Jesus is the Reason for the Season

Luke 2:1-14

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

The Pampered Chef

I am now a Pampered Chef Consultant. I have always enjoyed using the products and finally decided I loved it enough to make a job of it. Now I can say I really love my job, at least my second job anyway. I love my first job, too. Anyway, if anyone ever needs anything from The Pampered Chef, just let me know! In the meantime, check out these three recipes I made for my first party, YUMMY!!!

Marley's Birthday Party

Marley had her birthday party at Pump it Up! Jacob had a soccer game but Steven & Matthew had a blast. Me & Mike had a great time too.

Halloween

Well we had an interesting week. Saturday night, Mike got sick out of nowhere. Monday night Steven & Matthew had apparently planned a vomiting contest behind our backs, Steven won! WOOHOO!! He threw up about 8 times. Tuesday followed with Jacob getting sick and then you guessed I am the only one left & I got it on Wednesday. Gotta love stomach viruses! We weren't even going to do anything for Halloween but decided at the last minute we couldn't let the kids down and they really wanted to wear their costumes. Steven was a really cute little Spidey and Matthew made a most precious Zebra. Jacob has sorta out grown the costume thing but loves the "smart elic" shirts. This one said "This is my corny costume".

Matthew's Milestone

As many of you may know, our little Matthew has had some previous health issues. For those who may not know, here's the shortest version of the situation. Matthew went in for his 1 month check up on February 5, 2007. On that day he was admitted to Children's Hospital with partial malrotation of the small intestine. This diagnosis came based on several test that were done due to his lack of weight gain. Needless to say we were devistated. Matthew had his first operation on February 6, 2007 to unwind his intestines and remove his appendix (it would have been in the wrong place after his intestines were unwound). He could not take anything by mouth for several days. He then basically had to learn how to take a bottle all over again. We were getting ready to be discharged on February 12, when Dr. Barnhart discovered his incision had herniated. Back to the OR we go. Matthew had his second surgery on February 13, 2007. Dr. Barnhart even cried himself. We finally got to bring our little Matthew home on February 16, 2007. Since then we have been on our way to a healthy weight baby. Dr. Barnhart released Matthew in May 2007 with a clean bill of health. We have only had one trip back to the ER for a GI test, but it was just a virus. He has to be rushed in if he throws up yellow or green, colorful I know. The good news is, Matthew finally weighed 20 pounds, actually 21, at the doctor last week. WOOHOO!!! Dr. Hale was so excited and we were too. He does have an ear infection, so he is a little cranky. Other than that he is his regular, mean little self. One thing we learned through all of this, is God still heals everyday. We had only a little bump in the road compared to others. I thank God for our miracle and will pray that others who are waiting on theirs will soon receive them. Here are a few pictures of Matthew along the way. Thanks to everyone who prayed so much for us when we needed it the most. We would have never made it without you! We are proud of you Matthew, keep on eating and keep on adding on the pounds.

Steven's 4th Birthday (better late than never)

I am so sorry for being so late with this post. As you can see from the previous post we had a very unexpected death in the family and I completely skipped posting the birthday party. I am so sorry Steven Bug! Mommy does love you, I just couldn't get it together for a minute, well ok a month. But, I have it all back together now! Anyway, here we go with the party pictures. Steven is really loving Power Rangers right now, so that is what we went with. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't take pictures well with our blinds open in the house. You guessed it, every single one was open, DANG! Several of the pictures I took didn't turn out very well, but here are the rest.

Tribute to Dennis Wayne "The Rock" Dumas March 5, 1952 - Spetember 15, 2008

I have had the lifelong priviledge of calling one the most talented men I have ever known, my Uncle Dennis. God called him home on Monday September 15, 2008. The hardest thing for me was the thought of never hearing him sing or play his guitar again. I long for the day to hear him play again. I will be able to add a playlist of a CD I have. I will share a little glimpse of his talent with everyone. Please keep out family in your prayers as we go through this difficult time. Here is a picture of the Guitar flowers I ordered from Justice Florist in Mulga. Thank you so much Audrey, you did a wonderful job.

Auburn vs ULM Pre-Game

I love the pre-game show at the home games! I get a little choked up every time, Women, I know! Oh Well, I hope you can enjoy it from the slide show.

Auburn vs ULM Tail-Gating

We went to the opening game again this year, as we do every year. Matthew was a great tail-gater. Steven made himself right at home in front of 1 of the 5 TVs we have at our spot. I couldn't even get a picture of him, he was too busy helping Abby with her puppies & watching football. Matthew is not a dog lover, notice the tears in a couple of the pictures, or maybe it was Uncle Timmy he was scared of. (I vote it was Uncle Timmy!) Here are just a few pictures from the Amphitheater where we tailgate. WAR EAGLE!

Incriminating Photos

I can't wait for their first dates. Zane tried to tell them they were making a mistake by getting these pictures made. In case you can't tell, Christian & Tanner took turns being Erkle & wearing Uncle Mike's navy blue Auburn hair. I am sure their girlfriends will second guess themselves one day.

Happy Birthday G!

We had a family birthday party for me & G last Sunday. Of course I am always taking the pictures so there isn't one of me & the boys, but here is G & the boys.
 

Steven's New School Clothes

I bought Steven some new clothes for school, even though he is only going to K-4. Since I had the camera out, I had to take pictures of him too. We found this cool stop-watch under the couch last week. He just had to take it to school with him.

Jacob's in Middle School

School started back last Thursday. Jacob was a little upset about the dress code. He has to wear a collared shirt, tucked in, with a belt. Needless to say he cannot tuck in a size 10 shirt into a pair of size 8 shorts so we had to change clothes, shorts anyway. And yes, if you are wondering, it ran us a few minutes late, or so we thought. He is supposed to catch the bus at 6:29 AM, ridiculous I know. Fortunately, the bus ran a few minutes late, 6:35. Of course I still needed to get pictures, IT WAS HIS FIRST DAY OF MIDDLE SCHOOL! So here I am trying to get a few pictures as Mike & Jacob are trying to run out the door to get to the bus stop. I finally managed to get these 2 pictures.

Here is Mike being goofy about the whole picture thing. Pretty good shot of Jacob, though.

I took this one with Mike yelling about how ridiculous I was being about the pictures. I think this was when he ask if I was going to follow the bus to school so I could get a shot of Jacob's first pee-pee at the middle school. And NO, I didn't go.

Jacob's Cleaning Service

Jacob's dad sent me this picture of Jacob cleaning his room. This boy is really not right but he can use a vacuum.

Matthew's First Haircut

Mike & I took Matthew for his first haircut a few weeks ago, before I really figured this blog thing out. You can see how well it went, YEAH RIGHT! He screamed the whole time. Fortunately, Mrs. Christina & Mrs. Theresa come to the daycare on their off days and cut hair for the parents who ask them to. They swear the kids do so much better in their own environment.
 
 
 
 

Look at my big boy hair cut!

Auburn Kick-Off 2008 at McWane

The Auburn Kick-Off was at McWane Center Wednesday night. Mike & I thought it would be a great event for the boys. Live & Learn!!! There were about 3000 people on a single floor of the McWane center, a little overcrowded to say the least. Here are a few pictures I managed to get despite the crowd.
 
This little girl was standing in front of us & was just too cute. I just had to take her picture.
 
Steven finally ask if the majorette on his left would have her picture made with him. He was not really interested in having his picture made any other time, except with Aubie!
 
Look at Steven's face! He was sooo excited to see Aubie. It was also a celebration for Aubie's 30th Birthday. I felt really old when they said that, I am actually older than Aubie! :(
 
Matthew was not really liking Dad passing him over to these people for all these pictures. I couldn't believe he wouldn't go to the pretty girls or anything. I am sure I will miss that in a few years! ;)

Jacob had no problem getting his picture made with these young ladies.