Pizza with Santa.

We had a great time at church on Tuesday evening. Some of the young mothers get together every year and host crafts and pizza, and then a visit with Santa.

Reese was working hard on decorating his cookie.

This was Reese's reaction when Santa came in!

Brooks and Austin with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Best friends forever!

Visit with Santa

We got to visit with Santa not too long ago, before he becomes really busy with deadlines and last minute preparations for his Christmas Eve flight.

Sadly, right before we went to visit with Santa, Brooks and I had the "Santa talk." I knew it would happen at some point, I just didn't expect it to happen as we were walking out the door to go see the big guy himself. The bright side is that now, Brooks is in on the grown up secret!
Telling Santa that he wants a DS for Christmas.


Reese telling Santa that he wants a guitar, power sword, Toy Story 3, and more.
Thanks for the great visit Santa!

I became "that" mom today.

Last night, we got a note home in Reese's folder that said that Reese had been acting ugly during nap time and that his teacher had asked him to be quiet several times etc. It then said he had to move his clip to yellow.
It also said that he seemed happy about it and was showing his friends!!!!
I talked with him a little last night and he was disciplined for acting that way. Brent wrote on the note (that we had to sign and send back) to call us if needed and we would come up there.

Well, today Melany let us know that Reese was not being any better. So, I asked my boss if I could leave and she said sure! She told me I needed to go in the school like a kamikaze! I drove to the school and had him come out in the hallway. He looked like a deer in headlights. He almost looked like for a split second he was happy to see me, until he realized why I was there. I had a long discussion with him in the hallway. I asked him who decided how he would act. He said, "Mrs. H." I said, "No, who decides how Reese is going to act?" He said in a sad voice, "Me."
We talked some more and then I disciplined him.

I don't know if this will make a difference or not. I just remember how I felt as a child. I would have been mortified if my mom or dad drove up to the school and pulled me out of class. I am hoping this is just a phase and he grows out of it. Maybe he can become more like me. I got in trouble at school for day dreaming. At this point, I would take a day dreamer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great time with our family this year. The number was smaller but that didn't diminish the great fellowship we had.

Brooks made Pilgrim hat name markers for the table. He insisted we get a picture with our "hats" on.

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Just some pics

As Thanksgiving approaches, our whole family has been talking about all of the things we are thankful for.

These two made the list.

Halloween Pictures

I only took a couple of Halloween Pictures this year. Brooks had been sick that day, so his daddy stayed home with him. I took Reese to Trunk or Treat and he had a blast hanging out with his friends.

Luckily, for me, Reese wanted to be the exact same thing he was last year. The costume was a little big last year, so this worked out perfectly.

I love this photo! I can always embarrass them with it when they are older.

Can't get it out of my head.

I generally don’t watch the news. I will catch it on occasion, but I don’t make a point to watch it every day. Some will think this is crazy. I know the argument is that one needs to stay caught up on what is going on in this world. I get that. I just can’t bring myself to watch it day in and day out though. The reason I don’t watch it is that I will see some heartbreaking story about some abuse, or murder, or even worse, and then that story will just stick with me for days.

I know there is evil in the world. I have to do my part to shield my children and even myself from that evil as much as possible. There are sad occasions though when you come across situations that you can’t avoid by just turning off the television.

I was pulling in to Publix on Friday afternoon to do my shopping. (Another good week for me….I spent $93.00 for $210.00 worth of groceries!) As I was pulling past the entrance, I noticed a couple coming out with several bags of groceries each. What caught my attention was that he had on bright orange and she had on crimson from head to toe. I thought they must be another divided family, by routing for Auburn and Alabama. I didn’t think much else of it, as I drove around to find a space. When I pulled into the parking space, I noticed the car beside me was facing backward in the space, which gave me a good view of what all was going on in the car. I noticed this same couple lighting up their cigarettes and yelling toward the backseat. I looked in the back seat and saw a little boy, that couldn’t have been older than 18 months sitting there. He was being chewed out by his father for what?!?! It was awful. Then it dawned on me, “Where was this little boy when they were coming out of the store!” Just then they drove off.

I sat there processing all of what I had seen. They had to have left him in the car while they were in the store. They each had several bags of groceries so it wasn’t a quick trip inside. What was going through his mind while his parents had just left him in the car for that long??!!! Was he crying because he thought he had been abandoned? Did he enjoy breathing in that cigarette smoke while all of the windows were rolled up??

If only I had been 5 minutes earlier and saw this situation! I would have called the police. Would my 5 minutes have made a difference in his life?

I just sat there in my car for a long while and prayed for this child. I know there are sad situations everywhere. I know there are people out there that have no business being a parent. All I can do at this point is pray for this precious child of God and hope that his parents will turn from their ways of parenting or that someone close to this family will step in and do what is best for this child.

I just want that afternoon back, to try and make a difference.