Clearing off Camera: Christmas 2010

Jesus is Alive!!!!  Hallelujah!!!

Of course, we managed to stay busy throughout all of Christmas.  We went to the Zoo for Zoolight Safari.  Sarah had a good time seeing all of the lights, but she couldn't understand why none of her favorite animals were out for her to see.

This was the closest we came to seeing a flamingo.  We just had to settle for seeing a light-up one!

This picture was taken on Christmas Eve.  Every year, the fire department comes through our neighborhood with sirens blaring and Santa Claus on the back.  When we heard the sirens, we ran outside for Sarah to see Santa on the back of the truck!

Of course, we went overboard ... here are some of Sarah's presents ...

Here is the tired girl mid-morning ... crashed from opening up all her presents!!

Cleaning off Camera: Callaway Gardens December 2010

We went to Callaway Gardens with my parents to see the Christmas Lights.  If you've never been, you should definitely go sometime.  We like to go over there every few years to see them.  It is always a special time.  It was Sarah's first time and she was really excited!  It was really cold!!!

This is a much larger version of "Buddy".  We have Buddy at our house too.  Sometimes, he likes to get into a little bit of mischief (elf on the shelf), but overall Buddy is pretty tame at our house!!

Clearing off the Camera: Sarah's Birthday Party (11/21/10)

We had Sarah's 2nd Birthday Party at McWane Science Center.  This was an excellent decision.  They did everything!!!  The theme was Messy Art, so I made each child a t-shirt that said "I got Messy at Sarah's Birthday Party". 

Illegal Substance -- Beware!!!

So look at what was found in the parking lot of work, near my car to be specific!  Yes, that's right ... weed, grass, pot ... marijuana.  Rolled into a baggie, just like on tv!  I flushed it down the toilet, with Mrs. Louise as my witness.  It was a little bit dry and crusty with a strong odor.  Why would someone want to ingest dried up lawnmower grass clippings?  That really is what it looks like.  Who thought up that bright idea?

Anyway, never a dull moment here at work!

First Milkshake

Sarah has discovered a love of chocolate and ice cream ... well, what could be better than putting those two things together.  Meet the chocolate milkshake!!  On a recent weekend, we met some friends for dinner and ended up at Chick-Fil-A.  After having a taste of Daddy's milkshake, Sarah decided she needed her own.  Luckily, Evie was there for us to split the milkshake with.  Yummy! 

Future Grocery Shopper

Sarah has a love-hate relationship with the grocery store.  She likes to go with us, but she wants to constantly alternate between sitting in the race car buggy and walking on her own.  Well, you can imagine a 2 year old walking running through the grocery store on her own.  Well, I came up with the idea to let her bring her own grocery cart to the store and maybe that would help matters ...

Well, it only helped for a little while.  Once she had her buggy filled up with cereal bars, bananas and pears -- it was time to play!  So instead of having a 2 year old run through the store, I now had a 2 year old WITH a buggy running through the store.  It was still pretty cute though! :)

Be Careful Monkeys!!

Sarah has always loved the song "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed'.  Right before Valentine's Day, I was looking around in random stores (like I love to do) and found this set of monkeys and a bed.  The set had 5 little monkeys, a momma monkey, a doctor monkey and a bed.  She was so excited about it!!!  Of course now, the bedspread has become a blanket for some of her baby dolls instead of the monkeys ... but she still loves singing the song!  It was actually probably one of the first songs that she ever really sang on her own.

Turn your sound up to hear the video of her and Daddy playing and singing the song.  Sorry for the quality, its from my phone. 

Who cares about Pyramids?

My Family, well specifically my husband.  You see, in the class he was taking this semester at Montevallo, he had to teach the kids about "something".  Well, not just any something, but you get the idea.  The next topic he was scheduled to discuss in his classroom was about Ancient Egypt.  He decided to really highlight the pyramids.  Well, for his actual class that he was taking, he had to write a huge paper detailing pretty much everything about the unit that was taught, even including when he scheduled himself a second to breathe in/out, digest, use the bathroom, etc.  Okay, so maybe I exaggerate ... literally, his paper ended up being almost 20 pages long (single spaced!!).  Along with the paper, he had to do a project board with a ton of data on it and then present it to a panel.  Well, he presented yesterday to an Education Professor and the Dean of the History Department.  He aced it!  They had no questions for him about any of his data or his instruction.  I'm so proud of him!!!  Here are some pictures of the board that he had to put together.

Good Morning Cows

As part of our morning routine, Sarah and I drive past the horses, cows and donkeys every morning on the way to her school.  She loves seeing the animals and does not like it if we ever have to go a different way to school.  Well, yesterday afternoon, I was stalling for time before meeting Daddy for supper so I decided that we would go and look at the cows.  She got so excited to see the cows.  She sang Old McDonald to the cows.  Many of them started walking in from the field to get closer to us.  I guess they thought we had some food.  Next time, maybe I'll try to bring them a special treat.

Happy Anniversary!!

On March 18, 2006 at approximately 5:20 pm, I kissed my husband for the first time.  We had just been pronounced husband and wife.  It was a wonderful day full of so many great memories.  Fast forward 5 years, on March 18, 2011, we revisted some of those memories over a romantic dinner at The Melting Pot.  

Course 1:  Cheddar Cheese Fondue.  It was served with an assortment of "dippers", including various types of bread, vegetables and green apples.

Course 2:  Caesar Salad, but I forgot to take a picture of it.  Use your imagination, surely you've had a caesar salad before!  The only thing that your mind may not immediately picture would be the pine nuts that were on top of our salad.

Course 3:  Main Course.  At a fondue restaurant, you cook everything yourself.  The main course is no exception.  We had a vegetable bouillon base to cook our food in.  We first placed all of our vegetables (potatoes, mushrooms and broccoli) in the broth to begin cooking.  We then began to work our way through our assortment of various meats.  We were served duck, chicken, filet mignon, NY strip, shrimp and 2 ravioli.  All of these were cooked by us to our specifications at our table.  Everything was delicious except for the duck and the ravioli.  Neither of us cared for those.  Can you believe that Michael actually attempted and ate duck?!?!

Course 4:  Dessert.  This course is probably the main reason why people come to The Melting Pot.  It was delicious!!!  We chose a basic chocolate with a spoonful of peanut butter added in.  The server also set it on fire for us.  Our dippers included strawberries, rice krispie treats, oreo covered marshmellows, graham cracker covered marshmellows, bananas, brownies, pound cake and cheesecake.  Yum!!!

We were sitting in a little room by ourselves for the whole meal.  They knew that it was our anniversary and had us in a back corner.  I guess the assumption was that we would be overly romantic and we would need the privacy.  We were too busy eating I guess because other than holding hands, there was no touchy-feely going on in our booth!!  The restaurant also gave us a card wishing us Happy Anniversary.  It was a very nice gesture.  The following are pictures of us being goofy.  Michael was ready to either fight someone with his fondue forks, or he was getting ready to dig in to some food.  The picture of me is when I was eating an oreo-covered marshmallow dipped in chocolate ... can you taste the yumminess??

The Happy Couple ...

I love you Michael Crawley!  Thank you for a wonderful five years.  I can't wait to see what our future holds for us.  I know that it will be great and exciting as long as we are exploring it and living it together!!!

What do you want your children to never forget?

I saw this video on another person's blog today.  I won't lie ... I cried.  It reminded me so much of Sarah and how she always wants "more paste".  It reminded me of how Michael and I are responsible for teaching her so much, even how to put toothpaste on a toothbrush.  How will we ever cover everything that we are supposed to teach her??  It is an overwhelming task.  However, in the end ... there are just three things that she needs to know. Watch the video ...

Day 12: We are thankful for ...

Papa!!!!  My daddy is the best.  He loves us so much.  He has always been there to help out and to guide me in whatever.  I remember when Michael and I first started dating that he wasn't going to be able to help me out at home as much anymore.  He said that I needed to learn to rely on Michael for some house-fixing stuff if we were going to be together.  That's just one of many wise lessons he has taught me.  Granted, I don't always listen ... but that's another story.  Sarah loves her Papa-boo!!!!  Today is a big day for him.  On Labor Day, he fell off a ladder approximately 18 feet.  He broke the heel in his foot.  He has not been able to put any weight on it at all.  Hopefully, the doctor will tell him today that he can start putting some weight on his foot.  I don't know who wants him up running around more -- him or Sarah!! We love you!!!

Day 9: We are thankful for ...

Family.  We are thankful that we get to experience life together.  Is everything always happy and perfect?  Of course not, but do we always love each other?  Absolutely!  I love my family.  I couldn't ask for more!!!

Day 8: We are thankful for ...

Nana!  My mom has always been so good to help us out in whatever aspect we needed.  I know that she prays for us and loves us and wants only the best for us.  Does she drive us a little nuts sometimes?  Of course, that is the mother daughter destiny.  Sarah already is learning that!  But, I love my mom so much.  I love to see her play with Sarah.  Sarah loves her nana!!!

Day 7: We are thankful for ...

salvation in Jesus Christ.  I love to hear Sarah pray at night.  Each night, I start her prayer "Dear Jesus, Thank you for ..."  She then adds in whatever or whoever she is thankful for.  Sometimes it is silly (pacifiers), but sometimes she really thinks about it and names all of our family, or several of her friends.  We try to read two books each night before bed and I try to make one of them be something "religious".  It may be a bible story, it may be a story with a moral ending, etc.  I want her to see and understand our faith.  She loves to pray and sing.  We start most mornings in the car with "church song mommy".  I love that she listens to the word of God before she goes to school.  She doesn't realize it yet, but those words will be in her heart all day long.  Hopefully, she will be able to show the love of Jesus, even at her young age!

Day 6: We are thankful for ...

Music.  Sarah loves to go to Kindermusic.  This is our second year doing it.  When we are there, sometimes I wonder if she is getting something out of it, but then I see or hear or say something another day that shows she is listening and learning!  We really miss Mrs. Becky from last year, but we really like Mrs. Jill too!