Valentine Baskets

Katie, Rachel and I are selling candy baskets for Valentine's Day. They have turned out really cute. Below are pictures of some of the baskets we have already made, however, the pictures do not do them justice. There is also a description and price info. None of the baskets are exactly alike, so there will be varations of what you see below. If you are interested in buying a basket let one of us know or you can email us at candybasketorders@yahoo.com


The picture above is of the adult candy baskets. They are $15.00 each


The picture above shows the children's candy basket. It is in a tin container and there is one for a boy and a girl. These are $12.00 each.


The picture above shows a child's candy basket. It is in a reusable plastic cup. These are $7.00 each

Princess and The King...

This is sweeter than any fairytale. Last weekend while mom and dad were here, Maddie wanted to dress up as a princess and wear her "dancing shoes". Well, Ian decided he wanted to dress up too, so we put his robe on him and Granny made him a crown that says "The King".
We got a pretend trumpet and announced the king had arrived. Then Maddie said "Who gonna dance with me" Ian reluctantly said "I will" and they danced around until breakfast time. Ian was trying not to smile but you could see he was having fun. They were so sweet and adorable! I know that they will not always be like this. Sooner than I want they will be in high school acting as if they can't stand each other and no longer dressing up in cute outfits to play together. But until that happens, I'll enjoy our little pretend kingdom.

Book club - first meeting

We had our first book club meeting Monday night at Mary's house. I've never been in a book club before so I wasn't sure exactly how it would go, but I thought it was a lot of fun. There were 6 of us that came and we had a bookmark exchange which was really neat. The book we went over was "20 Wishes" by Debbie Macomber. Pretty good book, but not as deep as I thought it would be. Our next book is "The Secret Life of Bees". I've heard it's a great book, so I'm excited to read it.

Flamingo and Friends

Well, the past couple of days have been pretty busy. Friday was Rachel's birthday, so Emily, Kim, Pam, and Katie came over to the house Thursday night and we cut out 30 pink flamingos and made a sign to put in Rachel's yard. We went over there about 11:30 and we actually got everything into the ground without bursting into laughter or making much noise, except for Pam (pavement running and slamming doors). I was really proud! Then on Friday we used Rachel's birthday as an excuse to take the kids to chuck-e-cheese. Katie brought cupcakes and everyone had a good time (especially the adults). Friday night I met Tracy, Nancy, Amber, Carol, Janice, Cathy and my mom at Stix for supper. I had never eaten there before ,so that's one more off my list. I got to try sushi for the first time, although I'm not sure that it really counts because I only tried the kind with the cooked shrimp. My mom and dad spent the night with us and Janice and Cathy came over the next morning to see our house. On saturday night we again celebrated Rachel's birthday at Macroni Grill. Ryan stayed home with the kids so I rode with Katie, who was without Josh and Hannah for the night. Ben had bought Rachel a cake from Edgars and they sang to her in Italian. And since Katie and I were without kids, we decided to continue the celebration of Rachel's birthday at Old Navy, Children's place, Pottery Barn and Target. We might have continued our shopping if Ryan hadn't called to let me know Maddie was out of diapers. And I know it might seem that Ryan got the raw end of the deal this weekend because he stayed home with the kids both nights, but I'm pretty sure he has a fishing trip already planned that he just hasn't told me about yet, so don't feel too sorry for him.

Train Party!

We had a train party for Ian's birthday on Saturday. I would have posted pictures that day, but I couldn't figure out how to get all the pictures onto the blog. All of our friends and family came and we really appreciate that, especially those who had to drive 1-2 hours to get here. We ate pizza, cake, and ice cream, and the kids had games to play. The only bust was the pinata, which, coincidentally, would not bust :) Thanks to Julie, Rachel, and Emily for helping to decorate for the party, and of course all those who stayed and helped clean up. I think everyone had a good time. Ian got lots of great gifts and has played nonstop since. Can't wait for the next party!!!

Happy Birthday Ian!

I can't believe my baby boy is 4 today. Time goes by so fast! It seems like just yesterday Ryan and I were walking the beach in Biloxi, wondering what our little boy was going to look like. Of course, he was suppose to be born on the 1st, so we
spent the next 10 days driving over railroad tracks, walking around our apartment complex, and eating mexican hoping that any of those things would work, but nothing did so I was induced. My mom and dad took me to the hospital that morning at 6:00 because Ryan had a test at 8:00, he was in tech school at the time. He got to the hospital about 8:30. I think he hurried through the test because we just knew that Ian would be here by 10am, but he was not. He was also not here at 12pm, 3pm, or 6pm. In fact, everyone scheduled to give birth that day had already come and gone, and we were still waiting. But, after 2 1/2 hours of pushing (and the nurses cheering), he arrived at 11:35pm. He was beautiful! We didn't know what to do at first (like most new parents), but we eventually figured it out. He has grown so much since then. He's his own little person. His favorite toy is his trains, he loves to play the guitar and lead songs at church. He would wear blue jeans, white t-shirts, and his Lightening McQueen shoes every day if we would let him. He is so special and I can't imagine what life would be like without him. God has blessed us so much!

Happy New Year!

Is it too late to say it? It's only the 8th of January so surely it's not. I thought I should blog about the new year before I blog about Ian's birthday in a couple of days. I don't know if I make resolutions or if I just have ideas of things I want to accomplish, but I do try to take the first few days of the new year and look back at the past year and reflect on things that I could've done different or should've done different and think about what I can do to better myself in the coming year. Also, (for a little pick me up) I like to remember the things that I thought I did well. This past year a lot changed for us. Ryan separated from the Air Force and we left our home, our church, our friends and everything our kids have known for the last three years and moved back to Alabama (and we miss it all so much). But I feel lucky because Ryan started a new job which he loves, we have bought our first house, we get to see our families a lot more, and we've made some really good friends here. Also, Ian played soccer for the first time (very exciting especially when he danced) and Maddie's personality really began to shine and she started talking and talking and talking :). However, with all the excitement and rush I feel somehow that I didn't stop and take it all in. So, with that said, this year is the stop and smell the roses year. I'm not really sure how exactly I am going to accomplish this, but I feel certain that I will figure it out along the way.