"oh . . . nevermind."

Okay, so we said we weren't going to get another dog until Joshua was at least 4 years old, and we said we would get an older dog - not another puppy. Nevermind. Joe and I actually saw this puppy at two different times and then he mentioned him to me. We both went back two different times to look again - without each other knowing. Well, when Joe went back the second time, he was getting ready to walk away when they reduced his price by $70. Who can walk away from a deal like that? So, Monday afternoon Joe came home with Sampson (we call him Sam). His tag said he's a "lab-golden-shepherd" - basically a lab/shepherd mix. He's about 8 weeks old and we are working on training him to be an indoor dog. We tried the outdoor dog thing a few years ago, and that was a complete flop. So, to those of you who haven't already laughed at me and are wondering, yes, I am crazy. But isn't he cute?? Of course that wasn't the exact thought that was going through my mind as I was cleaning up after him and then chasing him this evening! Anyway, here he is! Joey and Gracie absolutely love him, and Madie is getting used to him. Joshua is clueless that anything is out of the ordinary.

Gracie's Birthday

On February 8, our Grace Elizabeth turned 5 years old. Everyone tells you that "they grow up so fast", and it is so true! We used "magic relighting candles' on her cake - that is why she looks confused in her second cake picture :o) Her present from Daddy and Mommy was her very own pet hamster, which she named Hermie. You see, for any of you who haven't met her, Gracie absolutely LOVES animals. So, since Joey is allergic to cats, and since we had decided we were not going to get another dog until Joshua is older (at least 4 years old, we told the kids, but stay tuned to the next post!!!), we thought a hamster would be a great pet for her to have. And she loves him, although she is frustrated that he seems to spend most of his day buried in the bedding.

And this is Gracie's big party with her friends. We continued my parent's traditions of having parties with the immediate family every year, and then a big party at age 5. Gracie chose a "doggie" theme.

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Funny, Funny Kids!

You know sometimes when you're kids say something that totally catches you off guard and makes you just laugh out loud? Well, these are a couple of those "kid funnies" from the last couple of weeks. Hope they bring a smile to your day!

EEEEWWWWWW!!!!!

If you're anything like our family, you've been battling colds for the past couple of months. Well, our "girlie" Madie is very disgusted by all of the things that have been coming out of her nose lately. Sorry to be so graphic :o) Well, last week I was cleaning out her nose and she gave her usual response of "EEEEEWWWW!!!!! That's disgusting!!!" in her little 2-year-old, totally repulsed voice. I (the one who was actually have to "handle" the stuff) responded with "You're telling me!" to which she replied "No, I'm telling the boogies!!!"

Big Brother's Watching You!!

A week or so ago the kids were sitting at the kitchen table waiting for their meal. While I was preparing it, I had to tell Gracie to stop saying something. A few seconds later, Joey pipes up with "Mommy, Gracie's doing what you told her not to do only quietly so you won't know she's doing it!" In our house, the rule is you are not allowed to "tattle" unless the person is going to injure themselves or someone else, then we teach them steps to take to resolve the issue before running to mommy and daddy. So Joey was instructed. However, I couldn't let Gracie's actions go without correction, so, with my back still turned to the kids while I continued to prepare the food, I said, "Now Gracie, remember, even if mommy and daddy don't see what you do, who always sees everything you do?" And immediately came her sheepish reply, "Joey!"

Snow??? . . . SNOW!!!!!!!

Well, probably about two weeks ago now, we finally got our first snow. It wasn't even enough to cover the ground, but the kids tried to make snow angels anyway! They turned out more like grass angels :o)
Then, after they had pretty much swept up all of the snow off of the front lawn, they decided to have a "race".

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosTheir snow suits had more grass than snow on them after we went in from playing in the "snow"!
THEN, last weekend, we got some REAL snow!

And in case you're wondering, yes, that is our fearless Joey hiding behind is younger sister as he and daddy were having a snowball fight!

And we can't forget about our little Joshua!
The top left picture is actually of what Joshua was doing while the kids were out playing in the snow. The bottom right is a week or so ago when Joe was able to use the projector to project a movie onto our wall for the kids to watch one night. It was huge to them, and you can see Joshua's amazement!

Roller Coaster Buddy

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosSo far, Joe, Joey and Madie hate anything like a roller coaster - Madie's never been on an actual roller coaster, but, from the time she was very young, she used to tense up in my arms and stop breathing every time I went down stairs and then would often cry once we got downstairs and she had started breathing again. Also, when she was still crawling, she used to turn around and back up (like she was getting off a couch or something) putting her legs first to go down a literally 1-2 inch change in floor level at Joe's parents' house. Now, on the other hand, Gracie and I LOVE roller coasters or any other fast rides. One of my favorite memories of her is at the fair this past summer when she went on that swing ride (you know the one that just flies the swings around in a circle) for the first time, and went all by herself (I was 8 months pregnant or I would have gone with her) because she really wanted to, but no one else would go with her. Joe tried to talk her out of it, but she really wanted to go. We all just stood there and laughed - almost to tears - watching her giggle in pure delight as she whipped around over our heads! Anyway, a very long explaination to say that Gracie and I are very excited to see that we may have a new "roller coaster buddy" in Joshua as he seems to love "flying" around!

For all our New England relatives!

GO COLTS!!!

(notice Joshua's pj's in the previous post!)

"Where is Thumbkin?"

I'm not sure how many of you have heard this song before, or maybe even sung it to your little ones, but it is a little song that kids sing while wiggling their thumbs. So, to answer the question - Joshua found him, and he's been enjoying "thumbkin" every chance he gets!

What?!?!?

Well, we'd like to introduce everyone to "Petrie" - not quite sure on the spelling, but this is what Joey named his new lizard. He was a Christmas gift from his Grandma McDaniel. We were a little surprised, too :O)

So, he got a lizard? Not really worth blogging about, but as you can see in the pictures, Petrie has got a weird hat on. You see, for those of you who are not very familiar with lizards - as I am not - you should know that lizards EAT live crickets. So . . . why in the world would this stupid cricket be sitting on the head of the creature that wants to eat it - and why would the lizard be letting him. The answer: I DON'T KNOW! But I thought it was a funny picture anyway.

Joshua's first hair cut

BEFORE

AFTER

Now, don't worry, he's still got quite a bit of hair! We just trimmed around his ears and the back.

"Thank you, Papa & Grandmom Jordan!!!"

The girls had so much fun yesterday using the "Build-a-Bear" gift cards they got from their grandparents for Christmas. I thought it would take a while for them to decide what they wanted, but they were both surprisingly quick and decisive. Gracie chose a stuffed dog, which she decided was a boy, of course. She dressed him in blue jeans, baseball cap, jersey and Sketchers. Madie had no trouble deciding on her pink, fluffy bear, which she dressed in a Cinderella outfit (of course!!). She also bought her bear a little, blue, sparkly purse to go with her outfit. They really enjoyed it, and I don't think Gracie has let "Boston American" out of her sight since she carried him out of the store!

Christmas Day

These are some of my favorite photos from Christmas day. All in all it was a really fun day with our family. Joey's "big" gift from us was a gameboy, Joshua got the rocking horse, and Gracie and Madie got a kitchen set - and yes, that is Gracie sporting the extremely fashionable apron that mommy made for her! We had a visit from some close family friends and then spent a couple of days up with Grandma & Papaw McDaniel. While we were there, Joe took me out for dinner and shopping - his Christmas gift to me!

Christmas Eve

This is everyone all ready for our Sunday morning service. We finally found a dress that Gracie liked, but Madie would wear her Christmas dress 24/7 if we let her - she particularly likes that it's "sparkly". We started our service with a refreshment time and then sang some Christmas carols. Joey was very enthusiastic about getting to sing the Christmas carols, almost shouting out the name of each one he knew! And Madie, who really did not want to go to her class, sat as quiet as a mouse during the entire time daddy was preaching!

And these are our traditional Christmas Eve pictures in front of the fireplace - everyone in their Christmas pajamas. I plan to continue this tradition as long as they still think wearing Christmas p.j.'s is fun! Maybe they'll still let me get a picture, though??

Scared Straight???

Apparently there has been a recent crime wave in our downstairs rooms, and our household crime watch (a.k.a Joey, Gracie & Madie) have taken it upon themselves to crack down on the violence. This gang ("the baldies") has allegedly been running a major crime ring. Thanks to our local heroes, this gang is now awaiting their trial and sentencing.

And so we begin . . .

So I finally started a blog. After enjoying my friends' blogs, I decided I would start one for anyone who cares to read it. So here our our children. Joey is the oldest, then Gracie, Madie and our youngest, Joshua.

The second picture is just of Madie because the group one is great of all except Madie with her beat-up lip and she is squinting and hiding her beautiful blue eyes!