Blessings to You...

Okay...my Christmas cards have finally been mailed so I think by now it's safe to post it on here to all of my other friends to see! If the price of postage stamps would stop going up then maybe I could send the real thing out to EVERYONE. But, this will have to do for now.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. And please...make time for JESUS this Christmas. After all...HE IS THE REASON!!

Rebel for a Cause

Check out my new button to the left. Click on it and you'll be able to donate to three awesome charities, read a really inspiring blog, and possibly WIN alot of cool prizes!!!

Boo to You!

Compassionate little Jammer!

Korben is turning into quite the little caregiver lately. Sunday night we were at home watching TV and pretty much just waiting for Korben to get tired and fall asleep. :o) I went to the kitchen to get something to drink and I overheard Korben talking to one of his BIG balloons from his birthday party (Tyrone). He was holding Tyrone's lil hand and the "one-sided" conversation went like this:

Korben:
Oh no, Tyrone. A hurt a bobo. I kiss it. {insert sweet little kiss to the hand of Tyrone the balloon character here.} All better? No? Let's see...

And then he proceeded to look the balloon over as if he was trying to figure out a way to FIX Tyrone's bobo (that didn't exist). It was so sweet! And I didn't have my camera nearby to catch it!

Then later on in the living room he started the bobo kissing all over again so I grabbed my camera real quick and was able to capture this. You've just gotta love this kid!


Now...while Korben is becoming very compassionate lately, he still loves to JAM out on his drums! I caught this little video clip of him playing his drums while singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (winkle winkle e e tar) the other day. Melts my heart!! Oh how I hope he'll stick with it and be an awesome drummer for the LORD one day!


And (last one - I think) this is Korben singing "Deep and Wide" while playing with his trains.

...and then came Halloween

We went to the Fall Festival at our church for Halloween. There were lots of games for the kids outside, a cake walk, good food, hayrides, and (the BIGGEST HITS) a bounce house and blow-up slide!! Korben dressed up as a "horse riding cowboy". ha ha!! I think he looked TOO CUTE!! Ava was Dorothy and was absolutely precious! These 2 are going to be really good buddies! Korben is only 6 months older than Ava so they will be in the same grade at school. Should be lots of fun!!

We took this little video clip and a few pictures of Korben at home before we went to the church.

Korben sporting his cool 'lil costume and giving a big CHEESE!!

(You may want to pause the music player at the very

bottom of the window in order to hear the video clip.)

My little pumpkin standing next to his pumpkins.

Again...with the big cheesy grin. :o)

Korben and Ava.

(aka Cowboy Korben and Dorothy. Who needs Toto anyway!)

Uncle Kelly and the kiddos takin a quick breather in the bounce house.

He and I had almost as much fun as the kids!!

In Honor of Korben's 2nd Birthday

Now that Korben is 2, he got to move up to the big 2 year old class in Sunday School on Sunday, October 26th. It doesn't seem like he is big enough to be in this class, but he loves it!! They have a short lesson, do crafts, and have snacks (his favorite part). A big change from just PLAYING the entire time in the nursery.

Korben lovin' the snacks in the big kid class.

Our church gets volunteers to provide the altar flowers each Sunday. So Kyle and I signed up to do the flowers for the Sunday after Korben's birthday in HONOR OF his 2nd birthday. I thought the arrangement turned out nice.

Attempt at a picture of Korben with the arrangements.

He was too interested in playing with the tractor.

OMG!! I had a Surprise Party!!

I turned the Big 3-0 on Sunday, October 19th. Kyle was at work, my sister was at work, my Mama was sick, my Daddy was in Oklahoma deer hunting, my in-laws were busy...can we just say that it was a kind of depressing day? Don't get me wrong. Korben and I got ready and went to church. Then we came home to a very quiet house, ate some chicken strips, fried okra, and french fries, and then Korben took a MUCH NEEDED nap. I was bored out of my mind!! So I went to my room and painted a canvas to use the next Sunday for the altar flowers at church. Then the 2 of us went back to church that night, came home, and went to bed. Nothing too exciting. Nothing special. Just another day.

But THEN...on the day of Korben's birthday party, THEY GOT ME!! We were pretty much done with Korben's party and people were just hanging around talking, visiting, etc. and then Kyle starts making some big announcement (which my oldest niece, Micah, thinks was just SO COOL) that we have another birthday to celebrate. Well, when I turned around the table (that I had just finished cleaning off) was COVERED with presents for ME. And there was a whole new cake for ME. And there were other people driving up with pizza (and a Dairy Queen chicken strip basket for ME)!!! It was so much fun and I was so excited!!

I must say, I'm very proud of my sweet hubby for pulling it all off. Everybody probably knows that I am the QUEEN of asking a million questions and wanting to make plans and know exactly what's going on, so it's a miracle that I had not figured this out already. ha ha! Kyle said that the Lord took care of it because evidently he had slipped up a couple of times and left address lists laying around the house and stuff like that and luckily I didn't notice. NOT LIKE ME. ha ha!

Kyle and I just after the big surprise!

Thanks, baby! I love you!!

MY cake and presents.

We got so lucky. We got to eat TWO cakes in one day!

Our attempt at a family picture on Korben's birthday.

(This was taken later that night at Micah's Pee Wee Homecoming.)

I love my sweet boys so much!!! What a lucky girl!

OH...by the way...I also need to say thanks to my mama, sister, mother-in-law, aunts...everybody else who helped Kyle pull this off. I really enjoyed it and appreciate all of your efforts. ha ha!! THANKS!!

2 Years Old and Such a Big Boy!

Ok...my BABY is now 2 years old. It's still so hard to believe and yet at the same time I absolutely love it. I am enjoying him more and more with each passing day. The funny things that he is saying lately and his facial expressions are just keeping me smiling. His little personality is definitely starting to come out. I can't imagine my life without my precious lil man.

His birthday party went GREAT! The weather was absolutely beautiful so we were able to stay outside and didn't have to cram inside our tiny house. There were about 35 people present and everybody seemed to have a good time. The kiddos enjoyed wearing the cowboy hats, coloring pictures, and just playing in the yard. Oh...and the cake was DELICIOUS and looked exactly like I wanted it to!! Korben still wasn't much into opening the presents himself (meaning I still had to do all of the work while trying to keep him in one spot). He got lots of musical instruments which he's REALLY into right now (drums, maracas, tambarines, harmonica, etc.), a sit 'n spin, Backyardigans saxaphone, tricycle, train table & trains, John Deere boots, rubber boots, clothes, and a lot of other stuff. Everything was very much appreciated and he has had a blast with it all!

Here are a few pictures from our day of fun!

Me with my big birthday boy!

Korben checkin' out all the action.

The awesome cake!! Looked so cute and tasted extra yummy!

Korben about to blow out his candles. He did great! We were so proud.

Korben trying to figure out one of his presents.

So really...where DOES the time go?

Has it really been 2 years? Two whole years since one of the best days of my life? Two whole years since my whoppin' 8 lbs. 1 oz., 21 1/2 inch absolutely precious little man entered this world and took his first big breath of fresh air and was laid in my arms. That moment...that VERY moment he stole my heart! Actually, he had already stolen my heart during the 9 months and 1 week that I was pregnant with him. Every little squirm, every BIG KICK, the amazing moments almost every day when he would get the hiccups...cherished moments!

For six long years, I had wanted so badly to have a child. To be called Mama by somebody who would depend on me for everything. There were actually times that I thought it would never happen. There was so much frustration, so many disappointments, so many tears. Times when I wanted to just say forget it and give up on my DREAM. But then, one day, it happened. I heard a song on the radio that made me realize that I didn't have to give up on MY DREAM. I just needed to hand my dream over to the ONLY ONE who had the power to make it come true. The song was called "Surrender" by BarlowGirl. If you've never heard it you should take the time to listen to it here. It just talks about how we hold on to our dreams for years and we try to MAKE them come to fruition on our own. Yet God has plans of his own and they may not always match up with what we think should be happening. Like I said, it took a WHILE, but once I was able to daily surrender my dreams to HIM and let him have control...it was all ok. I'm so thankful that I did end up being blessed with a child of my own, but I also realize that God could have chose otherwise for me. And I had finally gotten to a point in my life where I would have been okay with that. I had to realize that HE WAS ENOUGH...that I only needed Him. Not very easy and like I said it was a daily thing (and still is). Through this extremely tough time, I learned to trust in God a lot more and I also gained a new way of looking at other people who were dealing with hard situations. A new way of wanting to comfort others. I don't ever want to forget this trial.

Anyway...back to the birthday boy. So now the little bitty (chunky monkey) baby is about to be 2. I'm not sure if he wants to be 2 or not, but it's coming anyway (kinda like my 30th birthday came anyway this past Sunday). ha ha! I personally think that he is the cutest 2 year old on earth! Watching him grow and learn so many things has been an amazing journey. It seems like every day there is something new. Or something funny that I want to remember forever (when really it's hard for me to remember my name sometimes). The way he pronounces certain words, the way he looks at me when he says "I yuv you, Mama", and the way he puts his little hand on his heart when we tell him that we're saying a prayer (because he thinks we mean that we're going to say the PLEDGE TO THE FLAG). My little angel, my little man, my dream come true.

Be sweet, precious man. And have a wonderful, fun-filled 2nd birthday! Maybe this year you'll actually EAT some of your cake. :o)

Love you bunches!

Mama

Weekend...Here I Come!

Good grief! Could this week have went by ANY slower? I'm completely exhausted from it. But now...it's time for the weekend. Tonight Korben and I are going to Homecoming at West Lincoln. Kelsey and Anna Smith (flower girls in my wedding 9 1/2 years ago) are in the homecoming court. Kelsey is Homecoming Queen and Anna is 8th Grade Maid. I can't wait to see them. Also, my cousin, Shelby Lofton, is Softball Maid in the homecoming court. I'm hoping to get some cute pictures of my lil bitty man with the big girls, but WHO KNOWS if that will actually happen or not!! He's not much into being still these days! Whew...I think I already mentioned that I'm exhausted. So why not go all out for punishment. ha ha! I was really just planning on staying ONLY for the homecoming court, but THEN my sister told me that Micah (my oldest niece) is supposed to be cheering at half-time of the game tonight. Uggh... I guess we're going to attempt to stay until then. The last time (and only other time) we attempted to go to a football game my precious child was EXTREMELY ILL and having a complete meltdown before HALFTIME. Needless to say...it was NOT pretty. ha ha! Bless his sweet heart. His hair is so cute and curly and it was so humid that night that he looked like he had an afro!!! Wish I had had my camera. PRICELESS. Anyway...hopefully I'll have some pictures to post next week on tonight's events.

While this was a very busy and stressful week (with work stuff alone) I also got a lot done. Managed to FINALLY get Korben's birthday party invitations printed and mailed, got Caroline's birthday party invitations started (will probably finish next Monday), AND now I'm starting to work on designs for Renee's Ornament Swap t-shirts!! YAY!!! I love all this fun stuff.

Is this cute or what!!! We're having a Backyardigans birthday party for my lil guy and we're kind of following the "Riding the Range" episode (cowboys). The Backyardigans are a HUGE hit around our house and have been for quite some time so I can't wait to see all the sweet kiddos at the party in their little Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua party masks. LOL!! TOO CUTE!

It's so hard to believe that Korben will be two years old next Saturday. TWO YEARS OLD!!! I was talking about it yesterday at work and kind of having a sad moment, but then a co-worker of mine gave me a new perspective of looking at it. She said, "Sometimes I like to think about my baby being older. Makes me proud to think that evidently I'm doing something right! I'm being a good Mama. She's growing, learning new things, and healthy." I hadn't really thought about it in that way. But after she said that I thought "WOW...that's SO true!" When I first had Korben I was so worried all the time that I was going to do something wrong or hurt him in some way. Didn't really have a clue what I was supposed to be doing as a Mama. But evidently I figured it out...he's almost 2 and still kicking! ha ha! LITERALLY! We still call him Thumper. ha ha!

Okay...this pretty much felt like a bunch of rambling, but I just wanted to post a little something. So there ya go. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Recent Pics - As Promised!

Korben...glued to his TV show.

Mug shot...BUSTED!!

Playin his guitar. This kid LOVES music and dancing!!

OK...the most recent horrible event. Korben fell this past Thursday night at home and busted his bottom lip!! His top teeth ALMOST went through his bottom lip. We had to rush to Stat Care and poor baby had to have 2 stitches (which probably doesn't sound like that much, but just imagine YOUR terrified almost 2 year old being strapped down onto one of those little papoose boards and 5 big strangers all hovering over him poking and prodding and sticking him with NEEDLES!! He had bad dreams about it a few nights in a row!


And...after all that trauma the night before, he woke up with a big ole smile on his face and a Bubba Gump lip! My sweet man!

I'm Baaack!!

Well...it's been OVER A YEAR! I got so busy just keeping up with all of my photos on-line that I neglected my poor 'ole blog. :o( I know, I know...you don't EVEN have to tell me. I'm a terrible person! LOL! WHATEVER..........

Things have been quite busy in my life. Nothing extra special, just the day to day to DAY stuff. But still, writing blog entries hasn't been at the top of my list. However, I have SO ENJOYED reading lots of other blogs. If you get a chance you should click on some of the links under "Blogs I Follow" and check some of them out.

Anyway, a little update on me and my family.
1. I'm STILL working at Co-Lin. New title, same office, same itty bitty paycheck. LOL. Gotta love it though.
2. Kyle just recently started a new job in August. He's working offshore now. (Again, I get an ITTY BITTY paycheck!) So far he has made 2 hitches. The first one was VERY hard on him. He missed me a little bit, but man oh man...did he EVER miss his little boy!! It was so hard for him to be away from Korben. I have to admit, I really missed Kyle too. He's not your average husband. He's a very hands on husband/daddy. He can't stand to have a dirty dish in the sink or dirty clothes laying around (great for me)!! So I had to really step up while he was gone and do my share of the "chores". But we made it fine and he really likes the work. So hopefully this will work out for him for a while.
3. KORBEN...Where to even begin. Gosh...according to my last post he was just learning how to pull himself up to a stand. Boy! Have we EVER come a long way since then!!! He will be 2 years old in less than a month. My baby is not a baby anymore, but more like a very active, SMART, little toddler person. With his own ideas, likes, DISLIKES, and just this whole little personality all of his own. It has been so awesome to watch him grow and learn new things...especially how to express himself.

Things Korben can do NOW (some of these might sound stupid, but it's been a while so I'm going to REALLY catch you up by hitting some of the high spots):

• walk, run, climb stairs/steps with NO assistance, turn flips (you name it)
• feed himself (when he wants to and when I'll let him)
• request his favorite TV shows (i.e., the Backyardigans, Dora, Diego, Blues Clues, Franklin, Little Bear, Max and Ruby, Wow Wow Wubbzy, Letters (referring to a Leap Frog "Letter Factory" DVD), Yo Gabba Gabby (I have a really hard time tolerating this one), the Backyardigans, the Backyardigans, AND the Backyardings!!!)
• can put just about any preschool aged puzzle together lickity split
• LOVES to read books and point out and name every picture in the book
• attempts to say his ABC's (he's got the rhythm down pat and you can actually understand about every 3rd or 4th letter...but he's getting there)
• knows his colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, AQUA, black, brown, white, and pink)
• knows circle, triangle, and rectangle. for some reason he won't say square. ha ha!
• sleeps ALL NIGHT LONG in his own bed (still in his crib...no rush getting him out of it. Especially since he hasn't tried to escape it yet ~ knock on wood)
• loves to ride the 4-wheeler, tractor, lawnmower...pretty much anything that has wheels/tires (or TARS as Korben says it)
• loves to congratulate himself (For instance, he'll point to something and say what it is like "Triangle. That's right!!! A triangle!" ha ha! He's giving himself positive reinforcement. LOL!)

ok...I think that's about enough of that for now. As you can tell though...he has really really changed since the last post and is SO MUCH FUN!!! Updated photos to follow.

It's good to be back in the blogging world!