Where did the time go?

Dawson and Spencer - 2 months old - 1999...

Dawson - Surgery 6 months old....

Dawson - 18 months old ....

8 Years old...

I can't believe how time has flown... It seems like only a couple of years ago - I brought this little baby home.... What a day.. I remember so vividly how scared and unprepared I was for him.... I feel as if Dawson and I have grown up together - I know he's not grown yet, but he's soon to be 9 and that's just unbelievable to me... He likes his Game Cube, Drawing, Football, Webkinz, Football/Baseball Cards, and Swimming....

Jackson 2 days old - Going Home...

3 Years Old....

I'd like to think I was a little more prepared for this child... aaaaahaaaaa...
I was expecting another Dawson... Well, I didn't get another Dawson.... I got a Jackson and he's wonderful, but he can be a handful and he has a mind of his own and I could go on all day about Jackson... He can take a 3 hour nap and get up and be up for 1 hour and be sleepy again.. He loves his Paci's, sticks, Swimming, Blue Jeans, Suits and Ties...

They are getting so big.... It makes me sad.... I will tell you right now... I'm not going to handle "empty nest syndrome" well at all....

I love my family dearly and I thank Jesus everyday for the opportunity I have to stay home with them! There are days that it's taxing, but ultimately I love it!

We found out this weekend... THAT.... My brother and sister-in-law are expecting twins.... I'm so excited... I just wished we lived a little closer together! Remember - Chuck and Jenni, you can always move next door to us!!!

One of these babies has to be a girl!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the post that my sister-in-law posted on her blog....

Eli's going to be a big brother!

We found out last week we are expecting TWINS! We are sooooo excited... We will be adding the little ones in September sometime. Originally we were due October 12 until we discovered there are two little ones in there... We will keep everyone posted...

Another Oldie....

I had to post this picture... I think it's great... I love the smile..... Nathan was such a good sport to dress up like a dalmation dog for Dawson's very 1st birthday party.... He had a dog house and everything (and he got in it too...) I don't think David would have done it....

Ice Hotel....

I found this very interesting.... The website is www.icehotel.com...

The story about the hotel made
of ice and snow

If it is possible to build a hotel of ice in a small village 200km inside the Arctic Circle, which strikes the whole world with amazement, then anything is possible. The story of ICEHOTEL is indeed a fairy tale come true. The free flowing Torne River is the origin and artery of ICEHOTEL. From the river, the ice of ICEHOTEL is borrowed each year. And it is here, on the river shores in the village of Jukkasjärvi that our story begins.

ICEHOTEL known all over the world

One night a group of foreign guests, equipped with reindeer hides and sleeping bags, decided it would be a good idea to use the cylindrical shaped igloo as accommodation. The following morning the brave group raved about the unique sensation of sleeping in an igloo. Hence, the concept of ICEHOTEL was born. A lot has happened since. Today ICEHOTEL is world famous for its unique concept, its fantastic works of art and its extraordinary experiences. The fairy tale nature of ICEHOTEL brings out the child in guests of all ages.

Reminising....

Enough of old pictures for today.... Maybe I'll post some more tomorrow.... I was just looking through some albums the other day and found all these old pictures - I'd forgotten about.... It's great to reminise with old pictures....

More old pictures and lots of memories....

Baseball game... Atlanta, Georgia - 2002....

Derek, David, me, Kendall, Amy and Beth

Six Flags - 2002...

Phillip, David, Derek, Chuck, Kendall

Me, Beth and Amy

Six Flags - 2002....

Six Flags - fixing to get on Superman... 2002

Amy, Beth and myself in Atlanta, Georgia at Six Flags - 2002...

Wesley and Beth's Wedding - 2003....

Memories...

I was looking through old pictures the other day and I ran across this picture....

This is Destry, Amy and Myself in Atlanta, Georgia.. We went for a weekend... We shopped a lot and we had a great time.... I was expecting Jackson at the time....

May 2004

Bouncing and Spin Zebra...

This was a big hit with Eli and Jackson... I should have bought Jackson one.... He loved it.... Eli liked walking around the zebra on the green plastic part the best...

Eli's Birthday Party at Grandma's House...

Eli turned one on Wednesday March 5, 2008..... We celebrated on Saturday evening at Grandma's house.... We didn't get to attend his birthday party last weekend in Memphis....

Our Snow...

It's the most snow we've had in several years.... I was so excited....

This was taken Saturday Morning...

Handbags....

I received this from a friend the other day....

Have you ever noticed gals who sit their handbags on public toilet
floors, then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table?
Happens a lot!
It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress.
Sometimes 'what you don't know will hurt you'!
Read on...
Mom got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags
down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food.
She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been.
It's something just about every woman carries with them.
While we may>know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car.
Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day. 'I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a>lot,' says one woman. 'On the floor of my car, and in toilets.'
'I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts and on the floor of the toilet,' says another woman 'and of course in my home which should be clean.' We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag. Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared. Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their handbags were at least a little bit dirty. It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked. Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick. In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. 'There is fecal contamination on the handbags' says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. 'Some type of feces, or possibly vomit' says Amy. So the moral of this story is that your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. 'If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops' - Your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags. THIS IS WORTH SHARING!!!

7 Random Facts....

I was unofficially tagged while reading Renee's blog this morning....

1. After highschool, I went to college to become a Court Reporter... After a week of court reporting class - I decided that wasn't going to be the job for me... Especially since I was required to go home and practice on that machine for 4-5 hours a night... NOPE... Not for me..... SO.... I changed my major to become a Paralegal and I received my Paralegal degree after a year and a half..... I've always been very interested in Law, so I knew I was making the right choice... I use to want to be a lawyer, but I knew.... I wouldn't be able to be a lawyer... I have a fear of getting up in front of people.... Right after graduating from Paralegal school, I went back to school because I wanted to be a nurse.... I was taking my pre-requisites and Nursing was my major and I quit after two semesters... I really wish I would have stuck with Nursing....
2. I took Piano lessons for 3 years, Saxophone lessons for 2 years and Clarinet lessons for 1 year.
3. I always wanted three kids until I had my second child. Although, at times I still think about having three kids and then reality hits and I know I'm "very okay" with two kids.. I still would like to have a little girl at times, but I really don't see that happening... I would definately adopt a little girl though! (I did go through a period after having Dawson - that I didn't want anymore kids...)
4. My favorite store is: Macy's... and... My favorite accessory is a purse....I love Purses ...
5. I love Phase 10.... Denise got me hooked on it and now that's all I want to play! I played two very intense games of Phase 10 this weekend..... Friday night's game lasted 3 hours and Saturday night's game lasted 2 hours.... My sister-in- law, jenni beat us both nights... She's the master at Phase 10...
6. My favorite color is Pink... I love pink... "If it comes in pink.... I'll take it...."
7. My most favorite Television Show is "Biggest Loser" - the transformations are amazing....

Happy Birthday, Eli James Brown!!!!

Eli James

7lbs. 4 oz.

19" Long

5:25pm

My nephew is 1 year old today! It's hard to believe he's already one....

Going Home...

Daddy and Eli....


Pop, Chuck and Eli...


Daddy, Mama and Eli...

Dedication - June 2007

Eli and Jackson riding in Dawson's big truck at Grandma's house

Youth Convention 2007

Youth Convention 2007

Uncle Steve and Eli...

Dawson being silly....

My silly little boy....

Bye, Bye SATH....

As of February 26, 2008... I've been with HSN (Home Shopping Network) for 1 year!!! I received a Wal-Mart giftcard in the mail ... I thought that was very nice - rewarding me for working for them for a year!

I changed my hours with HSN... I was working 6:00 am - 2:30 pm and I changed them 2 weeks ago to 5:00 am - 1:30 pm... I love my new hours... The earlier the better for me! I don't like getting up early, but I do like having half my day of working over with by 9:30 am!!!!


I've been with SATH (Shop At Home) almost 3 years.... My three year anniversary would be April 15th... Unfortunately, they are closing as of Midnight on the 8th of March..... I have mixed emotions.... On one hand, that's the place that allowed me to quit my job of 12 years and stay home with my children! On the other hand, I'm so tired of being worn out all the time! I'm kind of looking forward to focusing on one job and I'm sure it will help that I'm getting to go to bed at a decent hour... I'm not a night owl and when 9:00 pm rolls around - I'm sleepy..... SO... Working till 3:00 am has been an adjustment for me... JTV (Jewelry Television) is who currently owns SATH and they called me a few weeks ago and offered me a job with JTV..... They are currently working on some different things for their company and they are doing an internet business.. I don't know what all that entails, but I declined the position... There's no telecommuting involved and it's not going to pay enough for me to drive to Hickory Hollow and work those crazy hours... I only have one more night left to work for Shop At Home... I work Wednesday night of this week and that's it for me! I took off on Thursday - we have family coming in from out of town....

I know I've said it before, but I'm so thankful to be able to work from home and I get to be home with my children... It's such a blessing and I don't take that granted....

Jackson Making His Star....

He's good..... I think I may be a little bit partial....

What makes Jackson happy......

His first love is his pacifier.....

BUT.....

His second love... Is "his sticks" as he calls them..... He has to have 4 of them, so he can make his star!

Thank you - Dessa, for Jackson's sticks!

Very Random Blog...

My husband reads my blog every few weeks or so and last night he was reading my blog and he came and told me "he thinks my blog is very cute and he likes it!" I thought that was very sweet of him!

Mason had a rough day yesterday... He came in and he was "very sick"... I felt so sorry for him! He wanted to be held all day... So needless to say, I held the poor baby most of the day...... I guess it was a virus or something - it's the sickest I've ever seen him... I talked to Joy (his mom) this morning and he was feeling all better... Thank goodness!

David, the kids and I went by the Evances yesterday evening and hung out for a while - David helped a little bit with some different things... Their house is really cute!


On another note.... I've been thinking a lot about my children this week...... I wish I could stop time right now and keep my children the ages they are right now.... It scares me - that they are growing so fast and there's absolutely - not a thing I can do about it....


Went to lunch today with my good friend, Denise.... and... We made a trip to Target for a baby shower gift for a lady at church tomorrow as well.... Fun.... I love looking at baby stuff!

David is unloading some furniture for The Evances this evening... So.... It's just the kids and I at home tonight........ I may take the kids to see Grandma/Nana (haven't seen her in a week or so)......

Eli....

My nephew had to have tubes put in his ears on Monday... Poor baby... He didn't do well... I hope he feels better soon!

Love you, baby!

Snow Day.....

Fun in the snow..... They weren't out there long... Poor Mason came in whining and saying "his hands hurt and he needed a bandaid." Poor baby....

Fun on the trampoline....

The kids were just dying to go outside and jump on the trampoline, so I bundled them up in their coats and we went outside to jump! They only stayed out there about 5 minutes, it was just to cold.... They like to jump off the swimming pool ladder onto the trampoline.....