Twelve

How can it be that you are TWELVE whole years old?!?!  It seems like just yesterday that I cuddled you as a newborn, worrying about the future & wondering how I would ever be able to let you go out into this big ole world and comforting myself with the thought that I had years to get used to the idea of you going to school.  How can it possibly be that you are now in 6th grade and I have less years left with you sleeping under the same roof than I even want to think about?!?!  Twelve years ago, Daddy and I drove to the hospital in the rain and sleet while your grandparents raced up from south Georgia and down from Kentucky.  We couldn't wait to meet you but we had little idea how much you would change our lives. You are growing up into such a wonderful young man, full of faith and love, with a big, caring heart who wants to help everyone you know.  I am so very proud of you, the man that you are becoming, all of your accomplishments, and most of all your faith and love for our Lord.  We love you baby boy!  Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!!!

Take the Polar Bear Plunge with Phineas & Ferb

I can hardly believe that in just a few days my big boy will be TWELVE!  We celebrated this huge milestone a few weeks early with a long wanted and much anticipated pool party!  My Trey has always, always, always wanted a pool party.  This was a tall demand considering his birthday is in February.  However, this past summer Grandma & Da installed a heater in their pool and it became possible for Trey's dream to come true.  Since it was a pool party in the middle of winter and since Trey wanted to have a Phineas and Ferb party we decided to make our theme "Take the Polar Bear Plunge with Phineas and Ferb" and we served hot chocolate and s'mores!  It was the perfect winter time pool party.

 

Everything from the hot chocolate bar to the cake to the fire pit to the snowmen marshmallows was absolutely perfect!

My very happy birthday boy!

What a treat it was to swim in the middle of winter!  The kids all had a blast!

Happy Birthday!

One of my favorite photos is the one of the kids singing
"Happy Birthday" from the shallow end!
They were having too much fun to get out of the water for cake.  I love it!

 

 

January Snapshot

I have been really slack with my blogging over the last year and a half.  A lot has changed in our lives and my three boys have kept me running.  I still take a ton of photos but just haven't had the time, energy, or motivation to post.  Since it's a new year, I thought I would try to get back to blogging at least a little bit.  Hopefully, I can keep you up to date with monthly snapshots. I can't believe that the first month of 2014 is already gone.  This time with my boys is passing way too quickly but I'm really enjoying this time in our lives.  Hopefully, you'll enjoy this little snapshot of our lives.

We had a sleepover complete with s'mores!
 

We added goats to our menagerie of farm animals.
Yogurt and her babies Cocoa and Milky & our very pregnant Hershey.
 

We began working on our landscaping &
Jesse learned to climb the large magnolias in our yard.

We enjoyed a fabulous game night at church.



We visited General Coffee State Park and learned about farm life in the late 1800s.

We worked on the farm,

& we made biscuits from scratch & cooked them over an open fire.

Our lunch also consisted of eggs, with spices from the garden,
ham, and baked apples all cooked over the open fire.

We were heartbroken that our beloved Milky didn't survive.

We moved in one of my Grandma's rockers &
thanks to Aunt Dot it is beautifully recovered.
All my boys claim it as "THEIR" chair.

Yogurt's milk appeared to be drying up,
so we started bottle feeding Cocoa.

We were thrilled when Hershey finally gave birth to
our newest babies, Velvet & Crumbles.

So there's a quick look at our January.  We were busy as always and enjoyed a lot of new adventures.  We also celebrated Trey's 12th birthday a couple of weeks early, but I'll give that a post all of it's own.

Cotton Boll and Consumer Judging 2013

Since we began homeschooling last year we have been extremely involved with our county's 4H program.  Trey has participated in almost every activity to come down the line...robotics club, poultry judging, volunteering at the fall festival at our local nursing home, CPA, DPA, chicken show, camp, and the list goes on and on.  This year we had a Cotton Boll and Consumer Judging team for the first time in several years and of course Trey wanted to participate.  Our consumer judging team was small...only four students, three of which were on the junior high team, and the fourth made up our senior team.  Despite their small number, they represented our county well in district competition.  There were eleven junior teams in our district, most of which had six to ten members.  In the team category, each member of the team competes and the judges take the highest three individual scores to determine the highest team winner.  Our team came in 7th out of 11, but with only three team members that is awesome!  Overall there were 63 fifth through eighth graders competing in the junior high division.  Trey received a perfect score in two categories and overall tied for 2nd with a total score of 343 out of 350 in the Junior High Individual.  He tied for 7th in the reasoning competition which is where they have to rank products from best to worst and orally present their reasons for their ranking.  This year the reasoning category was t-shirts, and when Trey found out what the category was he got upset and told me that that was his worst category, so I'm especially proud of him for calming down and putting forth his best effort and tying for 7th place!  In addition to the consumer judging competition, each junior high individual also presents a 30 second commercial promoting cotton.  Trey came up with his idea all on his own and I must admit I was very skeptical.  His plan was to dress up like a cat and his opening line was, "Cats go nuts for catnip, but what should we go bonkers for?  Cotton!"  He went in there with his usual high enthusiasm and received a perfect score which put him in a six way tie for 1st place!  I am so proud of Trey for how well he did at competition.  I am even more proud to know that he learned so much about looking at products, reading their labels, and knowing which is the best product for the money.  That's a life skill that will serve him well for years to come!

 

 

 

 

 

My Little Cowboy

Trunk or Treat 2013

Fall is always busy around here and this year is no exception.  I love all the fun family times that this season brings.  Here are a few photos from the 3rd Annual McRae Fall Festival & Trunk or Treat!  We had a great time, as always!  Trey won the pumpkin carving contest for the second year in a row!  He carved the owl pumpkin and while he did use a stencil, he did everything from cutting out the top to cutting out the design all by himself.  I am so proud of him, although I do hate how fast he is growing up!  This was Jesse's first pumpkin carving contest and he mostly did his on his own too.  I thought he did a great job on his vampire jack o' lantern!  And I was tremendously proud of my "trunk" and both boys loved helping to spray paint our pumpkin!

 



Seven!

Today Jesse turns 7!  How is that possible?!?!  Here’s a look at some of the fun I’ve had this spring with the best almost seven year old I know!!!

Easter 2013

{almost} eleven

Can it be?!?! 

My baby is almost eleven!

Just Jesse

Looking back, looking forward

On August 8, 2012 we made a big change in our lives.  HUGE!  We bought a new house and we’ve (and by that I mean my very talented hubby) been in the process of renovating it for the last 3 1/2 months.   While this house is our new home, it is not new by any means, nor is it new to me.  It was built in 1946 by my grandfather and my two great-grandfathers!  My Grandma and Pa lived in this house until the day they left this earth to soar to heaven.  They raised their five kids in this house.  We had Sunday dinners and Christmas dinners and too many fish fries to count in this house.  There are so many memories wrapped up in this house that I become completely overwhelmed!  I am beyond honored and blessed that this house will now be our forever home.  That I will raise my boys here  and that my hubby and I will grow old here surrounded by the love and the memories of the past as we move forward making new memories.

Before the renovation could begin, I had lots of photos to take, starting with these…

Getting ready for one of our many fish fries.  The original photo was taken around 1977-1978 I think.

Showing off my new book bag for kindergarten!  Original photo taken in 1980?

My sweet, loving, wonderful Grandma Lorene!  Oh, how I miss her!

My strong, stubborn Pa Hut just the way I remember him!  How I wish he could be here to watch my boys grow up!  They would be kindred spirits hitting all the best fishing holes!

What precious memories I have to look back on!  What precious memories I have to look forward to!  Extremely blessed!