The Jarrett Family ~ Matt, Joy, Cole & Taylor!!

First Trip to Legoland!!! October 2011

2011-10-13T21:01:00.000-04:00

Well, as I went to post this, I realized that it's almost been a year since my last post. I know...I am ashamed. I think I let Facebook make it to easy for me just to post pictures and walk away...but, I want to do more than that. I want this blog to become a place for me to put my thoughts, experiences and pictures of my loves! So, here goes.....

We played hookie from school and work today and took the kids to LegoLand for the first time today! All I can say is this: We are going to get A LOT of use out of our yearly passes. Here's why~

As you can see here, both Cole & Taylor were very excited about their trip!

Cole has such a funny sense of humor!!! I love this one!

Cole makes a friend no matter where he goes! :)

Sorry I didn't label more pictures, but I am EXHAUSTED!!!!!! I just wanted to be able to get these pictures posted...because, I know my Momma is waiting for them ;) And, Momma~ don't forget that you can click on a picture to see it larger :)

With Love,

Joy, Matt, Cole & Taylor

Fall/ Christmas 2010

2010-11-28T20:05:00.000-05:00

We were finally able to make time this afternoon to take some new family photos! I'm quite sure that I will have a difficult time figuring out which will go in our Christmas card this year!!!

2010-11-23T21:56:00.002-05:00

Personalize a scrapbooking design

November Fun!!!

2010-11-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again! Time for holiday preparations!!!! For me, it's kind of bitter sweet this year. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE the holidays, but this year will be my 1st ever Thanksgiving away from my family in South Carolina. And, having grown up in a HUGE family, this is a HUGE deal to me. However, we have a very special trip planned for the week before Christmas with that HUGE family of mine, so that will make up for being lonely on Thanskgiving!! We will be leaving December 18th for a cruise to celebrate my grandparents (MawMaw & PawPaw) 55th wedding anniversary!!! So, there will be 24 of us (yes, you read that right) going to the Bahamas!!! I can't wait...and, neither can the kids. I can only imagine how much fun we are going to have. So, we will get off the ship on Thursday and head to South Carolina for Christmas and Santa. So, that will be such a memorable trip.....and, because we will be gone that week, we decided that we would decorate for Christmas early. So, last night, we had our very special Christmas Tree Decorating Party...complete with party food, candy and of course cake! We had a blast!!!

I am having a terrible time with photos today, so these are in no particular order...sorry! But, we have company over and I just don't have time to be OCD over the pictures!

Taylor was really into the Christmas music I had playing, so she ended up in her dance outfit dancing all over the living room.

My sweet funny boy dancing to the music!

I got him!

The festivities wore them out!!!! They both feel asleep cuddling with mommy...I couldn't have been more pleased.

Taylor also had her Thanksgiving Program at her school on Thursday...she was Flying Eagle. And, the most beautiful Flying Eagle ever- if you ask me :)

Taylor wanted us to take a picture of her papoose and baby...too cute!

This family of mine is no doubt the loves of my life! I couldn't be more blessed!!!

Veggie Tales and Painting

2010-10-24T19:15:00.000-04:00

Well, we have been really busy this past week and this weekend. Last Thursday evening, we went to the Veggie Tales concert. They held it at our church, and since our whole family LOVES Veggie Tales, we certainly weren't gonna miss out! Also, Matt and I spent the weekend painting....I had had enough of the white walls....here are a few pics!!!

Sorry for the shortness of this post, but I am going to enjoy pizza with the family, my back is hurting and I have a horrible cold and am coughing like crazy. So, this is as good as it gets!

And, yes....for those observant ones of you, that is Taylor sitting in time out! haha!

Cole & Taylor's First Trip to Disney!!!!

2010-10-03T18:56:00.000-04:00

Well, all I can really say is....WOW! WOW!! WOW!!!! We had a "magical" day for sure!! We met Jennifer, David & Makayla at the Magic Kingdom yesterday and well....I will just let the pictures show you what a great time we had.

OH, and be prepared.....there are ALOT of pictures...71 to be exact! :)

waited until Friday night and let the kids "guess" where we were going.

They were so close to figuring it out!

There.....they got it!

They were just a wee bit excited ;)

Loading up the car and heading to Disney!!!

Taylor's eyes started to sparkle as soon as we were driving in.

Well, she spotted "it". How awesome it is to watch your children see this for their very first time!!!! Matt & I didn't miss a minute of it!

And, there "it" is!

How could anyone not be excited by seeing this. It truly is "magical".

Cole & Taylor were so excited to see Makayla at the front gate waiting for them! Such special memories were made!

I thought Taylor's eyes were going to pop out of her head when she actually saw just how big the castle was.

I love this picture of me and my sister!!! We had such an awesome time together with our children.

Not sure what happened with the fuzzies, but still a great one!

Cole & Makayla fighting Zurg in the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Cole kept this awesome smile of excitement ALL day!!!

Taylor in Minnie Mouse's house

She was pretty concerned that Minnie didn't have real food in her fridge ;)

Meeting Mickey & Minnie for the first time...words can't even describe how wonderful this was.

All of the characters were just amazing...they took their time and made each child feel so special. It was awesome to watch the amazement in Taylor's eyes. She still can't believe that she got to meet them!

Isn't this precious??!!! Special girl talk time with Belle.

Cole wasn't going to go up and talk to Belle....until Belle asked to meet Taylor's beast ;)

LOVE this one....the look on both faces is just priceless!!

This picture doesn't even need words....

Taylor needed just a little snooze!

Jennifer & David on the Magic Carpet Ride

See, Disney is magical! It must be~ my kids were getting along!!! And, being sweet to each other!

Taylor waving at the characters during their dance.

Towards the end of the day and the excitement....well, it was still there.

My beautiful niece, Makayla

Cole waiting to go on the Buzz ride....for the 2nd time.

Taylor was just in full fascination all day.

Matt & I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to see this magic in our childrens eyes. And, the fact that we got to do this for the 1st time with my sister and her family....well, through tears I can only say that I am so absolutely thankful!

Thankful for the most amazing, MAGICAL DAY!!!

Bahamas Cruise #1 of 2010

2010-09-12T20:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I spent a lot of time yesterday putting together this nice post about our wonderful trip. Well, thanks to "Service Unavailable Error #503", all you will be getting is pictures!! Enjoy!!!

Heather & I shortly after loading the boat

Nothing beats eating breakfast by the sea!

Half Moon Cay~ absolutely beautiful!!!

Our awesome servers dancing for us~ I believe that this was the "Apple Bottom Jeans" getting Low, Low, Low!!! hahahah!

I was welcoming myself to the Bahamas!!

This sign was hanging in the middle of the Nassau downtown area~ right next to the government buildings. Maybe we should hang these in the US to serve as a reminder ;)

The worst margarita I have ever had! But, I finished like a champ ;)

Matt & Chip during Bingo~ actually the night we won!!

Awesome, awesome cake!!!

The main thing Cole & Taylor are looking forward to.

Our ship, Fascination on the right~ and, on the left is Sensation- the ship we will be on in December.

Courthouse in downtown Nassau~ made famous by Anna Nichole Smith of course.

The top of the Queensland Staircase. 65 steps down and beautiful!!!

And, at the bottom!!! Awesome!!

~ The First Day of School....Again~

2010-08-24T16:54:00.000-04:00

Well, todays 1st day of school was a little crazy. Not only did we get rain, but we had heavy rains and heavy winds!!! The pictures will show you just what I mean :)

I can't believe how quickly these kids are growing!!!

Such a big girl!

My handsome little man

And, here is a glimpse of our walk into school

more rain.....

Ms. Young talking to Taylor about her first day of school

Cole had to make sure the rain didn't mess up his mohawk ;)

Cole had lots to tell Ms. Young!

Cole & Tyler....picked up right where they left off last year.

Now, it's Taylors turn!

She didn't even care that we were leaving...I love her independence!

We had a challenging morning, but after Matt & I got the kids dropped off, went back home to change into dry clothes, we too started our days....and, it was a great one for all of us!!

Our Wonderful Summer: All In One Post

2010-08-23T09:47:00.001-04:00

I first want to start by saying sorry for the lack of posts this summer. But, like everyone, we have been EXTREMELY busy!!! Since June 4th, we have had company on back to back visits. So, between spending quality time with the family/visitors, work, summer camps, trips to the beach, Weeki Wachee, Rays games, etc, etc, this momma has not had time to blog.

So, I will leave this post with little words and will let the pictures do the talking!

Needless to say, this has been one AWESOME summer!!!! I spent a good bit of time "reflecting" on life this summer. I have had to work on minimizing some negative aspects of my life so that I can focus on the good and only the good. And, it's working!!!

This momma is so proud of Cole who will be starting 1st grade in the morning and Taylor who will be starting Pre-K!!! But, I do wish summer could last a little longer!!!

My Big Boy has graduated Kindergarten!!!

2010-06-02T17:11:00.000-04:00

Well, he has done it again! My sweet, handsome, loving, kissable, wonderful baby...I mean big boy has done it again!!!!!!! This little boy has managed to make my heart grow ten times bigger than it was before. Cole has grown into such a wonderful young man and we could not possibly be any more proud of him!!!

On the way to school this morning, I told Cole how very proud I was of him. His response?? "I'm proud of you too Mommy". He just melts my heart!!!

Cole led his class out to the PE court today for their celebration. Yes, in 95 degree weather, they sang 6 beautiful little songs. Hot? OH YEAH!!! But, it was worth every sweat drop.

He got a Congratulations on your Graduation card....or, Congraduation as Cole calls it!!! :)

It was a musical card, of course! My kids love to dance, they love these cards.

And, he was so happy to get a gift card....an Iron Man gift card to be exact. Apparently, those are more fun to spend than the regular gift cards ;)

Cole with the most wonderful Kindergarten teacher. Ms. Young is absolutely wonderful! Cole loves to grab her around the neck and squeeze her!

And, this is a class picture~ we are so pleased that this will also be his class for next year as Ms. Young has been offered a 1st grade position and she gets to keep the same class! We are so excited!!!

So, my heart is a little heavy today, but very happy and VERY proud!!!! My little boy who was born 4 weeks early and was so tiny is now such a handsome young man. It seems like it was yesterday that I was bringing him home from the hospital. I'm so proud. Being away from "home" is bitter sweet for me right now. But, I'm so glad that I have a way to share these moments with you all!

And, little Miss Taylor will be finishing pre-school on Friday. They will both attend summer camp and then she will begin Pre-K program in August. So, my girl is growing up too!!! So, expect her pics to be posted soon!

Until next time.....love from The Jarretts!

Cole's First Tampa Bay Rays Game

2010-05-18T18:08:00.000-04:00

Matt took Cole to his first Tampa Bay Ray's game....and, as you can imagine, they both had a WONDERFUL time!!!

What a great day!!!

Love, Matt, Joy, Cole & Taylor

Tonsils, Adnoids, Strep Throat & The Pool!!!

2010-05-13T15:44:00.000-04:00

Well, as you can tell from the title I used, it has been a little crazy at our house.

The move went great. The majority of the house is all put together...minus a few boxes here and there. And, we are still working on the guest room. I need to get moving though~~ we have guests coming very soon, so we need to make their room all comfy & cozy!

The pool was a disaster when we closed. So, after two weeks of chemicals with no "clear blue" in sight, we decided to drain the water and start over!!!! As you can see, we made it a family affair. :)

Taylor, of course, was the little boss....notice her hands on her hips as you oversees her daddy's work ;)

And, Cole thought this was the most fun!! He used it as a machine gun~ hey, whatever works, huh??!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, by Sunday, the pool was filled back up with wonderful, sparkling, crystal blue water. Sounds like the perfect Mothers Day, doesn't it???? Well, not exactly!!!

The day started out beautifully with a nice breakfast, church, lunch and then BOOM! Half way through lunch, Cole turned as white as a sheep and let me know that he needed to go home and go to bed. WHAT???!!!! So, just as most mommy's do first, checked the forehead....yep, fever. So, home we go. After an afternoon of "I feel terrible", "I feel good as new", we ended up at the ER from 8:00 - 10:00. Strep Throat...or, that's what they said. I'm still not 100% convinced. He had a fever of 103, one swollen tonsil, a stomach ache, a headache and off and on body aches. Fever broke around 10:30 and he's been fine ever since. So, who knows! I'm just glad he's feeling better.

That was Sunday...now, for Monday. Surgery Day!!!!! Yep, Taylor has had an ongoing sinus infection since December. Yes, you heard me correctly...December. So, time for those adnoids & tonsils to come out!! But, even though I knew it had to happen, I was still not in a "happy place" with it. But, we did it, it's over and all is great. That is until Wednesday afternoon......

Around 4:00, she became really congested and started coughing. The coughing scared me....but it wasn't bad until 4:00am. So, off to the doctor we go again! So, now, we have a different pain medicine and 2 different antibiotics....and, we are praying for relief.....and, for sleep!!!

So, as you can see, I haven't been away from the blog for no reason. Life is just kicking me in the rear right now. But, that's ok. My babies are ok (and will be even better in a few days) and we are loving our new house!!! We can't wait for our company to start getting here!!!

My momma, Maw-Maw, Ashley & Rebeka will be here in June and our best friends, The Johannes family, will be here for the 4th of July!!! We're so excited!!!

Sorry for the long post and lack of pictures. Just need to catch everyone up on our latest shananigans.....I do have some really sweet pictures from Taylors surgery day. Once I figure out how to get them off my phone, I will post :)

The Jarretts~ Matt, Joy, Cole & Taylor

Our New Home!!!

2010-04-26T22:00:00.000-04:00

Well, after 10 months of being in Florida, we finally found "the right" house to make our home. Here are the photos!

One of my favorite spots!!

Living Room

Joy's closet~ I LOVE it!!!

Matt's closet

Cole's room ~ before paint

Kitchen~ small, but functional. We will remodel down the road.

Taylors Pink room

Cole's room after paint

Cole is so happy about his Star Wars room!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We still have a lot of unpacking to do, but we are so happy that we are finally into our own house!!!

Joy, Matt, Cole & Taylor

Taylor Turns 4!! SeaWorld

2010-03-17T15:00:00.000-04:00

She was so excited watching the dolphins that she couldn't even speak ~ so precious!!

She was in love!!!

Playing with, feeding & petting the dolphins was my favorite by far!!!

Isn't she beautiful!!!

My handsome boy!

Can you tell that she was NOT excited about leaving???

We had such a wonderful day!!!! Next is a day at Busch Gardens. Just not sure if that will be before we move or after ;)

Daddy~ Daughter Dance

2010-03-17T14:53:00.000-04:00

Here they are.... my precious memories. This was so much fun!!!

Taylor & her Daddy both had a night to remember!!!

ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE!!!!!

2010-03-17T14:45:00.000-04:00

You are 100%, there is absolutely no excuse for why I have not been keeping up with my post. So, I sincerely apologize and will now move on ;). Before I start posting "event" pictures, I am going to fill you in on what has been going on in our lives...crazy as it is!!!

Sick, sick and more sick!!! Well, over the past month, all 4 of us have dealt with colds. Two (Tay & I) ended up with sinus infections. Taylor now has to go see an ENT doc because we absolutely can't keep hers cleared up. Apparent "chronic sinusitis" due to allergies. FUN! And, Cole also got the dreaded stomach bug. Praise the Lord that none of the rest of us caught that!!!
The Daddy -Daughter Dance. It was just wonderful!!!! Pics to follow.
We found a house!!!!! So far, the closing preparations are going smoothly. As of right now, the closing should be around April 12th. We are hoping for sooner, but we will take what we can get!!!
My baby girl turned 4!!!!! We took a surprise trip to SeaWorld. WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL time!!!! Pics to follow.

Ok, so, now, I will proceed to the next posts.....Daddy-Daughter Dance & SeaWorld!!!!

Until next time~ and, I promise next time won't be next year!!!! ;)

Special Night Coming

2010-01-15T19:31:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! Taylor goes to preschool at our local rec center, which is AWESOME! Well, I just got an "invitation" for her first "Daddy/ Daughter Dance". It's for princes and their princesses. So, Matt is so EXCITED!!! It will be next month on a Saturday night. I am going to have so much fun getting her all dressed up and doing her hair. I am going to call the florist right down the street and order a "child size" corsage for Matt to give her too.

And, since they will be gone for a few hours, Cole & I decided that we will be going out on a date also. Cole says that he is taking me for ice cream!!

As you can tell....I LOVE these kind of things!!! I just had to share my excitement with you....I will have plenty more posts before that special night, but you know when the time comes, you will get to see many, many pics!

Love & Blessings to all~

~Circus FUNUNDRUM!! Cole's Birthday Part 2~

2010-01-10T11:46:00.000-05:00

The 2nd part of Cole's birthday was a trip the the CIRCUS! And, we had such a good time!!! We are blessed that my cousin, Ronnie, works for Ringling Brothers, so he got us awesome tickets for the 2nd year in a row. We were on the 12th row~ perfect seats!

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Memories getting ready to begin......

My little man waiting to enter the arena

Cole wearing his circus hat~ fits perfectly!

Cole watching "Kelley Ann" paint a picture

Mommy & Cole

Cole & Taylor acting goofy

Cole, Taylor & Kelley Ann

Kelley Ann ~ Taylors favorite!

Taylor was so precious waving good-bye to Kelley Ann

Mommy having some fun too! Like always ;)

Our good friends, The Posti Family~ Scott, Amy, Reagan & Riley

I LOVE this picture!!! The look on Reagan's face is priceless...they were so excited!!!

Taylor and her circus hat~ too cute!!

Mommy & Taylor

Daddy with his snuggle bug. She just couldn't make it to the end. She tried so hard though!

We made such great memories!!!

Cole, Reagan & Matt

We had a truly AWESOME time!!! We made such awesome memories. I'm so glad that our friends were able to go with us. We had so many good laughs and us adults loved watching the looks on the kids faces...there were so many priceless moments.

For those of you who know Taylor, you know she is ALOT like me...if she thinks it, she says it. So, here are a few of the fun things that she said during the show. So cute~

~ At one point during the show (not sure the exact point), Taylor looked at me with her eyes as big as quarters and said "What in the name of Mike was that???" Of course, she got that from Polar Express. It was hilarious!!!

~ When all of the elephants came out, she said "Oh, mommy look~ it's Kelley Ann and all of her family. They are just so precious!"

~ There was a tightrope walker that had to try twice to climb up and incline. Well, when he finally made it, she said "Oh, I just knew he could do it. I am just so proud of him".

As always, I am so happy that I have this family to enjoy life with. I'm so proud to be their mommy!

FREEBIES~

2010-01-06T10:02:00.000-05:00

Ivan Mog's is offering a

free sample of their Gourmet Apples!

http://ivanmog.com/freesamp.html

The apples are made with homemade kettle carmel, all-natural ingredients with no preservatives. The apples are jumbo firm & slightly tart granny smith apples

with lots of yummy toppings to choose from!

Check out your topping options:

Classic Peanut

Chopped Almond

Double Dunked

Apple Pie

Walnut Cranberry

M & M Candy

Butter Pecan

Pistachio Turtle Dark

Sprinkle Garnish

Sprinkle Cocoa

Dark Sea Salt

Thanks to my good friend Joy for this great post!!

Cole's 6th Birthday~ Part 1

2010-01-04T13:29:00.000-05:00

Well, it is official!! My "baby" is now 6 years old!! I can't believe it. I had a tough day delivering him as many of you know...he was born a month early & I was very sick. So, delivery day wasn't easy, but he was born with no problems!! Little, but no problems. Matt & I are so blessed. He is such a wonderful little boy. He is just precious! He has a wonderful personality, he is sweet, affectionate and so loving!

On Saturday, we all went to the "Great Expectations" Childrens Museum. Our good friends were able to go with us, so Cole & Taylor has so much fun.

He was so excited to get his Wii Nerf game~ his daddy was too!

Learning about the pulley system

Taylor smiling as usual

My little fireman

Riley, Taylor, Reagan & Cole doing the news report

Cole & his Daddy building robots

Daddy & Taylor

He loved his ice cream cake

Taylor, Reagan & Cole on New Years Eve

Yeah, yeah, yeah~ I know!!!

In this picture, she's actually climbing up the pole instead of going down.

I know~~ I'm just praying she doesn't grow up to be a pole dancer ;)

Amy (Reagan & Riley's mom) had the kids making all kinds

of funny faces...it was hilarious! Too cute not to share!

Cole & Taylor milking a cow~ and yes, it was weird,

but liquid really did come out.

This picture is fuzzy, but I had to share. They had a "kids dance time" so Cole & Reagan went right up on stage and started dancing. Too Cute!!!

Cole & Reagan after cake time!

Look at that smile~ he was so happy!

~I love my boy~

And, Taylor finally did it~ she cut her own hair. Everyone told me that it would happen,

but, I was still hoping. At least she didn't cut it TOO short.

Her hair was all one length....apparently she heard that "side bangs" are in!

Hopefully we will never have a repeat episode....I threatened her, so hopefully it won't!

I told her that if she did it again, then I would cut it short like Cole's!!!

I know~ bad mommy!!

Hopefully, there will be a "Cole's Birthday~ Part 2" soon. We are planning on going to the circus on Wednesday night!!

SHOPPING DEALS

2009-12-31T16:42:00.000-05:00

Ok guys~ as promised, I am going to start sharing some of my shopping deals with you. So, now better time to start than NOW!!!!

KOHL.COM has a lot of awesome deals in their clearance section & you can also get FREE SHIPPING! Yep, you got that right ;) Just type in "NOCHARGE" during checkout.

And, here is a deal that I came across~ I think it is beautiful & an awesome deal. Originally $38.00, now $11.40!! And, free shipping!

There are a lot of good deals on pj's~ separates from $8.00-$10.00. CUTE! CUTE! CUTE!

As for the women's clothes~ check out the following:

Embroidered Christmas T's~ $8.00

This absolutely adorable dress is only $12.40!!! Now, we all know that I'm a little too fluffy for it, but I have some cousins that would look GREAT in it!!

Guys, there are a lot of deals out there....shop them! Don't waste money. Tomorrow is the start of a new year....shop smart and save. If there is a birthday coming up, think about those people, buy and store the gift until you need it!!!

Until next time~~ have a wonderful, safe & blessed New Years!!!

~Merry Christmas~

2009-12-28T16:56:00.001-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful & blessed Christmas!! I know I did!!

We are now back in Florida~ we arrived at 4am on Sunday morning. Long drive, but we arrived safely. I am still trying to recoup from last week...I had a very tiring week: 2 very excited kids, a migraine (my 1st) that lasted 3 days, lots of traveling & visiting, a long drive home, a very messy condo thanks to all of our new gifts and now a little bit of vertigo issues to deal with. I also have a VERY ill 3 year little girl that is causing a lot of drama for me today. So, as I'm sure you can tell....I'm ready for Matt to be home from work & Calgon!!!

Here are a few photos from our week in SC. Hope you enjoy!

Cole & Taylor were waiting so patiently for gift time!!

This is me with my sister, Jennifer and Taylor.

Loo Loo (my mom) with Cole & Taylor.

I was finally able to get a picture of me and Matt with our best friends~ Chip & Heather. We had a great time visiting them and their beautiful girls (below)!

I just love this picture! How could you not??!! This is my kids with Chip & Heathers ~ Kiersten, Taylor, Kylie & then Cole. They have so much fun together!!

Matt with his precious Nanny, Lucille. She has alzheimers, so she doesn't know who we are normally....but, Matt got a wonderful Christmas gift this year. After her just smiling at us for a few hours, she was blessed with a brief moment of clarity. She knew who Matt was and was so excited to see him. It was just awesome to watch that wonderful moment.

This picture was taken in Lake Norman at the Jarrett Family Christmas. Boyd & Erin with their daughters Emersyn & Presley ~ Presley is the newest Jarrett family baby and she is beautiful just like her sister. And, holding Emersyn is Emily and then Lacey. Emily is Lacey's step daughter and she is such a wonderful, beautiful little girl. I am so glad that we were able to see her!

This picture was taken at my grandmothers house~ Christmas Eve. Apparently, one of my cousins received a scarf as a gift, but Taylor decided to try it on and model it for us. She put on quite the show!!

This is my sister Jennifer with our bundles of joy~I unfortunately was on the "wrong" side of the camera ;) But, we are so proud of our kids!!!

Matt & I are so blessed to have such wonderful (and huge) families. Our family gatherings are all perfect~ wild and noisy!!! Just the way we like it.

Unfortunately, we were not able to get together with the Franklin family group this year. The is Ruby's family ~ Matt's mother who passed away 5 years ago. Morganton was blessed with 12 inches of snow, so our gathering there was cancelled due to weather. So, even though we know they all enjoyed the snow, we sure are sad that we weren't able to enjoy them this year.

And, as always, Matt & I had grief to deal with this Christmas season as I know many people do. We miss my Dad, Kenny & his Mom, Ruby very much. My dad passed away 6 years ago and his mom, 5 years. We miss them so much, but are so thankful that they are no longer in pain. We love you Daddy & Ruby!

With Love & Blessings

We have been BUSY!!!!!

2009-12-17T12:30:00.001-05:00

Okay, before we leave to go to SC for the holidays, I figured I would post some pictures!! This is what we have been busy doing over the last week!!!

~ORNAMENTS~

I have had fun being a little crafty this year....haven't had time to do much, but these were a lot of fun!

~"Winterfest" in Seminole Florida~

Last Saturday evening was the town "Winterfest". We had a great, relaxing time. The town of Seminole really puts a lot of time & money into the community. The Winterfest came complete with Santa, bounce houses, crafts, games & they even brought in a snow blower so that the Florida kids could sled!!! How awesome is that???!!!

As you can see from the photos, we don't do hot chocolate like we did in SC. In Flordia, we do slushies!!!

~Beach Time~

This past Sunday, we decided to have an afternoon on the beach....yes, it's still that warm here!!! But, it was strange weather...as you can see from the pics below, we did have some fog!

~KARATE~

Cole has still been taking Karate & he LOVES it!!!! And, he just earned his GOLD BELT!!!!! We are so proud of him!!!!

~TREASURE ISLAND BOAT PARADE~

After Karate on Monday night, we went down to Treasure Island to meet our awesome friends, The Posti Family. Amy & Scott and their beautiful daughters Reagan & Riley. Reagan is in Cole's class. We all have a WONDERFUL time together!!!

Here are all the kids waiting "patiently" for the boats!!

Left to Right- Reagan, Cole, Riley & Taylor

Again, waiting patiently ;)

The boats were hard to get photos of, so sorry for that!! But, we all had such a great time!!!!

~COLE'S SCHOOL WINTER PROGRAM~

And, on Tuesday night, Cole had his first school program. He was so excited & they did such an AWESOME job. I am one proud momma!!!!

Taylor & Riley waiting for the program to start. They are so cute together!

Taylor & Riley~ so cute together!!

Cole & Reagan after the program!! They did such a great job!

This is Cole with Tyler~ they are partners in crime!!

This is Cole's teacher, Ms. Young. She is wonderful! We feel very blessed to have her!

So, as you can see, we have been pretty busy!! Now, today, I'm packing us all up to go home to SC!!!!! We will be leaving tomorrow night (Friday) and will return next Saturday night/ Sunday morning. I will probably be pretty busy while I'm there, so I may not post again until we return. So, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all! I hope everyone has time to slow the pace a little have time to be thankful for our Saviour, Jesus Christ!!! Thank you Lord for all you do for us~ each and every day!!!!

Merry Christmas to you all!!
Love~ Matt, Joy, Cole & Taylor

2009-12-17T10:37:00.000-05:00

Christmas Fun!!

All the fun little Christmas-y things you ever wanted to know about me!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

mostly wrapping paper, but some gift bags

2. Real tree or Artificial?

I grew up having a real tree, but due to allergies....we now use fake. But, it is BIG and BEAUTIFUL!!!

3. When do you take the tree down?

about 3-4 days after Christmas~since we are traveling back home this year, I won't make any predictions on how long it will take me to get it down this year!

4. How do you like your eggnog?

Iwill always drink just a little ;) Especially when it's Jim Jim's at the Lake!

5. Do you have a nativity scene?

Yes~ many actually! My mom & I both LOVE nativity scenes, so we seem to have started a nice collection ;)

6. Describe this year's Christmas cards?

Some were picture cards and some were regular w/ a pic inside. And, unforunately some cards are missing pictures this year thanks to Shutterfly. I absolutely love ordering from them, but this year, a stack of pictures came to me very blurry :( So, if your card doesn't have a picture, then I owe ya' one! Now, we forgot (yes, forgot) to take a family pic this year, so this is the one in the card. It was just the best I could do!

7. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?

A Christmas Story ~ always been my favorite. Although, I haven't seen it yet this year!!

8. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

usually right around Thanksgiving~ I'm all about getting a deal, so I will be out on Black Friday if there is something in particular that I determined not to pay full price for!!! Remember, I'm a Frugalista!!!

9. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

yep~ I sure have! And, I am proud to say it. I try not to be wasteful...so, if it's a perfectly good gift that I just won't use, then yes, I will pass it along to you if I think you will use it!

10. Lights on the tree?

I always had colored bubble lights (the BEST) growing up~see pic below. Then, when it was just me and Matt, we did white lights, which I love!!! But, now that we have children, we are back to colored lights. Cole & Taylor love all the colors and it's all about them anyway!!!

11. Favorite Christmas song(s)?

Mary Did You Know

12. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Angel usually, but a star this year - most of our Christmas decorations are "lost" in our storage unit :(

13. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Both~now, all of you know what I big family Matt & I both have. So, our gathering schedule this year is CRAZY!!! We drive into SC on Saturday morning, the 19th. We will go to Morganton on Sunday for the Franklin gathering, to Indian Trail on Wednesday to visit our best friends Chip & Heather, back to York on Thursday morning to see my dads family, then that afternoon we go to Lake Norman for the Jarrett gathering, then we will leave there around 6:00 to go to my grandmothers for my moms family gathering. FUN! FUN! FUN! Busy day but FUN!!!

14. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

Rude behavior....hands down!!

15. Favorite ornament theme or color?

oh, I love all ornaments....I especially like the ones my kids are making me these days!

16. What do you want for Christmas this year?

No family drama~~~I don't really have an item I want for Christmas this year. Except a house!!! I know, I know. But, we just put an offer in on a house, so I'm really hoping that will work out! We are hoping to know by Monday, so I will keep you posted!

17. Favorite thing about Christmas?

Every single bit of it!!!

18. What decoration do you put on your door?

Usually a wreath ~ but, it too is lost in the storage unit!

19. What strange gift have you bought this year?

no strange gifts this year~ at least I don't think so ;)

20. Do you buy Christmas stuff the January following Christmas?

hmm....usually yes~ Christmas decor on sale at Hobby Lobby is the best!

Now it's YOUR turn!!

If you have a blog, join in on the fun.

Post your answers and leave the link in the comments.

If you're not a blogger, pick out a few of your favorite questions and answer them in the comments.

Can't wait to learn some of the fun little Christmas facts about you ...

Deals, Deals & More Deals

2009-12-09T17:22:00.002-05:00

Ok, I promised to share some of my deals with you, so HERE GOES!!!! Woooohooooo!

1- Earth Fare: FREE POINSETTIA!!
All you need to do is...purchase something gum,bagel whatever and get a free Poinsetta http://www.earthfare.com/HealthySavings/Coupon_BW_12-9.aspx

this information comes from my dear friend, Travise~ AKA "Coupon Mama" www.couponmama.org. If you are in the Ft. Mill, Rock Hill, York area, check out her schedule

2- K-Mart has Playskool toys on sale ~ buy 2, get 1 free. That's a good deal by itself, but if you go to Coupon Mama's website, gather the coupons, you will get them even cheaper. Now, don't forget to print 3 coupons~ not 2!! Just because you are getting 1 free doesn't mean that you can't use the 3rd coupon.....3 items = 3 coupons!!!

HAPPY SHOPPING MY FRIENDS!!!!!

Joy

Christmas Pictures~ Beach Pictures~ Our Family Pictures

2009-12-06T22:10:00.008-05:00

Well, as many of you know, I LOVE to include a family photo in our Christmas cards each year. And, even though we have moved and things are just a tad crazy right now, I want this year to be no different!!! So, I decided to ask my friend if she and her husband would go to the beach with us and take our pictures. So, today was the day!!!

And, here are my two ~ they are cute, funny, caring, uncontrollable at times, sassy, smart and absolutely 100% wonderful!!!! They keep my life extremely interesting~let's just leave it at that. :)

The kids found a huge sand pile, so of course they had to have their fun on it before we left. They slid, rolled and jumped down it so many times that I'm sure they had sand in their underwear!!!

I really like this picture~ Cole is such a loving little guy. I am so proud of his sweet nature. He is all boy too.....so, I get shot with the fake guns in the rear end, get told how to spell "poop", can't help but laugh at his precious belly laugh when he says the word "poot" or "fart", am taught daily all about every Star Wars character that has ever existed and have to fight him to brush his teeth.....but, I love him! And, he's mine!

And, this is my sweet little Taylor. She is....well, let's see~ she is the prettiest little thing in the world, independent, outspoken, sassy, loving, she loves to sing & dance, and she is so full of energy! I tell people all the time..."if I could bottle up 1% of her energy, I would be great!!!" And, that is the truth. And one other truth is that she is the most wonderful daughter that I could have ever wished for. We have a relationship that I would have never ever imagined. It is awesome, funny and sometimes hysterical to most. It's great!!!!

And, here is me and my sweetie of over 10 years now. We have been married almost 8 years now. Yeah, just typing that makes me feel old!!

Ok, so by now, have you caught on to the fact that there is no family photo???? Well, there isn't!!! There was so much commotion surrounding the picture taking "event" that apparently we FORGOT to take a picture of all 4 of us!!! Can you believe it???? Well, I can...that's the story of my life!!! But, that's ok~ I'm proud of the ones that we have. So, now~ I have to decide~ find a way to take another picture of us all? Or, put one of just Cole & Taylor in the Christmas card. I don't know! So, I guess we will have to see.

Take care~ Love, Laugh & Love!

Joy

Change, Change, Change!

2009-12-01T09:06:00.003-05:00

Well, as you can see, it has been WAY TOO LONG since my last blog. But, I have plans to do better and make it better!!

My goal starting at the first of the year is to make my blog fun, interesting and helpful. Helpful how?? Well, I have started couponing and I LOVE IT!!!! So, I want to share the info with you.

And, I will also do better of keeping you all up on our journeys as a family. We are really enjoying being in Florida and are having a lot of fun!! So, be on the lookout for pics of the holidays, couponing deals, etc!!!!

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas!!!

New Photos

2009-09-01T13:02:00.014-04:00

Well, we have been so busy and we are loving every minute of it!!

Cole started kindergarten last week and he is enjoying it so much. Below are pictures of his first project!!! I knew Loo-Loo, Paco, Aunt Jen-Jen, Uncle Kenley, Aunt Nita, Aunt Julie, Aunt Donna, all the uncles and cousins, MawMaw, PawPaw, PawPaw Chuck & Mimi would love seeing his very first work!!!

This is Coles Humpty Dumpty. But, I had to show the front and back because he came home and told us that "This is Humpty Dumpty and look momma....he even has a rocket pack on his back"!!! Of course he does!!!

And, this is the first book that he put together. He was so proud to show it to me and read it to me!!!

Taylor started preschool yesterday. She had such a great time and can't wait to go back tomorrow. She gets to take her lunch box and she really loves that!!!

Matt & I finally got to experience seeing a space shuttle launch~ and, it was at night. We set our clock twice and got up in the middle of the night to watch it, only for both missions to be scrubbed. But, the third time was a charm! The pictures really don't do it justice. It was amazing. It looked like a huge fireball soaring through the sky!

This past weekend, we went to a different spot on the beach. We went to Sand Key, which is in Clearwater. It is only about a 10 minute drive and we had a lot of fun. Matt was able to fish, we swam and even had a dolphin right near us. We feel so blessed to having so many fun family times!!!

Cole & Taylor's Firsts!!!!

2009-08-28T17:29:00.009-04:00

Well, my baby boy is no longer a baby!!! He started Kindergarten on Tuesday and had a WONDERFUL week. He has a great teacher that he really likes and we are so happy for him. He has made us so proud!!!

And.....Taylor started dance classes and she LOVES it!!! She is taking tap and ballet. Boy, you should see her! She is so precious!!!

Matt & I are so proud of them and so in love with them!!!! They bring so much happiness to our lives. They are such wonderful children!!!

More Pictures!!!

2009-07-29T10:21:00.004-04:00

More Florida Fun!!

2009-07-14T09:14:00.011-04:00

This is The Pier in St. Petersburg...it's a lot of fun. It is 5 stories of food, shopping, face painting, aquarium, boat rides, Saturday night outdoor movies.....

On the 2nd floor of The Pier is a small aquarium...very cheap and a lot of fun!

We ate lunch at Captain Al's. We started out sitting outside by the water...but, half way during our meal, the rain came, so we had to move inside.

Matt FINALLY got to go out on a boat ocean fishing....as you can see, he had a GREAT time!!

Cole is "carrying" Taylor around the pool...they both got a kick out of that!

Mommy loves her babies

He's doing so good learning to swim without floaties!

We're Here!!!

2009-06-28T13:06:00.007-04:00

Well, we finally made it. We are now Florida residents....well, I guess we will be once we get our new drivers licenses ~ I need a new picture anyway!!

Everyone has been asking for pictures, so here you go!

This is one of my favorites so far!!!! It is now my desktop picture:)

We went down to Treasure Island~ this is at a park on the beach. We took a picnic lunch and had a great time! Taylor, of course found a ton of flowers!!

Cole is just as cute as ever!!

This is the view of the pier from our screened in porch! It's fantastic!!!

I forgot about this one that I took.....I absolutely love it!!!

I will write more very soon! We are getting ready to go out...gotta get Cole a fishing pole, going to see the Skyway Bridge and then to the beach!!! Have a great Sunday everyone!

~ When It Rains............

2009-01-12T20:46:00.002-05:00

Yep, you know the rest. First of all, I want to say that this post is going to be in "pity post" style, but I know in my heart and my mind that without a doubt, things could be worse and I am so thankful that I know that and realize that. My real purpose in this will be to hopefully get a laugh or two. Thank goodness I have been able to laugh about...well, most of it!!!

I feel like it's pouring. Why? This is why....and, you know folks- you can't make this stuff up!!!

- ok, as you all know, I had to have a hysterectomy last January (almost a year! Wow!) because of all the "female" issues I have been blessed with. Well, apparently my endometriosis is back (I'm 99% sure)...so, back to the doctor I will be going. There is a specialist for it in Atlanta, but of course it is a "out of network" doctor, so seeing as how our house still hasn't sold, I can't afford to pay "my part". So, not sure what the next step is, I just know that I'm not looking forward to it. I am SO LUCKY & BLESSED that I had my 2 children when I did.....and, thankful that I was fertile. With all of the problems, I easily could not have been so lucky.

- next, I thought that I had finally gotten our "sicknesses" overwith for a while. In the past 2 months, we have all passed around pink eye twice, the stomach bug, sinus infection and the coughing crud. We are all feeling better (except for Taylor's allergy cough) and bam....Taylor wakes up from her nap today with a red eye. I am PRAYING that it isn't pink eye again!!!!!

- Appliances.....ok, my refrigerator door won't stay closed very well. It's one of those that stays closed just long enough for you to walk away :)...I have to check it about a million times a day to make sure it's closed. Then, my stove stopped working! Thankfully, it turned out to only be the "bake element". But, of course, it took my oh about 2 months to figure that out!!! Ordered it, it arrived today and now, I'm back in business. And, then...........this afternoon I went to the garage where our big freezer is and notice that apparently it had checked out!!!! ALL of my meat was thawing!!! And, NO I didn't have room in my other "refuse to stay closed" one. So, I cleaned out, cooked what I had to, and packed it up to refreeze. All with Cole & taylor running around my feet....yep, it was that kind of day! Oh my goodness..... almost 2 hours later, I'm done cooking it and bagging it. Needless to say, I was no longer in the mood for dinner after smelling hamburger & sausage for 2 hours.

- Career- yes, I don't feel as if I even have one at all anymore. You know....real estate is just that good. Well, in the area of becoming a teacher.......all I can say is that the Praxis II test is HARD!!!! For anyone planning to take it, just know that. I studied and studied and studied and got in there, and wondered if they gave me the wrong study guide!!!!! Yep, that bad!!! It will only be by the grace of God that I get a passing grade. Won't find out for 4 weeks- yep, that's right. So, I feel like I am lost in lingo world not knowing what my purpose is at all.....it's all up in the air. I'm just glad that God has control of it and not me, because with my track record lately, I would be sure to screw it up.

So, sorry for the rambling, but hopefully some of this will explain a little of why I have posted since December 20th....I hope things will settle some so I can do better!

Be blessed!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-20T18:35:00.003-05:00

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!!!!~

2008-12-18T15:43:00.002-05:00

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???!!!

2008-11-22T07:42:00.002-05:00

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~

2008-11-19T21:19:00.002-05:00

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!!!!

2008-11-19T12:28:00.001-05:00

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!!!~

2008-10-16T16:43:00.003-04:00

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!!!!

2008-10-06T22:03:00.010-04:00

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!!!~

2008-10-01T11:50:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2008-09-08T12:11:00.002-04:00

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~

2008-08-22T13:09:00.004-04:00

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~

2008-07-24T12:37:00.008-04:00

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

~ Beach Bound~

2008-07-14T16:06:00.003-04:00

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!!!~

2008-07-09T18:30:00.008-04:00

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!!!

2008-07-07T11:04:00.008-04:00

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!!

2008-06-30T12:20:00.002-04:00

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!!!!!

2008-06-19T19:47:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2008-06-19T10:24:00.009-04:00

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

2008-06-18T19:04:00.001-04:00

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

2008-06-17T17:56:00.002-04:00

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~

2008-06-16T17:55:00.002-04:00

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~

2008-06-16T07:59:00.003-04:00

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!!!

2008-05-14T12:29:00.003-04:00

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 :) ~

2008-05-05T15:13:00.004-04:00

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????!!!!!

2008-04-30T19:32:00.002-04:00

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~

2008-04-24T12:10:00.004-04:00

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!

2008-04-21T21:10:00.004-04:00

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????

2008-04-18T21:49:00.000-04:00

You Are A Vanilla Ice Cream Girl

Flexible. Easygoing. Classic.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

RIGHT ON THE MONEY!!!!

Please look at1

2008-04-16T15:51:00.003-04:00

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!!!

2008-04-16T15:11:00.002-04:00

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!!

2008-04-15T11:55:00.002-04:00

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"

2008-04-14T07:15:00.011-04:00

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!!

2008-04-11T21:29:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-08T12:51:00.002-04:00

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~

2008-04-05T10:30:00.002-04:00

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!!

2008-04-04T10:44:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-31T08:35:00.002-04:00

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~

2008-03-31T08:21:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2008-03-28T09:55:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-25T19:17:00.003-04:00

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! :)