Potty Training! Uggg!

Here is a picture of Benjamin in his new big boy underwear. Doesn't he look adorable? Everytime I put them on him he takes off running through the house with excitement. I started potty training him yesterday. He is doing a little better today than he did yesterday. I hope each day shows improvement. I love to see my boys achieve every milestone, but this one is not my favorite.....I actually despise this part of them "growing up" because potty training is not easy and it's very messy!! I hope I don't lose my mind.....LOL! Wish us luck!!

Sprout Studios

My Dad took all of us on another fun outing last week. Mom went with us too. We went to an indoor play place in Knoxville called Sprout Studios. The boys loved it so much. They did not want to leave when it was time to go. Thanks Dad!

Christmas 2008

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. We spent time with family at Papaw and Granny Snow's house on Christmas Eve. The boys opened their gifts first thing Christmas morning and we had breakfast here at our house with Mi-mi and Papaw Johnson and Granny and Papaw Snow. After that, we went to Keith's sister and her husband's house for dinner and it was very yummy. We had lots of fun visiting with our family there, we always enjoy going to their house. After that, we went to my sister and her husband's house to spend time with them. The boys had fun there too. Needless to say, they had a really big, fun day and Keith and I were exhausted by the end of the day. The only problem we are having since yesterday is lots of fighting over the Christmas toys. I am actually hearing an argument in Jacob's room right now as I type. Benjamin is crying, so I guess he lost this one. LOL! I have stopped trying to referee the battles. I just let them go at it.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

What's On My Tree Wednesday

Merry Christmas to everyone! Wow, December has flown by! I can't believe Santa comes tonight! The boys will be so excited in the morning when they get to open their gifts and see what Santa has brought them. The magic of Christmas has come alive again for me since I have had kids and it's so fun! I hope everyone is having as much fun as Keith and I.

Before I share my last ornaments with you, I would like to tell you about an amazing opportunity I had this morning. It came about on Monday when I was talking on the phone with my Mary Kay beauty consultant. She told me that she had a very crazy question to ask me and if I said "no", she would not be upset. She proceeded to tell me that her husband was the Chaplain at NHC Nursing Home in Farragut and every Christmas Eve they have a small church service for the residents there and asked if I would come and sing a solo for them. I immediately said "yes" and told her that I did not think her question was crazy at all. I saw it as an opportunity to spend Christmas the way it should be spent..........blessing others and sharing Jesus. Even though I went with intentions of blessing others through my songs, I ended up being the one that was blessed most of all. I have never heard the Christmas story told in a more beautiful way than it was told this morning by the preacher, Rev. Edsel West. It brought me to tears. He told the story with such compassion and his words painted a picture in my mind as if I were actually there in Bethlehem watching it all happen with my very own eyes. It was beautiful. I hope I get invited back again next Christmas Eve. I will definitely be ready and willing to go if they ask me.

Now back to the tree ornaments. These ornaments are the most special ornaments in the world! My babies made them. Actually Jacob made most of them because he has been in school longer than Benji, but Benji will catch up soon enough.

1st ornament: Jacob made this Rudolph ornament when he was 2 years old in preschool. The antlers are his hands traced and cut out. So precious!!

2nd ornament: Jacob made this Stocking in preschool when he was 2 years old.

3rd ornament: Jacob made this Angel ornament in church when he was 2 years old.

4th ornament: Jacob made this Christmas tree ornament when he was 3 years old in preschool.

5th picture: Finally Benjamin made something!! These are picture frames they made in preschool. I put them on my fridge. Jacob made his when he was 2 years old and Benji made his this year and he is 2 years old. They are the same ages in these pictures. I love them!!

I hope you have enjoyed all of my ornaments. I have enjoyed sharing them with you. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, and Blessed 2009. May God Bless You All!!

What's On My Tree Wednesday

Wow! It has been so hectic around here lately. Christmas time is really busy! Jacob is also playing basketball now and that has kept us busy as well. He had his first game this past Saturday and had a blast. He really likes it! He thinks he is a pro! None of the kids have a clue as to what they are doing. It is so cute. They even try to steal the ball away from their own team mates .....lol! I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. Hopefully I will have time to post about some of his games after Christmas.

I decided to show you two ornaments this week. The stockings are from last year and the snowmen are from this year. Mi-mi got them too. We love all the ornaments she picks out for them. Benjamin helped me take the pictures of the ornaments just a little while ago. The pictures didn't turn out very well because the batteries in my camera were getting weak. Every time I would take a picture, Benji would say " I wanna see"....so I would have to let him look at every one of them. I took about (what seemed like) 400 pictures just to get these, and they are not that good. I want one of those cameras like you Amanda!! Maybe someday.

Next week I am going to try and post some of the ornaments the boys have made at school. Those are the REALLY special ones!

Hope you all like the ornaments..........until next time........................

What's On My Tree Wednesday

It's Wednesday again and it's time to tell you all about the ornaments on our Christmas Tree. If you are just looking at my blog for the first time in a while and don't really understand what this is all about, just go back to last Wednesday's post and it will give you a little background.

These ornaments don't really have any special sentimental value, except that Jacob and Benjamin really like the "Snowboarding Santas" with their names on them.........and the fact that Mi-mi (my Mom) got them for the boys helps too. :) Mi-mi gets the boys a personalized ornament each year. These ornaments were from last year. Hope you like them. We think they are cool and fun!

Jumpity Jump

The boys' Papaw Johnson (my dad) took us to Jumpity Jump today. The boys had so much fun and they were so tired when we left. That is a good place to go if you want to tire your kids out. They took a good nap when we got home. Papaw took us out for pizza afterwards and the boys really loved that too. Thank you Daddy for such a great time today.

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged by Brandi to describe myself in 6 words. I am also tagging everyone who reads my blog to do the same. This is a fun way of describing ourselves. Thanks Brandi!

Here's mine:

I'm Livin' Life and Lovin' It

What's On My Tree Wednesday

I am stealing this idea from a blogger friend of mine. She got the idea from another blogger as she tells in her "What's On My Tree Wednesday" blog from last week. Thanks for the idea Amanda! This will be a weekly post telling about some of our favorite Christmas tree ornaments.

I remember our Christmas tree when my sister and I were growing up. It was covered with ornaments that we had made in school. We always said it was tacky looking when we were kids because of all the handmade ornaments......... but our Mom said she didn't care what we thought of the tree because our handmade ornaments were special to her and she was not going to change it for anything in the world. Now that I am a Mommy, I know exactly what she was talking about. I have two precious boys who are in preschool and all of the ornaments that they have made are going on my tree and I don't care how tacky it makes it look! I will think it's beautiful no matter what. Thank you for not changing our tacky Christmas tree Mom!

The ornaments for this week are my boys "First Christmas" ornaments. Jacob's ornament is the teddy bear in the baby shoe and Benjamin's is the teddy bear sleeping on the moon. Jacob was 3 months old on his first Christmas and Benjamin was 8 months old on his first Christmas. Having kids has changed my whole outlook on Christmas. It is now more special because I can share the true meaning of Christmas with them.........the birth of Jesus. And of course, we do the fun Santa stuff too!....but we are really emphasizing the true meaning.

Hope you enjoy my weekly ornament posts. I am looking forward to sharing our ornaments with you all because they are so special to us. Until next time.........................

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas!

I finally got our Christmas tree up today. The boys are so excited! They are helping me decorate it. They love all of the decorations I have put up all over the house and outside too. Jacob has a 4 ft. Christmas tree in his room that he is very excited about. We are going to have to get one for Benjamin too. I have been letting them paint little ceramic ornaments and that is what they decorate the tree in Jacob's room with. They have been asking all day when they are going to get presents. This Christmas is going to be really fun for Keith and I because we can watch our two boys enjoy Christmas together. Last year, Benjamin had no clue what was going on. Now, when he sees Santa, he says "Wook Mommy, ith Santaaaaa"......and when he sees Christmas lights on people's houses, he says "Wook Mommy, Cwithmuth!"(translation:"Christmas"). It's too cute! We hope every one has a very Merry Christmas!!

Cousins visiting for Thanksgiving!

Jacob and Benjamin's cousins (Jaden and Josh) are visiting with us for Thanksgiving! They live in South Carolina and we are so happy when they get to come visit with us. Jacob and Benjamin are so excited they can barely contain themselves right now. I took this picture of them just a few minutes ago. Can you see how wound up they are? I have warned the 3 older boys to be careful around little Benjamin and don't hurt him with their roughness. After observing the boys playing together for a while, it turns out that Benjamin is the rowdiest of them all! The bigger boys are having to watch out for Benjamin. LOL!
They have played with every toy in the house, they have watched a movie, they have played hide n' seek, and many other games. Needless to say, Jacob's bedroom is unrecognizable right now, but they are having lots of fun trashing it. They will be having a clean-up party tomorrow morning. It's almost bedtime now, thank goodness.
I hope all of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of you. May God Bless You All!

First Basketball Practice

Jacob had his first basketball practice this past Thursday night. He enjoyed it so much! He can't wait until his next practice and he can't wait until his first game. He asks me all the time when his first game is going to be. We are having lots of fun! The coach told us that this age group will not have official referees at the games and they are not even going to keep score. The coaches are going to be the referees. They said it's all about introducing the game to the kids and getting the them comfortable with the game of basketball. I kinda like that for his first year. We will keep everyone posted on when his games are going to be and how he does. Stay tuned!

I've Been Tagged!

I have been tagged by a friend of mine, Amanda, to do the following:

Open the 4th picture folder on my computer.

Choose the 4th picture in that file.

Explain the picture.

Tag 4 people to do the same.

Explanation of picture:

When I first saw that I had been tagged to do this, my first thought was "oh how fun!".....but when I followed the instructions of what I had been tagged to do, and realized that it was this picture I was going to have to post on my blog I was horrified because of the way I looked. I even debated whether or not I should pick another picture because no one would know if I was lying or not.....LOL! But, then I started to think about the joy of that day. This picture was taken in the hospital shortly after Benjamin was born. Keith and I were so happy. You probably couldn't tell that I was happy because I looked so rough (and believe me, it was a rough delivery), but the joy I felt inside was beyond explanation......so......that is why I decided to go ahead play by the rules and post this picture. In the end, it was lots of fun! Thanks for including me Amanda.

Thank you Lord for blessing us with such wonderful children. We give God all the Glory! We love you Jacob and Benjamin!

I only have two other blog friends that I can tag, so.........tag your it Brandi Clifton and Buffy Snow! Buffy, I understand if you don't have time to do this right now!!! Hope all is well with the new arrival and the rest of the family.

It's Frog!

I opened the blinds in the kitchen this morning while the boys were eating their breakfast. Jacob noticed that the grass looked white and he yelled "Mommy, it snowed!". I politely corrected him and said "No, Jacob, that is called frost".......he rebutted and said "No, Mommy, it's snow!". I once again calmly reiterated, "No Jacob, it's frost". He didn't say anything else and continued to eat his breakfast. Keep in mind that Benjamin is sitting at the breakfast table listening to this small argument between Jacob and I.
A little later, we got in the van to head to preschool and I opened the garage doors to pull out and Jacob once again said "Look Mommy, SNOW!"........before I could correct him once again, Benjamin chimed in and yelled "NO JACOB, IT'S FROG!!!"
I guess Benjamin was tired of hearing me correct Jacob and wanted the whole thing to end once and for all!....little did he know, he also needed correcting..........but I didn't even go there!!! LOL!!!!

Basketball Sign Ups

I signed Jacob up for Basketball today. He is so excited! So am I! I can't wait until he starts playing. They told me today that they would call me with all the details about who's team he will be on and practice times and so forth. I will keep you all posted! Basketball, here we come!!!

We Lost

It's sad, but true. The Red Sox lost tonight to the Braves. I think the final score was 17-13. We were missing 3 players tonight and the players we did have seemed to be a little off their game. That's okay though..... it's just a game and what is important is that the kids have fun. I also think it's getting too cold to have games. We were told by our coaches that next week will be our last game.

Jacob played really well tonight. He got up to bat 4 times and hit the ball every time! He scored two runs! He also played catcher tonight and was very proud of that. I think he likes playing that position because he is constantly getting to throw the ball. He doesn't have much of an opportunity to get bored at catcher.

Hopefully I will gave better news next ballgame post, but if not, I can truly say that we have had a blast this fall!!! Go Red Sox!

Jacob the Drummer Boy!

Jacob got to play the drums in the church service this morning! He played for the choir when they sang "This Little Light of Mine". He played perfect! He got a huge round of applause when he finished. You should have seen him trying his best not to smile as he walked back to his seat. He is doing really well with his drum playing. He practices everyday on the set of drums we have for him in the garage (thank goodness they are in the garage!) We are so proud of him. We are hoping he will be as good as his Daddy someday. At this rate, it is for certain that he will be!

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful unto Him and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, New King James Version

Way to go Red Sox!

We won last nights game! Jacob had a wonderful night! He hit the ball every time he got up to bat and he even scored two runs! He also got to play several different positions. He played his normal position, left field, and then he was switched to center field where he stopped a ball and threw it infield and then he was put on second base and nothing came his way, and then he was put in the pitcher's circle where he stopped a ball and threw it to first. He didn't quite throw it hard enough to get the runner out, but we were so proud of him anyway! Also, Pastor Ronnie came to watch him play last night and he was proud of that too. Thank you Pastor Ronnie!

We only have 3 more games and then fall ball will be over. I will be sad to give it up for the winter. I already can't wait until spring ball!

HALLOWEEN FUN!

Jacob and Benjamin were so excited to go trick or treating last night! It was all I could do to get them to be still for this picture. I left my camera at home after this because they were over getting their picture taken.....so these are the only Halloween night pics I was able to get. Their Mi-Mi and Aunt Lissy went with us! Jacob was a blue Power Ranger and Benjamin was a baby pirate. They gots lots of candy and had tons of fun. Benjamin got tired of trick or treating half way through and just stayed in the van with me. He had a sucker and that's all he needed to be happy.....lol! After we got home Jacob was so tired that he acutally asked to go to bed! These are memories I will treasure forever.

We won!!

Jacob's baseball team won again last night!! Thanks to the coach on the other team, Jacob got a hit on his first time up to bat. Let me explain: The batter is only allowed to have 5 pitches, if he doesn't hit the ball by the 5th pitch, he is out. Well Jacob missed his 5th pitch and the coach of the other team yelled "Foul Ball!"........and he let Jacob have another pitch. Jacob hit the 6th pitch and got to run the bases. He was so proud of himself! Thank you coach of the other team! He also did really good in the outfield and he is having lots of fun. There was only one downfall to last night's game....................IT WAS COLD!!!! Brrrrrr......................................

Playtime with cousins!

Jacob and Benjamin loved having their cousins visiting with them. They played together non-stop. These are pics from the Roane County Park. Granny went with us too. They had a blast! Jaden and Josh had to go back home to South Carolina yesterday. We miss them already!! Can't wait to see them again.

Spooktacular!

Jacob and Benjamin's cousins, Jaden and Josh, are visiting us from South Carolina! We are enjoying them being with us so much! They spent the night with us last night and went with us to "Spooktacular" at Fort SouthWest Point today. The boys dressed up and got lots of candy! They had a really fun time. Jaden was a Pirate, Josh was a Ninja, Jacob was a Power Ranger, and Benjamin was a Baby Pirate. They were too cute! We love our family so much!

The Red Sox won again!!

Jacob's baseball team won again Monday night. Way to go Red Sox!! Jacob did a little bit better at batting this time. He got up to bat twice and he struck out once and got a hit the the other time. He was very happy. He was okay with striking out one time. We didn't have any meltdowns after the game. I think he was okay with getting to hit it only once. Some of our other players had a bad batting night too. That's just part of it. It can't always be perfect. We didn't win very big this time. I think the final score was 8-5. We played the Mets and they were a very good team. It's amazing how these small children learn and improve so quickly. I don't think the Mets had all of their players there Monday night, so we better get ready for the next time we play them because they mean business!! I think all of the kids on all of the teams are so sweet. I want them all to do good regardless of what team they are on. I find myself sometimes clapping for kids on the other teams. That's just my heart. Until next time...................Go Red Sox!!

I Have Been Blessed

If you have your speakers on right now, you can hear a song playing called "Blessed" by Martina McBride. The words of this song exactly describes where I am at in my life right now. I am so Blessed with a wonderful husband, two awesome boys, a home, clothes to wear, food to eat, a family that loves me and so much more. I could go on and on telling you what the Lord has blessed me with. I give God all the Glory for all the things he has done in my life.

Blessed

I get kissed by the sun each morning

Put my feet on a hardwood floor

I get to hear my children laughing

Down the hall through the bedroom door

Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing

Just soaking up the day

I think to myself, I think to myself

This world is a beautiful place

I have been blessed

And I feel like I've found my way

I thank God for all I've been given

At the end of every day

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve

To be here with the ones who love me

To love them so much it hurts

I have been blessed

Across the crowded room

I know you know what I'm thinking

By the way I look at you

And when we're lying in the quiet

And no words have to be said

I think to myself, I think to myself

This love is a beautiful gift

I have been blessed

And I feel like I've found my way

I thank God for all I've been given

At the end of every day

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve

To be here with the ones who love me

To love them so much it hurts

I have been blessed

When I'm singing my kids to sleep

When I feel you holding me

I know

I AM SO BLESSED!!!

Pumpkin Carving!

After much begging, we carved Jacob and Benjamin's pumpkins. Jacob was so excited when we got started and then he smelled the pumpkin guts and said "ewww....that stinks!" I laughed. Needless to say, he didn't help anymore with cleaning the pumpkin out. He started helping again once it was carving time. I let him pop the eyes, nose and mouth out once I carved them. After Jacob's pumpkin was finished, he said "I love it!!!". I didn't even bother to tell him that Mommy didn't do such a good job, I just let him think that it was the greatest in the world. Keith carved Benjamin's pumpkin for him. I think after he saw Jacob's pumpkin and what a terrible job I had done, he wanted to save Benjamin's. I have to admit, Keith did a better job than me, but I won't admit that to him. LOL!!! Regardless, the boys love their jack-o'-lanterns and that makes it all worth it!! They can't wait to light them up tonight! I guess you could say we are starting early. LOL! I hope the pumpkins don't rot before Halloween night.

Oh, by the way, yes Jacob had a wardrobe change during all of this as you will notice in the pictures. Once we finished with his pumpkin he went inside and put on his motorcycle racing outfit. This is not his Halloween outfit this year, it's just one of his many costumes that he likes to play in. He is going to be a Power Ranger this year.....the blue one. You will see that one on my Halloween post. Until then...........Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Autumn Acres Pumpkin Patch

Jacob, Benjamin and I took a trip today to Autumn Acres Pumpkin Patch in Crossville. We went with the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group that I am in. All us Mommys and our kids went together and had a wonderful time. We went on the hayride to the pumpkin patch first. That was so fun! The boys loved riding on the wagon pulled by the tractor. Benjamin kept saying "Mommy....wook.......twactor". The boys had so much fun picking out their very own pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Benjamin calls his pumpkin a "twactor punkin" because he associates the whole thing with the tractor. For those of you who don't know....Benjamin absolutely loves tractors. He spots one everywhere we go. Needless to say, we have already washed the pumpkins off and put them on display on our front porch. They are so proud of them! Benjamin has already had to go out on the porch just to give his pumpkin a hug. So sweet!

When we were finished with the hayride, we went through the corn maze which was alot of fun. The boys loved running through the corn stalks on the paths that were cut out. We went on a maze that was not difficult at all and I still felt lost. LOL!!

The boys did many other fun things which consisted of but was not limited to playing on the playground, looking at the animals, and riding the barrel train. This train was home-made. It was made of cut-out plastic barrels which were hitched together and pulled by a 4 wheeler. I don't think it was the safest thing in the world but they loved it! We are definitely going to make this an annual event! I already can't wait till Autumn Acres 2009!