Christmas Gifts-Materialistic and Not

Here are some thing that I would not mind if Santa dropped down our chimney this year:

porch swing and rocking chairs for our front porch

My SIL, Lacey says these are awesome. Clarisonic brushes--

Have you seen her skin? Yep, pretty amazing. I'll take a little of that glow, thank you. 

she is just as beautiful on the inside

a pear cookie jar anyone? of course this would mean I would need to fill it with fresh baked cookies, hmmm maybe not a good idea. but i love the color! (via anthropologie)

very blurry, but a furry vest would be cozy (for the few times it actually gets cold here!)

This little guy is getting into the Christmas spirit. He is not very interested in the tree. I thought he would try his new standing skills to acquire some on the ornaments for his teething needs. Not so much, he just crawls right by.

My husband asked for:

1. A mojo dove (dove decoy)

2. workout equipment

3. tools

Wow, doesn't that sound like fun shopping. 

On the spiritual (aka important) list that I am praying for:

Continual Transformation

Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18

Humble Heart

1 Peter 5:5

James 4:6

Having God's Desires not my own

Galatians 5:24

What is on your Christmas list this year?

Thanksgiving at the Roost

Warning: Picture overload! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of family, hunting, eating, fellowship...all the good stuff. Last week we went to my niece and nephew's Thanksgiving play and they recited Psalm 100 which really sums up my grateful heart. 

 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs. ³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name. ⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.


We had lots of play time with cousins and each other:

Lane loves a good wrestle.

He is very mobile these days, so if you have something he wants, you better watch out!

pretend cooking with Sam

our attempt at a family shot, pretty sure Lane was looking at Amos. typical

story time in the morning with Pie

I got lots of lovin' in on baby Ford, he is already getting SO big!!

We attempted a few pictures of the grandkids with Pie and Pal:

Lane had reached his limit

Thanksgiving day we headed to Seabed for the hunt and lunch:

Lane with his great-grandmother, Mydot

the hunting crew

My boys in their hunter orange. 

Pop bestowed James with his very own whistle and joked that when I married him, he said he didn't really hunt. oh how times have changed!!

Lane loves hunting or more accurately he loves riding in Pop's lap and "driving" the mule.

love this picture of Amos, James, Sam, and Pal

a lunch of Stone crab's (a treat from Pop) followed by a football game

Lane playing with his cousin Crawford

 We finished off the weekend with the Auburn/Al game and Christmas decorating. I will post more pictures soon, but figured this was enough for one post!!

Lazy Weekend

This weekend was one of those relaxing fall weekends where we stayed in town and just enjoyed each other's company.  We hiked at the Roost, stayed late in our pj's, watched a movie (The Green Lantern-not so much), went to church, raked leaves (you get the idea). Saturday morning this good looking crew headed to Tuscaloosa.

 and we headed for a hike and enjoyed the view...

yes you are seeing correctly-Lane is in his pajamas and Orange Tiger hat (and by the way, he got heavy. FAST.)

playing in the leaves (still in his jammies)

OVER.IT.

playing ball with Amos

I am thankful this week for my sweet family and the week off! Plans include: Thankgiving program at Sam and Fair's school, cooking/baking day, spending the night at the Roost for Russell family fun, annual Thanksgiving day Quail hunt at Seabed followed by a Stone crab claw lunch...I'm Ready!!

Don't worry I got these for Lane for the Quail Hunt:

he is ready to slaughter some birds

Little boys...

pintrest

Lane had his buddy Foster over to play (and their mommies also enjoyed a good visit)

Watch out Foster!!

 Foster is 4 months older than Lane and is more advanced as far as actually playing goes...Lane just wanted to give him a good slobber. 

Having Fun!

and then not so much :)
If one started crying the other did not want to be left out!

Love this one! Checking themselves out in the mirror





Thanks for coming over Foster and Kristen, we look forward to many more fun times over the years...

9 months

Lane boy at 9 months,  He is everywhere!

New favorites this month: opening and closing cabinets and doors, taking Amos's bone and then crawling away as fast as he can so Amos will "chase" him,  clapping his hands, and some new sounds like "th" and squealing when he is excited

He is standing and pulling up on everything, but still no independent steps.  He had his check up last Friday, and he weighs 19 pounds and is 28 inches tall. He is a pretty good eater, and most of the time he will eat some of what we are eating mashed up and then one jar of baby food. He is still takes about 5 bottles a day. 

He is learning knows what "no" means and is starting to push his boundaries with certain "no-no's". Examples: trying to turn over Amos's water bowl, pulling out the plug in the bath tub, and turning around in his high chair. He is quick to stop when he hears "No sir", but occasionally will linger just a moment to see my reaction. I never knew 9 month olds were so smart. 

His fake cry face

Bath time is still his favorite. 

Oh My Goodness, I love him so much!!

sweet little legs

Coming up: pictures from his first play date with his buddy Foster!

11-11-11

I believe today is a special day in the heavenly realms. Many Faith leaders have said that there is significance in the number 11, especially 11-11. Significant in that it is the 11th hour, and that God is urgent that people come to know Jesus's love and saving grace personally.  Have you noticed God speaking to you through this? My sister and I were in the car the other day and she asked me for the time. It was 11:11 am. Do you ever wake up to look at the clock and it is exactly 11:11? Coincidence? I think not.
There are many Christian conferences across the nation today to worship God and experience His supernatural love in a big way. I think God wants to pour out his blessings on His people today, maybe not in a temporal way, but in a everlasting way.
I am claiming Ephesians 1:3- Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing IN Christ.
I encourage you to take some time today to Praise Him and ask him to move in a mighty way!

Lane's Cry face

How does something so pitiful seem so cute? 

I believe this was in response to me taking to long to get his dinner

and the Winner is....

Millie! Congratulations--Millie says she loved basketball is high school, but now watches a lot of football with her boys. Please send me email or facebook me your address and your bangle will be on its way.

In other news, we placed Third in our tennis tournament this weekend!! Wahoo! The "big girls" aka the 6.5 ladies team from Selma won overall!! They are really awesome and so much fun to watch. 

Our Team, "Make Some Racquet" (minus Amy)

Kea, Beth, me, and Kate

Kate and I played together most of the weekend, and I was so thankful for her as my partner. She dominates the net. I prefer to run around on the baseline. 

Sister fun--Friday night dinner at Cobalts

The Roll Tiders before the game Saturday

before Saturday playing, all smiles--this was before we got beat!

the team that put it to us, this serious pow wow should have been our first clue

with Baxter, our fabulous Coach and Birthday Boy!!

my boo-boo, tennis courts are not very forgiving (and to make it worse, I didn't even win the point)

A few more pictures:

whole Selma group

So, I guess I should reveal the whole truth--we placed 3rd, but there were only three teams. We did beat the team from Birmingham that went on to win the whole thing though, so there was some light in the darkness so to speak. All in all, it was a great learning experience and a lot of fun! The ladies on my team are the best--so fun to be around. I am looking forward to lot more trip girls, and next time Victory!