On Tuesday, Bradley started running a fever, which got up to 103. THe doc said it was an ear infection, and he seemed much better by Thursday. But, Friday, he was coughing a ton and still had a fever. Saturday, he had a fever, so I took him back in and we discover he has RSV. He was wheezing pretty good and he got a steroid shot and a breathing treatment. He was pretty puny yesterday. Today, has been better, but still had fussy moments.
Emery, who is our asthmatic, cough child, has been coughing pretty good since Thursday. She started running a fever last night and has been puny all day. She has watched a lot of tv and layed on the couch. Motrin is our friend!
SO, please say a little prayer that wellness sets in for our family.
Have a great week!

The girls went back to MDO this week and they were so excited! I don’t know if I should feel good that my children like spending time away from me! They love it and learn so much.
Last night, we made a rare trip to the mall as an entire family. With 3 kids 5 and under, you can imagine why we don’t do this very often! Jason and I both needed to make some returns, so we decided to brave the adventure. They did well, for the most part, with many reminders that obedience brings blessing and in this case, ICE CREAM!
We experienced a first, though. The mall we went to has an indoor play area, so we let the kids run around and to our astonishment, they were the biggest kids playing. Both had to be put in time out at some point for almost taking out a toddler or jumping in front of the said toddler to climb up the tree. When did they become the big kids? Jason had a discussion on helping younger kids out and being aware of those around you. SO, you know, THOSE kids at the playground that you secretly cringe at and think , oh, not my child? You know the one who runs around and almost knocks your child over and does not stop to say sorry? The one who has no idea how much bigger they are ? That was pretty much our kids in the play area at the mall!

Jason spoke at church on New Year’s Eve. It has been such a joy to me to watch him develop as a speaker through the years. He spoke on a principle that we have tried to wrap our lives around for a lot of years. His main point was, “It is both powerful and convincing when the body of Christ IS the body of Christ.” Many of us know people who were embraced, encouraged and loved by other believers and thus began to see their need for Christ. But, how many more do we know who have equated God with the actions of Christians and have thus turned away from the Church, but more importantly, from a life altering encounter with Jesus. I was convicted to think of how my actions have the power to turn people off from Christ, because I am His representative. Jason talked about all the “One Anothers” in Scripture, most of which Jesus taught. Love one another as I have loved you, do not forsake meeting with one another, be kind one to another, forgive one another… The list goes on.
SO, as we begin 2007, I am reminded that I have the privelege of letting Christ rule in my life, in my heart, and in my actions. His Words come through mine. His hands serve through mine. His love is shown through me. His forgiveness and grace is revealed in my ability to do those very things. His mercy is mine every morning to claim and offer to those around me. His glory is made known when I become less and He becomes More.
I am amazed and humbled by the task to become more like Christ. I have so far to go, but the journey is the prize of knowing Jesus daily, each hour, each minute. I don’t want to be so focused on my corner of the world, my life, my family, my growth that I don’t allow God’s Word to become who I am and thus change how I live. His command is not rocket science. He has given us the formula to show the World that we are changed by Christ. My prayer is that in this new year, my words may be less and my actions scream that I am forever changed and daily changing by Jesus.

Wow, I can’t believe how long it has been since I last posted. We have been deep in the throws of all things Christmas and I am still trying to catch my breath! Christmas lasted a week at our house, so I have been preoccupied elsewhere. We had a blast! Jason’s dad and his wife, Beth came to Nashville on the 23rd and we spent the day opening presents, eating and having a great time of fellowship. We went to church on Christmas Eve morning. My parents came to the first service and Dan and Beth to the second service, so I doubled communioned that morning! After lunch, we headed to my sisters to let the kiddos open presents. SO much fun! Paper was everywhere and Bradley just played and had a blast. We went to the Christmas Eve service at her church that evening, where I had my third communion of the day! Seriously, what a great way to celebrate the birth of Christ by remembering his death and all it means to us. We went back to Kim’s and had dinner and the adults opened presents.
Christmas morning we had our family gifts. After we opened gifts I felt like I began the mad dash to get everything packed, kids bathed and dressed, and in the van. We left after lunch to head to Knoxville. We celebrated with Jason’s mom and her husband, and his brother that evening. We had a great time. The next morning I got up super early to meet mom for the after Christmas crazy! I got some cool things for the tree next year!
On Wednesday we headed up to the mountains to spend time with Jason’s mom’s family. Papaw, Jason’s grandfather, built a cabin up in Pigeon Forge several years back and we usually go up the week after Christmas. Our girls had such a great time, playing outside with thier cousins. We played games, ate and had a fun couple of days in the Smokies.
Finally, on Friday, we headed home. I have been in unpacking, toy opening, decoration packing, and general cleaning frenzy since then.
I am ready to get back in the groove!
We went to see a Pediatric Dermatologist today for Bradley. He has eczema and a heightened immune system which can lead to hive when he is exposed to skin irritants. Basically, he has super sensitive skin. A cold can cause him to break out, walking down the lotion isle or perfume counter can as well. We have been a basically fragrance free family, but we will be even more so from now on. To me, this explains his random hives more so than food allergies.
I will post pictures later. I am having a hard time downloading my pics for some reason!
Glad to be back! I missed you guys!

I just thought trying to get two children to look at the camera was hard! Three was a true test of my patience and sweet voice! Bradley is not crawling at 9 months, but he is a scooting man, so he kept scooting toward me and the camera. In his defense, it was bedtime and he was ready for his bottle. Hope you enjoy!
This was the first picture of about 20 that I took!

Christmas is official at our house! Last night, Jason and I watched the movie White Christmas and wrapped presents. This began for him as a child, and for me, after we were married. We love to share this with friends, but since having children, it is usually just the two of us!
What is your favorite holiday movie?

As many of you may recall, our oldest daughter, Parker, was set to star, I mean perform, in the preschool Christmas play, as a sheep! You may also remember that she was not wanting to be a sheep because “all of my friends will make fun of me.” Well, all of her friends were sheep as well, so that argument went out the door! She did really well and said her line, but as you can see from her picture, she was not exactly proclaiming the “Good News” with “Great Joy.” Jason is planning on making a video of all their Christmas performances and I will post those later! Here is a glimpse of the sheep in action….

“We saw Jesus in the Manger”

“I am really not happy in this get up”

How sheeply do they look!

Merry Christmas from our sheep to yours!

I decided to take part in the Christmas Tour of Homes hosted by BooMama. I love to decorate at the holidays and make the house warm and cozy! So, welcome to our home.

The mantle is also a lot of fun to decorate! We displayed our new nativity set
this year! I also use red and silver on it. I bought new stockings last year which all
match. I am going to get our names embroidered on them!

This is my kitchen. I promise the water does not look nearly as yucky in person! I float
cranberries in water each year. Cheap and easy centerpiece. I display the kiddos
crafts over on the big window and our advent tree is on the table!

The dining room also has a nativity set in the center. This is the first nativity Jason and I
received after we got married and I love it! We have nativity sets all over the house to continue
to remind ourselves and our kids Who we are celebrating!

This is our entrance. My mother in law got me this cute set one year for Christmas!

This is the tree in our playroom. It has pink, green and silver ornaments. We also put the kids
ornaments up here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!

Wll, thanks for coming! You were the best kind of guest! I pray that you all have a safe, blessed Christmas and truly celebrate the birth of Christ! Blessings!

Last night at dinner, Parker said the blessing. She prayed that Jesus would have a great birthday. Then, she prayed for her friend Evan. It went something like this…”I pray that Evan will know that Heaven is the best. Not Chuck. E. Cheese. Heaven is the best.” It was one of those moments that you really want to laugh, but can’t, because of the psychological damage you could inflict on your child!
I would love to have heard that conversation between Parker and Evan! I am also so proud that my daughter is already thinking of her eternal destination. She told me this morning that she thinks Heaven will be a little scary for her and Emery at first because God and Jesus are there and they are really big, but they will get used to it! Love the faith of a child!
So, just remeber Heaven is the best. Not Chuck E. Cheese!

I had an absolutely fabulous time with my mom and sis in Chattanooga. I would show you pictures but didn’t take the camera. I have decided that this is one of those family traditions that get passed down through the generations. Our christmas pictures growing up all look the exact same just one year later. We are sitting in our assigned christmas opening presents seats in the floor, except mom and dad are on the couch. We hold up the just opened gift, usually an item of clothing, and pose. Breathtaking photography. Truly Captivating. We just are not natural picture taking folks. Now, I have tried to become better since having children, but I still forget the camera on more than one occasion. Scrapbooking does not come naturally to me, either. I have preserved forever from birth to 3 months with Parker. Sad, I know.
I really like the idea of these online scrapbooks where you just paste the picture in the square and presto, a scrapbook. I love that idea!
Life is hectic here and my list to do seems to be getting longer and the time to do it shorter!
It is definately beginning to look a lot like Christmas….