Valentines Past

I have always loved dressing Hunter and Hallie in seasonal clothes but those days ended years ago for Hunter and sadly are coming to an end with Hallie :-(  Just wanted to remember some of my favorite Valentine pics from years past.

Looks are deceiving....it looks like sweet little Hallie just blew a kiss to Hunter until you look closely and see the drool which I'm sure she proceeded to smear on Hunter's face!

Sweet Hallie Bug

Hmm, maybe not :-)

 

Decked out in our favorite color pink!

 

Hallie looks at Hunter with adoration

 

Hunter looks like get her off me!

Valentines Day 2005

 

I plan on adding a new Valentine pic this year, I can't believe how fast they are growing up! 

Jesus is my All in All

I ran across this video the other day. This was filmed with my digital camera and the quality is lacking but I still wanted to share it. Hallie was 4 years old and practicing her Bible school songs. What tickles me is how serious she is!  I can see those wheels turning inside her little head concentrating on the words and hand motions. Character traits must start early in life because she is still that serious today when practicing although I think maybe her moves are not as quite slow motion :-)

Now Tim, This Won't Hurt a Bit

Now what do these 3 things have in common? These are 3 of Tim's biggest fears-snakes, needles and mayonnaise! Yes, mayonnaise but believe it or not that's not the subject of this post.
Tim hates needles or rather drawing blood. During the course of our dating he told me horror stories of his aversion to needles.
When I discovered I was pregnant Tim accompanied me to the Dr. I have RH negative blood and the Dr. said Tim needed to be blood typed too to determine if I would need a shot to prevent complications. Tim went white as a ghost, I believe if he had known this information before hand we would still be a childless couple! HA!
A few years ago Tim tore his ACL while playing basketball. I truly believe the IV was one of the reasons he put off knee surgery as long as he did. Finally he could put it off no longer and surgery day came. They wheel Tim back as I head to the waiting room.  After a while they call me back to recovery. As soon as I open the door to go back I hear Tim (who was feeling no pain) singing (loudly) I LOVE LINDA over and over. I'm thinking ok Tim do you have some explaining to do?
It turns out Linda was his IV nurse, he had explained his fear and she took special measures with him. She placed a cool damp towel over his eyes and while he was asking when she would start she said "Honey, I'm finished!" So for that day and time Tim did love Linda and so did I!

A. S. A. P.

When Tim and I were newly married I used a husband and wife gynecological team. I had always used the wife of the team. Let me set the stage for you it was my yearly exam.

I've stripped down to my birthday suit, tightly wrapped in my lovely sheet they provided. I'm patiently waiting on the table behind the curtain for my Dr. when the nurse opens the door and says "Dr. Smith needs to see you in room 3" I croaked "me?" She replies "Yes and he said A.S.A.P!"

I get off the table, wrap the sheet even more tightly around me and waddle down the hall like a mummy to room 3. I open the door and Dr. Smith (who is with another patient) says "Yes may I help you?" I say "Yes sir you sent for me etc...Meanwhile he is looking at me like I have lost my mind while I am stammering & stuttering. Remember I am NAKED (other than my sheet) talking to a Dr. I have never even laid eyes on before, explaining he has requested me while he assures me he hasn't!
Long story short the nurse thought the Dr's  wife was behind the curtain with me and that's who he needed!!
Did I fail to mention that when I get extremely nervous I break out in red splotches so when I got back to my room I looked like this

And yes I did switch Doctors just because I was so humiliated! I felt like I could never go back without them laughing at me (and who could blame them!)  I never dreamed I would get to the point that I would blog about it but sometimes you just have to go with it and not take yourself so seriously, which is a big downfall of mine :-)

Back In The Day

At work the other day we all started talking about remembering things from the days when we grew up....Tim & Becky each told stories of how people used to iron their hair to have that super straight look. That takes the term flat iron to a whole new level! We also talked about sitting right under your date and how it looked like it took two to drive the car or truck, I remember those days too! With buckets seats in cars and trucks of today- needing two to drive is almost a thing of the past!

I started thinking about what was "in" back in my day. I graduated in 1985 and it seems so long ago but hopefully I can remember some things ;-) These are some of my remembered fashions, fads and trends from the 70's and 80's....I bet some of you will say "Oh I remember those too!"

Fashions:

Jelly shoes (oh I hated these!)

Big Hair

Farrah & feathered bangs

Stirrup pants

 

Member's Only Jackets

Mood Rings

Movies & TV

Any Molly Ringwald Movie

E.T.

Who shot J.R.

Where's the beef?!

Got to have it toys

Rubik's cube

Pet Rock (I can't believe we paid money for these after all it was just a rock!)

Lemon Twist (this was my favorite!)

Well that concludes my trip down memory lane. Sorry it is so long but one memory led to another ;-)

Sundays at Our House

Stressed?

Sundays at our house especially Sunday mornings can be termed in one word-stressful. It never fails no matter how early we set the alarm and get up, it all falls to pieces. By the time we head out the door we are usually all at each other's throats and definitely not deserving of a blessing.
Here are just a few examples, the pants we have ironed and Hunter has on to wear are about 3 inches too short.

He now looks like Steve Urkel but the pants fit fine a few days earlier. The shirt it took Tim forever to locate has been pressed but now has mysterious spots that weren't there earlier. We can't find Hallie's socks, shoes, hair bow etc. The list could go on & on.
Believe it or not we plan what we are wearing the night before but still these last minute hindrances always happen.
The other Sunday morning was no exception it all went downhill in a hurry. It seems everything that could go wrong went wrong. My head is pounding, Tim is yelling the time every few minutes like a deranged alarm clock and in my exasperation I say "Why does this always happen I just don't understand?"  Hallie answers me just as clear as a bell....Satan
Oh how true that is, I believe Satan jumps on you the hardest on Sundays and that is why we feel like we have fought a battle by the time we reach church. I also believe every time you roll out of bed instead of rolling over. Every time you battle on and find another shirt, pants etc.. to wear. Every time you walk into that church on Sunday morning, God's heart feels like this....

Sorry but this is the closest picture I could find to represent a happy dance ;-)

Unanswered Prayers

Have you ever prayed for something so hard and so faithfully only for that prayer never to come to fruition? I know I have I can remember instances all my life starting with high school memories of praying for things to work out with a boyfriend at the time because I felt he was the love of my life and then when it didn't I asked...
God aren't you listening?
I remember when Tim and I were looking to buy a new home. We had our heart set on a certain one but couldn't buy until our present home sold I prayed for our house to sell because we wanted that home so bad-when the "dream" house sold and ours still hadn't I asked....
God aren't you listening?
A few years ago the company that I worked for was taken over by new management and the talk of downsizing started immediately. I had worked there 13 years and I prayed so hard for not only me but my co-workers not to lose their job. When I and several others lost our jobs I asked...
God aren't you listening?
YES
You were listening....I know now God  just as my children may ask for something and think it is the most important thing in their life when I know differently you feel the same way toward your children.
You knew the boy that I thought was the love of my life wasn't.
You knew the house that I thought was my dream home wasn't & had problems we couldn't see.
You knew the job I cried for days when I lost was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
You knew that while I worried about the bills and the loss of a paycheck you would provide.
You knew I had always wanted to stay home until my children started school but didn't feel we could afford it -you made it possible.
You knew that when time grew closer for Hallie to start school a call would come from a treasured old friend about a job opening.
You knew that job would be one of the better things in my life.
You knew my coworkers would not only be coworkers but family.
You knew how I used to dread going to work each day due to the stress and how I would love going to work each day now.
You knew it all and I thank you God for my unanswered prayers but now I know they were never unanswered at all.

Here is a picture of my family away from home my coworkers (and definitely an answered prayer) who I had to bribe to let me take a picture! Love you guys :-) Wedowee guys don't think you are off the hook if you see me coming with a camera you better be ready to smile because you were my first family away from home & I still love you too :-)

Snow Day....barely

Alabama has been experiencing record breaking cold temperatures ranging in the the teens with wind chills down to 0. To sum it up in one word brrrrrr. We are just not used to this kind of weather for extended periods of time currently starting its second week.
On the bright side, last Friday school was cancelled due to a forecast of snow. It started snowing Thursday night and was still on the ground Friday morning. Hunter and Hallie were so excited!  It wasn't a good snow more like a heavy dusting but in Alabama when it snows you take what you can get :-)

I was disappointed that I had to work Friday and wouldn't get to play in the snow with Hunter & Hallie and take some pictures. I left for work begging Tim to take pics of the kids playing in the snow. I had visions of bright toboggans, scarfs etc...What I got was Hunter and Hallie decked out in camouflage from head to toe! I guess to say Tim has his way of doing things and I have mine is an understatement. Although what matters most is they look like they had fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Our cutie pie friend Isabella (what you bet her Mom picked out her pretty & bright snow clothes ;-)

Finally, we have Biscuit enjoying his first snow.

That is all the pics from our first snow for 2010, I hope it won't be our last and maybe next time we will have enough to make a snowman!

Roll Tide Roll! Congrats Alabama 2009 National Champions!

Our house loves some Alabama football. Let me show you the ways....

We have Alabama themed birthday parties

 

Alabama jerseys and hats are on our Christmas list

The Alabama Crimson Tide flag flies in front of our house (win or lose)

Our children wear Alabama apparel

Even our dog Biscuit is a fan!

So I guess you're getting the idea, we are fans in a big way! Last Thursday night we were camped out on the couch to watch Alabama battle Texas in the National Championship game. To say we were nervous was an understatement.

Tim and the kids were so silly they each had on the same clothes they wore during the Alabama-Florida SEC championship game because we played so well then. I don't know if the clothes helped but we did win. It wasn't pretty but all that matters is that we won! Our last national championship was 1992 and I still remember the excitement of that game and this time Hunter and Hallie got to be in on the fun. Here are some highlights of the game....

 Congratulations Alabama 14-0 and 2009 National Champions!

We were fans then (2004)

We are fans now! (2010)