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!!