008-05-23T13:15:00.000-05:00

These photos should have come after her Monday (the 12th) pictures, but oh well! In fact, you may want to go back to Mother's Day from older posts (those are new too) and then come forward. Anyway, Emma chose N.Shore Gymnastics to have her party. They did a wonderful job. Very organized, very interactive. Emma got to start everything off by swinging into "the pit".
It looks like she survived in tact!

Jake enjoyed the party just as much. He crawled around and found some balls to push around.

2008-05-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

There's the birthday girl!

Emma gets some instructions on forward rolls.

Finishing up the "obstacle race" with a hoola-hoop twirl.

Of course my 4th child (Paul) couldn't help but "jump" into the festivities as well!

Emma gets a medal for her awesome participation.

2008-05-23T12:40:00.000-05:00

The birthday spread with the My Little Pony Theme. I must say I thought all the boys that attended were good sports!

The new 4 year old gets ready to blow!

Here is her beautiful cake that a friend of mine made. It was perfect!
Yaayyy, Emma!

Gotta get at least one of the big sister in here too!

Happy 4th Birthday Emma!

2008-05-23T12:22:00.000-05:00

Monday morning we celebrated Emma's big day with HB (again!) and a danish.

She then graciously agreed to let me capture the moment outside while we waited for Hannah's bus.

After school I took the children to eat Mexican (Emma's choice) and we continued the celebration. Nothing like have HB sung to you in Spanish!

2008-05-23T11:59:00.000-05:00

Sisters bonding over soppapilla's (no idea how to spell Spanish!)

Emma demonstating her usual dramatic self.

Dude, my sisters are crazy!!

Birthday Celebrations

2008-05-21T20:39:00.000-05:00

Sunday afternoon we switched gears from Mother's Day to "Emma's Day". We wanted Emma to enjoy her presents since her actual birthday was the next day and a school day. We enjoyed a brownie while singing HB and then she tore into the presents.

It's good to be four!

She was very excited to get her very own Littlest Pet Shop. No more having to borrow Hannah's!

2008-05-21T19:26:00.000-05:00

Emma's last present was a big suprise so of course she had to close her eyes.........

And look!!!

What girl doesn't need her own Mercedes convertable!

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-21T19:12:00.001-05:00

What an awesome Mother's Day I enjoyed. I treated myself for a few hours at the spa the day before and then was woken up Sunday to three gifts (in addition to the three perfect gifts that already live in my home!). I opened up a beautiful sterling bracelet with a fleur-de-lis charm, matching earrings, and a Vera Bradley backpack to match my purse. Then, best of all, I was blessed to enjoy the rest of the day with the family God has blessed me with. Seeing this picture brings tears to my eyes. Paul took this one for me before we headed out the door to church.

Birthday Celebrations

2008-04-26T14:56:00.001-05:00

Before....... and

After!!!

After the girls helped me make cupcakes this morning, I made two for the birthday boy to choose from. Unlike his daddy, he chose the chocolate one.

We enjoyed singing Happy Birthday for the THIRD time!

Unlike the girls, who were quite dainty with their initial cake interaction, Jake grabbed it immediately and proceeded to demolish it and squish it with his fingers.
It took a little help from Daddy for him to realize there was more to this procedure than just "squishing" and then there was no holding back........

Nothing like a little chocolate in your hair!
In true Jake fashion, he kept a grip on cupcake with his left hand while shoveling it in with his right. Eventually, he figured out what exactly he was gripping and then starting eating that as well.
He seemed as if he was in a sugar coma!!
I think that about does it!

Happy 1st Birthday Jake!

2008-04-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

On the morning of the big day, we ALL went into his room (armed with video camera and still camera) and sang Happy Birthday. As you can see from his furrowed brow, it seems as if he's thinking, "What in the world is wrong with you people! Can't you see I just woke up?!" What a hoot!

We always start off a birthday with a cinnamon roll breakfast. This was his very first. He seems to like the candle, and of course we had to sing again!

Immediately he slaps his hand on it as if to say, "Hands off people...this one's mine!"

After he sucked on his cinnamon roll for a while, I managed to wrestle it away from him (after much screaming) in order to cut it into bite sizes. He ate the entire thing......with no gagging I might add. MMMMmmmm...go figure on that one, huh?

I'm officially a big boy today!
(Cake, ice cream, and presents will follow on Saturday so more pictures to come)

The Many Moods of a One Year Old

2008-04-25T09:31:00.000-05:00

Excited.....

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!!!!!!! Unfortunately, even birthdays are not immune to temper tantrums.

I'm just chillin'!

Irritated.......Enough already with the pictures!!

Where Does the Time Go?

2008-04-24T21:36:00.000-05:00

Yes, of course I know we have two other children, but I'm feeling very nostagic this week....most certainly because of Jake's birthday. It's just so hard to wrap my mind around where exactly an entire year of our lives has gone so quickly. It doesn't help, I'm sure, that he's the last. What a blessing this little boy and his sisters have been in our lives. I never imagined loving other people so much!

Mommy's Helper

2008-04-24T21:23:00.000-05:00

Hi, Mommy! Do you need some help unloading the dishwasher?
Oh...Well....I can see it's already empty so maybe you won't mind if take a closer look.
Oh, no...I'm definitely NOT climbing on TOP of your dishwasher lid. Don't mind me!
Oh, Boy....I think I'm busted!

My Sleeping Prince

2008-04-24T21:08:00.000-05:00

I was able to catch a rare photo of Jake sleeping before having to wake him up before church Sunday morning.
Is there anything better than little fat feet??
Playing peek-a-boo with me while on the changing table

Here I am, Mommy!!

My 34th Birthday

2008-04-24T20:33:00.000-05:00

What an incredible birthday I enjoyed. My SWEET husband took the day off (!!!!!) to take care of the morning chaos and then spend the day with me. It was awesome! I was then rewarded with a Zoe's cake (a local bakery that is too good for words). Look how beautiful! I can't even begin to describe it except to say chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.

We all enjoyed cake and I got a rare picture taken with my precious angels.

The best part of the day........Paul and I enjoyed the evening out alone. We went to an awesome Martini bar, sampled many martini's, ate an incredible dinner and took a cab home!! (BTW...HANNAH took this picture. I think she's following in my footsteps!)

Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival

2008-04-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago we went to the annual Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula Louisiana. It was funny to reminisce about last year when we went and I was waddling around! Anyway, there was a huge crowd for the parade but the children still had a good time. Afterwards we went around to the booths enjoying strawberry EVERYTHING......daiquiris, lemonade,beneights (forgive my lack of French spelling!)...etc. Name it, and it was there!
Crowds waiting for the parade to begin

Paul and I enjoy some cuddle time with the girls while waiting for the festivities to begin

Emma stuffs her mouth with candy thrown from the parade.

The Marines carrying the colors

Throw me something Mister!!

The Strawberry King and Queen

Even the water in the fountains are dyed for the occasion!

Certainly you can't leave the festival without enjoying strawberry shortcake (my personal favorite!) Jake and Paul look like it's good stuff!

Crawfish Boil

2008-04-03T14:24:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we

went to a crawfish boil at some friends' house. We really had a great time. Paul got to work on some crawfish and showed us how it's done!

I've lost count on which number plate he is on!
I think this one is done!

Jake experienced a wide variety of Louisiana cuisine at his first crawfish boil. First he tried a sweet gum tree ball that he picked up off the ground........
Next, he tries out a crawfish claw.......

After literally months of trying to get Jake off the pureed baby food with no success, I decided to give jambalya a try. I have no idea what possessed me (except maybe the margarita I had been drinking) but to my suprise and delight he absolutely loved it! In fact, he yelled at me when I wasn't getting it into his mouth fast enough.

After "tearing up" the jambalaya, Jake got up the next morning and REFUSED any baby food that we gave him. He slapped our hands at anything that resembled baby food to him. It was the funniest thing, especially since I had worried that something was wrong. He truly is my little Cajun baby!!

Emma helped herself to the desserts after "accidentally" dropping her pizza on the ground. I think she chose wisely!

Emma had fun riding the tire horse and jammin' to the live Cajun music on her badminton guitar.

Hannah chooses a winner for the crawfish race! Yes, I really did "say" crawfish race!!

And they're off.....sort of

Go Beaudreax, Go!!!

Hannah and a friend from church pose with a crawfish.

Easter Morning

2008-03-24T17:05:00.001-05:00

The girls both show off the baskets. They raided them LONG before we got up!

Good morning, Jake! Happy First Easter

Jake's First Easter

2008-03-24T16:52:00.000-05:00

Jake spies his basket for the first time and.....
quickly grabs the truck the Easter bunny has left for him.

He spends a few brief moments looking it over and then..

he's OFF --- pushing it all over the house. Still his favorite pasttime.

Easter 2008

2008-03-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

Here are my precious angels before church Easter Morning.

A rare family photo

Paul and the girls

My two favorite Wilson men!

Hannah and Emma enjoy the egg hunt after church is over.

Easter Parties at School

2008-03-23T16:10:00.000-05:00

Hannah's school party was onThursday. Emma and Jake and I were lucky to be able to enjoy it as well. They hunted for eggs on the playground first, then...

Enjoyed a pizza party to celebrate the entire class completeing eight weeks of "Math Mania" homework.

This week's celebrations started with Emma's preschool party on Wednesday. She REALLY enjoyed trying out petite fours!!

Emma's all smiles after the egg hunt is complete

Emma and her best friend "Pakenzie"

Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Boudreaux's three year old class

Dyeing Easter Eggs

2008-03-23T15:18:00.000-05:00

After some badgering by my precious Mother, we dyed Easter eggs with the girls for the first time ever. It was a tradition that I loved myself, so I thought they'd like it. Of course the event wouldn't be complete without somebody crying, but it was still fun.

Hannah chooses yellow for hers.

Paul and Jake get into the fun of things.

Of course no event in New Orleans would be complete with Daiquiris. Even Jake gets in on this tradition!!

The finished products!! Can't wait until next year!

Pulling Up

2008-03-12T12:45:00.000-05:00

After mastering crawling last month, Jake is now pulling up on everything he can get his hands on.

Look how proud he is of himself!!

Laundry Helper

2008-03-12T12:36:00.000-05:00

Hmm....looks like we're a "little" behind on our laundy folding. Five people's dirty clothes adds up fast!!

This pile of clothes is great for climbing!

Mommy's little cutie!

Jake in February

2008-03-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

Trying out a "biter bisquit" for the first time.

Practicing his Marine (or Army!) low crawl.

His favorite pasttime - chasing balls all over the house!

Look, Mommy! I caught it!

Fort Macon, N.C.

2008-03-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

(Read the post below before this one). On the last day of my trip, the weather finally cooperated enought to visit nearby Fort Macon. It was really a fascinating excursion. This was the main entrance to the fort.

View from the kitchen down the many rooms in Fort Macon.

View inside fort (forgot to rotate, sorry!)

Wally and I on the steps leading up to the top of the fort.

View of the beach from the top of the fort.

Walking around the moat

Beach across the street from the fort.

Cherry Point, N.C.

2008-03-12T10:42:00.000-05:00

In February, I had the incredible opportunity to visit my brother Wally, finally back from Iraq, in Cherry Point, N.C. Momma met me there and we had a great time catching up and just enjoying each others' company. This is the main gate entrance onto the base.

This is part of of POW memorial right beside the base. I loved the sign --- it really speaks volumes, huh?

On the base

A jet that's also part of the POW memorial.

Mardi Gras 2008

2008-03-11T12:05:00.000-05:00

Our one and only Mardi Gras parade this year was in Mandeville called the Orpheus parade. It's not as big as the parades on the south shore but it's still just as fun! Hannah and Emma are visiting with "Mr. T" by his float before the parade. Mr. "T" is the husband of Hannah's teacher. He loaded them up with "throws" before the parade even got started.

King Orpheus comes by on his float.

Hannah shows off her signature moves while enjoying the music from the floats.

Emma enjoyed the parade from the best seat in the house, but refused to move her hands from Paul's eyes. She insisted this was the only way she could hang on to him. Kind of made it hard for Paul to enjoy the parade as much!!

Merry Christmas 2007

2008-01-05T10:08:00.001-06:00

Hannah and Emma survey their Christmas loot. Hannah's gifts from Santa were a scooter and karaoke machine. Emma received a doll nursery.

Jake plays with his first tackle box. He also got a top tooth for Christmas!

Of course Santa wouldn't forget to bring Jake his first football!

Bobo and Jake take a breather from the Christmas day excitement.

Christmas Eve

2008-01-05T09:39:00.001-06:00

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed an early dinner (ham, turkey, greens, cracklin' bread, butterbeans, stuffing, lemon pie) and then went to a candlelight service at our church. Here are Bobo and Grandmama with the children before we head out to church.

Mimi with the children.

Our Party of Five

One of our Christmas Eve traditions is to read "The Night Before Christmas". This year Hannah read it to all of us. Then we all enjoyed opening one gift.