Fact.

When life gets too hard, I crawl inside of myself in search of respite.

Snow. Again. Weird.

Snow. Tornado. Snow again. I told you the weather has been weird. Today we had the biggest, fattest snowflakes I've ever seen, and they were BEAUTIFUL. I must get a better camera so I can capture my memories with a little more clarity. While we're on the topic, I've been a little 'under the weather' myself. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon so that I will be able to resume my blogging... and working... and well, just living in general.

Twist & Shout

We had a tornado touchdown in Huntsville last night. It was definitely too close for comfort and a little uncharacteristic for this time of year. Snow 2 weeks ago, and tornadoes this week. It's just weird. It also formed very quickly... so quickly that the sirens didn't even go off. Just plain weird. weird and scary. Sean called from work and said that the tornado was confirmed on the ground. I flipped on the news and saw my neighborhood listed on the storm tracker. MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I looked at the clock. I had 6 minutes, so I threw the kids in the car and headed north. There was no rain. No hail. Just an eerily green sky and ominous clouds. I drove around the storm. Oddly a drop of rain never touched the car, and then we headed home. I thought of all of the things that I would miss if my house was destroyed when I returned. But then I realized that they were just that... just things. I had my babies with me, and they are truly all that I treasure. The tornado was on the ground for about 4 miles and then dissipated before reaching our home. I've caught myself several times today whispering prayers of gratitude. My heart is just so full and my spirit so humbled. I took nothing for granted today. I fell asleep thanking God for my bed. my sheets. my toothbrush. my snoring hubby. I am blessed, but not just with things; I am blessed with love and with people to love, and to me, there is no greater gift.

Teeter Totter

Sean watched Maddi the other day while I was at work, and when I came to pick her up she was walking! She'd been cruising around the furniture and taking a few steps and then plopping down for the last couple of months, but now she's teeter tottering around on her own. Sean taught both kids how to walk. What can I say... he's such an amazing dad... or maybe I just cradle them way too much so they don't have the opportunity to walk when I'm around. ;) Either way, I'm happy that she's growing and learning, and I am thoroughly enjoying walking around everywhere at a snail's pace [insert elated frustration here].

Merry go round

A little more of our MLK Day fun...
PS. Next time Drew will be riding the tea cup ALONE. Although he thought it was absolutely hilarious to see mommy turn green. :/

MLK day

We had the BEST day yesterday! It seems like all we've done is work, work, work, so to celebrate Drew's day off of school, we decided to take the morning off & play. It was gorgeous outside, so we decided to go walk around Bridgestreet. We had a gift card that we used up & then Drew picked a movie for us to watch. So after a morning of sunshine & Chipmunks the Squeakquel, I'm feeling refreshed, relaxed, & totally in love with my babies.

Love You Nee Naw

My mind has been so full... so many thoughts bouncing around, and the only way to fix it is to dump it out onto paper, so here we go...
My great grandmother died on Sunday. She was born on June 20, 1908, to the late Albert Lee and Eulalia F. Watters. She had 3 daughters, 1 son, 21 grandchildren, 71 great-grandchildren, and 9 great-great-grandchildren. Quite the legacy huh?
It seems that when I find out that someone has died, the first feeling that comes to me is regret. I always wish I had been able to see them one more time, take one more photograph, send one more card. I wish Nee Naw would have been able to meet Maddi. We have amazing pictures after Drew was born of all 5 generations, and unfortunately Maddi won't have that same gift.
With my regret, I also have amazing memories to keep in my heart. I remember as a child going to visit her in Smyrna, GA. My grandma took me and my cousin to spend a few days there, and I felt so grown up on our girls weekend! While we were there, Nee Naw showed me things around her house... little trinkets and the family bible, and she took the time to tell me about each item... what it was, where it came from... I heard stories of people I never knew... people that had died long before I was born, but they became real to me through her stories. She fostered a desire inside of me to know more about the generations that had come before me. She helped me realize that I was here only because of the joys and struggles of my ancestors.
Nee Naw lived in Huntsville for a while, and I was able to visit her more often then. She always impressed me by being beautifully dressed with lipstick and pearls on even if she planned on sitting in her sunroom all day. I always admired her confidence, strength, intelligence, and whit. She was a firecracker, but she was also generous and kind, and helped me see through my mistakes to the beautiful potential that lay before me.
Nee Naw had a little tradition of making baby gifts. She made a blanket for me when I was born, and blankets for both of my children. I still have them all, and am so grateful for these special keepsakes. Now, I can still wrap my babies in her love when I cradle them to sleep at night. I guess mourning means being able to see through the regret so that we are able to cherish the memories of our loved ones. Love you Nee Naw.

Ah-Choooooooo

Our dog has sneezing fits. Yes, he even does the whole Ahhh, Ahhh, ahhhh-chooooo. Drew thinks its HILARIOUS. I hate having to disinfect the house when he's done.

Jump

Sean's brother's got Drew a trampoline for Christmas... an amazing present from some AMAZING Uncles. Drew has jumped on it every single day. rain. shine. snow. freezing cold. Nothing has deterred him from his daily ritual.
I love seeing him so happy out there, and I absolutely love that it has nets so I don't have to stalk him from the window while he's outside jumping.

Snow Days

It snowed.... again. They shut down all of the schools, bridges, overpasses, and county roads. On day #4 of being cooped up inside, am I the only one who's house looks like this? :/

Peek-a-Boo

Just Dance Baby

Have I mentioned that my little girl LOVES music?
Sorry the videos are sideways again. One day I'll learn how to properly utilize the features on my camera.



I have NO IDEA where she learned the pelvic thrust. lol. ;)

Big Dog = HUGE Mess

I tried to sleep in yesterday (mistake number 1). I didn't feel well, so, like any good mom, I tried to catch an extra thirty minutes of sleep while the kids watched cartoons. When I got up to check on the kids, I was greeted by a crime scene. It literally looked like someone had been murdered in my home. There was blood splattered EVERYWHERE. I ran to the babies... they were okay... hmmm.... then I heard a thump, thump, thump, and spun around to see the culprit vigorously wagging his tail and batting his big brown eyes.
Let me pause here to tell you:
I dread winter. When it gets below 60 degrees our dog (a 100 pound, Great Dane, beast of a dog) starts chattering his teeth, attempting to pull at my heart strings and gain entrance into the home. It's not that I particularly dislike our dog, it's just that I ALWAYS end up cleaning his massive messes.... oh, and he's so huge that he can man handle me with one paw.
Okay... back to the gore. I sat in astonishment for a few seconds, staring at the massacre and tried to decide where to start. I finally decided to stop the gushing blood before I attempted to clean anything up.
After searching his entire body, the result: he was so excited to be inside that he had wagged his tail nonstop for the past 12 hours. His 3 foot long, wiry tail beat against everything in sight until it had become raw and started to bleed. He continued to wag his tail slinging blood everywhere. Gross.
The conclusion: many hours of cleaning, and a dog that Drew says now looks like a rattle snake.