A Lifetime of Memories...

A New School!

2010-08-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, August 12th, was a big day for Eli and Emma! They started at a new school, First Baptist Academy. They did so well adjusting to the change! Both of them could not stop talking about everything "new" on our ride home. I pray that this year will be one of learning and most of all the year that they accept Jesus Christ! I am very proud of them and they looked so cute in their uniforms!

Best Buds

2010-08-10T19:32:00.001-07:00

I love that my boys are BEST BUDS!!!

Father MOWS Best!

2010-08-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

Edan loves lawn mowers, weedeaters, and blowers! The highlight of his week is when Brent comes home after work and puts on his "mowing clothes" to mow the grass. Edan will stay outside with his daddy the whole entire time that Brent is mowing, weedeating, and blowing. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen! Even at such a young age, Edan is already such a worker and helper!

Miles of Smiles

2010-07-14T19:20:00.001-07:00

I love having my three little ones home for the summer! They make me smile, laugh, and love life! Love you E's!!!

We're Here and Lindsey's Engaged!

2010-06-07T05:28:00.000-07:00

Count Your Many Blessings...

2010-03-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done. This hymn is one of my favorites. I have been reflecting on this chorus the last few weeks with our recent news and it is so true, God has given us all so many blessings to be thankful for and do we ever thank Him enough for what He has given us? As I look at my family, I have a wonderful husband that allows me to stay at home who provides for us financially and is also the spiritual leader of our home. I have 3 amazing kids who are healthy and beautiful. God is so good all the time. It is so easy for me to complain when things aren't going right or when when my plans aren't God's plans. He has been teaching me about my control issues and my plans recently. The past several months have been a real roller coaster ride for me. God chose me to go on a mission trip, get my dad back on the right track(which I am still working on), and put the desire in my heart for another baby. This hasn't been any small feat, but God, time after time, over and over, has pulled me through all of this. The mission trip was way out of my comfort zone, evangelizing to people, living in conditions that were not what I was used to, eating food that was just plain disgusting, but He did, he provided everything that I needed. He was my source of comfort and protection. The same goes for my dad. He lived with us for 4 months and put a strain on our marriage. I was stressed all the time and all I really wanted was for him to do better and get a job so he could be on his own two feet and not bug me anymore. But it wasn't until I heard Pastor Phil's message on poverty and the poor did I really get it. I wasn't going to help my dad with money or food(although we have helped him tremendously with finances), the way I needed to help him was with spiritual things and giving him more of my time. Yes, he did live in our home, but alot of the time he would just stay in the bonus room and just come out for food, ect. I needed to spend more quality time with him instead of just trying to ignore the fact that he was living in our house and there was nothing I could do to change him. That's it, I am always so wrapped up in"me" wanting to do things on "my" time that my control issues were getting the best of me. I found myself in the same situation when my heart's desire was for another baby. We had been trying to conceive for several months and it just was not happening! I couldn't figure it out and what was going wrong. I spent months agonizing over it, thinking that there was something wrong with me and Brent kept telling me, it is all in God's timing. I knew all of this and would proclaim it, but the sweetest thing is when I let go and let God take over it happened! It is so sweet to know that even in all our faults and short comings, God doesn't give up on us! He is so gracious and merciful. He is so good to us! With all this said, let me recap the past month. I had my 33rd birthday. We went to Carrabba's with Brent's family and my mom cooked me a special b-day dinner before they left on the cruise. Oh, did I mention that I almost ate a whole pie by myself? Yes, that's right, I did. My mom made me my favorite pie, it is some goodness. I should have taken a pic of that beauty! One of my favorite b-day presents is a necklace that B got for me. It is a hand-stamped mommy necklace and I love it! Like I said before, we had been trying for several months to get pregnant so I had one pregnancy test stuck under the cabinet and when B went on the crazy 32 mile AT hike I decided to take it. I was on day 26 and really early but I thought, what the heck, I am going to take it anyway. I did and sure enough it showed up positive! It is so funny to me because it's like I am in shock every single time I take a test! You would think by the 4th positive reading that I would be used to it! Not so much! I sat and sat and sat on the toilet. It was a Thursday and Brent wasn't supposed to be home until Saturday night. What was I going to do? I knew that the next week we were going to Pigeon Forge for 2 nights and I could surprise him then but could I keep it a secret that long? Yes, I did! It was the longest 7 days of my life!!! I wanted him to have a good surprise so I went and got a white onesie and had baby e monogrammed in green on the front. I also put it in a box and wrapped it! So here we go, we are off to Pigeon Forge the next Thursday to go shopping first and then check into our room. I couldn't shop! What? I was so nervous, anxious, and excited, I couldn't do it! I told Brent that we should go check into our room and then maybe later we could come back and do some shopping. We got to the room and I told him that I had him a present to start our weekend off the right way. Well, you girls know what he was thinking, some kind of nighty, see through, lingerie! He opened it and the look on his face was to die for! I didn't have my camera out then because I would have given it away. But he was so happy and excited! Here he is a few minutes later. After that, we were able to relax, and have fun, and yes, SHOP! We came home on Saturday and we gave each of the kids their own bag of goodies that we had gotten for them. After they opened and tried on all their new clothes, Brent told them there is one more special present. He told them to go to the bonus room and he handed them the same box that I gave to him. They opened it and Emma said, "oh, baby e, a shirt for Edan!" Brent said "no, think about it, We have big e and pointed to Eli, and middle e, and pointed to Emma, and little e, and pointed to Edan, and who do you think could be baby e?" Brent pointed to my tummy and their eyes turned into saucers! Eli and Emma both started jumping up and down and screaming! They were both so happy! We were able to tell our moms and dads the next day after church during lunch. Everybody can't wait to have another baby to hold and love! So after writing ALL this, do you count your many blessings? Do you see what God has done in your life over the past few months? I know that I can count of 5 right now. My hubby and my 4 precious E's...Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done. Thank you, Lord for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me and my family.

Our Shining Star

2010-03-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

It is amazing to me how time flies. I can't believe that my precious big E is approaching 10! This year has been a challenging one for Eli academically. He is learning new skills at such a fast pace I can barely keep up with all the work. From multiplication to algebra to telling time to measuring mass to division to learning how to read an encyclopedia, thesaurus, and dictionary to getting ready for the TCAPS. Whew! After that being said, I can honestly say that Eli has worked very hard to excel this year and he has proven to us that he can do very hard things! We are so very proud of him! He has kept good grades and his behavior has been good. He is such a great big brother to Emma and he is amazingly in love with Edan. I would like to recap what has been going on with him for the past few weeks. At school, Eli's class did a unit on cultures and without his teacher's leading, he came home and called Brent on the phone to ask him if he could get some of his Africa things together so he could show his class. The next day, Eli wanted me to come to school and watch him do a presentation on Africa. I was a proud mama that day! Eli is also turning into quite the sports fanatic! I surprised Brent and Eli with UT men's basketball tickets for Valentine's Day. This was the first time Eli had been to a basketball game and he was so excited! Every morning and afternoon he turns ESPN on and marvels at the basketball, so for him to be inside Thompson Boling Arena with all the fans was a dream! As we were leaving the game he told us that being in the big arena and climbing up the stairs to find our seats made him nervous. How sweet! Finally, the 3rd grade curriculum incorporates new things in special arts. In music class Eli is learning how to use and play the recorder. Amherst uses a system called Recorder Karate. As Eli learns the songs he is awarded a colored belt. Eli has definitely been a over-achiever at this! He signs up before school to go and get belts! So far, he has earned 5 belts and already has the next song learned and memorized! He went to school early this morning to play 2 songs for his music teacher, Mrs. Holliday, and she told him that he was her newest shining star! She also told him that out of all the 3rd grade, he was one of the few that had a purple belt! Wow Eli! I am totally amazed at how well you are doing! You may be your music teacher's shining star this year, but you will ALWAYS be Daddy and Mommy's shining star! We give all the praise and honor to the Lord!

So Much to ZOO!

2010-02-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

Oh, the weather this weekend was truly a blessing! We needed some sunshine so badly that we decided to load up and go to the zoo Sunday afternoon. This was just what Emma and Edan needed after having a virus Friday and Saturday! Here are some pics from the visit!

The Sun Will Come Out...Tomorrow

2010-02-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, February 18th, I took Emma out of school early to go and see Annie, the musical. We drove to Crossvile, TN to the Cumberland County playhouse. Her love for Annie began when she got the movie Annie in her Christmas stocking. She has watched it so many times! When Emma had her Pinkalicious b-day party in January, she chose this movie to show to the girls while they were trying to settle down. It was then that Emma's cousin, Anna, saw the movie and developed the same love for it! So, me and my sister-in-law, Laura, took the girls. They were so giddy on the way, laughing and talking about what they thought the show was going to be like! When we arrived, we took their picture in front of the Annie poster:It was time for the show to start and we went to find our seats. I asked Laura to take a picture of me and my sweet daughter!: During the musical, everytime a song would start, Emma would sing along. It was so cute! After the final act we got up to go to our car and the usher told us "Annie" was coming out to meet the people if we wanted to wait. When Emma heard her little body started shaking with excitment! She said, "I get to meet Annie, Mommy?" Emily Swafford, who played Annie, came out to meet the girls and they were beaming with excitement. She also signed thier playbill. It was so much fun to see Emma's face light up, I hope she will remember this day forever, I know I will!

INTRODUCING...

2010-02-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

THE HODSON BAND!!!

ELI J, lead guitarist

EMMA G, lead singer
and EDAN B, drummer

MOMMY will always be your #1 FAN!!!

Trust and Obey

2010-02-02T15:59:00.001-08:00

for there's no other way,
To be happy in Jesus
is to Trust and Obey.

We have been doing family devotions with our children for years, but we have recently added something new to our worship time together, SINGING!!! I love to sing and have always sung to the kids, but it wasn't until Brent did this last study on parenting did we incorporate singing into our family worship time. The kids' newest favorite song that we have taught them is Trust and Obey. The words are so simple, but so true! I love this time together because we are all growing in the Lord and proclaiming truth to Him!!! I would encourage all of you to do this with your children, start with the songs they already know, Jesus Loves Me, The B-I-B-L-E, and then teach them different songs from church, ect. Not only will they be blessed from learning but you will be blessed also by hearing them sing and singing together! It is truly my very favorite part of the day! And if you are wondering, Brent sings too! The biggest blessing I have received so far is that my children keep us accountable for family worship time, they don't want to miss it! Thank you, Lord!

Pink, Pink, Pink

2010-01-31T19:36:00.001-08:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

is Emma's favorite color, so for her 7th birthday, she wanted a Pinkalicious Birthday sleepover! Pinkalicious is a book that I bought for her when Eli was in 1st grade from his scholastic book order. She fell in love with this book and it has been a favorite for 2 years. She has most of it memorized and can tell you the story word for word. Her party was themed around this book. Everything the girls ate was pink: pink dip for veggies and strawberries, pink popcorn, pink marshmallows and bubble gum, pink lemonade and pink cupcakes! All of her friends arrived and they sat at the fancy pink table and enjoyed all things pink and afterwards Emma opened her presents. She loved that part! After the opening of presents, the girls got in groups of 2 or 3 and rotated to different centers. There was a cupcake coloring center, a makeup and polish center, a Pinklicious wand center, a coloring page center, and a pink bead neckace center! After the girls rotated centers it was time to settle down and get pjs on. To help her friends settle down, Emma read the book Pinkalicious to her friends and she did a wonderful job! It was almost 10 and the girls overheard my mom saying we should get pizza so they shouted, "pizza, pizza, pizza"!!! After eating pizza they all layed to watch the movie Annie. I think the last girl fell asleep at 1:30! The next morning the girls woke up to pink pancakes and strawberries. I hope you enjoy the montage, Emma had a wonderful time with all her friends!

Let it SNOW!!!

2010-01-31T06:55:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we enjoyed the beautiful snow and the incredible lodging at my wonderful parents house! Early Friday morning, we met Brenda at Chick-Fil-A and I took the 3 E's to Blockbuster to rent movies and Wii games. I was praying for snow because they haven't ever really seen a "big" snow before. Well, God is good and he sent us snow! As soon as the first snowflake fell we packed up and headed to mom's house. That night we watched movies, laughed, and enjoyed each other. It was fantastic! The kiddos kept saying, "Is it still snowing?" We were pleasantly surprised the next morning to wake up to beautiful scenery. Mom made a huge breakfast, fried pork tenderloin, homemade biscuits, and eggs. It was delicious as all her meals are. I couldn't hold Eli and Emma back any longer. I couldn't wait to see how Edan would react to snow. He hasn't ever been it it!!! Brent and I got them all layered up and out we went! Our first mission was to build a snowman:

The snowman was gigantic! We were ready for sledding after we built the snowman. Here they are making a trek up the hill!

Here goes Eli!

and Emma:

and Edan:

and me and Lindsey:

and Mom!!!!

After a while, the boys got bored and wanted something more exciting, so they built a ramp. It was quite interesting!

Wow! What an amazing weekend! Thank you, Lord for such wonderful family time! I will remember these snow-filled days forever!

Boy, Oh Boy!!!

2010-01-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

My darling Edan,
You are so precious to your Mommy. I love every waking second that I get to spend with you. You make Mommy laugh and smile. You are a delight to be around. Someone asked Mommy while we were in West Africa to describe you and I told them that you had a very sweet spirit but, boy, oh boy, you were unlike your brother and sister and you loved to "get into" things. One day, back in January of 2010 when you were nearing 2, we were just having a normal day playing and laughing and Mommy invited some friends over to her house to eat for lunch while we planned some things for Daddy and Mommy's LifeGroup at church. You took a nice long nap and woke up to play and decided to "get into" Sis's lip gloss and smear it all over your face and clothing. Mommy cleaned you all up and put nice new fresh clothes on you. Within 10 minutes you found a marker and put dots all over your cheeks and nose. While Mommy was finishing up homework with Bub and Sis I asked you to take the napkins that were in the bonus room leftover from lunch to the trash. You looked at me and graciously picked up the napkins and started walking down the hall trying to find the trash can. Bub was in 3rd grade and he had lots of math homework so Mommy and him were diligently working and focused on multiplication. In a few minutes, we heard you talking and jabbering away so Mommy didn't worry about you. After Bub's homework was complete I asked him to check on you and boy, oh boy did he ever find you!!! You, mister monkey, had climbed from the potty to the sink with napkins in hand, unscrewed the lid off the liquid soap, and dumped it all over you and the sink and the floor. Bub was quite shocked as he said, "Mommy we have a problem in the bathroom".Mommy rushed into the bathroom to find your sweet green-dotted face in the bathroom sink enjoying and exploring soap. You are a delight to Mommy and I will miss all your adventures one day so, for now, I will enjoy every second of you, even if you are a soapy, glossed, and green-markered babe. Until next time...I love you Little E

Good Behavior =

2009-10-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

fantastic rewards! Brent and I are so proud of Eli! His behavior has been excellent for the past month at school and home, so we wanted to reward him with something that he has wanted since the football season started, an Eric Berry jersey! He was thrilled when he opened it and has basically had it on ever since! I love you, sweet Eli!

Edan, where is your...

2009-10-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

nose?
eye?

hair? teeth?

Edan, where is your SMILE?

That smile is more delicious than anything I have ever eaten!

Happy Campers

2009-09-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend, we loaded up(we had to take both of our cars since we had so much stuff!) to go to the great outdoors. We went with the Grooms and Pritchards who had campers, and also the Clines and Humphreys, who along with us, were tent campers! When Brent and I checked the forecast the week before the weather looked like it was going to be perfect and sunny, but boy were the East TN forecasters wrong! It pretty much rained the whole entire time, but that didn't stop us and the kiddos from having a blast! They were muddy from head to toe! We rode bikes, played in the creek, ate(alot), and enjoyed great fellowship around the campfire with our friends! It was a great weekend and we can't wait to go back! Here are a few pics from our fun-filled escape to nature! My camera battery was dead most of the time so this what I have!

Seven New Wheels

2009-08-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

are parked on our curb. Bike wheels, that is.When we had our garage sale in July, Brent and I told Eli and Emma we would get them new bikes with the money we made from the sale. They both had grown out of their old bikes so it was time for brand new ones! A few days after the sale, I took E and E to Wal-Mart and let them choose the bikes they wanted. It was funny to me because Eli choose a simple, yet get the job done bike for him. Nothing fancy, affordable, and rides well was his criteria. He shopped for literally 5 seconds and his choice was made. "This is the one, mommy", he said. Now, while, we were getting some help to get Eli's bike down, Emma was studying and processing her decision. She finally narrowed it down between 2, a Princess or Hello Kitty. While Eli's decision was quick and precise, Emma had many factors for choosing. She wanted a colorful, sparkly, and one that she knew her friends would like. She even took a "test drive" around the toy section of Wal-Mart. She finally decided on the Hello Kitty bicycle which had all the bells and whistles and was twice as expensive as Eli's. I was thinking to myself, yikes, I know how Brent feels when we go shopping together now, Emma was doing the same thing I do when it comes to making a decision, taking forever! She notices details more than any little girl I know! Well, a few weeks later we finally used the rest of Edan's birthday gift cards(no, I didn't get him the EB highchair I have been wanting since before he was born, drats!) and bought him his very FIRST tricycle! Edan's tricycle is a Radio Flyer and he loves it! Eli rides a bike very well, he is like Brent in this aspect. He has very good balance and coordination. We haven't taken Emma's training wheels off yet, but she is so proud, protective, and pleased with her choice! When Edan gets on his tricycle it just makes me sad, he still seems like my tiny little baby! On the handle bars there is a little bell that he makes "ding" with his finger and it is hilarious when he makes the bell go off! He bursts out laughing hysterically! It is so sweet! I am glad that the three E's are enjoying their new rides, we go out everyday after homework and snack so they can ride in style! It makes me happy to see them so joyful and happy when they are on their bicyles!!! Just call us Tour De Hodson on Maple Valley Lane!

School Daze!

2009-08-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe that the summer is over and school started today! Wow! We had a terrific summer and a great day yesterday with worship and the Lord's Supper last night at church. For dinner last night we threw a big blanket down in the bonus room and had a McDonald's picnic. It was so much fun for the kids, we talked about school, the drama at church, and just had some great fellowship. I gave them a detailed "plan"of how today was going to be, what they were to do when they got up, and how we wanted them to have a great school year! Even though it wasn't anything fancy, it was perfect for Eli and Emma and they love quality time like that! This morning went well, Emma was a little drowsy and sleepy, but she was still so excited. Bless her heart, she is already nervous thinking about PE class(she didn't like it at all last year). Eli got right up and hopped into the shower and was looking forward to meeting new friends and carrying his messenger backpack! Here they are before we left for school:

Brent wanted to go with us the very first day so when we arrived at school, they walked in together:

We took Emma to her classroom first. Here she is walking down the 1st grade hall.: and putting her backpack away and sitting at her desk with me and Eli Emma already knows her teacher, Mrs. Lancaster, who was Eli's first grade teacher. After dropping Emma off , our 2nd stop was at the opposite end of the building. Here he is walking down the hall trying to find his 3rd grade classroom: Eli's teacher this year is Mrs. Studer: Today was a great first day!

Uh-Oh Spaghettio

2009-07-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

I think he likes it...

Steppin' in Style!

2009-07-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

Edan has been walking for over a week now and doing great! We recently got him his first set of balls and he loves to play and "throw" them!

He likes playing in the upstairs hallway so he can walk, walk, and walk!

Go, Edan, Go! It is so sweet to see him walking! I love it! Eli and Emma are his best cheerleaders and they keep a count of how many steps he is taking. I think Eli said today we are up to 30 steps before falling! Eli and Emma were on the other side of the camera cheering Edan on and when he fell to the floor he gave his big brother and sissy a GREAT big smile!!!

We are so proud of you, Edan Brian!

Lunch Date with the Boys!

2009-07-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

Since my little princess was gone today(Emma went to the Buhl's house to play with Lily), I took my favorite little boys to meet my favorite big boy for a picnic lunch. We met at Melton Hill lake for Brent's lunch hour. Eli wasn't too happy when we first got there because he forgot his fishing rod at home. Everytime I would try to take his picture he would turn and look the other way:

After a few minutes Brent got him laughing and being happy!

Edan was happy in his stroller eating next to his daddy! He has recently learned sign language for "more". Here he is asking Brent for "more, more"!!!
I missed Emma but was glad I got a chance to be with my boys! We thank Brent for giving us some time during his busy work day!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2009-07-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night, July 8th, our family along with the Longs went to a Tennessee Smokies game! Edan stayed home with grandparents so Brent and I could spend some"special time" with Eli and Emma. The Smokies game started at 7:30 and they played the Montgomery Biscuits. We were all excited about getting stadium food. Eli picked nachos while Emma chose a corn dog!

Eli and Jared enjoyed watching the ballgame and sharing popcorn.

The Smokies mascot "slugger" came over to our section and the kids wanted a picture with him.

The night wouldn't be complete without cotton candy! Eli and Emma devoured it within seconds!

YUMMY!!!

We had such a fun night! We were glad Daron, Amanda, and Jared went with us!

Summer IS Sweet!

2009-07-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe summertime is halfway over! It has gone by way too fast! So, what have the Hodson's been doing this summer? We started summer with VBS at FBC Powell, Eli and Emma only attended 2 nights(Emma had strep while Eli was committed to a ball tournament). The beginning of summer also included our wonderful vacation with family to Hilton Head Island. We did lots of fun things there: rode bikes, built sand castles, ate ice cream, dug our toes into the sand, discovered powdered sugar and flour look the same in a ziploc baggie, but most of all, laughed and loved on each other. When we got home Eli and Emma went to Summer Spectacular at Grace Baptist. They loved it! This is where the opening song comes from on my blog. They learned this there with the hand motions, we sing and dance to it all the time. This was also and exciting week for Brent and I, as we celebrated our 10TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! We both give GOD all the GLORY for what HE has done through us! Brent also surprised me with a very nice anniversary gift, something that I have always dreamed of, a Honda Odyssey! He is so sweet!

In the middle of June, Edan got his 2 front teeth! He loves to show them off!

Father's Day was a fun, relaxing day. We went to mom's for a cookout and it was so yummy! Here he is with his babes: We went to the fountains at World's Fair Park and the kiddos had a blast! Here is Edan and Brent in the water!

At the end of June, we started our annual "pool day" at moms with lots of friends and family!

I have basically put Emma's hair in a braid all summer to prevent her hair from breaking from all the swimming she is doing! She absolutely loves it though when she goes to bed with a wet braid and wakes up with curly locks in the morning!

July 4th was busy! Our LifeGroup handed out 1300 bottles of water for the July 4th parade. It was a beautiful day, not near as hot as it had been in years past! After the parade, we went to see and hug Parker for his birthday and then headed to the Grooms to say hi and Happy 4th! Our final destination was a cookout at mom's for her annual July 4th spectacular! Eli, Emma, and Edan looked cute in their Americana outfits!

One of my favorite pictures so far this summer is one that Brent took at the beach....my baby boy lovin' on me! These moments are few and far between so I am glad Brent photographed it! Summer IS sweet!

Good Food, Great Times, and Grand Memories!

2009-06-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

Life is GOOD at the Beach!

2009-06-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Building Up Some Fun!

2009-06-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

Surf, Sand, and Sun...So Much Fun!

2009-06-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

Beach Babes

2009-06-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

This morning the boys got up at 6:45 to be at the golf course by 8:15. They played at Hilton Head National. Edan was the first one up in the house and luckily our bedroom is the only one downstairs so he didn't wake anyone else up. We ate breakfast and then Edan took a fairly early nap so we could hurry up and get to the water! While Edan was napping, I slathered the older two in sunscreen and got them beach ready. It was almost like Christmas, Eli and Emma kept asking me, "When can we go, mommy?" Finally Edan woke up and we were all ready! Our house is about 1 mile from the beach, so we have the option to take a trolley and that is what we did since the boys weren't here to help us. Here we are loaded up on the trolley:Once we set up our umbrella, tents, and chairs, we were ready to play! Here are my beach babes!:

Edan absolutely LOVED the sand and the water. He was a WILD man, he crawled all over the place! I put him on the shoreline and he kept crawling toward the water, even when the waves crashed on him, he kept going for more! He thought the sand was a nice snack also, it didn't seem to bother him at all.

After a few hours, the sunscreen was rubbing off and it was time to go in for lunch. The boys got in from playing golf and while Edan was taking his 2nd nap of the day, Bradley and Jim offered to stay so Brent and I could go back with Eli and Emma. It was Bradley and Laura's night to cook and they made BBQ Spaghetti and slaw. It was so yummy! After all the pasta, we took a much needed bike ride. Here is Brent with Emma and Edan.:Today was so much fun and I can't wait until tomorrow!

There's nothing like...an island girl!

2009-06-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

This morning, our family, along with Jim, Mom, Lindsey, Randy and the Dunlap's left for Hilton Head Island. We took 4 cars and they were all loaded down with all our belongings. Here are my kiddos getting ready for the road trip ahead:Our road trip went great! Edan slept most of the morning and each of the kids had their own activity bag that had coloring books, crayons, books, and DS games. It took us 7 hrs. from Knoxville to Hilton Head. We made really good time! About 2 weeks before we left Bradley called an organizational lunch meeting and we planned what we are doing day by day. Tonight was pizza night and we ordered in one of our favs, Giuseppi's Pizza. Our place has a covered porch and we ate dinner outside tonight.

After dinner, mom surprised the girls with a new book, Goldilicious, a third sequel to Pinkalicious and Purplicious: After eating yummy stuffed pizza everyone wanted to go see the ocean! We started walking on the path to get there:

After about 1/2 mile walk we were on the beach! Here is Eli's reaction!:

and Emma's:

and Edan's:

It was a sight to see how much they loved the water! When we came 2 years ago, all the girls bought shirts to take home as souvenirs. Lindsey wanted all of us to wear them on our way down and they say....There's nothing like....and island girl! I can't wait for this week, it is going to be so much fun!

ONEderfully Sweet!

2009-05-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

On May 22nd, 2009, our sweet baby boy, Edan Brian turned ONE! He has truly blessed us beyond belief this first year. He has the sweetest and most loveable personality. I am glad we named Edan after his Uncle Brian, who passed away in 2004, he often reminds me of Brian's sweet spirit. Since this was the big 1, I wanted to have a big birthday bash for my boy. We invited many of our friends and family to celebrate with us. I decided to have the party around my mom's pool since Edan's birthday month is usually good weather and very warm(Eli and Emma's birthdays are in the dead of winter). We had a cookout with hotdogs and all the fixins, beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and chips.
When it was time to eat all the kids chose to sit in the grass and have a big "picnic".
After everyone was finished eating it was time for the birthday boy to be sung to and eat his yummy birthday cake(which was made by Sarah August): We sang to him and then I gave him his small cake to eat. He started taking little bites and after those few biteshe developed a LOVE for birthday cake! YUM-O!

As you see, the birthday cake was Edan's favorite part of his birthday party. After he demolished his cake, it was time for opening presents! Yay!

Happy 1st Birthday, Edan! We love you!

Some Bunny Loves You!

2009-04-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday morning, Eli, Emma, and Edan woke up to find baskets waiting on them! They were all so excited to see what was in their baskets. When they came down the stairs pure excitement and joy flooded their faces ! Brent put Edan in the middle of the table and his reaction was priceless! In Eli's basket was a new movie he hadn't seen, Bedtime Stories, and a bakugan and yummy candy!

Emma was happy when she saw what she had in her basket! High School Musical 3, a new Junie B. Book, and lots of candy. Here she is with her loot:

Edan also had a movie in his basket, Baby Einstein's Baby First Sounds, new bibs, a book, and all kinds of treats: raisins, baby goldfish, and yogurt nibblers.We had an exciting morning and couldn't wait for church and worship!

A St. Patty's Day Feast!

2009-03-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

For St. Patty's Day, I made one of our family favorites, Chicken Broccoli Casserole. This is Eli and Emma's most favorite thing that I make. Edan is just starting to try table food and boy did he LOVE broccoli! We first started giving him little bites

and then little bites turned into big bites!

Yum! Yum! I am so glad he LOVES broccoli like his big brother and sister!

The Chase Begins!

2009-03-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, March 3rd, our little buddy started crawling! It is so funny because Edan's first tooth came through on Saturday, he started crawling on Tuesday, and Emma got the flu on Thursday! Whew! An eventful week here at the Hodson house! Edan went for his 9 month well check on Wednesday and here are the stats:

WT: 20 lbs. 12 oz.

HT: 29 in.

He is following in his big brother's footsteps! At 6 months they weighed the exact same and at 9 months Eli was 20 lbs. 10 oz.! Eli got his first tooth and crawled at 9 months also! It is so neat! Here is my little man on the move!

Edan, you are such a big boy! And the chase begins...

Toothless Wonders

2009-02-23T06:49:00.001-08:00

It was an eventful weekend here at the Hodson house! Eli came home from school Friday and smiled really big and there was a tooth gone! He said he bit into his sandwich and out came his tooth! The bad news is he didn't make it home with it. He thinks he put it on his lunch tray,forgot about it, and dumped it. So anyway, that night, nothing was said about the tooth fairy coming. The next morning Emma was really upset that the tooth fairy didn't come so she devised a plan...Her plan was that Brent could find the tooth fairy's "number" in the phone book and if he couldn't find it, maybe he could "e-mail" her. Well, then that wasn't a perfect plan because if the tooth fairy came then that would mean that nothing would come for her. So after realizing that her plan didn't work out that great for her a few dramatic minutes took place. She finally came to terms with nothing coming to her since obviously she wasn't the one that lost the tooth! Later on that day, Brent and Emma went to get the mail in the mailbox and after retrieving it Emma's top tooth hit the mailbox lid, and guess what, out it came!!! She came running inside crying because there was blood everywhere! When she calmed down she said, "Now will the tooth fairy come see me?" I could not help but laugh because I was thinking what are the odds of her losing a tooth the very next day! And the fact that we had just spent lots of time explaining to her why the tooth fairy wasn't coming to see her!!! well, it was nearing bedtime and Eli and Emma were getting excited about leaving teeth! Since Eli's tooth was missing he decided that he would write the tooth fairy a note and stick it in his pillow. This is what it said: Dear Tooth Fairy, I lost my tooth at school so give me some money enyway. Do you like the way he spelled anyway? I said my goodness, Eli, do you think maybe you could have said please?

They spent some time putting their pillows together: And then finally they were ready to put them outside of their room in Bitty Baby's crib.

SOOO...Sunday morning the tooth fairy DID come to Eli and Emma's house! Wow! Who knew they would lose teeth within days of each other! In honor of one of Emma's friends, Junie B. Jones, Emma decided to name herself and her brother after a book title. "Now Mommy we can both be TOOTHLESS WONDERS!!!!"

Chicken and Rice Soup

2009-02-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

Here is another recipe for my favorite girlies! Hope you enjoy!

3-4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of chicken with herbs soup

1 cup Uncle Bens instant rice
4-6 cups reserved chicken broth
salt/pepper to taste
1 tbsp. parsley flakes

Boil chicken in large pot with 6-8 cups water on low heat covered for 1 hr. Let chicken cool and reserve 4-6 cups broth. Add broth and soup to crock pot(if you don't want to put it in the crock pot just use a big soup pot and put it back on the stove). Mix soup and broth. Add shredded chicken, rice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Cook on low for 4-6 hrs. If you are doing it on top of the stove cook on low heat for 30 minutes(this is how I do this soup when I am home to watch it) or until rice is tender. If you want a thinner soup add all of reserved broth(6 cups). This is really great with rolls, grilled cheese, or pb sandwich! This is what it looks like when you go to serve it!

Family Hike to Midnight Hole

2009-02-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Since it was so beautiful this weekend, Brent planned a hike for our family. We went to the Smoky Mountain National Park and did a 3 mile hike called Midnight Hole. The weather could not have been any better! It was a beautiful and clear day. It was right on the North Carolina/Tennessee border, so it took us about an hour to get there. We got there around lunch time and decided to do a picnic first! We cleaned up our food and started on the trail. Eli and Emma were thrilled to finally get to do a hike with their Daddy! Here they are walking with sticks they found on the trail:Edan had the best ride of all...He got to ride on Brent's back!

He loved, loved, loved it! Here here is basking in the sunshine!

Eli and Emma asked many questions about God creating everything. Eli said, "Emma, God even knows how many hairs are on your body and He already told me that I have 1,040." It was just awesome to listen to some of their conversations! I love to be out with them like this because it provokes such meaningful talk! Here they are walking up the trail trying to get to the top!:We stopped several times to look at something or to quench our thirst:Finally we made it and there was a beautiful view and waterfall: This is what we did when we got to the top, Emma found a good place to read her bible:

Eli enjoyed looking at the water:

Edan watched and listened to the water fall:

After a while, Edan wanted out so Brent gave him some hugs:And I was so delighted to be in the mountains hiking with all my children and my husband and actually enjoying it!

We had such a fun day sharing, laughing, and looking at all of God's amazing creation. Thank you, Brent for planning such a great family day!

Winter is "SNOW" much fun!

2009-02-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

Eli and Emma were SOOO excited when I came to get them early yesterday at school.(I was tired of waiting for school to officially let out early, so I went to get them at 11:15.) Emma came running down the hall and said, "Mrs. Day said it's snowing, it's snowing!" When we got home they couldn't wait to get out in it and play! I made them wait a little bit because Brent wanted to build a snowman with them. While we were waiting on Brent to get home, I got them all bundled up and out they went! Here is Eli and Emma making a perfect snowball to throw at me!:They worked and worked at making their snowball big. Eli kept saying to me, "I want it bigger!" Emma wasn't willing to get "down and dirty" like Eli to make her snowball. She was happy with a teeny tiny one!

After a while, Emma volunteered Eli to make her a "big one". He was so sweet to make her one like his and then they started eating them!

Edan was up while they went outside to play...It was kind of hard for me to take pictures so I put him in the exersaucer and opened the front door. Here is the happy spectator watching from afar!: Eli and Emma waited and waited on Brent to get home all day, and finally we heard his jeep pull into the neighborhood! "Daddy's home, Daddy's home!" When he pulled into the driveway, they threw the snowballs at him! As soon as they saw him, they put him to work on the snowman.:Brent, Eli, and Emma worked so hard to make the perfect snowman!They decided that the snowman was going to be a girl and we clothed her with a cute striped scarf, a camo tobaggan, heart marble eyes, a carrot for a nose, smarties for a smiley face, and more marbles for buttons. Emma, of course, had the last say so in her name....Introducing FANCY NANCY, the snowman...Fancy Nancy is such a cutie! We got Edan bundled up and brought him out to do a group shot with Fancy Nancy! It was so much fun watching Eli and Emma playing the snow. I love having them home on snow days! As for Fancy Nancy, she is still up in our front yard, but not for too long, it is supposed to be near 60 degrees this weekend!

Birthday Sleepover!

2009-01-31T04:14:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Eli and Emma had a sleepover for the first time! Since they didn't do a "friend" birthday party we decided they could do a birthday friend sleepover! They each got to choose one friend; Eli chose Clayton and Emma chose Lily.

The night started out with dinner. We had chicken and rice soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. They were all too excited to worry about eating, but I think they each ate one bowl of soup! After they ate dinner Eli and Emma were ready to open the birthday presents that Clayton and Lily brought for them! Clayton brought Eli a Bakugan Battle Brawler and Lily brought Emma a Tinkerbell Paint Pen Set. They were both super excited!

Here are the girls checking out Emma's new pens!:

After opening their gifts, Clayton brought a Wii game from his house and the boys began to play a shooting Nerf game.:

While the boys were playing on the Wii, the girls thought it would be fun to COLOR!

After a while Emma suggested that we play Twister Hopscotch, a game that Santa left for her! Brent and I thought that this game would get some energy out and tire them after a while. Boy were we wrong! This game got them hyper....hopping, singing, dancing, wiggling, it was hilarious!

They were having so much fun they all just burst out dancing! Clayton and Lily have ALL the moves!

So, it was time to settle down and get pajamas on to get ready for movie and popcorn time! Once again, Emma suggested earlier in the week that they watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. Here they are nestled in Eli and Emmas' beds.:

After the movie, Brent set up thier sleeping bags in the bonus room and I read a Berenstain Bears book to them and they tried, and tried, and tried to go to sleep! After about an hour of talking and giggling they finally drifted off to sleep and we didn't hear a peep from them all night!They all did really well! The boys heard Brent the next morning getting ready for a hiking trip so they woke up kind of early, but they hopped in bed with me and stayed quiet until the girls got up! Clayton had to leave early for a basketball game, but Lily spent the day with us and the girls had a relaxing bubble bath!:

Eli and Emma want to say thank you to Clayton and Lily for making this night so fun-filled! I hope that these friendships will last a lifetime!

Pasta Bake

2009-01-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

I love cooking for my family, especially things they really enjoy. This is one recipe that my family loves so I thought I would share it with you. It is a newer version of "baked spaghetti" and it is delicious! Here is a look at it:

Pasta Bake

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 c. diced onions(optional, I add them)

1 jar spaghetti sauce(and all the spices you normally use for the sauce: oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar

1 7 oz. pkg. elbow macaroni(or any other pasta of your choosing, Ziti would also be a good choice)

1/2 block cream cheese

3/4 - 1 cup sour cream(I don't ever measure it)

1 1/2 c. mozzerella cheese

1 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese

Boil pasta according to pkg. I always do mine al dente. In another pan cook meat and onions, drain, and put back into pan. Add 3/4 of the jar(if you like it really saucy you can add the whole jar) to the meat. Add seasonings. Mix. Drain pasta and put in a smaller 9X13 dish. Layer all of mozzerella cheese on top of pasta. Microwave cream cheese until it is a little bit melted(about 30 sec.) in a bowl. Add sour cream and mix. Layer all of sour cream mixture on top of mozz. cheese. Pour meat sauce on top and finish with all of the cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min.

And out of the oven a yummy, yet simple meal for everyone to enjoy! Eli and Emma LOVE this...

I hope you girls decide to make this! Keep the recipes coming, maybe we can start something new!

My Little Buddy is 8 Months Old!

2009-01-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that last week, January 22nd, my little buddy turned 8 months old! Wow! How time flies! Edan is doing lots of new things this month! He is mostly down to two naps a day, the first nap at 9:30 and the second at 2:00. He is on the 8, 12, 4, and depending how long the second nap is(sometimes he is in bed for the night between 6-6:30)7:oo feeding schedule. He absolutely LOVES his bottle and has been drinking 32 ounces of milk daily for the past few weeks. My little buddy still despises peas, but loves green beans and carrots. He gets oatmeal and 1 jar fruit in the a.m., 1 jar of green veggies and 1/2 jar fruit at the 12 p.m. feeding, and 1 jar orange veggies, 1/2 jar fruit mixed with oatmeal for the 4p.m. feeding, and a bottle right before bed. He is still on Prevacid for his reflux and does really well chewing up his pill. Here are some new things he has learned to do since last month:

1. Drink from a sippy cup

2. Using his pincher grasp to pick up puffs

3. No longer requires to be swaddled for sleep time, but uses a "favorite blankie" and a paci
4. Claps his hands together

5. He has tried peanut butter and loves it! Emma thought it was a great idea to give him a taste of her peanut butter sucker(that is what we call peanut butter on a spoon). I was so panic stricken I didn't get a pic, I was too busy wiping the pb out of his mouth with a wet paper towel. I now know that Edan will be a peanut butter lover just like Eli and Emma!

6. Getting more mobile and reaching for toys

7. Trys to sit up from a tummy position 8. Loves hand toys and things he can bang together! 9. A new friend for bathtime 10. I don't see any teeth yet, but our little buddy has a beautiful smile and a delightful personality! I love you, Edan Brian!

Happy Birthday Eli and Emma...Happy Birthday to you!

2009-01-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Eli and Emma's birthday this past Sunday at our house. We had some of our family and friends over to celebrate Eli's 8th and Emma's 6th birthday! We had the party at 4 so I just made three different dips and everyone's favorite, Chicken Wing Chicken! Sarah August made their delicious cake!

Emma greeted the guests at the door: Here she is with her Aunt Leanne, her bff Lily, and her Papaw:

While waiting on all our guests to arrive, Eli showed everyone his Christmas gift from Santa, the Wii!: The favorite game of the night was Mario Kart! Lilyana, Rebekah, Lindsey, and Bradley enjoyed the fun:!

Finally, everyone was here and it was time to sing, eat, and cut the cake! Eli and Emma love being sung to!:

After everyone had eaten, it was time to open presents! Eli got lots of great things! Some money, gift cards, a calendar, and some clothes!:

Emma's newest addiction is Junie B. Jones books, so her best friend Lily got her a new book entitled, Junie B. Jones is a Beauty Shop Guy, and also a Junie B. journal. Emma was shaking she was so excited. This is her opening her journal!:

When Lily had to leave Emma gave her a great big hug for such a special present!:Thank you, everyone, for coming to celebrate Eli and Emma's birthday!:

It's a Razzle Dazzle Day, It's Emma's Birthday!

2009-01-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

Today, January 6, is Emma's 6th Birthday! This morning on her first day back at school she was so excited she was shaking! We have been counting down the days to her birthday ever since Christmas! She loves days that are all about her! We love you Emma Grace and we hope your birthday is as special as you are to us! Happy 6th Birthday!

Emma's "Special Present"

2009-01-04T17:38:00.000-08:00

Well, Santa had come and gone at our house, the kids opened their presents, and it was time for one more Christmas stop, Papaw and Mamaw's house! We go there on Christmas morning for another breakfast and to open gifts with Lindsey, Bradley, Laura, and the girls. I have to give you a little background info first before I get to the main part of the story. Back in early December we were having some behavior issues with Emma and I discussed them with mom so she made up this story and told it to Emma.

Santa: Ma'am with the red sweater on...

Mom: Who me?

Santa: Yes, do you have a granddaughter named Emma?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Did she read an entire book to her whole Kindergarten class?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Was she the Super Kid last week?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Was she on the naughty list for not obeying her Daddy and Mommy a few weeks ago?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Well, you tell Emma that I am proud of her for doing so well at school and if she will keep up her good behavior at home and at school I will take her off the naughty list and bring her a special present.

Ok, so this was the story. Mom told this story to Emma and she told everyone! Even when I took her to the pediatrician, Emma told her! All of you know Emma, the socialite, she is not shy! And, she did, her behavior was great after Mom told her this story! So anyway, back to Christmas morning at Moms. We are about done with opening gifts and mom says, "Oh, Emma, there is one last gift and it says To Emma From Santa on it!" Well, Emma is smiling and giggling, and starts unwrapping the gift. Inside the gift there is a letter and it says,

Dear Emma,

You have been a very good girl since I talked to your Mamaw at the Mall. I have left your "special present" at your Mamaw's house since you love to do this there.

Love,

Santa

P.S. See you next year and keep up your good behavior!

Here is Mom reading what Santa's letter said.:

At one point, and I wish I would have gotten this on camera, Emma put her hands up over her mouth and started screaming! This is her opening her "special present!":

It is a Paula Deen Kid's Cookbook! Oh my goodness, Emma was beside herself! This is what she does when she goes to her Mamaw's house, she takes out all of her recipe books and looks at them for hours! Maybe she will be a chef when she grows up! Thank you, Mamaw, for making Emma's Christmas so special!

The Sweetest Gift

2009-01-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

I bet you girls didn't know my husband was a poet. Well, neither did I! After Eli, Emma, and Edan got through opening presents on Christmas morning, Brent said there was one last present under the tree in an envelope with my name on it. I opened it up and this is what it said:

Merry Christmas to the woman I love,
We have been so blessed this year from our God above.
He gave us a third child, a layoff, and a new job that's sweet!
It allows me to work four 10's off Fridays now that can't be beat!

So this is my special present to you from me,
Don't get your hopes up, it's not a Honda Odyssey!
This gift takes muscle, a paint brush, and probably a broom
We are finally going to make over the bonus room!

It may take some time so don't be in a hurry.
I will have to work real hard to make us some money!
Pick out the colors, the couch, and the floor,
the TV, the lamps, and all the decor.

It will be great to have a room the whole family can be,
and laugh all night at the kids playing the Wii.
I hope you like your gift to you from me,
Maybe one day I can buy you that Honda Odyssey!

Merry Christmas

I love you,
Brent

Is this not the sweetest thing you have ever read? This meant more to me that any gift he could go out and buy! You can imagine by the end of the poem I had tears running down my face! I have such a sweet husband who is so caring and thoughtful! This is what the poem looked like.:

Christmas Morning

2009-01-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

I was sure that on Christmas morning, we would be up early, but oddly enough Edan was up first! We had to wake Eli and Emma up at 7:30! I told them I was going to downstairs to see if Santa had been here and indeed, he came to our house! This is them waiting patiently while I took a quick peek at Santa's trail:While they were sitting on the steps, I told them"Santa's Been Here!" This is Eli and Emma's first reaction to what they saw!:

Here is Eli checking out what Santa left for him!:

A Wii! How fun! Santa pulled through on one of the three gaming systems Eli had on his Christmas list! Next, was...

New Bakugan Battle Brawlers! Santa also brought Eli a new Star Wars book and a case for his Nintendo DS. Eli's stocking consisted of a Wall-E electric toothbrush and Star Wars underwear. Emma was thrilled when she saw what Santa left for her!:

Santa left Emma some of her favorite things! Books(Fancy Nancy and Junie B. Jones) and a wheel of crayons and markers! Emma's stocking consisted of a Hello Kitty electric toothbrush and some High School Musical panties! She was beyond excited! Edan was suprised to see his new toys!:

Santa left him a cute Tugboat bath toy and a Dunk and Cheer Basketball Goal! He loves it! When he pushes the rim down it plays music! Santa also left Edan some sippy cups and new paci's in his stocking. At Amherst Elementary they do a Holiday shop for the children. Eli and Emma both "shopped" and got each other something: Eli got Emma a pen that said #1 Sister on it! She loved it and gave Eli a big hug. She says this was her favorite Christmas present!:I didn't get a picture of the Speed Racer Ball that Emma got for Eli. They were both so thoughtful in picking out their gifts for one another! Eli also got Brent a #1 Dad trophy from the shop. This was a wonderful Christmas with our three children. Thank you, Lord for all your blessings in 2008!

Santa's Comin'!

2009-01-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

After visiting three different places on Christmas Eve, we were finally back home to get ready for Santa! Edan was terribly tired so he didn't participate in the cookies and reindeer food. Eli and Emma made some cookies at the pajama party and they each picked a cookie for Santa. Here they are taking the cookies to the fireplace.:Eli wanted to make sure the cookies were just right on the plate.:

After getting two cookies arranged perfectly on the plate they were ready to set it beside the fireplace.:

Ok, so now we were ready for the magic reindeer food that we made at Eli's Christmas party at school. At this point, they were just getting so silly and excited! Here is Eli almost delirious with excitement!:

Before we went outside to sprinke the reindeer food, they jumped up in Brent's lap, they thought they heard bells outside!:

After Brent and I convinced Eli and Emma that it wasn't Santa they were ok to go outside and sprinkle the food.:

So, finally the cookies were all in place, the reindeer could find our "sparkly" front yard, and it was time to get Eli and Emma to go to sleep! Now, this could be a little difficult. They started out in their own beds, but after a while Eli got into Emma's bed! He wanted to sleep with her! How sweet! Brent and I decided to go ahead and let them sleep together. Here they are in Emma's twin size bed!:

I loved seeing them this way! After a while they stopped whispering and finally drifted off to sleep. It was going on 11:30! When I didn't hear them anymore, I went back in to their bedroom and they had all the blankets and covers over their head! Eli and Emma were nestled all snug in their bed while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads!

EIGHT is GREAT!

2008-12-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

Today, December 31, 2008 is Eli's 8th birthday! It feels just like yesterday we were driving this 7 pd. baby home in the snow in Brent's jeep. I remember how surreal it felt. I am trying to write this post without crying and it is really difficult! They are happy tears! God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams! We love you Eli and our prayer for you is that you would become a man after God's own heart! Happy 8th Birthday!

I will praise the Lord with my whole heart. Psalm 111: 1a

Christmas Eve Brunch

2008-12-30T06:29:00.001-08:00

For the last few years, we have gone to David and Brenda's house for a Christmas Eve Brunch. This is just our Christmas with David, Brenda, Pat, Leanne, and the boys. I made French Toast Casserole and Brenda did a yummy new recipe called Breakfast Bake(for any of you girls that get the Kraft Food and Family magazine, it is in the latest winter edition). We also had biscuits, eggs, and bacon. We ate breakfast while Edan took his morning nap. After he woke up we proceeded with opening gifts. We start from the oldest to the youngest so Eli went first:Air Jordan Shoes! Woohoo! He was super excited. For some reason these shoes were at the top of his Christmas list!! Next was Jake:

We got him a backpack bible! Jake had seen Eli's before and when Brent was around he would ask him for a bible. After Jake realized what it was he was so happy! This was his reaction:

Next, Emma:

Wow! Some zebra slippers! Aunt Leanne picked out the perfect thing for her! Next, was Max and Pappy and Granna got him a Mickey Mouse racing game. Next, was Edan:

Yay! A Sit and Cruise Musical Jungle! This was his reaction!:

We scared him when we started clapping for him! I had to take the picture! It is priceless! Jake and Eli were excited about getting the same game for their Nintendo DS's. Here they are trying to figure out their new game.:

Edan was happy after we put his toy together. It has a elephant, a monkey, and a hippo that all do different things. It plays music and he loves that!:

What a wonderful way to start out Christmas Eve morning! Eli and Emma have great grandparents and they love them so much!

Edan is 7 months old!

2008-12-29T05:07:00.001-08:00

Edan turned 7 months old on December 22nd. He is doing well with his baby food ever since we started Prevacid. We are up to 1 whole pill a day. He likes most food(he despises peas and is just now taking a liking to bananas). He still loves his milk and his bottle. He takes about 26 oz. daily. His paci and blankie are his best friends when he naps. He naps 3 times a day and does very well going to sleep, he lays down and can soothe himself. He is also doing well sleeping at nighttime. We will normally have to go into his room twice a night to put his paci back in but he just rolls over and goes back to sleep. I will be glad when he can find his paci on his own! He is very laid back and LOVES Eli and Emma! They can get him to laugh and smile like no other! My favorite time is when I am driving and all the sudden Edan bursts out cackling because of something his brother or sister has done! He is sitting without support and loves blocks and hand toys.:
Edan is babbling some...mostly just squealing trying to get someone's attention! He is working on his pincher grasp, I got him some puffs over Christmas and the first day he seemed to like them but since them is gagging on them some. We will keep working on that! Edan is such a sweet baby. He is very content and is only fussy when he is sleepy, hungry, or needs a diaper change. I love his smile and I love him very much!

All I Want For Christmas

2008-12-28T12:35:00.001-08:00

About a month ago, Emma fell and her bottom two teeth became loose. I didn't want to rush and pull them because I knew her permanent teeth weren't ready to come in. Anyway, on December 23rd, she came running to me and one of her teeth on the bottom was literally hanging by a thread. She wanted me to pull it, so this is her before with her teeth: She sat very calmly and let me explain to her how I was going to get the tooth out:I started to wiggle it and move it around:

So, I said, "Ok Emma, here it comes", I went in for one and two came out! I thought she would cry or wimper but nothing, she was so brave!

She was a little nervous of all the blood; her face shows it!

I was really proud of her so I gave her a big hug!:
It was neat because Emma got to use the same tooth fairy pillow that I used when I was a little girl! That night we had a Christmas party and Emma was racking up on the money! I think she collected $10...when she woke up the next morning the tooth fairy left her $2! She went to Target and used it for Junie B. Jones chapter books! It was a little strange seeing her without her teeth...she isn't old enough yet!!!

Pajama Party

2008-12-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

On December 19, Eli, Emma, and Edan went to David and Brenda's house for their annual Christmas Overnight Pajama Party! This was Edan's first time away overnight so I was a bit anxious, but he did fantastic! After dinner, they were on a mission to decorate cookies and make rice krispie squares. The cookies were piled high with sprinkles and icing! It looks like Jake and Eli had a hard time putting the icing on the cookie!: It looks like Emma and Max were more concerned with decorating perfect cookies!:While Eli, Emma, Jake, and Max were making their treats, Edan was playing with a car and watching!:After they finished with the sweets, they piled up in the middle of the floor and watched the movie Elf. It looks like Brenda is wondering what she got herself into!:

Eli, Emma, and Edan had such a great time! The next night we were putting Emma to bed and she started crying and said she missed Granna's house! I am glad that they have such a great time with their cousins!:

Thank you Pappy and Granna for such a fun-filled night! It was especially nice because Brent and I were able to have a date/shopping night!

Christmas #1

2008-12-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas #1(it is pretty bad when you number them, or it could be good because we have such a large family!) was on December 22nd with my Dad, Grandad, Bradley, Laura, and the girls, and some other really great friends of the family. I cooked dinner and we opened presents at our house. We don't see my grandad very often but when we do, Emma is in love with him! I made a cranberry apricot pork loin with green beans, squash casserole, spinach maria, corn, and Kristi brought a pea salad. It was yummy and a great way to start off our Christmas festivities! After the scrumptious dinner we opened gifts! Kristi brought Emma a beautiful cross, and made Edan a blanket just like she did for Eli and Emma. It has safari animals on it and will be perfect in his room! Eli was excited about his transformer!:
My dad brought each one a bag with their name on it. It was stuffed with fun things; crayons, puzzles, candy, and books. Lilyana had so much fun..she climbed into a gift bag!

Edan and Rebekah didn't know what to think about all the paper and bags! They were loving it!

We had so much fun visiting with my Dad and Grandad. We hope to do it again really soon!

Christmas Luncheon

2008-12-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

On December 13, we went to a Christmas Luncheon at Vicki's house. She makes everything so special with food, carriage rides, and a special surprise visitor. Eli, Emma, and Edan were excited about going to their Aunt Vicki's house. They looked so cute!: While we were waiting on the special visitor, we waited outside to go on a carriage ride. This is us on the carriage:

After the ride, all the children were waiting on SANTA to arrive. We waited in Vicki's front lawn, here is Emma and Lilyana waiting patiently:

After waiting and waiting and waiting(Santa got lost) Santa FINALLY came! He drove up Vicki's long driveway in a convertible white car. All the children greeted him with hugs. Here is Emma giving Santa a big welcome hug:

All the children were SOOO excited that he finally came, they followed him in and offered him all kinds of sweet treats. He made his way into the living room with his elf. The elf called the kids up one by one, here is Eli, Emma, and Edan sitting on Santa's lap.:

This was such a fun day! After Santa talked with all the children he said his goodbyes. Emma decided at the last minute to give Santa one more gigantic hug and wished him a Merry Christmas! She was so sweet to him!

PRAISE HIM!

2008-12-19T12:15:00.000-08:00

I stand amazed and humbled at the generosity of our friends and family during this trial our family has been going through the last 3 months. Now that we are coming out of it, I can reflect back and see how amazing God's power and timing is. We truly have been surrounded with love, not only by our Lord, but by our precious friends and loved ones. This week, Brent was offered a position at Omega, a subcontracting business for Y-12 in Oak Ridge. This job has been in the works for several weeks now, but it is finally a for sure thing! He accepted the position and his first day was Wednesday! Praise the Lord! I am not going to lie to you, these last few months have been very difficult and rocky at times, but only by God's grace have we been able to have His perfect peace and rest. We want to thank our LifeGroup again for the generous Christmas gift. Our party was the December 12th and our home mortgage came out the 15th. The amount our LifeGroup gave us was $20 dollars short of the what our mortgage is. It only reassured us again, that God knows all, He knew how much we needed and that is what we got. This was a prayer answered and God provided us with what we needed!! Thank you, Lord! We have had several people leave us cash, gift cards, taken us grocery shopping, sent us encouragement cards, countless meals paid for, given us food, formula, and diapers for the baby, but most importantly, prayed for us. I could go on and on about how God has used people and different situations to speak, minister, and provide for our family. Just this week, some of our precious friends brought us a Walmart gift card that was desperately needed for groceries. I can honestly say that even though this has been a trying time, we have drawn close to God and depended on him for EVERYTHING! This is where we should all be on a daily basis...God has a way of showing us that we need Him, not only for the big things, but also for small things. Again, during this Christmas season, we want to thank everyone for thier unfailing love, undeniable generosity, and unselfish giving. Oh, how Christ must be blessed!

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:3-4

Santa Baby

2008-12-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

This is Edan's first Christmas so I had to get him a Santa suit! He looks so adorable in it! Eli and Emma think he is hilarious! Here he is in front of the Christmas tree:I think he is the cutest little Santa I have ever seen!!!

My Little Monkey...Sits Up!

2008-12-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

Edan is sitting up! He still uses his hands for support, but he is getting the hang of it!He starts to get tired and lose his balance. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I couldn't catch him before he fell, well I guess I could have if I wasn't taking pictures! Anyway, he managed to get back on his tummy and before long he was happy Edan again!

Edan LOVES his Sissy!

2008-12-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

Edan loves his big sister, Emma! She is so good to him. Whatever he is doing she wants to join in. If he is on him tummy, she wants to be on her tummy!: Emma even wants to be Edan' s sitting up "coach"! "I can teach him, Mommy" is what she says!:Emma is super sweet to her little brother. She adores him and I know he is crazy about her too!

It's Beginning to look alot like Christmas!

2008-12-05T09:11:00.000-08:00

This year instead of having two different trees for Eli and Emma, we did a combined tree in the bonus room. This tree consists of handmade ornaments they have made over the years, their baby's first year ornaments, and a different array of red and green ornaments. This is Eli and Emma sorting out the ornaments for the tree:While they were sorting through the ornaments, Edan got a hold of the lights! He was fascinated by all the colors!Even though both the boys were sick(Edan had pink eye and an ear infection, and Eli had a fever and coughing)they were still excited about getting their tree together! Here is Eli putting an ornament on the tree:and Emma:and Edan:

He loved looking at the lights and all the pretty ornaments. This is him gazing into the tree!:

Eli, Emma, and Edan love their tree! We have it up on a trunk and in front of a window! This is the finished product!:

Fantasy of Trees

2008-12-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

This was our 2nd annual trip to the Fantasy of Trees as a family. We went on Black Friday so it was really crowded. Eli and Emma were sooo excited because their school, Amherst Elementary, decorated a tree. Emma actually made one of the ornaments for the tree. This is her picking out "her ornament":

Eli and Emma were given $4.oo each to pick the activites that they wanted to do. They both picked the same things. They went to the Santa hat booth first:

Then they went to the Jingle Bell ornaments. This was cute because they could draw on the bell. It was messy because the pen was a sharpie!

While Eli and Emma were at the different booths Edan was getting some love from his Papaw!:
Edan loves his papaw sooo much! Since Eli and Emma did an ornament for their tree, I thought Edan could do one too! So here we go to the thumbprint ornament booth! This is Edan putting his thumbprint on a snowflake ornament:

His thumbprint looks like a big smear! Oh well, it will be a special ornament on their tree!

The most fun that Eli, Emma, and Edan had was on the carousel. They wanted to ride it over and over again! Edan and I rode on a bench. He liked it!

After we had fun on the carousel we took a tour around the gingerbread houses. They were truly amazing. Brent said we should try to do a fancy one this year instead of buying the boxed set. By the end of the night we were tired, but the boys wanted to go and see the train. Here is Randy, Eli, and Edan in the caboose of the train:

I love the Fantasy of Trees! It is a great way to get in the spirit of Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-30T10:47:00.000-08:00

I have so many blessings to be thankful for; my health, my sweet husband, my beautiful children, and my loving family. Our Thanksgiving dinners start the week before and don't end until the Saturday after. We go to 5 different dinners with all different people. I take mac-and-cheese to all 5(I am sick of making macaroni and cheese!) These pictures were taken on actual Thanksgiving Day at my Aunt Vicki's house. This is my mom's side of the family. We gathered at 12 to eat yummy deep fried turkey, ham, and all the fixins(I like the sweet pototo casserole!) This is my mom, Vicki, and cousin Kelly going through the line:

Eli and Emma sat at the kid's table; they sat with Anna, Olivia, Kinley, and Kanyn:

It has been a while since Edan, Rebekah, and Mayson have seen each other. Edan has passed them up! Look at how much they have grown!

Edan was all tuckered out from so many smiles he had to take a snooze:

Mayson and Emma looked so cute in their matching fall plaid!

I love being with family. They are so special to me! This Thanksgiving made me realize how thankful I am to have such a great family!

Edan is 6 months old!

2008-11-26T19:12:00.000-08:00

Wow! Our baby is 6 months old! He is rolling over both ways, trying to sit up, and loving his big brother and sister! They are the best entertainment! He is truly the best baby, he has the sweetest disposition(much like who he is named after, his Uncle Brian). He loves kicking and making noise in the bathtub. Here is a picture of happy Edan in the tub: He learned this trick from his Aunt Lindsey:

Edan likes to play on his tummy. Eli or Emma will run out of the room and come back in and he thinks it is sooo funny!

He started squash on his actual 6 month birthday, November 22. He liked it ok...since then we have started carrots and he LOVES them, but this is him eating squash...

Here are the stats from his checkup:

Weight: 17 lbs. 12 oz.

Height: 26 3/4 inches

Dr. Feld said that he was very healthy and a very content baby! We love you SOOO much Edan Brian!

Birthday Boy

2008-11-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

I was working on Brent's actual birthday, so we had a special birthday party for him at home a day later. Eli and Emma made special cards for him and setup a gift spot for him at the table. It was so sweet to see how excited they were! This is what Brent came home to:

Eli's idea was to get him a balloon and tie it around Maple Nut Goodies(Brent's favorite candy). He couldn't wait to give him...

Emma knows her Daddy loves coffee(especially Starbucks), so her gift was a gift card to the best coffee place in Knoxville! Everyone knows Brent's heart for Africa, so I had a picture enlarged and framed from his latest trip to West Africa:

He said it was one of the best gifts I have ever gotten him! I was happy to surprise him! I got a cookie cake for him and put one row of 3 candles and another row of 2 candles. We sang Happy Birthday to him and he, Eli, and Emma made a wish and blew out the candles!

It was such a great family night with a yummy dinner and birthday celebration! Happy 32nd Birthday Brent! This is him with our three little cuties:

Safety City Field Trip

2008-11-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

Brent chaperoned Eli 's 2nd grade class on a field trip to Safety City. Safety City is a place where children learn about fire and traffic safety. The field trip consisted of a tour of the "city":

Eli learned about traffic safety and got to drive a car. Scary!! Brent said he did good and followed the rules. It looks like to me he is having a little too much fun!!!!

Eli had fun on his first field trip this year. He loved his Daddy going with him and meeting all his friends!

Disney on Ice

2008-11-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

David and Brenda surprised Eli and Emma with tickets to Disney on Ice! They were so excited to see Jake and Max! Eli and Jake sat together:

Emma and Max are best buddies and couldn't wait for the show to start! I love Max's smile:

David was a push over and all Emma had to do was ask for cotton candy and they all got some!

Eli and Emma enjoyed the show so much! Eli especially liked Syndrome and the Incredibles:

Emma liked the parade of characters, especially Cinderella! She wished all the princesses were there! The cotton candy made up for it, though!

Thank you Pappy and Granna for making Eli and Emma's day! This was so much fun!

LifeGroup Bonfire

2008-11-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Our LifeGroup Bonfire was Saturday, November 1st. While we were getting ready for the bonfire, Emma wanted to sit on Papaw's tractor and pretend like she was mowing. Here is little tiny Emma on Papaw's big tractor:

While I was taking Emma's picture, Eli wanted me to come over where he was. He kept saying "Look, Look!" When I finally got to him he found a new little friend. He named it Remy.

Remy was a cute little mouse...Brent and Eli took a liking to him, they wanted to take him home as a pet, I said, "NO WAY!!!"

It was a perfect day for a bonfire, clear and a little chillly. We roasted hot dogs and yummy smores:

All the kids had such a fun time running and playing. The boys played tag and football, while the girls got busy eating and staying warm. Emma and Kiersten loved the hot dogs!

Brent worked really hard to make everything just perfect. He made a "backdrop" for every family. Here is our family:

This night was filled with fun and fellowship with our friends!