Eerie!

So along with the purchase of this new house, we inherited vultures. Yep, that's right. VULTURES. What gives?? At first, they would just hang out in the big trees in the wooded part of our lot... WAY in the back of the woods, but because they were high up, we could see & watch them. But they are getting more & more comfortable with our lot apparently because when i took Zack out this morning, i looked up & this is what i saw in our tree!!
Yikes! There were actually 11 of them at one time in this tree in our back yard! I'm talking about within our fenced yard! They just give me the creeps... i know they do good and all, but they just make me shiver!
When we tap on the windows... they spread their wings out & watch..... then they settle back down again. Ugh! Go away!!!

raingutter bookshelves....

So, i have a little addiction.... that is... i read a LOT of craft blogs. I can't help myself- they give me lots of inspiration to try new things. And one of those new ideas was the idea of these raingutter bookshelves. You just take a vinyl rain gutter (they come in 10ft sections at Lowes) and cut it down with a hacksaw.... place endcaps on either end & attach to the wall with gutter brackets. Viola! You have a great bookshelf that holds lots of books in a fashion that encourages children to read because they can see the titles. We don't need encouragement over here, because my boys already love to read, but i had been wanting a bookshelf that displayed books in this manner. And i couldn't believe how easy & cheap these were! We put a 5 ft section in the playroom in our "quiet reading area" and a 2.5 ft section in each of the boys rooms because they take books to bed every night.....They are thrilled... and so am i because all three shelves came from one $6 gutter! (granted, the endcaps and brackets were $2.50 a peice, but it was still a frugal fix!!)

If you want step by step directions... visit here.....

I love this kid....

I tell ya... this kid... he fills my heart up. He is growing up so fast and it makes me sad on one note & proud on the other. He can go from a handsome, "i want to look handsome" kid, to a goof off in about a split second....
He is learning so much these days. He astonishes me! He's hit 2 major milestones in one month... the tooth loss and the shoe tying & that just makes me pause & wonder where the time is going? I just birthed this child yesterday, right? And his birthday is right around the corner. MY child will be SIX, yes, SIX years old in couple of weeks. And i tell you, i may have talked a lot about how stubborn he is... but he is just as sweet. He is brave, tenacious, imaginative, loving, caring, & did i mention, handsome?? Stubbornness included... i wouldn't trade these last six years with my Jackson for the world!

Tooth Fairy Makes an Appearance!

This past weekend, Jackson told us his tooth hurt. At first we didn't understand the problem.... then it dawned on us... he had a loose tooth!!!! This is a first for our house! So today, he decided it was time for Daddy to help him pull it...
Jackson's "before" smile....Daddy, helping it along.... (makes me queasy!!)
So proud! You lost a tooth!!!!!!
Checking himself out in the mirror....
The "after" smile.... little snaggle tooth!
yuck... the tooth.... it's amazing how much is under that gum...
putting it in his tooth fairy pillow for tonight...
He decided he wanted the pillow in his new shelf... so it was obvious to the tooth fairy where it was waiting....

She's trying!!

Here's the proof that Lola is trying to make peace with this new addition....
She doesn't look thrilled does she? I was laying on the bed & she hopped up there... not realizing that Zack was on the other side of me snoozing.... But she was committed & stuck it out. However, she will only do this when he is fast asleep.... because when he is awake he is all about the stalking....He just wants a playmate for heaven's sake!! But so far, she has only stood her ground once (he nipped her tail... she drew the line!!) I have a feeling that in the next few weeks, once he masters the stairs efficiently, her days of peace are over. Either make peace or stand your ground... it's gonna have to happen soon, Lola girl. Very soon.....

Milestone!

Have i ever mentioned just how smart my kid is? Because he is.
He totally taught HIMSELF how to tie his own shoes! I was so surprised when he started to try because he already about had it down pat.... and after a day or so of practicing it, he was successful (and PROUD!)

There is a Little Bill episode we have on a variety DVD that gives a little jingle:

"One little loop, what do you do?""Wrap it around... and pull it through!"

"Now you are through & you've tied your shoe!!"

Christmas Morning

Here is a video of the boys on Christmas morning... looking to see what Santa left....

Christmas with Grandma & Papa

Here are some pictures from Christmas with Randy's Grandparents and Aunt Debbie & Uncle Wayne.... We got to see them all on Christmas Day, which is unusual. We usually spend Christmas Eve with them all, but Papa had to go to the hospital unexpectedly that afternoon. But it all worked out alright & we postponed until Christmas afternoon. We skipped the meal & just got together to exchange gifts and visit for awhile. (Although, i am sad i missed the cornbread.... sigh)
Here's two of a kind... Randy & his dad....
Going in for a hug with Aunt Debbie... Uncle Wayne is peeking through in the back ...
Jackson is telling Mema all about what Santa left....
And Eli gave Grandma Evans some good snuggle time!
And then Randy did the same with his Grandma....
This sweet woman & you would NEVER think that she would send not one, but TWO of these loud, Humoungous, firetrucks home to my house this year....
Other gifts included clothing (i totally appreciate this one of course) and a LOT of craft supplies. The kids couldn't be more thrilled with it all!!
Here's a few more pictures.... Here's my brother in law, Jeremy... the one always taking the photos... so i shot one right back of him!
And i believe this is the ONLY picture of Randy & myself this Christmas... I don't think we got one of our fam of 4 at all! Oh, well....Merry Christmas!!

Santa was Here....

And boy did he leave us quite a gift!!!
Meet the newest addition to our family.... Zack! Is he not the cutest puppy on the face of the earth?? He was so scared when Santa first left him in his new home, so i quickly got in some snuggle time since the boys were sleeping!
But when the boys woke up... they were so excited. Well, shocked at first (even though they asked Santa for a puppy) and then very excited!Even though they were sure of him... he wasn't so sure of them! He kept trying to hide underneath the rocking chair and just watch all the commotion....But then... something perked his interest.... "whatcha got in there????""Ohhhh, boxer briefs! Well.... I'm not quite ready for those just yet!" Well, Jackson sure is, because he was SOOO excited about these transformer boxer briefs.... he told everyone all about them on Christmas day! And wants to only wear these now!THe underwear were Jackson's favorite surprise in his stocking & the "BLUE CARS!!" are what got Eli's attention! He was so excited that Santa brought him the blue cars he wanted AND a puppy! What a Christmas!!Yep, what a Christmas... and we haven't recovered yet from this cute little demanding pup...Even if he is so stinkin' cute....

A Lot of Grandkids....

This is all the Grandkids on my side of the family! There's lots of them isn't there? It isn't but a few times a year that we all get to see them together, so it's always nice to get a picture! This was Dec 23rd after they opened all their gifts at my dad's house....