An Accounting of our Blessings

Allergy Free Mouse

2012-02-08T13:27:00.001-05:00

As you know, we love Disney. One of the many things we love about Disney is their willingness to work with special diets. I recently had the chance to contribute a review to a website I used in planning our most recent trip to Disney World, Allergy Free Mouse. If you have food allergies, are an allergy parent, or have friends with allergy kids I highly recommend this site as a planning tool for Disney World. I submitted a post about our experience going on a Disney Cruise because there just isn't a ton of information out there about allergies onboard a cruise ship. You can read it by clicking here. It is part of a contest, so if you like it you can click the thumbs up button or the Facebook like button. My kids would love to have $100 to spend at the Disney Store :) Even if I don't win, I am thrilled to have been able to contribute something that may help another parent as they deal with food allergies. I hope anyone who reads this site or my review will be encouraged. Food allergies can be scary and exhausting, but thanks to modern medicine and special places like Disney they don't have to stop you from living a very full life!

Hockey and an (unrelated) injury

2012-01-20T19:12:00.001-05:00

Fun stuff first! We took the kids to their first hockey game last Saturday. There was a legends game first and that was a good, calm introduction to hockey for the kids before the Ice Bears took to the ice. They both had a great time! Little did we know that we took our son to the hockey game with a broken leg. Andrew was sliding across our wood floors and suddenly told us his foot hurt, but we told him he was okay. He had complained all day that his leg hurt and he refused to walk into the Coliseum. We all kept telling him he was fine. When he didn't even want to go get some popcorn I finally looked at his foot again. It was definitely swollen, so we carried him around the rest of the time. We just thought he had sprained it because he could still walk around part of the day. I called our pediatrician and the nurse on call said we had to take him for an xray if he was refusing to put weight on it. Off we went to Children's just to be told that it was a sprained ankle so ice and rest it. He was walking on it Sunday although there was lots of complaining about pain. We got a call on Monday that surprised all of us. Radiology had reviewed his xray and felt he had a fracture. We needed to bring him back to the ER immediately to have it stabilized. We were referred to an orthopedic doctor who confirmed it was a fracture on Wednesday. From now on I am going to request a radiologist review xrays before we leave the hospital. I know doctors are human, but I couldn't believe they sent us home with a broken leg! If you are squeamish you may want to skip the last picture. I texted it to a friend to ask for advice on what to do. For future reference it is NOT normal for your child's leg to look like that and even if you think it is a sprain be safe and get it checked.

For a laugh: Andrew's teacher emailed me that he wouldn't use the restroom at school on Tuesday with his boot on. She wanted to check with me on that. When I asked him about it he said Evie told him he couldn't. Turns out that Evie told him he couldn't go to PE with his boot. Say it out loud and you will see why he thought he couldn't go to the bathroom at school :)

Yes, his awesome parents took him to a hockey game with a broken leg...

Evie with Auntie Laura and Uncle Robert. Evie didn't really need a seat since she was on someone's lap the entire time!

Hanging out at Children's in the emergency room watching Cars 2 at midnight

Children's ER take two~getting a boot to stabilize the leg, and playing the ipod because we were both over being at the hospital at this point.

Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic on Wednesday to confirm a fibula fracture and get a cast for 4 weeks

It really hasn't slowed him down too much

Yikes!

runDisney

2012-01-11T16:00:00.000-05:00

It was marathon weekend at Disney, so the kids got to participate in the runDisney Kids Races. Evie ran the 400m dash and Andrew ran the 200m dash.

Warming up with Tony Horton

Disney Dining

2012-01-11T13:38:00.000-05:00

We did the Dining Plan again on this trip and think it is definitely worth it. If we went to Disney a lot then we might skip it, but the kids loved the character meals. We managed to not eat many pizzas and hamburgers on the quick service this time around. The best quick service meals we had were at Yak & Yeti in Animal Kingdom (delicious beef lo mein), Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney, and tacos and churros from Taqueria del Lago in Epcot. Restaurant research definitely paid off! Pizza Planet had our least favorite food, but it was neat that the kids got to go to Pizza Planet from Toy Story. Disney is known for their accommodations for food allergies. I have to say it was a little challenging in Epcot for us though. Language barrier made it a little trickier in Mexico and the Garden Grille just didn't have substitutions. The kids menu is chicken legs, broccoli, and mac n cheese. The macaroni had egg so the kids were pretty disappointed with chicken and broccoli.

Dining in Cinderella's Castle

Belle

Aurora

Chef Mickey's

Minnie

Dancing and waving napkins to celebrate with Mickey

1900 Park Fare with Cinderella and her family

Dancing with Prince Charming

Allergy dessert awesomeness

Banana split tower

Garden Grille with Dale

Farmer Mickey

Chip

A very fun Pluto

Epcot

2012-01-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

We only spent part of one day at Epcot, and it was our last day so we were tired. We would have liked to have had more time there, but there weren't enough hours in our trip to see and do it all! We had lunch in Mexico,went on rides, and had dinner in The Land. We didn't even make it through all of the countries. The kids loved it anyway, and don't even know they missed out on the World Showcase. The bottom 5 pictures are PhotoPass.

E & A in front of Spaceship Earth

E & A with Duffy, Mickey's bear that Minnie made him before he was going on a trip. Evie had fun dressing the Duffy bear at our resort two mornings.

Daisy Duck! We had looked for her all week and found her in Epcot.

Magic Kingdom

2012-01-10T17:30:00.000-05:00

The happiest place on Earth! We loved everything in the Magic Kingdom. Okay, we didn't love the crowds on Thursday. Otherwise, it was fabulous! We rode lots of rides with minimal waiting thanks to early arrival times and FastPass. We saw both the parades and the fireworks. We loved watching Tinkerbell fly over us from our view in the Rose Garden. We met and hugged lots of characters plus we got to hang out with friends twice. The last three pictures are screenshots from our PhotoPass. The quality will be way better when we get the CD. Before we went I didn't know if it would be worth it, but I highly recommending getting a PhotoPass and making good use of it. We have some amazing pictures!

Tomorrowland Speedway~our first ride!

Hugs for Cinderella

Watching the Castle show

Snow White and her prince in the afternoon parade

Tinkerbell in the electric parade

Fun with the Crichtons on Friday night!

First Mickey ice cream

Yum!

Rides with friends ~ Elizabeth (behind the gun), Evie, Kate)

Catherine and Andrew

Hollywood Studios

2012-01-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

It was very, very cold for our Hollywood Studios day. Didn't keep us from spending 11 hours in the park though! We met some favorite characters, watched Indiana Jones stunt show, saw Lights, Motors, Action! with Lightning McQueen, watched Fantasmic, and danced under Christmas lights while it snowed.

The kids with Phineas & Ferb

Andrew and Lightning McQueen

Evie and LMQ

Aliens

The family with Buzz and Woody

Got to eat dinner at Pizza Planet!!!

Tank from the Indiana Jones stunt show

It's snowing!

Osborne lights

Animal Kingdom

2012-01-09T17:10:00.000-05:00

Our first stop was Animal Kingdom. We skipped this on our last trip, and I wasn't convinced that I would love it this time around either. I was very wrong. We loved the safari ride and the Lion King show. I thought it would be like going to the zoo, but it was way better!

The family with Expedition Everest in the background

Giraffes on the safari tour. This was one of our very favorite things at Disney!

Elephants. Evie loved the baby elephant!

Ready to go on a safari

Loved the Lion King show!

Evie in her pink to match the flamingos!

Wonderful Week of Disney World

2012-01-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

E & A with M & M

We just got back from a magical week at Disney World! I have lots of pictures to share, and it is probably going to take all week to share them!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

Nativity

2011-12-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

I really thought we were close to retiring the Little People nativity set, but we had great fun with it this year. After hearing our pastor speak at MOPS about keeping the nativity set at their house Biblically correct, I changed it up this year. I put out the stable, animals, angel, Mary, and Joseph. Of course they wanted to know where Jesus and the Wise Men were. I explained Jesus didn't arrive until Christmas day and the Wise Men were following the star that appeared at his birth. They proceeded to inform me that what I had set up wasn't quite right. The angel appeared to Mary and to Joseph before it appeared on Jesus' birthday. How right they were! The following is the story of Jesus' birth told via sweet children, Fisher Price, iPhone, and Instagram.

The angel appeared to Mary and told her she would have a son. His name was Jesus. The angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to not be afraid.

Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem

There was no room in the inn, so Jesus would be born in a stable

The Wise Men saw a star in the east and followed it to Jesus

Tomorrow morning, the kids will open a present. It is baby Jesus to be placed in the manger. God sent his only son to save us. The perfect gift.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-16T13:25:00.001-05:00

Gifted Tag Christmas

Browse our collection of Christmas card designs.

View the entire collection of cards.

The Real Christmas Story

2011-12-10T22:01:00.001-05:00

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:4-12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:7-12

Dairy-free NO MORE!

2011-12-03T13:17:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago Evie's skin test came back negative for milk, so we did blood work over Thanksgiving that also showed no antibodies to milk. The final step was a 2 hour milk challenge in her allergist's office. She hates whole milk, but the challenge was a success! No rash, hives, or stomach issues so we were declared allergy free to milk!!!! There are some emotional hurdles to get over, but she is trying lots of new things. So far she doesn't like plain cheese or plain milk, but loves pizza, loves chocolate, and likes macaroni and cheese. We feel so blessed that she outgrew this allergy. Both of the kids are still allergic to eggs, but this opens up her diet (and my cooking) so much.

Ready for the 2 hour milk challenge

She loved reading a book on the iPad

Celebrating 24 hours later at Big Ed's

Happy Milk Day!

Chocolate kisses for dessert

Fantasy of Trees

2011-11-25T17:09:00.001-05:00

Fantasy of Trees 2011

Evie with her class gingerbread house

Noah's Ark-Andrew's favorite

Hello Kitty's house-Evie's favorite

Andrew loved the cars

Amherst Elementary tree

Dr.Bremer's tree/scene (the kids' cardiologist)

Dr.Darryl and Dr.B's tree (the kids' dentists)

Fun on the carousel

Soccer Celebrations

2011-11-06T16:04:00.001-05:00

All 2 of the players on Andrew's team and Coach Ray

Airplane high fives. This was a really fun season!

Pizza party at the field

Bubblegum Crew

Evie with Coach Bryce and Coach Keith

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:01:00.000-05:00

I couldn't find a cute/appropriate Halloween outfit for Evie, so I got a little help from the internet

Iron on transfer from Once Upon a Design and bow from Super Twirl

Astronaut Andrew

Lollipop Fairy

Boo @ the Zoo

2011-10-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

Report Card Rewards updated

2011-10-19T15:14:00.000-05:00

Both the kids have worked hard the first 9 weeks of school and brought home excellent report cards today. "Andrew is a joy to have in the classroom" brought tears to my eyes. I'm proud of them and want to reward them but we don't give $ for grades. Personal choice, and if they were struggling we might feel differently. After a little digging I found 3 places in Knoxville that offer rewards for good grades. All of this info is from their websites/facebook pages. We are headed to Zuma and Bruster's tomorrow after school, so I can confirm those tomorrow! I couldn't find it in writing anywhere, but I've heard you get a free doughnut from Krispy Kreme too.

Zuma Fun Center *confirmed*

FREE Tokens for Grades

We appreciate good students! Bring in your current, original report card for FREE Tokens*!
A = 3 Tokens
B = 2 Tokens
*20 Tokens Maximum

Chuck E. Cheese believes in the value of a good education. Have your child bring in their most recent report card and they will receive FREE tokens for good grades.

Valid only with a food purchase. Up to 15 tokens maximum per child. All grading systems accepted.

Bruster’s Knoxville *negative at Cedar Bluff* The manager said they have never given sundaes to kids for good grades. Makes me wonder who is running their facebook page?!

If you bring your child's report card to any of our Knoxville locations, they can get a FREE dirt or dino Sundae, just for making honor roll!

Fun at Zuma!

We bought Bruster's anyway

Fall Break

2011-10-15T19:32:00.001-05:00

Day one of fall break was a washout, so we went the dollar movies to see Cars 2. Andrew liked it much better the second time. We headed to the pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon and then drove on to Fall Branch to help peel apples for apple butter. The kids loved peeling and being able to help. They weren't so excited by the (long) process of cooking the apples today. They stirred a couple of times, but had more fun playing with the dog, running around, and getting tractor rides.

Wandering through the corn maze

Tractor carts

Andrew found his buddy from school last year on the bouncer

Awesome contraption

Camp BaYoCa

2011-10-11T17:12:00.001-05:00

Evie and I got to go to Camp BaYoCa this past weekend. She had lots of fun, and is already asking about going there for summer camp. Can she really be that old already?!

Go Vols!

2011-10-01T18:25:00.001-05:00

We took the kids to their first Tennessee football game today. They have been to a few orange/white games and have been begging to go to a real game. I had no idea if they would sit still or how I would feed them. Concessions and food allergies don't really mix! However, the section we were in had expanded concessions and they stayed in their seats until the end of the game. It was a very fun day!

Our friend, Buddy, won tailgater of the game

Awesome view

from our seats in the Tennessee Terrace

Go Vols!

Dobyns-Bennett Band from Kingsport

Fun family day

Watching the band on Papa's shoulders

Evie got a pretzel as big as her head

Soccer Time Again!

2011-09-13T06:29:00.006-05:00

Evie has played for all the coaches that were on the field this week and is either friends with or has played on a team with many of the girls. She had concerns before the game about playing against her friends.

It took her a few minutes to get her head in the game, but she had no hesitation about taking the ball away from friends and former teammates

Andrew is in a training division (U6) this year so he practices before his games and then plays 3 vs 3. He does have a team this season and parents don't play with the kids, so it is in between the training from last year and the full team that Evie plays on. We were all hoping for a "real" team this year, but he seemed to have fun on Saturday.

Happy 6th Birthday Andrew!

2011-09-01T20:23:00.003-05:00

Take me out to the ballgame

2011-08-28T15:52:00.004-05:00

Papaw Rick got us all tickets to go to a Smokies game as part of Andrew's birthday celebrations. We decided to still go after saying goodbye to my grandfather on Thursday. Turns out it was good timing, because having fun with the kids provided a much needed break after a tough weekend. Robert coached a guy playing for the Suns and arranged to have him come out and sign a ball for Andrew before the game, so that was really neat too.

The gang at the Smokies stadium

Uncle Robert's buddy, Kevin Mattison, came out and signed a ball for Andrew. He has a fan for life now. Andrew made sure we all knew when #4 was up to bat.

He was so proud of his dirty ball. Apparently a used baseball is way more special than a shiny new one.

The kids got to go on the field and participate in the balloon bust relay

It was hilarious!

The chicken run!

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-16T06:52:00.004-05:00

Andrew had his first day of Kindergarten today. He was so excited that he was ready to leave the house at 7 am. The bell doesn't ring until 7:45, so that was entirely too early! Evie and Andrew were so cute hugging in the hallway at school before Evie headed off to the 2nd grade hallway. There were no tears this morning. He was excited to go to school and I knew he was in good hands. He told me he had a great day when I picked him up! He informed me that he had seven teachers but he didn't get to go outside. He knew 2 friends, which surprised me. One was from West Hills last year and one he had seen at our neighborhood pool. I asked if he saw Evie, and he told me no and reiterated that he didn't get to go outside. He must think that they will be together on the playground.

Back to School

2011-08-15T06:25:00.003-05:00

Evie headed off to 2nd grade this morning. She is very excited to go see all of her friends again. She was so funny at meet your teacher night. We already know her teacher because he taught Kindergarten until this year, so we really just went to say hi and get the supply list. Her first question was, "What did I miss around here over the summer?" Mr.Roach gave her the rundown of who moved and who had a baby. I was impressed he immediately knew what she was asking. We have been blessed by wonderful teachers the past 2 years and we already know we have a fabulous one this year too!

2nd grade

1st grade

Kindergarten

Take me out to the ballgame

2011-08-14T14:17:00.003-05:00

Evie's first Smokies game

We were entertained by the ZOOperStars! throughout the game. They were so funny!

Dollywood

2011-08-08T09:11:00.006-05:00

If you know us at all, you know we love Dollywood and this summer included lots of visits!

One of our first visits in the year with friends ended with a violent storm. We were watching a show when the power went out and water started pouring into the back of the theater. Dollywood was a huge mess of fallen limbs and debris by the time we went outside. The dads had to walk to our cars because tram road was closed by a fallen tree. Definitely a crazy afternoon!

For better or worse, when you have a big sister you know and love Strawberry Shortcake too!

The Kidsfest decorations are Vol fans!

Our first stop of the day is always the Rockin Roadway

The past few years Kidsfest has included shows about children's books. We got to see 2 new ones this year:

Otis

Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad

Llama llama red pajama~ an old favorite that didn't make the line up this year but made an appearance anyway

The Gazillion Bubble show. It was so popular that the theater was hitting capacity while the lines were still wrapped around the building.

Funfest 2011

2011-07-25T07:37:00.002-05:00

South Dakota

2011-07-21T07:19:00.001-05:00

Phil and I had the chance to go on a mission trip to South Dakota. We worked on a new roof and a VBS kick off festival at Praire Lakes Baptist Church in Watertown, SD. You can read more about our trip at cbcb2watertown.blogspot.com

Phil up on the roof

Festival day! The heat index was 105 as a heat wave moved through the midwest.

Corn, corn, and more corn as we drove through Minnesota

A hail storm in Denver caused some travel headaches for us. At one point Phil and I had tickets to fly from Minneapolis to Chicago to Charlotte to Nashville. We were so relieved we didn't actually have to take that tour of airports!

Hanging out with Woody at the Mall of America

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-08T12:52:00.002-05:00

Watching the parade with friends

Appreciate our neighbors putting on a great fireworks show for us!

Destin

2011-06-29T18:16:00.004-05:00

We just got home from a week in Destin. I highly recommend the Vision flight from Knoxville to Destin. We had lunch at home last Wednesday and dinner in Destin. It was fabulous! This was the latest in the summer we have ever been to the beach and it was definitely crowded, but we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful beach. We had one really calm day that the kids could swim in the ocean and then a few days of Atlantic size waves for them to play in.

Wonderworks

2011-06-16T08:57:00.004-05:00

I've always wondered what it was like inside that upside down building in Pigeon Forge, so when tickets were available for half off we decided to take a trip to Wonderworks. The kids had a great time climbing the rock wall, experiencing hurricane force winds, playing virtual air hockey, flying fighter jets in simulators, and more.

Evie climbed all the way to the top of the rock wall

Andrew climbing

Evie and Phil on the ropes course

Big Apple Adventure

2011-06-09T15:39:00.003-05:00

School's Out for Summer

2011-06-05T20:26:00.003-05:00

First day of summer vacation at Dollywood with Auntie Laura and Uncle Robert

He is ready for the summer reading program and kindergarten with his own library card

We took Andrew to his first Smokies baseball game over Memorial Day weekend

End of the Year

2011-05-23T14:30:00.002-05:00

Evie got the Library Award and medal from her librarian. No surprise at all to those who know her best. The kid loves books!

She was also chosen as a Good Citizen in First Grade. This makes me as proud as any academic honor she could have brought home.

Andrew got a special award and treat (chocolate, his favorite!) for giving his time to help stack chairs in the cafeteria so Mr. Johnny could have a lunch break.

Field Day

2011-05-23T14:14:00.003-05:00

Apparently a rubber chicken makes a regular old relay a hilarious event.

Loving the obstacle course

Red Lobster Field Trip

2011-05-16T18:39:00.003-05:00

Andrew's class got to go on a field trip to Red Lobster today. I have to admit I wasn't thrilled when I got the note about where they were going, but it turned into a fun morning. The kids learned about crustaceans and got to pet live lobsters. They also got to eat shrimp baskets, so Andrew tried shrimp for the first time. A huge thank you to Red Lobster for turning on extra equipment so they could grill some just for him. His check-in question this morning was "Do you like seafood?". As soon as we got back to school he asked his teachers if he could change his answer from "no" to "yes".

First Grade Field Day

2011-05-11T14:26:00.000-05:00

Kangaroo Jump

Scooter Race

Hula hoop contest

Hula dancing once the hula hoop fell

Basketball in the dark because there was a power outage in the middle of field day.

Rock, paper, scissors relay

Hula hoop pass

Catching up

2011-05-09T14:33:00.004-05:00

I think facebook, an iphone, and texting parents/in-laws have been detrimental to my blog lately!

Rainbow after the storm 4-25-11

We have weathered quite a few storms this spring, but April 27th took the cake. I have never seen anything like that in my life, and hope to never again have a day like that. We are still praying for our neighbors throughout the South who lost so much.

Andrew had his spring musical at West Hills. We have loved being there this year and are a little sad he finishes up in a couple of weeks.

The kids had their choir performance at church. There was an unprompted hug afterwards!

The Groovy Pad! Kate, Elizabeth, and Evie got to have a special girls night for just the big sisters. The had a great time and there was glitter galore!

CFA Daddy Daughter Date

2011-04-21T18:44:00.002-05:00

Knoxville area Chick fil A restaurants held a daddy/daughter date night a couple of weeks ago. I picked up these sweet pictures this week. A big thanks to CFA for all they do to promote healthy families! Evie adores her daddy and it is always special to get one-on-one time with a parent.

Orange and White game

2011-04-18T12:31:00.003-05:00

Soccer was cancelled due to wet field conditions on Saturday, so we headed to the spring football game instead. It was cold and windy, but the kids (and their father) were excited to be at Neyland Stadium watching their Vols!

Happy 7th Birthday!

2011-04-15T22:21:00.001-05:00

Evie with her Evie book

Can't have a birthday without dinner at Wasabi...

or cupcakes!

St.Jude Trike-a-thon

2011-04-14T14:47:00.002-05:00

Andrew has been so excited to take his bike to school and ride with his friends

5 day Fives

GA Racers

2011-04-14T10:20:00.002-05:00

Evie and her purple tulip car

Purple car in lane 1

Watching her car win its first run! It took 2 losses after that, but she was excited.

Happy 7th Birthday- party day!

2011-04-10T18:22:00.002-05:00

Pinkalicious

Celebrating with Ice Guy

Kindergarten Roundup

2011-04-05T18:18:00.002-05:00

Evie got to take her little brother to Kindergarten Roundup today. They were both looking forward to going on a school tour, and Andrew is excited to be an Amherst Shark!

Soccer Saturday

2011-04-02T17:52:00.002-05:00

The soccer season officially started on March 12th, but the first game was rained out, the coach took a bye for the 2nd game during spring break, and I was defeated by the stomach bug for the 3rd game. It is week 4 and we finally have some pictures!

Evie heading to the goal. Her team is off to a great start with back-t0-back wins!

Andrew on his way to score. I posted this picture so you don't feel so bad for the kid in red who wipes out in the next picture. He was trying to drag Andrew down by the jersey from behind.

Score!

Tough Lesson Learned

2011-04-02T16:28:00.001-05:00

There are just some times that nothing I could have dreamed up to change a behavior would compete with the actual consequences. Andrew decided to climb our privacy fence and fell, getting a huge splinter deep in his hand. We had to go to the doctor to let them take a look at it. 30 minutes of numbing cream, 4 lidocaine shots, tweezers, scissors, and 2 pediatricians later all the wood was out of his hand. As one of the doctors was giving shots 3 and 4, Andrew was promising to never climb the fence again.

All bandaged up

Couldn't keep him down long though. He was ready for soccer in 24 hrs!

Teeth Week

2011-03-12T13:09:00.003-05:00

Apparently it was tooth week at our house. It started out with Andrew losing his first tooth at school on Monday and Evie going to see an orthodontist for the first time. She got two teeth pulled on Tuesday to make more room for her permanent teeth to come in. We capped off the week with Andrew losing a second tooth this morning. Our tooth fairy has been very busy!

So excited to finally lose a tooth!

The first few hours were pitiful. Yes, those huge things she is holding are her teeth!

Feeling much better after a few hours and some pain medicine

Scooter and Sting Ray

2011-02-09T07:00:00.003-05:00

The kids both got to bring home their class mascots over the weekend. They had lots of fun playing with them and going on adventures!

Scooter, Sting Ray, and baby sting ray

Scooter trying out Menchie's

Scooter and Andrew at the Sunsphere

Evie, Sting Ray, and baby sting ray taking a plane ride

January Recap in Pictures

2011-02-01T11:34:00.003-05:00

Andrew got to go see the monster trucks!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! He got a new fire pit they all had try out immediately.

Ring Bearer and Flower Girl at Mimi's wedding

The reason a whole month went by with no blog posts.

Twas the night before Christmas

2010-12-31T12:06:00.001-05:00

'Twas the night before Christmas (but it really reminded me of the The Night Before the Night Before Christmas), children all tucked in their beds, and the car loaded for a late night drive ahead. When all of a sudden there was such a clatter; Daddy came running to see what was the matter.

And that is how our Christmas started off. We were planning to drive after Phil finished playing at both Christmas Eve services. I decided to carry sleeping children to the car while he ate his dinner. Poor guy hadn't even sat down when I misjudged the number of stairs we have in our house and Evie and I tumbled to the landing. Evie was completely fine and didn't even remember it the next morning. Nana came over so we could head off to Parkwest. Christmas Eve is apparently a great time to hurt yourself because we were in and out of the ER in half an hour. I insisted we would not let this ruin Christmas, so off we went the next morning. My family was a huge help as I hobbled through the day. However, between the pain, percocet, and just trying to get through the day I took zero pictures. The pictures below are from breakfast at my grandparents' house and are courtesy of my sister.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:01:00.000-05:00

Nativity Pageant

2010-12-21T18:08:00.003-05:00

Andrew has been working very hard the past few weeks on learning all his songs for the Nativity Pageant at school. He's never been much of a performer, but he has been so excited to do this in front of all the moms and dads. We were so proud of him as he crawled up on stage (as a sheep) and sang his little heart out.

Christmas Mice

2010-12-14T22:42:00.000-05:00

Snow day #2 this week was still really cold and the snow was basically reduced to ice, so it was an inside day for us. I had seen these cute candy cane mice on Southern Plate and bought the supplies to make them over the weekend. The plan was to do this craft during Christmas break, but it worked out to do them a little earlier. It entertained the kids for the afternoon and provided favors to Andrew's preschool party next week. I did all of the cutting, but the kids were able to do the assembly all by themselves. By the way, I learned that 6 and 5 is still too young to break out the hot glue gun! The kids thought they were cute, but Andrew wanted to know where their mouths were going to go. Evie informed him that they don't have mouths so they won't eat the candy canes. Love these kids!

Putting the ears on the body

Gluing on eyes and noses

Our army of mice. Their candy cane tails are color coordinated to their noses thanks to Evie!

The finished product on the tree

Snow Day

2010-12-13T21:09:00.003-05:00

We were outside 20 minutes after it started accumulating yesterday afternoon...they just couldn't wait!

He discovered how hard it is to ride on slick roads...lots of wipeouts

Sledding this morning

Merry Christmas

2010-12-13T16:42:00.002-05:00

Starlight Trees Christmas Card

Shutterfly has classic, elegant Christmas invitations for your party.

View the entire collection of cards.

Fun Saturday

2010-12-11T20:56:00.001-05:00

Evie has been excited for the past few weeks to go see The Nutcracker with her Nana. She picked out one of her Christmas dresses to wear and counted down the hours as the day went on. I think she had wonderful time! Since Evie was doing something special, Phil decided to take Andrew to Santa's Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops. This was definitely the little boy equivalent to an afternoon at the ballet.

Her ballerina ornament from Nana

Andrew's giant fish

Way Back Whensday

2010-12-08T15:04:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it has been 2 years since we were at Disney World. These pictures still make me smile!

Our 1st Gingerbread House

2010-12-02T07:25:00.003-05:00

We have never made a gingerbread house with the kids because they are allergic to gingerbread and royal icing. However, we got the idea from PBS Kids to use graham crackers. The recipe called for cream of tartar in the icing, but we just added some powdered sugar instead and it worked out just fine. I know you aren't meant to eat the house, but trust me, there was a lot of finger licking and candy sneaking going on. The kids loved it!

Construction begins

Phase one complete

Phase 2- another section of roof was added along with some landscaping

Phase 3- put up shingles, doors, and windows

The completed project! Next time we are going to frost that inside graham cracker, but once the roof was stable I wasn't about to try to frost the inside.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T15:11:00.000-05:00

Fantasy of Trees 2010

2010-11-24T18:18:00.003-05:00

FoT 2010

I think is the 1st time they have both been excited to see Santa

Evie and the Amherst Elementary tree~theme was based on the If You Take a Mouse to the Movies book

Evie and Andrew in front of their cardiologist's tree

The Sunsphere~one of their favorite landmarks in Knoxville

Flying with Papaw Rick

2010-11-14T15:30:00.002-05:00

My dad took us flying with him over the weekend. It was the first time the kids have been up with him. I had no idea how they would react, but other than one brief moment of Evie being nervous they loved it. We got to fly over Mamaw and Papaw's house, which they thought was great. It is definitely a different experience than commercial flights, and they were already asking when we could go again as we landed.

Love how the headset squishes those cheeks :)

They enjoyed talking on the headsets just as much as the flight

Pre K Field Trip

2010-11-09T15:57:00.005-05:00

Andrew's class (along with the kindergarten class at WHBC) went on field trip today to the library and Food City. Story time at the library was great because we got to go before they opened to the public. Then we headed to Food City. I cannot even imagine what the shoppers thought of 30 five and six year olds being paraded through the store. We got to go through the bakery, the credit union, the meat dept, the stock room, the freezer, etc. Andrew was not thrilled about the hair net, so we improvised and put his hood up with the hair net on top of it. The kids loved watching hamburger being ground and touching the lobsters, but the real highlight of the trip was riding the school bus to get there.!

Story time at the library

Chaos in hair nets

Lobsters at Food City

Lady Stars Soccer Party

2010-11-04T18:47:00.003-05:00

Another soccer season has come to an end, so the girls celebrated at Gatti's. We were blessed with some wonderful coaches this season! These guys not only teach soccer skills, they tie shoes, give hugs, dry tears, compliment hairbows, and more. Evie definitely loved her team this year and we are hoping to see some familiar faces in the spring season!

Lady Stars with Coach Bryce and Coach Lynn

Note Passing

2010-11-03T18:16:00.002-05:00

Evie passed this note to me in the car while we were stuck in traffic on the way to the pediatrician yesterday. She had made this statement a few times, but I told her it wasn't a choice to not go and to stop saying it. I couldn't help but laugh at her persistence and then praise her for using a contraction with proper spelling and punctuation. She's a character!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:09:00.001-05:00

Butterfly Fairy (lost a front tooth after this)

Woody

Silly children!

Trick or Treat!

Soccer Medal

2010-10-30T19:45:00.002-05:00

Andrew finished up his last U5 soccer session this weekend. He has made huge improvements since last fall. We are so proud of him!

Princesses on Ice

2010-10-30T18:49:00.001-05:00

We took Evie to see Princesses on Ice this afternoon. I have been waiting for this to come to Knoxville ever since we went to Disney World a couple of years ago. She loved every minute of it (except for the waiting in line to get in)!

Cinderella and Cinderella

Mickey & Minnie

We loved the dancing silverware with Belle

The princess Evie was waiting for, Aurora

Cinderella in her carriage

Walkathon @ Amherst

2010-10-29T13:33:00.003-05:00

The Amherst PTA has a walkathon every year as a fundraiser. Evie's classroom got a SMART board from these funds last year. It is a big party for the kids with music, Sharky, and dancing as they walk their laps.

Twisting during the Skeleton Square Dance

Catching up with best bud Madison

Costume Parade

2010-10-29T13:22:00.004-05:00

Andrew got to wear his costume all day at school and participate in a costume parade this morning. He had so much fun, and all the kids looked so cute dressed up!

Woody and Jessie. Andrew was so excited that Mrs. Marty, the director of his preschool, dressed up as Jessie.

Andrew with his teacher, Mrs.Nale

and with his other teacher, Mrs.Edwards

Spider Fun

2010-10-26T20:54:00.001-05:00

Andrew's preschool had their Fall Festival today. He had so much fun with the spider theme! They got to go on a hayride outside to the pumpkin patch, then come into the gym for crafts and a visit with the tarantula.

Spider cupcake

Spider pumpkin

The real spider!

Camping @ Frozen Head

2010-10-16T14:57:00.008-05:00

For fall break we went camping at Frozen Head. The kids had so much fun playing around all the rocks in the camp site. These have got to be the cleanest rocks around after Evie swept, or in her words "broomed", them all.

Playing on the rock as soon as we arrived

On the BIG rock

Cafeteria Food

2010-10-12T18:02:00.004-05:00

It all started with Evie asking Andrew what was packed in his lunchbox last week. She then found out that Andrew doesn't pack his lunch and gets a hot lunch at school. She wanted to know if she could have cafeteria food too. The cafeteria manager at Amherst was extremely helpful and sent home a huge binder with all the product labels for everything they serve. Turns out the only main dish she can eat is spaghetti, which just happened to be on the menu for this week. I met her in the cafeteria today to help her pick her sides and double check all the food. We had to get her a plate without texas toast, but other than that she could handle it all on her own. She was very excited to buy her lunch for the first time!

Spaghetti, carrots & celery, oranges, strawberries, and a popsicle for her friend's birthday

Goodbye Training Wheels

2010-10-11T18:24:00.002-05:00

The security of one training wheel left, but it was twisted up and not helping at all

5 minutes later we took the remaining training wheel off and he rode around the driveway in circles like he has been doing it all his life

Camp Ba Yo Ca

2010-10-03T21:33:00.002-05:00

Evie and I got to go on an overnight trip to Camp Ba Yo Ca over the weekend with girls and moms from our church. We had a great time and couldn't have asked for better weather.

Archery...love to the look on her face!

kart races

fishing

bunked down for the night with her bear~ She begged to sleep on the top bunk and was upset that her mother said no. I know my wiggly child though, and she fell out of the bottom bunk in the middle of the night, hit her face on the bed frame and her head on the wall. When she tells this story, she adds on that she now knows why her mom said no to sleeping on the top. Imagine that I am looking out for her instead of trying to be mean!

Way Back Whensday

2010-09-22T19:55:00.003-05:00

teeny tiny soccer star~September 2008

Evie's 1st soccer game of the season

2010-09-18T18:34:00.003-05:00

Evie had her first game in division U8 today. She was so excited to finally play after being rained out last weekend. It was a tough game against girls that were way bigger than our team, and we are so proud of her for hanging with them. She got slapped, tripped, kicked, and pushed around today, which was a new experience for her and her parents (tough to watch). We had some tears, but she got back in the game each time. She had 2 goals and an assist on a 3rd goal. The video below shows her joy and excitement of finally scoring.

Ready to go

Playing hard against the big girls

Putting all the skills she has learned over the past couple of years to use

Andrew's 1st AYSO game

2010-09-04T22:46:00.002-05:00

Andrew is in the U5 AYSO division this year. It is a great program for beginner soccer players. He started out in Upward last fall and really struggled emotionally playing games, but he did fantastic at his first U5 training and game. The kids get to run drills with a parent the first half of their time and play a 3 vs. 3 game during the second half. He loved this format and really enjoyed playing, which is not something we could honestly say during most of his games last fall.

Kicking over the coffee cans

Turning the ball around

On his way to score one of his goals (we lost count of how many times he scored)!

Way Back Whensday-birthday edition

2010-09-01T08:44:00.000-05:00

September 1, 2005

Toy Story Pool Party

2010-08-28T19:36:00.003-05:00

Ready to swim

Aliens, Hamm, Jessie's hat, Woody's hat

Yummy alien cupcake

Great friend having a wonderful time!

First day of Pre-K

2010-08-19T15:17:00.001-05:00

Andrew went to his first day of Pre-K at West Hills Baptist today. We wrestled with the decision of sending him on to kindergarten or giving him an extra year to mature. Phil and I both are very confident that we made the right decision by putting him in a 5 day Fives program instead of public school kindergarten this year. This is the first time he has been to a new place in 3 years, so I didn't know how he would react. He was completely fine! I am the one that had a hard time with it. I guess I lingered too long, because he finally asked me if I was ready to go yet. The only concern he had was lunch. They provide a hot lunch and after 3 years of taking his lunch he just couldn't understand why he didn't have a lunch box. His fears were put to rest when they served pizza and broccoli (he loves both)! He had a great day and can't wait to go back to see his teachers and new friends again.

Me: That is a great backpack, Andrew.

Andrew: Yeah, mom, it is sweet!

Way Back Whensday

2010-08-18T07:52:00.003-05:00

Amazing how much Evie has changed in a year!

Fabulous Summer

2010-08-17T09:06:00.003-05:00

I put Evie on the bus this morning, so summer is officially over for us. I have to say this has been one of the best summers, and I have enjoyed the kids so much. Here's a look back at how we spent the summer of 2010:

Played at Cocoa Beach

Visited Downtown Disney (same thing as Disney World to the kids)

Watched a rocket launch ~ Andrew still tells people it came from LC-37 (launch complex @ Canaveral)

Had fun at Saddleridge Ranch

Hiked in Cades Cove

saw Toy Story 3 (twice!)

Played with their 1st sparklers and fireworks

Learned to swim like little fish

Enjoyed many trips to Dollywood

Fell in love with Skippyjon Jones

...and now it is off to 1st grade and 5 day Fives.

Kids Workshop

2010-08-10T13:30:00.005-05:00

We took the kids to their first Home Depot Kids Workshop this past weekend. It is held the first Saturday of each month at every store in the country and is completely free. I knew Andrew would love working with the tools, but the Queen of Crafts enjoyed it as much as her brother. They are already looking forward to doing it again next month.

Kentucky Splash

2010-08-03T22:20:00.001-05:00

The kids have been asking to go to Splash Country for over a year now, but I was nervous about keeping up with them there and it is pricey. I kept hearing commercials on the radio for Kentucky Splash, so Phil took the day off and we headed north to try it out. The kids loved it! It reminded me of hot summer days I spent at Ogle's in Pigeon Forge when I was little. KYS has two waterslides, wave pool, kids splash pool, and a lazy river. Andrew barely squeaked by on the height requirement for the the big blue waterslide, but he loved it and rode it more than anyone else in our family. I am sure we will make it to Splash Country sometime, but for this summer Kentucky Splash was perfect!

Rainbow

2010-07-26T16:46:00.005-05:00

We don't have many strict rules in our house, but one of them is never wake a sleeping child. I've been breaking my own rule this summer though. Evie loves rainbows, so we just had to let her see this one. Apparently, rockets and rainbows are worth getting out of bed and any crankiness that may follow the next morning!

Fearless Andrew

2010-07-18T16:34:00.001-05:00

When I signed up Evie for swim lessons I asked Andrew if he wanted to do them too, and he refused so I wasn't going to push the issue. He changed his tune when he saw his sister and the big kids going off the high dive. His class got to go to the regular diving board on the 7th day of class and most of them had to be dropped in, but Andrew took a flying leap off of it and asked his teacher if he could go off the big diving board next. They let him go on it the next night and he loved it. I couldn't believe he actually climbed up and jumped off twice. He looked so tiny jumping from up there. In 8 days he went from being afraid to put his face in the water to going off the high dive!

Andrew up on the high dive

Jumping down to his teacher

Swim Lessons-round 2

2010-07-09T12:13:00.006-05:00

Five days ago Andrew was afraid to get in the water without his float and even more afraid of putting his face in the water. Five minutes into swim lessons he was happily doing both!

Swim Lessons

2010-06-29T19:35:00.004-05:00

Goggle girl

Going off the high dive

Fearless!

Day 6 of swim lessons. We have been very impressed with the instructors @ UT

Toothless

2010-06-23T06:58:00.003-05:00

This is the 5th tooth Evie has lost, but I think it is going to be the most missed. It is going to take some time for me to get used to seeing the gap in her grin and eating is going to be an adventure for a few weeks. Nonetheless, she was thrilled to lose a tooth and get a visit from the Tooth Fairy last night.

Abrams Falls

2010-06-21T22:04:00.004-05:00

VBS 2010

2010-06-11T07:41:00.003-05:00

I was ridiculously proud of myself for making these shirts for them.

Cowboy Andrew

Andrew milking a cow

Evie working on her craft

Downtown Disney

2010-06-02T15:47:00.001-05:00

We have been in Orlando twice in the past two months without stepping foot into DisneyWorld, so I was dying to go to Downtown Disney on our last afternoon. We just had a few hours, so it wasn't worth buying one day passes to a park. Our kids were so excited when we drove under the Disney sign. They were so thrilled to be there!

We had lunch at the TRex cafe

Evie with her look-a-like in legos

Build your own pony at Once Upon a Toy

Build your own Mr.Potato Head...this is the cruisin' look (and yes, mommy forget to pick up a mouth)

Rocket Launch

2010-06-01T15:02:00.004-05:00

We got to see a Delta IV rocket launch, which was really exciting for both kids and adults. Our first attempt at seeing it got scrubbed at T-7 seconds. After that there was a window that they couldn't launch because of the space shuttle Atlantis returning home. Thankfully, we got to see it on our last night.

Waking up in the middle of the night

Blast off

Kennedy Space Center

2010-05-31T14:39:00.001-05:00

Cocoa Beach

2010-05-30T14:19:00.001-05:00

Soccer Party

2010-05-12T18:18:00.005-05:00

Coach Lisa giving Evie her award and trophy

Her award for scoring the most goals this season!

An Accounting of our Blessings

Allergy Free Mouse

Hockey and an (unrelated) injury

runDisney

Disney Dining

Epcot

Magic Kingdom

Hollywood Studios

Animal Kingdom

Wonderful Week of Disney World

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Nativity

Merry Christmas

The Real Christmas Story

Dairy-free NO MORE!

Fantasy of Trees

Soccer Celebrations

Happy Halloween

Boo @ the Zoo

Report Card Rewards *updated*

Fall Break

Camp BaYoCa

Go Vols!

Soccer Time Again!

Happy 6th Birthday Andrew!

Take me out to the ballgame

First Day of Kindergarten

Back to School

Take me out to the ballgame

Dollywood

Funfest 2011

South Dakota

Happy 4th of July

Destin

Wonderworks

Big Apple Adventure

School's Out for Summer

End of the Year

Field Day

Red Lobster Field Trip

First Grade Field Day

Catching up

CFA Daddy Daughter Date

Orange and White game

Happy 7th Birthday!

St.Jude Trike-a-thon

GA Racers

Happy 7th Birthday- party day!

Kindergarten Roundup

Soccer Saturday

Tough Lesson Learned

Teeth Week

Scooter and Sting Ray

January Recap in Pictures

Twas the night before Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Nativity Pageant

Christmas Mice

Snow Day

Merry Christmas

Fun Saturday

Way Back Whensday

Our 1st Gingerbread House

Happy Thanksgiving

Fantasy of Trees 2010

Flying with Papaw Rick

Pre K Field Trip

Lady Stars Soccer Party

Note Passing

Happy Halloween!

Soccer Medal

Princesses on Ice

Walkathon @ Amherst

Costume Parade

Spider Fun

Camping @ Frozen Head

Cafeteria Food

Goodbye Training Wheels

Camp Ba Yo Ca

Way Back Whensday

Report Card Rewards updated