Evening of laughter

Last night was an evening filled with laughter.

The first thing that got us tickled was Mahlon downing his blueberry pie. He's getting better at actually getting it IN his mouth.

This was just moments after a "pizza meltdown". We had Pizza Hut pizza for supper last night and it was NOT what Sammie wanted. For once, Matt and I stuck to our guns and it was "that or nothing", so she eventually gave up and ate some of it.

And of course, her new tattoo!

One of Mah-Monsters many faces...

Wonder where he gets them...

This was the worst part of the evening... Sammie's shiner!

Her and her daddy were wrestling and she jumped on him as he twisted his elbow and "pop!". He said she hit so hard that he didn't even feel it. It's her left eye, you can sort of see the knot on the outside of her eye. This morning it wasn't quite as swollen, but definitely going to be black.

Come to think of it, this same incident happened the week before our wedding, except I was the victim!

She was a big girl about it though. She never cried. And she even posed for pictures afterwards..

Here are a few of our failed attempts at a good family picture..

I love this one because Sammie's finally figured out how to make a heart!

**It's almost here!! Our family road trip to North Carolina to see my brother and his family! Woohoo!! I will definitely have plenty of pictures to post when we get back!

Pray for us that we will have a safe journey (as we are leaving out Thursday night and driving through the night) and that the kids will be on their best behavior. **

Toddlers & Tattoos

Normally when I get home from work, I am greeted by screaming, running, and smiling kids. They jump on me and hug and kiss me and say "mommy, you're finally home!".

Well, last night wasn't normal. I got home and was bombarded by Sammie at the door with, "Look what I got! Look what Mrs. Patty gave me! Mahlon got one too!"

She was so proud of her little 'tribal band' on her arm. I think it's safe to say that she was even more excited about Mahlon's robot on his arm. I must admit, they were cute. I rolled Mahlon's shirt sleeve up so you could see his tattoo and his big ole' muscles. Today, I sent him to daycare in a 'muscle shirt' so that he could show off his manly robot. =)

Sammie helped me do my workout last night and in the midst of all the sweating we did, some of her tattoo rubbed off, so she made sure she asked Mrs. Patty first thing this morning for another one!

I guess they'll match their Uncle Josh and Aunt Stephie next week. You know, being all "tatted up and junk".

Couldn't resist this one! Look how grown up he looks!

Mahlon's robot

Sammie's tribal butterfly

*I am continuously finding new settings on my camera for lighting, so please, bear with me!*

A trip to Granny PattPatt's...FINALLY!

After so many busy weeks, the kids and I finally got to go down and visit with Granny PattPatt! It seemed like it had been AGES since we had been there.

Sammie has learned who everybody is by their cars (she gets that from me) so when we turned on to Granny's road, she noticed that Uncle Tony was there! We love Uncle Tony and we haven't seem him since before Mahlon was walking!

Several years ago, PawPaw PattPatt bought a massager that is shaped like a frog and his tongue is the on/off switch. The kids love to play with this thing. They like to turn it on and put it on the table. Before Sammie could get any of us with it, Uncle Tony got her!

In case you didn't know, Sammie is the entertainer of the family. She loves to do "magic tricks", sing, dance, read to you, and act for you. She got me and Granny in on the magic act! She was trying to make our heads and hands disappear.

Ta-Da!!

Mahlon and his bandanna..

Granny was in mid-sentence and Mahlon looks like he saying "don't you take my picture!"

Willow Grill

On Sunday afternoon, Matt's parent's took us out to eat at Willow Grill. The last time we ate out there, Sammie was Mahlon's age!

A few things had changed since the last time we went. New owners, new name, and a lot more people! Of course, the latter was due to the beautiful weather! Willow Grill is at Clear Creek Harbor in Alpine, right on the water. We opted to eat inside because it was so hot!

The food was wonderful! Sammie, Mahlon, and I ate chicken fingers and french fries (with some fried okra!). I only left a few pieces of okra on my plate because there was so much food! Sammie cleaned her plate and proceeded to eat some of mine! Mahlon ate the same fry for at least 5 minutes. He would dip it in ketchup and suck it off until it would finally turn to mush. Matt ordered a hamburger with everything on it!!! If you know Matt, you know that this is a MAJOR accomplishment! He always orders his hamburgers PLAIN! This had to have been the biggest hamburger I have seen in a long time! With everything piled up on it, it was at least 3 inches thick! He said it was wonderful! We didn't eat supper until 7:30 that night and we still weren't HUNGRY, just wanted something light to eat! That just tells you how much food there was!

After everyone had eaten, we took the kids out on the back porch to look for fish. The back porch is so pretty! It's shaded by a willow tree and it overlooks the water. If you haven't visited this place, you must!

Y'all know Sammie has to pose!

He's learned to say "Cheese" when he sees the camera

Looking for the fish

Sammie and Nana enjoying the back porch (and the salt and pepper shakers!)

View from the back porch

The shade

Our week - in pictures!

Hello Beautiful!

Well, at least they aren't hitting each other!

Always posing!

No fear!

See, I told you! Alway posing!

One more pose!

You can't tell me that's not hilarious!

Baby Mohawk!

That's it! I'm done! Cheese! Quite literally!

Doing homework

Yum! Arby's! Almost done!

Corndogs!

Hope you enjoyed our week as much as we did!

doctor visit

Yesterday afternoon we made our first trek to the doctor's office in quite some time. Mahlon had to get a few shots and we had to get his "blue slip" for daycare.

They found the toys!

It had been so long since we've been in to Coosa Valley Pediatrics that Mrs. Sonya couldn't believe how much the kids had grown! Last time we were there, Mahlon wasn't even walking yet! That's wonderful if you remember how many times we WERE there within the first 9 months of his life! Mahlon has never been one for letting momma put him down so the nurses can poke on him, but he was a big boy yesterday. After a few pushes and slaps (on his part, not mine!), he let Mrs. Sonya check him out. The whole time Mrs. Sonya and I were trying to control Mahlon, check his temperature and get his length, Sammie was in the back saying "Mrs. Sonya, I want a sticker. Mrs. Sonya, can I have a sticker. Mrs. Sonya, can I have FOUR stickers, I'm four years old. Mrs. Sonya, how about FIVE, I'm almost five." Bless that little girl Since Mahlon is a big boy now, he gets to sit up on the scale. No more laying down for him! He weighed a whopping 24 lbs 3.8 oz! Whoa big boy! (or so I thought!)

Dr. Sawyer is out on maternity leave, which really disappointed Sammie (she loves Dr. Sawyer). So, we got to visit with Dr. Hardy for the first time yesterday. Honestly, I think I have found the best doctor's office EVER! How can you get not one, but TWO doctors in the same office that are absolutely wonderful!? Mrs. Sonya brought Sammie FIVE stickers! So, while Dr. Hardy was talking to me and going over what shots Mahlon would get when and why, Sammie was playing school in the window seal and the stickers were the students homework. She stuck a few of the stickers to her knee and started crying because she wanted them off, but didn't want it to hurt. Without hesitation, I grabbed and ripped it off. Oh, how the drama ensued! Bless Dr. Hardy, he got the full on effect with my kids yesterday! We found out that Mahlon was in the 75th percentile with his height (I didn't get the exact measurement), but he's below the 50th percentile in his weight. The weight thing really isn't an issue yet. He said that we wouldn't worry with it unless this trend continues. I don't know how he's under that, the boy eats ALL. THE. TIME! Mahlon had to get three shots yesterday. Two in the left leg and one in the right. I was laying over him holding both hands and the other leg trying to keep him still without scaring him. I guess you could say, it KIND OF worked. He was still kicking Mrs. Sonya with his opposite leg and bless her, she was trying to focus on getting the needles in and out really fast and Sammie was right beside her..."Mrs. Sonya, thank you for my stickers. Thank you for giving me five, because I'll be five next December 13th Right after Mrs. Sonya finished up and left the room, Sammie decided she was tired of the stickers. (WHAT!?!?) I convinced her not to throw them in the garbage, so look where she decided to put them instead...

I hope we're not the only family that is that much of a handful in the doctors office!

Sammie pretending to be Dr. Sawyer

Innocent Prayers

After much consideration on what would be my first "blog topic", I went with an event that happened last night.

My beautiful 4 year-old daughter did the most amazing and humbling thing last night at dinner. She said her first "grace".

Now, I know you're not supposed to peek around when you're praying, but I couldn't help it! (I caught Matt watching her as well, and Mahlon..well, Mahlon was already half way through with his corn dog!) She bowed her head, put her hands together and began to speak in that sweet, loving, and tender voice..."Dear Jesus, thank you for today, thank you for this food, thank you for all the things we love and like, take care of us, in name, Amen".

Wow! What emotions flew over me! I couldn't help but snicker in amazement because it is evident that my baby girl loves the Lord! I wanted to cry because I know that she knows the Lord and she knows that we should be talking to Him constantly and thanking Him for everything that He does and for everything that He has given us!

It reminded me that THAT is how we are supposed to pray! Like innocent children!! We may not always know exactly what to say and we may feel silly at times, but to Him..we aren't silly, we are wonderfully, beautifully, and remarkably made! And even when we don't know what to say, the Lord knows what's on our hearts. So, here's my promise..from now on, I will be praying just like an innocent child!

Keep us in your prayers that we will continue to grow in the Lord and that my sweet Sammie will continue to love Him as much as she does now. Pray that my boys will love Him just as much as we do!