Merry Christmas!!!

Well, for those of you who know me well, you know how much I LOVE Christmas time....for so many reasons!!! But, the last 4 years have been a little tough on me. Ever since I lost my Daddy, Christmas just is a little harder. My Daddy too loved Christmas~ we loved loving it together. Now, don't get me wrong, my 1st Christmas without my Daddy was my first Christmas with Cole, so in that aspect, it is more special than ever. But, I still have a hard time being the "Christmas Nazi" as Matt had referred to me for so many years. This year is no different. I feel a huge void. But, this year, I have come to realize that I always will. So, today I will stop looking for whatever it is that I thought would magically "fix it". But, I also realize just how lucky I am and how much I adore my 2 children. That in itself makes me happier than I could ever imagine. Matt & I are so proud of them. In addition to these things, there are some other "thankfuls" that are on my mind:

~My family: as dysfunctional as we may be at times (hehehehe), we love each other very much. This has been proven so much this week. My grandmother fell and broke her back a week ago. As you can imagine, she is in tremendous pain. She will be having surgery this Tuesday morning, but until then, we ALL have been taking turns helping care for her. My grandfather can't do it all. Yes, all of us~ me, Cindy (my mom), Anita, Donna, Julie have been helping with her. As well as all of their teenage children who do whatever we ask with no complaints. God has blessed us with such love~

~My children: even though I think they are giving me gray hair for Christmas, I still love them with every beat of my heart. No really- I am so proud of them. Cole will be 5 in January and is such a sweet, compassionate little boy. He was having some problems a few months ago with a little bit of sassing, but it seems that was a phase. He's got such a wonderful personality. And, Taylor- wow....what a big girl she's becoming. She will be 3 in March, but is certainly going on 18. She's so independent!! Wonder where she gets that from???!!!

~Changes in my life: some of you know and some of you don't. But, about 3 months ago, I felt as if God was pushing me in a new direction for my life career wise. So, on January 10th, I will be taking the Praxis II test. And, if it is meant to be, I will (hopefully) find a job teaching Business Ed to High Schoolers. I am VERY excited about this possibility. I have always had an "itch" to teach, but just didn't think that it would ever happen. But, I know that it is totally up to God....not me. So, the next few months will be very exciting for me.

~Wayne & Cindy: or, "Paco" & LuLu" as my kids call this. This is my mom and my step-dad. I never in a million years would have thought that I could have been so lucky. My mom found a wonderful man to marry after my Daddy passed away. Not only does he love me, but he is absolutely in love with my kids. He cares so much about us...he loves us. He would do anything for my children and I know without a doubt that he would do anything in the world for me too. I'm so thankful for that. I don't think that I could ever express in words to him just how thankful I am for that. My mom is my best friend.....she listens to me, she laughs at me and she loves me unconditionally.....WOW!!! How awesome is that???!!!!

~Thank you Jesus for blessing me and my family so dearly. Thank you for who you are and what you did to give us eternal life. And, this Christmas, I pledge to not get caught up in the material side of Christmas, but to truly be thankful Jesus, my family and my life!!!

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Christmas!!!

Love to you all!!!!

Joy

~I'm Back!!!!~

Well, a very dear friend of mine reminded me that I have a blog that could use an update. So, you can really thank her for this!!! Thank you Joy!!!

No, seriously~ I had every intention of updating after Thanksgiving, but December has been pretty rough on me. Want to know why? Of course you do!!! Here is my list (and this is all true....makes me sound like I'm from a soap opera, doesn't it???) ~

• 2 kids that I don't think will EVER stop coughing!!!! I guess Cole may, but not Taylor.
• Taylor got pink eye
• Taylor got an upper respiratory infection
• Joy got a sinus infection
• Joy got pink eye
• Joy fell down a flight of steps~ yes, I know! Go ahead and laugh.....it's ok now. But, at the time I felt like I was 80! I thought I broke my hip and my wrist. Wouldn't have surprised me if I would have....just my kinda luck! But, after I got my breath back, I realized that I was very bruised up, but all in all, ok. So, I hurt for about 5 days & then felt much better. I've really learned to respect the steps. Ok, ok.....that's enough laughing!!!
• Joy got THE STOMACH BUG~ yes, 'that one'! It was pretty horrible.
• Then, on Sunday morning, my grandmother fell down and broke her back :(

So, as you can see, things have been a little out of control. All I can say now is ~ IS IT CHRISTMAS YET??????

I have had a tough go of it and really haven't felt much in the Christmas spirit, but I know that I have so much to be thankful for and can't wait to watch both kids enjoy the fun of Christmas. They are both now at the age to where it is magical for them..... I LOVE THAT!!!!

So, to all of you who too are having a tough go of it.....let it all go & relax. Enjoy the special feeling of it all, enjoy the kids, enjoy the family and reflect on how blessed we are. The "reason for the season".....God is good!!!

Want To Save Money???!!!

Well, do I have the place for you!!!!!!!!!!

With the financial strain that we are facing as well as many of you~ I have really been trying to save money any way that I possibly can. Cutting coupons, getting freebies...you name it. So, I wanted to share my favorite with you. And, go visit now!!!! And enter to win a $50 Wal-Mart gift card.......

www.dealseekingmom.com

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!!!

Good Luck!!!!

~~~The 'R' Word~~~

Yes, I AM about the say the much dreaded 'R' word~ Recession. Well, we are all feeling it in one way or another. For me, it started last July...not this passed July, noooo- almost 1.5 years ago. I warned everyone that it was coming. (So, if you didn't listen to me, you can now hear me say "I told you so!" JK). But, really~ July of 2007 is when the real estate market tanked...badly. And, it is only worse now. So, my family has been feeling the upset of the economy for a while. I thank God each and every day that Matt still has his job, but Fidelity just finished a layoff of 1300 people and is getting ready to layoff another 1700- so, I can't say that it can't happen to us.

For others, you are just getting a taste of it. Ok, ok...to my point. I just found out this evening that my younger brother who currently works at USC on campus in the marketing department, is losing his job. He is losing his job along with many others at USC. Many families are going through this same "crisis" right now. He lives alone and has no one else to help pay his mortgage, bills, etc.....so, to say he is scared right now is really putting it lightly.

My prayer for tonight (and for as long as it takes), is that people will find good in all of this. Will it be hard? YES!!! Will it be scary? YES!!! But, God has a plan and God knows us and what we are all going through. I pray that none of us take our eyes off of HIM during this time and that we can still thank HIM each and everyday for the wonderfulness (I know it's not really a word) that He has given us and continues to give us!! Our sacrifices are still NOTHING compared to His.

May you all find peace in the Lord during this scary time and I hope that we can all lean on one another....that will get us through!!!! Remember~ the Lord will never give you more than you can handle. So, to all of my family & friends...remember that, because I may need you to remind me some days!

Love you to all!
Joy

More Free Things!!!!

A new way to search ... want to join me???
Welcome to Swagbucks!!
***an easy way to earn "bucks" for searching on the internet
as so many of us do multiple times a day***

After hearing about Swagbucks, I did some investigating and learned that it is very simple to sign up for: so I did! It takes all of about one minute. There are no fees, no credit cards required, and no phone number/addresses requested.

The average person who uses swagbucks as their primary search engine will typically make anywhere between 1-5 Swagbucks per day if you're doing regular searches. Even at that rate, you should be able to win a $5 Amazon gift card (which costs 45 Swagbucks) or a $5 Starbucks gift card (50 Swagbucks) every month ... not bad for doing something you would be doing anyway!!

Here's the fun part ~~~~ if you take the time to refer people (on your blog or a note on Facebook), you will earn every swagbuck your referrals earn, up to 100 for each referral. If you have a bunch of referrals, it really adds up! And there are other gift cards available including Target, Best Buy, Subway, and more.

Why are you still on my blog????
Click HERE and let's get started earning swagbucks.
It's a win-win for you and your referrals. Who wouldn't want to use a search bar that pays you for your searches over one that doesn't, especially when the results are from Google and Ask.com, both excellent sources??

~Thankful Thursday!!!~

Well, I figured I would follow the path of my wonderful friends and begin posting my Thankful Thursdays. So, here goes:

1. A daughter who decided that she would dress herself up this morning- she is the "Ballerina Princess"....matches well, huh?
2. A hard working husband
3. A church that's growing! Even planning events is getting tricky!
4. The wonderful weather
5. Our upcoming trip camping this weekend~ the kids first time!
6. Our upcoming trip to Pennsylvania next week to visit our best friends and to celebrate Averi's 2nd birthday!!
7. Sassy Girls!!!!
8. The wonderful nap that I got today with the kids...it was hard waking up at 5:00 this morning.
9. The beautiful family picture that we just had made. WOW!!!!!
10. God!!! He is so good to us!!!

Pictures are Finally Here!!!!

You have all been very patient waiting for the new pictures. I had so many new ones downloaded that I had a hard time picking out which ones to post....but, here goes!!!

They DO love each other!!!

They love going to preschool

Boozer snuggling with his buddy

My Man!!!

Taylor loving Roxie

She loves to dance

Cutie Pie!

~Just Gotta Love Having a Little Boy!!!~

Well, all of you will get a good laugh at this one!! True story of why little boys are so GREAT!!!!

Monday night, Matt, Cole & Taylor all wanted to go downstairs to play the Wii, so I thought it would be a great time to do another load of laundry. So, down I go. I take my happy self into the laundry room, open up the washing machine, stick my hand in and I see SOMETHING! I had no idea what it was....all I knew was that it was a worm/snake/ creepy crawly of some kind. I totally FREAKED OUT!!! I totally had a hissy fit right there. Matt came running and I "tried" to explain to him what I saw. He (being the manly man that he is) walks over and is going to save me from the critter. He looks in the washing machine, yells and jumps back. At this point, I'm really about to lose it!!! He sticks his hand in the washing machine and pulled out the biggest plastic fishing worm I have ever seen in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cole had put it in his pants pocket and it got washed.

Ok, so at this point, Cole realizes what is going on and is rolling in the floor laughing at me hysterically (not to mention how hard his dad was laughing)!!!

I am still trying to recover from almost having a heart attack & they just kept on laughing. So, now....2 days later, I am recovered and can giggle about it a little, but I can not laugh yet!!!

So, there you have it. I am now well broken in as a mommy with a little boy!!!!

I Know, I Know, I Know!!!

Yes, I'm aware that I haven't been blogging lately, but I've had a hard past 3 weeks. While we were moving back into the house, Taylor got strep throat, then I got strep throat. Once I got to feeling better, I was able to start unpacking boxes more efficiently....until, I got strep again! Yep, that's right. 2 times in less than 3 weeks. So, I have now been given a shot & put back to bed. Well, I was in bed for a day. I had to go back to mommy duty today, but I'm hanging in there!

So, once I am feeling better, I will try my best to find my camera cord and I will download some of the new pictures that I've taken lately.

Until then........I will get myself better and will begin blogging more often!

Joy

~Out of Commission~

Guys, sorry I have posted in so long. Things our way have been so busy. Most of you know about the water damage to our house....Matt & I have been working every available night to get it ready for yesterday & today - all of the new carpet is going in. Yahoo!!!!

So, my plan was to start moving the boxes back to the house today, however Taylor had a different plan. She is sick, so I am being a mommy today instead of a mover. And, that's ok- as long as she gets to feeling better soon!

In the past week, we have had a little fun though - we were able to go up to Lake Norman for little Emersyn's first birthday party!! We all had a blast there. And, last Sunday we went to Lenoir to visit Matt's uncle Lee (that's Ruby's brother) & helped celebrate his 65th birthday. That was great. We were able to see all of Ruby's family at once and we loved it!!! The kids had a ball playing - as they always do.

So, that is our story for now. I am going to do my mommy duty - I will post pictures of our newly painted house soon!

Have a great weekend!!!

Joy & Taylor

~Our Beach Trip~

As you can see, we had a great time!!! Ready to go back!

~ Beach Bound~

Well, we are finally getting our family vacation!!! We are leaving on Wednesday for Myrtle Beach. We are only going until Sunday :(, but at this point I will take what I can get. We haven't had a vacation since last May - which was a wonderful vacation despite Cole having strep throat, double ear infection and spending 2 of our 7 days in the Urgent Care Center and 1 night in the ER getting fluids, chest x-rays, etc. and the remainder of the time indoors to avoid getting too hot, dehydrated again...so on and so on. So, as I'm sure you heard the sarcasm in the entire last sentence.... I NEED A VACATION!!!!!

I had a closing this morning, will go into the office briefly in the morning and then, I will depart to pack my family up. And, as early as we can leave on Wednesday morning, we will be gone!

So, I will post pics as soon as we return! Take care!

Joy, Matt, Cole & Taylor

~My Kids Are Growing Up Too Fast!!!~

Ok~ so I go this afternoon to pick the kids up from Preschool, and much to my surprise, I had these wonderful pictures waiting for me!!! I didn't even know that they had been taken. They look so big in these pictures!!!

OH, what a good "Mommy Moment"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun on the 4th!!!

Cole flexing his muscles (or floaties...not sure which!!)They had to cover their ears during the loud noise.

They are both swimming so good!! Taylor & Cole both had quite the time at their Loo Loo and Paco's (that's what they call my mom & stepdad)

Joy, Matt, Cole & Taylor

I'm Back!!

I know, I know.....I have waited way too long to post. But, things have been pretty darn busy for the Jarrett family!

Work and the kids have really kept me busy. Plus, Matt & I helped with VBS at our church last week- Sunday thru Friday. We had a great group of 22 four year olds- they were great! Taylor & Cole had a great time too. This was Cole's first year of being able to be part of the groups that 'travel' around to different areas, so he really enjoyed that! And, to top it all of- last week, I also had a UTI (yep, another one) :(.

So, for now, we are looking forward to the weekend. I will have the kids on Thursday and Matt will be getting off work early & we are heading to my moms- LooLoo & Paco's as the kids say! We are staying out there all weekend to celebrate the 4th, and Kenley & Wayne's b-day which are both on the 7th- so, we are looking forward to a weekend of fun in the pool!!!

Hope you all have a good 4th and I will post new pics soon!


Joy

Emily is HOME!!!!!

Well, we received a huge blessing today and found out late this afternoon that Emily was coming home. She got home around 6:00 & without any IV's. She is so excited.

Of course, she has a lot of doctors appointments coming up (especially since they still don't have a definitive diagnosis), but she's just so thankful to be home!!!

She has to have stitches taken out at the end of next week (where they did a biopsy on her foot), follow-up appointments and new appointments to be made. But, God has been so good and we know that all of the doctors will take awesome care of her now and we feel certain that she will not get into this condition again.

To all of her friends- she is now back on the computer & myspace & facebook (yes, I can hear the cheering from here), so send her a message and welcome her home!!!!

Please continue to pray that she will not relapse, that the doctors will soon get a specific diagnosis and that the new doctors to come will be as good as the ones at Levines!!!

Again, from the family- we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the calls, prayers, e-mails, etc. You are very special to us all!

Joy

.......And, Still Waiting!!!

Well, the doctors have gotten some of the pathology reports back, but not them all.........so, we continue to wait.

They do feel certain at this point that whatever the final diagnosis will be, that it is some type of immune deficiency disorder. So, for now, we continue to wait for all of the test results and continue to pray.

Emily is still doing great. And, there is a possibility that she may get to come home tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are hoping that she will do so without the IV's!!!!

Here are a few pictures that I have taken during her stay. I am sharing the good pictures with you as we are all only focusing on the positive now!!!

Emily after her first "real" shower. It really wore her out, but she was so happy!!!!

This is a picture of Emily's 1st trip out of the hospital room in a week!!!! She was so excited- it took all of us to accomplish this since she still has so many IV's, ports, etc. But, we had a great outing. We went up to the top of the hospital to the rooftop garden.

This was the first time that Emily had really seen where she was. She had no idea how beautiful and decorated the Levines hospital is.

This is Bailey, Cole & Taylor saying a very special prayer for Emily- this was on either Sunday or Monday night.

STILL WAITING

Thank you all so much for the calls and e-mails, but we have NOT heard from the pathology reports yet.

The doctors have come in a few times today and are very hopeful that they will receive the results today......so, keep checking back!

Thank you again from the family for all of your love and support.

Joy

Tuesday Update for Emily

Today was a GREAT day for Emily!!! The nutrients that they are giving her through IV and all of the medicines are really making a difference. For the first time in a week, we put her in a wheelchair and took her out of her room today. It made her tired, but she enjoyed it.

She even ate "real" food today!!!! We are soooo excited about that. The doctors have her drinking a 'special' drink in hopes that when she is released, she won't have to continue to be tube fed. She is pretty determined, so I'm sure she will accomplish having NO IV's in when she leaves there.

Tomorrow is going to be a very important day - the doctors expect all biopsies to be back, so hopefully we will get a definitive answer as to what is going on and what to do about it.

Emily is overwhelmed at the number of e-mails that she has received, calls, etc....so, from the family, we say a huge THANK YOU!!!!!

Joy

~Update on Emily~

Well, Emily did great during her tests this morning. Her GI doctor does NOT think that she has Crohn's Disease!!!!! That is a huge praise for us! For those of you that don't know, my dad had Crohns and passed away almost 4 years ago, so that potential diagnosis wasn't sitting too well with us.

They did find something unusual- she has a very strange rash on her feet that has been left unexplained for weeks now- well, that same rash is in her intestines (a very large part). So, they are now going to biopsy the rash on her feet to see if it is going to match the results from the biopsies taken this morning. The feel that this all has something to do with an auto immune dificiency, but they are still trying to put all of the pieces together. They are going to continue feeding her through the tubes and will hopefully continue to bring her energy up.

She was full of questions this afternoon which was great! Before, she was very quiet and wouldn't ask questions or talk to us about any of what is going on. We know know that she was just very scared of the thought of having Crohns....so, even though we still don't know exactly what it is, we are one step closer and are thankful for that.

Thanks to all of you who have called, e-mail Emily through the Levines website, and e-mailed the family. We all appreciate it very much.

We know that Emily will be in the hospital at least until the end of the week, but don't know anything passed that.

Thanks again and I will continue to keep you posted!

Joy

~Emily~

Well, today is a very important day for Emily. This morning at 9:00, she will go in for an endoscopy & colonoscopy. From this test, we will know for absolute sure what is going on with her. For now, the doctors have some ideas of what is going on, but todays test will give us more answers. We are all just praying right now, that this test shows that the doctors ideas are wrong and that it is really nothing at all!!!

For a quick update for those who don't know what's gone on over the past 2 weeks:

She began experiencing severe stomach pain and vomiting. After waiting a week, seeing 3 doctors at 2 hospitals and 2 urgent care visits, we finally saw Dr. Hilton - she admitted her into the hospital and more tests were run. At that time, they found acute appendicitis and a small ovarian cyst. She did go into surgery - had her appendix removed and cyst drained. She did well after the surgery, went home and for about 4 days she was great. Then, all of a sudden, the vomiting started again! So, she went back to the surgeon last Monday and was immediately admitted back into the hospital. The doctors at Piedmont realized that her condition was not something that they were not equipped to treat, so last Wednesday, she was tranferred to Levine's Childrens Hospital. This has been a huge blessing. So, she has had many tests run, she has many IV's and she has now had to start receiving nutrients by IV (which has been GREAT!!!). She is finally feeling a little better and is not so lethargic. We are hoping too that this will help her put a little weight back on. She has lost a significant amount at this point.

So, that's a brief update. If I have left anything out and you have questions, let me know.

Also, for those of you reading this that are Anita's friends, etc (those who don't know me directly).....please don't hesitate e-mailing me if you need additional info, etc. I know it isn't easy getting in touch with Anita at the hospital sometimes. So, don't hesitate e-mailing me directly at joy@joyjarrett.com. Or, if you need me sooner, call my cell phone at 803-493-1154. I don't mind answering questions, passing along messages, etc.

Please say a specific prayer for Emily this morning that her tests go well and that we get difinitive results so that we know how to move forward to care for her best!!!!

Thank you all!!!!

SORRY!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been a little crazy for me lately. I switched real estate companies which has been awesome for me! I left Century 21 and am now with Market Street Realty- my office is in Baxter and I love it!!!

So, between the monsoon of paperwork that I have had to do for my licensing change, moving my stuff into my new office, etc....it has been a bit crazy to say the least.

On the homefront, things are good- no real drama lately. Which is good! Taylor did figure out how to climb out of her crib, so she and Cole are now sleeping together. Wasn't sure how that would work out, but they both actually like it. They are both snugglers, so it works well. And, is pretty darn cute if I must say!!!!!

We are in the process of trying to plan a couple of vacations~ we are planning on doing a 4 or 5 day beach trip (Yes, THE Myrtle Beach) for the family and then Matt & I are hoping to take a 4 day trip with just the 2 of us. Not sure where yet~ I will have to get a travel agent to help me with that one....maybe Jamaica or Bahamas...not sure.

Hope you all are well. I will have some new pictures to post soon!!

~Springfest Brings New Family :) ~

Well, we all went out to Springfest on Saturday. We had a great time~ especially Cole. We ran into one of my good friends and her little girl, Xan. Well, Xan & Cole are the same age and go to sunday school together~ so, they were super excited to see each other. Nikki & I look up and Cole & Xan are walking together and holding hands!!!!!! TOO CUTE!!!! So, Nik and I figure that we can just go ahead and arrange their marriage for the year 2033~ that way we will know that we will like our 'new' families!!!!

Are they cute or what????!!!!!

5 Things...

Ok, I know Nik is going to do it, so I'm going to go ahead and post it.

5 Things happening in my life 10 years ago:
~six months away from graduating from Winthrop
~I was about 1 month away from starting to date Matt
~loving spending time with my Daddy :) But, I always liked spending time with my Daddy
~going out with my girlfriends ALL THE TIME!
~going to the beach just about every weekend

5 things on my to-do list:
~finish brainstorming my work lists :) change can be good and scary!
~wash my dishes
~give Cole & Taylor a bath
~Cole just informed me that tomorrow we have to make a 'wormery'- where you "gather worms and give them a home in the garden and everyday you pick the worms up, play with them for 3 or 4 minutes and then put them back in the garden"- I love his imagination!!!!
~pick Matt up at the airport Friday night- can't wait for him to get home!

5 snacks I enjoy: I don't snack very much, so this one is hard
~cheese & crackers
~apples
~cheese cake- yum!
~hmmmmm......
~hmmmmm......

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
~have NO debt!!!!
~make sure college is paid for - for Cole, Taylor, Katie, Emily, Bailey, Josh, Logan, Rebeka, & Ashley...probably even others- Hayley & Dori, Donovan, Nathan, Daisy, Colt, Macey, Morgan, Anniston, etc.... - all my little ones that I love!!! But, some of them I don't get to see as much as I would like :(
~Travel all the time to whatever beach I can get to!
~Have family and friends over for cookouts all the time! So much fun!
~Take my entire family (yes, the whole big clan) on a huge family vacation

5 bad habits:
~not making the kids stick to an 8:00 bedtime
~not making my bed
~don't keep up with the laundry like I should
~not washing the dishes every night -it's hard because right now we don't have a dishwasher- can you even imagine that!!!!
~giving Matt sarcastic looks when he says things that I think are CRAZY!

5 places I have lived: (only 2)
~Fort Mill, SC
~Rock Hill, SC
~

5 jobs I've had:
~Realtor
~Accounting/ Office Manager in Charlotte
~Marketing Assistant/ Book Keeper
~Waitress at Outback- that's what got me hooked on the cheese fries!
~Worked part time at the college while I went to school

~My Silly Little Girl~

Ok, this photo session started out by thinking that Roxie was the cutest little thing all curled up in her bed......

She is so cute!!! 4 pounds of fluffiness!

But, then....Taylor decided that it was time for Roxie to get up ~ so, she took over the bed with her cute little half naked self!!!!!

Happy Monday!

Well, this is what my Monday was composed of~ Taylor continuously taking off her clothes. I was beginning to get EXTREMELY frustrated when she came out of her bedroom with her red, glitter "wizard of oz" shoes. It was too good for me not to capture the moment!!






Matt took Cole & Taylor to Wal-Mart tonight and they both came home with something new. Taylor got a new Dora DVD (thank goodness ~ I've only watched the other one 172 times today!!!) and Cole got this cool Hot Wheels Race Track. This is Cole & Matt putting it together and racing their cars. They had a great time!!!

Not much else to tell for now......OH~~ except for the fact that Matt gave Roxie a haircut this weekend without my permission. For those of you who don't know who Roxie is....she is my 4 pound girly girl Shit-Tzu and Boozer's (our 5 year old Boston Terrier) best friend. Well, needless to say~ my fluffy little furball is hmmm....well, she looks like a mutt!!!! She has all kinds of scissor marks all over her. I wanted to be mad, but what could I do. So, I just hugged her and told her that every girl will have a bad hair day in their lifetime and that I sure hope her hair grows fast!!!! Men~~ I can't believe he took away her girliness!!! I will post a picture of her tomorrow. I'm still not sure that I can embarrass her too much by taking her picture~ it may make her self-conscious!!!! Hehehehehe!!!!

What Flavor Ice Cream Am I????

You Are A Vanilla Ice Cream Girl

Flexible. Easygoing. Classic.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

RIGHT ON THE MONEY!!!!

Please look at1

Ok, my girlfriends from church (and who are my blog buddies :)) shared this website with me. Please take a few moments to look through it. It is heart wrenching and life changing.

Thinking back on the last 3 1/2 years and what all Matt & I and our families have dealt with is tough. Daddy's death, then Ruby's diagnosis with cancer, then her death...wow! If I could go back and change it all, I would in a second. Life is so different without Daddy & Ruby. Ok, enough about that- I've had enough tears for one day...but, reading the story of this family really warms my heart!

Hope you all enjoy following along as I have. And, I'm sure that you all will fall in love with this beautiful baby girl too!

http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

I have been tagged again!!!

I have been tagged again! Love it!!! This time by my friend Amanda at http://amanda-mommyx3.blogspot.com/.

Well, below is March- my month and it is right on the money (for the most part)!!!!! So, here is my month and below you will find the others.

MARCH: Attractive personality (I hope!). Sexy (not so sure about this). Affectionate (yep). Shy and reserved (ahahahahahah- NO). Secretive (sometimes). Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic (100%). Loves peace and serenity (Yes, I do!). Sensitive to others (yep). Loves to serve others (yes). Easily angered (yep, don't cross me). Trustworthy (that's right). Appreciative and returns kindness (yes). Observant and assesses others (oh yeah). Revengeful (unfortunately I can be). Loves to dream and fantasize (yes, I am thinking I'm at the beach right now!). Loves traveling (yep!). Loves attention (Not so much). Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors (yes I do!!). Musically talented(hahahahahaha- that's funny! NO). Loves special things (Yes). Moody (100%!!!!!).


TAGGING RULES:
1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.
2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below).
3. Pick your month of birth.
4. Highlight the traits that apply to you.
5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving them a comment.
6. Let the person who tagged you know when yours is up!


The Twelve Months
JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

I'm IT~ My Turn Now!!

I have been tagged by by good friend Nikki http://hill-billies.blogspot.com/ (or Tic-Tac depending on who you talk to) to post 7 random things about myself. So, I hope I don't bore you too much!!!

1. I love clouds - I always look at them and see what animal or face I can see :) A thing me and my daddy used to do!

2. I don't like toes, so beware if you put them on me!!! And, unless you are Matt giving me a foot massage, please don't touch my toes (or piggies as they are known as in my house:)! Yes, that means that I do NOT get pedicures; I will do my own painting thank you!

3. I like ladybugs, but every other kind of creepy crawly freaks me out! Even little lizards..actually, especially little lizards. And, yes - I will scream.

4. I was not such a good girl in High School....I know, I know- that is a complete shock to you all (hehehehe), but I was very much a rebel. If I was told not to do something, then more than likely I was already trying to figure out a way to do it anyway! My mom likes to say that I was "just very independent & adventurous". This, of course, is no surprise to Nikki because she was probably with me when I was getting into trouble!!! So, yes.... I know payback will be he**. That's what God made Taylor & Xan for!

5. I love Kenny Chesney - he is definately my pretend boyfriend....don't worry - Matt knows all about it!!!

6. I am addicted to the internet. Never thought that I would be, but I definately am. A day without e-mail would be complete anxiety for me!

7. I love to drink vinegar when I have the hiccups. Yes, it works! I know- you want to try it now, don't you??!! And, I like pickle juice too - but, not for the hiccups, just anytime!

And, by the way Nik- I love fried pickles too! And, hate bottled ranch! So, I guess you & I need to plan a date to the Wing King!!!!

Our Weekend "Edventure"

Here we are leaving for Columbia. It was pouring down rain, but we didn't care. As you can see, we were all smiles!!! :)

The gang beside big Eddie - this was my first time at Edventure....needless to say, I was pretty impressed!!!

Here is Captain Taylor driving the S.S. Shrimpy - make sure you look behind Taylor....that is her first mate making his grand entrance through the window!

Here is proof that Taylor's terrible two's have hit. This is her second meltdown of the day!

View of Eddie from the second floor.

Ok........just wanted to make sure you all knew that the temper tantrum did end and Taylor did have a good time!!


Her belly laugh is adorable!!!

Here is Cole in the Edventure Piggly Wiggly learning about working. He was a pro!!!

This was no doubt Cole's favorite thing of the day!!!!!!!!!

Well, after Edventure, lunch at the mall, riding the carosel, swimming at the hotel pool and dinner, I had to put them to bed :) As you can see, they were still having fun!!!!

Even though this was just an overnight trip, we all had a great time!!!! Edventure is well worth the visit. We were there about 3 hours and we were busy the entire time we were there!!!

Weekend Fieldtrip!!

Well, Matt & I have 2 excited kids tonight....actually 5!

We are leaving in the morning to go to Columbia for the weekend. We are taking Katie, Emily & Bailey with us too. We are going to go to the Edventure Children's Museum and Kenley & Jennifer are going to meet us there. Then, Kenley & Jenn are going to spend the day with us. We are staying overnight we can all swim and just have a night away from home. Sad that we are all so excited about Columbia, but we are:)!!

A weekend just watching the kids play, eat, swim.... and hopefully some relaxing in there too!

Have a great weekend...I'll post pictures when we get back!

~~Good Mommy, Bad Mommy~~

Well, we all know that the good mommy, bad mommy changes from second to second!!! This morning, I set the record of all records!!

For some reason, Taylor was so mad at me this morning and I actually didn't do anything to deserve it...she apparently just woke up on the wrong side of the crib. She not only didn't want to get dressed (which is very unusual for her), she also didn't want to dress herself (even more unusual). She simply told me (or yelled it actually) to "weave me awone"!!!!! Well, I thought "I'll show your little rear end whose gonna weave who awone". So, I pulled her over and dressed her...the entire time she continued telling me to "weave me awone".

Then, it was time to dress Cole - he actually woke up extremely happy, but he didn't want to get dressed either!!! He went from happy to crying and telling me "I'm mad at you and I don't like you". Well, I thought....so, I gave him a spank on the hiney and told him to be nice. "He then started crying and told me "You broke my bones and my heart"!! (yes, that did break my heart, but he knows that it does- that's why he says it:))

So, I quickly reminded them both that either they could be nice or we wouldn't go to Columbia this weekend to the Edventure Childrens Museum. WELL, you would have thought that the nice fairy came and bit them on the booties! They not only starting hugging me and telling me how sorry they were, but they started hugging each other too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was sooooo funny!!!! So, now I have something to use all week to make them behave:)

~The Weekend Plans~

Well, so far we have had a good weekend- we went to Logan's b-ball game last night (all of us: Joy, Matt, Cole, Taylor, Katie, Emily, Bailey & Alex) and made it through the thunder, lightening, wind and tornado warning. We all ended up at Anita's house until 10:00 last night - yes, I am chicken when it comes to anything related to tornados.

So, today, Matt & I are cleaning and laughing at Taylor continuosly change her clothes and her shoes. Right now, she is down to her diaper and flip flops:)

Our anniversary is tomorrow - 6 years!!!! So, we are going to go to Outback to eat!!! Wahoooo! And, for all of you who are wondering, yes, I will be ordering the cheese fries!!!!! I know, I know....I should just wipe them straight on my butt and hips because that's exactly where they will go, but I don't care! They are wonderful and I will suffer through it and will proudly take the big butt if I have to!!!!! Needless to say - Outback is my favorite!!!!

Have a great weekend and for those of you out of school - have a great SPRING BREAK! (Oh man, I just had a flash back of spring break at the beach when I was in high school!! UH OH!!! I think Nikki and I would be able to sit and share some great stories with you all!!!!)

To My Fellow Mommies!!

Ok, I almost had a heart attack last night (and almost threw up- but I will leave those details out!)...........

Taylor - the independent, self seeker that she is decided to touch the hot burner!!!! I had just told her to get back because it was hot, I turned around for a second to put the pot in the sink and she touched it!!!! I guess she wanted to see if I knew what I was talking about. I am quite positive that I cried worse than her.

She was a real trooper, but it still looks pretty bad today. I was just as upset looking at it today as I was last night!

Taylor has my grandfather wrapped around her little finger (actually all of her fingers), so he offered to keep her today instead of sending her to preschool. Taylor was happy about that and so was I. Her hand was pretty sore this morning so I'm glad that she will be somewhere that they will "baby" her "just a little"!!!

I pray that my weekend is a little less uneventful!!!!

Happy Friday to you all!!!

Jennifer O

Just wanted to let you know that my sister-in-law, Jennifer, is back in the hospital at MUSC (where her specialist are).

She went in last week with an "attack", but thankfully she only had to stay one night. She got sick again Saturday afternoon, so Kenley drove her back down. They admitted her again and they are doing another CT Scan on her today.

Severe pancreatitis is what she has. For those of you that don't know, we almost lost her 1 1/2 years ago from this disease. We are praying very hard that this isn't the beginning of another rocky road for her.

I will keep you all updated on her.

~Happy Monday~

Happy Monday Everyone. I am praying that this week will be much better than yesterday was for our family. :(

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster- but, the 2 main emotions that we had were ANGER & SADNESS!! There is a dog in our neighborhood, Dakota, that is a royal pain in the 'you know what'. He has a record of attacking Amos. Amos was my grandfathers precious 2 1/2 yr old cocker spaniel. Such a sweet, loving dog. Well, once again, Dakota attacked Amos! When I say 'again', I mean at least 8 times within the last 3 months - yes, I say that with tremendous anger. Anyway, yesterday will definately be the last time that Amos will be attacked by that out of control dog. At 4:30, me, my grandmother, Anita & Katie took Amos to the Pet ER only to find out that he had massive head trauma and was blinded. We left Amos in ICU to be cared for, but my grandparents received a call from the doctor at 1:50am and Amos passed away. We are all so sad.

Needless to say, when I got home last night, the first thing I did was call the Sherriff's office. A report has now been filed and Animal Control is going out to the home this morning to notify them that we have filed a report and explain to them what their responsibilies as a pet owner are. And to let them know that we are going to be on the lookout - each and everytime that dog is out of their yard, we will be calling the police. I will not allow this dog to terrorize our family. Not only have I had to worry about our pets, I have also feared that he will turn on one of the kids. I will not allow that to happen.

So, today we are sad....sad for Amos, my grandfather, all of us. But, I want to tell you all how precious Katie (my 17 year old cousin) was. She is alot like me...very tender hearted and can cry at the first sign of sadness. Well, she & I layed with Amos in the floor and comforted him before we took him to the ER and she sat with him in the back of my car on the way there. Everytime that Amos cried, Katie would sing to him :). It would calm him everytime. It was so precious. We all cried, but we are glad that he is in no pain.

Emily (15) also was precious - she got called to my house in the midst of all the chaos, but she was sweet enough to sit with Cole, Taylor and Bailey while we took him to the hospital. We are a very lucky family to have such love and support.

The people at the ER probably thought that we were nuts! Our phones were constantly ringing while we were there. Everyone in our family was so upset that we had to keep everyone updated constantly on how he was doing. We are a very close family and yes, that includes our pets too.

Sorry for the long post and for the sad news.....

LOVE THIS WEATHER!!!

Ok, for all of those who know me really well - you know how EXCITED I am about this weather!!!!!!!! I want to go to the beach soooooo badly!!!! There is a possibility that Matt's company will send him to West Palm Beach at the end of April and if they do, I am going to try to arrange to go with him. Just the possibility makes me excited!!!

And, today, I'm sitting in my office working (and peering out the window, of course!).....off duty at 1:00- I may just have to go home and sit outside and work - or at least act like I'm working!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! I have to work a good bit, but that's ok - I need the business!!

:)

Taylors Words

Ok - just had a thought of what I need to let you all know. It's about Taylor. All of you know that she just turned 2, but of course, she thinks she's 12!!! She is also talking up a storm. I love it. Cole not so much!!!

We were in the car this morning going to preschool. Cole is trying his best to tell me about the "purple trees" on the side of 21 that he swears are "grape trees". The whole time he is telling me, Taylor is fussing. She is yelling at Cole saying "no bubby" (her pet name for Cole). I finally tell her to stop being mean, so proceeds to tell me "bubby talking...I not like!" Well, well little missy. Apparently she had woke up on the wrong side of the crib this morning!!

Other words or phrases that I hear quite often:

popsicle - I hear this word approximately 72 times a day. Bi-Lo loves us!

meaner - this is how she tells me that her Daddy punished her. She comes to me with her bottom lip out to Texas and tells me that "daddy is meaner".

my wost my cup - she can not keep up with a sippy cup to save her life....so, she always asks me - she will say "oh man....i wost it".

And, of course......my potty, my potty - yes, I am thankful that she is potty training herself, but each time I hear this, I have to go hunt for the hidden diaper and then look in the bathroom floor to make sure that her hiney actually made it onto the potty. Whew! All of that is quite the task with little miss independent!

***The best is "my not like it", which is typically said very LOUDLY!!!

And, here you have it! A day in the life of Taylor! :)