Shutterfly Photobooks

I heard about an offer through Shutterfly where if you post about a project you've made through them and email them a link of the post, you can receive a $10 credit.

I love Shutterfly. The website is pretty easy to navigate and the prints/books I've ordered through them are always such good quality. I've received so many compliments on them and I love to have my pictures to look back on.

I always watch for coupons or sales and never pay full price for anything!

Here are a couple of recent projects...

"Our Honeymoon" album

Click here to view this photo book larger

and the "Cooper is One" book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Next project on my list is the Beach Vacation!!

Watch Out Ladies...

... he's on the loose.

A Fact

I have never been a mommy to a 10.5 year old before.

Everyday is a first for us.

Last week I took Cooper to sign him up for Mother's Day Out at our church. He's getting to heavy to carry him in the carrier, so I just got him out and carried him in. I knew it shouldn't take very long, so in order to save myself from carrying in my purse and the diaper bag and him, I just took in my purse. I had the information ready that I thought I would need and was ready to fill out the application. I met the director of the program and introduced Cooper and she gave me the form to fill out. She did give me the option of taking it home and filling it out, but I opted to just stay since we were already there. Plus the thought of having to put him in the car and take him out of the car again was not very appealing to me.

We sat at a small table (like in a preschool room) and I put Cooper in my lap. It is very hard for me to fill things out for him for some reason. I'm still not used to it and I had to concentrate to fill out his name instead of mine. His birthday instead of mine. My name as the mom instead of my own mother's name. And trying to make sure that all the information was correct and look up what I didn't know.

The trick was, I had my 10.5 month old with me. This same boy that not a week ago was perfectly content to sit on my lap and look around or be entertained by a piece of paper for several minutes, decided that today would be the day he no longer was content to just sit on Mommy's lap. Today, the day I'm sitting in front of the director of MDO, trying to fill out forms for my baby, would be the day he starts to fuss and buck and wiggle and grab and not be entertained by Mommy. I worked with what I had.

A pen. A receipt. My phone. None of which kept his attention for long. I resorted to putting him on the floor, only to have the director point out after a couple of minutes that he was close to pulling over the folding chairs by the wall. Of course he was. I moved him away from the wall and by my purse. I look down to fill out a few more questions and look up to see him waving around a baggie of ibuprofen that he pulled from my purse. Grinning of course. So I picked him back up, still trying to concentrate to fill out all the questions while he was wiggling and reaching and grinning at the director.

At one point I had to get out my wallet to get the insurance card out and I somehow dropped the card and was looking frantically for it as it had just been in my hand. It was on the floor beside me.

Thankfully, admittance to the program is not based on your ability or lack there of to fill out forms while entertaining your child and he will be starting in the fall.

Like I said, everyday is a first for us.

From His Point of View

There are times when I look back at my day and I try to figure out what exactly I've accomplished. Especially since Cooper came along, normal things like unloading the dishwasher just seem to take forever. I can't really finish one thing without stopping and checking on Cooper or finding something to distract him for 30 seconds while I try to put a couple more dishes away. I was feeling a little frustrated last Tuesday and feeling like I didn't really get anything done all day. I then tried to look at the day from Cooper's perspective and everything changed.

He woke up this morning with his Mom and Dad because he'd had a rough night and needed some extra loving. Over the course of the day, he got to eat oatmeal, bananas, puree fruit and some carrots, and applesauce. He practiced feeding himself some puffs and drinking water from a sippy cup. He fed himself all of his bottles today.

He played with Mommy, crawled all over the place, and explored new-to-him things. He laughed at Jere while he was crawling after him. When he got tired of playing by himself, Mommy was right there for him to crawl over and practice pulling up on. He pulled up to his feet on the loveseat and he watched himself on the computer.

He napped in his Momma's arms and played with Daddy when he got home from work.

He took a bath and played with his turtle, ducks, and cups. He got all wrapped up in his blanket and snuggled next to Mom until he fell asleep for the night.

Looking at the day from his perspective, completely changed mine for the day. What a privilege it is to be his Mom and to watch him grow and change and develop.

10.10.10

I just loved today's date! Mom and I both have a thing for numbers and today just made me happy. Here are 10 random things from today...

1. At 10:10am Cooper was in the nursery with the sweet people who love on my little man while I was in the worship service and I'm pretty sure we were singing "Come Thou Fount".
2. Zach and I did a little quick picking up and looking through the paper before our very special guests arrived.
3. Zach's Aunt from AR and her new husband stopped by to visit with us and Cooper. We had a yummy lunch and a fun visit!
4. Cooper and I got to video chat with Ben and Laura while they were visiting Papaw at the hospital and got to see lots of the family.
5. Took a little nap with the Cooper.
6. Did a little bit of scrapbooking and organizing while Cooper played on his little play mat. It wasn't for long, but it was fun!
7. Let Cooper cry it out for 45 minutes before I gave in and picked him up. I knew it's what he wanted and I was trying to let him calm down, but I just couldn't help it. He calmed down immediately and snuggled up to me and smiled.
8. Zach had to go back to work tonight after a week off. Me and Cooper missed him tonight.
9. Love that my husband does our laundry every week without complaining.
10. At 10:10pm Cooper and I were snuggling, watching a little tv before bed time.

Seasons

The other day I overheard two of my co-workers talking about their pregnancies and babies and buying baby things and I was so excited for them! They are only a couple weeks apart on their due dates and they are just so cute.

Not an hour later I watched a family of a familiar patient come out of our therapy gym which had been temporarily used as the room where they had "the" talk. The one where the doctors treating their mom and wife tell them that there is nothing more they will be able to do for her. Her heart is bad and her kidneys are failing and her lungs cannot work on their own.

I know that's what life is about. We are always changing, always moving on toward the next phase of our lives. I've been feeling like I'm in this in-between time right now. I had so much going on and changing so quickly for a long time with college and grad school and getting married and having a real job that this particular time in my life almost seems uneventful.

The strange thing is I feel like this time in my life is when it seems things are changing the most. Rather than me being the one with all the life events and focused on what's next for me, I see how those around me are changing. Friends getting married and having babies, my baby cousin is in college, and seeing grandparents getting older. Some changes bringing great joy and some bringing such sorrow. All part of this particular season in my life.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

And it begins...

I remember when the show first began. I was in college and was totally against the show. I heard my classmates talking about the contestants and got the general idea of it, but I pretty much just ignored it all. Emily and I were way to into this other show and unfortunately they came on at the same time.

Now, just a few short years later, I'm totally hooked on the show. I love it! I love the idea of people's dreams becoming a reality. I also like to imagine myself singing in front of the judges, looking all cute and stylish, and getting good reviews from the judges. That's the beauty of the show, anybody can make it! Of course, it's helpful if you can sing and aren't afraid to sing in front of people. And since I can barely stay on key and rarely sing in front of my husband let alone millions of people I'm very sure I will continue cheering from my couch, voting for my favorites, and watching people live their dreams... even if they don't make it all the way.

What happens when you move to the country...

It was the funniest thing when we were visiting for dad's birthday to turn around and see GK with these teeth in! I was cracking up!!

Still sad we couldn't get Zach in on the fun! Maybe next time...

Busyness

I have a whole list of things to blog about. Things I want to write down because I don't want to forget. But it will have to wait... because tomorrow my hubby and I are headed to Baltimore to visit his mom. We're excited to see her and to get a little time away!

Until next week...

What Makes a Word a Word

A conversation between Ben and I on what is really a word...

We were talking about printing off things at the library on campus and I told him that you usetacoud print things off. He said usetacould was not a word and told me to spell it. This is our instant message conversation:

Me: usetacould
Ben: yousedtocud
*one of us closed the window and we had to sign back on
Ben: fine bye
Me: you did that
Ben: no you fif
Ben: did
Ben: fifidiidid d
Me: i fif not
Ben: thats a word to
Me: is not
Me: it has no meaning = no word
Ben: what
Ben: type it againg i scidently clllllosed ut
Me: huh?
Ben: exactaly
Me: you accidentally closed it?
Ben: no you did
Me: meanie

My whole point was that if what is said has meaning then it does not matter if it is actually a word or not. Somehow we got a little off topic.

One Word

Terra tagged me about a week ago. Here Goes...

1. Answer the questions using only one word.
2. Tag two others...Mom, Ben

Where is your cell phone? couch
Your significant other? mine
Your hair? clean
Your mother? happy
Your father? dedicated
Your favorite thing? family
Your dream last night? none
Your favorite drink? coke
Your dream/goal? satisfied
The room you’re in? living
Your hobby? scrapbooking
Your fear? snakes
Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
What you’re not? perfect
Muffins? blueberry
One of your wish list items? keyboard
Where you grew up? clarksville
Last thing you did? olympics
Favorite gadget? phone
Your pets? jere
Your computer? macbook
Your mood? excited
Missing someone? momma
Your car? dreamy
Favorite store? hobby lobby
Like someone? yes
Your favorite color? pink
Last time you laughed? earlier
Last time you cried? job

One Year Later

It was one year ago today that I wrote my first post. My main reason for starting this was to have a journal of sorts, especially since I've been terrible at keeping a written journal. My reason for continuing to document life in this way is much the same. I'm not too concerned with who reads this or the number of people to visit my little page, but I am just a little curious.

So I'm making a request. I would love to hear from you in the comments section. I just want to know who's out there!

Oh, and how ironic that my little brother would follow in his big sis's footsteps! Meet him here.

The decision of the Week...

Nissan Altima


vs.

Toyota Rav4

Which one should we choose?

It's Been A While

The last few weeks have brought joy and sorrow and learning and growing times for me. I will be sharing details over the next few posts as a way to journal where I'm at right now.

Be

I miss living close to my mom. We talk all the time (thanks to mobile-to-mobile minutes) and get to see each other regularly but it's just not the same. Because of this, the times that I have with mom to just "be" are treasures. With Zach being at Bristol all weekend, we thought this would be a perfect weekend for the two of us.

I was able to leave work early (truly amazing) and get to the store just in time to beat her to my house on Friday. Friday night we, including Zach of course, took my computer to the Apple store and then ate at Qdoba. It's a fun, new favorite place for us... that's like a Subway for burritos. We haven't found anyone that didn't like it!

Saturday morning we (mostly me) slept in. Despite the rain, we headed to do some shopping and got to just "be" together. We had no real plans and no time schedule... and it was perfect. Even with the rain. We had lunch at the mall, where I think every citizen of Knoxville and the surrounding counties decided to eat lunch. We got lucky and found (stalked) a table for two and had one of those conversations that goes from church last week to have you talked to Ben to work is crazy to can you believe that kid is still eating baby food to vacation to cars to where did all these people come from and where are these kids' parents. It was great! We'd had enough of all the people and headed home after a stop at Krispy Kreme and the Apple store, to get my computer.

Just as a side note, some of the people at the mall were teenagers in town for a conference this weekend. It brought back memories of my own days as a teenager shopping in a random mall when on a youth conference for the weekend. I wonder if there were any moms and daughters looking around at all of us wondering where our parents were? Probably.

Saturday night we watched the movie "August Rush" while eating pizza and donuts. Yummy. The movie was fantastic. We both loved it and will likely have to add it and the soundtrack to our collection. It was such a good story and I loved the way they wove it together. And I'm not usually one to pick out quotes from a movie, but here are a couple of my favorites...

- August: I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales. But I hear it came from my mother and father. Once upon a time, they fell in love.
- Hope: You remember how you said Mozart was a musical prod?
Reverend James: Prodigy.
Hope: Yeah, well, I've got one of those and he's living under my bed!
- Wizzard: If you could choose any name in the world. Any! What would you want to be?
Wizzard: Come on, kid. Any.
August: Found.

Sunday morning we went to church together and I love it when we get to worship together. It's also fun for me to see my mom sitting out there when I'm in the choir. After church we enjoyed some Zaxby's and little more of some good conversation. In case it's not clear... we love to talk and can go through about 5 different conversation topics all at once and still not lose track.

It was some much needed "mom" time! And just as a coincidence, I found this today and couldn't help but think of our weekend!

Thank You, Apple

I never thought I would switch to using an Apple computer at home. My only real previous experience was when I was in elementary school and that was a long time ago. Things have changed. A LOT.

I'm sure part of my reasoning for switching is based on the fact that my husband now loves Apple and their products. As he says... they just make sense. They think of everything and are constantly updating their products. This is good and bad since this means things get outdated quickly, but that's just true with technology in general.

Two weeks ago we bought a MacBook for me. Zach was tired of 'sharing' the computer and I didn't completely object to the idea of having my own computer again. I enjoyed my computer for about a week... putting addresses in the address book, transferring music, transferring and sorting through pictures, updating my calender... and just figuring out the mac system all on my own (except for all the questions I bugged Zach with). And then it happened. I tried to turn it on one day and it wouldn't turn on. All I got was a beep. beep. beep. After a couple tries it turned on. But over the next week it took more and more attempts to get it to turn on. I finally set up an appointment with the Genius Bar at the Apple store for Friday night.

We got there 30 minutes early and ended up having to wait over 45 minutes before it was my turn. During that time we showed off all the features of the Macs to mom, who now wants one really bad. I also realized how much patience you have to have to work at the Apple store as a "genius". I watched them talk with young and old people who had very little clue about a computer or ipod or whatever they were asking about and the "geniuses" were so very patient. I was frustrated just watching them.

Finally it was my turn and I was hoping that when I pulled out my computer it wouldn't turn on just because I didn't want them to think I was crazy. Not only did it not turn on, it never turned on again. The 'genius' tried a couple things but it did not get rid of the error tone, aka "beep. beep. beep and black screen". After some discussions with the manager, they agreed that I would get a brand new macbook and would transfer all my data off my old computer to the new one for free. I just had to wait a day or so before I could take my new computer home. I was perfectly fine with this.

Saturday afternoon I picked up my new computer and so far it has turned on every time with the nice welcoming sound and bright screen.

Thank You, Apple. For doing the right thing and providing excellent customer service.

Yeah for Weekends

We had a great weekend.

Friday: Mexican food for dinner and a movie at home. We watched "Meet the Robinson's" which Zach got me for Christmas but we're just now getting around to watching. It was cute and mindless which was much needed after a hard week at work.

Saturday: Slept in. Set no alarms. Loved every minute of it. Woke up next to my husband and puppy, thankful for lazy days. Saturday afternoon we went looking at/driving cars. Mostly one car that I really want. I loved it! I would have driven off the lot in it but thankfully Zach was strong and reminded me we need to wait. Not to much longer, though. Next we were off to the apple store. We left with a macbook. For me. And I'm loving it!

Sunday: Church, where I was reminded of how thankful I am for a pastor not afraid to go deep and preach the Word. With passion and conviction for what he teaches. And he's not ashamed of it. Sunday afternoon = Nap. Sunday night I organized my scrapbooking stuff. Complete with labels for drawers and a "place" for all my goodies.

I do love weekends.

It's My 100th Post!!

In honor of my 100th post on this very special leap day I am sharing 100 things you should know about me...

1. Child of the King of Kings
2. Became a christian as child in Vacation Bible School
3. Favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11
4. Psalm 139 is my favorite Psalm
5. Was the angel at the tomb in a Passion Play (wings and everything)

6. Born in West Memphis, AR
7. One baby brother, Ben
8. Love and respect my parents
9. Married to the man of my dreams
10. Can’t wait to meet my twin sister in heaven

11. Mommy to puppy, Jere
12. Desire to be real mommy someday
13. Am the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family
14. Will never forget my brother wearing a mouse tail
15. Am named after mom’s grandmother (Angeline) and dad’s mom (Eavy Lee)
16. Love to shop with my mom
17. Love to ride roller coasters, especially with my Dad
18. Talk to my mom every day on the phone
19. Went on dates with my dad growing up
20. Moved 10 times in 10 years, but my family has now lived in the same place 17 years

21. Went to school in 4 states by the time I was in 4th grade
22. Graduated from MTSU for undergrad
23. Graduated from UT for grad
24. Miss being in college
25. Do not miss being in high school
26. Got only 1 B in high school
27. Realized in my first semester at college that there is nothing wrong with Bs
28. Prefer to call a “B” a “crooked A”
29. Work as Speech-Language Pathologist, just like mom
30. Favorite season is Fall

31. Love to watch football
32. Am an Ole Miss Rebel at heart
33. Played tennis in high school
34. Watched hundreds of my brother’s baseball games
35. Played little league softball, quit when it got too competitive
36. Have been asked millions of times “Did/do you play basketball?” (NO!)
37. Have been asked millions of times “have you gotten taller?” (NO!)
38. Was a cheerleader many, many, many years ago
39. Took swimming lessons for years but never mastered how to “dive in”
40. Favorite flowers are gerber daisies


41. Love that my husband cooks better than me
42. Favorite food - mac and cheese
43. Favorite desert - chocolate pie by Mamaw
44. Favorite special occasion restaurant is The Park Grill
45. Favorite drink is an ice cold coca-cola
46. Favorite candy is snickers
47. Second favorite candies: peeps and chocolate covered cherries
48. Especially like peeps when they are a little stale
49. Love cake batter ice cream from Brusters
50. Add my own sprinkles to ice cream... it’s cheaper
51. Love cherries from a jar
52. Love mexican food
53. Eat marshmallow cream out of the the jar
54. I DO NOT like seafood, mayonaise, turnip greens, or mustard
55. Am very good at using chopsticks (to eat with!)

56. Sing in the choir at church
57. Have been around music all my life
58. Play the piano, though not very well
59. Sing at the top of my lungs... alone in my car
60. Love Christian music and like a little bit of country

61. Favorite movie is Cinderella
62. Watch Law & Order and SVU to relax
63. Have the Gilmore Girls DVD collection
64. Ask questions during intense movies to decrease intensity
65. Am a big fan of musicals... especially Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

66. Have never been to Disney World, but really want to go and spend the night in Cinderella's castle
67. Traveled to China three times, once for two months
68. Walked on the Great Wall of China once
69. Really want to adopt a little girl from China one day
70. Spent the night in Japan...by myself
71. Want to go on an Alaskan cruise one day
72. States visited: NY, MS, AR, NC, GA, FL, AL, TX, CA, Washington D.C., OH, IN, VA, WY, ID, CO, NJ, KY
73. Countries visited: Bahamas, Mexico, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada
74. Love the beach
75. Was a counselor at camp rainbow (camp for kiddos with terminal/serious illness)

76. Think that the most beautiful skies are sunsets
77. Love picture frames
78. Like to take pictures with my new camera
79. Love to organize, but am not terrible organized
80. Don’t like bills, but like that I can pay them

81. Had my dream wedding, complete with dream groom
82. Loved planning the wedding with my mom
83. Am shy around new people
84. Take time to “scope out” new surroundings and people
85. Annoy my husband with my stories that take to long to make a point

86. Drive 4 hours to get my haircut
87. Love to get my haircut
88. Love scrapbooking
89. Love to use gift cards at Hobby Lobby
90. Favorite color is pink

91. Do not like to clean
92. Like a clean house
93. Swore there was no need for MySpace or Facebook, but am now addicted
94. Read books by Karen Kingsbury even though they make me cry
95. Can sleep through practically anything...ie. tornadoes, storms, lights coming on

96. Am not very fond of cats... much to my husband’s disappointment
97. Have fun getting all dressed up
98. My best friend and I met in 6th grade
99. Have some of the best friends a girl could ask for all across the South

100. Oh so very blessed

Thank You

These last few weeks at work have been really crazy. It would be so easy to get so overwhelmed and not go back. I'm thankful for the time in the mornings I've had with the Lord to prepare me for the day. To get me in the right mindset for the day and ask Him to go before me with each step I take and every decision I will face. This week I've needed a little extra reminder in the mornings and I've been listening to the song "Thank You" by 33 Miles. I love it! And it's a good way to start my morning by thanking the One who woke me up and is going to see me through the day.

Just a sample of the lyrics...

What if I look at the day and the hours ahead
And before I move forward I bowed my head
And said thank You
Oh I said thank You

What if I looked at my life in a different way
Took a little more time to stop and pray
I know it would change all the moments in between
So here I go

Thank You for everything
Thank You for loving me
It don't even matter what tomorrow brings
Well I will sing my

Thank You for sun and rain
For what You give and take away
For all Your goodness I will always say
Thank You
Oh I'll say thank You

Mystery Solved... Hopefully

Every time I go into Wal-Mart I set off the alarm as I walk in the store.

Every time I leave Wal-Mart I set off the alarm again. This generally gets me more attention as the sweet little old people (aka the people greeters) stop me and search my buggy/receipt trying to figure out what set the alarm off. They don't find anything because whatever it was that set the alarm off was in my purse when I entered the store. I hadn't ever tried to figure out what it was because I am always in a hurry to get OUT of the craziness that is shopping at Wal-Mart and get home. And the embarrassing stares from strangers thinking "Glad it's her and not me".

Today I went into three different stores and set off the alarm each time I entered/exited the store. I've asked what they think it may be and most people suggest it is my phone or my keys, though neither of these made much sense to me since everyone has keys and a phone and the alarms don't go off when they enter the store.

My last stop today was Office Max for some ink for my printer (Wal-Mart was out or doesn't carry it, I'm not sure which) and the nice cashier offered to swipe my purse over her sensor to see if we could figure out what it was. Nothing happened. I took out my wallet and she swiped it and it beeped. Now I know.

It deactivated the sensor in the wallet (that I bought in New York in May 2007) and I left the store without setting off the sensor. Hopefully it is deactivated for good.

Mystery Solved.