To the man I love...

Eight years ago at this very moment Rob and I were getting married. Sometimes I think it seems that long and other times I feel like it has just flown by. We have done some wonderful and amazing things in the past eight years! We have had great times and really bad times. I would want no other person by my side through all of them except for Rob! Through this marriage God has given me two beautiful children that I couldn't imagine our lives without, lots of laughs, cries and great memories!!!

I was trying to find a picture of our wedding, but due to not having a digital camera at the time I couldn't find one. All I could find was this picture of our first day on our honeymoon.

Young and in love!
Happy Anniversary honey...I love you more today than yesterday. (But not as much as tomorrow!)

Christmas 2008

We had a very fun and busy Christmas. We started Christmas Eve at my Dad's house. He always has a wonderful meal and gets the kids wonderful presents. This year he gave Rob and I a Wii. We have been having so much fun playing with it. Carys got these adorable shoes...

I had been in a store a couple of weeks ago and tried them on her because my dad had said he wanted to get them for her. I had to prep her and tell her, "We are not buying these shoes today, only trying them on." When I opened the box to try them on her she said, "Oooohh!" Just like a girl! So when she opened them up on Christmas Eve she was very excited. She wanted to wear them to church with her tutu!
The kids all were such fun ages. Jamison didn't really have a clue what was going on, but it was such a blessing having a little baby there. When Carys and Jamison were taking their naps us adults played a game called Imaginiff. It was so fun! We went to a wonderful Christmas Eve service at church. The kids staying in the service with us and were awesome. It was so nice to be there with my family!

Above is a picture of Broderick and Rob playing the Wii Star Wars game after we opened all our presents. Rob and I had bought the light sabers for it awhile ago but never ended up getting the game. Rob didn't know that I bought the game for him, so Christmas morning he had a little surprise too! Broderick really enjoys all his toys. I think the actual morning was very overwhelming for him. He kept opening things and just looking at them. For anyone who knows my son, they know he is very expressive. One way or another. He didn't really act like he didn't like the things he was opening, he just didn't really react at all. It was very different then any Christmas before. Once we stared getting things out and playing with them he has really enjoyed all of them. I think his favorites are, the Wii, Transformers from Rob's brother, & his marble thing. My mom and step dad got him a remote control car which we haven't got to play with much, but he is really excited to use it.

We bought Carys this dollhouse for Christmas. She loves it. Last night before bed I asked the kids what they were thankful for. Carys said her girls...that is the girls in the dollhouse. Truth be told...Mommy likes to play with it as much as she does!!!

This picture cracks me up. This is what happens to a child after 3 Christmases, lots of cookies and little sleep!!!

Baking Cookies

Yesterday was our annual cookie baking day. This year my mom came over to help. (That is not a very accurate statement. She did the majority of the baking.) We had a great time and now I have 8 different kinds of cookies. I always like to hand them out to the neighbors and this year I am going to use them as teacher gifts too. I bought these really cute tin like pails. I am going to load them up with cookies! I haven't eaten any, but I am sure they are good.

Gooey hands after rolling chocolate balls. We have made these Peanut Butter Chocolate balls for the past five years. The kids love rolling the balls and then sprinkling them with all kinds of yummy things like, m&ms, nuts, mini chocolate chips, and powdered sugar.
Carys was actually more into the baking than Broderick this year. He normally loves to help with the cookies. He did a little, but not as much as last year. He definitely still wants
to eat them!!

Pictures As Promised

So I have been promising that pictures of the before and after of the floor project were coming. Well...here they are...drum roll please...

playroom

kitchen/dining room

living room

F-I-V-E

This "little" boy is not so little anymore! At 3:44 today he turned 5 years old. Very hard to believe. He has turned into a smart, caring, energetic, sweet boy! I figured it only appropriate that today be a "yes" day. So we started the day off with a show, a cookie, and chocolate milk. He played Webkinz most of the morning and then it was off to school. He wanted to take chocolate donuts to school for his snack, so we left a little early to pick those up. After school I let him have a special rest time which consisted of...you guessed it...more TV and more Webkinz. Aunt Kelly, Kyler and Jamison stopped over to give him a present and say Happy Birthday. The gift was...a Webkinz! He was so excited because this one is a fish! When Rob got home we had Mac and Cheese...his choice, opened presents and had cake. What a great day to a 5 year old.

I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. I meant, like chocolate or white. He was very specific. Green cake with green icing and a black number 5. Pictured below. Great example of why I don't make birthday cakes!

It sure did taste good though!

A James Family Thanksgiving

So for the first time, in the 10 Thanksgivings Rob and I have spent together, we made dinner at our house. It was so great! Rob's parents, Bob and Terri, came in to town for the week to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was so fun and I am not sure I could have pulled off the meal without Terri's help. We started off the week at Broderick's school for his Thanksgiving feast. Here he is in his turkey hat that all the kids made...

Throughout the week we kept busy shopping and spending time with his parents. Thursday of course was busy with cooking and eating. We had our meal for lunch. Lunch was soooo good. Rob deep-fried the turkey, we had mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, baked beans and apple crisp for dessert. As we were cleaning up the dishes Rob started getting Christmas decorations out. He just couldn't wait! Here we all are (minus me) eating. Yes...I really did make everyone wear the hats. The kids had fun, that is all that matters!

Then we all posed family a family portrait...which I think turned out very nice.

Friday Rob and I got up and went shopping at 5am which I haven't done since before Broderick was born. We had a great time, found some great deals, and are now done for the kids. Friday night we went to the light display near by. It was beautiful as usual.

All in all it was a great week. Tomorrow back to work and school...oh yeah...my little

boy turns 5 too!!!!

A week of the Arts

Rob and I had a wonderful date on Sunday night. We went to see The Wizard of Oz on Broadway. Such fun! We used to see a lot more shows prior to having children, so when we get to go now we really soak it up. The play was great! What was even more wonderful though was having dinner without having to tell someone to take a bite of food, (Neither Rob nor I, especially not me, needs help eating.) or having someone interrupting a conversation. I love my kids don't get me wrong. But nights out with just Rob are precious. So then last night we took the kids to this ice skating show. It was a blast! The kids really loved it. Carys starting crying when it was over because she wanted to keep watching it. Broderick said he wanted to learn to skate like "those guys." We will see about that. Maybe hockey instead of figure skating. So it has been the week of finer arts!
Rob's parents are coming in town this weekend so we are also getting ready for that. I am super excited to have Thanksgiving dinner at my house for the first time ever. I have even been making fun crafts with the kiddos. (Those pictures will come later.)
I hope to have pictures of the new floor for you all by the weekend. Rob will diligently be busting them out over the next 2 days and then I will paint the baseboards. After this...I am in no hurry to do another house project for a long time!!!

Nothing Much to Post

Here are some fun pictures of the kids playing in the leaves. We haven't done this as much as we normally do. Maybe this weekend we will get back outside.

My mom emailed me and told me to update my blog. I was thinking it hasn't been that long, why is she asking me to do this! Wow...how did 10 days get by me already? It is this new job...that Diana is keeping me busy! Just kidding! We have been busy doing a lot of stuff. Rob has been hard at work on the floors, (pictures will be posted as soon as it is done), I have been doing a little bit of this and that. Which really seems like nothing, but I know I have been busy. Carys' eye is healing nicely. There may be a little scar though. Sad to think of that gorgeous face having a scar. Rob and I went to Broderick's parent/teacher conference today. I love, love, love his teacher. She really seems to connect with Broderick. At one point we were talking about handwriting and she said, "His name is so stinkin' long. I just tell him to write Brod." She said, "JJ just writes JJ and then he is off and playing and Broderick is still writing." It was very funny. I love his school and he really does well their. I can't wait for Carys to get to go their as well.

We interrupt this blog...

This lovey shelf pictured below used to be adorned with cute little holiday nick-knacks. Like, pumpkins, and a candy dish, and a jar that we would put our change in. While I was cooking dinner last night, the stove is right around the corner from this shelf, I heard a loud crash and then a crying 2 yr old girl. She pulled the shelf over and all the things came crashing down. The only thing I can figure is that she was reaching for some candy, just above her head, and the shelf tipped over.

Now, this lovely girl pictured below has a cut and black eye. This first picture was taken before bed last night. Doesn't look to bruised, right?
This picture was taken when she woke up this morning. A little worse wouldn't you say?
She is a tough cookie. She cried for a little bit, but was great about cleaning it and putting ice on it. As the day goes on it looks more bruised. I am very thankful she didn't get hurt worse.

Trick or Treat

The kids had a great time trick or treating and going to 2 parties. We went in our neighborhood trick or treating with friends, Chris, Tash, and Garrett. Then Jenny, Ben, Lane, Rowan and Beckett came over for a few minutes so the kids could see each other. Broderick went round and round about his costume. He went from Army guy to Knight (because Carys was a princess, he had to protect her). Then Wednesday morning he woke up and said he wanted to be a pirate. WHAT! We have costumes for all 3 of the things he wanted to be. I just couldn't believe he was changing his mind the day before. (Just like a man to be so indecisive!) When he came home from school on Wednesday he said his teacher was being and Army Girl, so he was going to be an Army Guy again. Whew! Thank you to his teacher!

Carys had her mind made up from the beginning. Even if I suggested other things...she always said, "no, me be a princess." I thought for sure this year she would not really have a clue.

Who was I kidding?
I love this picture of Broderick hiding in the the tall grasses. He kept making these "mean" faces. I think his costume was my favorite to date!

Oh yeah, one more thing...

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!!

"YES" Day

Last week I decided that I say no way too much. So when Broderick woke up on Thursday morning I told him it was going to be a "yes" day. Basically, I was going to say yes within certain boundaries. (Some rules still applied.) It was such a fun day and I realized I say no to things just because I don't want to do them. For instance, he wanted to take his sword outside. I said no because I didn't feel like getting it out of the dress up box. He quickly reminded me it was a "yes" day. So I got the sword. We had our 2nd "yes" day yesterday. Don't laugh or call children's services on me...they each had a sucker and a bowl of ice cream for breakfast, watched way more TV then normal, and had a lot of candy since it was trick or treat. (Those pictures will be posted later.) I am sure some of you are reading this thinking I have lost my marbles, but I would challenge all you to try this one day. You can still have the rules that you think are necessary. I am sure your kids will love it! And if you don't like doing it don't. Let me know if you do it and how it worked out.

Oh...my son!

So the other day we drove past a cemetary and there where guys digging a grave. So obvisouly Broderick's little mind started racing. He was asking me questions and I did the best I could to explain that when we die our bodies go in the ground and our souls go to either heaven or hell. It was really hard for him to understand. So that night at house church there was a theological debate going on between Broderick and Logan. (Logan is 5.) They where discussing this matter. Broderick still was having a hard time understanding the whole bodies and soul thing. Rightfully so. So then the conversation between these 2 boys changes to Jesus coming back on a white horse. Mimzie, Logan's mom, and I were sitting at a different table just listening to the 2 of them go round and round. It was absolutely entertaining and encouraging. At least now we know they are listening, at least part of the time when we talk to them.
So then today Broderick called his friend Emma (pictured in the previous post) to tell her Happy Birthday. The conversation is going like any normal 5 year old conversation until I hear Broderick say, "I love you, too!" I just started cracking up!!! Broderick, I think, got a little embarrassed because then he said to Emma, "my mom is laughing!" I felt bad for a moment but it was so funny! After they got through talking I had to talk to Carrie, Emma's mom. We were laughing so hard about this conversation. It was so cute and innocent!

A little bit of this and that

We have been so busy this fall. It just seems like life never stops. It has all been good fun stuff though and we like it that way! Here are some pictures of some of the things we have been doing...

Pictures with the sunflowers. Thankfully the wind didn't destroy them before I could get there to get some pictures. It was challenging to get some good shots of the kids though. Tough ages for pictures.
A day at the farm with friends for a hayride, pumpkins, food and ice cream! Hard to believe this kiddos have been buddies for over 4 years!!!
That is our family pumpkin that the kids picked.

I have also been adjusting to a job. Yeah...you read it right. I have accepted a very part time job at church doing preschool coordinating. I have done it before as a volunteer and really enjoyed it. It is super flexible and not demanding. Something perfect! It was truly comical and amazing how God kind of dropped it in my lap. We are also in the process of replacing all of out floors though out our house. I am so excited and can't wait for it to be done. We are doing every room but the bedrooms and bathrooms. (Those will be done at a later date.) I took plenty of before pics and when I get the afters I will post them for all to see.

7 Days and 81/2 hours later...

*My kids can survive without tv.

*I can not survive without a morning cup of coffee.

*I love having a daily routine and schedule.

*Friends are wonderful!!!

*It is easier to focus on the negative, but better to focus on the positive.

*I love my computer, dishwasher, washer/dryer, garbage disposer, and taking showers with a light on.

*Putting makeup on in the car is not fun...despite what my friend Jenny says!

*Thank God for his protection of our family and trees.

All that said, I am sure you have all heard about the wind storm we had. Our power was turned back on Monday late morning. In the words of my son, "Thank you God!" Thank you to all our friends and family who brought us dinner, helped with laundry, kept our fish so he wouldn't die, let me put food in their fridge, had us spend the night, kept me from gong insane, let me cry to them, and prayed for us. Losing power is not the worst thing that has ever happened, but it was a little challenging. It is amazing, and this will sound cliche, how used we get to amenities and convenience. I have a lot more respect for people like the Amish! All the pictures below are of trees in our neighborhood that were damaged. This is just a small amount of the damage. However, we have 7 trees in our yard and a utility pool. Praise to God that none of them blew over or had major damage. We only lost a few medium sized limbs. God is powerful enough to blow those winds, but he is just as powerful to keep our trees standing!!!


This is the line at McDonald's Monday morning. I don't know if you can really tell, but the line was about 10 cars out into the street. It was crazy!

Over the past several weeks...

Because of my many vacation posts I have fallen behind on the other happenings around our home. Broderick started his second year of preschool 2 days after we got back from vacation. He wanted his hair in a Mohawk the first day. Rob and I later found out that a little girl named Sydney likes his hair this way and that is why he has asked several time since the first day to spike it again. He is too cute!!!

Labor day weekend was a weekend packed full of fun...Rob and Broderick camped out in the back yard one night. Broderick thought this was the neatest thing in the world. They had a little fire and then went to bed. They made it all night in the tent.

Oh, the bond of a daddy and his son.
Broderick played in his first soccer game this past Saturday. It was great! For the most part it was just a herd of kids chasing the ball and knocking each other over to get it. I love this picture below. Broderick is number 7.
Number 3 on the gray team, pictured below, was amazing for only being 4 or 5. He was always out in front of the rest of the herd and had unbelievable control with the ball for being so young. He truly had a gift. I think he scored every point for the other team. Rob and I just kept cracking up whenever he would get the ball. We pretty much knew unless our goalie blocked his kick he would be down the field in a few seconds and they would have another goal. We had a great time and I am so glad Broderick has been enjoying the game.
That is the past couple of weeks in a nutshell.

Having Fun at the Beach...

I know, I know you all are like, "Okay Amy, you had a great time on vacation. Can we see or hear about something else?" I get it...this is the last you will see of vacation. There has been other things going on, like Broderick starting school and Carys getting rid of the pacifier. I will post of those things in days to come. For now, one last vacation post.

Above: Carys and Broderick on the beach the first day. I love this picture. Carys is posing just like a girl would.
If you know my daughter, you know she likes to eat. That was no different on the beach. I made sure to pack lots of snacks and most of the time her and I would be sitting in the sand or on the blanket eating. You would think this girl would be well over average on the charts, but she is not. She doesn't get that from her mother.
The kids loved being buried in the sand. We got Broderick all the way up to his neck. He didn't sit in his hole very long. He did want me to bury him every other day.
One day Broderick met these little boys. One of them just came down and asked if Broderick wanted to play. Of course he did. There where 4 boys in this family. Broderick played for hours with the older 3. He still talks about his "friends from the beach." I think this was one of his favorite days.
The last day we tried our best to get to the beach but it was raining on and off. We went down for about 30 minutes, but there was no swimming and it was super windy. (Due to the tropical storm.) We tried our best to get family pictures that day, but the wind was making my hair blow all over the place. We did manage to get this one when we went down to swim.

So...there you have it! No more post just about vacation. I may interject a random picture here and there.

Vacation - Part Deux...eating

While on vacation we ate at some really great places. Almost every night we were outside on water which was so fun...the kids loved it. Below we are at Senior Frogs. We ate here last year and Broderick requested we go back. Lucky for him, and us, Rob and I wanted to go back as well. They have these signs. You can't really see it in the picture. They are hangs with a finger pointing down, at me. They all say different things. The waiters sit them by different people throughout the night. I was so lucky to get one. The kids thought it was really funny.

We tried a new place called River City Cafe. This place was awesome. They had all different kinds of hamburgers. I had a chili cheese burger and Rob had a Cajun burger. They brought you a bucket of peanuts and you could throw the shells on the ground, which again, the kids thought was great. If you brought your own Sharpie, which we didn't, you could write on the walls and tables. Since we didn't have a Sharpie with us, we didn't get to write anything. Now we know for next year.
We ate at a place called Creek Ratz in Murrell's Inlet. Great view, cute name, but that was about it. The food was just okay. The marsh was so pretty and peaceful.

(more pics of that later.)
Wild Wings Cafe is now a new favorite. Just mentioning it makes me want to be back there. Here is a picture of my boys sipping their drinks. Broderick's quote for the week that he said right before this picture was, "this is the life of vacation."
Our annual last meal at the beach is Oceanfront Grille. It is nothing special except that it is right on the beach. Due to the heavy winds on Friday...thanks Tropical Storm Fay...all the doors but 2 were shut. It was still a great way to cap off the week.