Trip to Florida

We left on January 23 to visit Gran and Papaw Burch, we arrived in Florida around 2 in the morning. We stayed until Sunday. It was a great trip, but sad so say, I FORGOT MY CAMERA, what kind of camera bug forgets her camera when going on a great photo op vacation to Florida, that would be me. So there are no pictures for this post. I did buy a throw-away camera but haven't gotten the pictures developed yet. Anyway, enough about my mishaps. The trip was good, the kids had a chance to swim in Gran and Papaw's heated pool, which they loved. They were doing "cannon balls" off the side into the water, then Mason started doing the "dinosaur" where he jumped in showing his claws and roaring like a dinosaur. Adam even joined in the fun, he liked the water too.
Papaw fixed the kids favorite dinner on Thursday night "RIBS." They love papaw's ribs. Then we went out for seafood one night and to Outback one night. The food was great.
On Saturday we took the kids to Myakka State Park in Sarasota where we walked the tree tops viewing the park from 82 feet in the air. Katy was a little timmid about being up so high, Mason did not want to come down, Adam just rode in the backpack and smiled. We saw alligators in the river and lots of different kinds of Cranes. We also saw a group of about 20 turkeys. After Myakka we went to the beach. It was beautiful! It was about 74 degrees and the kids loved the sand and water, even though the water is cold. The kids put on their swimsuits and ran around in the edge of the ocean and played in the sand. Mason actually went in a little deeper than Katy, he was cold but it did not seem to bother him. We then went back to the house and swam in the pool a little bit.
Sunday morning came way too fast, we left around 6:30 and came on home. We made a few stops and did not get home until about 8, but we had a trip.
We are hoping to get to go again next year!

Highlights

Wow! The Christmas Holidays were exciting, fun, hectic, traveling, loving, funny, memorable and went by too fast. Now we are in the process of getting back into the swing of "normal" everyday life. So, here are some highlights of the holidays.

We started our Holiday adventure with a trip to Papaw Cook's house for a few days where we spent lots of time with family and friends. We visited Darren's uncles shooting preserve and I got the chance to try my luck at shooting sporting clays, needless to say I won't be entering any tournaments any time soon. And we got to go along on a Pheasant shoot, it was a lot of fun. We had a great Christmas there and spent lots of time "in the kitchen, laughing!" (The kitchen is the gathering place there, it always has been. It is nice, it brings a great sense of "togetherness." The kids really enjoyed thier time with Papaw and cousins, Austin, Kinzie, and Briella.

On Christmas Eve we went to the Cook Christmas then headed home. We made it back around 12:00 am. We got the kids to bed so Santa could come and work his magic. He brought Katy a Butterscotch Pony, Mason a Train set and table, and Adam an airplane. Santa usually brings each child one special thing, and stocking full of surprises. This excitement is later followed with 3 gifts from Mom and Dad (these 3 are representative of the gifts brought to Jesus by the Wise Men). That is our way of trying to keep it simple.

On Christmas morning the kids got up and were amazed at thier new found treasures from Santa. They loved everything. Then we opened our gifts for each other in our living room around our Christmas tree.

Then we were off to my sister's house for Christmas morning breakfast and Christmas with the Burch side of the family. We draw names there and everyone had a great time with each other and watching everyone open gifts. We open one at a time. We did catch gran sneaking a peak at one of her gifts before we started opening. We all got a good laugh out of that. After we opened gifts and spent some time together we headed back home for some rest, for the kids at least. Darren and I had to get busy putting things away, doing laundry and getting things ready for his mom, her husband and 3 teenagers who were scheduled to visit the next day. On top of all that Adam was pretty sick, Katy and Mason had also been sick and Mason still wasn't feeling well. That afternoon we were scheduled back at Mom and Dad's for Christmas dinner, Prime Rib, baked potatoes, salad...it was great. That is my favorite meal of Christmas. Most of our family was there plus some neighbors who classify as family.

The day after Christmas we had to take Adam to the Doctor and ended up meeting Darren's mom and family for lunch. Then we all headed back over the mountain to our house. We had a really good visit with them. The older kids got a chance to do some things they had never done before. They rode the ATV a lot and Dillon learning how to shoot a bow, he was pretty good. We had lots of good food and spent both nights playing games together. It was a great visit and one we look forward to each year.

By the weekend, Darren went hunting for the last time and the kids and I spent some time vegging out!

We had a good New Year's and got a little bit of snow to boot. The kids were out of school for 2 days, mostly for ice on roads, not so much the snow.

Now we are getting back into the swing of things!

I check in to a mental and physcal rehabilitation center on Monday!

Hahaha!!!! Just kidding. Christmas was GREAT!

Gingerbread House

The whole family joined in making a gingerbread house for Christmas. This is the first one I have ever attempted, don't get too excited, I did not make it from scratch, I bought a kit and put it together, then we all decorated it. We had lots of fun, especially Katy, she was really into it and worked hard on the decorations! She did a GREAT job. We added a cross to remind us of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. Katy was very intent on making the "walk path" to the house, then we used lots of other random candies for the rest of the decorations, needless to say, we ate a few items as well. It was a lot of fun, and a good time spent with the kids! After all, that is what it is all about!!

Merry Christmas!

Cook Kid Update

Adam is growing like one thing. He is about 17 lbs or so now and is eating anything he can get his hands on. He is crawling all over the house, from one room to the next. For some reason his favorite hang out is the bathroom, playing in the trash can (GROSS), needless to say I have to keep that door closed! He has the sweetest, most infectious smile ever, his face just beams with his big smile, of course it is contagious and I can't help but smile right back at him. He is growing way too fast, it is sad, especially when I anticipate him to be our last! He is a cutie.

Mason has been sick, a stomach bug of sorts. Not fun! He is doing better and is wide open as ever! He is our dancer, he has some rythem and is always dancing when he hears any kind of music. He is really good at shaking his hiney! Of course he thinks he is super funny and he knows he is cute. He is also into taking batting practice most nights before bed, I am just waiting for him to bust out a window! He only wants to hit the real ball, need I remind you, this is at night, before bed, INSIDE! He does well, he hits the ball about 4 out of 5 tries, he is also ambidextrious, he throws almost as well with his left hand as he does his right. He is a mess! Gotta love him!

Katy is doing great in school and loving gymnastics on Tuesdays. She is really developing her coordination skills, which is sometimes difficult with her being so tall! She is beautiful and loves her "animals." She is always playing with stuffed animals, or her ponies or pet shops! She has her own agenda. Katy in her own time-she does most everything at her own pace and in her own time. She is great, I could never ask for a better daughter! She is really in to walking up to Gran's these days. Gran and Papaw Burch live right behind us at the top of the hill. About 3 or 4 times a week she asks to walk up to Gran's. So, there she goes up the hill, in the house and crawls up on Gran's walker for a chat. She tells gran a lot more than she tells me, typical huh? I am so glad she enjoys going there and spending time with them, it is good for her and them too. I want her to "know" them! And she will, they all will! I will make sure they do! We are fotunate enought to live close to them, we should take advantage of it.

As for the rest of us, or the family as a whole, we are gearing up for Christmas! It is just around the corner!

Roots of a Country Girl

I had to write this as part of our staff retreat. I thought I would share it!

Nanaw and Papaw’s place
An old red barn high on a hill
A loft, old toys left behind by my mother and her sister
Hay bails, a church pew, an old children’s kitchen set
An old iron bed, now mine
Smells of corn, dirt, manure, wonderful smells

An old white house
A spring fed well
Papaw asleep on the couch on the porch
Nanaw in the kitchen, most always in the kitchen
Smells of fried bologna, dog, wood stove, wonderful smells

A world of adventure waiting outside
Hours spent along the creek bank
Lunches missed at the old red barn
Blackberries picked in the holler behind the house
Smells of freshly plowed soil, fragrant wild flowers, musty garage, wonderful smells

Granny and Grandaddy Burch
The old home place, my home place
What were they like, I wonder
How did they sound, I wonder
How did they smell, I wonder

Stories told, passed through generations
Stories of a large family, an old store
Sacrifices made for their kids, and in time, their kids
Sacrifices made to insure an education
Hard work, hard times, hard lives, enduring love

Educators, Educators, and more Educators
Teachers and administrators
Passion for young children
Passion for learning
Passion for the possibility of an educated child


Independence
Learn to do things for yourself
Don’t depend on others to do for you
Make good decisions
Learn from bad decisions

Have fun, Laugh
Embrace spontaneity
Embrace life and love
Be patient and kind
Truly LOVE the ones you love the most

Be at home in the kitchen
Know a measuring spoon from a soup spoon
Be able to use both
Try new things
Cook without a recipe

Open your home to everyone
To Those you love, and those you don’t
Entertain with a pure heart
Share what you have
Welcome, Welcome

Marriage is hard, very hard
But worth it all
The fights, the tears, the sleepless nights
Worth the time
Worth it all

Marriage is great, wonderful in fact
Laughter, playfulness, smiles, intimacy, quiet
To feel home no matter where you are
Assurance, trust, longing, love
Worth it all

Kids grow too fast, way too fast
0-18 in 2 years, that is what it feels like
They grow so fast, you miss so much
They learn new things, you didn’t teach them
They teach you things you thought you knew

They are sweet, and soft, and precious
They are nerve racking, and stubborn, and precocious
They are smart, and sensitive, and kind
They are inquisitive, and independent, and dependant
They are perfect

They carry your heart with them
Into the sandbox and red clay mud
Along the creek bank and into the water
On the swings and down the slide
Every step they take

Live your life
Know that each decision you make effects someone else
Love the ones you love today, they may be gone tomorrow
Practice random acts of kindness, what comes around goes around
Respect your elders, and your unders

Trust in God
Know your imperfections by far out-weigh your perfections
Ask for forgiveness
Hold his hand
Walk with him each day

Catch Up!

Wow, it has been forever since I have blogged!!!!! Sorry to those of you who take a look from time to time. Well, lets see, what is going on in our lives? Lots! Thanksgiving was good, Darren went hunting with his dad, Larry got a 6 point and Darren got a doe, they are being processed now. We had Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday night after Thanksgivning with my parents and my Aunt and Uncle, it was a nice dinner and good time spent together. Christmas shopping and preparation is all consuming and could prove to be the death of me. Katy is really into it this year and loves decorating and making ornaments and telling me that she wants everything she sees on TV, but no babies! Wierd huh? Mason is great, running around making us all laugh, and Adam is sitting and crawling around EVERYWHERE!

The kids are going to be in our Christmas pageant on December 16. Katy is "Mary," Mason is a Shepherd and Adam is a lamb. I am really excited, I think they will be so cute. Of course I am biased! They are excited! We will be traveling to Mocksville over the Holidays, spending time at home, and having Nana come for a visit. Lots of excitement!

I will try to do better in December than in November, but no promises!!!! Thank you for keeping up with us through the blog.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BOYS! Will I Survive them?

So, get ready to laugh! Mind you the fact that this story may be funny to you, but to me, not so funny. Okay, picture this. Katy and Mason were upstairs playing, I went up to check on them and all was well, happy, playing together, perfect siblings. 10 minutes later I go back upstairs only to find Mason NAKED, no diaper. I begin to look around, oh s--t, literally, his diaper is laying on the the couch, with a nice trophy beside of it. Not to mention the nice streak on the CARPET where he attempted to clean his self. MAAAAAAAASOOOOOON!!!!!! What have you done? He looks up at me and grins, (he did not grin for long). He was instructed NEVER to do that again. "I'm sorry Mom," he said. Tearfully he waited for a new diaper. (Bless his heart). I asked Katy why she did not hollar for me to let me know what had happened, her response, I very casual and unconcerned "I don't know." I then, spent at least 20 minutes cleaning and disinfecting the upstairs! What a lovely morning! Okay, I hope at least some you got a kick out of that story, and I hope you all pass along a little sympathy my way!

All that said, he is still the sweetest thing, and of course I love him to pieces, the good, the bad, and the ugly! But all together he is mostly good!

Trick-or-Treat

This year for Halloween, Katy dressed up like a Cowgirl, Mason, an Indian, and Adam, a Pumpkin. Of course they were the cutest trick-or-treaters around. I made Katy and Mason's costumes, actually I had made the Indian suit for my nephew Austin a long time ago and we re-used it and added a head-dress. Katy went to a Halloween party at a friends house on the Saturday night before Halloween. She and Maggie had a GREAT time there!!!! Then Sunday night we went a church that some friends go to for there festival. Katy racked up, she won a cake in the cake walk, and she won musical chairs, for which she recieved a big pumpkin that she has loved and askes to hold it and play with it every day (strange, I know, but she loves it). Then on Wednesday we went to our church for our annual Trunk-or-Treat, where the members of the church open and decorate the trunks of thier cars and the kids trick-or-treat at the church. We also had a hayride and some other games, the kids had a great time, and got way too much candy! We also did some traditional trick-or-treating to Gran and Papaw's, and some other family members in the neighborhood. When we walked in at Gran and Papaw's we found Gran painted up like a cat, she had been to dialysis that day and the nurses painted thier faces. The kids got a kick out of that and we were sure to take some pictures!

We all had lots of fun. I had fun making the costumes and loved the getting to see them wear them, especially Katy, she loved hers, Mason wasn't as crazy about dressing up. Darren and I both enjoyed watching them having fun playing games and getting candy, and the kids embraced it all and enjoyed every second and the excitement that Halloween brings.

It is so much fun watching your kids have fun!

Carving Pumpkins

Uncle Matt came up a few weeks ago from Atlanta, just to carve pumpkins with our kids. Wow, where else in the world will you find an uncle who works 6 days a week at one of the most stressful jobs there is, that will take his only day off to drive 2.5 hours just to carve pumpkins with his niece and nephew. Kellie wanted to come too, but she knew that Hitler, her boss would not let her off. So she had to stay home this year. Anyway, Matt came around lunch time, I picked Katy up early from school, and they soon got down to business. He brought a small pumpkin for Adam, a medium sized pumpkin for Mason, and a Big pumpkin for Miss Katy. They were so excited. They all headed outside to "gut" the pumpkins. Mason thought this was the greatest thing in the world and dug right in, scooping out mounds and mounds of goopy seeds, and pulling out globs of "pumpkin guts." Katy was not so in to the gutting of the pumpkins but did manage to stick her hand in and pull out one scoop full for a picture. After the pumpkins were ready for carving, they went inside to decide what to carve. Katy wanted a horse, a HORSE, I know Matt was thinking, "What the...I can't carve a Horse." The harder he tried to talk her out of it the more she wanted a horse. Then he started asking about spooky or scary pumpkins, but Katy said she needed a happy pumpkin, still, Matt was able to convince Mason for one a little more on the spooky side. They ended up with a regular jack-o-lantern for Adam, a ghost for mason, and a jack-o-lanter with regular eyes and nose and her hand prints for his mouth. How original is that!!! They looked great.

After their masterpieces were finished they retreated inside for the Uncle Matt special! ICE CREAM! Matt never comes that he doesn't bring the kids an ice cream. This time he brought Ben and Jerrys! Chunky Monkey and Fish Food! They loved them, of course, and lucky for me they could not eat them all, so I had some myself. After they had had thier fun, the time came for Matt to have to go back home, he kissed the kids good-bye and headed back to Atlanta.

Thank you Matt and Kellie for the time you took and take to spend special time with our kids! They love you and so do we! We just wish you were closer. Thank you again for all you do for us! You guys are the best!!!!!

Camping With Friends

A lot has been going on lately and I haven't had time to blog as often as I would like and haven't been able to include lots of things that have been going on. Camping with some friends is one of them. We went camping with our closest friends a few weekends ago. They have kids the same age as ours, minus an infant. We went to a campground near here. We loaded up the pop-ups and headed up the mountain for the weekend. The weekend started off with a little rain on Friday but the rest of the weekend was great and a little cool, good camping weather. On Friday night we grilled ribs and fried potatoes ect. We had a campfire that night with the traditional roasting of marshmallows. We brought some toys for the kids and Katy and Maggie spent hours on end playing with the various petshop's and ponies! It was so sweet. They are really growing, it is more obvious when you listen and watch them play together. The boys played well too. On Saturday we went hiking for a while then had our family up to the camp for dinner. Thier treat, they brought most of the food for a fish fry. After dinner we had another fire and marshmallows. Not to mention my Aunt Mary's original and wonderful stacked fruit cake for dessert.

Another not so pleasant event included Lilly (the dog) getting in to a bee's nest and stirring them up around the camp, and the fact that Mason got stung behind the ear on Saturday night. That was bad, I felt so bad for him!

On Sunday morning we got up, fixed a good southern breakfast, sausage, eggs, biscuits... then proceeded to pack up and head back home. The trip was great and it was so nice to be outside, away from TV, phones, and traffic! We are really looking forward to camping more next year!

Cake Decorating

I made and decorated a cake for some friends of ours for thier baby shower this past weekend. The cake was for a baby girl. It turned out pretty good so I thought I would do a quick post and share it. Katy loved it, she said it was beautiful for the "Shower Party."

I also want to share a quick Thank You to Darren's aunt Lucinda for giving me her cake decorating pans, tips, and more! They have proven to be very useful. Thank you so much!!!

Time To Smell the Flowers

We were at church the other night and Mason was sweet enough to pick me a flower (from the church's landscapeing, of course). He brought it over and said, "This is for you mommie." Of course my heart melted. He gave me turn smelling the pretty yellow flower and then smelled it a little himself. The flower was pretty, but did not have the best smell as you might guess from looking at some of the pictures. Anyway, he is such a sweet boy, wouldn't trade him for nothing!

Adam was sitting in a chair on the porch the other day while we were waiting on Katy to get off the bus. He was grabbing his toes and trying to eat them, as usual. He just smiles all the time! What a cutie!

Tractor Parade!

Where else but in Hayesville might you find a first annual genuine "TRACTOR PARADE" filled with over 80 tractors of all makes and models and succeed in bringing half the town out to see it? I do love our town! A few weekend's ago we went to the the Tractor Parade in town and got to see all kinds of tractors, old ones, new ones, rusty ones, shiney ones, you name it, it was there. The kids had a great time walking around and climbing on almost every one they came accross, as well as a few trailors filled with nice yellow hay bails. The parade was held to raise money for the Dwight Smith scholorship fund. Dwight Smith was a boy that was killed in a farming accident on his family farm in the early 90's. Gran and Papaw Burch went with us, we endulged in a few hamburgers and hot dogs and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a perfectly beautiful day, blue skys, warm with a nice fall breeze, sweet smell of fall in the air. Like I said, a perfect day! It was nice to be outside and to support the effort and enjoy the parade.

As the event came to an end the kids decided they wanted an ice cream after seeing other kids with them, so, I left Katy with a friend and Mason, Adam (in my carry pack) and I went accross the street for ice cream. Needless to say the shop was packed full, we stood in line just until we were 3rd in line, Mason decided that listening to mom and staying close by was not a great idea and that hitting the older man in front of us in the back of the legs was a much better idea, therefore we had to leave. After all that time we stood in line, we still had to leave with no ice cream, Adam in the pack on my chest and a crying Mason pickup and propped on my hip. As if that wasn't bad enough, we had to break the news to Katy that we would not be having ice cream and that it was time to go. So, add another one holding my hand (crying as well) and off we went to meet the grandparents at the car. We get there, I unload Mason, then Adam and put him in his seat (meanwhile dropping my camera-crap!) and loaded everyone in the famiy truckster and headed for home!

Oh, the joys of parenthood!!!

All in all, it was a great day, lots of fun and worth going even with a little chaos, what is life without a little chaos anyway!

Weekend Warriors

Fancy Face

Mason decided it might be fun to take a bath in Adam's tub one night, and there he sat watching cartoons for 20 minutes.

The kids and I were on our own this weekend, Dad went hunting, until Saturday night. We spent some fun time together and the kids were great. We all missed Daddy but still enjoyed the time we had together. We all went out for Pizza on Friday night, just me and the 3, they were really good. We came home and watched a movie together. Dad did not get a deer but did enjoy the time with family and time at the cabin. This week he goes to Raleigh, Monday-Thursday and then we are planning to go camping on Friday afternoon thru Sunday. Busy, busy. Our friends Chad and Heather and thier kids, Maggie and Nathan are going with us.

Katy will be starting back to gymnastics this week. She is excited, she really likes gymnatics, more than SOCCER! She is such a girl! Of course, I love it! She is getting so big.

Mason is a mess as usual, he must be the cutest thing ever. He is big into wanting to go to the football game (we have been to 2 this year). Therefore he thinks we should be goin every time we get in the car.

Adam is growing more every day. He is enjoying the taste of his toes and pushing up all fours a lot. He still is not sitting up and has no teeth. He laughs at Katy all the time. He is precious!

So that is our life in a nutshell for the time being. I am sure we will have new things to report soon.

6 Months Old

Adam turned 6 months old on September 21st. He is growing and gaining new personality every day. I wonder what he is thinking about this world, with Katy and Mason contantly causing a ruccus (word ?) around him, jumping, laughing, screaming, fighting... I bet he is thinking, "wow, what have I gotten myself in to around here." Katy seems to be the comedian around here as far as Adam is concerned. He laughs at her all the time, I mean, out loud belly laughing, he will only smile at the rest of us. He also gets "bed buddies" quite often. Katy and Mason both like to climb up in bed with him and play, he doesn't seem to mind though.

I think he might be teething a little bit, he is chewing a lot. He is not sitting up yet, but can balance a little with his hands on the floor in front of him. Of course, he can roll around everywhere, and he likes to play with different toys placed in front of him on the floor.

All in all, he is beautiful! He melts my heart with his sweet smile that spreads out all the way over his face every time we look at him. He is perfect!

We love you Adam!
We love you all!