First Naughty Chair Infraction

Since this blog is our family scrapbook/photo album/baby books/etc. all rolled into one. I feel that I must document Drew's first experience with the naughty chair...

While I was fixing dinner, Drew got into the fireplace and got ashes everywhere (face, hands, clothes, floor). He has been told multiple, multiple times "No touch!" when he gets near the fireplace. So, today he got to spend some time in the naughty chair for the offense. :(

I remember distinctly the first time that I put Clayton in this very same naughty chair. (Yes, I took pictures of him the first time, too.) He was about the same age and he couldn't have cared less. He just sat there with his feet crossed and looked around until I got him up. It didn't really seem to bother him.

Well, Drew is our sensitive child.

It hurt his heart to have to sit in the naughty chair. You could just tell. He cried and cried - big, huge crocodile tears.


Poor little bug! It made me so sad to punish him, but I know that is what I am called to do as his mother. It still stinks, though. :(

Hi, there! Have we met???

Drew looked so old yesterday in his jeans and a hoodie. Where did my baby go???

I loved Drew being a baby, but it sure is fun watching him grow, too. :)

Fondue Rendezvous 2010

I was blessed to live with the sweetest 4 roommates EVER (excluding my current "roommate", of course!) during my last year at A&M. We had a blast together that year! We are all totally different, but meshed really well together. I wouldn't trade that year at 2521 Ashford for all of the money in the world!

When I moved out, Laura, moved into my room. She is such a neat girl! I only wish that I could have lived with her also. That was during the 2000-2001 school year. That Christmas Katie invited us all to do fondue at her parents' house. Y'all, I have never been the same since. :) It was sooo yummy!

The tradition stuck and we have gotten together every year since then for our annual Fondue Rendezvous. I think that, after 9 years, we have all of the recipes down to a fine science. It is definitely my favorite meal of the year!

We start with cheese fondue with apples and french bread. Then we eat a super yummy salad. Next is the meat & veggie fondue. And, for the grand finale, we have chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple, pound cake, marshmallows, and pretzels. We eat for like 4 hours - no lie. I've learned to eat a light breakfast and skip lunch to save up for the evening. I'm telling you, it's a fine science...

This year we were able to host at our house. It was so fun! We missed Cindy (who is just days away from having Baby Andrew and couldn't travel) and Laura (who is preparing to move her family across the country as we speak). It wasn't complete without those two, for sure! But... we made do... ;)

Top Row (L to R): Halie, Moi, Katie, Traci
Bottom Row (L to R): Steve, Wade, Wes, CJ

Halie, Me, Katie, Traci

I am so thankful for my 2521 girls! We had so much fun together in college, and, even though we don't get to see each other very often nowadays, we can always pick up right where we left off. That's the mark of a really good friend, I'd say. Here's to many, many more years of friendship & fondue!

Conversations with Clayton

Clayton and I had read the story of Abraham in his Children's Bible one morning. At lunch, Clayton was telling Wade about the story. Wade taught him the Father Abraham song (remember that one?). We all did the motions and Clayton thought it was great fun.

Well, after lunch Wade took Clayton up to his room for a rest. He said that he stood at the door listening to him talk to his stuffed animals for a little while. He was talking about Abraham and singing Father Abraham song to them. All of the sudden, he said to himself (as if he had had a great epiphany), "Hey! Father Abraham is Abraham Lincoln!!!"
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Wade was telling Clayton the Christmas story one night before bed. Wade told him that Jesus' father was a carpenter. Clayton stopped him mid-sentence and said, "So, Jesus was a Carpenter like us?!?!?"
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Clayton has been getting into trouble lately for being too rough with Drew. Yes, I know that they are brothers and that wrestling in the floor is just going to be the way of life around our house. But, tackling our 1 year old and knocking him to the ground seems a little extreme.

Anyway, one afternoon we were driving in the car and I heard Clayton say, "I just love Drew soooo much!" I looked back and they were holding hands. It was a sweet moment.

I thought this would be a good teaching moment to point out that we should be kind to our loved ones. So, I asked Clayton, "If you love Drew so much, why were you so rough with him this morning." He thought for a minute and then answered very matter-of-factly, "Well, Mommy, we all sin sometimes."
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Drew loves to knock block towers over. It is one of his greatest joys in life. He got a set of cardboard blocks for Christmas from his Grammie & Papaw for the sole purpose of us building him towers to knock over.

Last week Clayton was building with them. He saw Drew coming towards his block creation and stopped him immediately, "Drew! Don't knock it over! I'm building the wall of Jericho!" He reached down on the floor and grabbed his Little Einstein trumpet and handed it to Drew. He said, "Here's your horn."



Now you know why my laugh lines are getting deeper and deeper. That crazy boy keeps us in stitches around here. ;)

Happy New Year!

2010 - Doesn't that just sound like it's going to be a great year???

It's the beginning of a whole new decade. Isn't that exciting?!?! I can't help but to think back to the last time that the New Year brought a new decade. It was the year 2000. A new millennium. Y2K. There was a lot of hoopla about the '00 crashing computer networks resulting in mass chaos. Thankfully, that didn't happen. There were minor glitches, I'm sure, but nothing earth shattering.

A lot has happened since then. On January 1,2000 I was a Junior at A&M, and engaged to the love of my life. We were looking forward to our June nuptials and starting our life together. I had finally decided what I wanted to be "when I grew up." I had enrolled to begin nursing school in the fall and was thrilled with the prospect of a new career. We knew that we would have children eventually, but wanted to be married for several years before we even entertained the thought of kids. September 11th was just another day on the calendar. I didn't really have any concept of the word "terrorist." I drove a 1996 Honda Civic that was affectionately known as "Rhonda the Honda." Computers were big, bulky, and slow - mostly used for Microsoft Word or Excel spreadsheets. AOL instant messenger completely baffled me. It was amazing to be able to "talk" to someone in real time through a computer screen. I was in Aggie Sisters for Christ and loved my small group. I went to Central Baptist Church in Bryan, but didn't really consider it my church home.

What a difference that a decade makes...

Wade & I were the happiest little poor newlyweds that have ever lived, I'm sure of that. We lived in our teeny tiny apartment and barely scraped by. We were active members of the Nearly Wed/Newly Wed class at our church. We were determined to finish school, and by May 2002 we were both college graduates. Wade started his career in aerospace, and I was a nurse in the PICU. We bought our first house, had our first child, changed church homes, sold our first house, I quit my job as a nurse to become a stay at home mom, we bought our current house, had our second child, moved our church membership again, and Wade made a few career moves in there as well. We have lost loved ones and welcomed new relatives into the world. September 11th will forever be etched in my heart and mind as a day when the world changed. Terrorist became real to me and I felt a sense of insecurity that I hadn't felt before. I drive a Suburban now, affectionately known as "Mommy's bus." I tote my little laptop all over the house with it's wireless internet connection. We have a blog, Skype, and can access the internet from our cell phones. I spend my days with my 2 boys in full blown Mommy-mode.

And, I wouldn't have it any other way.

What a difference a decade makes, indeed.

I can't wait to see what the Lord has for us all in the coming decade. I am overcome with gratitude at the way that He has provided for us and guided us through the last 10 years. I trust in His faithfulness for the coming years as well.

So long, 2009. Hello, 2010!