Merry Christmas

So, as Helen said we went to Wild Adventures the other day with the kids, and had a pretty good time. As soon as we entered the park, one of the animal handlers came up to Helen, and put an alligator in her arms and told her to smile for the camera. She didn't even have time to say no. She asked Nathan if he wanted to hold it. He wanted nothing to do with the alligator. He was strapped in his stroller, so he couldn't get away. The festival of lights was okay. It's more exciting in Brookfield...not to mention cheaper. If you're thinking of going to Wild Adventure's just to see the lights, don't waste your time or money. You can see the same thing or better in any yard or subdivision in your neighborhood. Now, the rides was a different story. We had a really great time on the rides. We being me and Nathan. Helen and Sam did go on the ferris wheel with us. Nathan was too funny on it. As it came down, he would start patting his hands on his legs and tell me to pat too (this is how the rocket takes off on Little Einstein which he loves to watch), so we started going pat pat pat pat, then a little faster, then we raised our hands way up high and shouted BLASTOFF!!!! and up we went in the ferris wheel! We did that everytime it would come back down and then go up. I have successfully addicted Nathan to roller coasters. We went on everyone that he was tall enough for. He wanted to ride them all, but I had to explain that he wasn't tall enough yet. I can't wait until he is tall enough for them. On second thought I can wait. Him and Sam are both growing up way too quick. We also went on a big slide where we had to sit on blankets. He liked seeing all the animals too. It was a very good day for us all. It was good family time together. We had dinner in Valdosta, and went to the mall and looked around. Helen's post has the Santa encounters so I won't get into detail on that. That's all for now. Have a Merry Christmas!!! (the term "Happy Holidays" is offensive to me so I call it what it is).....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmastime at Wild Adventures

Well for the last time this year, we ventured down to Valdosta to Wild Adventures. Nathan loves Christmas lights and they are celebrating their Festival of Lights; So we thought it would be fun to go and see. Well needless to say the festival of lights isn't really that festive. We enjoyed the rides much better. We did see their live Nativity and that was nice. Ryan and I both agree though that is was a bit too enthusiastic. They needed to have the narrator tone it down a notch or two. The donkey did come up to us and Nathan got to pet it, so that was neat. Nathan and Sammie both had the chance to see Santa three different times throughout the day. At the mall,Texas Roadhouse, and Wild Avenutres. Nathan is defintiely going to be a rollercoaster lover. Like I said, we all had a good time despite how cold it was. This is all I can think of for now. Ryan might post something latter. BYe for now.

What a Week!

Am I glad that this week is over...Yessss! It started off with all of us dressed and ready to go to church...on time even. Then Sammie decides to get sick. So I ended staying home with her. A bit later Ryan returns home with Nathan. Both begin running fevers. Sam isn't sleeping and Nathan is just cranky. We (Vickie and I) took them to the doctor on Tuesday. (Yes I have to have help when taking my kids to the doctor, or at least when Nathan has to be seen by one. I could not do it alone. Nathan for whatever reason hates doctors. He won't even let them weigh him. Vickie can tell you that I am not exaggerating.) Sammie has an ear infection and RSV. Nathan was tested for strep, negative though, but because Sammie has RSV, Nathan probably does too. So both are using an inhaler and taking some other medicines. Through this Ryan and I have caught the congestion part. I hate it. I can't breath and probably have the worst breath ever. Luckily Nathan and Sam are doing lots better. Yesterday we had the chance to see Ryan's dad Kenny and our nephew Gabe. We also ate lunch with them. He was passing through and dropped of the kids Christmas presents. Nathan was very excited. He was ready to open them when we got home. Later that evening Vickie, Sammie and I went to enrichment at church. We had I lovely time. I won a poinsettia. While there Vickie called Rich to see how things were going with Nathan. Needless to say Papa Rich was having a wonderful time. They were outside waiting for "Mater" to come and get Papa's truck out of the ditch. (For more info...please go to their blog.) Even later that I evening when we were going home...I discovered Chance our cat in the middle of the road. So once again we are now pet less. It was a sad moment. I guess Chance just wasn't meant to live a long life. I mean when we found him, who would of thought he would survive in the first place. Well at least Nash now has company in the back yard. Today if finally Friday and as you can see, I am so very glad about it. I can only hope that next week will be better, it has to be, right? Well anyway, I hope every one's week has been better than mine.


Blogged in Loving memory of Chance.

A long way to go and a shor time to get there

Well, I made it back from Wyoming. It was a really nice trip. I left at about 2am on Thanksgiving day driving Carol and Joe's U-Haul truck w/trailer. I made to Kansas City,Mo. at about 8pm and got a hotel room close to the airport. I couldn't go any farther. I was starting to fall asleep. I only drove 1,000 miles the first day. I got up about dawn and started on the road again. I made it to Casper by about 9pm I think. Corey and I would have arrived at the same time, but he got lost in Casper and showed up about 5 or 10 minutes behind me. It was really great to go out west again. I truly love it out there. Thank you Aunt Carol and Joe for the opportunity to make the trip. I was more than willing to do it, even if it was Thanksgiving. Before I left I was kind of wondering if I would make it out there in a timely manner. I didn't think I could run like I did when I was trucking. After I made a thousand miles the first day, I realized I still had it. It was just dormant. Some people ask how I can drive for that long, I just get in a groove and go. I only stop to get fuel. I take care of everything else while I'm fueling or stop for the night. There is no need for me to stop just to be stopping. I don't know, a lot of people don't see it that way; they like to stop and walk around or go to the bathroom. That's what stopping for fuel is for. Anyway, It was very enjoyable. I got to meet Corey and Nikki's son Derek (I hope I spelled it right. If not, I'm sorry)!!! He was such a happy natured boy. I told Corey that he makes your cheeks hurt because you can't help but smile at him all the time. Corey and Nikki were very good hosts. Thank you guys for letting me stay with you.
That's all I have time for now. Bye.

I have Blogged

Just to let you know...there are several new post. So keep scrolling down.

Our Little Pumpkins!

The week after Samantha's birthday we decided to take Ryan's parents and grand mom to Mark's Melon Patch to pick out our pumpkins. The kids had a great time and it was fun to pick out and cut our own pumpkins. Ryan also got him some fresh hand picked peanuts to take home and boil himself. We ended up with four pumpkins...all in descending size. We didn't realize that until we got home. So each of us had our own pumpkin. We definitely are going to go back next year...although Ryan says we are going to get bigger pumpkins!

Samantha Is Onederful!!!!

I know that these pictures are a little late but hey later is better than never. First I would like to thank everyone that came to celebrate with us. Thanks too for all of Sammie's gifts. I can't believe that our little girl is one. I don't know if time has sped up or if it is that fact that she is my second, but I don't remember Nathan's first year going by so fast. I think maybe the fact that she looks like a nine month old factors into it. She is just too little to be one already. It has been a fun year though. It still seems like yesterday that Dr. Edmondson announce that it was a girl and Ryan I looking at each other in disbelief. I still don't believe it sometimes. Anyway, I hope that you all will enjoy some pictures.

P.S. Be careful if ever you ask Jennifer to take pictures...you won't know what you'll end up with!

The Target Family Picnic

Back in September we all went to the Target Family picnic. Ryan and I had the privilege of his grand mom (Grandma Re) visiting us so we took her along too. I think we had all had fun. Samantha won her first contest...She was doing the Hokey Pokey. Her prize was a yo-yo. Nathan danced some too, but not really. His highlight of the day was to ride the train. We also all ate some ice cream later. Like I said, I think that we all had a good time. See ya next year!

Hair today, Gone tomorrow!

I finally did it! I had the patience to grow my hair long enough to donate. Donating my hair was something that I had always wanted to do. I mean since I was blessed enough to have great hair, I figured why not share it. I started when I found out that I was pregnant with Samantha. People say you shouldn't make any drastic changes while pregnant, so I started letting it just grow. Ryan didn't want me too because he likes me with short hair so I told him I would get it cut after the baby was born provided it was long enough. Well it ended up being almost a year after Sam was born before it was long enough. Normally I would be aching to get my hair cut but when it got time to do it...I really didn't want to.

I had long hair, something I hadn't had in years. I loved it. I did it though, I didn't for Ryan. I ended up donatinf two 11-11 1/2 inch braids.The thing is now, I am not sure how to style it. While pregnant with Sam...my hair change from slightly wavy to curly. I don't know how to style short curly hair. I guess I figured it out well enough.

Scraper's Paradise

I have finally created a space for scrap booking. It has only taken two years and it's not complete but it is a start. I started Nathan's album about two weeks ago and have been working hard since. I have completed everything up to the day he came home. I love scrap booking but my only problem is that I am slow. I have to make sure everything is balanced, color coordinated properly, and cropped just right. I mean the other night I worked on a layout for over two hours and still didn't complete it until the next day. It is frustrating but I just can't help myself. I am happy though that I am just finally getting it done. That is Nathan's album anyway. I still haven't finished my own or Ryan's or even our wedding album! Oh well that's another day, or in the words of Scarlett O'Hara....I'll just have to think about that tomorrow.

We have urination in the toilet!

Finally we have a success with potty training. Nathan went tee tee yesterday not only once but twice! Can I just tell you how happy that makes me. I tried not to resort to food bribes, but I gave in and told him that if he went he could have some cookies. We called Ryan and let him know, then we called Nonna. Everyone was very happy. He has sat on the potty in the past but never would go. He only sit there and "play" with his penis. Do all boys go through that? He has actually begun to tell us that he has a "big penis". It is quite funny because he grunts when he says it. Once again, are all little boys like this, or do I need to be concerned? He does love to wear his big boy underwear and likes the fact that he keeps them dry (which is easy to do when he has a pull-up under them). Oh well, I am just so happy that he has gone in the potty. I hope he only continues going in the potty. I'll keep you posted.

We have struck gold...I mean Copper!

After five days and three "withdraws" later, Nathan has finally emptied "his piggy bank". Yes it was me who had the lovely job of searching for the money that Nathan swallowed. I am just happy that we don't have to take him back to the doctor for another x-ray. It turns out that he swallowed just a penny. For all of you who are wondering, no we didn't keep it. If it had been more than a penny, we might have been tempted. I wish that he only could have made some interest on it! On a side note, Sammie just had her nine month checkup. She is very healthy and doing great. The only concern the doctor had was her weight. It's on the low side of the scale so she wants me to check to make sure she is getting enough milk. Just for knowledge she is 17.3 pounds and 27.5 inches long. She is getting more and more ambitious in taking steps and standing up on her own. Well I guess that is all an update that I have for you now.

"CHANGE we can beleive in"

We had an interesting day today. Helen had went to town and I was at home with Nathan and Samantha. About noon or so, I was cooking lunch and Sam was sleeping, and Nathan was playing on the floor. All of a sudden he came to me and said "money". I asked him where "money" was, and he pointed to his belly and opened his mouth. I asked if he had eaten some money and he said "uh huh". Then he said "get it Daddy!" I told him I couldn't see it. He started crying a little and asked again for me to get it. So, I told him to open his mouth so I could see the money. He did, but I couldn't see anything. He wasn't having any trouble breathing or anything. I gave him something to drink, and he could swallow alright so I began to wonder if he had really swallowed anything. I called mom and asked her what she thought. She said we should call the doctor's office and ask them. Who would of thought of calling a doctor? That's why mom's are the greatest! They said that we need to take him to the ER just in case if he did swallow anything to make sure it wasn't lodged somewhere in his throat or belly.
The ordeal at the hospital was interesting to say the least. Let's just say that Nathan does not like doctors or nurses. When one of them would start to check his pulse, or blood pressure, or listen to his breathing, he would kick and scream at the top of his lungs and try to crawl over my shoulders to get away from them. He was like a wet cat that thought you were trying to put back into a bathtub. He pitched a fit like I've never seen. It was fun trying to get an X-ray of his midsection. He didn't want a picture taken of his belly. He flipped and flopped like a fish out of water and screamed as loud as he possibly could. We got the X-ray though. I held both of his arms while a nurse held his legs down and a third person actually took the X-ray. When the doctor came back in, they showed us the X-ray. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Vicars...you are the proud parents of a "walking piggy bank"!! He had certainly swallowed some kind of coin. It looked like it might be a nickel; we'll find out in a day or two when the deposit clears.
Life is never dull when you have a toddler, but I wouldn't trade him for anything.

My Famous Encounter

The only close up encounter of a celebrity was when I worked at Disney World. I happened to be working at Dumbo the Flying Elephant and I was able to sit Alan Thicke and his son on an elephant. That is all. As far as seeing celebrities...I have got great pictures from concerts. Allison Krauss and Reba!

It's really not again

We tried. The little kitty didn't make it. It passed away on Friday sometime while I was at work and Helen was in town running errands. It's sad, but at the same time it's okay. I said when we first took it in that if its going to die, then I'd at least give it a fighting chance. We did what we could, but it was just too weak.

Not Again!!!

Well, our kitty count has doubled. We now have 2 cats. This one is even smaller than Chance was when we first found him. Let me back up and set the scene. On Monday, when I got home from work Helen stopped me in the driveway and told me to park right where I was and come inside the house. She called me back to the back door and had me look out in the back yard against the house. The only thing I could see was white fur. I'll admit for a brief second I thought it was AnnaBelle. Not getting my hopes up, I asked if it was a cat. Helen told me it was, and that it had 5 kittens at about lunchtime. I opened the door to get a closer look and sure enough, there they were, 5 tiny little kitties and their mama. We didn't want to disturb her so we closed the door and went back inside. A little while later, my curiosity got the best of me and as I went to park my motorcycle under the shop, I slowly walked up the back porch where I could see the babies. The mama saw me and started hissing. I just tried talking to her in a sweet calm voice, but she just hissed and hissed (just like a woman...always mad about something. I mean you can't even walk without getting in trouble!! Just kidding.). So, I went inside and left her alone.
Anyway, as I was leaving for work the next morning, I looked down to check on them and noticed that she had moved the kittens; all except for one. I didn't think anything about it. I just figured that she hadn't finished moving them all yet, so I went on my merry little way to work. I let Helen know about the lone kitty, and to check to see if the mama comes for it. I called about noonish to check, and she said it was still there. So I was wondereing if we should take it and feed it. Helen told me she had called Quailwood and they said to give till the end of the day. Okay no big deal then, it will be fine. When I came home, I checked again and it was still there. No sign of mama. The weather was starting to turn bad; Hurrican Dolly was in Texas, and was throwing thunderstorms at us. I told her that I'm going to get it and take care of it since the weather was getting bad. Still not wanting to touch it, I got a small hand towel and picked it up and started towards the car (we were going to Mom and Rich's) when mama cat came from the neighbor's yard. I laid the kitty down on the towel in the grass, and we all went back inside and watched so we wouldn't freak her out again. She walked up to her baby and sniffed it for a little while, and sat down beside it. After a few minutes, she walked away like it was nothing. So, we decided we'd put it in a box with some of Chance's food (for the mama) and see what would happen when we got back from mom's. It was still in the box when we got home, and I couldn't just let it die. I figured the mama abandoned it when she walked away from it, but wanted to give her every possible opportunity to take it. I figured if it was going to die, then I would at least give it a "chance" to live. I have never really been a fan of cats, but I won't just let it die either. I took it in the house and started the whole process over again the same way I did with chance. Although this kitt still has the umilical cord attached and its eyes aren't open yet. It's doing very well I think. It has survuved 3 days with us so far, and is looking good. I'll post some pictures when we get some.

Happy Independence Day!!

As my grandfather so proudly stated last Sunday... It is Independence Day not the 4th of July. We don't celebrate the 25th of December or 31st of October, so why is it that we celebrate the 4th of July?? It made me rethink the holiday. I personally love Independence Day.

I am grateful that I do live here America. I love BBQs, eating watermelon, being dressed in Red, White, and Blue, and I especially love the FIREWORKS!!!. I wish every holiday celebrated with fireworks. I personally feel that the louder they are the better. This year I have to admit was a bit of a let down. We went to the Agrirama last year and had a great view,so we went again this year. We went early to make sure we found our spot again and ended up waiting a good hour and half for the fireworks to start. At about 9:35ish they finally started.

It was going good. Nathan didn't cry and Sam just watched in amazement. Then lots of fireworks went off...was is the finale already...couldn't be...it's only be going for 10! Sure enough it was, but I must add that at the point the finale began, a rocket shot off and started a fire in the woods. We all figured that due to safety reasons they ended the show early. That is what we are telling ourselves anyway. All in all we did enjoy the time together. So remember for next year...Happy Independence Day!

Potty Training 101

So last week I decided that I would buckle down and introduce Nathan to the potty. He had gone on it before but that was awhile back and it was more of a fun thing as opposed to a necessary thing. So, I woke up eager and ready to start. Nathan has been wearing Pull-Ups so I told him that today he would be wearing big boy underwear. He was very excited. I put them on and a shirt to keep things simple. I set him on the potty and waited. Nothing happened, but that's okay he tried. I then set the timer for 20 minutes to help remind me to set him on it again. No sooner had 15 minutes passed when I discovered that he had wet his underwear. I didn't yell or scream or even scold. I just took him into the bathroom and gave him the potty talk while he sat on the potty again. I asked him him where does his tee-tee go and he responded, "In the Potty!" I gave him a high-five and told him that's right. I also reaffirmed the difference between wet and dry and that we wanted him to keep his big boy underwear dry. Of course he said in his most excited way "OH-Kay!" Off the potty and into his room to put on a clean and dry pair of underwear. Set the timer again. This time however, 15 minutes. Occasionally I would ask him if his big boy underwear was dry and he would say yes. However, in 2-5 minutes time, after we had changed him before, he had wet again. Oh ! I forgot to mention that while doing this with Nathan I had Sammie going around commando. She had woken up and had a terrible diaper rash, so I was letting her little rear get some air. Back to Nathan. So after this round of wetting I repeated everything as before. Third pair of underwear were on after sitting on the potty for at least 15 minutes to "make sure all the tee-tee had come out". Once again about 2-5 minutes later..."Potty,Potty," Nathan let me know that he had already wet. Repeat steps. All in all in about a hour and half time, Nathan had successfully gone through no less than 7 pairs of big boy underwear while Sammie had successfully peed on me and all in her bed while taking her nap.( I expected that of Sam though.) We ended the morning by putting on a pull-up to take a nap. I had even called Ryan and let him know that if he felt so inclined as to leave work early, today would be a great day. He just laughed at me. I couldn't believe he would do that. Anyway, day 1 of training did not go well,but hey try and try again. So yesterday I did that. Day 2 of training. I am pleased to announce that we only went through 2 pairs of underwear! No, no tee-tee entered into the potty though. I am just happy that he stayed dryer longer. So I will continue to try. In the meantime, please enjoy my funny story and I will keep you posted on the progress.

A Chance Encounter

On Father's Day weekend, I was mowing Mom, and Papa Rich's yard as a surprise for Papa Rich. We are too poor to buy a gift, and I wanted to do something for him, so I figured he would be just as appreciateive for being able to go an extra week without having to mow (I would be). It was looking like it was about to storm, so I was trying to hurry and get the mowing done, also mom and Rich would be home soon and I wanted to have it done before they got home. I had made about 4 or 5 passes in the ditch in their front yard, and was coming up to the culvert and driveway when I noticed a movement in front of me. I looked and saw that it was a little kitty. It's eyes were just barely open. It was crawling towards the culvert as best as it could. I stopped the mower and picked him up. He had a really bad looking cut/laceration on his back at the base of his tail. I took him inside to show Helen. She just looked at him, and asked where in the world did you find that? I told her how I had found him in the ditch. I know he wasn't there when I started mowing because I would have either seen him or run over him. I believe someone tossed him out of their car since the cut on his back was so fresh. I told Helen we can't just let him die, we had to do something. I called Quailwood (a local animal hospital) and told the doctor what had happened. He asked if we wanted to keep him for ourselves or give him to the humane society. As any man in this situation would do, I said "hang on, I need to ask my wife." We weren't quite sure what to do, I mean we just found him and were thrown into the situation. After talking about it for a while, we decided we would keep him for now and see if we could "nurse him back to health". The doctor told us to put peroxide and neosporin on his wound and keep it clean. I went and got some baby kitty milk and a bottle from Wal-Mart. I had never bottle fed an animal before so it was definitely a learning experience for me and the cat. We both finally got the hang of it and he began to eat more and more. His wound wasn't looking so good though. I called the vet back and asked if we could bring him in for a check-up since I was off work until the evening. At his first vet visit, which was 4 days after we found him, he weighed 5 oz.!! The doctor put him on an antibiotic for 10 days and told us to keep cleaning his wound. He wasn't getting better after a few days, so Papa Rich took him back to the vet for us (I had to work). A different doctor looked at him this time, and said that his wound was infected pretty badly. He hadn't gained any weight, and it would be a struggle for him to survive. We needed to be prepared to put him down if it came to it because things didn't look good for him. The doctor put him on a stronger medicine and told us to keep him clean and fed. We needed to keep the kids away from him because they didn't know what kind of bacteria was infecting him, but it was dangerous. I thought about giving him to the animal shelter because I didn't want to risk my children's health to save a cat, but I figured I'd give him a few more days. He started looking better and becoming more active after a couple of days on the new medicine. He was also eating more. Papa took him to the vet again and the doctor was surprised at how well he was doing. His wound was healing nicely, and he was gaining weight. He now weighs 12 oz. We decided to name him Chance. It fits him considering the circumstances of how we found him. He is cute as can be and is becoming more playful. Sorry if I've rambled on too much. This is my first time blogging.

Tagged by Jen

Can you tell how much I enjoy these sorts of games. It has taken me how long to respond, but hey it is a fun way to get to know something new about others. Well here it goes...

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names....

The Joyful side of things...

1. Having my Kids
2. Not being Primary President
3. Having Family close by

My Fears...

1.Screwing up my kid's lives
2. Dying
3. Not being liked by other people

Goooooooals!

1. Get physically fit, before my kids discover that I am fat.
2. Finish all the quilts and scrapbooks that I have been working on for years!
3. Learn to play songs from the hymnal on the piano

Colletions/Obessions

1. Ebay
2. My IKEA curtains
3. Consignment shops or sales

Random Thoughts about ME!

1. I carry on conversations with myself.
2. I would like to climb Mt. Everest.
3. I can fit an average of 26-30 grapes or 13-15 large marshmellows in my mouth and still say "Fluffy Bunny".

Tag your it: Ryan, Teddi, Cory, Mom, James

Ken-tuck-eeee!

Okay, Okay. I know once again these are way over due, but hey, isn't it the rule of thumb to start with the most recent and work your way backwards?

Back at the end of March Ryan and I had the chance to go to Kentucky to visit with some of Papa Rich's family. It was a short trip but fun none the less. Rich's dad,a.k.a. Grandpa Cox, was really excited because this would be the first time he had met Ryan and Samantha. Nathan and I had the chance to meet him before when we went to Texas. Nathan had a fun time with all the animals at Papa Rich brother's (Glen) house. He also played with Glen's granddaughter. Sammie was just starting to hold her head up really good so we took some pictures of her and the dogs. Of course it snowed either the day we left or the day after. We all had a fun trip, can't wait for the next one.

Let sleeping babies lie.

Just some fun pictures of Nathan and Sammie taking a nap together.
Yes they are from a while back but I thought they were cute. I just love how they are in the same position. Enjoy.





These are from one day when I told Nathan to go and take a nap. I heard him crying for a few minutes but then he quit so I went to check on him and this is how I found him.

My White Knight

Okay so Ryan will probaly kill me for this but I just had too.

These were taken at the Saturday festivities of the Reunion. Ryan was taking the kids swimming for the first time this year. I of course was wanting to take pictures. I needed to snap of a few to get the roll going so Ryan did a little posing for me. Isn't he so scrupulous! Bytheway, no he doesn't have a shirt on...he really is that white ;P Both Nathan and Sammie love the water. Nathan is trying to swim a little. He is getting to the point where he is jumping off the side without any help. Sammie is ready to go. I haven't dunked her under the water yet, she has had colds and other infections, but I can't wait. She is ready for it. They will both splash and kick and laugh the whole time. Amazingly with both of them being so fair skinned, neither has come out of the pool with a sunburn. I love Sammie's swimsuit and Nathan is loving his "Cars" trunks!