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Here are a few pictures of the kids from a recent photo shoot with my friend Emily. They turned out so good and I am so proud of them!!! This is just 3 of the best ones, although it was very hard to choose because all of them were so good and sweet. We took them out at my parent's house. Y'all call Emily...she does a great job and is very reasonable!
Emily Ricketts Photography
elricketts@mchsi.com or 256.233.8526

Sweet Sweet Babies

Bubba's first ride in the wagon. He LOVED it!


Bubba's first time in the bath sitting up. He loves to splash with his feet and kick his sister!

Bubba's new favorite toy...The Puppy Dog! He thinks the puppy is singing to him!

Sissy loves to play in laundry baskets. She is looking at one of those 'romantic' coupon books that I got for WB years ago. The thing hasn't been seen since I bought it and somehow she found it. She tore one out a few months ago and put it on the counter in the kitchen. I didn't think anything about it until WB came in asking if I was trying to give him hints. ha! He wishes!!

FALL...Where are you?

This is the time of year that I get so antsy for Fall. It's late August and time to start breaking out the blue jeans and long sleeve shirts. But, since we live in Alabama, it's still shorts and tank tops for another month or so.
Since I am longing for Fall, I thought I would list some of my favorite things.

1. Harvest Time- Growing up on a farm, fall means the smell of harvest. To most other people it just smells like dirt, but to me, there is a distinct smell about freshly picked cotton and shelled corn. This will be the first year daddy didn't plant cotton and I will miss the smell and the feel of jumping in the cotton wagons (or module builders now). We will definitely be there to shell corn and have Bubba's first ride on the Combine. I can't wait! (For those of you that don't know, it's pronounced com-bine...2 syllables. Not combine like combine these ingredients. If you don't know how to pronounce it, then you need to bring the kids out for a ride. You will have more fun than them and will learn a lot.)

2. Lower Temps- Which means more time outside at any time of day even if there is no shade. More wagon rides, tractor rides, and running around without having to worry about someone passing out from heat exhaustion.

3. My shows are back on- Dancing With The Stars will be back and I can't wait! Susan Lucci, Cloris Leachman (I think she was on The Facts of Life at the end when George Clooney was on there. Not Mrs. Garrett, but the other old lady when they owned the store. I loved that show...I wanted to be Jo. I use to make my mom fix my hair in the two little pony tails. I digress), Kim Kardashian, Lance Bass, Misty May-Treanor, Toni Braxton, Ted McGinley (the dumb guy from Married with children), Brooke Burke, and some other people I don't know will be on there. That is one of my favorite shows on TV. Also, America's Funniest Home Videos will be back. This show makes me belly laugh so hard. It has to be the best show ever...the hosts are never all that great, but the videos are hilarious. I will also catch Grey's and Desperate Housewives sometimes even though it is total trash. And Ugly Betty. And The Hills (which has already started...I can't believe that I just admitted watching that show)

4. The leaves change- I love it back in our little cove when the leaves change. Living in the city was a HUGE change for me...especially having neighbors for the first time. But, living behind the mountains has really helped with the transition because it doesn't always feel like the city. And, there are cotton/corn fields close by, so if I start to miss the farm, I can just go right down the road to see it. I am sure they will be subdivisions soon. I must admit that I love having Walmart and Publix within 5 minutes. It helps when you can run to the grocery store and no one fall asleep in the car!

5. Football Season- I am not a real hard core football person...there is not a competitive bone in my body anywhere. But, I do love Auburn and had the best college experience ever because of it. And, during football season for some reason, I feel the need to make chili or Rotel dip or some of the other tailgate food and put on an Auburn shirt. Even though most of the time I am here with the kids watching the game by myself (WB...working as usual), I still feel the need for the food. So, maybe it's the food I love more than the football. That's probably more of the truth. I guess I just didn't want to admit that food would be something I look forward to.

6. Changing out clothes- I love to bring out the fall clothes. I love sweaters and sweatshirts and jeans. They hide all of the yuckies that you have to show in the summer. If I could just show my ankles, face and hands all year around, I would. Plus, I have so many cute fall clothes for the kids. Right now they are in the place where they are almost growing out of everything, but I refuse to buy any more summer clothes because it WILL be fall soon, I just know it. So, we are wearing the same thing, alot, which is fine with Sissy (Minnie Mouse shirts) but I am getting tired of the same old thing (Minnie Mouse shirts). For me, I am sure I will still wear my same 3 outfits. It's a lot more fun to buy for the kids.

So, there you have it...some of my favorite things about fall. What are yours?

And the Verdict Is...

She stayed in Bible Class! Here's how it went...
I was not alone this Sunday because it rained, so WB did not work landscaping(although they tried to call him in to the Utilities on the way to church...life with a Lineman!) Anyway, church started off a little rocky because Sissy didn't understand why daddy was dropping us off at the door, after all they hadn't seen him in a week or more. After we got over that, we went through church pretty good...almost all the way to the end. I took her to the hall and we reviewed that she would go to Bible Class and she could sit in Ms. Lori's lap. Then we would go get ice cream (bribery!). She said that she wanted pink.
When we got in to class, she no longer wanted ice cream but wanted to go to Mommy's Bible Class. So, I left her screaming, again. When I came back to get her, she was in Ms. Lori's lap and her hair was ringing wet...she had obviously been crying for the whole time, or most of it. Oh well, she was still present.
So later in the afternoon she said 'I ready go to Bible class...no more crying.' Maybe she'll remember that next sunday.
WB keeps reminding me that he was the same way growing up. He went to a private kindergarten in town and when his mom dropped him off, he ran after her car...down the road. That would be like Sissy running after us down Carl T. Jones. And he was 5 and his mom didn't stay home every day with him. So, it's hereditary. Great.
On to Bubba...I haven't posted about him lately because he just hangs out and laughs at Sissy when she does all of this! He is getting one of his Bugs Bunny teeth (the top ones) but seems to be ok with it. He is eating like a little champ and wants to bite everything...even me. Ouch! He is now sitting up like a pro and grabbing everything that is close by. Yesterday, one of his toys was pretty far out in front of him and he was trying to inch over to it. Looks like he will be interested in crawling soon maybe. Then, my life will be busy keeping him out of everything. So now I am enjoying sitting him down somewhere and coming back to him in the spot where I left him.
I also had the kids pic taken a couple of weeks ago and they turned out great! I will try to post some of my faves if Miss Emmie will let me!

Stranger Anxiety? Again?

So, I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a reason Sissy did not want to go to Bible class and was so awful. Was she tired and/or sick (she did sleep a lot when we got home and for the next 2 days after that), is she teething (we have the bottom 2 year molars, but not the top and she would not dare let me check for them saying "Teefies ok")...what is wrong? She has never acted that way before!
Well, I am glancing through one of the parents magazines I never have time to read and it says something about Toddlers and stranger anxiety and how they can still go through it at this age too. Ah ha...maybe that's it!
She is definitely my sensitive child. Overly sensitive! And does not like for me to leave to go anywhere unless daddy is here. I usually don't go places without them because of his work schedule (read: 18+ hours a day) and my mom has my grandparents to take care of these days...so life without the kiddos is virtually never. We have had a few visitors this week and she has clinged to me saying "Mommy go doctor?" (like I am going to leave her with them...I went to the doc last week) Even when my mom has come over lately, she hasn't necessarily wanted me to leave. Hmmm.
She has gone through SA many times in her short 2 years and I would say never really got through it totally. I really want an explanation for this behavior...I don't want people to label her as a bad child by any means because she has always been so easy and good.
She did bring up bible class today and we talked about it a little. She said she would sit in Ms. Lori's lap until mommy comes back to get her. We will see.
Oh, and a funny one...last night when we were saying prayers, I said "God, please help Sissy not throw fits" and she finished the sentence with "in Bible Class. Amen. Good Job."

Humiliation at it's best

So, today was THE day. You know, the one that you only pray will never happen to you and when it does, you think "Please don't let anyone remember this!"
WB was working (again) and since we are trying to make Sissy stay in Bible Class without us I must trek on with the kiddos in tow. Last Sunday, we just went to class and not service (which is first) because I didn't think I could do service with the 2 of them by myself. But this morning, I had the bright idea that I would tackle both. So, I said a little prayer that it would go fine (I was doing the right thing you know), called a friend to ask them to save me a seat, and kept repeating to myself 'Everything will go just fine, you can do it.' Plus, Bubba slept late which would have put him awake for Bible Class and I thought how good it would be to have both of them in class at the same time. I also ignored a few warning signs from Sissy...you know, the ones only you as their parent knows could lead to a possible melt down. I was trying to be optimistic. Bad idea.
The first screams happened about 2/3 of the way through church (which she never does) thus the first visit outside. All she could say was 'Ready go bye-bye.' I kept pushing the go to Bible Class part, after all, she did seem to enjoy last week. We went back in, and then had to do this again. She never actually said she did not want to go to Bible class, so I thought we should keep trying since it was the right thing - even though my gut was telling me probably not.
As soon as we started turning the corner to the classroom hallway, she started crying...then we went into the room and she was SCREAMING bloody murder, jumping and landing in a hurkey position (which had pretty good form, BTW), and crying. I had to put Bubba on the floor and try to get her to calm down. Oh yeah, and EVERYONE was looking...EVERYONE. There are about 1500 people in that church and I think all of them were in her class and they all saw it. It's not like you could miss us either...besides the fit that was being thrown, she had on the brightest yellow dress ever made. We could not be missed. I was fighting back the tears, not because she was crying, but because I was humiliated. She never acts like this! It was the most horrible day I have ever had. To make a long story short, we ended up coming home and she went straight to the corner. She also took a 3 1/2 hour nap that I had to wake her from(I am trying to find some justification for this) She even told her daddy that she threw a fit in Bible class. He asked her if she was going to do it again and she said yes. Great. Even though she says yes to everything, part of me believes she probably means it.
Maybe taking T-O with her will help next week. Pray for me!

I Miss Her!

Today is my grandmother's birthday. This picture is of her and my Papaw in 1940, right before they got married. She passed away 5 years ago this Christmas and there is not a day that goes by that I don't wish she were still here.
She was the reason Proverbs 31 was written, there is no doubt. In my eyes, she was the most wonderful, perfect example of a Christian woman that has ever lived. I stayed with her after school and in the summers when I was younger and she was my best friend. We would go shopping (although I would never let her buy me anything because it always made me feel bad), go the 'short cut' to get ice cream, play Solitare (and cheat), cook lunch for my Papaw, Daddy, and the farm hands. She would take me with her to her Homemaker's Club, Rook Club, and Bridge Club meetings (which were all the same ladies and I couldn't figure out why they had 3 different meetings each month...now, I know!) She would call me Susie Jane and we would talk about the boy I would marry...she would call him "Mr. Bucket, since we don't know what his name will be." I could go on and on.
There was never any doubt that she loved my Papaw and he loved her. They started going together when she was 13, he was 14 and according to him, she asked him. Then they eloped when she was 19 because women couldn't be married and attend David Lipscomb. He was in the army and when he got back to his post, he wrote a letter to her father to let him know they were married. Isn't that funny? I couldn't believe my sweet little grandmother would do such a thing! She did everything for him and I never heard her complain.
She was always volunteering at Church or in the community to help others and was very well respected. Every day I strive to be like her, if only I were that lucky.
She is my little angel now and I can only hope that my kids see her in me since they will never know her.
Happy Birthday Mamaw! I know you are in heaven baking casseroles and eating ice cream, our favorite food! I miss you!
I think I will take the kids to get ice cream this afternoon...