Evel Knievel

Now that the shock and awe has worn off a little bit, I guess I'll go ahead and chronicle this one so I don't lose it.

On a beautiful fall morning a couple of weeks ago, I decided that it would be a fabulous idea to open a few of the windows in the house to let in some fresh air. Chandler was outside mowing the yard, I was inside cleaning, and the kids were running back and forth from window to window watching Chandler mow. I saw the kids push one of their little Pottery Barn chairs up against the window, and Barrett was standing in the chair and leaning on the back of it to see out of the window in the living room. The living room windows are pretty much second story windows because we have a basement, and are probably 13 or 14 feet off of the ground. You can probably see where this is going.....

At one point, I made the kids move the chair away from the window because I thought for a split second that the screen could pop out. This is the point that I should have closed the window. I didn't, though, because I thought, "That could NEVER happen." Chandler was outside, down below, and he yelled up for the kids to get back away from the window. The same thought crossed his mind, but he shrugged it off like I did. I was starting a load of laundry in the laundry room, which is right off of the kitchen, which opens up to the living room, when Charlee came running in the kitchen saying, "Bubba is not okay! He fell!" I immediately knew what had happened. A choice word came to my lips, but somehow it didn't come out. Good thing since Charlee was right beside me. I hurled myself down the steps of the deck to find my sweet little man lying on his back in the grass screaming. He's screaming ~ thank you Jesus. I began screaming Chandler's name. He wasn't responding, so I ran around the house with Barrett. For a split second, I thought I may should leave him on the ground and not move him for fear of a neck or back injury, but I could not leave him down there. As a mom, you simply have to hold your baby when he's hurting. It's instinctive. I found Chandler, told him what happened, got myself decent (ie ~ put my bra on. i know, i know.), and we were in the car and on our way to the hospital in our pajamas. Charlee was very calm the entire time. She started tearing up when we got back to the exam room, but I handed her my phone and she watched a movie on it and was fine.

There were probably 8 people ~ doctor, nurses, staff ~ in the exam room when we first got there, and they were all just looking at Barrett. Watching him. He was still hysterical, but the sweet thing never threw up, never showed any signs of concussion, and seemed to be okay. He didn't act like any part of his body was hurting, but we wanted a CT and chest xray to be sure there wasn't something we couldn't see. I wouldn't have felt right not doing it, but he was not really into having his arms bound and being passed through a big ring with a laser light. The scan wasn't the best because he didn't want to be still, but from what we could tell everything looked fine. Next came the chest xray. I won't even go into the details of the torture device that they put him in to get a good look at his chest, but let's just say he wasn't really a fan of that part either. Poor thing had already had a traumatic enough experience, and now he had to go through even more! Totally necessary, though. I wanted to know that he was okay. And, like the CT, the xray looked great. No broken ribs, collar bones, nothing. We went back to the exam room and it didn't take long for him to calm down. He was playing, smiling, talking, and ready to get on with his sweet little life. The doctor wanted to keep him for a couple of hours for observation, but after that time, he released us and told us to just watch for signs of a concussion.

We came home, had lunch, played outside. Barrett was a little tired and irritable, but nothing unusual for what he had gone through that morning. I put him down for a nap around his usual time. As soon as he laid down, he was out. I woke him up to be sure he would wake up. He went back down and slept for a few hours. That was a long few hours! He woke up just fine, though. That night, he started favoring his right arm a good bit. We didn't really know if it was his shoulder or arm, but we thought something must be bothering him. He never acted like it hurt, though. I took him to his regular doctor Monday where his arm was xrayed, and his wrist had a break. The next day, we got in to see an orthopedic who put that sweet arm in a blue cast. Barrett was mad about it for a few minutes because he couldn't straighten his arm, but then he moved on with life. The first couple of days, he fell a lot because he was off balance, but he adapted pretty quickly to wearing it. He wore the cast two weeks, and this Tuesday it came off and he's in a splint for two weeks now. I later learned from Charlee that Barrett had climbed onto the top of the back of the chair and leaned, head first, into the screen. The screen popped out of place only on the bottom, so he fell through and landed on his face. He still has a bit of a scratch on his chin, and he had a scratch under his nose. It looks like his top tooth may have chipped the tiniest bit, too. There was a small scratch on his left shoulder, too. Chandler and I both agreed that we are so glad we didn't see the fall. We would've thrown up.

Scary stuff. Let me just say, though, that I have never had a peace come over me like I did that day. I am normally one to be pretty unstable during situations like this. Several years ago, a drunk guy on a bicycle ran into my car and busted out my windshield in a mall parking lot while I was driving, and I was hysterical. That's a different story altogether, though. Ha! All that I know to tell you is that God placed a calm on me that I've not experienced, and I knew from the moment I picked Barrett up that he was going to be alright. No fear. Only faith. Angels carried that sweet thing. I can try as hard as I may to control every aspect of my children's lives, but I am not in control of any of it. Not one second. God has entrusted these sweet babies to Chandler and me to protect them, guide them, teach them, and nurture them, but I better not for one second think that I am the only one supplying them with what they need. I fail at being a mother every day. I could beat myself up about not closing the window when the thought crossed my mind, or I could rest in knowing that somebody greater than I could ever even imagine has "got my back". My life is in His hands. Chandler's life is in His hands. Charlee's life is in His hands. Barrett's life is in His hands. Thank you, Jesus! I give it all to You, lay it all at Your feet. You are the only one who can supply us with all we need.

Abundance

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21


For the last 8 or 9 months, this has been my favorite verse. Everytime I read it, it's like it sinks in further and further. God is SO GREAT and SO POWERFUL, that He can do way more than we can even think or imagine. You can't even imagine it! How AWESOME is that? I don't know about you, but I've got a pretty vivid imagination. There are a lot of things I can imagine. When I was young and bored, I would daydream and make up a life in my mind and live it. Weirdo, I know, but that's what I had to entertain myself. :) You could live your entire life on this earth and never come remotely close to even thinking or imagining how amazing and powerful God is. Wow. (It just sank in a little deeper here.) You can be in the bottom of the lowest pit, pray for the most far-fetched (by human terms) way for God to get you out of that pit, and He has the capability to save you in a far more grandious way than what you thought. Deep stuff there. Capability doesn't mean He will, but that's a different post altogether. Sometimes what is best for us isn't anything on our radar of thinking.

God is so good, He's so good to me. I read Radical by David Platt last year, and at the end of the book, there's a 5 step experiment, or challenge for the reader to complete within a year's time. My year window has come and gone, so here is the synopsis of my challenge accomplishments.

1. Read the entire Bible through chronologically: Finished it 2 1/2 weeks ago. Undoubtedly one of the biggest feelings of accomplishment in my life, and the power of The Word was (and continues to be) utterly life-changing like nothing else I've experienced. It is NOT just a story you read. It. Will. Change. Your. Life.

2. Pray for the entire world: I had several off days, I'll admit, but for the most part, I prayed for a specific country each day over the last year. Operation World is a fabulous reference for this. I signed up for daily emails so all I had to do was click on the link each day and it directed me to the country to pray for with topics for prayer and praise.

3. Multiplying community: This was a hard one. I feel like I reached out (and still reach out) to invite people to visit church, City Gate (our downtown ministry), MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), but I know there is so much more that I could, and should, do here.

4. Sacrifice my money for a specific purpose: Another hard one. I did try to cap our family spending (I mean, I did start couponing, right?), and we committed to give a small portion to missionaries, organizations, etc. on top of tithing, but I don't feel like I adequately fulfilled this one. Can we ever, though? There is always a little more that we can do.

5. Spend time in another context: Specifically, plan to spend 2% of the next year of your life (a week) in Gospel ministry outside of your community for the sake of God's glory in all the world. This was the one that stood out as the most important to accomplish in my experiment. My trip outside of my community (and country) might not be within the given year's time frame, but the planning for it started within the year, so I'll count that. :) I'm a part of a mission team from Meridian that is going to Costa Rica in January! I am so excited, nervous, scared, anxious, and insufficient to be a part of this team. The great thing is, though, that God can do immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine when He is at work within me, so don't you know I'll be spending lots of time in prayer that He'll do just that! This will be my first mission experience outside of the country, and I can not wait to see what God shows me through it. I want to experience His manifest presence and gain a more loving heart for His people. Please pray with me over the next few months. I'd really appreciate it. :) God is already answering prayers and blessing our trip. When I signed up to go a couple of months ago, the expected trip cost (which I am responsible for) was between $1100 and $1200. Well, within the last week, plane tickets have plummeted, saving me almost $300, and the state convention has agreed to partially fund our trip! My $1200 cost has been cut almost in half! God is so good, He's so good to me!

I am so abundantly blessed! God has done so much in my life in the last two years to bring me closer to Him. Abundantly more than I could have ever imagined my life would be as I daydreamed about it those many years ago. :) In the words I use to explain the reason my sweet husband hasn't had more car accidents in his life, "Somebody must be praying for you (me)!" Thank you to those on Earth who do, and to those in Heaven as well. I can tell you're looking down on me. :)

Chex Mix.........Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Well, I'm glad I haven't posted in the last month, only because if I had, I may have posted my frustrations with a little 20-month-old biter who invaded our sweet boy's body. Good thing we've nipped THAT in the bud! (Fingers crossed.) Yes, our first 4 days of preschool were great. On the fifth day, I came in to talk to Barrett's teacher and make sure he'd been sweet and wasn't biting or hitting (he's been known to chew on Charlee some). She said he was doing fine and there had been no biting. Weeeeeeeehhhhhhlll, that day when I picked B and C up, Barrett's teacher came out and said he had bitten 3 kids that day. From then on, it was an every day thing. :( I was sure he would get kicked out, and I dodged any parents I passed in the hallway. Finally, though, my little pistol got a taste of his own medicine when his friend bit him. I know I should be upset about another child biting mine, but I was secretly happy. I know, I know, but how else was the kid gonna learn? I couldn't stake out the joint and run in and spank him when he did it (I would have if I could, but they wouldn't let me - ha!). I figured he needed to know what it feels like. I've heard from so many people to "bite him back". Well, I don't think I could bring myself to do it, but even if I could have, he wasn't doing it at home anymore. Anyways, ever since his friend bit him, he has only bitten once. We are going on a week and a half strong of no biting! He has been bitten a couple of times since, but that's slowing down too. I guess when you put 10 or 11 one-year-olds in a room together, they've got to communicate somehow. It is such new territory, though, because Charlee wasn't a biter. She bit another kid when she was about 9 or 10 months old, but that's it. Barrett's just showing me (yet again) that he's gonna be a whole lot different than his sister. Night and day, those two! He IS the sweetest little boy I could ever hope for, though. He is just precious, and he makes me laugh EVERY day! He has such a great personality. He smiles at nearly everyone he passes, whether he knows them or not. He spots people out at restaurants who pay attention to him, mainly older women (just like a man ~ ha!), and he flirts and flirts. It is too cute! He is definitely going to be an athlete. Even though his legs are short, he runs super fast already. He gets his legs AND his speed from his daddy. :) He is all over the place, all of the time. He can go up and down stairs on his own now, can drive Charlee's power wheels Jeep, can kick the soccer ball, and do ALL things boy. His masculinity isn't threatened AT ALL by his pink, hand-me-down toys. Ha! It is a little sad to see that all of the ride-on toys in the garage are pink, but I promise you he does not care! He loves them! Maybe Santa will bring some blue or red outside toys for Christmas. Surely that two weeks of biting won't put him on the naughty list.

Charlee is a sponge and soaking up SO MUCH at preschool! She is writing her letters, spelling her name, and has learned the Pledge of Allegiance. It is so sweet to watch her come home and "teach" her stuffed animals all that she's learned. :) She is also in AWANA again, is taking a dance class once a week, and just started preschool choir at church. She has been singing all week. I LOVE IT! Also, she did the sweetest thing several weeks ago. I had a pretty bad headache one day and was laying on the couch while Barrett was napping. She came up and asked me what was wrong, so I told her my head hurt. She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and said, "Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day and thank you for Mommy. Thank you for her headache and please help her to feel better. Amen." :) :) :) LOVE HER! She has the sweetest and most gentle spirit and heart I've ever met. She has started getting freckles on her face in recent months, and it is just the cutest thing. I told her she has freckles now, and she said, "No, Momma, those are sprinkles." Adorable! I think they SHOULD be called "sprinkles" ~ sprinkles of sunshine. She IS a few inches short on some hair, though. :/ She has been "cutting coupons" with me lately. I bought her a pair of kid scissors so she could take up my newest hobby with me. She clips up scrap paper. Yesterday, we were clipping along (or so I thought), I looked up and Charlee was no longer in the room with me. About the time I looked up, she walked around the corner from her room with scissors in hand, scared look on her face, and locks falling from her shoulders to the floor. Ohhhhhhhh, Charleeeeeee! What did you do???? Lip began to quiver, tears began to roll. Sure enough, CLUMPS of hair were gone. I told her we would have to cut off the remaining to match where she had cut, and she just bawled. "I don't want to have boy hair, Momma!" Well, why did you cut your hair off, then, sweet girl? Oh, it was depressing. For both of us. Her sides were pulled up, so the chunks she cut were under her top layer of hair. When I wet it to try and even it up, I decided that you couldn't see the short parts when her hair was down, so I couldn't bring myself to chop it. She didn't want to go to school this morning because she was afraid her friends would see, but she survived, and no one even noticed. No more updos for a while.

My newest obsession, and one of the reasons I haven't blogged in so long, is couponing. Might call it extreme, but I'm nowhere near where the people on the TLC show are. I am addicted. I usually buy 4 newspapers, sometimes more if there are good coupons, and I've got a pretty good stockpile going already. Chandler says that if anything happens, we'll have clean teeth, smell good, and be able to keep our dishes clean, but we won't live very long off of our food supply. It has been easy to stock up on cheap toiletries with Walgreens and CVS ads and promotions. I've got well over a year's worth of toothpaste, and I got most of them for free! I do need to focus on the grocery end of it, but it doesn't seem to be as easy around here. All we have is Winn-Dixie, Piggly Wiggly, and Wal-Mart. I've realized the art of price-matching at Wal-Mart, though, and that's been pretty profitable to my pantry stockpile. I got ten bags of Chex Mix today for 49 cents a piece! I'm pretty excited about that, cuz I LOVE me some Chex Mix! :) It's amazing how much money I'm realizing I've thrown away over the years by paying retail for things like toothpaste, deodorant, razors, milk. I just always assumed Wal-Mart had the lowest price and I couldn't get milk cheaper anywhere else. Well, Wal-Mart milk is consistently over $4, usually closer to $5. Since I started couponing and price-matching, I haven't paid over $3.19 for it. I know that may not sound like a lot, but it is to me. That's a savings that could buy 3 bags of Chex Mix! Yummmmmmmm. This week, I found a gallon of milk on sale at Piggly Wiggly for $1.99! That's awesome! Okay, enough of my elation on milk. Ha!

It feels so good to be back on the blog. My house may still be a wreck, and the laundry needs to be folded, but this is such a therapy for me, and I've been in definite need of therapy lately! Now, off for some Chex Mix.

Preschool, Here We Come!

Tomorrow, both kids will pack up their bookbags and head to preschool. Charlee's been there for two years, so it's nothing new to her (other than a new teacher and classroom), but this is Barrett's first rodeo! Momma and babies are SO EXCITED! I know what you're thinking.....Preschool? At 19 months old? Yes, preschool. I, too, always thought preschool began at age 4, but it apparently means any age before school-age (DUH! - Ha!). As I've told people about Barrett starting "school", I've gotten the same question multiple times.....What are you gonna do for 3 hours everyday while they are both in school? While I normally just say, "Whatever I want!", the real answer is this.....

Clean my house.
Clean my car.
Organize my kitchen.
Organize my kids' rooms.
Organize my closet.
Organize my life.
Tend to my garden.
Fold the laundry.
Restart my running regimen.
Spend more time in The Word.
Pray more.
Plan for Pampered Chef shows.
Mow the yard.
Clean out the flowerbeds.
Learn Spanish for my upcoming mission trip. (I'm going to Costa Rica in January!!!!)
Payroll and accounting for my FIL.
Dust off the sewing machine.
Coordinate my Mothers of Preschoolers group.
Minister to Moms.
Plan decorations for our Church's Women's Retreat.
Find Chandler's camera that's been missing for 2 mos. :(
Clip coupons.
Plan coupon shopping trips.
SHOP WITHOUT CHILDREN IN THE BUGGY! (I'm a little excited about this one.)
Plan and execute more random acts of God's love.
Clean out my inbox. 382 messages is TOO many.
Get my teeth cleaned.
Get my hair cut.
Breathe.
Spend a morning with my man (if his schedule will ever allow).

You know, all the things you can't do with a 3 and 1 year old around. ;) WHEW! I'm gonna be exhausted by noon! Maybe I'll add a day of doing absolutely nothing in there somewhere. :)

Vote for Yancey!!

Okay, so I really hope that doesn't offend anyone. I mean, I don't even know what the dude stands for, and politics are just a touchy subject for so many. However, as I've driven around my town the last few months, I've passed by a gazillion political signs. They're everywhere. It's almost like they think it's a competition where the one with the most signs standing will win the election. Good thing it doesn't work that way. I've only really noticed ONE sign, though. His name is Lee Yancey, and he is running for treasurer of Mississippi. I would totally vote for him even though I don't know his political affiliation, his platform, his experience, anything. (Okay, so I really wouldn't toss those things aside because they are of upmost importance, but just go with me here.) What made me notice this man's sign above all the rest is that it is just beautiful! In the eyes of a public relations major (aka me), that sign shows that he really cares about this election and that he wanted a sign that was professional and served its purpose. Instead of going with the mundane and routine red sign with blue block letters revealing only a name and position, or a blue sign with white block letters, or even the against-the-norm green sign with white letters, he has a picture of himself with an unfocused crowd and letters that tell his name and hopeful position. I love this sign! Maybe it's because I'm in Meridian, Mississippi, where candidates don't really look for a stand-out public relations campaign to get them elected, but Yancey's sign just jumps out at me and I appreciate the efforts he has gone to in coming up with an advertisement that looks of professional worth. Now, don't miss what I'm saying here. Ad campaigns can be tricky because they mask the person behind them and attempt to make others see them as flashy or glamorous. The issues matter above all else, bottom line. BUT, it is completely appropriate to say that Lee Yancey is the only name I know of that is running for state Treasurer. His sign served its purpose (a lot better than the sign of the guy with a picture of an Elvis impersonator ~ I'm just sayin'). NOW, in the words of a great Sunday School teacher I know, pack all of that up and take it with you to my major point:

What if, as Christians, we tried to present ourselves to the public as true Christians. Would others see me as having faith in Jesus Christ if I were to just throw my sign out there that looked just like everyone else's, except maybe mine was green and it said I was a member of such-and-such church. Would that make people truly remember me as a servant of God? If I acted just like everyone else in this world, I would ultimately fail at making others see the beauty that Christ shines through me. If my sign was truly representative of my life with Christ, would it shine? What does that look like? Could others see it? Would I be seen as another uppity, judging, Bible-toter who is in all actuality no better than the other common signs? Or a gentle, Spirit-controlled, lover of ALL people that stands out among all the other signs? Hmmm. Man, I sure hope and pray that it would be the latter. My sign would be different than an advertisement because it wouldn't be able to mask my true self.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14

So, if I throw my sign out there for all the world to see, the light will have to shine through. If there is only darkness, than no light will come from my sign and everyone will only see a sign like all the rest. Deep stuff. Also, if all I do is sit back and degrade and belittle every other sign out there, Christian or not, my sign will be the ugliest of all.

Lord, please strengthen my faith in You and help me to give You full control of my life so that Your light might shine through me. I can do nothing and am only darkness without Your supernatural power, so SHINE IN ME, JESUS! Extinguish the dark and bring to light my weaknesses and failures so that I may submit them to You and You might make them disappear. Help me to only focus on You and Your beautiful light. In your precious name, AMEN.

Now, I'm off to do some research on this Yancey guy to make sure I don't need to retract this post. :)

UPDATE: So far, I've found he's the son of a pastor, retired schoolteacher, 100% pro-life, served as assistant pastor, Mississippi born and bred, and he promises to fight tax increases. Deduce what you may...

See Rock City

Let me start this off by saying that I have always had a hard time leaving my kids with anyone for more than a couple of hours. Not that I don't trust anyone else, but I just don't like burdening others and I ultimately don't like leaving my kids for very long. I miss them too much, and I don't like not knowing what they're up to every minute! Sometimes, though, you just gotta get away. So, Chandler and I had a much needed weekend getaway to Chattanooga. Chandler's parents were so kind to stay at our house and watch the kids. We had a great time, the kids had a great time, and Nan Nan, Grandaddy, and Nanny (Chan's grandmother) had a great time (at least they said they did anyway ~ ha). This was our first getaway together without kids since April of 2009 when we went away for one night. Only other time was 16 months before that when Charlee was still in utero. Our weekend was long overdue and it was niiiiiiiiice. We had a great time and enjoyed not having to pack the 42 bags required when taking toddlers places. It was also nice to wait for a table at a restaurant and just be able to sit and wait, no chasing and consoling required. We were also able to do fun things that are not conducive to bringing kids with you.


Only a few work calls this trip :)

Rather than have a relaxed, laid-back vacation where we just laid around all day, we decided to jam-pack as much into each day as we could. I couldn't have been happier with it! We didn't get to Chattanooga until late Friday night, and decided to come home Sunday afternoon instead of stay through Monday, July 4th. We fit so much stuff in on Saturday, and the day seemed to go by so much slower than vacation days normally do. It was perfect! We saw Rock City. It was very cool ~ a lot better than I thought it would be. We didn't have plans to go when we did, but we happened upon it while driving up the mountain and looking at all of the cliff-edge houses (WHAT a view!). It was the perfect balance of heat and coolness. The caves are naturally air-conditioned. It felt awesome!

That's me out there. All the way to the left in the light shirt. Chandler didn't know how to zoom on my phone's camera. :)

Saturday night, we went to the largest drive-in theater and saw Transformers 3. There was a fireworks show right before the movie, and they had a double feature on each of the two screens that started at 10. Maybe in our younger days we would have made it to the second movie, but we could barely keep our eyes open at 12:45, so we headed on back to the hotel. Sunday, we did a zipline course. SO much fun! I thought I'd chicken out and get scared up there, but I surprised myself. The ziplines were the easiest part. We had to go through lots of obstacle courses high up in the trees, and some of them were pretty difficult. We went with a great group of people, and the guides were entertaining.

We ate at several yummy places, too. Taco Casa on the way in Tuscaloosa ~ Mmmmmmmmmm! We had breakfast at a downtown Chattanooga favorite, The Bluegrass Grill, and met a nice man and his college-age daughter while waiting for a table. They were Tennessee fans, but they had no problem associating with us Mississippi State folks. Either it's because we're so friendly, or it's because we're not viewed as a threat, I don't know, but our only real arch-enemies are Ole Miss fans. Ha! That afternoon, we had hamburgers at an Earth Fare store for $1 a piece. Can't beat that! That night, we had dinner at Big River Grille and Brewing Co. Our dinner was delicious! The manager came over and apologized to us for how long we were having to wait on our food. It was funny because neither of us had realized that it was taking a long time. We were just enjoying waiting in peace and not having to entertain little ones! We ate at Jimmy John's Sunday for lunch, then headed home. I was lucky enough to be able to stop by Fresh Market and get my all-time favorite watermelon salt water taffy, or as Charlee calls it, "laffy tandy". I could live on that stuff alone.

Best part of the trip: coming home to a clean house! Thanks Nan Nan and Nannie!! :)

Over the River and Through the Woods

We had a great trip to Grandma Jo Jo's a couple of weeks ago! I mean, if you would have asked me last Saturday, I would have told you I was exhausted and couldn't handle one more minute in the car alone with two toddlers. Looking back now, though, the fun times shine over the frustrating ones. :) Ha! The kids actually did good on the way back ~ probably because they were woe out! On the way there is a different story entirely. We were in the car for 5 1/2 hours, and Barrett slept all of 10 minutes. Charlee slept zilch. She did, however, continually ask me when we would be out of the trees. The road from Meridian to Memphis is surrounded by trees for the majority of the ride. After Memphis, there are fields and fields. Charlee apparantly wanted a little more scenery. Everytime we get in the car now, she still asks me if we have to ride through the trees again. "Mommy, I don't want to go in the trees!" "Don't worry, Sweetie. I don't want to go through the trees any more than you do." :) I won't even broach the subject of the dreaded restroom stops. Let's just say that 20 minutes in a stall with two toddlers, one of which refuses to even try to use the bathroom, is entirely too long, and Cracker Barrell bathrooms are NOT as nice as one might think. Travels aside, our trip was wonderful. We got to see my brother and his sweet family, my mom, my grandma, my aunt "Net", and the nice servers at the Dixie Pig. My favorite part of visiting family was always play time with my cousins. I'm so glad that Charlee and Barrett got to put in some hours with their sweet cousins who live entirely too far away.

I got to introduce Charlee and Barrett to my Grandaddy Freeman. I just wish it could have been in person instead of on a store-front window. :( They sure would love to have him around. So would I.

We got to lavish Grandma Jo with an early birthday celebration! We were there the week before her birthday, so we cooked her supper and made her a yummy cake.

This is my favorite part. This first picture is from two years ago when Charlee was 18 months and Reagan was 2 1/2. The second is from our trip this year. Charlee at 3 1/2 and Reagan at 4 1/2.