Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Mama,

First of all, you were right. About what? About pretty much everything!

Second, I'm sorry! For what? For being dramatic, for being a slob, for only cleaning the entire kitchen ONCE, for that time I made you cry at the Sizzler for being so darn bad and ungrateful.

Also, Thank you! For what? For forcing me to make friends, for getting me little surprises, for cooking a good meal for me every day and making restaurant trips (even fast food) a treat, for coming to my many thousand sporting events, for not letting me wear too much makeup, for making me bring home decent grades, for teaching me to save money, for letting me learn some things the hard way, for letting me talk about nothing on the phone and for loving all the people that love me.

Love you Mama!

My Goings On

It's been a long time since I've posted and boy, we've had a LOT going on. I'm still pregnant and feeling more so every day! Right now, I'm 21 weeks!


Some days I feel huge but this picture doesn't look like it for some reason.

In case you didn't know.......

The blue blanket means we're having (another) BOY!
Jason and I have narrowed our choices down to 3 names. He won't give me free reign so I told him to choose between the 3. He's really, really procrastinating. Right now, his name is Mister Baby Robinson but if his DADDY hasn't made a decision in a few days, he's going to become Cletus the Fetus.

He may not have a name...

But he has a diaper bag!


Also, we color coordinated for Easter :)


My sweet Joe gets better looking every day! I just don't know what I'm going to do with him!


Today, on the way to school, Joe and I saw the most gigantor turtle I have ever seen:

My Dad thinks he was a gopher tortoise, about 12-15 years old and not even full grown!
I wanted to put my shoe in the picture for perspective but I was afraid he would bite my foot off (turns out they're gentle). From my estimate, he was about 2 feet long from his nose to his tail. His shell was like a serving platter!

Last, but certainly not least, the bittersweet news.

My dear, sweet Grandma passed away March 30th. She was just a wonderful person. She was well loved and well taken care of. I already miss her so much, but I know, thanks to my Savior Jesus Christ, I will see her again! She is no longer sick, she is no longer missing her husband, and she is rocking her only baby boy.

Thank y'all for reading and I'll see you again soon!

In Case You Were Wondering.....

I've been MIA lately because I've been keeping the world's toughest secret!



I've been busy growing THIS:

This precious little teddy graham will make his/her appearance in September and we couldn't be happier!

I am 10 weeks and he/she is the size of a lime!

Joe is just ecstatic as are Jason and I!

Playing Catch-Up

Alternately titled: A really long post with all the news and pictures I've been neglecting.

I really am going to revive my blog. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I'm here and I haven't forgotten about it.

Given my lack of posts since Thanksgiving, I should probably catch all 3 of you up on our business.

We survived another semester and *hopefully* have gotten to the bottom of Joe's behavior problems. Undiagnosed severe ADHD can lead a Mother to crazytown. WE are all MUCH better now though.

I made the President's list with my 4.0 for the fall semester. This one however, I'm hoping just to survive! 19 hours....geez!

We had a wonderful, amazing Christmas:

These are my favorite types of family photos!


Joe got a Terrance Cody jersey from Aunt Micki and he was SO happy! He is wearing it at school as we speak. He also slept in it last night!


We got him this big Cody photo which he freaked out over!


These are all the cousins/grandchildren on my Mama's side of the family. When we were taking the picture, they said "tall ones in the back." We just looked at each other and laughed!


This might be the only photo of all 3 of us from Christmas day.


All of us but my Dad who had to work. Mom, thanks for making me look pale! Tall, but pale.

Which is quite the opposite of my friends Rachel Red and Allie:

Who make me look rather tan, but short!

Now let me tell you what my dear, sweet husband has been up to:

Oh, not much, just killing the first deer of his life! 9 point buck, 178 lbs! We will be eating deer meat for at least a year and I couldn't be more excited!


Jason and Adam were in the shooting house together when he got it. He used Adam's gun because the scope is better. Adam has also killed a doe this year!

Jason has also been flooring our attic:

Callie tried to help!

Also, there was this little thing called ALABAMA GOING UNDEFEATED AND WINNING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!! ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well folks, I promise to do better. If you're still reading this and still care about our lives, I'll keep it going. Maybe 2010 will be more interesting!

Thankful!

Well hey there! It's been a while huh? In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to share some things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Period. It doesn't get any better than that.

I am thankful for my husband. I still wonder every day what in the world he saw in me, a 20 something single mother, college dropout, bartender, bitter young girl. He has turned my life around. He has become a wonderful father and role model to Joe. He supports us while I finish school. He works very hard and never complains or asks why he pays for health insurance for a child with whom he shares no DNA. He is a wonderful, godly man and a selfless provider. As I have seen at least 4 marriages of friends dissolve in the past year, I have never felt better and more stable in my life. He is the epitome of a good husband and (thankfully) has the patience of a saint!

I am thankful for Joe. He tests me every SINGLE DAY, but I am thankful that he is healthy, relatively happy and that he loves Jesus. During a time when I should have absolutely no patience, I have learned through him, that I am capable of being patient and handling situations as they come.

I am thankful for all the wonderful things I have in my life. I have every single thing in the world I could ever NEED.

I am thankful for all the wonderful Thanksgivings I spent at my family's cabin in North Carolina. Nothing will ever replace those wonderful memories. I love my family so much and it makes me sad to think of how much has changed since we last went there 10 years ago.

This year I will be making Apple cider glazed pumpkin cake, roasted green beans with garlic, mashed potatoes, and rolls. I will do my best to post recipes in the coming days.

Jessica's Baby Shower

Well hello there! It's been a while! I started this blog for a few reasons, the most important being to keep our family and friends (who wish to be updated) updated on what we're up to. Then I dreamt up all these aspirations and goals for my writing. As it turns out, I just don't have time to be a good, witty writer. That being said, I do have time to do what I set out to do in the beginning, tell my family (who are all far away) just what the heck is going on here. So, what's up you ask? Well, this past weekend, Jason and I headed up to Huntsville for our friend Jessica's baby shower.


There were a lot of sweet girls there and Jessica got some great gifts for baby Hayden.


I learned that diaper cakes are in no way edible, they are however, adorable.

We played some fun games

like sniffing diapers




But I didn't forget that Alabama was playing on Saturday.

I at least wore crimson!

But then I changed and headed to watch the game with the boys.

I LOVE ALABAMA FOOTBALL!!


Jason and Chad coordinated outfits. Actually, about half of the state coordinated outfits most likely.


I promise not to neglect y'all anymore....just don't expect greatness!

PETA is going to loooooove me for this one.

Disclaimer: I can't stand PETA or anything they stand for. I don't condone abusing anyone or anything, but I find it disgusting that some people value the life of an animal over that of a human.

With that said, let me tell y'all about my weekend! Friday morning we headed south to visit my Mama 'n' them. Friday afternoon was spent visiting all of my wonderful Grandparents.

Friday evening, we ate dinner at Tokyo, a Japanese/Hibachi place in Fairhope. The highlight of the night was Joe catching a flying scrambled egg in his mouth! Where was I with the video camera?!? Then, we spent (literally) 4 hours at the new (and amazing) Bass Pro Shop in Spanish Fort. Joe was relatively well behaved and had some spending money. What did he buy with his money you ask? I left all the options open and he RETURNED A TOY TO THE SHELF so he could buy a bag of buffalo jerky and a camo visor. What can I say, we are a family with a high jerky consumption.

Saturday began with a trip to the Urgent Care facility because Jason's hair hurt Jason was having as-yet-undiagnosed pain on the side of his head and in his ear. After paying the $25 copay, the Doctor sent us to Walgreens to buy a bottle of $6 over the counter drops.

The day picked up when we headed for the beach around lunch time. The boys fished on the newly opened Gulf State Park fishing pier while my Mom and I slipped into sloth mode. Jason and Adam caught a few hardtails, ale wives, saltwater catfish, and these little suckers:

The Remora, or as Joe calls it, shark sucker. These are the fellas that attach to a shark by suction and basically live the life of a mooching, lazy boyfriend.

But......the high point of the day................was THIS:

MY DADDY CAUGHT A SHARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He believes it was an Atlantic Shark about 5 feet in length.

He was a pier celebrity for a hot second!!

Here's what stunk though, we had to release it (along with more than a few dollars worth of tackle). There is no shark fishing allowed on this pier so we couldn't even pull him up.
My friends, we are just not good at catch and release fishing. If it's edible, it's usually fileted and consumed with hush puppies. And yes, sharks are edible.

PETA, you're welcome!

Two Years (!!!)

Today is our anniversary! If you couldn't tell by my headline, it has been 2 years. Two years may not seem very significant to, say.....my grandparents who have been married for 50+ years, but I'm very proud of it.

How it started: I met Jason while waitressing (yeah....I know). I admired him from afar and one day something just clicked with both of us. So, no, it wasn't "love at first sight." I've always been a very self reliant person. You will never hear the words "meant to be" or anything like that come out of my mouth. I believe we make our own futures. But, let me tell you, when I started dating Jason, I got slapped across the face with a healthy dose of "meant to be."

I love him so much. Our personalities go together like warm pecan pie and ice cream.....but our temperaments....more like pickles and cheesecake! He is very sweet, easygoing, and patient. Me? Well, I'm none of those things. He keeps me grounded.

We got married on Friday, the 13th of July 2007. Our wedding was very low key and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

We were supposed to get married on the beach, but my sensitive eyes got the best of me and I decided I couldn't do it without my sunglasses, so we got married in a gazebo instead.

It still made for good pictures.

We had our reception at the hotel bar! (Yeah...I know)

This was my Daddy's favorite photo.

Then we went back to the beach for a few more pictures.

That sand was HOT!

Then we left! Like I said, very low key.


Joe and I both love him so much! I know we'll celebrate many more anniversaries together.

Three Things I Absolutely LOVE Today!

In the past 3 hours, I have captured 3 things that make my heart pump peanut butter...

1. Jason (on his own accord) bought and used this new toy:

Yes, boys and girls, that is the Cadillac of floor cleaners. Don't deny a man his Shark if he is prepared to use it. I love it. It is amazing. Period.

2. Although she is probably in an immense amount of pain..

My precious new kitty, Callie, is home and she is resting rather adorably. I think I like her.

3.The wonderful City of Alabaster puts on a Free outdoor movie on Friday nights

Jason, Joe, Big Joe, and I went and had a great time. It's definitely better than paying 18 dollars to sit in the theater and freeze your eyeballs out.

I'm also quite excited because I'm going yardsaling in the morning. Don't be jealous :)

The New Kitty

We've actually been pretty busy since the last time I've been able to make a decent post. We went to the beach for the 4th and I don't have many pictures because I always feel like I'm missing out by only seeing things through the camera lens. I think I may hire a photographer to follow us around....maybe we could get a VH1 show...

I digress.

We came back from the beach with a little souvenir....

Yes, my husband is on his way to becoming a "crazy cat lady."

I have to admit though...she's cute.

She sounds like a squeaky toy when she meows.
The vet said she was about 5 months old and handed me a bill for $400.

Ok, it didn't go down quite like that, but between vaccinations, spaying, and declawing...we'll just call this the most expensive free cat ever!

While at the beach we also watched some fireworks...which I did attempt to photograph with my camera's fireworks setting...

I find this oddly disturbing for reasons I can't quite put my finger on.

Jason had so much fun,

Can you tell?

In other news, Joe (who will not touch the likes of ranch dressing or ketchup) ate sushi...happily.

He also asked how water was made.

Joe: How do you make water?
Me: With hydrogen and oxygen.
Joe: What's hydrogen?
Me: An element.


(pondering)



Joe: What in the world does an elephant have to do with making water?

Beach Vacation-Day 2

Day 2 was pretty much the same as Day 1. There was a lot of playing at the beach, some good food, crab hunting at night and golf on the way home the next day.


The water was a little bit rougher.


Joe wiped out a few times.


Which caused a wardrobe malfunction or 2.


I even braved the huge waves.


We went to dinner at the Tin Top (amazing) with our friend Charlie and his brand new baby boy, Braydon. I should have taken a picture of the baby, but I wasn't sure if he would appreciate the flash photography.


Then we came home and hunted for sand crabs.


If you've ever seen a sand crab, you can probably appreciate the size of that bodybuilder trying to climb out the left side.


Little Bear Grylls here showed us that he could catch them with his bare hands. I've never seen it done....ever.


Then he found out why people don't catch sand crabs with their bare hands.


We had so much fun, and I wish we could have stayed longer. Friday we got up and played golf.

That's some amazing form.

We stopped in Fairhope on the way home to watch my brother's last baseball game. Man, he's good.

If you can stomach the cuteness, here's a video of Joe wiping out in the waves.

Beach Vacation-Day1

After Joe's graduation last Tuesday night, we drove straight to Orange Beach. Joe fell asleep about 45 minutes into the trip, so that definitely made the four hour drive more pleasant.

Fast forward....we were literally 100 yards from our condo and we saw blue lights behind us. When the officer walked up, Jason accidentally let down the back window instead of the front to expose our little sleeping angel in the back seat. The officer asked if he was okay because he had been weaving. Jason told him that his weary eyes were just taking in all the scenery of how much Orange Beach had changed since he lived there. After running Jason's license and seeing he was clean as a whistle, and upon realization that the only things being consumed in our car were Gatorade and beef jerky, he let us go and told us to have a safe night.

We got to the condo and went straight to bed, but not before Joe had a good old fashioned freak out about the wonderfulness of the bunk beds.

Wednesday morning we played at the beach.....a lot!


I think this might be my favorite picture of all time.


I had to educate Joe on the fine art of sandcastle building.

The water was really rough, so we spent a good deal of time at the pool (We got brave the next days).

Joe impressed the innocent bystanders with his cannonball.


SUCCESS!


Well....almost.


Jason caught a ride on the float.

It was a great day. We all got some sun and after getting cleaned up, we ate dinner at the Original Oyster House with our friend Jay. Before heading home, we ate ice cream at Scoops.

To make the night even more exciting, I fell asleep at 8:45. I'm cool like that.