Our Story: January 2008

January 30, 2008

Jed 14 month update

Jedidiah 14 months old
weight: 22.5lbs
teeth: 2 on top, 2 on bottom

***Jed was very easy to get off the bottle....we gave him a sippy cup on his first birthday and he never cried for the bottle at all.

***Favorite drink...whole milk. (Actually that is all he drinks other than water and an occasional cup of diluted juice).

****Loves to take a bath. Now that Jed is older, this chore has been turned over to Daddy! Josh will give him a bath at night while I get everything set out for the next morning.

****Loves music! We are constantly turning on the radio so we can see him dance! He loves to see Josh with his guitar. He will run up to him and try to play along with him. He also likes to sing in his play microphone.

***Loves animals! We have several dogs and Jed will run to the windows in the morning and try to get their attention. He also loves horses. Josh will put him on top of Kendall's pony and he just loves it. He is all smiles and will rock back and forth trying to get the pony to go!

***Jed is saying several words now......Daddy, Momma, RayRay, Sissy, ByBy, UhOh, Skip, Gogo (our dog Gordo), Nana, Papa, kitty, Boorow (Ms Billie's dog), Out, No

***Still doesn't like his car seat.....I don't know how we made it to Texas and back with him. He did great on the trip but normally he screams the minute you try to put him in until the minute you take him out.

***He loves to play chase with the girls. He will get a barbie doll or something they are playing with and then run down the hall, wanting them to chase him.

***He is still a Momma's boy but he is Daddy's little buddy. Josh takes him everywhere! If Josh is leaving the farm, most of the time, Jed is with him. Jed loves to go with Josh to the sale barn in Glenwood and look at all the animals!

***Jed's favorite food---apples!!! He eats an apples almost every single day! If he sees us eating one, he will try to get it away from us. He also loves bananas, grilled cheese, ham and cheese, and buttered toast.

***He has just started throwing fits. If we take something from him, sometimes he will lay in the floor and start rolling! We start laughing at him and then he starts laughing and rolling more!

Kendall made Jed a little playhouse....

Naptime!

Jed did not care for his swing when he was tiny but now he thinks it's fun!

January 29, 2008

Mt Magazine State Park

Josh and I left after Reagon's basketball game on Saturday for an overnight stay at the lodge in the Mt Magazine state park. We had such a wonderful time. Reagon stayed with Nanny and Poppi and they went to the Henderson ballgame Friday night. Kendall and Jed stayed with Nana Memaw and Papa Roger. Aubri came down to have a slumber party with Kendall. This was the very first time we left Jed overnight. The grandparents all swear the kids did fine and were no trouble. Josh and I sure enjoyed the time away. We have been so busy and under a moderate amount of stress the last few weeks and it was so nice to just be able to relax and do nothing! We enjoyed the drive to Mt Magazine. We talked the whole time and it seemed like no time at all and we were there. We checked into the lodge around 2:30pm and walked around enjoying the view. We ate supper in the lodge and Josh & I both agree it was the best steak dinner we have ever had...it even tops the Roadhouse in Texarkana which is something I thought I would never say! The restaurant was beautiful with a fire going in the massive fireplace and floor to ceiling windows so we could enjoy the view. Sunday morning we ate again in the restaurant and then made our way to Paris for church. We attended a huge Assembly of God church in the little town. I noticed on the overhead projector there were 318 in attendance for Sunday school and probably that many more for the regular service. After church we stopped off at Walmart to pick up some things for the kids and then ate lunch at a great Mexian place in Dardanelle. We made it back home around 4:30pm and picked up the kids in time for Sunday night service at Newhope church. Josh and I both agree that every year when we sell chickens, we are going to do just like we did this year. We are going to take a family trip and then a couple weeks later, we are going to take a weekend trip alone....maybe next year we will stay two nights away!!! LOL

The view from our room on Sunday morning...we were above the clouds!

The clouds were so thick, it looked like you could just step off your balcony and walk on them! It was beautiful!

Friday afternoon at a lookout point...I am afraid of heights so I stood away from the rail!

View from the lodge.......

The view from our room on Friday afternoon without the clouds....

January 28, 2008

Under the shadow of God

I can honestly say that last Thursday night was one of the scariest experiences I have ever been through. I had made an appt to have the kids pictures made in Glenwood and then planned on grocery shopping afterwards. Knowing that I would be gone all evening, Josh decided to go to Story to play music and work on writing songs with Ernie. We both left at the same time around 4pm. I made it to Glenwood early and the kids and I were sitting in the car when I noticed I had three missed calls on my cell phone. I had set my phone on vibrate the day before so I didn't hear the calls come through. I checked my messages and didn't recognize any of the numbers on my caller id. Finally on the third message I heard Josh's voice. I could tell something was wrong by the tone in his voice. All he said was "I had a wreck". He was so out of it and so shook up from the wreck he didn't tell me where he was at. I told Reagon to buckle Jed back in his car seat and I tried to remain calm while calling Josh's cell phone numerous times. He had lost his cell phone in the wreck and had borrowed one to call me and no one was calling me back. I started toward Mt Ida and finally got in touch with him around Caddo Gap. By this time I had met an ambulance and a state trooper on the road so I was in panic mode. The closer I got to Norman, I could see cars backed up on the highway and the cars coming near me on the opposite side of the road would flash their lights at me so I knew the wreck was just over the hill. My heart could not have beat any harder. I topped over the hill to see Josh's truck and another truck smashed and a flood of red and blue lights. I somehow managed to get my car pulled over on the side of the road and stopped. I was shaking like crazy! I could see that Josh was ok and then I just broke down! According to the police report and my cell phone call time, I made it to the wreck in about 9 minutes but I swear it felt like an hour. I can't even tell you all the things that ran through my mind during that 9 minutes. Both Josh and the driver of the other truck walked away from the wreck with only scratches and bruises. Josh was wearing his seat belt and I am certain that is what saved his life. The other driver pulled out in front of Josh (we think he was talking on his cell phone) and Josh hit him going about 50+ miles an hour. He didn't even have time to hit his breaks. Thankfully, as always, God was with him.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday....
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Psalms 91

January 21, 2008

Monday afternoon rambling

What in the world was I thinking getting a house dog? This is supposed to be Reagon's dog but for some reason it spends most of it's time near my feet! He is 90% house trained but since I like to keep a clean house, the 10% is driving me insane!

Josh & Kendall have had strep throat since Friday. Ms Billie (the sweet little lady who keeps Jed 3 days a week) has been very sick all last week and is still sick. I have been trying to work and keep Jed but honestly, not much work in getting done. Josh is feeling better today so he has helped out with Jed. Aunt Issy is going to keep Jed for me tomorrow and Wednesday so hopefully I can catch up on my work.

Jed now has 4 teeth...two on top and two on bottom....and he is cutting more. One thing is for certain......HE WILL BITE!!! Everyone in our house has little teeth marks from him! I now call him our little piranha boy!

Hope everyone has a great week!

January 15, 2008

From Newhope to Fort Worth

On Friday morning we were packed and ready to go to Fort Worth for the weekend. Being OCD like I am, I spent quite a bit of time planning out the details of this mini vacation. I also tried to keep everything packed in just the right bag and in just the right place in the car..not easy with 5 people in one mini SUV. I will have to say that we couldn't have asked for a better ride to Fort Worth and home from Fort Worth. The kids did great! Reagon and Jed slept almost the entire ride down and Kendall watched a couple movies on her dvd player and played games with Josh. Our first stop was at Braums for lunch. We ate burgers and ice cream and then stopped by the local store for Josh to fill up on sunflower seeds for the rest of the way. He did a great job driving in the Dallas traffic...I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck! We made it to the hotel about 3pm, unloaded all our bags and rested for about an hour before going to the rodeo.

Fort Worth Stockyards

We had a great time touring the old stockyards. We went in several old general stores and western stores. Josh found a hat that he loved and I bought a hot pink pair of cowboy boots. It kind of reminds me of New York...you can't go to NY without wanting to buy a cheap rolex or prada purse from a streetside vendor. Same way with the stockyards....you think you HAVE to buy a hat and boots! I swear, 1 out of every 1000 people you came across had on a normal pair of shoes. EVERYONE in Fort Worth wears boots, buckles and cowboy hats. They looked at me like I was from a foreign country with my American Eagle shirt and Nike shoes! LOL The girls had their own wallets with their own money so they had a good time picking out just the right items from the stores. The worst part about the stockyards is the parking! You have to pay every time you want to park....I think we ended up spending $55 in parking alone!

Fair

Josh and Kendall were in hog heaven on Saturday at the stockyard show and festival. We toured all kinds of exhibits and booths with every type of farm animal you can imagine. Kendall loved it and Reagon just went along for the ride. Jed had a good time and napped off and on throughout the day in his stroller. If you like farming, this is the perfect festival. If you don't, this is not the place for you! We loved it and had a great time but I could see this being torture to some families.

January 14, 2008

Rodeo

Friday night we had tickets to the stock rodeo. Now normally, I love rodeos as much as anyone but that was not the case this time. We got to the rodeo one hour before it started. We toured some of the booths and then bought footlong corndogs and caramel apples for supper. We decided to find our seats and eat before the show started. This is where the misery began for me. We looked at our ticket stubs and we were in Section N..row 10. After finding Section N my stomach began to get a little queezy and by the time we made it to our seats, I was nearing a panic attack. I have always been afraid of heights but this was sooo much worse. The steep steps and seats were enough to send me over the edge. Josh soon realized that I was about to lose it so down we went. We ended up eating in the hallway near the admission gate. After finishing our food, I was still shaky but knew that I had to brave the climb back up because the rodeo was sold out and we couldn't get different seats. I could have made it just fine if Josh and I had been alone but since I had to worry about the kids falling, I didn't think I would be able to do it. I held Jed so tight, I probably caused his face to turn blue and I was constantly telling Josh to hang on to Kendall. When we got to our seats, it looked like you could just lean over to pick up your coke and go head first down the steps it was sooooo steep! I didn't take many pictures at all and prayed almost the entire time but thankfully, we made it! I wanted to get a cute shot of the girls and Jed with their rodeo outfits on but needless to say, I couldn't hold the camera without shaking! LOL If we ever go back to this rodeo, I am paying double price for the floor seats!