Changes

Life is full of changes.  In our 9 years of marriage (anniversary is next week) ~ we've gone from 6 of our 7 kids at home to the youngest 2 a home.  We have children living in Louisiana, Georgia, & South Carolina.  3 of our children are married & 2 of those marriages have blessed us with 3 beautiful grandsons. 

Changes in the home include taking the flooring out of the downstairs rooms and putting tile in the kitchen, hall, 1/2 bath & laundry room & wood floor in the living room and front hall.  We painted the kitchen including the cabinets & added a slate tile backsplash.  We took the junky utility room in the garage ~ completely cleaned it out and added metal shelves to make a pantry (something this house was sadly lacking).  After Katie got married, I took over her former bedroom & turned it into a sewing/craft room.  (Everything has a place but the state fair is coming and the room is a wreck right now ~ lots of stuff sitting around and projects waiting for completion).   

More home changes are on the horizon!  Or should I say, the immediate future!  I decided a couple of weeks ago that I wanted a new quilt/bedspread/cover/whatever for our bed.  Just something new & different.  Our summer quilt is the yellow/lavender "Trip Around the World" pattern quilt I made as my first big project.  Our winter cover is a chocolate brown comforter from B,B,&B that is quite cozy.  We found one we both like a couple of weeks ago and purchased it.  Then Greg asked if I wanted to paint the bedroom ~ sure, its now painted yellow and needs some help.  Then he came up with a brilliant plan ~ what about ripping up the carpet.....YES!  For some unknown reason, one of the previous owners decided that red carpet would be lovely in the master bedroom~~not!  But we've done our best to ignore it for 9 years!  It will be history soon!  We've found a laminate flooring at Home Depot that is wide "wood" planks that we both like ~ then HD sent us a nice 10% off your purchase coupon for Labor Day Weekend!  Now the whole bedroom is being overhauled ~ we are cleaning out ~ bookshelves are being purged, the large desk & credenza has been moved to James' trailer, and everything will be rearranged (the furniture has to be moved anyway with redoing the floor). 

First plan of attack is to paint the crown molding & trim, plus the bathroom and bedroom doors.   Then the walls!  Flooring & furniture rearrangement.  Then hanging all our pictures in new homes.

Sometimes change is good ~ in this case, it is very good!

Parenting

 

Parenting is a 24 hour, 7 day a week, lifetime job ~ our role as parents doesn't end when our children marry ~ it does change some.

 

As a mom, I wondered many times if I was doing a "good job". 

At times over the years, it didn't seem so.  Circumstances cloud our judgement.

 

Sometimes, the Lord allows you to see that you didn't ruin those children after all ~

I got a glimpse of that on Sat. with a beautiful picture my daughter in law sent me ~

 

 

My son Allen, holding his son Aiden

2 guys, totally relaxed, and letting Mommy take a nap!

 

And here is another of our newest little buddy ~

 

 

Many thanks to Jennifer for posting these awesome pictures!  We love & miss y'all!



A Tiny, Perfect Blessing

Our tiny, perfect blessing was born today ~ Aiden Scott was born at 3:29pm, weight 5 lb. 13 oz, and 20 1/2 or 21 inches long (we really don't know!)!

Mommy, Daddy & baby are fine!

Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Amy & Great Granny are thrilled!

We were really excited to be in time for a quick visit, hug & kiss with Jennifer & Allen before his birth & go into the room not too long after his birth for a baby cuddle and pictures!

How Very Sad



Robin Williams as The Genie in Disney's Alladin

How very sad that a man that brought us years of laughter and fun was dealing with the demon's of depression & alchoholism & was recently diagnosed with Parkinsons.  And his way of coping with this was suicide.  We have always enjoyed his zany humor and quirky personality.  He will be missed by many & is an irreplaceable comedian.

We are thankful for the many laughs he gave us through the years ~ Nanu, Nanu!  

Answer

The M & M's answer is 470!  My neice guessed 465, so she was the closest.

And 470 is my closest guest.  I kept losing count & had to start over 4 times!  Folks kept helping themselves to treats as they walked through the room.  I would comment to someone and then forget which exact number I was on!

Jennifer and Allen got the candy & the bottles!

Pinterest Inspired Baby Shower

It is no secret that I love Pinterest ~ I greatly appreciate the folks that come up with imaginative ways to celebrate occasions and holidays and then share their ideas for everyone to use.  I took many of these ideas and personalized them for Aiden's baby shower.  Here are our interpretations of these ideas ~

cute game idea ~ care to guess?  (Both bottles combined)

my bonus daughter, Amy Kate made me these cute wrappers for microwave popcorn ~ these were shower favors

way to include the daddy!  Allens basket contained embroidered baby bib plus a box of disposable bibs, wipes, Tylenol (for him), giraffe stuffed toy, nuk pacifiers, baby nail clipper & comb, clothespins (nose plugs for stinky diapers), dirty diaper disposable bags

decorated with toys & books on the food table ~

found all these cute little trucks at Kroger after Christmas on clearance

I included the following little poem in the invites ~ " Just one request.....we hope its not too hard.  Please bring a book instead of a card.  By signing your name they can remember and share, this special gift with their baby even when you are not there!" 

Our games were *guess the number of m & m's in the baby bottles, *baby shower bingo where the guests fill in the grid with baby items & then check them off if/when she opens that item ~ Greg made the board, *and a "check off the items in your purse" game that Amy recreated for me from pinterest.  The game prizes were little vinyl bags from Dollar Tree that came with scented lotion & bath gel, I attached a bath scrunchie and a card that said "From our shower to yours". 

Do ya have a guess on the m & m's?  I will tell the answer tomorrow!

Allen & Jennifer ready for their blessing to arrive!


 

Sweet Friends & Family

My girlies!  Katie, Amy Kate, Jennifer, & Amy Lynn

Me & my girls!

Granny & the girls

Amy & cousin Hailey (my great neice)

Robert Edward Lee Cutler & Robert Edward David Beard

Bobby & his minions ~ Hailey, Robert & Patrick

This boy did not get his height from me!  The daddy to be ~ Allen

my long time buddies ~ Kathryn & Lisa

One of my baby projects ~ needlepoint abc blocks spelling out grandboy #3's name

Amy's sweet cousins ~ Megan, Amy & Becky

they aren't really happy, she is the youngest & the tallest!

We love our boys!  Thomas & Robert with grandma & grandpa!

Thomas give the best, messiest, sloppiest kisses.  He grabs the hair on either side of my face and hangs on to kiss!

Preparations for Grandboy #3!

Bag full of baby goodies that were Allens when he was little

most kids cheer for Peter Pan ~ Allens hero was Captain Hook...this was his Hook hat

my 6'4" son holding the the outfit he came home from the hospital in

My beautiful daughters ~ Katie, Amy Kate, Jennifer & Amy Lynn

all the Jackson girls!

We had a baby shower for Jennifer on Sunday.  All our girls were here and aunts, cousins, & friends.  Baby Aiden got lots of goodies.  Clothes, toys, stuffed animals, diapers, UGA stuff, pacifiers, wipes, bags for stinky diapers, a stroller, carseat, high chair and more!  Afterwards, we went over to their house.  By the time we got their, Allen had already put up all the clothes, set up the toys, and had everything displayed.  They are so excited!  And so are we!  Aiden is due in 13 days!

Grandboys

Thomas will be on the move soon!  Gotta keep up with big brother!

Banana Boy!

Brothers