Favorite "Foto" Friday

I'm copying Ashton :) and posting a favorite pic of mine for Friday. This week it is the picture that we are using for our Christmas cards this year. Why is it my favorite? WELL, let's just say that we only had to take about 10 pictures before we got "the one" and thanks to digital and being able to see what I had just taken, the whole process of "let's take our Christmas card picture" bonanza was relatively quick and painless. No threats had to be made, no one cried (and by no one, I mean me) and we also got some really cute "outtakes" of the boys being silly!

I would like to thank my digital camera (remember the dark ages when you had to take the actual film, get it developed and hope that you had a good one and not a bunch of overexposed, eyes closed, out of focus pix - oh, the horror!) :) I would like to thank my hubby for taking the winning shot and most of all, my two precious boys for being so cute in their matching PJs and for being my favorite subjects to take pictures of - mommy loves you!

Thankful Thursday

I am trying to be a good blogger and post regularly SOOO since I am on a roll (2 days in a row!!) I thought that I would copy some of my blogger friends and write a "Thankful Thursday" entry - here it goes...
1. I'm thankful for BeBe - my hairstylist, hairdresser, girl that colors and cuts my hair - she is wonderful and I was able to pay her a visit today along with my 4 year old who plugged his ears while she was blow drying my hair and consistently asked "When are we going to weave?" (aka "When are we going to LEAVE?" - I love the way he says it...) Anyway, my hair is newly highlighted, bangs trimmed and hair trimmed, but only slightly because I don't want to suffer the wrath of my 6 year old who HATES my hair cut short and does not keep his opinions to himself when it comes to my hair...the things I do for my children!!!
2. I am thankful for the Rain we are getting even if it does make getting myself and Josh in and out of the car umpteen times a bit wet and messy - We DEFINITELY need the rain!
3. I am thankful for McDonald's Cinnamon Melts and their Sweet Tea, both of which I had this morning before my hair appointment - YUM!
4. I am thankful that my boys really TRY to use their manners - saying please and thank you to not only Jon and me, but to strangers and that they love to hold the door open for people especially ladies (I'm trying to train them to be good boyfriends and husbands - WAAYYYY further down the road of course!) I love that they want to put money in every Salvation Army bell ringer's bucket. One day a couple of weeks ago Josh asked for money to put in one and I asked him "Do you know why we put money in those buckets?" to which he replied, "To get Tootsie Wolls!" (A sweet man from a different organization gave him toosie "wolls" one time) SOOO after I squeezed him for being CUTE - I used my teachable moment to explain to him about helping those less fortunate than us (and if by chance he gets a toosie woll while helping in the process, then so be it...) :).
5. On a serious note I am most thankful for the Gift of JESUS. It seems too easy to get swept up in the commercialism of this time of year and I have been guilty of doing just that. But I am trying to remind myself that NO gift that I can give or receive compares to the gift that God gave to us in the form of His Son - Jesus Christ and to the gift of Salvation that Jesus gave when He died on the Cross for our sins. I am thankful that 18 years ago, Jesus came into my heart and saved me. And although I have let him down many times since then, he has never left me and never forsaken me.

I'm FINALLY Updating My Blog...

This slacker has finally updated my blog...I have GOT to get better at this!!! I have three new posts following this one from most recent (John Henry's birthday to his Thanksgiving play at school). Enjoy! :)

John Henry turned 6!

On December 6th John Henry turned 6! It is so hard for me to believe that I have a 6 year old, but I do. John Henry was the answer to my lifelong prayer of becoming a mom. Since the moment I found out I was pregnant with him, I have loved this little boy. I sometimes sit and watch him and am amazed at how much he has grown, how he looks a lot like me (although my hubby would argue with that), and how he amazes me everyday with something new. He is my heart and I am blessed to be his mommy.

He celebrated the day before his birthday with his class at school. He chose to take a giant, decorated chocolate chip cookie and proudly wore the class birthday hat and a blue ribbon that I bought him that said "Birthday Boy" (I wonder if I can get him to do that in middle school?) :).

He had a great day at school and an even better day at his actual birthday party the next day. All in all, it was a great 6th birthday!

Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania

My mom moved to Pennsylvania in August to be near my grandparents and it has been a hard adjustment for all of us - we miss her being here, but my grandparents are loving her being around so that makes it easier. We were able to go up there over Thanksgiving and spend almost a week. When we arrived there was snow on the ground and John Henry was ready to get started on making a snowman. He made three before we left. We rode around my grandparents' property on the ATVs and the boys had a blast! My big boy :) was able to be there for the first two days of deer season (muzzle loading - I believe it's called) and although he didn't get his monster, trophy buck - he did see A LOT of deer. It is a beautiful place and my husband would live someplace like that in a heartbeat. I'm a city girl and considering that the nearest Target was over an hour away from where we were, I will settle for visiting now and then. We had a great time and my little one just asked me today when we're going back...maybe sometime next summer...

LOTS to catch up on...

I just checked in on one of the blogs that I follow daily and laughed out loud because she is SOOOO funny and witty and writes the neatest entries - I LOVE to go her blog! Anyway, as I told her in a message that I sent to her, she has inspired me to do better with my blog. SOOO, I am going to give a brief synopsis of the goings on since my last entry (which involved Halloween - YIKES, it's been too long...) so here it goes...

John Henry is still LOVING school and I LOVE that he LOVES school. Since he was a baby I have prayed for his future friends, his teachers, his future wife (GULP!) - lots of things that I wanted to start covering for the future because I knew that one day those would be important parts of John Henry's life (the wife can be an important part WAYYY in the future...) :). Anyway, he has the most precious teachers who are wonderful Christian women and I love them just as he does. They are wonderful! He has a precious group of children in his class and I am friends with many of their moms who are also a wonderful group of Christian women. I feel blessed that John Henry is in such a loving, caring, nurturing enviornment at school. Did I mention that he is soaking everything up like a sponge? He LOVES to learn and is reading and has almost memorized the 50 states in order. He can count by 5's and 10's and knows our state capital and lots of other interesting pieces of trivia. I am a proud mommy! The entire kindergarten put on a Thanksgiving play and it was PRECIOUS!!! I fought back tears as they sang "America the Beautiful" WITH sign language...they should not do that to emotional moms like me!!! I was so proud of ALL those precious little kindergarteners - they did a WONDERFUL job. I've included a few of the pictures from that very important day. The ladies in the pictures with John Henry are his two WONDERFUL teachers - Mrs. Tyner and Mrs. Meeks.