The Morgan's

Pictures to go with new post!

2012-01-30T12:36:00.004-06:00

New Post!

2012-01-30T12:29:00.000-06:00

It has been way too long since I have posted. No excuses…just haven’t done it. I hope to do better because this has really been the only journaling I have been doing  (or not doing). It’s hard to believe all that happened since that last post. Just 3 weeks after that post devastating tornados hit our hometown. We were safe but it was way too close! It was so moving to see so many people come together to help. There were several times I would just cry at seeing a caravan of power trucks going down the road or reading the stories of things going on right around us. I was so proud that Chandler wanted to go out and help with clean up and that he and Richard were able to do that. I remember feeling so helpless and going out and buying stuff to donate and cleaning out the kids toys for a toy drive but feeling that it was so inadequate! The town was so weird for weeks after. Roads and neighborhoods closed off and guarded by police and then National Guard. The church parking lot across from Evan’s daycare was set up as a command center. Insurance RV offices set up, Tide Loads of Hope being in the mall parking lot, radio stations not playing music but giving out information and people calling in with needs and those needs being immediately met. We were without power from that Wednesday-Sunday but I don’t even remember it being a burden at all! I will never forget those feelings. The town is slowing showing signs of rebuilding but there is still a lot to be done! It’s just unreal to me that there are still so many houses and businesses that haven’t even been touched as far as clean up. I am so proud to be from Tuscaloosa and to have witnessed such love and generosity. Now for family updates…

Chandler finished his JV season at Northridge and got to play varsity for their summer ball season. He also played with a Post team over the summer. He didn’t really enjoy it too much and was ready for a break when it was over. They have started practicing for this season and he should be the starting catcher. I hope they have a good year! Other things to note in his life…he turned 16 in September and got his driver’s license! So crazy! I was a little worried about his test but he took private lessons a few weeks before and I think that helped a lot! It has been great that he can drive and take himself places and even help out with Hudson some! Last year was really tough on me with seminary and the ball schedule. He is driving the Dodge Durango that was once driven by me and then Richard. New tires and a new radio and he is happy with it. He is a great kid and I am so thankful for that!

Hudson played baseball all spring and had a good season. He made all-stars again so we had another summer of traveling and stuff for him. His world series was in South Haven, MS and that’s always a fun place for baseball. We stayed in the same hotel that we did when we were there for Chandler when he was 8. They have an indoor and outdoor pool and the kids had a blast. They didn’t make it very far in the tournament and we were able to come home and unpack and repack to head to the beach the next day. That fall Richard put together a travel team and they played in a couple of tournaments and then Hudson played fall ball at Kentuck, too. He is playing basketball now and just really loves it! Their team is pretty pitiful but he loves to play. He will be playing travel ball only this spring. He just turned 9 in December and it already saying he can’t wait til he’s 10. He is doing great in school and loves his new I pod touch!

Evan was a true ball park kid last year. She loves it and has fun wherever she goes. A couple of weeks after it was all over and settled down, she would say in this pitiful voice, “I want to go to the ballpark” She is so much fun! She loves to paint, color, do stickers and it is so fun to watch her play with dolls or barbies. She is defiantly momma’s girl and is stingy with her loving to anyone else! She loved swimming and the beach this summer! She wanted a hair wrap from the beach because her cousin Sydney got one a few weeks earlier. Her hair has grown so much this past year and she will let me fix it most of the time. She is very hands on with picking her outfits and loves to just wear leotards, bathing suits, and dress up clothes. So very girly! She moved up to Primary this year at church and does great! She sings the songs and participates! She also started gymnastics a couple of weeks ago. She really likes it so far even if right now it’s just jumping on a trampoline and doing forward rolls. She sure looks cute doing it! She loves when she gets to play with her cousins and says they are all her friends. I am so glad that we all live so close to one another and they can grow up together. There are now 12 total on my side (since the addition of Charley Bec Sprayberry in August) and about to be 5 on Richard’s as Russell and Jill are expecting a girl in March!

As I said earlier, we were able to go to the beach for a few days in July. We had a blast! Hudson and Evan ask all the time when are we going to go back. Richard and I have just been working and handling all the activities of 3 kids. We were able to go to one Alabama football game as a family this year and that was a lot of fun. Of course it was also awesome to cheer on our football team all year as they won another National Championship! Roll Tide! So proud to be a Bama fan! This year Richard’s parents got a place on the river in Pickinsville so we have enjoyed many afternoons of fishing, swimming, and boating. Should be lots of fun for years to come. The boys-Richard, Chandler, and Hudson-or as Evan calls them “my boys” have also found the sport of Frisbee golf and have become somewhat obsessed.  Richard swears he’s going to enter a tournament sometime this year. As you can see, all is well in the lives of the Morgan’s. Until next time…

Novemeber...really?

2011-04-07T10:12:00.002-05:00

Wow...so much has gone on since my last post. Thanksgiving, Hudson and Evan's birthdays, Hudson's baptism, Christmas, basketball season, the start of baseball season,new calling (1st counselor in primary)and so many everyday things. I think I will do a post of just pictures to showcase all these things but for now I just feel the need to get something up. Everything has been going well. The boys are doing great in school. I am so proud of Chandler for getting up early every morning for seminary, going to school and then practicing/playing baseball everyday after and never complaining or asking if he can sleep in and skip seminary and keeping good grades! Just hope he keeps it up! Hudson loved basketball and he has been doing some fun things. Richard took him to Smackdown in Birmingham in Jan and they had a great time. He and Chandler both got to go to the beach with friends over spring break. So grateful for good friends. Both boys are playing baseball. Chandler's season is about over (they start in Feb) and Hudson's is just getting started. Chandler has had a really good season playing JV for Northridge. Most of their games are double headers and he's been catching the first game and DHing the second. He's been pitching some, too and his hitting has been good. They were having a good season until this last week where they've lost 6 in a row! So frustrating! Hudson is playing 3rd and doing really well, too. Richard is not coaching but he's helping so much he might as well be. Miss Evan is doing great and growing so much! She's potty trained! It was so easy...she just kind of starting going and of coarse day care helped, too but it was a breeze! She's so independent and everything is "I DO IT". EVERYTHING! She loves watching Elmo, coloring, reading books,singing songs, going to nursery and singing at church and going to the ball park. Some funny things to note: In the store picking out her a cute dress for picture day, she took off her shoes and starting pulling down her pants to put it on right then! This morning when I put on her new brown sandals, she said these are boy shoes! She talks so much and is so much fun. Her hair is growing so much. If only she would keep a bow or pony tails in it! Not much else to report right now...just living life. Hope to get pictures up soon.

Congrats Chan

2010-11-19T06:50:00.002-06:00

Chandler made his Highschool baseball team! Congrats Chan! Can't wait to watch you play!

SUCH A DIVA

2010-11-14T18:11:00.004-06:00

THINGS EVAN LOVES:

1. MOMMY'S HIGH HEEL RED SHOES
2. BATHING SUITS (WORN OVER CLOTHES OR TO THE BALL PARK AND DAY CARE WITH PANTS IN OCTOBER)***NOTE: I DID NOT BUY HER A 2 PIECE, THAT CAME WITH A LIFE VEST THING.
3. CARRYING BAGS/LUNCH TOTES/BACK PACKS
4. HER BABIES (TRANSLATION: PACIFIERS)

THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT HER
1. HER INDEPENDENCE (I DO IT!)
2. THE WAY SHE SOMETIMES CALLS ME "MY MOMMY" EX "WHAT YOU DOING MY MOMMY"
3. ALL THE GIRLY/MOTHERLY THINGS SHE DOES
4. HOW SHE PLAYS TWO, WI (1, 2, 3 AND RUNS)
5. HOW MUCH SHE LOVES HER BIG BROTHERS AND THE WAY SHE SAYS THEIR NAMES
6. THAT HER HAIR IS FINALLY GROWING AND WE HAVE EVEN DONE PIG TAILS AS SAD AS THEY MAY BE
7. WATCHING HER LEARN AND TRY NEW THINGS EVERYDAY

CAN'T WAIT FOR THE MANY GREAT YEARS AHEAD!

HALLOWEEN 2010

2010-11-14T18:03:00.003-06:00

CHANDLER WENT TO A HALLOWEEN PARTY THIS YEAR WITH HIS FRIEND FOSTER. THEY WENT AS RUSSELL BRAND AND KATY PERRY. NOT SURE THAT HE LOOKS ANYTHING LIKE HIM BUT WE TRIED. I DON'T THINK HE COULD SIT DOWN ALL NIGHT IN THOSE JEANS BUT I WANT TO BORROW HER WIG!

HUDSON IS REALLY INTO WRESTLING RIGHT NOW SO HE WANTED TO BE HIS FAVORITE, JOHN CENA. EVAN WAS A PIRATE BUT SHE WOULDN'T WEAR HER HAT AND INSISTED ON WEARING THOSE HOT PINK SHOES. SHE SURE GOT THE HANG OF TRICK OR TREATING PRETTY QUICK THOUGH.

LONG OVER DUE UPDATES BY PHOTO

2010-11-14T17:53:00.002-06:00

SCHOOL STARTED...CHANDLER FIRST DAY OF 9TH GRADE! HIGH SCHOOL!

HUDSON FIRST DAY OF 2ND GRADE

CHANDLER TURNED 15 AND GOT HIS DRIVING PERMIT!

ALABAMA FOOTBALL IS IN FULL SWING

WARNING TO PARENTS OR ANYONE WHO TAKES CARE OF KIDS

2010-08-12T16:29:00.003-05:00

Saturday evening I was playing with Evan in the living room as the rest of us were discussing what we were going to eat for dinner and going to yogurt mountain afterwards. Evan was sitting on one of those big huge bouncy balls. You know the ones in Wal-Mart that your kids can’t walk by the bin without getting one out and bouncing it! I was sitting on the couch holding her hands and she was sitting on the ball bouncing up and down. She started laying backwards on it while I was still holding her arms and I would pull her back up. We did this a couple of times and then she went back really hard and I kept her from banging her head on the floor and then she rolled over off the ball and started crying hysterically. Evan is tough! Usually if she gets hurt, she whines for a minute but gets over it quick or doesn’t even cry at all. But she was crying big…I mean big tears down her face, snot everywhere. I thought she had hit her head or something until I saw her holding her right arm against her body and pointed to it with her left hand just boo hooing. She was pitiful! After giving her a few minutes to calm down I realized that something was really wrong so I called doc in the box to make sure they did x-rays or to see if I just needed to go the emergency room. They did so at 7pm Evan and I headed to the dr. So much for yogurt mountain. I just knew DHR was going to interview me b/c they wouldn’t believe that she broke her arm on a bouncy ball! Every time I would move her she would just cry I know those people in the waiting room were like I don’t feel good would you please shut that baby up. All except for the lady beside us in the motorized chair that called out to Jesus for help every few minutes…she kept talking to me about Evan and how she knew someone blah blah blah…Anyway…after waiting and x rays, the Dr tells me that Evan has nursemaid elbow. I had never heard of such and if you haven’t either, here’s the Wikipedia link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursemaid's_elbow When wonderful Dr. Lovely (yes that’s his name) explained to me how it happened, it made perfect sense and I knew that I had done this to my sweet girl. About 3 min after he put it back in place, she was moving her arm, giving me high fives, and knuckle bumps (chan taught her that) and was a happy laughing child! It was amazing! I could not get over the quick transformation and I was so glad there was nothing more serious wrong. Dr said it would be very likely that this would happen again so to be careful and make sure you pick her up under her arms and all that. I just can’t believe I had never heard of this before. So to all you moms, dads, babysitters out there who didn’t know about this pretty common injury, glad I could enlighten you!

Vacation

2010-08-10T12:50:00.006-05:00

We went to Chattanooga, TN for Hudson's world series. Love Chattanooga! Like I said in an earlier post, they didn't do very well so we were started playing on Friday morning and were done Monday Morning. Since I was off all week and Richard was off Tuesday and Wed, we decided to stay another night in Chattanooga and have a mini vacation so we checked out of the hotel we in (our reservations were only til Mon) and checked into one just down the road. I caught up on laundry while going back and forth to the pool with the boys while Evan and Richard napped. Later that evening, we drove to downtown Chattanooga and walked along the river and through downtown. It's so pretty there!

The dress was getting too wet so we had to take it off!

The next morning, we packed up and checked out of the hotel. We went to the aquarium and imax in Chattanooga thanks to some free tickets from a friend! Then we drove to Atlanta to a Braves game. They were playing the Padres. Usually when we go, we don't have very good seat but Richard wanted good ones so we were about 16 rows behind the Brave's dugout. It was cool to be that close! My sweet little Evan even made the jumbo tron twice! After a trip to the wonderful QT we started home and got home a little after midnight.

She had just woke up from a nap! I know this pic is blurry but it looks like he's looking right at us!

I enjoyed the rest of the week off and Friday we went to Alabama Adventure with my mom and sisters (minus Ashley plus Collin) and all the kids except little Clay. It was so hot but a lot of fun! Thanks for the treat mom!

I love going on vacation with my family. And although it can be stressful and I can be a complete butt sometimes, I still love it! Can we go somewhere now?

Lazy Days of Summer

2010-08-10T12:29:00.003-05:00

What does that even mean when your a full-time working mother of 3, 2 of which are very active in baseball, the wife of a husband who works full-time, runs his own business, and coaches a baseball team? While we were very busy this summer, we were able to enjoy some "redneck" summer days. Note:Chandler would not participate, either not home or in the air conditioning playing X-Box.

Baseball

2010-08-04T15:59:00.006-05:00

What a year of baseball it has been! Let's see...Chandler started playing in Feb for his middle school team. They had a great year and came in 3rd in the city/county tournament. Of course we were upset they didn't win it because they really could/should have but that's the way it goes. He had a great year playing catcher and received the defensive award at their sports banquet. His coach told how many innings he played (I don't remember) with no errors. Right after that season was over, he started playing with a travel ball team and they played a few tournaments from April-July. This was no so fun. Lots of rain delays and rain outs. When they did play, they did well except for the last tournament in July in Panama City. They stunk it up there!

He also played for his future HIGHSCHOOL team, Northridge, in their summer ball program. This involved workouts everyday at 11am at the highschool and then practice later that day and about 2-3 games a week. Thank goodness for my mother in law who helped out a ton with the transportation! This was fun and they did well. Chandler was able to pitch more than he ever did with middle school and he did really well. Other than that, he played catcher of course. I think we are really going to enjoy this team in the spring but it sure will help when he can drive himself! So, we went from watching games in the freezing, freezing cold to the burning up hot!

Hudson played this year at Kentuck and Richard was his coach. Their team did not do so well. Hudson had a good year and was able to play some different positions. Richard had the opportunity to coach the 2nd all star team again and stupidly said yes. They played in 3 tournaments and didn't do really great in any of them but they had a good time and loved the traveling. It was a good opportunity for Hudson to meet new people that we haven't played with before and he really improved on his hitting and had some great defensive plays. We went to Chattanooga, TN for the world series and they had a blast. Again, lots of rain outs and rain delays and that was frustrating but as long as they got to swim at the hotel, they didn't care!

A picture our sweet friend, Shelby, took of herself. :) Too cute not to share!

I just love Evan's shirt with her accessories to make it somewhat fit! And, no I can't get a picture of her without that "pappy" in her mouth!

So funny! Richard bought this mustache in a gumball machine! I told Chan he was porn star fabulous!

The little sisters of the ballpark. These girls loved entertaining Evan and were so sweet!

I love baseball and the time it gives us together as a family! I hope my boys always love it and always want to play. Richard is hoping Evan is a softball player!

Catching Up

2010-08-04T15:34:00.005-05:00

I am the worst blogger ever! We have had a great spring and summer! We are so lucky to have all our family so close and i am so thankful my kids get to grow up close to their cousins! Here are a few pictures from times spent with them.

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T15:22:00.004-05:00

Enjoy the pics from Easter.

All 11 Grandkids at my mom and dad's house.

New Nephew, Clay

2010-04-07T15:16:00.003-05:00

Mary welcomed her 3rd boy, Clay on March 24th. Hudson and I were able to visit them in the hospital at the same time Ashley was there with Bri. No, Evan was not drunk.

Giving Bri Lovin'.

Congrats Mary and Family!

I love her toes!

2010-04-07T15:11:00.002-05:00

About this time last year, I did a post about how I love Evan's toes and how her big toe is always just sticking out from the rest of them. Well, this is how she sits in her high chair and I love it!

Basketball Pictures

2010-04-07T15:06:00.002-05:00

Carson and Evan at one of Hud's basketball games Evan giving Carson some lov'n.

Syd and Hud at the championship game.

Congrats FUMC Lakers!

So late

2010-02-25T16:22:00.006-06:00

Remember Hudson's birthday party was in December? Well, I forgot to take my camera. Caroline took some pictures for and sent them to me and I am just now getting around to posting them. I hate they are so small. But, they are good...thanks Caroline!

The boys taking a break from football to eat some cake and chips. Richard made the kids t-shirts that said Panthers and Seahawks. They chose a shirts and that's how they decided teams.

Chandler said he didn't need a coat and ended up cold, miserable, and in his friend's car most of the time.

Sweet Evan with that 'ole passy!

This is such a cute picture of all the cousins that were there minus Chan and Hud. Evan, Colt, Drew. Sydney, and John Evan.

John Evan and Syd

Basketball recap...

Hudson loved basketball season. They won every game and won the tournament. He loved every practice and game! He started out pretty reserved and wouldn't really fight for rebounds but he quickly got over that and was aggressive and made some great shots and rebounds. He improved a lot this year and it was more fun to watch. Now it's on to my favorite sport...baseball!

ALABAMA 37, TEXAS 21 ROLL TIDE!!!

2010-01-08T10:15:00.000-06:00

Christmas Memories

2009-12-30T14:46:00.005-06:00

We had a great Christmas this year! It just came and went too fast! Most of the time at home was spent keeping Evan away from the tree or putting ornaments back up that she was pulling off.

We didn't go see the mall santa this year. Hudson never asked and my work does a Christmas party day every year for employee's kids and Santa always visits with gifts so we just used that as our Santa picture this year. Hudson did not want to go back so I could get his picture so I don't have that one yet. Evan was not afraid at all. She just kind of looked at him and pulled at his beard.

the boys with Carson at Richard's parent's

Reading the Christmas story at my parent's

Playing on her new toy

Note to self: Don't try to take pictures after giving her the bottle. She will not want to give it up!(I know...she doesn't need it anyway!)

Shopping at Midtown the day after Christmas so the boys could spend their money

Evan's first train ride. Hudson was so proud to be able to "help" Evan. He's such a good big brother!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday, Hudson!

2009-12-11T10:23:00.003-06:00

Hudson turned 7 on December 4th! Needless to say, it was a busy week for us! I took cupcakes to his class at school on Friday and then he had a flag football party at the park on Saturday morning. It was FREEZING cold but the boys didn't care and had a great time. I was afraid no one would show up but he had about 11 kids plus cousins that came. Thanks everyone for helping make Hudson's birthday so special! Hudson is a great kid and like Richard said the other day, can bring out the widest range of emotions from his parents. He can be so loving and helpful one minute, make you laugh the next, and then make you want to beat him :) He is so full of energy and is so excited about basketball starting on Saturday! We love you Hudson...Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Evan!

2009-12-10T11:01:00.004-06:00

My sweet baby girl turned 1 on December 2nd! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It has been so great and I can't imagine my life without her! She has brought so much joy to our family! On her birthday, I took party hats and cupcakes to her class at daycare.

Evan and her favorite teacher, Ms. Toya. She spoils Evan so much and will text me pictures of her sometimes so I can see what's going on. She's been one of Evan's teachers since she started there in the baby room. I know the toddler's teachers are going to be mad at Ms Toya for spoiling her so much but I'm so glad she's so loved.

On Saturday, we had a party for Evan at our house. We had yummy catfish, chicken nuggets, boston butt, fries, chips, rotel dip, and cake. Thanks Rickey for cooking and taking that stress off of me and Russell for bringing the rotel!

Evan did not want to open any more presents after she opened this one from Caroline and her bunch.

Getting ready for cake in her wife beater:) Or should that be man beater?

I was afraid she was going to get sick from eating so much icing so I flipped the cake upside down. She did not like that and tried to pick it back up.

Evan and my niece Shelby

Thanks everyone in the fam for coming. We were able to follow her party by watching Alabama spank Florida to win the SEC Championship! ROLL TIDE!

Halloween

2009-12-10T10:54:00.005-06:00

We had a great Halloween this year. The week before Halloween, my niece Kaitlyn had her 2 year old b'day party at their beautiful home. The kids all took their costumes and dressed up for some pictures.

This is the birthday girl.

We went to the trunk or treat at church for some good food, a talent show, and of course some candy! They had a costume contest and Evan won a prize in her age division! The missionaries judged it and one was a cowboy in Idaho so I think that had a lot to do with it but she sure looked cute! Hudson was a ninja. I think homemade costumes are so much better but I just couldn't convince him of that this year!

My friend Angie and her family were the scooby doo gang. They were so stinking cute!

Hudson, Drew, and Colt enjoying some of their loot!

Hudson and Sydney

Halloween night me and Richard took Hudson and Evan trick-or-treating in a friend's neighborhood. Chandler went to a friend's house. 3 of his friends were Obama and he was Hillary. Well, that had mask on. I know he's too old to trick-or-treat so I apologize to all of those who hate it when teenagers knock on your door.

Evan's daycare class had a Halloween party and I think she enjoyed her cupcake!

Beauty is torture!

2009-12-10T10:50:00.003-06:00

I've been wanting to get Evan's ears pierced for a while. Richard was for it but just said he couldn't be there when it happened. So, I talked to Caroline about taking Sydney with us and off we went to the mall. Just a note...it was Halloween...that's why her ears are being done by a lady bug:) The mall was so crowded that day and this lady was the only person working in the store but she did a great job and was very calm and patient. Sydney was going to go first but then decided to let Evan go.
The first one...not knowing what was going to happen.

A little upset for the second. The store was full of people and as I looked up I could see all these people watching and I just felt like they were saying, why are you torturing your child like that! She just cried for a few minutes and has never messed with them.

Needless to say after watching Evan, Sydney got her face painted instead :)

The purple marks are from where they marked her ears.

I love it and think she looks so sweet and feminine! A girl in her class at daycare who has just a little more hair than Evan. recently got hers done after Santa thought she was a boy! :)

Misc pics

2009-12-10T10:45:00.004-06:00

Just some pictures I wanted to share. This is Evan's new face she makes...so funny!

Chan with phone in hand as always. He doesn't give me many picture opps.

Hudson doing flips on the trampoline.

Evan after some baked ziti. She is an awesome eater and does a great job of feeding herself! (Evan if we do have to go straight to the bath tub!

New Cousins

2009-12-10T10:23:00.006-06:00

At the end of September and first of November, we were able to welcome 2 new babies to our family! My sister Ashley and her husband Collin has their first baby on September 28. Brianne (Bri) Marie. This makes the 10th grandchild and evens out the boy/girl ratio but not for long...Mary is having another boy in March! She is a cutie and it's fun/weird to see Ashley with a baby. She's always been the baby. She's a great mom and I can't wait to see Evan and her play in the many years to come.

This was her blessing day on November 22nd. Ashley and Collin live in the Hoover ward area but are serving in Ensley so we were able to visit that small branch that day.

Collin did a great job and Bri's dress was beautiful!

Richard's brother Russell and his wife Jill had their first baby on October 4th. Carson Ryan This is exciting because this is the first cousin on this side of the family for my kids. It took a little bit for Hudson to understand that Carson was his cousin but not Sydney's :) We are very happy for them and excited for the fun years ahead! I am an awful aunt and do not have any updated pictures of Carson. He had a kinda rough delivery and first few days so the only pictures I have are through the glass in the nursery. I can't believe I haven't taken any pictures since...what's wrong with me? Anyway...congrats Russell and Jill!

I love this girl!

2009-10-29T15:29:00.000-05:00

The life of a 9 month old

2009-09-23T12:15:00.003-05:00

Evan has been having lots of fun since she's growing and becoming more mobile! She crawls (army style...so cute!) pulls up, and is cruising! I can't believe what a big girl she is! He's some pictures of what she's been up to.

First taste of an Oreo cookie!

Spending a few hours at work with mom. Destroyed my shred box!

Late afternoon nap at daycare. Chilled out! (note:this is one of her backup outfits...I did not send her to school in that) I think she's outgrown this bouncer...pushing it to it's limits! She has since moved up a class at daycare and she loves it! They go outside several times a day and she has more room to explore!

Watching Alabama football and looking quite adorable in her cheerleader outfit! Her dad has been waiting a long time for her to wear this.

Happy Birthday Chandler!

2009-09-21T11:02:00.002-05:00

Happy 14th birthday Chandler!

Here are a few pictures for us to see how much you've grown in the last couple of years.

The first day of school this year, 8th grade. Taller than me and gaining fast on his dad!
Last summer during all-stars.

5th grade graduation (2 1/2 years ago ) Whew...I was a lot smaller then too. That diet is long overdue!

Chandler is a great kid and Richard and I are very proud of him. He is still taking guitar lessons and has learned a lot. He loves classic rock and listens to a lot of the same music that I listened to at his age. Weird! He loves Hudson and Evan and all his cousins and they love him too and look to up to him! He still plays baseball. He's very social and into something all the time but has great friends. I can't believe that now he can go to dances and youth conference and that this time next year, I will be taking him to get his learner's permit! Love you Chan! Happy Birthday!

Vacation part 2...Orange Beach

2009-08-07T09:36:00.004-05:00

The kids and I left Calhoun, Georgia on Wednesday about lunch and headed to Orange Beach. It look us forever to get there. I missed a turn and it cost us over an hour. Considering I was traveling by myself with 3 kids, we did great. I was totally stressed out and my nerves were shot but we made it. Needless to say, we didn't do anything that night but check out the house and get settled. The great family that let us stay in their condo last year, let us stay in the house this year. It was beautiful and had a great neighborhood pool that we pretty much had to ourselves when we went. They have 5 children so everything was very kid friendly and they had plenty of toys and games. Thank you so much Sellers for your great generosity! We had a blast! Richard's parents came on Thursday afternoon and Richard got there late Thursday night. Richard's parents were at the World Series, too and his mom was a great help with Evan! Thanks Juanita! She's also spent the summer entertaining Hudson and has been a life saver! Enjoy pics of the beach trip!
Evan's first time on the beach. She didn't seem to mind the sand at all. I was worried about her getting it on her hands and then rubbing her eyes but she was okay. I didn't keep her out there long at all. We're more pool people.
The boys are getting so big and actually got along pretty well this trip.

How cute is her swimsuit?

She really starting trying to crawl but couldn't quite get it down. I love this skirt I got at the Children's Place Outlet for $2.99!

She was way excited when the waitress at Lambert's gave her this balloon!

The house backs up to Gulf State park and there was a pond behind the house and several little lakes in the neighborhood the boys fished in. Richard saw a baby alligator one day and we were warned about snakes by the owners but luckily we didn't see any of those!

Of course we did the putt-putt and go carts. Evan stayed with Me-maw while we did that. Richard and his dad did a great shrimp boil one night and we played lots of Uno. I love my family and vacations!

Vacation part 1...The World Series in Calhoun Georgia

2009-08-06T16:42:00.005-05:00

Hudson's World Series was held in Calhoun, Georgia. That's about 45 miles north of Atlanta and 45 miles south of Chattanooga. It started on Thursday, July 16th with opening ceremonies at 5:30pm. Since Richard was the head coach of the team, he had to be there by 1 for meetings. So, he and Hudson and another dad and son left early Thursday morning. I worked til 12 and then me, Chandler, and Evan headed out. We didn't make opening ceremonies but I wasn't too upset about it because it's usually a big chaotic mess and a lot of standing around. So we headed straight to the hotel. The games started Friday morning with pool play over the weekend. We had 2 on Friday. We won the first one and it was a great game. We were behind the whole time but came back the last couple of innings and won it...it was great. The rest of the weekend didn't go so well for us. We lost the next game on Friday and the game on Saturday. After finding out how the rest of the games in our pool turned out, we realized we did not make it out of pool play to advance to the bracket to play for World Series Champs but that we could play in the consolation bracket. Everyone voted to stay and play ball. It was a single elimination bracket. The kids were excited to stay longer. I think Hudson cared more about staying so he could hang out with all his friends and swim at the hotel! The consolation bracket games started on Monday and we played 2 on Monday, 2 on Tuesday, and the championship game on Wednesday. We won! The team got a huge trophy and all the kids got trophies. They had a great time and I was so glad they could walk away winners. Hudson mostly played outfield but he had a few innings at catcher and first. Our team was so great with great parents and siblings. Chandler had a great time with all the other siblings and it was just a great trip. The weather was great as well! I don't know what was up but that week was so cool and wonderful! There was only 1 really hot day but it wasn't unbearable. That was such a blessing!
All the little sisters loved Evan and she had someone giving her attention all the time!

Evan's first time in the pool. She loved it!

Getting ready to go swimming and clapping. She had just really learned to do that! So cute!

One night we were able to go to a Rome Braves (minor league) game for really cheep. It was a lot of fun and once again, beautiful weather. We were in lawn seats in the outfield where they have picnic tables or you can just sit on the grass.

Evan and all her friends.

This little girl, Megan, adored Evan!

One night, us and 2 other families were also able to go to a Braves game in Atlanta. They played the Mets and won! We all had a great time! Evan can sleep through anything!

It was such a great experience and a blast! The kids and I left straight from Georgia on Wednesday and headed for the beach! Richard had to go back and work a day so he came really last Thursday night. So...part 2 of our vacation will be another post.

7 months and new tricks

2009-07-11T17:10:00.004-05:00

Evan is 7 months old now. She laughs and smiles all the time! She sits up and leans forward and is in the beginning stages of trying to crawl. She babbles and loves to rock herself. As I am typing this, she is about the rock the exersaucer over! This weekend she starting clapping and if you say "yea" to her, she will clap. She is such a joy and such a sweet, sweet girl! She weighs 21 lbs and is off the charts. We call her our big giant baby!

The most beautiful eyes ever and such a sweet smile!

Waiting at the dr office for shots in her 4th of July outfit.

Another 4th of July outfit from Me-Maw.

Our whirlwind summer

2009-07-11T16:47:00.004-05:00

These pictures are so out of order but this will be a recap of what we've been up to the last month or so. Richard is coaching the 6 year old Northport American all-star team. We won our district tournament, placed 2nd in the area (to the Northport Nationals) and tied for 5th in the state tournament. Later this week, we travel to Georgia for the World Series. The season has been a lot of fun. We have a really good group of kids and parents.

Richard and Hudson after the Area tournament. Hudson loves that his dad is the coach so he gets to take all the big team trophies home.

These next pictures are of Evan at 6 month old. She loves hats!

And her passy!

And her big brother!

Sleeping away. This was before someone showed me that this umbrella stroller would recline!

Hudson went to his friend, Anna's, bday party. He was the only boy there and loved it. Anna is on the left and that's Wiley on the right. Pimp at age 6!

Chandler's last tournament was a couple of weekends ago. I think he is enjoying a much needed break. I know I am! He's been busy this summer going to the lake, movies, swimming, and friend's houses.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T21:26:00.003-05:00

Daddy (Rodney),

This video is for you since we couldn't talk to you on Father's Day! We miss you and love you!

The Morgan's

Random Things from the Month of May

2009-05-27T16:01:00.005-05:00

Since the month of May is almost gone and I haven't made a single post, this is just very random. School is over! Hudson had awards day at school and received an outstanding reading award and a citizenship award. Chandler had awards day last week but "forgot" to give me the invitation and handed it to me with his 5 awards he had gotten that day. I was very upset that I missed it. He got top academic achievement in Language Arts, Science, and Math. All A honor roll and something else I can't remember. Congrats boys! I LOVE Evan's toes. She has the sweetest feet. Ever since she was born, her big toe just hangs out and does it's own thing separate from the rest of them. So Cute!

Her teacher at daycare painted her toe nails one day. So sweet. Notice that big toe!

My sweet family!

Huge big blue eyes!

What Hudson looks like after playing in the gym at church.

She loves bath time!

Baseball updates:

Chandler is still playing travel ball and we have been to Hoover 3 times and Cullman but have yet to finish or even play a full tournament because of rain! So frustrating! They are doing well though and we have a few more scheduled so maybe we'll get some in.

Hudson is in tournaments. we are in the Loser's bracket and play a pretty tough team tomorrow. Then we'll just have to wait and see if he makes all-stars. Evan is a trooper and hardly makes a peeps at all the games! She's such a good, sweet baby!

Golden Glove Award

2009-04-28T15:58:00.002-05:00

Chandler had his sports banquet last night for middle school. All the sports were recognized and individual awards were given out. About 4 awards per sport. Chandler got the Golden Glove award for baseball! A pitching, hitting, and MVP were also given out. The coach said, "This kid caught 96 innings for us and is very dependable behind the plate." Congrats Chan! We are very proud of you! Chan and some of his baseball buddies

Easter

2009-04-17T08:59:00.002-05:00

We had a great Easter weekend. My dad got home from Germany Friday night and came to Hudson's baseball game on Saturday. It was so good to see him and I know he was happy to be home. Sunday after church we all went to Caroline's for lunch and some Easter Egg hunting. Unfortunately, Evan starting getting sick while we were there so I didn't think to get any pictures at Caroline's of all the cousins. I'm sure she took some that I can steal :) I also didn't think very well about background when we took these few pictures!

P.S. I did 4 post today so be sure and check them all out!

4 months old and first foods

2009-04-17T08:56:00.002-05:00

My sweet baby girl is 4 months old! She wouldn't really cooperate with these pictures so they aren't the greatest. I tried cereal but she wasn't really about it so I'm going to wait a little while and then try again. She is such a joy and a great addition to our family!

Air Show from Peking

2009-04-16T16:55:00.003-05:00

The Blue Angels were in town a couple of weekends ago doing a show at the Northport Airport. Chandler went with a friend. Richard wanted to watch it but didn't really want to get in the crowd and neither did I. It was crazy. They were busing people to the airport from different places all over town. No thank you. So....we decided to just drive near the area and see where we could get to see it. We ended up in the Peking parking lot off McFarland. Some friends of ours saw us and pulled over with us and hung out and watched it. It was cool cause they have a son Chandler's age and Hudson's age and their little girl loves Evan. The older son was disappointed that Chandler wasn't with us but he enjoyed the show.

Evan telling me all about it!

Hudson and Allen. How cute is that little boy and his cheeks?

Natalie...she has the cutest little raspy voice!

This is Hudson and his "girlfriend", Anna. She had her older sister write Hudson a note one day telling him that she wanted to marry him when she gets older. Too funny! She has the most beautiful blue eyes!

Chandler the Catcher

2009-04-16T16:47:00.004-05:00

Chandler's middle school baseball season is over. He had a great season. He's an awesome catcher and hit the ball really well. It was fun to go to his games. We went through lots of different weather conditions. Starting out the season watching games in the 40's to almost 80's then back to the 40's and windy to finish off the season. The finished like 6th in the city/county tournament which isn't great but their team should be really good next year. We had a couple of close heartbreaking losses. The upcoming 8th graders on this team are playing travel ball this spring/summer to keep playing together. Their first tournament is this weekend in Hoover. Here are a few pictures of him in action behind the plate and getting ready to bat. Chandler got accepted to the magnet school next year so that's where he'll be going. He's so excited about not being at University Place but really wishes he were at Rock Quarry. Oh well, just one more year and he'll be at Northridge! Congrats Chandler on a great season! We are proud of you and can't wait to watch more baseball!

Can't think of a title

2009-03-26T13:01:00.002-05:00

I am the most uncreative person ever! I suck at doing blog posts. I read other people's blogs and they are so cute and clever and mine are just boring. But whatever...

Caroline's family visited us for a couple of hours a couple of Saturday's ago. The kids had fun taking turns at Guitar Hero World Tour on the Wii.
I've been telling myself that I have got to get some pictures of Chandler playing baseball and well, this is the only one I have so far. Sad I know! Chandler's middle school baseball season is almost over. He's had a really good season though. Their team is okay...they stomp the worst teams and get stomped by the better teams. They did have a really exciting game against Echols middle school last week and ended up beating them 17-15. It was a back and forth game and at one point they were losing 11-5! Chandler is the main catcher but he has pitched a couple of times. He is hitting the ball really well right now and it is so much fun to watch! I just can't believe how much he's grown in the last year.

Is there anything more precious than a sleeping baby? Especially this one! Evan is such a sweetheart and I feel so blessed that she is a part of our family. She hardly ever cries, sleeps through the night, smiles, coos, just goes with the flow! I can't wait until she laughs out loud.

I just laid her on the bed to go do something and I came back and she had just drifted off to sleep! So sweet!

Just a picture of me and Hudson hanging out on one of our few nights at home during the week. He has officially started ball, too. They won the jamboree game but lost the first game Tuesday. They played well and Hudson can mash the ball, too. I guess he takes after Chandler:) I love his freckles!

Pictures!!!!

2009-03-04T13:56:00.009-06:00

This is not a good picture at all but it's the only one I have of Hudson playing basketball. It's over now but he loved it! He is a pretty good shooter!

Some of Evan's first smiles. Don't they just melt your heart?

Proud big brother.

Love that sweet head!

Talking to mommy.

I had her picture made at Portrait Innovations at 2 months. This is one I got to hang up at home. How precious is that? Richard LOVES this picture!

Hudson at Shelby and Colt's (cousins) b'day party at Chuck E. Cheese. He had a game that morning.

Hudson and Shelby

Kaitlyn

Evan at Chandler's first baseball game. It was pretty cold but I think she was warm and snugly in this! She's been a sweetheart at these cold games!

Caroline, Sydney, and John Evan game to watch, too.

Snuggling with her Pooh blanket.

You can't see the sign but it says 3 months. Can you believe she's 3 months old?

I haven't gotten any pictures of Chandler in his baseball uniform yet but I will work on that. His team is doing pretty good. They are 6-3. He mostly plays catcher but has pitched once and played first once. He's hitting the ball really well right now! Hope he keeps it up!

Pathetic

2009-02-17T11:26:00.002-06:00

I am so pathetic at updating my blog! Here's a quick post with no pictures just because it's already been a month since my last post! Chandler is playing baseball with the middle school this year. His first game is Friday night and we are very excited about that. He thinks he will be catching the first game and playing first the second (it's a double-header). Hudson has been playing basketball this winter and has really enjoyed it! He's really done well considering it's his first time to play. His last game is Saturday and then he'll start baseball in a few weeks. The boys (including Richard) are addicted to the Call of Duty game for the WII at the moment so it seems that is always on at out house! Evan is great! Growing so fast and so much fun. She smiles all the time and coos. Her coos are the sweetest sounds in the world and her smiles just melt her daddy's heart! She is such a blessed and great addition to our family. I have gone back to work and am surviving that. The first day was terrible but it's okay now. I'll try to get some pictures up here soon!

Blessing Day

2009-01-16T09:15:00.002-06:00

We blessed Evan at church on Sunday, Jan 4th. (happy birthday, Ashley!) My day did it and it was very sweet. She was great and didn't make a peep. Everyone in my family except Andy and Drew (Drew was sick) was there. And although I didn't know it until after, Russell and Jill were there, too. We had the fam over for lunch afterwards. Of course I didn't get any really good pictures. I didn't even think to do it at the church with everyone there and then by the time I got settled enough at home, the boys had already changed clothes. Me and Richard got a picture with her but it wasn't very good so it's not on here.

My dear friend, Angie Martin made her blessing dress and it was beautiful! Thank you so much, Angie. You are so talented! Detail of the front.

The back...look at those sweet little heart buttons!

Evan in her gorgeous dress.

Note: Be sure and look at other posts. I finally got caught up today!

1 month old and Chuck E. Cheese

2009-01-16T09:07:00.002-06:00

Evan turned one month on the 2nd of Jan. I've seem other people take pictures like this and I'm going to try and do it. I wasn't so sure about the headband bows before she was born but now that she's here and has no hair for bows, I find myself wanting her to wear them. I ordered a different kind off e-bay this week...I'll let you know what I think.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese one day over Christmas break. Caroline and her kids met us there and then Hudson went home with them to spent the night. These 2 really do have a lot of fun together. Shelby spent the night with us one night during the break but of course I didn't take any pictures. I'm so glad we all live close enough that my kids can know and be close to there cousins!

Our Christmas

2009-01-16T08:43:00.004-06:00

Christmas came and went in kind of a blur this year. Maybe it's because we had a baby on December 2nd and I didn't buy the first present until the Thursday before Christmas! I got all the major stuff done though. Christmas cards didn't get done and sent, I didn't bake as much if at all, and we didn't really do any extra activities but that's okay. We enjoyed time with family and it was great! The kids with Richard's parents. We went over there Christmas Eve around 2 and had pizza and presents.

Chandler with one of his favorite presents. It's Hudson's, too but Chan was really excited.

Jill, Evan and Hudson.

The kids...it's so weird not to type "the boys" anymore!

Christmas Eve late afternoon, we went to my parent's. These girls love Chandler (bubba) as they still call him.

Ashley getting some hold time in.

Chandler getting ready to read the Christmas story from the Bible.

All the grand kids with my dad. There are 9 now and I have the 2 oldest and the youngest. Why didn't we make mom get in that picture?

Santa and a scary looking elf came to visit at mom's that night. Evan slept through her whole first visit with santa. Probably not a bad thing! The boys sat on his lap, too but I couldn't get my crop feature to work and there were some images of the elf in the background that I chose not to post. Trust me...you're welcome!

I love the way she's looking at me in this picture!

Evan in her new swing that santa brought her.

So far behind...misc pics

2009-01-16T08:36:00.004-06:00

Evan had already changed so much! Looking through these pictures, it makes me so sad that she's already so big. Everybody still says she's tiny but to me she seems huge! As you can see, everyone is so in love with the new addition to our family!

I wanted to post some pictures of the pretty dresses she's worn to church. Jodi Purser let her borrow this one. Gorgeous! I don't think it was very comfortable though :)

This of course is the black dress. It was freezing that day so I put a long sleeve onesie on her but I wanted her to wear it before she outgrows it. I hope she gets to wear it one more time. I can't remember if I mentioned this on here or not but we rec'd the same dress as a gift in a size 6 month...so you will be seeing it again!

Happy Birthday, Hudson!

2008-12-09T12:54:00.003-06:00

Hudson turned 6 years old on December 4! I really didn't want Evan to be born on his b'day but I don't think he would have cared. We had his party planned for the Saturday after Thanksgiving but he got sick so we had to cancel it. There was no time to reschedule but he didn't mind. He was excited that his baby sister was coming home on his b'day and as long as he got to go to Chuck E. Cheese, he was fine. Richard's mom took him Friday when he got out of school. My mom took cupcakes to his class at school on his birthday. Happy Birthday, Hudson! We love you! Thanks for being such a sweet boy and loving your family so much!

He lost his 2 front top teeth earlier this month. So Cute!

Evan Faye Morgan

2008-12-09T12:33:00.005-06:00

Thank you Caroline for announcing Evan's arrival! Evan is one week old today and we love her so much! You can never estimate the amount of love and other great feelings that a new baby brings into a family. Her delivery was so smooth and fast! It was a great experience and I'm so glad that Richard and I were able to go through that again together. He was a great support to me and I just love his sense of humor (most of the time). He had me and everyone in the room laughing and he just made it fun. He also took great care of me! This was by far my easiest delivery and recovery! I feel so bad for women who are in labor for hours! Thank you so much to all my great family who took care of my family while we were in the hospital!

Me before going to the hospital at 3am on Tuesday, December 2, 2008. My goal was to work on the first of Dec and then be induced after that. Everything worked out perfect!

Richard with Evan just moments after her birth. She had him wrapped from the first moment he saw her! He kept joking that there was still a chance she would be a boy but he loves that baby girl!

These boys love her so much and are so helpful! They ask to feed her and hold her and they just hang out and look at her all the time! Hudson says about a hundred times a day, she's so cute! He tells me I had a pretty baby.

This is the dress I picked out for Evan. I love it! Richard actually requested that his picture be taken with her and he hates to have his picture made! He's also requested that we have some family pictures done soon! What is it about little girls?

Now a note about her name:

We had the name Evan picked out but could not come up with a middle name. Even in the delivery room, this was still being discussed and we just couldn't come up with anything. While I was delivering her, Richard's mom got a phone call that Richard's grandmother (dad's mom) passed away unexpectedly. Her name was Mary Faye but she went by Faye. So that's where the name Faye came from.

ANNOUNCING

2008-12-02T22:22:00.003-06:00

Evan Faye Morgan
December 2, 2008
11:16am
7lbs. 1oz. 19 1/2 in. long

Mommy and baby are doing fine. Chandler and Hudson are two very proud big brothers. As you can tell in the picture Hudson LOVES her already!

Valoree will give more details soon until then we will let her enjoy and love on her brand new baby girl!

Love-Caroline

Baby Update

2008-11-28T15:03:00.002-06:00

Well, I just thought I would give a quick baby update. I went to the dr last Thursday, the 20th. I was 2 cm dilated and the dr offered to induce Tuesday. I really wanted to try and make it past Thanksgiving so I turned that offer down. I know a lot of people are against inducing but I'm all about it! I'm still hanging in there and go back to the dr Monday afternoon so hopefully if I don't have her before then, we'll schedule it one day next week! I think I'm pretty much ready. Can't wait to see her and hold her. We know her first name is going to be Evan but we're not sure about a middle name. Wish us luck!

Halloween, birthdays, and more

2008-11-11T09:23:00.007-06:00

We had a great but busy Halloween weekend! Thursday Oct 30th was my niece Kaitlyn's 1st b'day. Her party was Saturday and my parent's house. All the grand kids were there and Elizabeth requested that they wear their Halloween costumes. They had a good time playing together. My dad (well, Chandler ended up driving) took them on a hayride at a park down the street.

Colt falling asleep in the swing. I sure am going to miss my Sundays with Colt when my baby gets here. He is such a cutie and I LOVE getting him to sleep every week!
Drew on the hayride.

My dad leading the kids in Old MacDonald had a farm....He's such a nut!

Chandler and Hudson getting ready to drive us around.

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn! She loved that cake and didn't hesitate at all to dig in!

All the cute grand kids in their Halloween costumes.

On Halloween night, my fam and my parents went to Caroline's neighborhood to trick-or-treat. She cooked some yummy potato soup...still need the recipe by the way...and Chris took us around the neighborhood on the hayride. Some other neighborhood kids joined in. The kids had a good time. Richard said Chandler was too old to go and ask for candy but he dressed up and went along for the ride.

John Evan as a UPS driver. He did everything he could to keep me from taking his picture!

Hudson (hippie) and Sydney (black cat). Yes, she posed like that on her own!

Hudson the hippie. He's been this before but he couldn't decide what he wanted to be and literally picked this about 30 min before we left.

Chandler was Slash (guitarist from Guns N Roses) How cool is that? He came up with this on his own. (Please excuse the garbage in the background!)

We had a great weekend celebrating! Also, this same weekend, 2 girls from work through me a baby shower. I didn't feel like I needed one but they wanted to do it and it was great. I got lots of girly stuff! My favorite gifts were an Alabama stroller, cheerleading outfit, and black and white gigham diaper bag. Thanks so much Jennifer and Janice and everyone that came! She'll be here in 4 weeks or less and we still don't know what her name is going to be!

Sydney's 5th b'day was Nov. 6th. She had a party this past Saturday at the Quad. She had a "tailgating" party. The kids had fun getting tattoos, decorating megaphones, and learning some cheers from cheerleaders. Everything was decorated really cute! Happy Birthday, Sydney!

Congratulations Chandler!

2008-10-24T09:12:00.003-05:00

Chandler made the middle school baseball team this week! They started tryouts last Tues, Wed, and Thurs with over 40 kids. Last Friday, they cut to about 25 and had tryouts again this past Wed and Thurs. We found out this morning that he made the team! Congrats Chan! We are so proud of you! Don't know how I'm going to work out going to all your games in the freezing cold with a new baby but we'll work it out!

What we've been up to

2008-10-08T09:11:00.004-05:00

Okay, these pictures are so out of order but that's okay. We have had a busy and fun month! Chandler's all-star coach, Dr. Bryan Givhan, gave Richard 2 tickets to the Alabama/Georgia game in Athens on 09/27. Richard and I decided that would be a good time for us to do something and get out of town since our anniversary was on Oct. 3rd. So, we took the kids to Richard's parent's house that Sat morning and headed to Georgia. We stayed in a hotel outside of Atlanta. We checked into our hotel about lunch time and just hung out for an hour or so then headed to Longhorn Steakhouse to eat. Richard ate at 24 oz steak along with an appetizer, salad, bread, and a baked potato! Man can he eat! He said the steak was awesome. We left there and headed to the game. We didn't know where to park or anything so we just parked in the recreational center parking lot and prepared to walk a really long way. But, they had buses that took you right to the stadium! It was great! We were the only 2 Alabama fans on the bus and some of the people were joking about not letting us on and stuff. I said, we'll just sit in this corner and not say anything. Richard said, well, we figure we'll have the bus to ourselves on the way back cause ya'll will be leaving about the 3rd quarter! They got a kick out of that. Little did we know that he had it about right!
We did have some drama and almost didn't get to see the game. We take our tickets to the gate and the guy tears off my stub and then says, wait, where's the hologram on this one? There was a little oval hologram on the top of the tickets and one of ours had one and the other one didn't. I was just like I don't know. So he tells us that it's not a valid ticket, calls a security guy over there to look and this man tells us the tickets no good. We were freaking out and saying that the seats were right next to each other, etc... and he's just like, it's no good and walked away. It was the most dejected bad feeling! Richard was asking how much cash I had to buy a ticket from someone but I was determined to talk to someone and get it fixed! We went to the will call window and explained it to the sweet old man there. After talking to someone else, he gets out this green notepad and writes us a card for replacement tickets. I could have kissed the man! So luckily everything worked out and we got to see the game. It was so much fun! Richard couldn't believe the score at halftime. He just kept looking at the scoreboard thinking, does that really say that? We sat with a ton of bama fans way up high but could see great and had a blast! ROLL TIDE!

Score Board at half time.
The Alabama fans in the lower seats still singing Rammer Jammer!
As requested, Meaghan, a picture of me pregnant.

Us before the game...excuse my hair!

The weekend before this was full, too. Caroline, Mary, and my dad got free tickets to Alabama Adventure from Mercedes so me, Caroline, and Elizabeth took the kids. Chandler went over to Atlanta early with a friend to go to Six Flags (we were going to a Braves game the next day). The kids had a great time. It was pretty cool, cloudy, and rainy most of the day but that didn't stop them from having fun.

Cute cousins...Shelby, Sydney, and Hudson

Having a blast!

They loved this roller coaster! I was so proud of them for riding it all by themselves. They were so fearless!
The next day was a Braves game. Hudson was #21 this fall in baseball and Chandler has always been #21. I did not get any pictures of Chandler at the game. We went with his all-star team (again at the treat of Dr. Givhan) so the seats were kind of split up so he didn't sit with us. All the players sat together.

Hudson and Rickey. (Richard's dad) We had a good time and the Braves won!

We have been very blessed this year with great friends and family who have treated us to so many great things! I hope we are able to return the favor somehow!

Wow it's been a while!

2008-09-19T15:10:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in forever! Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever looks at my blog anyway.

The boys are both doing great in school. Chandler's a little bored but at least he doesn't have much homework! He's playing football for the middle school and he is actually a starter! They play 7th and 8th combined so we didn't really expect him to get much playing time as a 7th grader but he starts. He's a linebacker. Richard thinks he needs to be more aggressive but I guess his coaches see something in him that we don't. It's fun to go to the games with all the cheerleaders and everything. They are 2-1. Go JAGS! They have a baseball meeting next week and I'm looking forward to those tryouts!

Hudson is playing fall ball. It's really laid back and he's enjoying it. Richard's coaching him again and they've won every game so far but one. He's gotten a green star at school everyday and he loves P.E. Our neighbor is in 1st grade at the same school and they ride together most mornings. Hudson just loves that!

Richard has been busy as usual. He's enjoying this Alabama football season. My pregnancy is going great. I'm actually starting to look and feel pregnant. We still don't have a name for this little girl. Our house is officially on the market. We are doing For Sale by Owner to start. We've had several calls and shown it to a couple of people. Hopefully it will sell before too long. We are going to a Braves game this weekend with Chandler's all-star baseball team. Chandler is going up early to go to Six Flags with a friend. Should be a fun weekend. Chandler's 13th b'day is Sunday. Happy Birthday, Chandler!

First day of school

2008-08-19T15:17:00.007-05:00

The boys started school last week. Hudson is in kindergarten and Chandler is in the 7th grade. Because of all the crappy changes the city schools made this year, they are both at the same school. Most of the schools are K-8 now. They are both doing fine so far but we hope to put our house up for sale by the end of the month and be moved my the first of the year so Chandler can get back to the school all his friends are at. He's playing football and 3 schools combine for that so he's able to see some of his buddies at football practice everyday after school. The first thing Hudson said to me when I picked him up after his first day was, "I didn't go to the Principal's office today." :) He's gotten a green star everyday and his teacher says he listens and follows directions well. I'm glad he's doing great so far. I was a little nervous about him starting with all that goes along with "big school" but so far so good.

This was the day before school started. When I went in his room, he was asleep like this. Pillows on the floor, blanket wrapped around his head. I thought it was pretty funny.

Note: They both got haircuts about 5 days after this. I'll have to post pictures of that cause Chan got his chopped off!

Gulf Shores

2008-08-19T15:17:00.004-05:00

I am so late posting this! We were blessed to be able to go the beach the first weekend in August. One of the kids on Hudson's baseball team's parents just bragged all year at what a great job Richard did coaching and how much they appreciated the time our family put into it. She told us they had a condo that they wanted us to use over the summer. We normally wouldn't take someone up on an offer like that but when she called in July and wanted to know when we wanted to go and insisted, we decided to go. Richard didn't get to go with us when we went with my family for a couple of days in June so this was really the only vacation he had. We had a great time and the condo was beautiful! We loved the layout and the way it was decorated! I think the bed was more comfortable than mine at home and that's saying a lot cause I LOVE my bed! I was so proud of Hudson and Richard. Richard normally doesn't swim in the ocean or the pool and he spent a lot of time in the ocean! He and Chandler had boogie boards and that's what they did the most. Richard got Hudson to slowly go out in the water (he loves the pool, not the ocean) and he ended up loving it, too! He started out shallow just jumping over the waves as they would come but then he got braver and even started going under! If any family remembers the gagging and screaming incident from Panama City in June, you should be impressed!

Of course we had to play putt-putt and do the arcade and go-cart thing. I won at putt-putt! It made Richard so mad!! :)

Hudson using the pillows as covers!
Like I said before, Richard doesn't usually get in the water so of course he didn't have any swim shorts. After trying to swim in cargo shorts, he decided to go and buy some. The only sleeveless shirt he could find at the shop he was at was a Corona shirt. How redneck does he look? And I promise, that's an energy drink in that Solo cup!

We had a great family vacation. Thanks very much to the Sellers for their generosity! Richard will have to remember to pick their son next time he coaches :) Just kidding!

World Series Recap!

2008-07-25T13:00:00.003-05:00

Whew...what a busy, fun, and exciting week! The 12 Year Old Dizzy Dean World Series was held in Moody, Alabama from July 18-23. There were 16 teams in the tournament from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and Tennessee. You were supposed to finish 1st or 2nd in your state to qualify but then there were some open spots for other teams to be invited, too. We usually take off work the week of the world series but because it was held so close and neither one of us could really take off, we just decided to stay in Moody over the weekend and then drive back and forth the rest of the week. Friday night we got to the ball park about 7:30 for opening ceremonies. All the teams went out on the field for a ceremony and then there was an AWESOME fireworks show!

Our first game was Saturday at 12:30 against the Rockdale Mustangs from Georgia. We beat them in 4 innings 10-0.
Our next game was Sunday at 1pm against the Sandy Springs Storm from Georgia. They were the State Champs in Georgia. We beat them 4-1.
Monday we played Jefferson Parrish Recreational Department at 2pm. We knew from watching their game the day before that their fans were loud and obnoxious and that they might give us some competition. Well, we were right! At the top of the 6th inning, we were losing 10-4! We were the visiting team so we had one more shot at scoring enough runs to tie or get ahead or that was the ballgame. I'll be honest, I just knew we were beat! We hadn't been hitting that well and it just wasn't looking good. But, we did it! We scored 8 runs that inning to make the score 12-10 and then we got them out before they scored any! It was awesome! We were so proud of our boys for coming back like that! It was probably 100 degrees that day at least and one of their players had a heat stroke during that last inning. He left in an ambulance and had a seizure on the way to the hospital. Scary but we've heard he's okay.
Tuesday, we played Northwest, Florida at 2pm. This team had some huge, grown men looking boys on their team and had pretty much dominated every team they played. They were cocky and we were a little nervous about it. We played for about an hour and then the thunder and lightning started so we had about a 2 hour rain delay. We ended up beating them 7-0! They were not happy about it and kept saying, we'll see ya'll again. They were wrong, they lost their next game so they were out of the tournament! This put us in the championship game on Wednesday.
Wednesday we played Panhandle, Florida for the Championship at 6pm and they had to beat us twice. We beat them 14-10! So we won the Championship! It was great! Chandler has played in this tournament every year since he was 6 and the closest they've ever come to winning was when they were 10, they came in 2nd! It was so awesome to see them finally achieve this! They went 23-0 for the all-star season! Thanks to all the support of our family for coming to watch Chandler play! My dad came Sat and Wednesday. His friend Rick came with him Wednesday. Ashley and Collin came Sat. I could not believe this cause it was so hot and she doesn't like hot weather! Richard's parents were there the whole week. Russell and Jill came Wednesday night. Thanks to other family and friends for your support from home! We are so proud of Chandler and for his talents and the good kid that he is!
This is the banner Richard made to hang on the fence at the games.

2008 12 year old Dizzy Dean World Series Champions!

Hudson was really tired one day on the way home from the ball park. Notice his wooden bat tucked under his arm! He had a great time swimming in hotel pools, playing with his friends, and eating lots of snow cones and dipping dots!
This is not a good picture at all but this is the dog pile right after the last out was made to win the game.
Our State Championship banner. They now have a World Series one, too. Their picture is on the changing billboard on the corner of McFarland and 15th Street (the side coming from Skyland) for 2 weeks. Check it out if you get a chance.

State Champs #2

2008-07-11T10:53:00.011-05:00

Chandler's all-star team is still doing well. They are undefeated and won their area and state tournaments. They start the World Series next Friday and then will be done! Caroline, Sydney and John Evan game to watch the championship game. Don't you just love how Sydney poses on demand? (I've learned that she comes by it honest...Caroline:)
Chandler's team. Us moms were saying that it was about to the point where you needed to coaches to stand in the front cause the kids are as tall as if not taller than them!
Richard and Chandler after the game and trophy celebration. The Northport Nationals have won the State Tournament in all age groups that have played so far...5, 6, 7, 10, 11, & 12! The 8, 9, and 13 year olds play this weekend! That is really saying something!!!

Angie and Chris July 5, 2008

2008-07-11T10:53:00.008-05:00

Caroline and I went to North Carolina this past weekend to be in our friend, Angie's wedding. We had a great time and the wedding was beautiful. We left on Friday morning at 6am and pretty much went straight to the rehearsal and dinner after arriving. We took one wrong exit and cost ourselves about a hour to get back on track but it made for some entertainment and laughs! The trip went by so fast! A lot different than traveling with kids! We had some interesting gas station experiences! Sorry these pictures are so small but I took them off Caroline's account because as I've said before, I just don't take pictures. My parent's were able to go and spend a long weekend up there. They stayed at a bed and breakfast. The town, Waynesville, was so beautiful! The weather was great and we really loved everything. After seeing the chapel and everything, we totally understood why she wanted to get married there.

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen? This is Angie's nephew, Jhase. He was just precious!

Angie and Chris on the lake outside the chapel where the wedding was.
Us girls at the rehearsal.
On the Tuesday before the wedding, we all met at a local nail salon and manicures and pedicures. It was so great! Angie's boss/friend went also. We made reservations so we had the place to ourselves and it was a lot of fun. The day of the wedding, we had our make-up done at Clinique and our hair done at a salon. Getting pampered and hanging out with just the girls was a blast!
Me and Angie
Us at the reception. The reception was a lot of fun, too. It was at a Country Club so our scenery was a golf course and the mountains. Gorgeous! Thanks for a fun weekend, Angie and congratulations!

Russell and Jill June, 21, 2008

2008-07-11T10:53:00.003-05:00

I am so late on this post but Richard's brother, Russell got married on June 21, 2008. He married, Jill Adams. I have known Jill for many years now from church. I couldn't believe they were dating when I found out over a year ago. They are really sweet together and I'm happy to have my only sister-in-law. I have been a part of Richard's family for so long now, I always thought it would be weird when Russell got married but it's not b/c I already knew her! I am so bad about taking pictures so I didn't take any at the wedding. A friend of ours was the photographer and she takes great pictures so I'm counting on getting some copies of hers! This is Russell and Jill at a Luau couples shower they had at her friend's house.
Richard, Chandler, and Hudson were all in the wedding and they looked so handsome in their tuxes! We got some family pictures made and I think they are going to be really good!

I can't tell you how many compliments we got on Chandler that day. This picture does not do him justice but he looked so grown up and cute! His eyes were so blue! The only time I cried during the wedding was when he walked down the aisle. I just can't believe how big he is! Hudson was the ring bearer and he was hilarious. I wish I had a picture of the look on his face when he walked down. He did not want to do it at all but he was a trooper.
My boys before the wedding!
Congratulations Russell and Jill!

What are little girls made of?

2008-07-09T15:56:00.000-05:00

I sure don't know but it looks like we will be finding out! Yep, it's a girl! I still can't believe it! Richard's really had some funny things to say. The boys are excited...it's what they wanted. I was just so sure it was a boy that it really hasn't sunk in yet.

More baseball and other post to come later...just wanted to get his up.

State Champs!

2008-06-27T11:27:00.002-05:00

Well, Hudson's all-star season is over. They played in 2 tournaments. Their Regional Tournament was the weekend of June 13-15. They lost the first game but then totally dominated every other game and won the whole thing. The last game of the championship they had to play the team that had beat them the first game and they won 22-0! Crazy! They had their State Tournament this past weekend and went undefeated and won that, too! They really have some talented kids on their team. It's crazy what they can do at 5 years old! Hudson had a good time and I think he's sad that his games are over and there's no more baseball (fall ball will start in August!)
Hudson with his state tournament trophy and medal. He's really starting to collect some trophies!
The team in front of the scoreboard with their winnings.

Sydney and John Evan came to one of the games on a Saturday.

The team after the Regional Championship game.

Hudson and Richard after the game. Richard had just gotten into town from Chandler's tournament to see the Championship game. I missed all but one of Chan's games that weekend but they really didn't play any competition. They won their District tournament and they start their area tournament tonight. Congrats boys!

Go Northport Nationals!!!!!

May and June in Review

2008-06-13T13:18:00.002-05:00

Wow...it's been a busy month! Here's a glimpse into what's been going on in our lives. My grandmother, Inez Jones, (dad's mom) passed away on May 20th. She was the last of my grandparents. We went to South Carolina for the funeral. It was a very short and rushed trip but it was good to see everyone and get some pictures of the kids on the front porch swing where I used to spend a lot of time as a kid.
Hudson has his preschool graduation in May. It was a cute program. Caroline, Sydney, and John Evan came. Thanks guys!

Hudson with his wonderful teachers, Ms. Jeanette and Ms. Brittani. They have taught him so much and have been great!
Regular season baseball is over and the boys both had a great year. Chandler's team won first place in the tournament and Hudson's team won second place. Chandler's team did awesome the last several games that they played so it was kind of expected that they win the tournament. Hudson's team lost their very first tournament game and came all the way back through the losers bracket to come in 2nd! They had to beat the team that put them in the loser's bracket twice to win it. They beat them bad the first game but then barely lost the second game. It was intense and very exciting. Richard was so proud of those kids! Chandler and Hudson both made the first string all-star teams so we are busy with practice and tournaments already. It's going to be another fun baseball filled summer.
We were able to go the beach for a couple of days last week. My parents got a house at Panama City for all of us and we just came when we could. Elizabeth and Mary and their families left before we got there but we were able to spend time with everyone else. Chandler went para sailing with my dad, Caroline, Ashley, and Collin. They had a great time and came back with a very entertaining story. I love it when I get to spend time with my family like that! Thanks mom and dad!
Pregnancy update: Everything's fine...clothes are getting a little tighter...4 weeks til we can see what this baby is! Can't wait!

Busy Day

2008-05-13T13:40:00.003-05:00

Hudson lost his first tooth at school on Thursday. It's been loose for a couple of weeks but it never got to that nasty, just hanging there loose so I was surprised it came out. He was playing with it at nap time and it came out. He got $5.00 and was really excited about 6am that morning. He came running in my room to tell me and then went and woke Chandler up to tell him. He went back to bed but then when he got up later, he told me that $5.00 was not enough. His friend at school got $100.00 he said (turns out it was 10.00) but I told him her tooth fairy must have more money than his!

Saturday, we had a full, busy day. Hudson had a ball game at 12 then it was off to Sydney's dance recital at the Bama Theater. After that, Richard, Hudson, and I went to the Alabama baseball game. Chandler was at a friend's house.
This was a lady sitting a few rows in front of us. What is she thinking with that hair cut? I just wanted to take a pair of scissors and cut that mess off!
And, check out her pants! I was glad she was a Florida fan!Here's a picture of Sydney and Hudson after Syd's recital. She looked so cute and did a great job. They were very entertaining!

Pretty princess with her flowers she was so proud of!

No longer a Fence rattler!

2008-05-06T11:51:00.002-05:00

Chandler finally hit a home run in his game Friday!!!!! I cannot tell you how many times he has come close. It was really beginning to be ridiculous and almost funny that it was just never going to happen. Well, it finally did! There was one person on base when he hit it. It cleared the center field fence just so smoothly and easily. I know this is stupid but I almost cried watching him run the bases. He was met at home plate by his team congratulating him and his friend, Edward, picked him up and carried him back towards the dugout. It was great! They went on to win the game. They've been on a winning streak lately. Just hope it last to tournaments. On Saturday, I was anxious for him to hit again and they intentionally walked him twice! His third at bat, they finally pitched to him and he got a good hit. He also pitched 4 innings in the game on Sat and did awesome! He's not really a pitcher. He's pitched maybe 3 times this year. Out of 12 outs, 7 of them were strikeouts and I think he gave up 2 hits and 1 run. It was awesome! He just really had a great weekend. Chandler with his home run ball.

Mom, Dad, Mary, Drew, Colt, Rickey, and Juanita came to the game on Friday. Drew was excited to watch "bubba" play baseball!
Hudson playing with his friend, Josh. They really keep each other entertained during the ball games! They "play" baseball with cups, rocks, sticks, and what ever else they can find. It's so cute.

Hudson's game got rained out on Saturday and he doesn't play this week until Thursday and I think it's supposed to rain. He will be so disappointed because he just can't wait to play again.

Week in Review

2008-04-23T09:53:00.003-05:00

I had a sonogram on Monday and everything looks good. My due date is still December 6th. I was able to hear the heartbeat and that was really cool. It was also great to have some visual and audible confirmation that I am pregnant. Kinda makes it seem real. I haven't been feeling as nauseous but really, really tired and just kinda yuck at times.

Other news...Chandler went to Space Camp last week on a school trip and had a great time. A couple of his friend's dads went and they came back telling Richard that Chandler was a lady's man. He said Chandler had quite a following. Of course when we asked Chandler about it, he played it off and just said that he hung out with the girls a lot and that one girl pretty much wore his hat the whole time. When I picked him up, the first thing I asked him after, did you have fun? was Do you have a new girlfriend? He said no but then we found out a couple days later that he did meet a new girl on the trip and apparently she's his new girlfriend now. These things don't seem to last too long with him thank goodness so I'm not really going to worry about it...yet.
Chandler had basketball tryouts at his school Monday and Tuesday for next year. He said it was hard, tiring, and fun. We won't know for a couple of weeks if he made it or not.

Hudson is really enjoying baseball. He wants to play/throw/practice all the time. He and our neighbor play in the backyard pretty often and it is so cute how they just get their own little game going. A friend of Hudson's mom is pregnant also. His teacher said that they were talking about their moms being pregnant the other day and the friend said, my mom throws up. Hudson said my mom doesn't throw up because she likes being pregnant! How funny!

Sunday, my nephew, Colt (Mary's baby) was blessed. Everyone was able to come to church except for Heather and it was great to have all the family together. We ate lunch at Caroline's and spent all afternoon at their house. It was a beautiful day and I'm so glad we were all able to get together for something so special.

Morgan, Party of 5

2008-04-17T08:16:00.002-05:00

Well, we are going to have a new addition to our family! We are very excited. The boys are happy and both want a baby sister. I would be happy with another boy. But, of course either will be fine with me. I'm due December 6th. Hudson's b'day is the 4th! I have been a little sick to my stomach with this one which is different because I wasn't at all with the other 2. I haven't actually thrown up or anything but it's still not fun and I totally sympathize with those women who are really sick. I just don't think I could handle that everyday. Sometimes I still can't believe it but we are very happy about it and I can't wait to have a baby in the house again.

Baseball Updates

2008-04-11T09:45:00.002-05:00

Baseball is in full swing now. The ball park where the boys play has recently has some renovations. We have a new concession stand, bathrooms, and pavilion. It is so nice. We enjoy the time we spend out there and know there are a lot of people who work hard to keep it going.
I put the boy's records on my blog and as you can see, Chandler's team is really not doing that well. They have there moments but they still make way too many errors. And I don't know what's up with Chandler's hitting but he's kinda gone into a slump right now. If he doesn't get walked, he's popping up. It's very frustrating. I'm sure he'll break out of it soon though. I hope! He's doing great at catcher and last night he pitched and did really well.
Hudson's team is doing pretty good. I actually have to help in the dugout with his team so I'm getting to know the kids on his team. They are so cute but can be a handful. There is one little girl who loves rocks and bugs. One game they found some caterpillars in the dugout and that little girl was holding one. I told her it was her turn to bat and she was ready to go (with caterpillar in hand) I had to make her put it down and the first thing she asked when she got done batting was where's the caterpillar! She also loves dirt and rocks! Hudson loves playing and he's doing really well. He usually plays 3rd base and he's thrown several people out at first. So cool! I love my baseball playing boys!

Easter

2008-03-31T12:01:00.002-05:00

We had a good Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day! This is not a good picture of me at all but it's the only one I have of me and the boys in our Easter clothes. I love Chandler's new suit! It's linen.

Sunday evening we all got together at my parent's house for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. The kids always have a great time when we all get together. We TRIED to get a picture of all 8 grandkids but it wasn't easy. We didn't have them in a good spot b/c of the sun and of course they wouldn't all look at the same time.

My sweet John Evan showing me his eggs with one of his CRAZY faces!

Baseball Season

2008-03-26T09:10:00.003-05:00

I love, love, love baseball season! I love to be at the ballpark and watch my boys play ball! My life just seems incomplete during the months of Nov-Feb. We officially started Saturday. Richard is coaching Hudson's team and they are the Threshers (the park went with minor league team names this year). They played at 9am and won! They played way better than Richard ever thought they would! The first practices were bad! Hudson had already played his game when I took this picture and he wasn't too happy that I asked to take it before he went outside to play. The stains on the knees of his pants, weren't from the game but from when he fell down going to the bathroom :) Chandler is on the Storm. He was supposed to play at 6pm but the games were behind so he didn't start until 7. They won also! Chandler has come so close so many times to hitting one over and he did that again Sat night. Always hitting the top of the fence, or landing just in front of it. It would have been a grand slam, too. I just think it's not meant to be but, maybe one day he'll get one.
Friday night we went to the Alabama baseball game. It was a little cool but we had a good time. We hope to be able to go to a few more. Thanks Amy for the tickets!

10th caller

2008-03-24T13:58:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday, I had just picked Hudson up from school and was on my way to pick Chan up from a friend's when I heard on the radio, be the 10th caller now at this number to win. I thought, what the heck? So I dialed and it rang and rang, finally someone answered and said B-1017, try again. So, I did and it rang again immediately. Usually when you call a radio station trying to win something, you get a busy signal. After several rings, the voice on the other line said, B-1017, who is this? I knew that I was the 10th caller at that point and was scared that he was going to ask me some crazy trivia question and that I was going to sound like an idiot. But, he didn't. I won just for being the 10th caller! I won 2 movie passes and a decorated cake from TCBY! Sweet! Now if I could only win when they are giving away money!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-03-03T16:12:00.003-06:00

Our last few weekends have been busy, busy, busy. And, they are going to stay that way for a while! A couple of weeks ago, we kept my sister Elizabeth's kids, Shelby and Kaitlyn for a few hours one Sat evening. I didn't even get a picture of Shelby but she and Hudson had a good time playing together. I enjoyed painting Shelby's fingernails and washing and brushing her gorgeous, long, blond, curls. Kaitlyn was not feeling very well but she was still pretty good. Richard got her to sleep and just held her for the longest time. We've forgotten what it's like to have one that little around.

The next Friday night, we invited Sydney to spend the night. When I went to pick her up, I talked Caroline into letting me take John Evan, too. They were both really good. John Evan just followed Syndey and Hudson around. He did let me love on him some. I did find out that he is a really light sleeper and you don't want to wake him up cause he won't go back to sleep. He never cried or anything, just banged his head up and down on the pack n' play. He's a funny little man.Chandler was at a friend's house so Hud and Syd were going to sleep in his room but that ended up not working out. They watched a movie and then Sydney came and told me that she wanted to sleep in Hudson's room and he was going to to sleep in Chan's. I think they are just both really used to sleeping alone and it just works better that way.

Chandler's basketball team came in 3rd for the season. They played a team Friday night that had beat them the other time we played them. They had 13-14 year olds on their team and it's suppose to be a 12&under league. Our boys played so good and almost beat them. It was very exciting and we were so proud of them. We played Sat morning at 9 for 3rd and the team we were suppose to play, didn't show up so the boys played around a little and then we all went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate.

After the basketball celebration, it was off to Academy to buy cleats for both the boys and then straight to Chandler's baseball practice. From there, it was off to Hudson's baseball practice. So, here we go with baseball season! Yea!

My new nephew, Colt.

2008-02-18T12:15:00.002-06:00

My sister, Mary had a baby boy on Friday, Feb. 8th. Colton Austin (Colt). He is a sweetie and we enjoyed visiting with them at the hospital. Congratulations!

I've been tagged!

2008-02-13T12:50:00.002-06:00

I have been tagged by Meghan to tell the blogging world a little bit more about myself. Why is it always harder to write about yourself? Anyway...here goes.

10 years ago...
Richard and I had been married for 3 years. Chandler was 2. We were living in a townhouse off of Skyland Blvd and I drove a burgandy Nissan Sentra. I worked as a customer service rep at a finance company.

5 things on my to-do-list today:
1) Make it through this day at work
2) Drop off Richard's business disk copy to accountant
3) Buy cups for Hudson's valentine party
4) Buy Richard and Hudson's teacher something for v-day
5) Go to the gym

If I were suddenly a billionaire:
I would donate lots of money to really great causes and maybe start some of my own. I know that sounds really cheesy but it's true. Richard could open his store like he wants to so badly. He could open several! I would make sure my family was taken really good care of. But, I've always said that if I had a bunch of money that I wouldn't buy some huge house and outrageous car and I don't think that I would. I would however have a maid so I would never have to clean my own house!

3 of my bad habits:
1) Worrying over things I have no control over
2) Yelling at people who can't drive
3) Losing my patience too easily

3 Places I've lived:
1) Greenville, SC
2) Spartanburg, SC
3) Tuscaloosa, Al

5 jobs that I've had:
1) cashier at Foodworld
2) front-end manager at Foodworld
3) customer service rep/asst manager at finance company
4) loan processor at bank
5) accounting clerk at bank

5 things people don't know about me:
1) I am super cheap when it comes to buying clothes.
2) I love Demitri Martin's comedy.
3) I HATE bad cell phone manners! When there are 5 signs posted on the door and all throughout the office to turn off cell phones, pagers, radios...I think they mean it! Sorry venting about a dentist experience last week. I also hate bad customer service and tend to let them know it! Maybe that should be under bad habits :)
4) I wish I could sing.
5) I love the smell of clean laundry and fabric softener. Detergent aisle at Target...the best!

I'll tag Caroline and Richard.

As Promised...

2008-02-11T14:34:00.000-06:00

Chandler has been pretty busy since Christmas. He's been playing basketball this winter. They have practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a game on Saturdays. On Wednesdays, he has guitar lessons from 6-6:30 and then church from 7-8:30. Well, now that I think about it, since he can't drive and get himself all those places, I guess I should say, we've been busy. This is his basketball team. A few of these boys go to church at First United Methodist and all but 2 of them go to school together.(2 are missing in this picture) They are a really good group of boys and they have a lot of fun. They're always giving each other high fives and cheering each other on. They've won all but 2 of their games. We just have one more game this weekend and then a tournament. I have to be honest though...I can't wait until it's over and baseball begins :) Guitar lessons are great and I'm so glad he is doing them. He's had 4 lessons and his teacher is so nice. He is very complimentary of Chandler and says he's doing great. I just hope he sticks with it and I can't wait to hear him play something that sounds like a song:)

Flava Flave

2008-01-31T16:39:00.000-06:00

Hudson is addicted to Fla-Vor-Ice pops. He has liked them for a while but now has a box a week habit. He requests them 2 at a time now. He even eats them in a certain color order. All the blues first, then green, purple, red, and then he mixes up the oranges and pinks. The other night as he was eating 2 purples I told Richard his new nickname was going to be Flava Flave. I guess he could have worse addictions!

P.S. I promise my next post will be about my other wonderful son, Chandler :)

The sweet minds of children

2008-01-23T13:26:00.000-06:00

Kids say the funniest things sometimes and it's always interesting to listen to what they think about some things. Here is a conversation Hudson had with me and Richard the other day (paraphrased of course)

Hudson: Mommy, we need to have a baby sister so I'll have someone to marry.
Mommy: (Shocked) Hudson you can't marry your sister. You have to marry someone that's not in your family.
Hudson: But how will I meet her. She has to come to our house cause I can't drive.
Mommy: But, you will drive when you're older.
Hudson: No, I can't cause I don't know the way.

How funny is that?

We've had this discussion before about his not driving because he doesn't know the way. He asked me a couple of days later if he had a driver's license. I told him no and he asked if he could have his daddy's. I told him, no that he would have to get his own and he wanted to go to the store right then and buy one. So...I had to explain how that worked.

Hudson also has a breathing problem. Well, let's just say that he breathes really deep, and snores when he sleeps. When he was a baby and would fall asleep in church, people would turn around and think it was a grown up that had fallen asleep and was snoring. I was so used to his deep breathing while asleep, when I kept other kids and they didn't breathe like that, I couldn't tell without looking if they were asleep or not. Richard swears there's something wrong with him and he needs something removed but the dr says he's fine. The other morning, he got in our bed about 5 am and I could not go back to sleep with his snoring so I went and slept in his bed. Anyway, a lot of the time if we are playing a game and he's breathing real deep, we'll joke and say, Hudson, can I get one of those? (meaning a breath cause he's using all the air up) He also snorts at times. Especially when bowling on the Wii. He was in my bathroom and I thought he was getting a band aid so I asked him what he was doing and he said, getting one of those things for my nose (a breathe right strip) so I won't snort when I bowl. It was hilarious. Bless his heart.

Fishing

2008-01-09T09:44:00.001-06:00

Richard has been wanting to join some fishing lakes for quite some time now but me being the spoiler that I am, always tell him no, that it's too much money, he won't go enough, blah, blah, blah. So, for Christmas, Richard's dad got Richard, Russell, and himself all a year membership to Foster Farm's fishing lakes in Marion. Richard was so excited! This past weekend, we all went to check them out. I don't see myself going much but I did go this time. It was a gorgeous day! I didn't really plan on fishing but I did and it was a lot of fun. We caught lots of brim with worms and Rickey caught a bass. Russell didn't catch anything but got lots of bites. Richard couldn't really do much fishing from having to get my, Hudson's and Chan's fish off when we caught them. Chandler finally started doing his own. When Hudson took a break from fishing, he enjoyed running (and falling) and playing with the worms. All boy! I know the boys are looking forward to many more trips. Thanks Rickey!

Finally some pictures!

2008-01-09T09:44:00.000-06:00

Why do Christmas trees always look so much prettier in person than they do in pictures?
Hudson's daycare did a Christmas program a couple of weeks before Christmas and Caroline, Sydney and John Evan came to see it. Thanks guys! Hudson's class sang 3 songs and I was so proud of Hudson. He sang big and wasn't shy at all! They made these shirts and it's a Christmas tree made out of their hand prints. His teacher is so creative!
Here's the boys with Richard's parents. They love their grandkids!
Hudson's birthday party at school. Hudson wanted a Shrek party so the cupcakes had green sprinkles on them and we brought Shrek ears for everyone.

I was taking a picture of Hudson and his friend Hunter and this little girl, Alexis said I want to be in it! I don't know what happened with her smile...maybe she was trying too hard:)
When we left school, I took Hudson to Toy's R us to pick out a toy and Chuck E Cheese to play some games.
Hudson with his new bike. Yes, he always wears this hat and it's always backwards!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-01-04T12:05:00.000-06:00

2008...wow. My blogging efforts have really been sad these last couple of months. I am doing another post without pictures but I promise to update those soon. My camera kept messing up over Christmas so I probably don't have many good ones to share anyway. But, I still need to put some up of Hud's b'day and stuff. So...those will be coming. Hopefully next week.

We had a great Christmas. It just came and went too fast. I think the boys really got what they wanted. We had talked about getting them a Wii this year but then when we saw how hard it was to find them, we just weren't going to worry with it because it wasn't something they specifically asked for. About a week before Christmas, Richard was at the Wal-mart in Thomasville and they made an announcement that they had just gotten in a shipment. After an internal debate with himself, he bought one. They got in 30 that day and he bought the last one! I wish I had a picture of Chan's face when they opened it. He wasn't expecting it at all and was shocked. I did get it on video. I kept telling Richard that Hudson probably wouldn't care that much about it but let me tell you...he probably plays it more than anyone and kicks every one's butt in bowling. He has the high score right now of like 246. He gets strikes all the time and he's hilarious to watch they way he slings that controller around. He loves to play the baseball game, too. Chandler is excited about his guitar. Now I just need to find someone to give him lessons. We really enjoyed our time off work and school and spending time with family. Hudson's daycare was closed until yesterday. Thanks to Caroline, Juanita (Richard's mom) and my mom for helping keep him!

New Year's was fun, too. Chandler spent the night with a friend and Sydney spent the night with Hudson. We did some small fireworks and sparklers as soon as it got dark that night cause they were so excited and let me tell you, they are both some pyros! We caught a paper bag on fire and it scared me for a minute but it was minor. They loved it! Richard and I didn't even stay up to see the new year come in. How sad is that? Oh, well. That's what happens when you get old. Can't wait to see what fun and adventure this next year brings.

Where are you December?

2007-12-19T13:57:00.000-06:00

I am so late doing this and I don't have any pictures to go with it cause they are still on my camera but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUDSON! Hudson turned 5 on Dec. 4th. He was so excited about his b'day this year. When he woke up that morning he said "Hey mommy, I'm five." Just very matter-of-fact. It was so cute. He thinks he's just a big boy now. We kept going back and forth with what we were going to do for his b'day and we ended up celebrating about 3 times. The Sat before his b'day, Richard's parents, his brother, Russell and Russell's finance, Jill (have I mentioned that before? Congrats Russell and Jill getting married in June) came over to eat dinner and do presents. Sunday we went to church in Bessemer for Kaitlin's blessing. The whole fam was there so we all ate lunch at my mom and dad's house and had a cookie cake and presents there for Hudson. Tuesday on his real b'day, I left work at 2 and took cupcakes (that I made!) to Hudson's school. He was so excited about that. He just thought he was something. I have pictures that I'll have to get up later. Hope you had a great birthday, Hudson. I love you!

This month has flown by! I can't believe it's less than a week until Christmas. I don't want it to get here because I don't want it to be over. I love Christmas. The decorations, music, food, family, everything. It has just come so fast this year. I didn't even get cards mailed out. This is the picture I took of the boys Sunday afternoon with the intentions of doing a card but then I really didn't like the picture and it was Monday afternoon so I just said forget it. Oh well, there's always next year. At least the bulk of my shopping is done! I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Updates

2007-11-27T12:08:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Not much really going on these days but so Ashley won't be disappointed next time she pulls up my blog...I'll post.

School is going well for both Chandler and Hudson. Chandler has made all A's both six weeks. I think 6th grade is actually easier than 5th. He's enjoying youth at church and his busy social life. I am very grateful for all the great friends he has. He's playing basketball with his friend's church and several of his friends are on the team. Their first game is this Saturday. I love watching my boys play sports so I'm looking forward to it even if I don't enjoy basketball as much as baseball.

Hudson loves school. He can kinda write his name and he recognizes all the days of the week and most of the months of the year. He can count to 14 in Spanish. He has lots of good friends as well. A few weeks ago, he taught himself to ride his bike without training wheels! They have a bike at school and he had been trying to ride it so one afternoon that Richard picked him up early, he asked Richard to take his training wheels off his bike at home. He practiced and practiced for about 2 hours and can now ride a bike! We were very impressed that he didn't get frustrated when he fell time after time. He looked so cute with his houndstooth Alabama hat turned backwards. He was so proud of himself! His birthday is in a week and I can't believe he'll be 5!

I have to pat myself on the back. Richard and I joined the YMCA a year ago and I have been consistently for a year. There was a week here or there that I didn't get to go at all but for the most part, I averaged going 3-4 times a week. I know you can't really tell it by looking at me:) I do enjoy it though and I'm proud that I stuck to it. I honestly thought it might last 3 months.

Thanksgiving weekend was great. I was off Friday, too so we had a long weekend. There was so much I could have been doing but we really took it easy and it was wonderful! I love this time of year and am excited to start the Christmas season!

Watching the game

2007-11-13T14:09:00.000-06:00

These pictures are a little old and I forgot about them until today. I thought they were really cute so I wanted to post them. One day at Chan's baseball game, Hudson just went in the dugout and propped up on somebody's bat bag and just watched the game. He really got more into watching the actual games this year. Maybe it's cause he plays so he's got more of an interest in it. It's really cute.

This is Hudson and one of his friends. They were playing with this little girl's doll house during one of Chan's games. Allen was quick to say he wasn't playing when the camera came out:)

Halloween!

2007-11-05T16:39:00.000-06:00

I guess it's about time I posted some Halloween pictures. I'm a little behind and these are a little out of order but call me lazy, I didn't feel like starting over, just to get them in order. This was my first Halloween without Chandler. It was a little sad. He was invited to go with some of his friends on a hayride/trick or treating. He and a few of his friends were mobsters/mafia men. Richard and I took Hudson to Caroline's neighborhood to go with Sydney and John Evan. My niece, Shelby was there also. They had a great time and were so cute! Thanks, Caroline and Chris for letting us hang out! John Evan was the cutest thing ever! He was a turtle! I really enjoyed carrying him around! He went up to a couple of houses but he was pretty content as long as he had a sucker in his hand!
This is a back view of his costume! So cute!
This is Hudson with our neighbors, Sam and Max and a friend of theirs. They were so cute, too!

Me and the other 2 girls in my department were pirates. They looked better than me but we had fun dressing up for work.
Chan's mobster costume. All i had to buy was the hat!
Chan and his friend, John Todd.
Hudson with his daycare teacher and one of his friends. Their class is called the "Fantastic Fours" so that's what they did their pumpkin as for the contest they had at school. I thought it was really cool but they didn't even place!
A vampire (hudson), Sleeping Beauty (shelby), and Minnie Mouse (sydney). Hudson was cracking me up with those teeth. He looks mad in all his pictures and he was hardly talking at all trying to keep those teeth in. Every once in a while, he would slurp spit real big. It was funny!

My new niece

2007-10-31T13:34:00.003-05:00

My sister Elizabeth had her baby yesterday. Welcome Kaitlyn Nell! She is so pretty and I could have just held her forever. Congrats to Elizabeth, Brad, and Shelby!

Champions X 2

2007-10-31T13:34:00.002-05:00

Well, the boys were finally able to play their championship games after a week of rain outs! They both won! Hudson and his team won their game on Monday and then Chan's team won Tuesday night. They were both excited. I think we're ready for a break though. We've been playing ball since March. I'm impressed with how much Hudson improved from the spring to the fall and can't wait to see how much better he gets next spring. Richard tells me that Chandler should hit one over the fence next year. I just want him to get one! :) He's come so close so many times. Sorry these pictures are so dark. I really need a new camera. Hudson's team. The 2007 5 year old Yankees.
Chandler's team. The 2007 11-12 year old Twins.
My baseball boys. Love it!

The Crimson Mafia goes to Oxford!

2007-10-18T13:50:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, we went to the Alabama-Ole Miss game at Ole-Miss. We had a great time! Richard and his dad decided a few weeks back that they wanted to go to an away game this year so they decided on this one and called Richard's uncle in Fayette to see if any of them would be interested in going. Well, we had 22 people to go! There were supposed to be 23 but one of Richard's uncles had gall bladder surgery earlier that week and ended up not being able to go. Richard came up with the idea that we should all have matching shirts so we were the "Crimson Mafia" Our shirts said that on the front and on the back they said, "Beat Bama...? Fa Getta Bout it" We were informed by a man from New Jersey that the phrase on the back was misspelled but Richard told him that was the southern spelling :) We also had matching houndstooth "skid lids". See pictures below. We got lots of attention from it! It was a really long day. We left at 5am and got home about 9pm. We had a great time! These pictures are a little out of order. I had to take a picture of this guy and I wish I could have gotten one of him from the front but we were walking so it was a little hard to do. From the front, it was so much funnier! He had a little belly on him and his shorts were pulled down below his belly. Way too low! It was crazy and of course he was a bama fan!
The boys put their jerseys on when we got in the car on the way home. They got sunburn beards. It was hot and sunny and I didn't even think about sunscreen! It was freezing when we left that morning! I know...call DHR!

Me and Hud waiting patiently in the car in traffic to get off on the exit. Chandler giving us bunny ears in the background. Note: Hudson has an "A" tan line on his cheek from these tattoos!
Richard made us a sign to go in the window of the car. It got us a lot of attention on the way to the game! Richard had fun interacting with the fans on the way to the game. We saw some Tennessee fans headed to Mississippi State and he violently shook his Alabama shaker at them out the window. They thought it was pretty funny.
My fam and Richard's dad before the game. I had to help Hudson keep tabs on DJ Hall the whole game. "Where's #22?"
Chandler looked pretty smooth in his hat.
Some other members of the Mafia after Bama's win. Where are we going next year, Richard? ROLL TIDE!!!!!

Obsessions

2007-10-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

We have been dealing with some obsessions at our house lately. So, I thought I would share a few. At the moment, Hudson's is this sticker eye black. One morning he asked if his game that night was in the dark. When I told him no, he said he needed some eye black. So, I bought him some. Richard suggested I get the sticker kind so it wouldn't be so messy. Well, he loved it and wore it day and night. To shower, to sleep, to school. I made him take it off before church that Sunday but it was back on that afternoon. It's so cute!
Chandler's is his cell phone that he got for his birthday. Texting and talking all the time. This really gets on my nerves sometimes but I'm trying to be cool about it.
Richard and I share the same obsession at the moment. SCRABBLE! He's always loved the game but I suck and we didn't have it so we never played. I got him the game for his birthday and we have played just about everyday since. Sometimes more than once a day. That's been about a month. Although I am getting a little better and have managed to win a time or 2, I get my butt seriously kicked and swear I'm never playing again. It's great quality time for us and we really enjoy it. I enjoy it more when I win but like I said, that rarely happens.

Welcome to Young Men's!

2007-09-28T12:43:00.001-05:00

Chandler attended his first activity as a youth on Wednesday. It was a joint activity with the Young Women and they went to Sokal Park to play soccer. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, Hudson and I dropped Chandler off at the church and went to the gym. Then we ran home for me to get a shower before we went back to pick Chan up. While I was in the shower, the phone rang. So when I got out, I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Kelley Wyatt (the bishop's wife) calling. I called her back and she starts the conversation with, Valoree, don't panic, he's fine but...(As a mother, these are the calls you dread!) She then went on to explain that Chandler had busted his head open and that the bishop was on his way to the emergency room with him and that I needed to meet them there. I was fine and very calm until I got off the phone with her and then I started shaking a little bit. So, off to the hospital we went. I called Richard and he met us there. Come to find out, Chandler and another boy, Taylor Miller, both went to head butt the ball at the same time and hit heads. I think Taylor has a bump on his forehead and probably a bad headache. Deena Ennis was at the activity and works at the hospital so she followed the bishop and Chandler there and hooked us up by getting us back quicker. Otherwise, who knows how long we would have sat there. They were busy! Very appreciative of her for that. She also stayed in the room with us while Chan got his stitches. Thanks Deena! I expected that Chandler would have a little blood on his shirt or something but nothing like what I saw. Aubrey Martin took off his shirt and gave it to Chan to help control the bleeding. He was covered in blood, grass, and dirt. I only looked at the wound once and that was enough. Chandler did great though. He was very calm. He turned down pain medicine. The ER doctor, Dr. Pepper (yes, seriously!) suggested that a plastic surgeon sew him up. We know the plastic surgeon that was on call so that was great! Thanks Dr. Menard! He did a great job. The only time Chandler showed any emotion was when they numbed it up for the stitches. That hurt him pretty bad but he was still tough about it. I think I squeezed his hand harder than he was squeezing mine. We're not sure how many stitches it ended up being. He didn't count but it's a pretty big cut. The bishop stayed in the waiting room with Richard and Hudson the whole time. Thanks Bishop Wyatt! Waiting to get a room. This is the dressing they put on the cut in the waiting room.
I actually got the blood out of Chan's shorts. I didn't even try the shirt. I said we should just throw it out but he and Richard both think we should keep it. It accents the skull design nicely don't you think?
After stitches with his face cleaned up a little bit.
This is the next day and after a good shower. If his eye weren't so black and blue and swollen shut, with his hair down, you wouldn't even know he was hurt. Thanks for all the calls of concern and great support we received from friends and family!

A look into the future...

2007-09-25T10:50:00.001-05:00

There is this guy on Richard's softball team that looks like what Hudson might look like in 15 years. He plays catcher and at one of the first games, Hudson was standing behind the fence kinda beside him and I was just like, "Oh my gosh...that's what Hudson's going to look like!" They have the same crazy hair. Seth is a little sweaty in his picture and Hudson wouldn't stand beside him for me to take his picture so I had to find one to show for comparison.
A really nice guy. By the way...Richard's softball team is undefeated for the regular season. Tournaments start next week. They'll probably get moved up to a different league but I hope they do well.

Happy Birthday, Chandler!

2007-09-25T10:50:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, the 21st was Chandler's 12th b'day! We were a little late throwing together a party but we pulled it off and he had about 10 boys come to the park for some football and food. I think they had a good time. Taking a break from football to enjoy some cupcakes.
Caroline, Chris, Chris' brother Chad, Sydney, and John Evan stopped by. Most of the kids were dressed in Alabama stuff since it was a game day.
Of course John Evan enjoyed the food :)

The boys thought they were too cool for me to take their picture so they did silly poses.

Most of the extended family was at church Sunday for the primary program and Chandler's receiving the priesthood. They came over for lunch after church and it was a great day. I am very proud of Chandler and the person he is and his accomplishments. Happy Birthday, Chandler!

Hudson's t-ball game

2007-09-20T12:05:00.002-05:00

Hudson is having fun playing t-ball. It's better to me now than it was in the spring. It doesn't seem quite as chaotic. Richard is wore out after every game from trying to make sure kids are where they are supposed to be and that they are paying attention. I think they've won all their games. Does this lady in the blue shirt not look just like my sister, Elizabeth? It is crazy how much they resemble one another. Even their mannerisms are alike. I'll try to get a better picture. Chandler saw her from a distance and said to himself, Oh Elizabeth came to the game, where's Shelby?
Hudson giving Troy's Daddy five before he hits the ball.
Richard and the umpire looking on as Hudson gets ready to hit.

$4.75

2007-09-20T12:05:00.001-05:00

Who knew that $4.75 could bring so much happiness? That's right...I got this pool at BigLots for $4.75! Hudson was so excited when I brought this home. We haven't been able to use it much cause we're never home but Sam came over one afternoon and they had a good time. Too bad summer's about gone!

Baseball, school, and job

2007-08-29T10:43:00.000-05:00

Fall season at the ballpark has started. Well, practice anyway. Games start on Labor Day. Richard is coaching Hudson this time. He wasn't going to coach either one of them but the park called and asked him to coach in Hudson's age group because they needed one more. He's excited about it but hopes that his and Chan's games aren't always at the same time. The season is short, only 4 weeks and they don't play any games on Saturdays. I'm glad they are both playing.
Richard is playing softball for my bank's team. They had their first game Monday night and won 17-2. The other team was pretty sad. Richard hit the ball good. He didn't get anything hit to him in the outfield but he had a good time. He is the oldest on the team by about 10 years. It's pretty funny but as he says, "I may be the oldest but that doesn't mean I'm the most mature." So between him and the boys playing, we will be at some ball park 4 nights a week sometimes. Gotta love it!
School is going great for Chandler and Hudson. Chandler's school had open house last week and I met all his teachers. They all seem really nice and fun and they are all pretty young. I don't remember having teachers like that when I was in middle school. Hudson's doing well, also. He has a new best friend at school and talks about him all the time. His teacher writes notes in their folders everyday and that is my favorite thing to read. They are always positive and she shares a little bit of what his day was like.
For those of you who don't know, Richard is now full-time in the t-shirt business. He quit his other job in late June. Things have been going really well so far and he's been getting new business everyday. So...if anyone needs any t-shirts, uniforms, signs, or things like that, please let him know and feel free to spread the word along:)

P.S. Richard's b'day it tomorrow so Happy Birthday! I love you!
P.S.S. ROLL TIDE!

A sweet little voice on the phone

2007-08-15T16:28:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I got a call at work. There was this sweet little voice on the other end asking, "Valoree, can Hudson come spend the night with me?" It was my niece Sydney and it was the sweetest thing ever. After talking to Caroline and making sure she was up for it, of course I said SURE! Richard and I decided it would be a great opportunity for us to have a much needed date night. We were going to a 5:20 movie so we were just going to leave Chandler at home but just as we were about to leave, one of his friends called and invited him to spend the night. So...it all worked out great and we were able to have a date without getting a babysitter. We went to see the Bourne Ultimatum which was great by the way! After the movie we grabbed something to eat at Zaxby's and were home by 8:15. How sad is that? We had a great time and it was good to just spend some time with each other. It was just nice to go to bed when I wanted to and sleep late. We got up and ate IHOP the next morning.
I was able to partially repay the favor by watching Caroline's kids for a couple of hours the next day so she could go shopping. I still think I owe her though! Not quite an even trade :)
Chandler really does have some great friends and I hope it remains that way as he gets older. He started middle school last week and is liking it so far. I can't believe he's so grown. I think back to when I was in the 6th grade and what I knew and how old I thought I was and it's really scary. I guess that's what prayers are for, right? Anyway...I am so thankful for the great family and friends that we are blessed to have! I can't imagine life without them.

A much needed vacation

2007-08-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

We have been back from vacation for a little over a week now. It was wonderful. 10 days of no work and no responsibility. We went to the 11 year old Dizzy Dean World Series held in Rossville, Georgia. We actually stayed in Chattanooga, Tn. The park was about 20 miles away from the hotel. Some people say that it's a lot to take a week of vacation for a baseball tournament and that's not how they would want to spend it but we love it. How often do kids get to go on vacation with 11 of their friends and hang out at a hotel and swim with them everyday? Okay so maybe a few of those 11 you don't want to be with a whole week but you get the idea. We left on Thursday the 19th at about 3pm. Chandler went up earlier with a friend so he could be there for the opening ceremonies which consisted of a parade and a picnic at the park with a rock climbing wall, home run contest, bunting contest, and other activities. We met them at the hotel at about 8pm and the kids of course went swimming. Later that night, we made a family trip to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and lots of candy and junk food. We stayed at Country Inn & Suites so our rooms had a small kitchen area with a sink, fridge and a microwave. Note: vacation is the only time Richard goes to the grocery store with me. Richard's brother Russell stayed the weekend with us and his dad stayed the rest of the week. The games started that next morning at 9am and of course that's what game time we got. It was actually raining that morning so the games got pushed back until 11 so we got up at 6am for nothing. Oh well. We won this game and played again at 5:30 that night. We won that game also.

This is Chan playing 1st during our first game.

Anyway...we won Saturday's game and didn't play again until Monday night. We ended up losing Monday to Tallahassee (the team that beat us last year in the championship game) and Tuesday we lost so that put us out of the tournament. They ended up tying for 5th out of about 30 something teams so I guess that's not too bad but they should have done better. Let's just say we'll blame the coaching and I won't go into any details:) Chandler played great and had a great tournament. We are very proud of him and his talent and attitude!

Between game times we were able to do some fun things. One night we went to a place that had putt-putt, go-carts, batting cages and so forth. Hudson thinks you have to ride the go-carts every time you are on vacation no matter where that might be so luckily we found a place to do this.

This is Hudson with wind blown hair after the go-carts!

Richard had to get in the batting cages!

One day we went to a Children's Discovery Museum. It was okay. Not near as cool as the one we went to in New Orleans last year.

Here are the boys digging for dinosaur bones.

Hudson had a great time at the hotel and the games with the other "SOB's" (I'm not cussing, see earlier post for explanation) We were able to go swimming every morning and pretty much have the pool to ourselves since the bigger boys couldn't swim until after their games. The hotel had an indoor and outdoor pool. Hudson amazed the other parents by his swimming abilities. While other kids his age and older were wearing life jackets, he was doing flips off the side and swimming in the deep end by himself! He wanted to be a big boy and hang out in the lobby and walk around the hotel by himself but we couldn't let him do that just yet. The park where the games were played had a really nice playground so I took him to play on that everyday before Chandler's games.

All in all we had a great week and it was fun to spend so much time together. In the weeks leading up to this, Richard had been working like crazy so we hadn't been able to see him much. We ate a bunch of good food and at a couple of different places. It was a much needed break!

Finally!

2007-08-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

I got my hair cut about a month ago and I've been meaning to post pictures but I just haven't gotten around to it. I took a couple but then didn't really like them so I didn't use them. I'm not real crazy about these either but oh well...you'll get the idea.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

2007-07-13T16:08:00.001-05:00

Hudson has a boy his age that lives next door. Recently we had a 6 year old move in on the other side of Sam. It's great that Hudson has friends to play with. Here are a couple of pictures of them in action.

This is Hudson as Spiderman and Sam as The Rock? (fantastic 4) The other little boy is one of Sam's friends and he didn't want to play dress up this day.

Sam's mom does hair and has some cool hair gel that she hooked the boys up with. Sam used to have a real mohawk and often has cool hairdos.

State Champs!

2007-07-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

Chandler's all-star team went undefeated in the State Tournament and won the Championship on Tuesday night. This is the 3rd year they have won it! Congrats Northport Blue 11 year old All-Stars! World Series here we come!

"We interupt this family for Baseball Season"

2007-06-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

Richard bought me a cute little board with this saying on it for my birthday. (Which was on Father's Day by the way) Thought it fit our family perfectly. We have been busy with baseball of course. Chandler's team played in a Regional Tournament this past weekend in Thorsby, Alabama. They won 1st place. They did great and had a good time. Hudson enjoyed playing with his friends and also enjoyed a night at Sydney's on Monday. Caroline offered for him to stay with them since our game wasn't until 8pm and we were an hour from home. Thanks Caroline! It was very different watching a ballgame and not worrying about where Hudson was. Our next tournament is next weekend but it's in Northport at our ballpark. Yea!
Hudson is still enjoying his new school. He amazes me at the things he's learned in such a short period of time. He can say the Pledge and sing parts of My Country Tis of Thee. He even knows a few words in spanish. He loves talking about his friends and what they do. I love my family of boys and wouldn't have it any other way. :)