The Watson Family

Spring in Pictures (in no particular order) (if there was order, these would not have been posted)

2010-06-17T10:29:00.002-05:00

I also couldn't take the time to put all these pictures on one post, so there are a few.

In a nutshell: Baseball - Gabe's team won the 5/6 Championship Game, Sam's team played in the 7/8 Championship game and lost by 1. It was an awesome season and I am now officially a Baseball Mom. Gabe graduated from PreK. Nashville flooded. We built a fort. We all went a little crazy in the car waiting for Daddy and I happened to have my camera. Mother's Day. I finally got to meet my new twin niece and nephew, Annabelle and Will. Mohawks. Sam.

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On the Floor

2010-02-26T19:41:00.003-06:00

We had Gabe's 5th birthday party tonight. I'm working on sorting through the pictures and I'll post those soon. In the meantime, I saw these of Luke and had to share. They pretty much speak for themselves.

This is what happens after an hour long nap, a long day and an arcade full of buttons to push in the next room.

Sunshine!

2010-02-21T21:02:00.004-06:00

You would think that we live in Alaska with the way that I've been complaining about the weather we have been having in Nashville. Even after 10 years of living here, I still get a little twitchy and crazy when it stays cold and dreary for so long. I want cold weather at Christmas, then I'm ready for Spring. Which is unfortunate since January and February is when we get our coldest weather. Anyway, after 5 school snow days in a three week period, we were freaking out this weekend when we got two days of 60 degrees, sunshine and blue skies. We took advantage of it and spent most of the day outside. Our next door neighbors have a trampoline, and that is where the boys spend most of their time, Luke even got in on the action today...

Look at that hair! Gabe does NOT like when his hair is crazy,

but he let me take a picture anyway.

I love this one of Sam jumping.

And, a few pics of our trip to the park...

Look at that look of determination on his face.

Sweet, silly Gabe

My 7 year old. I can't believe how big he is.

Snow = Sheer JOY

2010-01-11T12:33:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T13:34:00.002-06:00

Photos taken by Marcie Kindred

Happy Birthday Sam!

2009-12-02T20:21:00.001-06:00

My baby is turning 7 tomorrow.

His request for treats to bring to school tomorrow to share with his friends: brownies with chocolate icing and sprinkles.

His lunch request (I'm bringing lunch to eat with him at school): Sonic-two grilled cheese sandwiches with no crust, the biggest box of tator tots they have and I'm to surprise him with what color medium slushy I get for him.

His gift request: Alvin and the Chipmunks The Squeakquel soundtrack

He knows what he wants and I'm happy to deliver!

(my friend Marcie Kindred took this picture of Sam and it's one of my all time favorites. She took our family picture a few weeks ago, but I can't show you that until I mail out our Christmas cards!)

Silly Lukie

2009-11-29T20:27:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving Feast

2009-11-28T00:45:00.002-06:00

Luke and Gabe had their "Thanksgiving Feasts" at school last week. Can you tell which of them was more excited about me eating lunch with them?

Luke did not understand what I was doing eating with him in his room when he thought I should be taking him home. It didn't help that he was exhausted. Gabe, on the other hand, was beyond excited to have me visit his class and show me around. It was fun to see him in his element and have some one on one time with them both.

Who's Going? Who's already been?

2009-11-20T18:43:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: LOVED IT!!!! (and I'm so glad y'all are still out there!)

Who still reads this blog?

I'll be settled into a theater seat with two of my Twilight buddies at 5pm tomorrow evening. I'm excited, but nothing will ever compare to reading the books for the first time.

Another Tooth!

2009-10-19T21:52:00.001-05:00

Sam lost ANOTHER tooth today! This makes 5 in 6 weeks!

It's Fall!

2009-10-17T21:54:00.003-05:00

Ahhh, Fall. I love it. Boots, scarves, pumpkins, mums, spiced candles, fires, the leaves, the crisp air and pumpkin patches arm. Our favorite farm/pumpkin patch is open the whole month of October and we finally made it out there last week. It was a beautiful day to be outside, not too hot, not too cold. Here are a few pictures...

Gabe

2009-09-17T18:36:00.002-05:00

My little buddy started PreK this week. He is happy to be back at school and him being happy makes me happy.

Best Friends (for now)

2009-09-05T12:02:00.003-05:00

Minus Two

2009-08-25T20:19:00.003-05:00

Sam lost two more teeth this weekend. Those sweet little baby teeth are slowly being taken over by big, adult teeth. My sweet little baby with chubby cheeks is turning into a sweet big boy who can open his own fruit snacks, read cereal boxes and write me notes.

First Grade

2009-08-13T08:30:00.003-05:00

There he goes.

First grade.

Happiness

2009-08-10T20:54:00.005-05:00

Here is a picture of me with two of my very best friends.

This is the most recent picture of us. If I showed you some older pictures of us, like the one of us sitting on the hood of Carrie's boyfriend's red truck wearing our jean jacket vests, you would be sure to laugh. We have known each other for years. Shana and I, since 6th grade and Carrie came into the picture our Junior year of High School. We haven't been together, in the same place for 5 years. I love these girls. I'm happy when they are happy, sad when they are sad, mad when they are mad. The past few years have been pretty tough, there has been a lot of sadness. So, when we got some amazingly HAPPY news, we knew it was time for a trip. It was so appropriate that what brought us to the same place was this precious little answer to ALOT of prayers...

Reese Elizabeth. Shana's daughter.

This is a picture of her laying on me. Can I just take a minute to tell you how wonderful it was to cuddle with this little angel all weekend long? We spent the Saturday we were together in our pj's, watching movies, cooking and taking turns cuddling Reese. It was like a dream, except it was real, so it was dreamy. It was a joy to look into her little face, to kiss her cheeks, to watch her sleep, to see her respond to Shana's voice, to watch Shana be a mommy.

Their story...it's God-breathed and breath-taking.

The days that we weren't laying around, we did what girls do, shopped and ate. We found a great deal on Lucky Jeans, my favorite, for $40 a pair. It's amazing what a good pair of jeans does to one's wardrobe. We literally stuffed ourselves with good food and daily runs to Sonic to fuel mine and Carrie's obsession and addictions to a drink that only needs to be described by two letters. DP. We ended our weekend with a shower for Shana and Reese at my mom's house. It was fun to see old friends and ohh and ahh over the cute little girly things.

It was, altogether, a fantastic weekend. A much needed break from my life and a joy to celebrate the life of sweet Reese. I love you girls!

The Big Camping Trip

2009-08-03T20:45:00.002-05:00

Tonight, Sam prayed "...and please let us go camping again soon". Gabe prayed "....and please let us go camping with one of those campers with a TV and video games in it".

They survived the rain and were able to enjoy a campfire, complete with hot dogs and S'mores...both of which Sam did not like and Gabe loved. They went fishing Sunday morning and Gabe caught a turtle. I thought Sam was going to jump out of his skin with excitement when they got home and told me all about their camping adventure. When I talked to Neal on the phone, he was a little frustrated that it had rained. Then, he told me later that Gabe ran up to him, gave him a big hug (Gabe gives the best and most enthusiastic hugs) and said "thank you for taking me camping Daddy, I love you".

He was fine after that.

Mini Vacation

2009-08-01T12:57:00.005-05:00

Sam has been begging Neal to go camping all summer, so Neal finally succumbed and they pulled out of the driveway an hour ago. They are going to a camping area an hour or two away and won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Do you know what that means? I have the house all (well, almost all) to myself! I'll be the only one here who knows more than 3 words and can speak in complete sentences. I have a list of things I want to get done, starting with editing all the pictures that have been dumped on my computer this summer. Here are a few cousin pictures from our trip to Houston...

Addy feeding Luke Cheetos

Luke and Addy in the playroom

At the pool. Luke and Gabe were done.

My mom made all the cousins these matching shirts...so cute.

And, a few of my crazy boys

What?

2009-07-31T17:18:00.002-05:00

Are you saying I can't watch Blues Clues from here? What's the big deal? I have my shoes on.

Just keepin' it real...

2009-07-14T22:00:00.001-05:00

My Little Swimmer

2009-06-15T20:43:00.002-05:00

I'm so proud of this boy! It's such a privilege to see the pure happiness that oozes out of him when he is in the water.

I made it into some pictures!

2009-06-09T22:34:00.001-05:00

We went on a trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas a couple of weekends ago with some of Neal's family. We had a great time on the lake. Thanks to Kevin, there are actually some pictures of me, so I had to post them, just to show that I was there!

I'm always thrilled to get a picture of the 5 of us together. Poor Luke was so uncomfortable in that life jacket.

Me and Gabe on the boat. Gabe kept saying he didn't want to get on the tube, even up to the minute he willingly got on it. He kept the most serious look on his face the whole time, except for one moment, when he smiled. He realized he was smiling a quit really quick, it was like he didn't want us to see how much fun he was having. Then, he surprised us all by jumping in to the water before he got back in the boat from the tube. He is in a funny little stage where he acts scared to do everything, but always has so much fun doing the new things.

Sam and I on the tube. He is a little fish, my oldest, he LOVES to be in the water, so he was in little boy heaven all weekend. He loved tubing and doing flips off the boat into the water. The first time he ever got out on a tube was this weekend with Neal. He was having so much fun that Neal started trying to do tricks, like jumping the wake. Well, he succeeded and ended up flipping the tube completely over, so I'm sitting in the boat, watching my baby, hands holding on tight to the tube, that was upside down, dumping him into the water head first. It was so scary to watch, I didn't even realize that I had started crying until after the tears were streaming down my face. He bopped back up to the surface almost immediately and once he saw Neal, had the biggest smile on his face. He loves to tell that story, even a few weeks later. There was no wake jumping while I was on the tube.

2009-05-24T21:04:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of what Luke will look like this summer at the pool.

We did a little test run at the neighborhood pool yesterday, just to see how he would do. No surprises, he is all over the place! There is no way that I'll survive the pool with three boys without him wearing this monster of a life jacket. I'm sure I'll get some looks, but, hopefully everyone will understand the second they see his chubby little feet hit the concrete in a run...straight to the edge of the deep end.

We have babies!

2009-05-16T21:51:00.005-05:00

Our little "fern babies" have hatched! I checked on them Thursday and this is what I saw...
...a nest full of baby bird fluff. There were 5 eggs, the babies are all snuggled up so close together, I can't tell how many there are right now. I've been checking on them every day and plan to get more pictures as they get older. Dear Lord, please don't let any of them fall out of the nest and die.

And, just for fun, a picture of a much cuter, less fluffy baby. The one who has figured out how to sit on a kitchen chair...then climb up and sit on the kitchen table, because isn't that what kitchen tables are for?

I think he is Neal's twin.

This is what a photo shoot looks like at our house...

2009-05-16T21:30:00.005-05:00

I used to think the perfect picture would be three kids, looking at the camera, smiling sweetly.

My view of a perfect picture has changed drastically since having kids.

Perfect for me now is capturing who they are in these moments of their childhood.

Real life...

Really?

2009-05-11T21:13:00.002-05:00

I've taken the plunge, reluctantly, but I did it. Kandice talked me into it and actually bought me a pair for my birthday. Not the Alexander McQueen ones pictured above, but a super cute black wedge sandal from TJ Maxx. I also found some flats at For Love 21 for $7.50. I'm still getting used to them and still feel like I'm putting on the sandals I wore when I was in 3rd grade, or somewhere around that age. I'm just a flip flops girl at heart, but I'm trying to break through my flips onto something a little more...I don't know, not flip flops.

What about y'all. Have you taken the plunge? What do you wear your Roman Sandals with?

Spring on my front porch

2009-05-03T19:05:00.002-05:00

I went outside this evening to water my hanging ferns. When I walked out the front door, I noticed a bird flying out of one of them, so I wasn't surprised when I found this sweet little nest.

I was very careful to not touch it, but still had to water my beautiful fern. I've always wanted a front porch with ferns, now that I have them, I'm a little possessive about them. I'm really hoping the momma bird will come back and that we can have healthy baby birds and a healthy fern. I just want everyone to be happy.

Anyone had any experience with nests in your ferns?

Now, I'm going to go google "birds nest in my ferns".

Gearing up for Summer

2009-04-27T14:07:00.003-05:00

I'm so happy to have a sun burn on my shoulders! Summer is almost here and I could not be more excited! It has been a long, dreary Winter here, so it's nice to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.

While I was out at the grocery store this weekend, I got a frantic call from Sam and Gabe asking where their water guns were, I told them I didn't know and they both begged me to buy them one while I was still at the store. They told me that all their friends were outside having a water fight. And because I'm the kind of mom that doesn't like her kids to miss out on all the fun, I bought them both the coolest water gun I could find. When I pulled in the driveway, there were 10 kids running around our street soaking wet, well, 8 really, since Sam and Gabe didn't have a gun to participate. Daddy helped them get their guns set and they were out in the middle of it in no time, soaking wet with the rest of them. They eventually changed in to their bathing suits and were literally outside for 6 hours yesterday

We also pulled out our little sandbox and all the kids have had fun making a mess of our sad grass in the backyard. Will sand make grass grow quicker? Probably not. Oh well. When we are all outside, this is one of Luke's favorite things to do.

This would be Luke's other favorite thing to do. Walking away with no regard to where I might be or what I might be telling him to do. The obligatory picture of Luke taking off...

We are gearing up for end of school programs and some pool time...can't wait!

It was bound to happen...

2009-04-27T13:57:00.004-05:00

Luke got a hold of Sam's brown marker. He actually pulled the felt tip out and was holding onto it in his mouth, I had to swipe it out. Thankfully, the mess was contained to his face and one tiny spot on the carpet. Is it bad that my first thought was to grab my camera?

Thanks for the sweet birthday wishes! Carrie thought she was so awesome because she knew my password. She is awesome and I should probably re think how much she knows about my life! Love you Carrie. I can't wait to see you in a few months, I'm going to be skinnier than you! :)

Happy Birthday!!

2009-04-20T11:16:00.002-05:00

One great thing about being close to someone is knowing how to hack into their blog!!!!

Today is Lindsay's birthday!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSAY!!!!!!! Love you - Carrie

A few pounds lighter

2009-04-16T20:49:00.002-05:00

This kid has got some h-a-i-r! We decided a few months ago to grow it out, it had been short for years, so we thought it would be fun to see what it did long. It was cute, but there was no way I was going to make him suffer through summer with this thick hair weighing him down. I started asking him a few days ago if he wanted it short again. We looked through pictures and he decided last night he wanted me to cut it. I told him to take a day to think about it and if he still wanted me to do it, we could tonight. He was ready, so I pulled the clippers out. We went from this...

To this...

I love it short! He is definitely a short hairstyle kid. I've enjoyed seeing his little face again! He loves it too, it was a challenge to get him to look away from the mirror when we were done!

Twins?

2009-04-14T21:45:00.001-05:00

The look on his face...

2009-04-13T22:32:00.002-05:00

You will not see him walking around in the grass without a stick in his hand. Doesn't he look mischievous? I love the look on his face.

Baseball and Birds

2009-04-05T11:38:00.004-05:00

Sam had his first baseball game Saturday, it was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying watching a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds running around a baseball field. Sam did really well, he batted 3 times and hit the first pitch two of those times.

He told me his favorite part was when they were in the dugout, and the water bottle the coach gave to all the players.

While in the outfield, he was practicing his bird moves...because you never know when you will need to fly to first base.

Little Helpers

2009-04-03T12:14:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, we did a little room switch between Luke's room and the guest room. Luke's room is now upstairs, next to Sam and Gabe's room. The guest room is now the downstairs bedroom. We had planned all along to move Luke upstairs, but kept him downstairs for closer proximity to our room. I decided I was ready to move him on up, so when guests come over, they won't have to share a bathroom with two little boys who are not very clean.

We had a lot of stuff to move back and forth between the two rooms and I have to say, I hardly moved anything! Sam and Gabe were so eager to help, we put them to work! It was so nice, now that they are at an age where they really help and don't just get in the way. They even brought up some of the smaller pieces of Luke's bed!

I'm really excited to have all the boys upstairs and the guest room downstairs. It just makes more sense and has actually made the flow of our house a little smoother. I've been working on putting the guest room together (the only room I can make somewhat "girly") and am hoping to get stuff hung on Luke's walls this weekend.

Suggestions?

2009-04-03T11:59:00.002-05:00

I found this great lantern for 1/2 off at Joann's. I bought it thinking I would put it on my mantle, for some height. It was a little too wide to fit there, so I found another place for it. I love it, but what should I put in it? It obviously needs something...

Any suggestions?

The Planet Earth

2009-03-29T12:14:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned in my post below, we have been watching The Planet Earth series on The Discovery Channel. These shows are simply breathtaking. When I was on my computer this morning, I went to read Keeping Awake's latest post. I'm sure some of you have been following her story as well and have been blessed by her beautiful writing. She was talking about how her family has been watching this series. The following is an excerpt from her blog post in regards to The Planet Earth.

I don't know what God wants for the rest of my life. Sometimes I find myself feeling suppressed, or depressed, or just anxious, as though my spirit knows there's more but my mind can't fathom what the 'more' is. I don't mean Heaven. I'm trained, as a believer, to understand that Heaven is great, Heaven is where we should want to be. But when I have absolutely zero framework for what Heaven might possibly be like, I find it difficult to imagine, much less look forward to. Isn't it odd that most of our musings on eternity focus on something more like a grandiose church service, white robes and Southern Gospel included? If the God who created the place I'm going to spend eternity also happened to create the place I'm currently residing in, wouldn't it benefit me to get a better glimpse of it than through my tinted windows as I drive 45 miles an hour to get groceries? Would it change your relationship with Jesus if you knew the place He was preparing for you was just like where you happen to live now - only redeemed, whole, new, fresh, more alive and vibrant? That when we look on these images of animals and plants and water and earth brimming with possibility, we can honestly know that, without voices like our own, each is singing a song of praise and anticipation and hope - a song that cries out for rebirth? What if you started a walk with God that began simply based on the acknowledgement of His creativity, the majesty and wonder of His works, instead of choosing to walk away from God because of a human effort to convert you? What if His message is stronger than anyone else's? What if this is all for you?

Wow. I don't have much to say, it just resonated deep within me and has given me a lot to ponder on.

Go read the whole post here.

Recipe and Planet Earth

2009-03-26T18:23:00.007-05:00

I guess I should have included the cookie recipe in the cookie post below. It's just the Nestle Toll House (please tell me someone is saying that in Phoebe's french accent, I know Carly is!) recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag. I just made a few adjustments. I always add more flour and more vanilla extract. I use real butter and I like to add a little "spice" to it with a little bit of cinnamon. If I have toffee pieces laying around, I'll add those, that is actually my favorite way to make these cookies.

My friend Carrie adds a little bit more brown sugar and says that this makes the cookies a little chewier. I've never tried that, but I'm going to. I watch them like a hawk when they are cooking and at the slightest tinge of brown, like if one cookie has a slight little brown spot, and they aren't too shiny, I pull them out of the oven and let them sit for a little bit on the cookie sheet. In my opinion, a cookie is not a good cookie if it is crunchy, it's got to be soft and chewy.

Like I said in the other post, I usually only make one batch at a time. When those are gone, I'll make another with the dough I keep in my fridge. If I happen to make all the dough, I store the cookies in a tupperware with a piece of bread. This usually gives them an extra day of freshness and keeps them from being stale.

So, nothing special really. This is just the combination I have perfected to make my perfect cookie. What about y'all? Any great cookie making tips you can share with us?

On a completely different note - have any of you seen the Planet Earth series? We watched them a few years ago and loved them. I'll never forget Neal calling me with the boys laughing in the background. They were watching the one where the little bird falls from a huge tall tree while he is learning to fly and thought it was the funniest thing. They watched it over and over again. Anyway, when I heard they were showing the series again on The Discovery Channel, I set Tivo. We just watched Shallow Seas and the boys sat here mesmorized through the whole thing.

Go check it out if you haven't yet.

That was a close one.

2009-03-26T10:42:00.003-05:00

I love cookies. Any cookie that doesn't have a raisin in it is one that I will eat. Years ago, after seeing the Friends where Monica wanted Phoebe's grandma's cookie recipe because she wanted to be the mom who made the best chocolate chip cookies, I decided I wanted to perfect my cookie making skills. Especially since I was going to have kids, and all those wiser, older moms say that the best time to get kids to talk to you is at the table with a yummy snack waiting for them.

I went to work finding the best possible recipe and making the changes it needed to be the perfect cookie, for me. Before we moved to the new house, I could make those cookies in my sleep, and made them quite often. Our whole family loved them and they were my staple dessert to bring to friends who just had babies.

Once we got settled into the new house, I got the craving to make my cookies. I did what I always did, but when I pulled the first batch out of the oven, I realized something had gone horribly wrong. I like my cookies to taste delicious, of course, but I also like them to look delicious. This batch did not look delicious. They looked like the flattest cookie you have ever seen with chocolate chips sticking out of them, and they didn't taste great either. I was horrified. I threw that batch and the dough away and swore off cookie baking in my new oven forever.

A few months have passed and I had the craving a few days ago. We are on a budget and it was in the evening, so I couldn't go to The Puffy Muffin and buy a box of cookies. I had a little talk with myself and decided that I was ready to try again. I watched myself very carefully as I was adding all the ingredients and I watched those cookies every minute they were cooking to find the perfect time they needed to cook in my new oven. When I pulled them out, they looked beautiful and tasted even better. Ah, sweet success! I usually make one batch at a time and store the dough in the fridge. This works out great because Neal likes the dough best and I like the cookies fresh out of the oven.

Last night, after dinner, the boys and I enjoyed perfect, fresh from the oven, chocolate chip cookies and cold milk. The best part though, was the wonderful conversation that came from that time together. Seriously, make it a rule with your kids that you only eat at the kitchen table, give them some cookies and sit down to hear what they have to say.

So, I'm proud to say that I am back in business with my mad cookie baking skills. What a relief!

We might have had to move if they had turned out badly!

And, yes, I just wrote a really long blog post about cookies.

The Flu

2009-03-17T14:34:00.002-05:00

Sam came home from school yesterday with a temp of 102. A trip to the Dr this morning confirmed that he does, in fact, have the flu. Awesome. Gabe is on Spring Break this week (he and Sam are in school in different counties right now that take different Spring Breaks), so I've had to re-evaluate our week. I don't think Gabe will mind much though, since he'll have Sam home, and that makes him happy! When he has some Motrin in him, Sam is feeling pretty good, so it could be worse. He is NOT throwing up and for that, I am SO thankful. I'm just praying no one else comes down with it...

My prayer lately...

2009-03-16T12:46:00.002-05:00

The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
Isaiah 51:3

Luke, 14 months

2009-03-11T22:19:00.003-05:00

It's a new (hair) day.

2009-03-03T19:58:00.004-06:00

I took Sam and Gabe today to get their hairs trimmed up a bit. Gabe has had long hair from the time his hair was long enough to be long. I've taken him in a few times to get a cut, but I usually do it myself. I found a new girl this past year for myself and have started taken the boys to her. She has become a friend and one thing I love about her is her honesty. While we were growing Sam's hair out, I brought him in for a clean up and she told me it didn't need to be cut, she said she would do it, but that if I wanted to grow it out, we needed to wait. So we waited. This afternoon, when we walked in and she saw Gabe, she gave me a look and told me it was time. This is the longest his hair has ever been, and I even cut some off the length a few weeks ago. I knew it was time for a shorter, less "she's so cute" cut, so we went for it. I'm still feeling a little sick about it, but I think I like it. It's good to see a little more of that sweet face looking at me. I loved his long hair. Maybe I liked it too much, maybe I had fun playing with it and maybe I pulled a straighter through it every once in a while...maybe. I'll probably let it grow out again, but for now, it's fun to have a little change. Here he is sporting a lot less hair than the pictures below in his birthday post.

Sam, on the other hand, has had short hair for years. We started the growing out process in the fall and have almost reached a point where we really like it. He has even started mastering the hair toss when it gets in his eyes...such a little dude. She just cleaned it up in the back and thinned it out a little bit...this kid has got some hair.

You'd think I had girls with the way I'm going on and on about their hair!

Happy Birthday Gabe!

2009-03-02T17:22:00.005-06:00

Gabe's 4th birthday was yesterday, so we have been in full celebration mode this weekend. We had his big birthday bash Friday evening with 23 of his closest friends. We had his party in the indoor playground at his school. He had such a good time and felt very special. On Sunday, we had our traditional birthday breakfast at Krispy Kreme, where my camera battery died on me, so we will have to just remember that memory in our heads. We came home and opened more presents from family. Whenever anyone would tell him "Happy Birthday" he would always reply sweetly, "Happy Birthday to you too"!

We have been blessed with 4 sweet, joy-filled years with our little Gabe. He came into this world quickly, much to our surprise, on a snowy (ish) day in 2005. It was fitting that we woke up on his 4th birthday to a blanket of snow in Nashville. Not that Gabe went out and played in the snow. He is my warm weather lovin' kid. He loves to wear his flip-flops around the house and talks everyday about when it will be warm enough to go swimming. I like to think that even though he was born in Nashville, he's got a little Texas in his blood.

Happy Birthday Punkin Noodle Head. We love you!

He wrote a note

2009-02-26T11:15:00.004-06:00

One of Sam and Gabe's favorite things to do is play with their Legos. They will spend hours building space ships and boats. Then they line them up in their room like this...

Now, keep in mind, these are only a few of them. They are everywhere upstairs. While I was up there last night cleaning, I noticed a broken space ship under the couch. I picked up all the pieces and threw it in the Lego box and went on my merry way. This morning, Sam found the broken space ship and came down to my room demanding to know why I had broken it. He was so upset that his precious space ship was broken and just couldn't understand why I had put it away (where it belonged, but that's beside the point). I explained to him that it was already broken and that I found it under the couch. That didn't make him feel any better and he left the room sulking. I assumed that he had gone back upstairs to fix it. When I came out into the Living Room, I was surprised to see him at the kitchen table, drawing. I noticed that he was still sulking and asked him what he was doing. He did not reply to my question, instead, he got up out of his chair and handed me the piece of paper he had been drawing on. This is what was on it...

For those of you who do not read at the Kindergarten level, it says - "I do not like to break my Legos". I about died when I read it and then looked at his sweet face and realized that he really was upset about his broken ship. I hugged him and promised that I would never put away a broken ship again without showing it to him first and then thanked him profusely for writing me a note to let me know how he really felt. It was so sweet, I've been thinking about it all day. I'm so glad he found a constructive way to voice his feelings. I am also grateful that he was so diplomatic in the wording of the note (so like his Daddy), you'll notice he did not say "I do not like it when YOU break my Legos".

That's probably what my note would have said.

A Picture Update

2009-02-20T21:48:00.003-06:00

This is Gabe and his friend Mitch playing outside on one of the very few nice days we've had this month. He is actually wearing a short sleeved shirt! Yes, the short sleeved shirt also happens to be part of his pj/playing outside ensemble. My little Gabe will be 4 in about a week. He has been talking non stop about his birthday party. I might have gone a little overboard on the amount of kids I invited. I want so much for him to feel special and celebrated on his special day. Luckily, the place we are having it has a lot of room and does not charge per kid! I'll be making a lot of cupcakes..."with white icing, sprinkles and plastic Batman rings".
Here is a picture of my little runaway. This is the view I see most of Luke whenever we are not in an enclosed space. He takes off and doesn't look back, thank you very much. No fear, this one. I think I will be planning play dates in locations with fences and walls involved, otherwise, I'll constantly be chasing after this cutie. The pool should be interesting this summer...

Nicole and I took all the boys to the Discovery Center. It was so much fun, but not many walls and fences! Here is one face shot I got of Luke, when he wasn't taking off to places unknown.

Here are Sam and Gabe at The Discovery Center. They really do love each other. Although, my little 6 year old is starting to think he knows a whole lot more than he really does! He's getting a tad bit bossy, but Gabe doesn't seem to mind, yet. I was looking through pictures from the past month, trying to decide what to blog with and I realized there are precious few of Sam. Seems like he is always at school when I pull the camera out. His favorite thing these days is playing in the woods behind our house with his friends. They have quite a spread of forts out there, it's a little boys paradise. He comes home with dirt in his hair and in his pockets, begging to stay out just a little bit longer. The freezing cold doesn't even seem to bother him.

I just finished reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. It was so good! I can't believe I've never read it before. Neal has been traveling a lot, so I've been in survival mode, which means lots of "snacky dinners", play dates and early bedtime. I keep telling myself when the weather gets nicer I'll come out of hibernation and get the motivation to clean my house, organize the garage, do some painting projects, blog more, go on walks...but right now, I'm content to cuddle up on the couch with my warm blanket and a good book!

The Funniest Show Ever...

2009-02-01T22:44:00.004-06:00

This show is genius. Hysterical. Laugh out loud funny. I love it!

Did you all watch tonight's episode? What was your favorite part?

"I've got to make sure You Tube comes over to tape this" - Michael Scott

Face Plant

2009-01-26T13:02:00.002-06:00

What is it like having 4 boys in the house? See for yourself...

Luke likes to get in on the fun...
Even a serious face plant doesn't slow him down!
He was laughing hysterically when he got up and jumped right back into the pile! I love this picture, it makes me laugh each time I see it.

They all make me laugh...a lot.

Luke's Birthday Celebration

2009-01-25T16:44:00.003-06:00

When we got home from Krispy Kreme, he (we) opened presents. He wasn't so sure about this slide at first, but now he's happy to have something else to climb on!

Then we did cake. Sam and Gabe were in full birthday party mode.

Luke did not like the cake. He also does not like balloons.

Luke's Birthday Celebration

2009-01-25T16:38:00.002-06:00

We had a family birthday party for Luke last weekend. As is birthday tradition, we took him to Krispy Kreme for breakfast. This was his first taste of the goodness of Krispy Kreme, and I'm proud to say that he loved it! It would have been weird if he didn't! He knew all day that something was going on, maybe because we were all singing to him at every turn?

Me and my baby

First Donut

Sweet Brothers

Crazy Brothers

One Year Photos

2009-01-25T16:34:00.002-06:00

One Year Photos

2009-01-25T16:31:00.002-06:00

My Little One Year Old

2009-01-25T16:17:00.003-06:00

Our littlest baby turned one a few weeks ago. January has just been plain crazy, so I'm just now getting around to posting.

Except for the "colon infection" sickness of the Fall and getting over my c-section, the last year with our third son has been a JOY. He is a joy. He makes us smile, he makes us stop, he reminds us daily to praise God and to thank Him for the miracle of Luke's life. Knowing that he is our last makes all of him growing up even more bittersweet. I would love to freeze him at the age he is right now, for just a year, so I can get in all the smiles, claps, big ole belly laughs, thick thighs, milk drinking, touch downs, head tilts and toothy grins that I can, and commit each and every one of those minutes to memory. After I have that year, I'd let him grow up some more. I'd even enjoy 18 months - 4 a little more!

I have a feeling this sweet little dude is going to be a stinker. He already runs away from us when he knows he is doing something he shouldn't. He gets in to so much more than Gabe and Sam ever thought was even possible. Nothing is safe from this kid!

Happy first birthday Luke!

The above pics are from our One Year Photo Shoot. Because I can't for the life of me figure out how to post more than 4 pictures, there will be a few post of just the photos from our little shoot.

What have we been up to?

2009-01-16T12:09:00.003-06:00

I have not been in a bloggy mood so far this new year, as you can tell. Today it is 12 degrees in Nashville, and, since it's so cold, they cancelled school. Can you believe that? I mean, I'm glad they did b/c I sure don't want to open any of my doors, much less let Sam go outside to the bus stop, but to cancel school because its so cold? Kinda weird. I'm sure the Northerners living here are rolling their eyes at all us wimpy Southerners. It makes for a four day weekend, so that's nice. Anyway, I have a list of things to do today, clean the bathrooms, do laundry, unload that pesky dishwasher, organize my junk drawer in the kitchen that I can't open. The kinds of things I can do when Sam's home from school because he and Gabe basically ignore me while they live in their fantasy Star Wars World. Unless, of course, they need a drink, food, help going to the bathroom or to show me how they can run and jump onto the recliner into a sitting position (Sam) or to tell me that his brother isn't letting him be his "made up guy" (Gabe). So am I getting all those things on my list done? Nope, I'm blogging. My friend Nicole would call that "productive procrastination" except I don't really think blogging is productive.

Here is what we have been up to lately:

*Sam lost all his "guys" on his PS3 Leggo Star Wars game last week. It was horribly traumatic when he realized they were all gone. He said "but Mommy, I worked so hard to get those guys". I called Neal begging him to figure out how to recover them, he tried, but they were gone. We are now trying to get as many of those little coins as we can so he can buy them all back, and being very careful to save, save, save. I have to admit that I think it was my fault, so I'm getting really good at Leggo Star Wars. I think Neal has been playing a little before he goes to bed too.

*Neal has been so busy at work and travelling quite a bit, so I've been on my own with the crazies. When that happens, bed time becomes around 6:30, instead of 8. Not for me, for them. Hey, at least I let them play their Leapsters until they fall asleep. And, really, they need that extra sleep...with school and it being so cold.

*I've been enjoying the return of all my favorite shows and some new ones. Grey's (I'm still giving it a shot), Private Practice (although I fast forwarded through the scenes with the CF dad and his kids on last nights episodes, couldn't handle that), The Office (I'm sorry, but that show is brilliantly funny, I LOVE it), 30 Rock (haven't seen last nights yet), Gossip Girl, I'm sure I'm forgetting some. I was really going to try and give The Bachelor another shot, but in the middle of it, my friend Stacey called and told me a girl who works out at one of the YMCA's around here was on a new show called True Beauty, so I switched over to watch that. Oh my goodness, y'all, it's hysterical. It's horrible, but I couldn't turn away, I was totally sucked in and now I can't stop it. Have you seen it? Of course, I was also excited about the return of American Idol. My favorite part so far was when Ryan tried to high five the blind contestant. I was crying I was laughing so hard.

*A certain little baby turned one. But that's a post of it's own.

*I was lucky enough to see Celine Dion live in concert for the second time when my friend Stacey's husband won free tickets while he was giving blood. If you ever have a chance to see Celine live, take it, you won't be disappointed, unless you are a guy, then you might be slightly disappointed, but you would get over it because you would enjoy the lighting, video, staging and all that technical stuff.

*Neal's dad went to the ER a couple days ago and ended up having emergency surgery for some stomach problems. He will be in ICU for 3 days and then the hospital for another 3. Neal happened to be in Houston when all of this was happening, so he has been able to be there at the hospital in between working. I had a fairly intense conversation with Sam and Gabe about it. I told them Poppy had surgery on his tummy to get a boo-boo out and was totally not prepared for their reactions. My sweet, sensitive oldest child started crying, worried about his Poppy. My inquisitive, curious (3.5 year old) middle child simply asked if they had cut him in half. Huh? Thankfully, Poppy is going to be okay and we are praying for a quick recovery.

*Today was supposed to be "Hibernation Day" at Sam's school today. They were to wear their pj's, bring a flashlight and a stuffed animal that they would hide until spring. How cute is that? I was wishing I could go in for Hibernation day too! We were bummed that school was cancelled, but hopefully they will reschedule so Sam's dog "Flash" can go sleep at the school until Springtime.

*Has anyone else noticed how many birthdays come up in the months of December and January? I feel like we have had a birthday party every weekend since December. Granted, two of my kids were born in those months, I just think it's interesting.

*I can't stop listening to Jason Mraz and Colbie Caliet's song "Lucky". I've always loved Jason Mraz, but this is my new favorite song of his. Google or YouTube it to see the video or just go buy it on itunes, it's such a great song.

*Since reading the Twilight books I have been looking for something good to read and everything seems to fall short. Any suggestions from you readers out there? If you haven't read Twilight, you should. Yeah, it's about teenagers and Vampires, but it's amazing, unlike anything you could imagine. You just have to trust me.

*Did you know that you can buy bags of Sonic Ice? I buy a bag and a six pack of Diet Dr. Pepper and enjoy a cup of those two wonderful things together daily, in my house, without going to Sonic. I even drink it out of a Sonic cups that I have saved. Is that weird?

*I'm dreaming of warmer weather and planning a trip to Houston in my head as I always do this time of year.

Now, I've really got to go get something done before Neal comes home!

Look at that belly sticking out

2009-01-04T21:33:00.001-06:00

Just sayin' hi

2009-01-03T20:08:00.003-06:00

That's about all I have to say right now. Neal took the whole week off, so we've been enjoying some family time and getting some stuff done around here. Including de-Christmasing the house and my blog. He goes back to work Monday and thus will begin the transition back into "real life". Ugh!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T14:29:00.002-06:00

Fun in the Sun

2008-12-22T19:57:00.000-06:00

Welcome back old friend

2008-12-19T12:06:00.002-06:00

It's a miracle of all Christmas miracles. The SUN is actually shining in Nashville. It is streaming in my window as I type. I actually put my sunglasses on when I was driving home this morning. It has been at least a week, and probably more, since we've seen sun around here and I've missed it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cloudy day, but not 7 straight days in a row. Granted, the sun is shining, but every once in awhile we get a little shower of rain.

Here's the best part about the sun peeking through the clouds.

This morning, the boys and I were sitting at the table eating breakfast. I had just opened the curtains and saw that it was raining again. I told the boys I was so sick of the rain and wished that the sun would come out. I hear Sam mumbling something, then he looks at me and says "Mommy, I just prayed that Jesus would make the sun shine today".

Skip to later...we walk out of his school after his Christmas party and the sun is shining brightly! We all got really excited, started yelling and got some interesting looks.

I looked at Sam and said "do you know what this means?"

He replies, "God answered my prayer!" with the sweetest smile on his face.

Thank you Lord for the sweet gift of answered prayer for my baby, for revealing Yourself to him in such a real way, and, for the gift of sunshine, for a couple of hours today.

It's hard, being little.

2008-12-16T20:22:00.003-06:00

I asked Gabe the other day why he didn't want to go outside and play with his neighborhood friends. This was his response...

"Because they all think I'm little, and that makes them hug me".

Poor thing.

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-14T15:25:00.005-06:00

Everyone has been blogging and talking about favorite Christmas traditions. I thought I'd throw in two of my newest favorite traditions.

My friend Christy gave us What God Wants for Christmas last year, so we are just using it for the first time this year. It is so sweet and really emphasizes the TRUE meaning of Christmas. It is very kid friendly, the boys love it, they ask a few times a day when we can open the next box. Follow the link to read about it and then buy it, you won't regret it.

Another is Elf on the Shelf, I've noticed that a lot of people are doing this one too. Sam's class at school has their own elf, Goldie, so he has been asking when our elf, Buddy (from the movie Elf, of course), would come back to our house. He made his appearance this morning in the Christmas Tree (pictured above). I'm not really big on telling the kids that they have to be good in order to get Christmas presents, but the thought of Buddy going to see Santa every night to report in on how Sam and Gabe are doing is so magical to them, we'll keep doing it as long as they like it. Buddy is supposed to hide somewhere new each morning, so hopefully, Neal and I will remember to move him! It comes with a book that tells the Elf's story and gives the kids an opportunity to name their elf. Very cute and fun.

It really snowed!

2008-12-13T18:48:00.001-06:00

This is the view we woke up to on Friday morning...

Then, of course, we got all bundled up and headed out to play in the snow.

We got enough snow that the schools called in an official snow day on Friday. The boys have been having a blast the past two days, getting in as much time with the snow as they can. I love this time of year!

10.5 months

2008-12-10T18:11:00.001-06:00

The littlest Watson and his newest thing...
He's been doing this for a few weeks, but I've been pretending that it hasn't been happening.
There is no ignoring it now.
Sorry for the poor video quality.

Sam's 6th Birthday Party

2008-12-07T14:24:00.001-06:00

For the first time we had Sam's birthday party at our house. I was a little nervous about what to do with 15 kids for an hour and a half. Neal was a little nervous about 15 kids walking around on our carpet. We were able to work through those issues and the party was a success. We sent them all in the backyard to run around with their lightsabers and play some soccer. Then we sent them into the woods on an "Asteroid Hunt" (I wrapped up random objects in aluminum foil and Neal hid them). The kids had a blast looking for the asteroids and traipsing around in the woods. My little 6 year old is quite the social bug. He loves being around people. The look on his face the entire party was priceless. He loved having all of his friends at his house, all at one time. Being the center of attention helped too, I'm sure. So did the fact that he was the one that actually broke the pinata, although Neal was close behind with one of his golf clubs, in case the kids couldn't break it with their lightsabers. Obviously, the party was a Star Wars theme. Sam is currently obsessed with all things Star Wars, like every other boy his school!

The little StormTrooper in the above picture is Gabe. He cracked me up in that costume.

Happy Birthday Sam!

2008-12-04T17:57:00.000-06:00

My little baby turned 6 yesterday. 6.

He got this cute little birthday hat at school and wore it all day. We went to Cheeseburger Charlies for dinner and he opened up some presents. This was his reaction to the thing that he wanted the most...

Leggo Batman video game. He's so excited to play it every waking minute (or the minutes that we let him play it)!

His birthday party will be this Saturday...at our house. This is the first time that I will have 10 6 year olds running around my (new) house. It should be interesting!

Happy Birthday baby boy. We love you so much. You bring such joy to our hearts and to our family.

First "snow" of the year

2008-12-01T16:45:00.000-06:00

We woke up to a wonderful, wintry sight when we opened our windows this morning. The snow was falling and, although it didn't stick, it was sure pretty. It came down all morning and I bet Gabe asked me 20 times at least if it meant that Santa was coming today. We went to Target so Gabe could pick out a present for Sam's birthday. We talked about how it was a surprise and that he shouldn't tell Sam anything about it. I'm sure you see where this story is going. The second Sam walked in the door this afternoon from school Gabe says "we went to SuperTarget (he always specifies if we go to SuperTarget or "normal Target") and I got you Wall-E". Luckily, it sounded more like "whaley" and I don't think Sam knew what he was talking about. Little stinker.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T18:31:00.003-06:00

Our Thanksgiving week got off to a great start on Monday when I picked up Laura, my sister-in-law. It took a turn for the worse that night when I woke up at midnight, after going to sleep feeling fine 2 hours before, with excruciating pain in my right ear. I haven't had an ear infection in years, but I'm no dummy - I knew this much pain meant a major ear infection. I literally suffered through the night and finally left my house at 6am so I could be the first one to walk in the door at the walk-in-clinic when they opened at 7:30. It was confirmed that I did indeed have a bad ear infection, I was given an antibiotic and sent on my way. I spent all day Tuesday in the recliner, the pain was so bad I actually had to pull out some of my "heavier" medication to help take the edge off. I haven't mentioned yet that Neal came home on Monday afternoon with a terrible stomach bug, so he was in bed still miserable. It was a good thing Aunt Laura was here to keep the boys occupied with an exercise video, that they all did together, and a trip to Sonic and the grocery store. She also did some cooking. Thanks Aunt Laura! In the afternoon, I felt a really bad pain in my ear and then noticed a few minutes later that there was...some stuff...oozing out of my ear. The pain had lessened considerably, but I still couldn't hear and was living with a constant whirring in my ear.

Adam and Lynn got in later that night and we started our few days together off with a breakfast at The Loveless Cafe the next morning, then the girls broke off and did some shopping. Then Neal and I took a trip to the pediatricians office with Luke, who ended up with an ear infection and Bronchiolitis. The Dr. did look in my ear and confirmed that my ear drum had ruptured, but that it looked like it was already healing nicely.

That night, Lynn watched the boys and Adam, Laura, Neal and I all went to Cozymel's for some Mexican food and then to see "Four Christmases". We heard it had bad reviews, but we all really liked it and laughed a ton.

We spent Thursday the way you are supposed to spend Thanksgiving Day...cooking, relaxing, watching football, taking naps, walking down to the park and stuffing ourselves full of good food. I have to say that my husband cooks the best turkey I've ever had. Last year, when I was pg with Luke, I wouldn't touch the turkey, so Neal was in charge and did a great job. So this year, when he asked me how I was going to cook the turkey, I replied with "I don't know, how are you going to cook the turkey"? True to form, he tackled the challenge, with amazing results and is now in charge of cooking the turkey forever! Later that night, Lynn, Laura and I went to see Twilight. I'd read the book last week (in one day, it was so good I couldn't put it down). The movie was great, I liked the book better though.

Friday morning we had our Christmas celebration together and the boys got to open presents. Then we got a babysitter that night and went to an amazing dinner at The Melting Pot. We did all 4 courses and were not disappointed by any of them, especially the chocolate! Yum. And of course, we took a trip to Krispy Kreme (well, Luke and I sat this one out, but they all had fun eating yummy snowman and glazed donuts)

It was a great week, we were glad that they were able to come in from Houston and spend the holiday with us. I'm just sorry I had to ask everyone to keep repeating themselves so I could be a part of the conversations!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

My trip to Atlanta

2008-11-23T21:55:00.002-06:00

My friend Christy moved to Atlanta this summer, she's been back a few times to visit, but we've been trying to find time for me to go see her and her new house. Last weekend, my sweet husband came home from work early on Friday so I could drive the 4 hour drive before dark. The drive from Nashville to Atlanta was gorgeous, I had a few new cd's to listen to, so I thoroughly enjoyed quality time with myself in the car. I got to Christy's around 7 and was treated to a yummy home cooked meal of Vegetable Stew, Roast and Salad. We spent the rest of the night catching up by the fire.

The next morning, we hit the town and didn't get home until 10:30 that night! We did some shopping - of course - and spent a few hours at H&M. I would consider Atlanta the "New York" of the South. They have every great store you can imagine. Nashville is sorely lacking in the great store department. We topped off our evening at Pappasitos. Three weeks prior to my trip, Christy and I both went on a diet and swore that we wouldn't cheat too badly until we went to Pappasitos. Tortillas, Dr. Pepper and Queso have never tasted so good! We were so happy with our meal that we didn't even want dessert.

We had a lazy Sunday morning and I headed out around noon. It was so nice to get out of Nashville and spend the weekend with one of my best friends. I'm so glad to be able to picture Christy in her house now and to have seen her new world in Atlanta. I'm still sad she's not in my Nashville world anymore, but it's exciting to see what the Lord is unfolding in their lives in Atlanta. And, I'm glad to have a place to go that's a little closer than the 15 hour drive to Houston!

Christy and I

and, us at Pappasitos...so good!

Because its almost been a week.

2008-11-23T21:37:00.003-06:00

I don't really have much to blog about. I keep waiting to post until I have pictures to post, or something earth shattering to say. I don't have any pictures and I certainly don't have anything earth shattering to say, so I'm just going to go for the good ole' random post.

* My back shouldn't be hurting so bad from a tiny mis-step on the stairs while I was hanging Christmas garland, I'm only 21 for goodness sake. 21 year old's backs should not be so delicate. Right? That's supposed to happen when you are in your 30's.

*Oh - I just thought of something I can blog about and it has pictures to go with it. Can't believe I forgot to post about it. That'll be coming soon! I feel better now.

*My house is twinkling cozily with twinkle lights galore. We are officially decorated for Christmas. Oh, there's another post! I'll take pictures of all my twinkly lights...maybe. I love how cozy the house feels with all the decorations out. It was fun this year, decorating the new house. Especially the front porch, you know how I feel about my front porch.

*The boys and I are picking up my sis-in-law, Laura tomorrow morning at the airport. Neal's mom, Lynn and brother, Adam are coming in Tuesday night, but Laura was able to come in a few days early. I'm excited to see her and spend some time with her!

*I can't wait for Thanksgiving Dinner. Greenbean casserole always tastes the best at Thanksgiving.

*Gabe was sick with a bad cough the end of last week and passed it on to Luke. Poor thing sounds terrible. I hope he feels better soon.

*It's so cold in Nashville right now. We went to a birthday party at the park yesterday and it took a good hour after we got home for my toes to defrost. I'm glad it'll be cold this week though. It makes the holidays feel a little more festive.

*I read Twilight a couple of days ago. It was addicting. Yes, it's about a vampire, but it isn't freaky, scary or terrible. I'm glad the other 3 books in the series are already out, so I can read them all quickly. Hopefully, we'll get out to see the movie sometime soon. I also want to see Australia.

*That's as random as I'll get right now, I'm going to go work on that other post before I go to bed!

A Fall Full of Visitors, Part 3

2008-11-17T15:03:00.000-06:00

This next little visitor might take the cake as the best visitor this fall (no offense Shana and Amy)! My friend Kandice had her second son, Ezekiel - Zeke, on November 10th. Amy was in town to be a part of his birthday, along with all Kandice's family, so it was a big party everytime we went to the hospital to see them. I've not seen him since he was a few days old, so I'm excited to go over there and hold him as much as I can really soon - he is a little sweetie, as you can see...

A Fall Full of Visitors, Part 2

2008-11-17T14:55:00.000-06:00

The day after Shana left, Amy came to stay with me. I've know Amy forever, we went to church together when we were growing up. It's always fun to sit down an listen to Amy tell a story - she is quite the story teller. She's also a wonderful friend and someone that you could leave your kids with and not worry for a second. As you can see, my boys love her. We got a great picture of the two of us, but it's in her camera and she hasn't sent it to me yet because she has been off on a trip being all business woman-y. I'll post it when I get it, for now, you get this last picture of the two of us shortly before we went to bed. Love you Ame!

A Fall Full of Visitors, Part 1

2008-11-16T19:41:00.002-06:00

We have had a busy fall with visitors coming in and out. Fall is a beautiful time to visit Nashville, in case you ever want to plan a trip. The trees are just breathtaking right now. When Shana came a few weeks ago, she couldn't stop taking pictures of all the trees. We had such a nice weekend together, we did some shoe shopping and Shana got a major bargain on three pairs of tall boots at Marti and Liz (you must go there for shoe shopping). We had an amazing breakfast at The Loveless Cafe - their biscuits literally melt in your mouth and the Hashrown Casserole is delicious. We took a drive through Percy Werner park an enjoyed the beautiful scenery and played on the playground (well, Gabe and Luke did, while we watched). We made a trip to Dippin' Dots, one of Shana's favorites. She also took some great family pictures for us. Here are a few pictures from her trip, we only managed to get one of us together - but at least we got that!

More pictures to come of some other special visitors...

Gabe's Latest Accomplishment

2008-11-12T21:35:00.002-06:00

See Gabe's cute little bike? Do you see anything that should be on a 3.5 year old's bike, but that's not? Maybe 4 wheels, instead of 2? Our little dynamo can ride his bike with no training wheels! I literally took them off Thursday, and today he was all over the place, going up and down driveways, standing up while he was peddling, yelling at everyone to watch him ride his bike. I helped him get the hang of it a little bit, but overall, he taught himself how to do it. He is so proud of himself. We are still working on Sam, he would rather walk than ride his bike with two wheels! It's fascinating to see their differences play out. Yay Gabe!

I love his tongue sticking out in this picture...

Just in case you haven't seen enough...

2008-11-03T20:58:00.002-06:00

What Luke has been up to, part 2

2008-11-03T20:54:00.001-06:00

At 9 and a half months, he's trying to walk. And looking cute while he's doing it!

He's always following his big brothers around and likes to be in the middle of what they are doing. (pretend my house is really clean in this picture)

Come on! Look at that little tummy sticking out. He's got some pretty great thighs on him too!

Seriously? Already?

What Luke has been up to...

2008-11-03T20:48:00.003-06:00

This picture deserved a post of its own. The little stinker really wanted to get up those stairs, so he figured out a way. I think I might have a climber on my hands! (and, no, he didn't make it past this point, after I put the camera down, I grabbed him!)

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T21:02:00.003-05:00

We had our annual Community Group Halloween party Friday night, it was also our first offical party in the new house. It was the girls year to take the kids trick-or-treating while the guys stayed home with the babies and handed out candy. It was fun to experience Halloween in our new neighborhood, there were kids everywhere! The boys had a blast, they were very serious about their costumes - Obi Wan Kanobi and The Storm Tropper were in full character, as you can see from some of the pictures, complete with "moves" and everything. Eli came as Yoda and another friend was Darth Vader, so they completed our Star Wars Posse. Luke was a Dragon. Hope you all had a fun night!

Waiting

2008-10-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

Gabe, waiting for the best part of his day, when the school bus drops off his big brother. Finally, someone fun to play with!

An Old Friend

2008-10-22T15:04:00.001-05:00

She's not really that old (I am older by two years...I think?) but she is one of my oldest friends in the sense that I've known her since we were in Middle School. Carly came to visit last week and, in the midst of goose-eggs and colon infections, we were able to spend some good time together. On Tuesday, I got a babysitter for Luke and we spent the day sans my kids. We went to The Pancake Pantry, a must when you are visiting Nashville, and did some shopping, of course. We also got to spend some time with Kandice (who is 37 weeks preggers), some other friends and took Sonic to the school to have lunch with Sam. It was so nice having her here, we talk often on the phone, but don't get to see each other much in person during the year, so it's always a treat to get to spend a few days together.

Pictures from the Farm

2008-10-16T21:51:00.002-05:00

We love this place! Although Luke did not like the hay poking him in the face.

National Day of Remembrance for Pregnancy and Infant Loss

2008-10-14T23:12:00.003-05:00

Go read Angie's blog today.

We Are A Mess.

2008-10-11T22:14:00.005-05:00

I won't go into all the gory details, but after lots of yucky diapers, 102.2 fever, Motrin every 6-8 hours and an incredibly miserable baby boy, it has been determined that my little dude has an infection in his colon. What antibiotics do they give him for that you ask? Good question. The answer is none. Let it run its course and add Motrin for the fever and lots of fluids. I have never seen Luke this miserable, it has been heartbreaking, not to mention the fact that his little bottom is so red, he can barely sit down. I won't be surprised if he starts walking sooner now because he has gotten so good at standing by himself these past few days. He refuses to sit down! He has been better today. He's at least had moments where he isn't fussing or crying and that's a big improvement! Daddy being home has helped too!

Carly got into town right when Luke started acting sick and has been staying with me until Friday night. While I wish Luke would have been his normal happy self, I was so glad he got sick while she was here. She was such a huge help. Especially Friday afternoon. Sam and Gabe were playing outside, I woke Luke up at 5 from his nap and he was a mess, had to give him a bath, give him medicine, he screamed for about 15 minutes straight. I finally got him settled down with a bottle when there was a knock on my front door. Carly went to get it and found a neighbor with Gabe, he wasn't crying hard, but something was definitely wrong, I heard "fell off his bike" and saw the look on Carly's face when she moved his hair and looked at his forehead. He had a huge "goose-egg", about the size of a walnut, sticking out of his forehead. Now, on a normal day, this probably wouldn't have been a big deal, but I was on sick baby overload and was certain that we were on our way to the ER with Gabe. So, we sat in the living room, trading off feeding sick little Luke and icing Gabe's forehead and trying not to freak out too much about how big the bump was. Gabe perked up after a little bit, Carly made dinner and Neal got home and determined that Gabe did not have a concussion. I was so glad Carly was here to keep me sane and be a second mommy to my boys. They love her. I love her.

Gabe and I had a little photo shoot later that night. The hugeness had gone down significantly, but here are a few pictures. He's a mess!

Obviously, he is fine.

Carly's coming back Monday, so hopefully we will be in better form for the second part of her trip!

Sam was feeling a little left out, being the only healthy Watson Boy, so he threw a little drama into the mix this afternoon when he came running inside in hysterics because a scab on his leg had gotten torn off on his bike. He was bleeding, so we made a little fuss over him and got him fixed up with a Spiderman band aid.

Neal announced tonight that no one is allowed to leave the house tomorrow!

What's missing in this picture?

2008-10-02T21:06:00.000-05:00

His first baby tooth.

Gone.

He is officially a big boy.

I picked him up from the bus stop this afternoon and immediately thought he looked different. I asked to see how his tooth was doing - we've been waiting for it to fall out - and it wasn't there. I asked him where it was - he shrugged and said it must have fallen out at school.

It happened at school.

Guess who isn't at school with him?

ME. I wasn't with him when he lost his first tooth.

I totally cried. In the middle of our street.

I realized that I never told him that he needed to save it if it came out.

I never thought I wouldn't be there to save it for him.

So, instead of an envelope with a little baby tooth in it tucked under his pillow tonight, he drew a picture of a tooth and wrote "the tooth fairy, i lost my tooth! SAM". He is learning sight words at school and has to write "the" on everything. How cute is that?

I'll be tucking that away in his journal for safekeeping.

My sweet little Sammy C. He is so precious. And so big.

The Week in Pictures

2008-09-25T16:32:00.000-05:00

Sam took his first sick day off of school this week. He had a fever all day and looked like this picture above most of the day. He woke up the next morning just fine. It was good for him to have a day to lay on the couch, even if he felt bad. Gabe got it soon after. The lack of pictures of him sick should just tell you that I was never able to get free of him to take a picture of him, because he was always next to me, on me or following me. They are both all better now. I'm holding my breath that Luke doesn't get it.

Here is a picture of Luke. He sure is cute. He is getting both of his eye teeth in right now, which is kinda weird, since the only other teeth he has are his two bottom teeth. He is a weird teether. He got his two bottoms when he was 4 months. Now, at 8 months, he is working on the eye teeth, not the two top middle teeth that usually come next. He likes to mix things up a little bit. He is learning to clap right now and it is absolutely adorable. He just flails his arms around and sometimes his hands get close together. I got some video of it this morning that I'll try to post soon.

Gabe, eating Oreos (the "blonde" ones) like everyone should eat an Oreo - licking the icing off first. This boys bleeds sugar, he got my sweet tooth. He is quite the little chatterbox lately, this is what I hear constantly from him, "um, hey Mommy why do Batmans wear capes and Star Wurs guys don't?", "um, hey Mommy why does KK make cakes?", "um, hey Mommy, tell me again where ambulances go?". Um, hey Mommy...um, hey Mommy...um, hey Mommy...um, hey Mommy...every day.

This is Sam and me in his classroom. I volunteered for a few hours yesterday for "Apple Day", hence the apple in the picture. My sweet friend Stacey was so nice to watch Gabe and Luke for me so I could go spend an hour in Sam's class and then have lunch with him. It was so cute to experience his little world with him. He loved having me there and filled me in on all the scoop, from the class rules, the cafeteria rules, where the Library was and how the lunch line worked. I was expecting mayhem in his classroom, but the kids were so calm and laid back, they all knew what they were supposed to be doing and were very well behaved, from what I could see. His teachers are great. I'm also sporting a new "do" in this picture. I got my hair cut really short (more in the back than the front) and, after almost 6 years, went blonde (ish) again. I was blonde up until I got pg with Sam when my hair got a lot darker, thicker and wavy. I finally bit the bullet and went back to blonde, it's fun to change things up a bit.

Feeling

2008-09-24T13:49:00.005-05:00

Since we've moved, my whole life seems so discombobulated (is that really a word?), I'm having to re-figure out how to do stuff in this new house. For example, when I walk in the door, where do I put my keys, diaper bag or purse? Where does the mail go? Where does all the soccer stuff go? I end up dropping these things here or there and then, when it's time to go, can't find anything. I've become horribly forgetful...so much so, that when Neal came home from being out of town for two days, he asked if I knew the back door wasn't closed all the way, much less locked. Nope, didn't know that, and that means that it had been that way the whole time he was gone, since we hadn't gone out the back door in two days. Nice. Now I check the back door a million times a day. I know it will take time to get it all figured out, and I've gotten a lot more done than I thought I would, I just didn't expect to feel so out of sorts.

I feel like the floor has been ripped out from under me and I'm trying to find solid ground again. I jump around becoming completely obsessed with something until its done, then onto the next thing. For awhile, I was obsessed with new bedding for our bed. I probably bought every pillow sham in Marshalls and TJ Maxx, trying to decide what combination looked the best. It looked like TJ Maxx threw up on my bed. I was making so many returns it was ridiculous. Once I got that figured out, I moved on to curtains. I wanted every window in the house to have curtains, because I realized how much warmer curtains made each room feel. Then I went from curtains to lamps, lamps to the game room and on and on.

I tend to make things so complicated. When I finally stop, tell myself to relax, simplify and ask myself how I'm really feeling, I often find that all of that obsessing is me running away from myself. From what is really going on inside of me, from what I'm really feeling and why. We talk a lot about feelings in a group I'm doing at church. Most everything you feel comes back to one of these 8 feelings...Fear, Anger, Shame, Guilt, Sad, Glad, Hurt and Lonely. They encourage us, on a daily basis, to have a "feelings check-in". It's been so great for me to do this small exercise because I have such a tendency to put myself on auto pilot and charge through my life, hiding from myself and from really dealing with what is going on inside of me. Why am I over reacting to my kids and husband and obsessing about pillows? Because I'm feeling fear, living in a new place, my oldest at school, meeting new people - will they like me? Will they think I'm an idiot because I talk too much? What if we can't pay all our new bills? What if one of the boys gets hit by a car when they are outside playing? What if Luke eats something off the ground and I didn't see him and he chokes on it? What if this never feels like home? What if someone makes fun of Sam and school and I can't be there to say that's not nice? What if he doesn't know what he is supposed to do? Is someone going to help him, because he might not ask for help? Luke is acting funny, what if his heart isn't okay anymore? Sam and Gabe both have fevers and say their heads hurt, what if they have meningitis? I know some of those are irrational fears, but I still feel them.

Some days, I'm feeling everyone of those feelings, others just a few. I've noticed lately that I carry fear and sadness with me as constant companions. The sadness from my miscarriages is still there, little things here and there have triggered those memories and I'm just sad. It's been good for me to recognize these things and to allow myself to feel them. It hurts and it isn't really how I want to spend my time, but it's good. It's good because it brings me back to my precious Heavenly Father. I hand all those fears and the sadness to HIM to take care of in His strong, gentle, capable hands. It reminds me that HE is sovereign and full of mercy for me, I don't have to carry these burdens, I don't have to figure it all out. It doesn't have to be so complicated. I just have to trust HIM.

A Saturday Evening

2008-09-20T17:58:00.003-05:00

Neal and I are sitting on the front porch. The boys are out riding their bikes with all the neighborhood kids. It's about 75 degrees. I'm going to go out tomorrow and buy some Mums and Pumpkins to put out here. Fall is in the air, just around the corner. The pumpkin patch/farm opens next week, we will be spending a lot of time out there this month. There will be pictures. Lots of pictures.

We enjoyed spending the afternoon with our friends Bill and Leigh Anne, the are moving back to Nashville and we couldn't be more excited to have them back.

The morning started off a little rocky, with a 7am wake up time, to get to soccer early for pictures and then both boys games at 9. Gabe threw a little fit. Didn't want to have his picture taken. Didn't want to play in the game. It was fun.

A School Bus Mishap

2008-09-12T21:45:00.004-05:00

Every afternoon, Gabe, Luke and I take a little walk down to the bus stop to wait for Sam to come home. Two times this week, as we were walking out the front door to go to the stop, Sam was already walking up to the house. The bus has been dropping them off a few minutes earlier and he was very proud of the fact that he walked home without me. Well, yesterday, I thought I'd just wait on the front porch for him (where I can see the bus stop), I figured he'd think it was cool that I knew that he didn't need me to walk him home. Gabe was playing in the front yard, Luke was in his excersaucer in the living room and I was on the porch. I heard the bus, then saw it stop at our stop. I saw B get out...then S...then R...then a few others...then...the bus drove off...no Sam...PANIC. I yelled at Gabe to get in the car, grabbed Luke and drove off (with Luke in my lap, forget car seats...where was my baby???) chasing after that bus. I knew that he had to be on it, if he wasn't, I would have heard from the school. I tracked the bus down to the back of the neighborhood, pulled up behind it and waited for it to make another stop. When it did, I jumped out of the car, with Luke, and ran onto the bus. There was Sam, sitting in the front seat, looking at me like I was crazy! He didn't even know anything was wrong. The bus driver felt terrible and apologized profusely. I was so freaked out, I really had to tone down my reaction with Sam, especially when I realized he didn't even know what the heck was going on. In the mornings, we are one of the first stops, then he goes through the whole neighborhood and back out to school, so as we were driving back to the house, Sam says "Oh, this is the way I go to school on the bus in the mornings, huh." Yeah. Huh.

I realized later that the girls next door weren't on the bus that afternoon, so I think that's what threw him off. He's got a little crush on one of them, so he always watches for her and basically follows her wherever she goes. She wasn't on the bus, so he didn't know what to do with himself. Huh.

This afternoon, when I asked him how he knew to get off the bus, he told me Bus Driver Mike told him "Sam this is your stop". I think Bus Driver Mike will say that to him every day from now on!

I tell you what, I never expected my little Kindergartner to grow up and learn so much in a matter of 3 weeks. He is different...older...a kid. He can write stuff...on paper...words and stuff. He can even spell stuff. He knows stuff. I mean, I knew they would be teaching him, but to witness first hand, him learning, is such a privilege. It's so exciting, to see him excited that he knows stuff. He is so sweet. He has such a sweet little spirit. He is smart, observant. He is turning into a rule follower (not really my rules, but school rules). He is quiet, yet he loves talking. He is brave. He faces new challenges head on with such calmness and confidence.

He still hold my hand when we walk to the bus stop.

"I don't wanna go to school"

2008-09-09T21:30:00.008-05:00

Gabe woke up with his bottom lip sticking out, pouting, and repeating this sentence every 5 seconds (or so it seemed) from 7:30am to 9:30am. There was quite a bit of whining and pouting, but thankfully, he went into his room happily, with no tears. I'm happy to say that the bottom lip had been replaced with a smile when I picked him up at 2:30 from his first day of Preschool this year. Poor thing has felt a little lost with his best friend in school all day long for the past few weeks. It was so good for him to get to go do his own thing with kids his age.

Luke and I enjoyed the day together running some errands and having lunch with Kandice and Eli. I think I've found curtains for my bedroom, but I'll have to live with them for a few days before I commit.

Here are some pictures of Gabe this morning...

My little pouty subject turned on the smiles pretty quickly when I promised to buy him Marshmallows for an after school treat...

This is a rare picture of Gabe not goofing off, this is typically what he does when I pull out the camera...

He melts my heart a million times a day.

Soccer Games

2008-09-07T08:48:00.004-05:00

Sam and Gabe had their first soccer games Saturday morning. We are in a new league this year and are really enjoying it. Their coaches are great - they have them doing drills, running laps and warming up. It's pretty cute watching them do jumping jacks! Sam will get out there and play, but he doesn't seem to love it. We are going to play T-ball in the Spring, maybe he will like that a little better. Gabe really seems to love it, as you can tell from the pictures, he was right in the middle of all the action. There was a little boy on the other team that was really good, but, every time the ball got taken away from him or when he scored a goal, he would start crying and throw himself on the grass - it was so funny and quite entertaining!

Luke's latest

2008-09-01T21:11:00.001-05:00

Other than being really cute...

this is his new favorite thing to do...

The Bus

2008-08-26T09:01:00.001-05:00

I'm sure he is fine. I'm sure he had a blast. I'm sure he got to school and found his classroom. I'm sure he is happy. I'm sure he is proud of himself (I'm proud of him). I'm sure this moment was necessary.

But, man, was it hard to see his little face through the window of that big yellow bus driving away from me.

3:30 won't come quick enough today.

Exploring and New Friends

2008-08-24T20:32:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures of our new backyard. We don't have grass yet, the hay is where the grass will be eventually. The boys and Grandma went exploring down the trail yesterday and spotted 3 deer and some rabbits. Our neighbors told us that they have spotted a red fox.

The boys spent most of today outside playing with some of the kids on our new street. They went from house to house and played outside in between houses. We've already got kids coming to the door to ask if they can come out to play. They had a blast and have come a long way from the first two days where they didn't even want to leave the front porch!

While they were outside playing, Neal got most of the blinds hung, so we were able to take down the sheets we had taped up on most of our windows. Mom and I also hung curtains in my dining room and put some stuff up on Luke's walls. His room is the one that is closest to being done. I'm just lacking curtains and some other small decorating things. I've also been enjoying doing laundry with my new washer and dryer - they are so much quicker than my old ones!

Sam goes to his first full day of Kindergarten tomorrow. When I picked him up the first day, he told me that he had made 2 new friends, the second day he asked if one of them could come over to play. So, my goal tomorrow at the K Mom's meet and greet is to track the new friends mom down and get their number. When we told him he was going back to school tomorrow, he got excited - so that's a good sign! I think we might even attempt to do the bus on Tuesday. We've been watching it pick up and drop off the kids everyday and most of the neighbor kids ride it, so I feel a little better about it now. Baby steps...

If you ask me about my day...

2008-08-21T14:55:00.001-05:00

...I'll cry.

We made it!

2008-08-21T14:36:00.002-05:00

After a long day on Monday, we made it into the new house all in one piece! It has been an insane week and I really shouldn't be blogging right now, but I had to take a little break! Luke is asleep, Sam and Gabe are playing in their room, the internet is finally working right, so I thought I would say a quick hello before I go take a quick nap before we leave to go pick my mom up at the airport.

We have sheets taped up on our windows, we have a little 20 inch TV sitting on our coffee table, on top of TIVO and the DVD player, and boxes everywhere. It's a mess, but I love it! There are so many new, wonderful things about this house that you will son be hearing about. But right now, I'll leave you with a picture of one of them...