About Eli turning 2

I posted Eli's birthday post in haste and it was very matter-of-fact. Our baby deserves more than that boring old post.

Eli is light wherever he is. Sometimes it's the light that makes you smile, sometimes it's the light that makes your headache worse! :) Nah, he is a sweet boy. He is go go go all day. His chubby cheeks bounce as he runs around the house. He bonks his head 3 times a day, minimum, but keeps on trucking. He has recently learned how to unlock and open the front and back doors, so now we keep the dead bolts locked.

He is very good climber. He opens the door to our wardrobe and climbs to the top for deodorant. He puts it on his neck. So silly! He's talking a bit more. And I may be imagining it, but the last days (since his birthday) he's seemed more vocal. He definitely has "no" down. "Eli, do you want to take a nap?" "No, no."

Eli is a spirited child. Our disciplines that worked so well with Andrew are being revamped. Eli calls for a new approach. He teaches us about ourselves. My mom says I was like him as a child and (maybe?) I see a bit of me-as-an-adult in him. Can you say convicting? Still, we wouldn't change him. God gave him this zeal!!

He's on my lap right now and I have to take advantage of this time he just wants to sit with me.

We love you so much, Eli!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!!!!!!!

Well, we can't believe it- Eli has turned two. His birthday was yesterday. We just had family for dinner and cake and ice cream.

Here is us singing to him. It's a but dark at first, but you get the idea. We had NO birthday candles so I'm holding a long match stick for him!!

And some pics...

Pics and Updates

Whew-It's been toooo long since my last post. Here's an update....

A couple weeks ago my parents sold their house (yay!) and were in negotiations on another. They came to stay with us while everything was sorted out. It didn't got through, so now they and my younger brother Joe are staying with us. It's cramped but I'm liking it (yes, I'm nuts). Joe works from home, like me, and we all eat and hang out together in the evenings. I'm actually to the point where if I'm home alone I ask myself "hmm, is anyone coming home soon?" Anywho, they can stay as long as the like!

Yesterday was my birthday. I felt horrible the whole day, but my still had a nice day. Charles couldn't wait until my birthday lunch to give me the gift from him and the kids. It was a GPS! I was really excited- I've been wanting one. Church was great. My girlfriends there gave me a gi

ft card- thanks! My parents took us to Jim 'N Nicks barbeque. It's really yummy but I only picked at my food since I didn't feel good. But we'd planned it a while ago. Mom and dad got me a new crock pot since Charles busted the stoneware insert in ours as he was washing it one day. My brothers got me tickets to the Bodies Exhibition. Charles and I will go one day.

I've been busy at work. We're renovating the office so I've been making more trips there, painting, coordinating, etc. Charles had a real long day last week. He had to be at work at 4 am and still work a full day. That night he had to umpire, too. Real long day.

We went to the GA-FL game last weekend. My mom works for a barter company and she got us tickets. We found out Thursday, left Friday and came home Saturday after the game. We lost, but it was a really fun experience. So we were out of town for Halloween. Here's a pic- it was really sunny!

My parents took the kids to Fall Fest at the Bridge church. It was rainy, so trick-or-treating was a bust. Andrew was the Hulk and Eli was Spiderman- complete with muscles! I'll try to remember to post pics of them. And I'll try to be better about posting more regularly....

Here's one of Joe and the kiddies...

Love this song....

I really like Mercy Me- a great group in my mind. This is a great song. My favorite line is in the chorus- God says "this one's mine." Isn't that comforting and humbing? I think so....

Take this world from me
I don't need it anymore
I am finally free
My heart is spoken for

Oh and I praise you
Oh and I worship you...

[CHORUS:]
Covered by your love divine
Child of the risen Lord
To hear you say "This one's mine"
My heart is spoken for

Now I have a peace
I've never known before
I find myself complete
My heart is spoken for

Oh and I praise you
Oh and I worship you...

[CHORUS:]
Covered by your love divine
Child of the risen Lord
To hear you say "This one's mine"
My heart is spoken for

By the power of the cross
You've taken what was lost
And made it fully yours
And I have been redeemed
By you that spoke to me
Now I am spoken for

[CHORUS:]
Covered by your love divine
Child of the risen Lord
To hear you say "This one's mine"
My heart is spoken for
[2X]

Take this world from me
Don't need it anymore...

Updates on us...

Charles' work location will be merging with another local branch and that means layoff's. Argh. And his supervisor will be leaving the company before it happens. He's the main person who would give an account of all the workers. So if people are cut, it may not be based on the manager's recommendations. This could be bad for Charles, since he's the newest. This whole process will probably take months. Please pray for this. We do not enjoy when he's not employed (duh).

Andrew is doing great at school. He is a great helper in the classroom, an excellerated reader for his grade and a getting used to the routine.

Eli is getting more verbal every day. His signing vocabulary is still larger, but he's getting more sounds articulated. We're also introducing him to the potty. We're not quite to the point of potty-training-in-a-day point (plus I have to get my book back from a friend) but we're showing him a few things.

I'm excited about a new project at work- redecorating the office! Our office is a home that's been converted to a commercial property. So we're going to make all the different types of flooring, wall coverings and furniture look cohesive.

In other news, I've been thinking a lot lately about changing my attitude about the "burdens" or "dissapointments" I have. I am trying (and feeling) a shift toward being thankful for them. Not to the point of Well, I deserve nothing good, so I better just deal. And not to the point of Thank you so much for suffering, may I have some more? But somewhere in the middle.

I take comfort in knowing God has a plan and purpose for my life. *Sidenote, I hope that one day I'll see how God was/is glorified through my downs. I should look into that.** James 1:2, Romans 5:3-5 tell me that suffering can be good (by good I mean for Him, not how the world sees it) AND God gives us the power to handle it: Ephesians 3:20, Phillipians 4:13. And this strange thankfulness has a snowball effect. Though there are still tough moments/ days/ weeks, in general, it gets easier/more comfortable/ less frustraing. In the words of G.I. Joe "knowing is half the battle." So true! When I know-believe- that God is in control and 100% understands my every emotion, doubt and struggle, I feel empowered (through him, of course) to be graceful and peacful in those situations. All I can say is YAY and THANK YOU!!

Happy Birthday Andrew!!

Andrew turned 6 about 2 weeks ago and his party was last Saturday. He had a great time!! Happy Birthday, son!!!

Andrew is such a blessing to us. He is full of life and goofyness. He is so sweet and considerate. He is all boy. We love his kind spirit- he is truly a friend to all. Andrew is creative and imaginative. He imitates Charles from things like how he relaxes on the couch, to giving me hugs and what to eat or drink. He is our first born and so very special to us.

Andrew has also started kindergarden recently. He has a great teacher. He likes to follow the rules and really likes going to different rooms- the cafteria, art room, science lab, library. He also likes riding the bus. Yes, I was teary as he got on and rode off on the first day.

Andrew's birthdays are a reminder of our age, our marriage and the start of our family. We can't imagine the last 6 years without him!

Eli can READ!

About a year ago we got this DVD set called "Your Baby Can Read" for Eli. The informercials for this are amazing. You Tube it or something.

It's basically introducing the written word as the same time as hearing it. Example: the screen will be all green (or whatever color) with the word CAT on it in some font (they vary) while someone says CAT once or twice. The next scene is of a cat and they say something like "Look at the fluffy cat."

I don't do these videos with his NEARLY as often as they say, but today we watched it on mute, so I could see if he could recognize more written words. He newly recognized a lot: kick, point, tiger, hi, dog, baby and yes. We also teach him baby signs, so that is how I knew he knew the words.

The main reason we got this set for him (off ebay- it's too much $$ new) was in hopes that reading would one day be less stressful for him. The little synapses in his brain are forming now, so the more connections he gets at this early stage in life, the better. Today gave me a renewed energy in this.

CHOOSE where your taxes go?

Poking around the internet I came accross this program.

You can donate money to a school of choice (usually a private school) for them to offer sholarships to low income families. Then you claim that amount with the State of Georgia for a credit on your tax bill.

So instead of sending that money to the state, you send it to a school to offer education to a family that may not otherwise be able to afford private education.

SO NEAT!!!

Here's the link....

http://www.goalscholarship.org

Don't Worry, Be Happy

We made brownies the other day and look what happened when I added the vegetable oil to the water. It's no Jesus-in-the-grilled-cheese, but hey, it was neat!

The 'Hooch- 2009

We go every year and have lots of fun!

Last Saturday we drove up to Helen and went to the same tubing company as last year for some good ol fashioned tubing down the Chattahoochee River. Uncle Dean and Aunt Nell flew in for the weekend. My brothers didn't come back for just tubing. Ben is in The Basic School with the USMC and Joe is in Little Rock. (**Side note- Joe put in his two weeks at HP and is moving back!! Yay! That job was horrible for him.....)

The tubing company has tubes with bottoms, so we took Eli this year. He was acutally pretty calm through the trip. At times he'd go off blabbing and trying to touch the water (tipping!!) but he did great. Andrew loved the "rapids" and took on the roll of river guide.

We all thought the water would be higher this year, but it wasn't. Charles again had to walk a lot. I think next year we are going to try a place in Cumming near the Buford Dam. Maybe having control over the water will mean higher water level.

Recent Pics

Little Bulldawg


Andrew on the roof, helping to clean the gutters.

Peek-A-Boo

Here's Eli... he's "talking" so much these days, but when you put him on the phone or in front of the camera---- silence. Hmm, I should keep that in mind....

Rennaisance Fair

Once again, it's been a long time since my last post. Nonetheless... we went to the Rennaissance Fair on Memorial Day. We had a GREAT time. Although Charles went relunctantly, he ended up having so much fun. It was a little muggy that day and the forecast was for rain, but that was great for us becuase it didn't rain and it was very un-crowded.

First we went to the joust where our knight won. Then we went to an act called "Flying Debris." It was SO fun. This guy named Todd Key juggle, sets on fire, balances, etc all kinds of wierd things. For example, the audience voted on which "dangerous" objects he should juggle and it turned out to be a spikey ball on a stick, a knife and a can of spam. He was very FUNNY in addition to just entertaining.

Andrew was called on stage to assist. He got to where the jokers hat and he held two "spikes" that then held "spinning balls of death." Everything was very dramatic to this guy.

Charles got on stage to assist (after the camera battery died- darn it). He helped balance the guy and threw him something to add while he was juggling. He said "Chuck the spam, Chuck." Hehehe. Later on we walked around and Charles got caught by the KISSING WINCH!! Ugh! It was kinda hard to get that red lipstick off his cheek.

Andrew was allowed to do one thing and he chose the maze. He went through it pretty well and even found some hidden treasure in there.

While walking around we came to an insult guy. You know, they sit in above a water tank and you try the hit the target with a baseball to dunk them. Charles tried a few time then Andrew tried. Andrew's second throw he knocked that sucker right in the water!!

We had a lot of fun. There were some STRANGE sights, believe me. But it was neat for everyone to say "My Lady" or "My Lord." We actually won these tickets at trivia. It was by a drawing, not becuase we got a lot of questions right. It's a fun memory we have.

Time Flies!

Oh my, how embarrassing that I haven't posted in nearly 2 months. I've been a little overwhelmed to say the least.

I have worked full time for the past 6 weeks or so. It was crazy! I too Eli just about every day. Some days I had to get Andrew from school and maybe go back to work. Some days Charles got one of them. Some days he got both. Some day I didn't get home til late. I even worked some Saturdays in there too! All this because our office manager found a new job. We've had a couple people come and try to fill the role (unsuccessfully) and we're getting closer. I am glad to help my boss. I really love my job. But I'm done now. School is out and I can't do this anymore.

I have new respect for people who work full time- in this order: my husband, who works full time, schlepping around heavy things and some days goes on to umpire in the evenings; working moms: sorry, dads and husbands- momma works all day and still is momma!; full time workers without kids- it's tiring!; and people with 2 jobs are in there somewhere, too. And those with long commutes. Oh, and home-schooling moms are up there at #2 since that is a full time job. :)

Andrew has been in baseball since March (I think) and he's doing great! He's improved a lot and even made All Stars! We declined the All Stars, though, since practice was 7 (YES-7!!) days a week. It's only for a few short weeks, but still... Sundays? no way. His last day of school was Wednesday. The teachers gave out Premonition Awards. Andrew's was "Serving his clients and standing up for what is right- Attorney at Law." AHHHH!

Eli is getting so big. He is a FIRECRACKER. Here's an example: say he's in his high chair and the food runs out and he is bummed. If he's in a particularly funky mood, he'll thrash his head around to let us know he's upset- sometimes knocking his own coconut! Or this one: you grab his hand to pull him up or away from something and he brings your hand (the one doing to restricting) to his fat little face to bite you! Can you believe this? SO different from Drew. Yet, this little guy will snuggle and hug for no reason, randomly give you the biggest smiles and melt your heart. He is so precious to us. He "talks" so much. The inflection and variation in his voice are so convincing. He blabs on and on and we just say things like "really?", "oh, and then what?", "yes, Andrew is shirt-less," "no, thanks, I'm good" Or whatever response we think fits what he's telling us.

We are planning on going to the Renaissance Fair on Monday. We won some tickets one night at trivia- just for being there- not answering questions correctly! But it may rain, so we'll see.

Here are some pics:



Charles has been waiting for Andrew to be this age. He loves coaching those boys.


Andrew and his buddy on the way to Turner Field. They had a T-ball exhibition before the game and we got to play a mini game on the field! It was in the outfield, but still so cool. I hope that's something Andrew will always remember.


Eli enjoying the outdoors.

The Few, The Proud.... The Marines

What an exciting time we had last week! My brother, Ben has been at Officer Candidate School (OCS) with the Marines since January. He finally graduated last week. We (me, the kids, mom, dad, grandma who flew in from Las Vegas and Megan, Ben's girlfriend) left Wednesday at 11pm and made it to Fredricksburg the next morning.

That morning we went to the base and went to and orientation led by Colonel Mancini, the nead guy over OCS. We watched a video and had a press conference type Q&A with leaders of OCS. Then they sorted us by the platoon in which we had a candidate. They led us out to the parade deck (basically a concrete field) where they were in formation. That's where you see Ben in regular clothes. This was the first time we'd seen him in nearly 3 months. They had to keep formation- eyes forward- until they were dismissed. Then it was a rush to find your family and friends. We all cried a bit and it was great to see Ben. He had short hair, was tan and smiling. He toured us around the base a bit and then we went to lunch abd the hotel to catch up before he had to be back.

The next day was graduation day. There was a parade at 9am and it was COLD. They did some marching, gun twirling, and yelling. They handed out awards and the band played, too. It was very patriotic. Ben's platoon walked by us and he was trying to look at us, but it was still pretty stiff.

Later that day we went to the Marine's Museum for his actual commissioning ceremony. At this point he is not yet an officer. At the museum there were neat things like a pull up bar to try, a pack to carry to see how heavy they are, a booth you yell in to get yelled at like a recruit/ candidate, and history of the USMC. His ceremony was short but emotional (for us, anyways). Afterward we went outside to pin his rank bars on his uniform. Then he wanted to find one of trainers for his first salute. See, when Ben became a commissioned officer he then out-ranked the enlisted guys that had been training him all this time. So he found one that trained him for his first salute. The lower rank salutes first.

Then we went to lunch and to the MCX, the on base store. We all got some USMC apparel. Ben and Megan went out dancing that night.

The next day we went to DC. We first went to the Smithsonian. There are several museums within the Smithsonian and we went to the museum of natural history. There were animals and a giant animated globe. It was very neat. Andrew was running from one exhibit to the next so I didn't have much time to absorb all the knowledge I could have. They had a special Orchid exhibit, too, which was neat.

Then we walked down to the Washington Memorial, WWII Memorial and down the reflection pool. Then we went to see President Lincoln and the Vietnam Memorial. The Vietnam Memorial was really neat. Just walking by you get swept up in the grief of all those soldiers who died. A man there offered Andrew some transfer paper to get a name off the wall. I thought we could find an Andrew but I couldn't. Then I spotted a Shadburne. There was a E on the end, but oh, well. He rubbed it off and we will look it up one day. It was special. Then we went to back and saw the Korean War Memorial and a general war memorial on the way back.

It was a great trip and so good to see Ben. He'll either go to The Basic School (TBS) next week or in a few weeks. So there is a chance he can come home for a bit between now and then.

We came home Sunday- another long drive. I'd defnitely be interested in going back to DC one day.

Eli the Monkey

This boy climbs and pulls up like no other. We knew he could go up a few steps on the ladder to Andrew's top bunk, but this was something new. He continued on the top bed, but I had to set the camera down to spot him....

Snow Day turned Space Day

Monday was a snow day- no school! But, what to do? We had a big card board box that was screaming for use. So we made a Space Ship. Andrew had a lot of fun- he loves being creative....

Help me with the Blue's

Hi All,

I'm a big fan of cheap, sweat equity in the home. I've been itching to paint our kitchen lately. We have a dark blue color under the chair rail and on the back splash. The cabinets are cream. The floor is blue/ grey and the counter is blue-ish, too. I don't care for the blue at all. I can easily paint the walls and back splash, but not the counter and floor.

SO- I need help choosing a color that will make the blue counter look less blue, if possible... I'll probably do the cabinets in cream or some kind of white. Any ideas?

Old Stuff

Here is a slide of some stuff from January. Yes, I have been behind.

Andrew brings home SO much art work from school. At first, I tried to put it in a binder, but it was full not too long into the school year. My mom suggested taking pictures of the art work, then just saving the ones he really likes. SO we did and here are a few of those pics.

One night Andrew made a fort in the living room. We got under there with a flashlight and read books. We moved it upstairs to his room. Then he played in it for a little while before bed. He slept in it for a few nights. I remember doing this with my brothers as a kid. We'd be so bummed when mom made us take it down.

And one day when Andrew wasn't in school we invited the Jordan's over to play. The kids all had a great time. We broke out the Pay Dough!

And there are some other pics, too. I'm glad we're moving toward the warmer weather- finally!

Valentine's Day!

We had a great V-Day and we hope you all did, too. The day before Valentines was Friday. Andrew's class had a party, which is usually just sugary snacks and desserts on themed plates. But, my mom was kind enough to come to his class and do a special craft with the kids. So she found materials and came up with the Valentine's Kitty. It's in the slide show. Mom is real good at this kind of thing. I'm glad my kids have her to express their creative sides with...

On Valentines Day, Saturday, I left to get my brother Joe. He rode back to Atlanta from Little Rock with a buddy. He is car-less so we drove around for a bit looking for cars for him. Then I went home. Later that afternoon, we decided to do hair cuts. Andrew was WAY over due. We love those curls, but he hates getting his hair combed and or putting curl cream in it. I hate hearing him wine about it. PLUS, my mother-in-law said he looked like Screech from Saved by the Bell. That did it- it was definitely hair cut time. Charles needed one, too. Here is a slide of the craft and the hair cut. More about our day after that....

After that, we thought we'd go to our favorite little place for dinner. The environment is great- they don't mind the kids running around, the people are awesome, the food is good, and it's cheap. Yes, we made reservations at the Norton's. (My parents). We got dressed up and went over there for a yummy steak dinner. We kept making jokes like "I'll tell the manager and we'll get our next meal on the house," or "Ma'am, could we get a high chair please?" Now, even though we made these remarks it doesn't mean we being waited on or anything like that. Charles cooked the steaks and I set the table. It was fun. But we had to do the dishes, since we "left the wallet at home." ;)

After dinner we played Euchre with heart-shaped cards and had ice cream cake for dessert. It was a good time and will be one of our most memorable Valentine's yet, for whatever reason! :)

Sweet Deal

Hey all- I found a great deal at Dollar Tree!

They have the H&R Block Tax Cut software there. I haven't done it yet- but it's the standard version. I think it will be just great for those of us with no-so-complicated taxes. Anyways, it was $1, of course, and it includes 1 free federal e-file. That costs $15 on it's own.

I found it in the office section at the Dollar Tree on State Bridge Road.

Another "job" for me??

Some people collect coins, some collect Beany Babies. We collect jobs. Charles has one full time and one part time. I work part time as a bookkeeper in a few places and I recently did my first lesson with Wyzant.com. They match tutors with students. You can set your own schedule and even set your own pay rate. And it can be anything- piano, foreign language, religion, school subjects, even baseball!

If you're interested in either, go to

http://www.wyzant.com/1PYJYX

It's supposed to be a special referral website for me, but I can't tell if it works. So use me as a referral if you sign up.

The Shadburns use creative income methods. It works for us!

Coupon Callie

Hi All,

I need to introduce you to Coupon Callie at couponcallie.blogpsot.com. She has all the good deals and tricks for saving moo-lah. She is also a really fun person and I wish we hung out more (do you hear that, Cal?)

Callie recently had a contest on her blog and I won! I got a set of shampoo, condition, mouse and styling spray. And I'm talking full size, not the dinky travel trial sizes.

Anyways, check it out and enjoy!

Photo Tag

I've been tagged by Shana to post the 4th picture in my 4th picture folder. I have folders in folders in folders so I just kept going 4-4-4-4 until I got to a picture.


This is a picture of my mom and I from a trip we took to Panama City in summer 2006. My friend Danielle went with us. We had a great time. We went to a show that did knock off songs. It was like a cover band show, only they did lots of different acts. This was taken in the condo we were staying in.

One thing I remember about this trip was that I went to the grocery store and got what I thought would be plenty of groceries for the 3 of us for the 4 or so days we were there. Well, me mom obviously thought that wasn't enough. She went back out and came back with entirely too much! We had plenty to eat and snack on for the duration. When we had to leave, we ended up giving stuff we couldn't take (like ice cream, juice that was made) to the staff. So like my mom!! We love her!!

My brothers

My brothers are both beginning new and exciting chapters in their lives. I want to share this for all who don't know what their up to, and to ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Ben is my older brother. He is two years older than me. Over the past few years he has tried several times to get his career going. He has had job in advertising offices and formal dance studios, mainly. About 10 days ago he headed out for Quantico, VA for Office Candidate School for the Marine's. He is probably about a week into training right now. Last we heard (from his first letter) the weather was cold and he was fighting off a cold. Ben feels that he is where God wants him to be. He need strength to make it through the 10 weeks of training.

Joe is 18 months younger than me. I can't call him my "little" bro, because he is so tall! He moved to Little Rock, AR last week to take a sales position with Hewlitt Packard. The same day his buddies (who helped him take his stuff up and move in) left his car died. *This is the same brother who had a bad accident last year and rolled in the Blazer he saved so long for. He bought a junker clunker after that and this is the one that's now dead.* So he was up there with nobody, no groceries and now no car! But he made some contacts before he left of fellow college grad's that were moving to the same city for HP as well. So one girl took him to get groceries. Anyways- what a bummer way to start this new venture.

They are both strong and I have every confidence in them. I miss them already and it hasn't even been a few weeks. Please keep them in mind.

Fresh Goes Better!!!

Charles and Andrew have recently experimented with Mentos and coke to see how much fizz/ explosion they could make. So there are some left over Mento's around the house. I was trying to explain to Andrew how corny the old commercials were and how they popped a Mento and all was dandy. I had to show him on youtube so he'd get the full effect. You can't HELP but smile at these CORN-BALL ad's. (Some end with foreign talking, but the song is in English. Whatev.) I love how the person watching the Mento's eater always smiles at the end- like "Oh, you're not crazy, you've got Mentos!" Which one is your fav?

Wet Paint:


The Lunch Date:


Keys on the Boat:


The Car Movers: