And a Merry Christmas to all!

So that's two Christmas' down and one and more to go. December really is a month long Christmaspalooza in our family! My mom, grandfather, sister, niece and nephews(Buddy was in Indiana preaching) came this weekend to do our Christmas celebration and we had a blast. More times than I would like to admit I heard myself shouting for no reason. That's just how loud it got this weekend! No worries though, it was so much fun having every one here. If I could have things my way, I would have every single family function (both sides) at our house. We love to have company and we love it even more now that we have a home to accommodate every one! Every one got here Friday afternoon and left this morning. We woke up Saturday morning and opened presents (Merry Christmas presents according to James)and spent the rest of the day just talking and relaxing and enjoying each other's company. The kids played beautifully together and so did the grownups. HAHA!!! I got an anatomy lesson during our turkey prep(thanks mom!)and a flavor injection lesson from my big sis. I think I can roast my own turkey now. Maybe. We enjoyed a delicious feast of turkey and all the trimmings Saturday evening and then Jon and I took the kids to ride around and look at Christmas lights. Yeah, that was my way of getting out of cleaning the kitchen! Our Christmas light venture was a bust though. Apparently with this bad economy nobody decorated for Christmas this year. The only thing that saved the night was riding underneath the canopy of lights in downtown Cairo. I think we rode under them like 4 times!

My mother made pumpkin and chocolate pies and all James had to hear was the word chocolate and he was all in

Miss Peach didn't mind eating pie either

Bright and early tomorrow morning we are heading out to spend our actual Christmas holidays with Jon's family. We will be making a tour of south Louisiana and Mississippi with our first stop being New Orleans. Jon and I are really excited about being with every one this year since it will be the twins first Christmas with his family. We want to wish every one a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Blessings to you all.

NO MORE PAPPIES!!!!

Well, I did it. I finally did it. I rid our lives of the beloved pappy. A few days after they were all fine and well from their bout with RSV, I reached my limit with those stupid, plastic hole pluggers.
We were on our way home, late one night, from a church meeting and they kept dropping them beside their seats onto the pitch black floor of the van. They would scream like someone was dragging them along side the van while we were barreling down the highway "Pappy, pappy! I drop my pappy!" Which meant I had to keep turning around to find those stupid things. Grrrrr. (My blood pressure is raising right now just remembering that night.) I was so put out with the whole situation by the time they finally fell asleep, I think there was actual smoke coming from my ears. I almost threw them out the window right then and there. (The pappies that is, not the children!) Seriously, I had had it. I was soooo over it and made up my mind that we were going to start the process on Monday of getting rid of those stupid things.
I started by taking it away at nap time and boy howdy they didn't like that little arrangement. I am sure our neighbors thought I was hanging them by their toe nails. They never went to sleep that afternoon and the next day we had a bad morning that involved a shady mechanic and an oil change that lasted for TWO HOURS. I caved and let them have it and then remembered that Thanksgiving was only 2 days away and knew that no one (especially me and their daddy) wanted to spend that holiday with two very cranky children. I stopped Operation: Get rid of the pappy, till the next week. I was sharing my woes that first Monday on fb and got a few good tips about cutting a little off the nipple of the pappy every day. The idea was that eventually the pappy would be so 'broken' that they wouldn't want it any more. You know, instead of just taking it away from them. Sounded like a good thing try so I did. Except, now looking back at it, I cut off a little too much that first go around. No wonder they were so pitiful that afternoon. They really were, they didn't get angry (not at first any way!)they were just crying "Pappy broke. Mommy, pappy broke. Fix it, fix it." After a few visits to their room, I had them convinced that I was sorry but their was nothing I could do about their pappies being broke. I know, cruel, right?
When their daddy got home, they told him all about their pappies being broke. Surprisingly enough, they didn't ask him to fix them. I was a little worried about that one, you know, 'cause daddy's can fix anything! They went on their merry little way and when bed time came around they did just fine. They whined a little about it being broken but fell asleep any way.
After a few days of that I figured they were ready to take the plunge so I asked James one day before nap time "If pappy is broken don't you think we should throw it in the trash?" He agreed and handed it over to me to "throw in the trash" (I kept it. I'm sentimental that way) and since that day, about 2 weeks ago, pappy has only been mentioned in those weakest moments. I.E. getting hurt, extremely tired, or not feeling good. It took Audrey a day or two more to get to the "trash" place but she did. I haven't heard a single peep from her about it. Well maybe a few times in those moments of despair! All in all this whole operation was NOT AT ALL what I was expecting. I was expecting a couple weeks of throw downs and sleepless afternoons and nights, especially from Audrey. But once again my children have proven me wrong. James may have been more logical about the 'broken' pap but he had the hardest time biding it farewell. They each have their fare share of animals and blankets to sleep with at night but at least those items are LARGE and can be found easily in the dark!

Maybe he'll be a comedian.....

Something about an apple......

Not falling very far.........

Parade and early Christmas

Last week we loaded the kids up in their wagon and trotted down to Broad street to watch the Christmas parade. We live right off Broad street and some of the floats line up on the street beside our house, so for 2 hours before the parade we had all kinds of floats and fire trucks and policemen going by our house. It was fun to see the kids so excited! Since we live within 100 feet of the parade route we had lots of our friends come and park at our house and walk with us to watch the parade. That was even more exciting for the kids since they had lots of their little buddies to party with! It turned out to be a very cold night so we bundled and double bundled the little munchkins but they didn't mind, they were just happy to be watching the parade!

Then last weekend we headed up to Middle GA, again, to go to a church meeting and celebrate an early Christmas with my daddy and Nelda. It was lots of fun, crazy, but lots of fun! Audrey came down with some sort of stomach virus on the way to Betsy's from church Friday night and vomited 4 times in the van. (Really good excuse for me to have the van washed, inside and out!) She ran a fever most of the day Saturday but by the night time she was fine, you'd never of known she was sick. On Sunday me and my kids went up to Mt. Zion to pick up Jon and spend a little time with old friends. What a joy it was to get to see everyone again! After church we headed back to Betsy's and proceeded to have probably the fastest present exchange EVER because Buddy had a preaching appointment and had to leave at 4:30 and Jon and I needed to get on the road by 5 to make it home at a semi-decent hour. Daddy was preaching at Cool Springs again that evening so we all left him and Nelda there in a whirlwind of wrapping paper and bows but with lots of happy memories! When you got 3 preachers in the fam, you have to take what you can get!

O Happy Day!!

On Friday last week James had his 6 month check up with the orthopedist and this time I left there with a bounce in my step, humming a merry little tune instead of feeling like the doctor had just punched me in the nose for no reason and then told me to "Suck it up." He watched James walk and was amazed that he was doing so well so soon. Then he checked his legs. As he was messing with the right one he proclaims "Well, he is definitely ALOT looser than he was last time." I piped up with "Uh, you do know it's his LEFT leg?" He looked up at me with a perplexed look on his face and said "Wow. That goes to show how great he really is doing if I couldn't tell which one it was this time." Then he tells me the best news I've heard in a looong time, that James only needs to wear his brace for a couple hours a day now!!!! WoooHooo!!!No more 24/7 brace wearing little boy around here! Of course, like I've said a million times before, as he grows, things may change and he may need to go back in it like before. We just don't know. He also said that it can be much harder to determine the outcome and the best scenario for children with CP as mild as James' but for the next 4 months he only as to wear it a couple hours a day. Just to keep that muscle stretched out.

I headed straight for the mall when we left the orthopedist's office to buy my baby boy some new shoes. THAT ARE BOTH THE SAME SIZE!!! He's so cute and utterly delighted to have new shoes!

We are so thankful to the Lord for this good news and we give all the praise and glory to Him.We are so thankful to the Lord for blessing him with such wonderful, quick progress. We are well aware it could be a much more severe case with many more obstacles to over come. The Lord has blessed James so much in his short little life and thru James, the Lord has taught Jon and I many lessons. One of the most important is how uncertain life can be and to always "be content in what ever state we find ourselves."

Thanksgiving night

On Thanksgiving night James and Audrey spent the night with my mom, Nanny B, so that Betsy and I could get up at the insane hour of 5 am to start our Black Friday shopping spree at Wal-Mart. This is the first time they spent the night there by themselves and they were super excited! Mom got out all kinds of toys for them to play with and that just added to their excitement. I was a little concerned that Audrey might have a little break down if I left before they went to bed so I hung around till they were a little less excited so they could go to sleep. Audrey has become quite attached to me lately, especially in unfamiliar surroundings and since they were to young to remember the last time we spent the night there, I thought she might get all worked up if she saw me leave. You see, when we come into town we always stay with my sister because Hannah Grace rules the roost on where James and Audrey spend the night! And lets just say when she found out that Audrey wasn't sleeping in her room that night, the tiny drama queen that lives inside her little body came out and put on quite the performance! But once she understood that the minute she woke up she'd get to go to Nanny B's to play she calmed down enough to fall asleep on the ride home!

This little table was one that I played on when I was a kid and James and Audrey are almost old enough to have it passed on to them. As soon as their legs get a little longer(so as they wont tip out backwards while unsupervised. I don't need something else to have "supervise"!)mom is gonna bring it to our house. In the mean time it's a treat for them to get to play with it when they visit their grandmother, they thought they were big kids that night!! Altough, Audrey had to get up every 2 minutes because, well, the child just cannot be still!!

Pictured above: I guess James didn't want his new friends to get away!

Don't tell his daddy he had on a pearl necklace and was playing with a pink pocketbook!

Betsy and I didn't get up at 5 but we did get up at 5:30 and were at Wal-Mart by 5:45 scooping up the deals! Daddy was at the house so we left Hannah and Matthew sleeping but took Samuel with us. He was a little trooper to be out so early and in such cold weather!

But by the time we went back to the house, took Hannah and Matthew to Nanny B's, went to Macon and shopped at the mall for a couple hours, he had lost interest in all the people and bright lights of the season!

Thanksgiving with the Bryant's

A little late on the Thanksgiving post, I know, but when we got back from my sister's we hit the ground running and have just slowed down. Only for a few days though!

On Tuesday of last week we went up to Dublin to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year and had such a wonderful time! The day before turkey day, Hannah and I spent the day baking and making candy. She is growing up way too fast and has become quite the little baker! Wednesday was my honey's b-day so we made cup cakes, had a "surprise" party for him and then us grownups went to Red Lobster for supper while grandaddy and Uncle Frank babysat!! I asked Hannah what they did while we were gone and she said "We screamed!!!!" And daddy told me that James was asking for gum but it took him a few minutes to figure out what he was saying. When he finally understood him he told him he didn't have any and James said "Look in mommy's pocketbook." That story got told quite a few times the next day! My son is smart. Sneaky but smart!!! Samuel was the only child that got to party with the grownups!!! Then on Thursday we all went over to Aunt Jan's and Uncle Kiah's for the day. We all ate way to much but some of us laughed enough to work off all those calories! That's what I hear any way. Some people had to leave early to put their kids to bed......

This was the first Thanksgiving my kids have spent with the Bryant's and man did they charm some socks off!! James started asking people for gum early on and by the end of the night the only one that had any left was David and all he had was Big Red. Audrey didn't want any part of that kind of gum but James would chew it a little bit, then spit it in his hand and say "It burns." Then he'd put it back in and chew for a while longer!It was hard to get all the kids to be still for this picture so I had to take what I could get!

These kiddos were stuffed to the gill and still eating when we left. Sheri fixed them some cereal for the ride home, you know, in case they got hungry!!We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. I just wish it could of lasted longer!

Tiny tot's with their eyes all a glow......

And Y'all Thought I Was Kidding

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's official, my children can say ANYTHING! Tchoupitoulas.

Another phase of their life

We have entered a new dimension around here: Full blown toddler hood. And believe it or not, it's not all bad! Sure, they remind me on a daily basis that I am the mother of not just one but two toddlers. But lately the fun times have been out weighing the tough times 10-1, hands down. We started going to story time a few weeks ago and it was then that I realized just how "grown up" my babies are now. They participate in the songs and listen very intently to the stories. Well, James does. Audrey does for the first one but by the last, she has made her way around the entire circle at least 3 times and has touched everything her little hands can reach! They get very excited about going to the library and it's the first public place (other than church)that my children walked from the car all the way inside, up the stairs, down the hall and into the children's room with out being in a buggy, a stroller or on my hip. That is a big step for us!We went to Wal-Mart the other night when Jon was in Mississippi to rent a movie from the RedBox and I didn't even have to put them in a buggy. They just stood right by me with their little hooded jackets on checking every thing and every body out. Another big step: going into Wal-Mart without getting in a buggy, even if it was only for 5 minutes!

They still enjoy watching Popeye but a new obsession has taken over their little minds: Jungle Book. Oh man do they love that movie! We usually have to watch at least 10 minutes of it before they go to bed at night. They also like CatMouse(Tom and Jerry) Tiger and Humpy Dumpy(Pink Panther) and Deet(which is Rudolph. BTW they call deer 'deet'!)You can carry on a real conversation with both of them and it makes sense, for the most part. James enunciates each of his words very clearly, even if they have a southern draw to them! Audrey talks really good as well but most of the time she talks so stinkin fast you can only catch one or two words. I usually have to interpret her sentences, even to her daddy! Someone told me the other day that they think Audrey speaks audgenese!! She has also developed this so-cute-it-hurts lisp. She has a huge gap in between her two front teeth and that little tongue practically goes right thru it! The last few days around here have been exceptionally pleasant. They have been getting along beautifully and playing together like two siblings who really love each other should! Audrey is constantly suggesting things for bubba to do in a semi-bossy way. She doesn't shout at him or get mad when he doesn't comply. She just keeps suggesting until he usually does what ever it is she wants like hold his monkey or ride fast on his car or do this or go there. I am always hearing "watch this bubba. watch this" or "follow me bubba. follow me".

They follow directions really well these days and enjoy helping me clean or put clothes away. One time I asked Audrey to put some dish rags on the counter in the kitchen and she readily agreed. When I went in later to see where she had put them, I found them exactly where I had told her they needed to go even though some of them had come unfolded and were hanging off the side of the counter! One day while Audrey was still napping James and I were in my room folding clothes. I asked James to go put his pj's in his drawer and off he ran. He came back and still wanted to help so I told him to go put some towels in the bathroom. Instead he shoved them in my t-shirt drawer and exclaimed "All done"! He lost interest after that.
They love to sing and can now sing all the words to I'm a Little Tea Pot and The Grand Old Duke of York. They can sing their ABC's but it comes out ABC, WXY! This past Saturday night we were in church at Irwinville and Jon and I got the best present ever during the song service. Audrey and James have always liked to open song books and sit there with them on their laps for a little while. And a few times I have heard them softly singing in church. But that night Audrey started singing at the top of her lungs and James soon followed. It was the most beautiful singing we have ever heard. She was clearly off tune and wasn't saying any real words but the little angel was singing her heart out! During the last song right before preaching started and the preachers(including her daddy)were in the pulpit, she started singing again and this time every one in the building could hear her and turned around to smile at her. It was one of those "most proud parent" moments and I still get choked up thinking about it!