First class BBQ.

Had a lazy day at home this afternoon with the kids.  Made some artichoke dip and a salad and headed over to the Callands for our first UPT class mini bbq.  The St. Johns, Erions, and Callands were there.  Hadn't seen Mary Beth's new house yet and it's adorable!  Great place to hang out!  The kids had a blast and it was a fun night.  At one point Kinleys bandaid had lost it's tackiness and she started screaming like she had been seriously hurt...I ran over to find her wimpering because her "bam bank" was falling off.  Silly girl.  Adam was also running around on one of those pony's that's kinda like on a stick that you ride around and was wearing a cowboy hat running around spankin his behind :)

Mexican Red Rice and Grilled Chicken Tacos!

John and I are having our friends the Painters over for dinner tonight and decided to make a few Mexican dishes!  First I thawed some chicken tenderloins and marinated them in salt, pepper, and garlic powder for about 4 hours in the fridge.  Next I'll be whipping up a new recipe for Mexican Red Rice!  I found this recipe online but made a few adjustments.  The recipe is as follows...

Recipe for Mexican Red Rice

Ingredients:

2 Cups Long Grain Rice

4 Cups Chicken Stock

3/4 Cup Blended Original Rotel Tomatoes

4 Cloves Crushed Garlic

1 Medium Diced White Onion

2 tsp each of Cumin, Garlic Powder, and Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1 1/2 Cup Thawed Peas and Carrots

Olive Oil/Real Butter

Chopped Cilantro/Jalepenos (Optional as garnish)




Directions:

In a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil/butter on medium heat, next add the rice and saute until the rice becomes slighty browned.  Add the onions and the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add all the dry spices and stir to combine. Add the blended Rotel tomatoes and  chicken stock, stir well.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes without removing the lid or stiring the rice.  

Add the peas and carrots evenly to the top of the rice mixture. Cover and continue cooking until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Total cooking time is about 20-25 minutes.

Remove from heat once liquid has evaporated and let stand for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, fluff with a fork and fold in the fresh cilantro if using.

Lazy Saturday

Last night John and I attended the 70th Birthday ball for Columbus AFB.  We were able to celebrate with some of our close friends here in MS.  Jenn and Adam Matheis took the kids for the night and we had a blast!  We were a little slow moving this morning but it was worth it!

Around noon we finally left the house and went over to Lowes for an umbrella, umbrella stand, and some pillows for our patio table.  Then we swung by Monica Mays for a water table for the kids.  They had fun playing with their new toy while John and I fixed steak, rice, and grilled veggies :) It was a nice cool evening out on the deck while the kids played in the water.

Funny things kids do & say...

Today Kinley and I drove to Tuskaloosa for another neurology appt...needless to say she pretty much made friends with everyone in the room.  Then took her babies clothes off and made it go potty in the trash can.  It was lovely :)  Later when we got back home Kinley ran over to me in my chair and yells mommy UP!  Which means "flip me."  So I go "Okay."  FLIP!  Little did I know miss thang took her skivvies off and low and behold I had a naked butt and girly parts fly past my face!!  So I told her "march upstairs and bring me a new diaper!"  So...instead she grabs my water tips it back and gets water all over her dress....So I take that off and proceed again to tell her "march upstairs and get a diaper, now!"  So she heads up the stairs, then about halfway up decides to sit down and start singing...again I say "MARCH little girl, go get mama a diaper!"  She just continues to sing and sit so I walk up the stairs and "pop" smack her rear end.  Finally she gets it, sticks each of her hands under each of her butt cheeks, turns around, pulls her cheeks apart and walks up the stairs yelling "MARCH MARCH MARCH MARCH MARCH!"  And that would be the highlight of my morning lol.

So when John left for IFS Adam and I made a paper link chain.  One link per day daddy would be gone.  Everynight before bed we take a link off.  Well, Adam rips them off but hey, whatever works.  So anyway, tonight we do our routine, brush teeth, potty, get in bed, medicine, motts, hugs and kisses.  So then as I'm leaving Adam yells "I ripped one!!"  LOL I'm thinking okay, that's nice..."where did you learn that phrase??"  He says "No where, I ripped one!"  "Mommmm, I ripped a link off the chain!" LOL I had a good laugh!  :D

First day of school!!!

                                   "First day of school!  First day of School!" -Finding Nemo

                   Axiously awaiting the school bus to take him to his first day of Kindergarten.  

                               He's home!!  Getting off the bus!!  We missed him soo much!!

Kinley yelled "BUDDDDDYYY, YOU'RE HOME!!"

Running off the bus to give mom a hug....

 He made a friend on the way to school and they talked about "pottys" lol!

"HI MOM!!!!  OH WAIT, I GOTTA GO POTTY!!!!!"

1st visit to Maxwell AFB!

This past Saturday I got to visit John for the first time since he's left for OTS.  They guys had just finished their 4th week there and had earned their on base privledges!  Up until now they'd been restricted to the grounds of the OTS complex so this came as a huge milestone for the class of 12-06.  My mom offered to take the kids for the night so I hit the road!

Total drive time is around 3 hours from door to door.  John had a lot of work to do Saturday morning so I figured I would break the drive up a little and stop into Birmingham, Alabama for a little shopping.  I've been lucky enough to find a beautiful dress for the "Dining Out" portion of the graduation events, however, I was still on the hunt for that perfect graduation ensemble.  So naturally I went to a few of my favorite stores.  ;)

While in Birmingham I went to the shops at the Summit.  I browsed Anthropologie, New York & Co, and my all time fave White House Black Market.  It was at WHBM where I stumbled upon these beauties!  It was love at first sight for dress #1!  I grabbed it thinking "this is it!"  Then naturally I always grab a couple extra items to try on just in case and since I'll be back there anyway!  So I grabbed #2 & #3 as my "back ups."

Dress #1 White House Black Market

Button Back Chiffon Halter Dress $158

Dress #2 White House Black Market

Satin Polka-Dot Sheath Dress $168

Dress #3 White House Black Market

Knit Mixed Stripe Tank Maxi $128

Dress #1 was super cute!  I instantly loved it!  I snapped a picture of the dress just in case I loved the others and couldn't decide.  Silly as it may sound it definitely helps having a visual when making an important fashion decision.  ;)

Dress #1

Dress #2

Dress #3

It was really long and too casual for the event so I didn't snap a picture.

Success!!  Dress #2 was the one!!  I fell in love with the clean lines and the vintage style.  It's a dress I can see in my closet for years to come.  It's the perfect go to "little black dress" w/ a little flair of course! So $168 later.  It was a successful trip to Birmingham!  :)

From Birmingham I went straight to Maxwell AFB.  There I got to go on a little self guided tour of the base until I got to finally meet up with John.  The officer housing is gorgeous!  The houses reminded me a lot of my trip to New Orleans.  

From housing I drove by the golf course, a restaurant, and finally the OTS school grounds.  That's where I got to see John for the first time in over 4 weeks!  It was awesome to finally reunite and have some time together without the little ones.  I stayed across from the school at the University Inn which was really nice!  Hopefully we'll get to stay again next weekend for Memorial Day!  Later that night we went bowling where I almost beat John...not really but I scored really well at least!  

We got to play three games, all of which he killed me at!  After we finished up we went to the bowling alleys ice cream shop and had cookie dough topped with rocky road!  Yummm!  The night was really fun and therefor flew by.  He had to be back by 10:30 so after ice cream I drove him back to the dorms.  

The next day we had lunch at the golf coarse.  OMG huge hamburgers and awesome wings!  I felt like 1,000lbs after we ate but it was totally worth it!  That was followed by a quick trip to the bx then it was time to say goodbye.  This coming weekend is a 4 day weekend!  The kids and I will be road tripping it this time for a 3 day stay!  I can't wait!  :)

Adams special Pre-K Graduation!

Little Learners Academy

Front Row: Piper, AshLynn, Luke, Riley Hook, Noah, Regan, Giada, & Devin.
Back Row:  Riley Smith, Morgan, Peyton G (gf), Evie, Adam, Cole, Ava, & Blake.

April 26, 2012 marked the day of Adams special (early) graduation from Pre-Kindergarten.  We will be PCSing to Columbus AFB, Mississippi next week so Adams teachers gave Adam a special early group photo and celebration with his friends.  

He worked hard all year earning stars, staying on "green" almost everyday and recently joining the 100 club!!  It was only fair to let him participate in a mini graduation from Little Learners Academy.  All year he's built awesome friendships with these little guys and I know it's going to be hard for him to say goodbye next week.

It's hard to believe that just a few months ago was Adams first day of school!  In just 9 months he's learned so much!!  He's learned a multitude of songs, stories, learned to read and write his name, read sight words, sing the alphabet backwards, watch caterpillars turn into butterflies, create many works of art, learned "criss cross apple sauce, eggs in a basket, bubble in your mouth, eyes on the teacher," taken coconut the monkey on trips, learned about the solar system, and I'm sure much much more. His teachers Mrs. Amanda and Mrs. Cathy are two of the most wonderful teachers I've ever encountered.  They were 100% dedicated to those kids and did an amazing job this year!  Thank you.  :)

Oh one more thing!  While doing all of the above, he also managed to snag this pretty lady and call her his gf all year long.  The lovely miss Peyton G.

Day 1 of OTS

     Today marked Johns first day in Montgomery, Alabama for OTS. We all got up early to see him off then it was go go go for the kids and I! Adam and I decided to go grab lunch then head to Destin for the day. We started at the mini golf course where Adam had a good time playing for the first time. I was actually trying and he still beat me on most holes...good for him...bad for me ha! I think its all those lessons John has been giving him in the back yard. He was a natural!

 About halfway through the 18 hole course we approached a big giraffe statue bent over "drinking" water...Adam looks at it, thinks for a minute then says "mommy did you know giraffe don't have butts?" (giggle giggle) No Adam I did not know that! Must be hard for them to sit down ha? We both had a good laugh :)

     He was having such a good time kicking my butt that he more more than happy to entertain my photo happy self, so I got a few good shots of our game of mini golf. :)

     After the royal butt kick we decided that we should go play some arcade games! Adam somehow managed to win 800 tickets with only $10! Every game we played he would win 60, 80, 100 tickets! It was really fun!

     After we kicked butt at the games we cashed in for a few little toys, a water baloon launcher, and some candy.  Then it was time to head home and relieve grammy of Kinley bean.  Adam and I decided we needed to test out the water balloon launcher but that only lasted all of a minute before just attacking each other with over filled "potato balloons!"  An hour later and a yard full of florescent colored grass we were beat and ready for dinner! We convinced Grammy to come with us to Thai food, so we headed to Daddy's!  After dinner we went for a long walk down to the Dollar General.  On the way there and back there was a light drizzle but we decided to just keep going.  Then fight as we were getting back it started pouring! Talk about perfect timing! ;) All in all we had a pretty good day considering we had to say "see ya soon" to daddy this morning.

Let it rain!

Mommy: "Say, make it rain B!"
Adam" "Make it rain B!"
Mommy: "Make it rain B!"
Adam: "Make it STING BEE!"
Mommy: "LMAO!!"

Love that little guy!

We spent most of the day hanging out at home and played a puzzle, did some laundry, and then watched a movie.  Around 5 we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings to meet Pam and Amaya for dinner.  We had a great time and it was kids eat free so a fun night out only cost us $12!  It was a win win!  After dinner Adam and I went over to Pams to pickup RoseBud the guinea pig.  She's going to stay with us while Pam and Amaya are in Oregon.  We are so excited to have her with us!  She's super sweet and going to be a great little addition for a while!  Got to talk to Bridget and Kim tonight too!  They're heading out to do some wedding dress shopping for Heather!  Where does the time go??  Hopefully we'll be able to make it to the wedding in June!  Well, sooooooo tired, time to catch up on them Zzzzzz'z!  Night night!  Make it sting B!

Baby Samuel

Baby Samuel

Today I came across a fathers BLOG about his baby son Samuel.  I ask that you say a prayer for little Samuel tonight that is filled with hope and love.  He comes from an amazing family and needs us all to join together and with the power of prayer help his little body to heal.  Thank you and god bless!

A note from his amazing parents:

Life is so bizarre right now.  Things that I used to hold strongly to, I’m not sure I hold as tightly.  Jesus Christ and Him crucified is my bedrock truth, yet throughout the day we have been interacting with words and thoughts from man.  We woke up this morning feeling energized from the previous day’s news.  My wife is more than amazing, and as we walked to see Samuel this morning, there was an extra sense of praise from our lips for our Mighty King.  Yet what we were confronted with was indeed bizarre.

Samuel was there; eyelids red from a medication that keeps a heart valve open, chest rising and falling ever so slightly from a ventilator, tubes protruding from every angle that seem so foreign and alien to him.  I kissed his toes and held his hand, usually my first act whenever I see him.  I said a prayer over him, speaking aloud the name of Jesus, as I whispered in his ear my love and devotion to him.  Yet my countenance was positive as I lastly kissed his forehead and spoke to him about his family that wants to be with him.  My attention, as Kelly then said hello to Samuel, went to the nurses operating the ECMO machine.

“How’s he doing today?”  It was a simple question, yet loaded with hope.  “Are his gas levels in his blood doing well?”  You see, I was just assuming from all of the prayers from the thousands of people that he was going to be doing exponentially better.  I was wrong; it seems the levels from the ECMO were raised because the gas levels were not as good as the previous day.  My heart sank; literally I was shocked.  I remembered too, though, the doctors had told me it was going to be a day to day thing; one day good, one day potentially bad.  His urine output was bad today as well, that’s the first step in doing well on ECMO; he needs to have better kidney function and lose all the weight he has accumulated via water.

Words are very interesting when used by certain people.  It begs the question to me, “what is truth?”  For if the words, “30% chance of survival, doing bad today, Samuel has been doing poorly on ECMO, etc.” have power in them and are truth, then I can truly be discouraged and fearful.  That’s right where the enemy wants us right now.  He wants us afraid, he wants us discouraged.  But really, they are just words.  They are just statistics said by broken people who have a very limited knowledge on a few things.  But there’s no power in them; it’s just man’s attempt at trying to figure out the situation.  Man is not sovereign and his words are not power.

There’s only One who has power in words, and that’s our Creator God and logos Jesus Christ.  Christ IS the Word; the very spoken word when creation began.  When God spoke, the heavens were made.  When God spoke, man was formed.  When God spoke, Samuel began in Kelly.  When God spoke, Kelly’s water broke and ordained that the specific doctors would be working that day.  God speaks, and Samuel breathes.  God is the only one who speaks with power.  He spoke His Word to us in the Bible, and He speaks life to us today.

So I guess I need to encourage both you and myself right now.  Please keep praying for Samuel.  From man’s perspective, he’s not doing well.  Yet God has him right where he wants him at the moment; he has the power to heal.  There are no “bad days” in God’s plan of redemption.  But there is the reality that we are called to pray.  As it stands, thousands are joining hands for the life of my son.

We need to pray specifically for the water in his body to leave.  We need to pray that the ECMO machine slowly lowers and becomes less of a need day by day.  We need to pray fervently also that the life of Samuel will be a testimony of God’s grace and goodness.  I have been told that Samuel could be a source of revival in certain hearts, and I pray that is the case, but the truth is I am a little selfish.  God, I want Samuel.  I want to hold him, to kiss him and see him smile back at me.  I want to see him run on the beach, laugh and poke fun of his older sister.  I want to see him bless Kelly and annoy the heck out of his older brother.  I just want him so badly a part of my life so I can share my precious Jesus with him.

Many of you have wondered what it is you can physically do.  Sometimes Samuel receives up to four blood transfusions each day; he needs your blood.  If you are interested, would you mind letting me know and mentioning it in your response to this post?  I will give more information on it later, but for now, please pray about giving blood in Samuel’s name at Children’s Hospital.

And please, please please keep posting this on facebook, twitter, tumblr, etc.  Please reference Samuel in your own blogs and send out emails for people to pray.  God is doing something; let’s sit back and see Samuel’s life effect thousands.

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