Morgan gets her ears pierced!

Morgan asked Santa to pierce her ears while she was sleeping. Well, he wrote her a letter that he was afraid to do it so he left her a gift card to Claire's so she could go have it done. So, Monday afternoon we loaded up and went to Knoxville to get her ears pierced. She was very nervous and wanted to back out but I convinced her that it would be okay. She was very brave and I'm so proud of her. She teared up a little after it was over but it didn't last long. She picked small white gold balls and she has to wear them for at least 6 weeks.

December fun

We have had a busy December. We got a little snow one Saturday morning so Josh and Jackson went out and tried to sled and make a snowman. My mom came to visit for a few days and she taught Morgan how to sew a little tiny pillow. It warms my heart to see her with my mom. She always says that "Gran is a great sewer" so it's great to see my little girl becoming a great "sewer" herself. Morgan and I made a cake for Santa this morning. She decided he would like that better than cookies this year. She decorated it herself. I am getting over swine flu, ear infection, and pneumonia and will be thankful to feel good again...I'm not there yet.

Thanksgiving fun

I had such a blast getting together with my mom and my brothers. I only get to see my brothers about once a year so Thanksgiving is extra special to me. On Friday they all came to our house in Kingston and we went sledding in the back yard. No, there was no snow...only leaves. It was hilarious! We wore Jackson's (who is 6 yrs old) Tennessee football helmet for protection! We made some great memories that I will cherish forever

Happy Halloween

Morgan and her friend Josie decided a few weeks ago that they wanted to be hobos for Halloween. They were so excited and went to Godowill to get clothes and shoes. We spent one afternoon cutting them up and putting holes in them. I think they turned out great! Jackson is so funny about Halloween. He loves it but does enjoy the dressing up part. I normally buy him a costume each year and each year on Halloween he tells me that he's not wearing it. He usually ends up being a football player because that is something we keep in the playroom. So, this year I learned my lesson and did not buy him a costume. I told him he could be one of the ones from the past years that he never wore or he could be a football player again. So, right before time to trick or treat he runs upstairs and pulls a jersey out of his drawer and decides he will be a basketball player. Gotta love it because it makes mom's life much simpler!

Morgan turns 9!

Sunday was my little girl's 9th birthday. I cannot believe she is nine years old already. She is such a joy and I love watching her grow but wish I could slow down the years. She had a roller skating party and all the kids (and a few moms) had a blast. Happy Birthday my angel.

It's football time in Tennessee

Today was the first UT football game of the season. I think the whole state of TN was there and was really pumped up about the new coaching staff. We had a great time tailgating before the game (and Morgan and I tailgated during the game) and Jackson and Josh had a blast at the game.

First Day of School

Well, it didn't go as well as planned. From the moment Jackson woke up, he did not want to go to school. "my stomach hurts, my throat hurts". I remember feeling the same way when I was his age. I was always so nervous about school and I guess I passed that on to him. He was crying when we left him with his teacher-oh that made his momma sad. Morgan did fine and was smiling and happy. She's in third grade so we can't take her down to her teacher-she has to wait in the gym until the bell rings. I can't believe they are in third and first grade. My babies are growing up. I hope they have a great morning...they only go 1/2 day today. Whew!

Cousins

My sweet sister in law had been traveling with my niece and nephew and she came through Norris (where I grew up) so she could be there for my birthday. It was great to see her and the kids...only wish my brother could have gotten away from work to come. The kids had a blast swimming in Gran's pool and Morgan and Sydney enjoyed playing American Girl dolls together.

Kingston All Stars

Jackson has been playing "A" ball with the Kingston All Star team.  They played in a tournament all weekend and now all week long.  They won the district championship tonight and will go to the regional tournament in Madisonville on Friday.  Jackson is an awesome player and I'm so proud of him and his determination.  He wants to practice every single day in the 100 degree weather because he wants to keep getting better.  It has been miserably hot at his games but I have loved every minute of it. I'm proud of you Jackson!

Time with my brother

A few weeks ago I took my mom and my kids to South Carolina for my niece's high school graduation.  It was a great trip and I got to spend some time with my oldest brother Ricky. (Rick as he's called by others but always Ricky to me) 

End of School

Tomorrow is the last day of school for Morgan and Jackson.  Morgan won another medal today for Citizenship.  Here is a picture of her with her teacher, Mrs. Miller.  Jackson had a great day today too and enjoyed an ice cream party.  I can't believe they are getting so big and will be in 3rd grade and 1st grade next year.

Morgan's Recital

Morgan had her spring dance recital last weekend and did an excellent job. She has been taking Musical Theater for the past year and danced to a song from the show "Gypsy".  She got lots of flowers and adored that!

Morgan likes tennis

Morgan had her 4th tennis lesson today from my good friend Reagan.  She is doing really well and seems to enjoy it.  She says that "tennis is her game".  I'm proud of her for trying something new.  

Happy Easter

I hope all of you had a great Easter and got to worship with your friends and family.  

Spring Break 2009

We flew to Florida for the weekend during Morgan and Jackson's Spring Break.  Josh's parents have a condo on the beach and it was great.  The weather was perfect.

Jackson's baseball game

Jackson had his second ballgame last night for the spring baseball season.  His team won and Jackson had some great hits.  Enjoy a clip of one of his hits.  Please ignore the narrator (me) who 

sounds like a hillbilly.

Saturday News

What a busy day today...I had a bridal shower to go to this morning and Jackson had opening ceremony for baseball season.  His team is called the Bees and he plays third base.  He had a game at 1:00 and he did great but his team lost.  Morgan had Bible Bowl at 2:30 in Knoxville.  She has been studying every Sunday night for a couple months for this.  It is East Tennessee Churches of Christ that participate.  Our church had two teams but Morgan's team didn't make it into the top 10 teams.  That's okay...I was proud of her for doing it because she was very nervous and there were a couple hundred kids there.  She got a trophy for participating and was excited about that.  We didn't finish until after 6 so we went to eat with some friends.  It was a long day but a good one!

Tying Shoes

Yeah!!!  Jackson learned to tie shoes and I am so proud of him.  We have been trying for a few years but he just hasn't gotten the hang of it.  I have a little book that has laces on it and we've been practicing at least once a night after we read our books.  Yesterday he did it all by himself!!! 

Character Counts

We are so proud of Morgan and Jackson.  They both received medals today during the Character Counts program at school.  They gave away medals for either responsibility or trustworthiness.  Morgan and Jackson both got one for responsibility.  Jackson knew he was getting it and every day this week he asked me how much longer until Friday.  Morgan had no idea and was sort of disappointed that she wasn't going to get one.  She kept telling me that she was responsible and trustworthy.  She received one in Kindergarten and in First Grade.  Her teacher told me yesterday that she was getting one and that she had saved it until now because she wanted Morgan to specifically get the Responsibility one.  Her face was beaming when they called her name.  Mom and Dad are so proud!

Weight Watchers

Whoo-Hoo! I have lost about 15 lbs. and I'm so excited. I feel good and it really hasn't been that hard to do. I just hope I can keep it off and stay healthy.

Roller Skating

Morgan learned to roller skate at a birthday party on Sunday.  I loved roller skating when I was growing up and I actually skated for almost an hour at the party.  I'm sure I'll be feeling the pain soon.

UT Basketball Game

We had 4 tickets in a suite for the mens basketball game on Wednesday.  The kids were so excited because the seats were like movie theater seats...comfy leather with cup holders.  We left at halftime because it was a school night but we had a great time.

Little man learns to read!

I'm so proud of Jackson!  He is in Kindergarten and is learning to read.  It came really easily to Morgan but is a little bit harder for Jackson.  But, he is doing great and he is so proud of himself which is very important.  Enjoy a clip of him reading a few pages from his school reading book.

Not much news

Well, I just got over a vicious stomach bug so I didn't get to go to Weight Watchers last night.  I can promise you this though... I did lose some weight even if it was just from the stomach bug.  The kids and Josh haven't gotten it so that's a blessing.  Only two more basketball games left for the kids an then baseball season starts for Jackson.  Morgan is practicing for her recital later in the spring.

WW Update

My Weight Watchers update for today is....I lost 2 lbs. this week!!  Yeah!  I'm up to 9.2 lbs. so far but I still have more to go.  I started using the Wii Fit last week (which is hilarious to see me trying to keep my balance on that thing)  It keeps telling me that "you're a little shaky" which just makes me laugh and then makes me mad.  Jackson is sick with strep throat so I probably won't get any exercise tonight.  More later...

It's Weight Watchers Time

It's Tuesday so that means it's Weight Watchers time.  I lost another 1.6 lbs. this past week for a total of 7.2 now.  Yeah!  I even ate at Gondolier today but I put half of it in a box so I wouldn't eat it all.

Jackson meets Lane Kiffin

Josh and Jackson went to the UT vs. Florida mens basketball game on Saturday night.  They saw Lane Kiffin (new head football coach) and they went over to get a picture with him.  It looks like someone else had the same idea because we don't have a clue who the other kid is in the picture. Josh had to take it with his camera phone so it's really blurry. 

A few more pounds

I lost 1.4 lbs. since last week.  I'm up to 5.6 lbs. total and I'm really excited.  I'm glad it's coming off slowly because I'm afraid that's the only way I will be able to keep it off.  

Morgan's Basketball Game

Morgan had a game today and I took some pics of her.  She doesn't really shoot much so I don't have many "action" photos.  She has a good time though and it's good exercise.  Her team won by two points.  Jackson and Daddy went to the UT vs. Memphis Men's Basketball game so Jackson didn't play his game today.

Accident

Oops, I guess I'm not very handy with a screwdriver.  I was working on the knobs on Jackson's dresser and put a screwdriver through my hand.  I had to go to the hospital and get stitches.  The funny thing was that the nurse and the doctor both said, "Phillips head?".  It left a definite diamond like mark on my hand.  It is still very sore all around my hand and my other arm is super sore from the tetanus shot!  So stay clear if you see me with tools.

Snow Day???

Well, I wouldn't really call it a "snow" day but we did get a little snow. The kids were off anyway for MLK day.  It snowed a lot and was beautiful but it didn't want to stick.  That didn't stop my kids from wanting to go play in it.  When you live in East Tennessee you never when you'll get snow so you take what you can get. I know our friends in Chicago and Indiana are laughing at us right now.  

I'm So Excited!

Well, I had my weigh in tonight at Weight Watchers and I lost 3.4 lbs this week!!!!  Yeah!!!!  I did a little happy dance.  I was hoping for 1 to 2 so I am very pleased.  I didn't get time to exercise last week so I wasn't sure how I would do.  It really motivates me to stick to it.  She did say that I probably won't lose as much next week-that typically you do well the first week but it really does motivate me to keep it up.  Just thought I would share my joy!!!

Jackson's teeth

Can you see that my son's front two teeth are brown?  Well, they are.  When we were in Hawaii he was jumping on the bed in the hotel and Josh stuck his arm out to keep him from falling off the bed.  Well, Jackson came down or up (not sure) on his arm with his two front teeth.  They bled a little but I thought they would be fine.  Wrong!  In a couple weeks they started turning brown.  I was afraid they were dead but the pediatric dentist said they were just bruised and that the color would probably return at some point.  He did say that by the time they go back to their normal color, he will probably lose them anyway since they are baby teeth.  We call him Hillbilly Boy since he looks like he has nasty rotten teeth.  He thinks it's kind of cool.  I just laugh because I can't imagine what people think of us when they see us out with his lovely teeth. 

Weight Watchers

Well, it's that time of year again.  Time to lose weight...I realized I can't do it by myself so I joined Weight Watchers and tonight was my first meeting.  I'm really excited about getting healthier and having more energy.  I wish I could have found a friend to do it with me but I'm hoping I keep my chin up (both chins) and stick to it.  Wish me luck!

Jackson's Party

Jackson had his birthday party today at Jumpity Jump.  He had about 20 friends ranging in age from 2-10 and they all had a blast.  Jackson was soooo sweaty which just showed how much fun he had.  He got lots of great gifts and he especially loved his cake-a UT cake.  I can't believe he is 6 years old!

Happy New Year

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home. It was also Jackson's birthday so we went out to eat to his favorite restaurant (Taco Bell) and came home and opened presents. Morgan and I made cupcakes for him and he enjoyed those. We shot some fireworks in the driveway until we got too cold to stay outside. It's hard to believe Jackson is 6 years old. He loves sports and is good at playing ALL of them. His birthday party is Sunday at Jumpity Jump in Knoxville. (It's one of those inflatable jumping places)