In need of sunshine....

We are in the middle of too many days of rain and not enough sunshine. I shouldn't complain and really I'm not, well maybe I am, but I know we can always use the rain...to wash away the pollen that has accumulated and to help with future drought issues, etc. The thing is I need to see the SUN! So I decided to post these pictures of MY sunshine in hopes of brightening my day and maybe someone else. :)

Basketball and Bicylces

Caleb played Upward Basketball this year at our local Baptist church. This is his 3rd year to play and was in the 4th-6th grade division. He was on a pretty good team. I think they finished up 6 wins - 2 lost. Caleb got a lot of play time as did all the boys. It was a little different this year than past years because they kept score and the referees were more diligent to make calls on the boys. Above are a few pictures of Caleb in action. He is number 34 and in the 2nd picture he is making the shot...his hands are in the air and the basketball is almost in the basket!



It was a beautiful day here and Macy decided it was just the right day to learn how to ride a bike with just two wheels!! We are SO proud of her for making up her mind to do something and keeping at it until she accomplished the goal. You can hear the joy in my voice and you hear her Daddy coaching her from start to finish. Yea, Macy!!

No Sew, easy....

Calling all Momma's with girls.....

Girls night out....Project night at Heidi's house!!! This nights project was a "tutu". It's a no sew project that anybody can do even the un-crafty (not a word but you know what I mean). I just had to share and if anybody needs instructions on how to do this I will be glad to pass them along. It makes a great dress up skirt and would be a fun, unique, and inexpensive gift. I think in total I spent $6-$7 dollars. You could easily make it more expensive with more ribbon. The supplies are 1 inch elastic, about 4 yards of toile and I used about 2-4 yards of ribbon (easily could have used more). Thank you Heidi for a fun time!

Birthdays....Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just a few quick pictures of a happy, happy birthday girl as she turned 4! Wow, how the time does go by fast. Macy had a great birthday that really started at Thanksgiving and then ended on her actual birthday, December 8th. Thank you to all who made her day----dayssssssssssss special! We first had the family (my brother and his family) over for dinner. On Monday we went to "jumpy-jumpy" as Macy calls it to celebrate with some of Macy's sweet friends. It's all about Ariel...Ariel, Ariel.
Our trip to Chicago and celebrating Christmas will be to follow....soon I hope.

My size barbie and me...

Please read the post before this one to help this video make sense! Enjoy.

Thanksgiving and the 4th Birthday starts early....

John and Sandy cooking Thanksgiving turkey


Macy & Aunt Sandy

Thanksgiving this year was in St. Louis, Missouri. To try to be fair to the families we have this every other year holiday thing going. This year away for Thanksgiving...home for Christmas. Next year home for Thanksgiving away for Christmas.
We had a really great time this year staying with Sandy, John's only sister, as we always do. Not only is she a great sister-in-law but I consider her a friend as well. The food was great this year, seeing everybody was wonderful (even better that they all came to us!) , but my most memorable moments came from the Friday after starting at about 3:50 a.m. for our all day shopping extravaganza! Not only were Sandy and I out and about our other s.i.l. was out with her sister, son and one of his friends. It was like I had 4 personal shoppers all going to different places which insured me getting everything I had on my list and then some. SO much fun. We had brunch together and then right before delirium hit...or maybe a few minutes after we called it a day around 2:00 just in time to get a back massage from a long, hard day of shopping.
Macy's birthday is tomorrow, December 8th, but the birthday gifts started rolling in while we were in St. Louis...thanks family. Mimi gave her a great barbie furniture set/barbie doll. Aunt Sandy....sweet Aunt Sandy gave Macy the "My Size" Barbie. Yes, it is almost Macy's size just an inch or two shorter. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!
Love you guys..if we could just convince John to move back :)

A beautiful fall day in Alabama

Just a short drive from our house is Longleaf Wildlife Conservation Area. It is so pretty this time of year and the weather could not have been better this afternoon after Caleb got off school. I met up with my friends Melody, Jennifer and Amy and all the children. The kids had the best time just hiking and playing around in the leaves.

We just call her S-U-P-E-R G-I-R-L!!!!!!!!!

So, another trick or treat season has come and gone and all we are left with is a great little costume, some fun pictures, way TOO much candy and a few extra pounds on our hips. Well, o.k. -- my hips! Macy decided she wanted to be bat girl...as you can see that didn't happen. The long walk down the mega-mart isle didn't find us the right size of bat girl but did find us super girl. So here we are as super girl the daughter of Super Man! If only we had bought that costume for Daddy.
We made the rounds in our small neighborhood and then went with our friends the Miller boys to a few houses and then called it a night.

Macy, the Miller boys 3 and the Pumpkin Patch

The Great Pumpkin Patch -- Hayden, Alabama

Macy and I joined the Miller boys & Melody for a fun trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday. It was so much fun and we all had a great time. I think everybody's favorite activity was the "jumpy-jump" pumpkin, alligator and slide. We also went on a hay ride to find our pumpkin and later enjoyed a picnic lunch. I think we were ALL worn out by the ride home and Melody and I enjoyed a 1 1/2 hour ride home in silence while all the kids slept.
Thanks Miller family!

Macy at the park just hanging around!