Goofin' Off!
















Hayden some how got a hold of this weird looking hat thing. He thinks he's pretty funny when he wears it on his head. What a hoot! Of course, Delaney had to get in on the action too!

On the Move Again...

Well, the beautiful house we are living in has sold. Nobody thought it would happen so soon but they close on this one the 29th of January. So, for the last three days we have done nothing but look for houses. We haven't had too much luck yet...feeling the pressure of having to find a place ASAP doesn't help. We've found a few possibilities, but its hard to know if they are the right place for us. We are just praying for direction and wisdom. We know the perfect home is out there, we hopefully we find it soon!

Good Night Sweetheart

Scott didn't think I should put this on my blog...but it is so cute, how could I not?

Poor Miss Delaney has been without a bed of her own since we moved. The crib we used for Hayden broke during our first move to Lubbock so when Delaney came along, we used a cradle that some friends let us borrow. We really need to get her a crib, but until then, she is sleeping in our room in the bottom drawer of the dresser. She doesn't mind...she's quite cozy in there! And cute, too!

Hey Jen, recognize this blanket? I think it's yours! I found it in one of our boxes...sorry!

Lovin' the Veggies

Hayden’s biggest wish came true last night. We spent the evening with Bob and Wae-wee (i.e. Larry)! Yes…we went to see the Veggie Tales Live tour. We had awesome front row seats! We were so close in fact, that Hayden was terrified at first. The veggie characters were huge and came right to the edge of the stage, I thought Hayden was going to climb right over us. He slowly got used to them and by the second half of the show, he loved it! By the end, he was out of our laps in front dancing around. I was surprised he knew all the characters names (even some I couldn’t remember!). Afterwards, we had a backstage pass and got to meet Bob and Larry. He didn’t enjoy that part too much. He was very scared. The rest of the night he called him “Scary Bob.” He must not have been too scared though, because this morning he woke up asking to watch the “Bob moo-ee.”

The Last Month...

I feel like it has been so long since I've been able to get on-line! Finally I can write an update for my lonely blog. Although, I’m not sure where to begin…I’ll just give the long and short of the last month.

November 8^th – We loaded up the BIG truck and said goodbye to our friends in Lubbock. It was bitter-sweet, but we were looking ahead to the exciting future God had prepared us for in Arkansas. We didn’t arrive to Springdale until the 9^th, so one the way, we found a cheap hotel to stay in (you know how those can be). Hayden was very sick that night and woke up the next morning with an exploded diaper ALL over him and his bed. Not fun.

November 9^th – We arrived at our new home in Springdale and it is beautiful! A sweet family in our new church here has been trying to sell their home and in the mean time has offered to let us rent it from them. It is a very nice four bedroom home and the best part about it is they left it completely furnished. We could have come with just the clothes on our backs and been perfect. God is so good! And the best part, the worship ministries from both churches filled our fridge, pantry and gave us a gift card to Wal-Mart! Thank you! P.S. I told you that Hayden had been sick the night before, right? Well, we were so excited to see the inside of our house for the first time and right when we walked through the front door, Hayden threw up all over the floor. Nice. Luckily it was not carpet, so the clean up was easy.

November 14^th (Five days after we move in) – Hayden woke up around 7:30 am. One thing about this house is it has the handle door knobs that you push down to open the door. They are very pretty looking…they are also very easy for Hayden (who is two, remember) to open. I did not know he was awake until he came into our room and said “messy.” I then chased him out of my room to a pile of white mess on the carpet. Once I put my contacts in, I realized the extent of what “messy” meant. Hayden had gotten into the pantry in the kitchen, grabbed a bag of powdered sugar, carried it into the living room and dumped it all over the carpet. He had obviously been playing in it for quite a while because he was covered from head to toe and it was packed into the carpet. Here’s the best part, the day before, our vacuum broke so I had no way to clean it up. For two days we had to avoid a pile of powdered sugar in the middle of the living room until we could borrow a vacuum from a friend.

November 22^nd – Charis came over and spent the night because I was home alone (with the kiddos, of course). Scott went to the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game with Josh…don’t worry, I’m not jealous. We had a great time cooking Thanksgiving food ALL NIGHT! We made pumpkin cheesecakes, apple pie, cranberry salad with a cream cheese middle layer, turkey sausage stuffing with apples and cranberries, butternut squash casserole (always a favorite), apple orchard punch and two cheese balls (wink, wink to Charis). YUM-O!

November 23^rd – We went to Mamaw and Papaw’s house for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a lot of fun and a lot of good food! Hayden had the best time wrestling around with his cousins! I think he has a new best friend!

November 25^th – Scott and I were on our way to do some Christmas shopping when we came across a garage sale. I bought a 7.5 foot pre-lit (white lights) Christmas tree ($5.00!), a large wreath ($1.00!), a box full of new-looking books for Hayden ($2.00) and a chandelier ($1.00). I know…I don’t need a chandelier, but who could pass it up? It was beautiful, just like new and only a buck!! All that stuff for under 10 dollars. That never happens to me!

November 28^th – We put our tree up! It looks so little in this big house of ours…but finally it feels like Christmas. And, I bought Febreze that smells like Christmas…yum! I love this time of year! We thought we would check out the after Christmas sales to try and get a good deal on a bigger tree for next year.

December 1^st – We got our first snow today! It wasn’t much, but it was pretty! Boy, is it cold! Scott and I went to Hobby Lobby today and got some fun stuff for Christmas. Everything was half-off! We picked up some stockings (a pink one for Laney, of course), cute stocking hangers for the mantle, some retro lights for Scott’s tree downstairs and a tree skirt. I love when Hobby Lobby has what I want on sale!

December 3^rd – We had our Christmas concert this afternoon. Because the church has been without a worship pastor, they decided to do music they already knew this year. There were several songs and Scott and I have been listening to them NON-STOP so we could learn them for the big day. It was a lot to learn but we did it and the performance was great! Everyone did a fantastic job and we had a great time!

Well, that sums up the month I’ve been away. I’ve missed you all! It’s good to be back!

Trick-Or-Treat

Despite the packing madness going on around here, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go out and get some pure hype-you-up, make-you-bounce-off-the-walls, sugar-filled candy, right? Just what we need around here. A two year old who can’t sit still. We dressed up in our favorite character (Superman) and hit the streets. Scott took Hayden over to the house of a sweet family in our church and they loaded him up! He decided to hit a few more houses in their neighborhood until he came to one house where a guy wearing a demon mask jumped out from behind his door and scared Hayden so bad, Scott had to chase him down the street! You know, that just ruins it for me. Its fun until somebody has to take it to the next level, dress like a demon and scare my little boy. What’s with that?

What's Up, Chuck?

Hayden has had a bad infection in his eye, so he has been on antibiotics. He loves to take his medicine, or “mae-sin” and usually is the one to remind me that he hasn’t had it a while. Last night, he decided he wanted some more. He pushed the chair to the counter and grabbed the bottle of amoxicillin. Somehow (not sure how because it’s supposed to be child-proof) he got the lid off and drank the rest of it. He then ran to Scott (who was on the phone), gave him the bottle and said “gone-gone.” Scott immediately got off the phone and we called poison control. They said he would be okay, that he had only had about a fourth of what they would consider a “dangerous amount,” but that his stomach would probably be upset. Well, they were right. At about 1:00 am, it began. Diarrhea, throwing-up…the works. It’s the first time he has really “thrown-up.” It was all over! All over me, the bed, the carpet, the bedroom door…everywhere. Scott got up and helped me. He took the bed sheets and blankets to the wash, got several wet towels for me and then held Hayden while I cleaned up the mess. Hayden let loose a few more times until it was all out of his system. He laid down on Daddy's lap and slowly fell asleep while Scott stroked his hair. It was a long night, but it's over and we all made it through. This morning, he woke up hungry for cereal with “mlk.” What a trooper!

Picture Day, Again

Well, we got the proofs back from our family pictures. The ones of the whole family turned out pretty good. However, the ones with the two kids and Laney by herself didn’t turn out as good. The photo place offered to retake the pictures at no additional charge, so we tried that. Yesterday we went to have them redone. Laney was in a sweet mood and making some cute faces, until…

Everyone was trying to get her to smile and Hayden thought he would try too. He accidentally scratched her face and she started screaming. She had a big red scratch from her forehead, in-between her eyes and down her nose. It started to bleed a little. I picked her up, calmed her down and then was able to sort-of cover it with make-up. By this time Hayden was getting tired and restless. (He hadn’t been feeling very well, anyway.) We were going to do one more picture of the two of them before taking the ones of Laney by herself. So, Hayden was seated in a big chair and Laney was supposed to sit in his lap. Only, when she got close to him, he took both hands, grabbed her cheeks and started quickly scratching over and over again. I have never seen him be so defiant while purposely hurting her. She started screaming inconsolably. Hayden was taken to the bathroom for a spanking from Daddy. Needless to say, after that we were done taking pictures (since our poor baby girl had scratches literally all over her little face). And I had to reschedule, yet again. Now we are going back on Monday to get hers done, once her face has had time to clear up a little.

Here are some of the proofs we received...

Photo Fun

We got family pictures today. For those of you who know me…that is a BIG deal! I haven’t gotten the proofs yet, hopefully I will be able to post them. Hayden did so well the entire two hours we were there. I was very proud! I was sure he wasn’t going to want to sit still, especially when the lady kept putting him in different positions…but he responded really well to her and did everything she asked. And then, on top of that, he actually smiled! Now Delaney…she wasn’t so cooperative. She would not smile at all! We tried everything. Then, after the first hour she started to cry and did not want anything to do with sitting or laying anywhere. I tried to feed her to calm her down and make her happy but all that did was put her to sleep…and she was OUT! We could not wake her for anything. Oh well…you just never know when it comes to taking pictures, I guess. I took a few shots of her when we got home (after she woke up from her coma) because she was in a cute mood (of course…now she is!). It was nice to have her out of her brace for a while today. She is only supposed to be out for up to one hour each day. Okay…so we went a little long today. I’ll be so glad when she doesn’t have to wear it anymore. For her sake, too…she does not like that thing!

Oh, by the way...can't you really see her red hair in this picture!? I told you it was turning red! Ha!

The Next Chapter

What a day today was. Hard to put it into words, but here it goes...

About three months ago, Scott received a call from Dr. Ronnie Floyd, the Pastor of First Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas. They are without a worship pastor and he was interested in pursuing Scott for the position. After much prayer and discussion, we decided that not exploring the possibility of it would be wrong. So, Scott traveled to NWA a couple times and then last month, our whole family went.

This has been a very long and difficult journey for me. (For Scott too, but this is my blog...so I'm sharing from my heart my own experience.) In the beginning I agreed with Scott that we needed to pursue this opportunity until we felt God telling us no. Who are we to determine it is not God’s will for us to move to Springdale. However, after Scott came back from his first visit, something inside me closed up and I became very negative about the whole idea.

I was struggling with several things, including the fact that we have not been here in Lubbock long. It feels like we just got here. Why would God take us away so quickly? And, I love Pastor Brad. I feel such a loyalty to him. I admire him and his leadership abilities. For so long we prayed for an opportunity to work beside Brad and Stephanie and it finally happened. Why would God separate such great partners in the ministry? And, Victory Life is so exciting! God is doing amazing things through his people here. This church is on its way to becoming a mega church here in Lubbock. The new building plans are awesome. The people are so generous and loving. Why would God take us away from all of this?

I still have questions and a great deal of confusion swarms all around me, but I know in my heart this is the right move for our family. A good friend reminded me that it’s okay to not have all the answers. It is in those difficult times that we have no other choice but to trust in our all-knowing Jesus. (Prov. 3:5-6) Scott has always been wise in knowing God’s plan. If he knows this is the right thing, I know it too. I will always be beside him and supportive of him. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt to leave here…

Today Pastor Brad announced that we were leaving. I knew it would be hard, I just didn’t know how hard. I was afraid that people wouldn’t understand. That they would have a lot of questions and not find solace in the answers we would provide. The people at Victory Life were unbelievably gracious. They loved on us, told us they would miss us, but that they were very happy for us. God is so good. I hate to leave, but I feel comfort in knowing I am leaving family.

We are here two more weeks and then it’s on to the next chapter in our lives. God’s blessings are evident. Jesus, lead on…

Attention, Please...


I was trying to take pictures of Delaney today because she was in such a good mood and smiling so big. Everytime I would give her attention (trying to take her picture) he would do everything he could to get my attention back on him. He kept laying down next to her and being silly. He even went as far as to pull down his pants and start "crying." So, needless to say, I never did get a good picture of Laney by herself...they were all about Hayden! And, Hayden learned how to do a summersault today. I took some video of it. Maybe when I get brave eough to update and re-post my slide show, I will add that video to it.

Also, just for laughs...Hayden insists on calling me "honey" today instead of mommy. I was going to the bathroom he came running down the hallway calling "honey, honey..." So cute!

Let It "Snow"

So I woke Hayden up early this morning (or I guess its yesterday morning now) hoping that he would be more tired once his nap time rolled around and he would actually sleep. Well, needless to say that didn't work. I had put all of his toys (and anything else I thought might cause him to be distracted and not nap) into the closet. Apparently that just made him more bored and look for other ways to keep himself busy. We don't have anywhere else to keep this little blue love seat in our small home, so it stays in Hayden’s room, which has never been a problem...until now. When I went in to get him after his supposed "nap" this afternoon, I opened the door to find him grinning from ear to ear. He had created a masterpiece of white "snow" all over his bedroom floor. The cushions from the couch had been unzipped and the stuffing strewn about the room. What a mess! What am I going to do with him…I just can’t keep up!

Mouse in the House

Two days ago I was cleaning out our bedroom closet and found mouse droppings all over the carpet. Talk about giving me the willies! Everytime I picked something up off the floor, I hesitated knowing I could come in contact with him. Last night we were lying in bed and could hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet in the bathroom under the sink. Needless to say, tonight we are going to buy mouse traps. Squeek, squeek little mouse...you're a gonner!

Slide Show Nightmare!

What an ordeal getting that video on my webpage! If anyone is thinking about putting a slide show up, don't use the site I used. What a joke! Or maybe I am the joke...I just don't know anymore. My mind is fried. I thought I was at least a little computer literate...?! From now on, I need to only use websites with customer service 800 numbers. Ugggh!

Christmas List

Alright, so I know it's early but I thought I'd go ahead and post Hayden's Chrismas list. We were at the mall today (Toys 'R Us) and saw several things that he was VERY interested in. So, for all you friends and family who are early Christmas shoppers...this is for you!

We've seen the commercial several times for the "GeoTrax Road and Rail System." Everytime it plays, Hayden says, "a-gain...a-gain," meaning that he wants us to rewind the TV and play the commercial again. It's pretty cool, actually (cool...yet another cute word of Haydens). There is a core system you can get and then expansions to go along with it. The expansion pieces include Rail, Construction, Rescue, Elevation and Air/Sea. We didn't see all of the accessories, however Hayden loves the different trains (the "Rail" expansion packs) and the "Elevation" pieces. Daddy is very excited about this System, too. (He's really just a big kid at heart.) He thinks they'd have a great time playing GeoTrax together!

Only Scott's son would know who Superman, Spider-Man and Captain America are at the age of 2. Hayden is so cute when he sees anything of either of them. He can say "Superman" and "Spider-Man" pretty good. "Captain America" ends up sounding something like "Ca-ma Ca-Ca." We saw this and he thought it was great. It is the "Spider-Man & Friends Super Hero Playset." It doesn't come with the figurines (you have to purchase those seperately). There is also a "Superman Junior Laptop" (made for ages 3 and up) that we saw at KB Toys. He played with it for a long time and did not want to give up. (He loves computers!)

We have decided that Hayden is, without a doubt, Curious George. He thought this "Tickle 'N Giggle Curious George" toy was a hoot. Also, I'd love for him to have the new "Curious George" DVD. I think he would really love watching it. (Hopefully he wouldn't mimic that funny monkey!)

We were at church one Wednesday night and Hayden was playing with a Magna Doodle. He enjoys coloring and really thought this was fun. He also loves cars, so we saw this and thought it would be a hit. It is by Fisher Price and called the "Cars Doodle Pro."

A Grown-Up Christmas List

Now, for those of you who know my sweet husband well, you know that we can't go into a toy store without shopping for him too. Of course, we found some pretty awesome Captain America figurines (not toys!) that he had never seen before. So here they are...

"ICONS Marvel Legends Captain America"

Scott couldn't decide whether he liked the one with or without the mask. He loved them both.





This is "Marvel Legends Face-Off" between Captain America and the Red Skull.

Happy Birthday to You

Today we celebrated Scott's 33rd birthday! He won't be around for his actual big day, so we got a babysitter (something we rarely do) and went to a movie and then out for dessert. I can’t remember the last time I was in the theatre to see a movie. We saw Facing the Giants. What a good movie! And to think everyone in the film goes to the same church (Sherwood Baptist in Georgia) and the entire movie was shot with only one camera. Impressive! What a testimony the movie was! I definitely recommend everyone see it! Scott and I had a good time. It's the first date night we've had in a while. After the movie we went to Lujans and had their "Big Cookie" dessert. Man, was it goooood! YUM-YUM! Happy Birthday, Baby! I love you!

Time-Out

Okay, so the cutest thing happened today and I decided Jaye was right, I need to keep a blog.

Hayden is almost two and a half. There are several times each day where (being the sweet little two year old that he is) he gets in trouble. Sometimes he gets spankings, most of the time he gets “time-out.” When he is asked to go sit in time-out, he knows to go to a special designated place where he is to sit against the wall and be still until he told to come to mommy (or daddy, as the case may be) and say sorry for what he has done. Well, today, he decided that his toys were naughty and needed to be in time-out. One by one, he picked them up and gave them a spanking. While carrying them over to time-out he said (in a very firm voice) “No, Hayden! Time-Out!” Bob the Builder, a favorite of his, was picked back up after a few minutes and given a hug. Later, Bob fell off a chair and onto the floor. Hayden picked him up, gave him a hug (and a pat on the back) and said “Awww, Hayden…you okay? Go ni-night.” He took Bob into his bedroom, tucked him in bed, said “ni-night” and shut the door. How cute! This is the first time I have really noticed him “interacting” with his toys. Of course, when it was time for Hayden to take a nap, Bob had to be tucked in right next to him!