Bbbbrrrrr...It's Cold!

Today the high was 35....Yes I think it is officially winter in my book! We are still at my Grandma's and it is wonderful! My Grandma lives way out in the middle of nowhere! She has a tiny house that has had the same decorations for 27 years and during the winter the house smells of the wood burning stove! Its wonderful! There is always yummy food around here! Breakfast- biscuits, sausage gravy, eggs, ham! Lunch- homemade chicken and dumplings and potato cakes (if you have never had a potato cake..you are missing out! She takes left over mashed potatoes, makes them into a patty then fries them! AMAZING!) What is it about Grandma's cooking! The whole day has just been an awesome day of food and laziness! No laundry, no cleaning...just visiting, eating, and resting!  This is what I call Thanksgiving break!
Jagger has been having a blast with Pop. If he has ask my dad one question he has ask him a million. He follows my dad around like a little puppy dog and if you know my dad this is something he is not use to but it is so good for him- and he is great with Jagger!
Hudson has also enjoyed himself! He has been held and cuddled the whole time. He is almost crawling. I figure in the next week he will be everywhere! Today, he has enjoyed mashed potatoes and homemade applesauce! As soon as he puts it in his mouth, he gets the biggest grin on his face! He knows the good stuff. I think he will be like his momma and turn out to be a foodie! Big brother could care less about food so I need one boy to be with me!
My favorite thing so far is watching my Grandma with the boys. This afternoon she was rocking Hudson and just singing to him. It was so precious and it was a time I wanted to freeze the moment. I love moments like these and I never want to let them go. I love my Grandma so much and it is so special to me when she gets to spend time with my boys! God is so good and I am forever grateful he has given me a super family!
Hope everyone has a blessed night!
Lots of love

Holidays...

I can't believe we are finally getting to the beginning of the Holidays! I have always loved Thanksgiving because its kind of the "kickoff" to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Typically every year we do Thanksgiving with my family at my Grandma's. This year we have decided to do Thanksgiving in Kennett with Matthew's family. At first I was kind of sad but the boys and I have come to my grandma's and are going to spend a few days with her! I think this is even better than getting to come down for 1 day at Thanksgiving then turn around and go home! ;) I am also super excited because Black Friday I am going to go conquer Wal-Mart with one of my super awesome friends! Not really sure what is on my list to buy, but I know we will have a blast! Then Friday night, Matthew and I are leaving to go to Nashville. This will be the first time we have been away on a weekend by ourselves! I am really looking forward to spending time with him with no kids! We are going to be going to a wedding and then doing some Christmas Shopping!
So back to Thanksgiving....I love this Holiday because it is centered around my favorite thing....Food! Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, corn, homemade rolls, and most importantly dessert! YUMMO...I am getting hungry thinking about all the yummy food! When I was little we would leave after lunch drive home, and start putting up our Christmas tree! I would get so excited I could hardly stand it! I feel like now we put the trees up so early! We don't even allow Thanksgiving to get here. This year I have waited to put up Christmas until Thanksgiving! I have been trying to get all of us to truly focus on Thanksgiving and what its all about instead of Christmas decorations. This Thanksgiving will also be special because the doctors told us the other day to let Hudson eat from the table..mashed up of course! We know he is going to love the food...and I can't wait to see his reaction! I know all this year the Holidays are going to be so awesome because we have Hudson with us!

Shoeboxes!

What does a shoebox mean to you?? Do you throw them away or do you keep them!! Me I am OCD and keep all my shoes in the box or at least most! I have boxes and boxes neatly stacked with labels facing out so I know what shoe is where! A shoebox to most of us is just a box that holds our shoes but to others a shoebox may mean something completely different! 

It all started several years ago when I began getting involved in our church! It was after Halloween and they showed a video on something called Operation Christmas Child and basically it is taking shoes boxes and filling them with stuff( toys, stationary, etc) and then they are sent over and given to kids across the world who are without! These kids are also given the opportunity to learn about Jesus! I immeidately was hooked! I got several boxes that day and left the church! Every year since I make a point to get boxes and participate in this! 

This years things have been alittle different! I knew it was time to get started on boxes and Jagger had brought home 1 from Sunday School class. I kept telling myself we have to find time to go get the box ready. Well i had a leadership team meeting and at the meeting the book Operation Christmas Child was shown. Being the crazy reader I am in knew I had to read the book! After the meeting I got the book! Once i got home and got everyone to bed i started reading! Within in the first couple of pages I was hooked! The book is filled with story after storyof how a child will get a box and inside is exactly what they need! Things only God can do! I decided to start reading the book to Jagger. The whole time I am reading I can tell his wheels are turning! I know his 4 year old mind cant comprehend that some of these kids have never recieved anything in their whole life! Finally he says," momma stop reading! This is too sad!" Me: yes this is sad but we have to know and learn that there are people in the world who need help and that is what Jesus wants us to do! So nothing else is said and we go aboit our day! The next day Jagger comes to me and says, "Momma I want to fill some boxes!" Me: "well ok, we have our boxes to fill. We will get to the store and work on them!" Jagger: "no, momma lots of boxes!" He then tells me to get his Bennie on the phone! I call my mom for him and he ask her if she would fill a box for him! He goes on to explain that its to tell kids that we love them and Jesus loves them! She of course says yes! Jagger then asks me if i will take him several places in town and call some people because he needs to ask more people.... Well as of Sunday Jagger has gotten 36 boxes!!! I know we will have more because we have had people contact us and say they would like to do one for Jagger! We are beyond thrilled what our 4 year old is doing! And to know that its not about filling boes with toys. Its about reaching out to others and showing Love and mostly importantly the love of Jesus!!! 

Jagger tells me that next year he wants 1,000 boxes! I told him we better start praying and see what God can do!! I do know at the beginning of the year we will start collecting boxes and items to go in the boxes and who knows maybe this sweet boy can reach his goal! And from now on when you see a shoebox hopefully it wont just be a box, its something much more! 

Please keep Jagger and the boxes in your prayers!!

Hope everyone has a blessed day! 

Lots of love 

Choices!!

Choices!! It is something we have to do every single day! Its amazing if you sit back and think about how many choices we make in a day- what to wear, what to eat, what to watch.. These are the simple ones but then in life we get to make more important ones that will stay with us for a long time!

I pray everyday that I make the right choices with my kids! I pray that I am being the best parent that I can be... There is one choice we as parents have to make that is a biggie!! And I know what I am about to say is going to get several fired up and immediately you will disagree but it is.... To homeschool or not! Now before you get the claws out and start judging me, I am not saying we are going to make the choice to homeschool! Has it crossed my mind.. YES! Is it something I think about...YES! Do I think it is right for everyone...NO! 

The closer and closer my baby gets to becoming a kindergardern the more and more I start getting nervous! What really concerns me here lately is the stories about how our babies are bieng pushed and pushed in these early years! And yes I think our kids should be taught but why are we pushing them so hard!!?? Why are they doing in preschool what they use to do in kindergarden?? Why are these young ones having hours worth of homework being sent home?? Sometimes I feel they are being pushed and pushed so they can score high on some test at the end of the year that can make the school look better. We are more focused on testing scores than the important stuff for these kids like social skills and things that will stick with them through life! Honestly i would rather my kids be happy than score high on some test that will not amount to a hill of beans later in life!!

Another thing that bothers me is what they are exposed to! I dread what Jagger is going to be hearing from other kids in school and I know that this is something I cant protect him from forever. We live in a sick world with school shootings and so many other scary things! I have heard horrible stories of small kids who go to school then come home and ask questions about sex and other things that they should not know about it! I love how at home you can control that. I love how at home it doesnt matter what you have. It doesnt matter what other kids are wearing or what kid of homelife they have! I know in bigger cities the homeschooling is becoming more and more popular. Its a way for parents to protect their kids and make sure they are being taught morals and values! But also in bigger cites there is more for homeschooled kids to do! They have groups that get together and do things so kids are getting the socialization they need! 

Now with that said will we homeschool? Probably not! Would I try if given the change.. Probably so! Please dont think Im crazy or weird this is just how I feel and what is on my heart! I know that all I can do for Jaggeri is pray that I am preparing him for the world and that he knows right from wrong! The rest I just give to God and let him take control!! 

Hope everyone is having a blessed day!!

Prayers Please!

Well its only 12:37pm, and I have already had several breakdowns today! I hate the moments when you get pushed and pushed until the only thing left to do is cry! That is how I have felt today! It all started yesterday! Hudson had therapy and for a few days now he has been struggling to breathe! Not anything horrible but something I had started paying attention to. During therapy, he really started to struggling and have a horrible wheezing sound! He couldnt even finish therapy and that is when I called the dr! They said bring him up immediately! Thankfully Aunt Claire had picked up Jagger from school so she just stayed with him! We get to the dr and they said yes he sounds bad! We did a breathing treatment and it helped. The dr said there may be times he just needs extra and that is what happens when you have damaged lungs! Ok so we get home and the rest of the day went ok. 

In the meantime, Jagger has had a runny nose for several days! Nothing to green and nasty and no fever ! We have really been trying to teach Jagger to blow his nose instead of licking or just letting it run! I Love my babies but sometimes it can be so gross! I tell Jagger often why would you lick your nasty snot instead of wanting to blow it???? Havent figured it out yet! So anyways with the runny nose he had a couple of bumps show up and one I thought was a fever blister. This morning when I woke him up I was shocked! His mouth was all broke out and scabbed over. The blisters had moved to his nose and when we blew it, the thickest green snot came out. He started crying because it was cracking and bleeding! It absolutely broke my heart! I knew it was time to head back to dr. They got us in and we cracked some jokes about us always being there! I asked if they could give us a permenant room with our name on it! And also while this is going on, my lip broke out with 3 huge fever blisters and I woke up in the middle of the night and could not even swallow!!!! Jesus, how much more can I take???

Back to the dr, he comes in and says he has bacterial impetigo. It is highly contagious and spreads like crazy. He tells me the boys do not need to be around each other for a couple of days. I instantly want to cry. No momma wants to be away from their child when they are sick! But then we have got to keep Hudson healthy too! I want to clone myself that way I can be with both of them! 

Here we are a couple of hours later- jagger with grandma Betty. He cant do much just rest and stay hydrated. He has to constantly wash his hands to keep it from spreading! We have several meds and I am at home washing sheets and spraying down everything while trying to make sure Hudson takes breathing treatments! So please when you pray today add us to your list! I never wantto wish our life away but I can say I want us to all get better! I am tired of running back and forth to the doctor!! I know God is with us and this will pass! 

Again please keep us in your prayers! 

Hope everyone has a blessed day! 

Apologize!

This morning I woke up and instantly felt bad about my post last night! I want to apologize if I offended anyone! I really hope that I did not come across ungrateful for getting to stay home! I know there are so many out there who would love to be at home, so please do not think I was being ungrateful! I do realize what a blessing it is but I am also human. Just like people who have a job and overtime start taking it for granted because there are so many people out there who would love to have a job even if it is making minimum wage. I sometime get in the same rut taking it for granted that I get to stay home, but trust me God reminds me real fast what my blessings are.

So yesterday I started watching 19 kids and counting! Its about the Duggar family! I am amazed with each episode how they run their family! I LOVE the values they have and it really has made me think about things in our life! I love how they enjoy life with simple things! Their life is not centered around what they wear, tv, social media, and all the other worldly distractions! Life is about being happy, family and most importantly serving God! 

Hudson is sitting here yelling at me so I think that is my que to get off here and give him some attention! :) 

Hope everyone has a blessed day! 

Writers Block!

Well I am pretty sure I have what is called Writers Block!!! Or I have too busy mommy syndrome! Maybe a little of both! :) this really irritates me because I love my blog and I Love to write! I have felt lately that my life is so boring! We get up and basically do the same thing over and over! Kind of reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day! Every once in awhile something exciting might happen like a trip to WalMart(and thats when Matthew can stay home with Hudson)  or we might get a little crazy and go to Jonesboro! Life this winter is going to be tough. We will be inside all the time! I got the call today about the RSV shots for Hudson so I feel like we are on a countdown now until we have to go into hibernation and not get out!! Although its hard at times, I do feel God is teaching me a lesson! To enjoy every minute with my kids and to just slow down! I have always been a "go-getter". If I want something done, I do it! If I need something I go get it. This whole thing has made me slow down and just enjoy the moment. It has kept me from a lot of impulse things that I normally do (shopping, cleaning out and throwing away, etc) I get to just spend so much special time with these boys! What a gift! 

Today was a very LONG somewhat boring day!! It rained all day so there was no getting out at all! At 7:30 this morning I was looking forward to cooking lunch, and then after lunch I was so bored I was counting down the minutes to start supper!! It was a day that we basically laid around all day! Jagger was not feeling 100% and I had not planned ahead for crafts!!!! So thank goodness for NetFlix! Now I am not one who thinks it is good for a child to sit in front of the tv for hours and hours but today all he wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch cartoons! So guess what?? I let him do it! 

Hopefully I can get over the writers block and get back to my old self! Until then you will just have to deal with the same ol boring stuff! :) 

Hope everyone has a blessed night!