It's Me!

I know I haven't updated in ages, and I still really don't have time. Lots of stuff going on in our lives. I have "first day of school" pictures, but I haven't taken the time to load them on my computer yet. The kids are loving school. Macy is in 2nd grade, and Brady started K4. He's really happy. He was ready! I wasn't, but he was. I've since gone back to work full time. What an adjustment! I haven't worked full time in over 7 years! We're all getting used to the routine.

I just ran across something that I wanted to share....especially with all you mothers! I knew you'd appreciate it. I'll try to post some pictures soon! Have a great weekend! Enjoy this funny!

Dear kids,

The bathroom door is closed. Please do not stand here and talk, whine, or ask questions. Wait until I get out.

Yes, it is locked. I want it that way. It is not broken, I am not trapped. I know I have left it unlocked and even open at times since you were born because I was afraid some horrible tragedy might occur while I was in here, but it's been 10 years and I want some PRIVACY!

Do not ask me how long I will be. I will come out when I am done.

Do not bring the phone to the bathroom door.

Do not go running back to the phone yelling, "She's in the BATHROOM!"

Do not begin to fight as soon as I go in.

Do not stick your little fingers under the door and wiggle them. This was funny when you were two, but not now.

Do not slide pennies, Legos, or notes under the door. Even when you were two, this got a little tiresome.

If you have followed me down the hall talking and are still talking as you face this closed door, please turn around, walk away, and wait for me in another room. I will be glad to listen to you when I am done.

And yes, I still love you.

Mom

Big Weekend

I hope you all had a happy 4th of July! Despite the not so great weather, we had fun with family. I guess the biggest news from our weekend something that happened to my husband. He and some of his fellow firefighters were working at the park on the 4th, and a lady that worked for one of the local Hospice's came around asking everyone to register for a prize. He took the form and stuck it in his pocket. He wasn't really planning on filling it out. Honestly, we never win anything, so why bother. So, later, she came around to collect the forms. She asked him if he filled his out, and he told her that he didn't. She said, "Oh come on...you need to fill it out...you might win!" Well, guess what? HE DID WIN! Oh, and did I mention the prize???? Well, it was a

Oh yes! We're SO excited!! I was not one of the ones that got up at the crack of dawn and searched every store around Christmas time. We knew we would enjoy one, but I am just NOT the person that will wear myself out trying to acquire something that requires so much effort and money. Then, WE WON ONE!!!!!!!!!! So, that was an exciting ending to our Fourth of July...

Now, we've been partying this afternoon. Macy's 7th birthday party was today. She had a great time swimming with friends. Her cake was a flip flop cake this year, so here is the picture:
I must admit, this was a pretty yummy cake. The flip flops were frosted with homemade butter cream icing, and the bottom part was homemade caramel icing. Yum! I asked her if she wanted it to say "Happy 7th Birthday Macy Brooke" or just "Macy" and she said, "Macy Bug." That's what we called her the first several years of her life. So, that is why it says, "Macy Bug."

We'll be going to the beach next week, and I intend to take lots more pics then I did in May. Have a great week!!

It's Time!

Well, wouldn't you all say it's about time for a new post? Sorry...I'm really bad at this.

We went to the beach a few weeks ago...you'd think I would've posted pictures from that trip, but wonderful parent that I am, I really didn't take that many. There are a couple of cute ones that I took of the kids...from behind! They're looking out at the ocean. I didn't know that anyone really cared much about looking at my kids back sides! We had a good time with my family. We're going back July 12 with Jarrod's side of the family, and I'm planning on doing a lot better with the camera!

Things have been hectic around here, as usual. Between working, carting kids to and from VBS, fever viruses, and WALKING...let me just fill some of you in on the walking, in case you haven't heard. Me and 5 of my girlfriends from church are doing the 3 day, 60 mile breast cancer walk in Atlanta on Oct. 24-26. We'll be walking 20 miles a day for 3 days. We started training in May. It's going well...and I'm enjoying growing my friendships with these girls as we walk miles and miles and miles in preparation for our big weekend. This morning, we walked 6...that's the longest one so far. It feels good to be done with it for the day, and it's such a sense of accomplishment! Also, let me thank all of you have donated to the cause!!! Our fundraising has been very successful! (and if you'd still like to donate, let me know and I'll tell you how!!) I just think it's going to be a life-changing experience, and I'm looking forward to it. Keep us in your prayers!

Also, may I just say HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY TO MYSELF! Today, yes, I realize it's Friday the 13th, is our 10th wedding anniversary. That sounds like such a long time! It's been a great 10 years, and I look forward to many more. I'm singing in a wedding this weekend, so we've got the rehearsal tonight and wedding tomorrow, but we're still managing a mini-retreat. Jarrod made all the arrangements for us to spend the night in Florence's nice, new Marriott Hotel/Spa tonight. Check out isn't until NOON, so I intend to stay there until precisely NOON and enjoy all the child-free time!

That's it...really exciting post...but something new, anyway! I always say that I'll try to do better...maybe this time, I really will! I'll certainly have some birthday and beach pictures to post next month if I don't get to anything sooner! Macy's birthday is July 9, we leave on July 12 for the beach, and my birthday is July 14...How lucky am I to get to celebrate my birthday at the beach! Yippie!! I'm sure y'all will be waiting with eager anticipation for pictures of Macy's birthday cake this year! I'm not sure what she's having yet...right now, I think she's leaning toward a flip-flop cake. We shall see!

Have a great weekend!

Praising God!

Wow! How easy is it to praise God when a situation has a happy ending? For me to experience joy and exclaim "Praise God!" and know that if the situation had turned out completely opposite of how I wanted, I'm still called to exclaim "Praise God!"

Here's an example:

Last week, we got news that a man...many of us knew him as one of the following: friend, brother in Christ, former classmate, husband, father, grandson, and son, had been killed in a plane crash. He was a pilot. That is horrible, tragic, and shocking news. Add to that that in his death, his wife was left a widow for the SECOND time...and she's 32, maybe 33 years old. Twice widowed. They have 2 children...a little boy, age 3 years and little girl, age 6 months. This woman blows my mind...in the face of tragedy, she doesn't think twice about saying, "This is God's plan for my life." Sure, I think that deep down, we might all know that... but I'm willing to confess to you right now that I don't know if I'd be able to voice that immediately after learning that my second husband had died suddenly.

That happened on Wednesday. Fast forward to yesterday...Sunday. My mother gets a call from my brother who is with his family in Tuscaloosa visiting his sister-in-law that has just had her first child. He tells mom that they are in the ER with Sam, my nephew. Now, if any of you know Sam...this wouldn't really be shock. We're all quite surprised that he's never been to the ER before...considering that he only knows one speed...WIDE OPEN! So, we assumed it was for stitches, maybe even a broken bone. Ethan then proceeds to tell her that everything is OK, Sam is going to be fine, but they had found him floating in the pool of the people they were staying with. I can't really explain how I felt when I heard this news. I just know that I can't count how many times I've thanked and praised God since we got that call... because it has a happy ending! Would I have been so inclined to shout it from the rooftops if the story had a different outcome? That has really given me something to think about!

Thank God for all he does for us. Although we can't see the big picture that He clearly has for us, I know that I trust Him...even if it might be hard to grasp it and proclaim it sometimes.

Right now, I'm thankful for my precious nephew.
It was a very scary and emotional day for everyone in our family yesterday, especially his parents. I thank God that He spared Sam, and I thank God for the kind of parents Ethan and Lisa are. They are wonderful, attentive parents, and they need to be reassured of that. Thanks for all your prayers and phone calls! It means a lot to us all! Also, please continue to pray for the Faulkner family during their time of grief and loss. "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!." Psalm 150:6

Happy Easter!

Well, while I REEEEEEEEALLY need to be cleaning my house, I'm sitting here trying to catch up on my blog reading and posting! I thought I'd pass along some pictures of our Easter weekend. We spent the weekend at my mom and dad's house. My brother and his family came in Friday night and stayed through Saturday night, so we did our egg dying and hunt on Saturday. It was fun. Here are a couple of pictures from that:

Also, the kids were pretty excited about the movies that Mimi gave them!

Here they are dressed up on Sunday...Brady is my "maker of goofy faces!" The second one is of Macy, Brady, and Mimi.

Lastly, this is the third spring that the swans have nested behind mom and dad's house. We're looking forward to watching another drama unfold with the swan family!

Remember Me?

Well, it's been a while, I know! I thought it only fitting to follow up my last post with a video of Macy performing part of it. The song was in our children's play called "Power" that they performed this past weekend. They did a great job, and put LOTS of time and effort into preparing for it! This video (assuming I can get it on here) is of Macy (singing first) and another friend, Annsley, singing the first verse. The quality isn't as good when I transferred it to youtube...oh well. Even though the quality isn't great, you can still see Macy trip on the way back to the risers. It was really kind of funny...especially if you'd been able to see the look on her face! I'm sure there was a better way to post this video, but I'm not very computer savvy. I tried to used blogger's video "thing," but my file was too big! Anyway...this is as good as I could get it...

Also, I had to bake a cake for Dr. Seusses (is that the plural of "Seuss"?) birthday today. Macy's teacher is a HUGE Dr. Seuss fan, and she always celebrates his birthday in a big way. She asked me to make a cake, and here's what I came up with:

I was happy with it...especially since it was the easiest cake I've ever made! All I did was cut a little off the sides of a 9x13, and there you have it! And only 2 colors! Wow...I didn't know a cake could be done that quickly! Instead, I'd rather torture myself and try to see how difficult it can be!!

I'll try not to go so long between posts next time! I know, I always say that! But, with the upcoming events I've got...ladies retreat, Upward conference, and Brady starting to play Upward soccer...I should have plenty of material to pull from! Have a great week!

The Power of Your Love

Lord, I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I've found in You

And Lord I've come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love

Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love

Lord, unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me

And Lord, renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living everyday
By the power of Your love

Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love

Birthdays and Baking!

Well, it's that time of year at the Wallace household! Time for me to stress myself out by doing some good 'ol Holiday baking...not to mention the birthday cake! That's right...today, my baby turns 4 years old!! That's CRAZY! I just thought I'd take this time to post some pictures...his cake, his party, my Christmas cookies, and the cookie cake I made for Brady to take to preschool on his actual birthday, since we celebrated Monday night. He wanted to go to Cracker Barrel for his birthday! How many 4 year olds do you know that want corn, carrots, and macaroni and cheese for their birthday dinner? And, he ate 1 bite of cake. He's not a big sweet eater. Here is his cake:

He just looks SO big! Here he is with all his loot! The sad thing is, he still has gifts coming from his aunts and uncles...not to mention CHRISTMAS PRESENTS! We're going to have to add a room on to the house!
He was really happy about his new pirate ship from mommy and daddy!
Finally, here are the pictures of the Christmas cookies and birthday cookie! I only have 1 more thing that I'm planning to bake. I should finish my cream cheese pound cake this afternoon, and then I'll be done...unless I think of something else I need to do! Have a great Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome!

I don't usually recommend movies, because I'm afriad people will say, "What was the big deal about that? I don't know what was so great about it!" But, I don't really care this time. I just saw "August Rush" last night...and it was amazing!! I highly recommend it...so that's the chance I'm willing to take! If you go see it because I said it was good, first of all, I guess I'd be flattered. Then, if you don't like it, my apologies, but something is wrong with you! Ha! Let me know if you've seen it and what you thought about it!

I Feel Special!

Well, thanks to those of you that have bugged me about posting something new! That just lets me know that there are a couple of you reading!

I realize that I have gotten severely behind on my posting, so this is more or less a "catch up" post. I'll start with Halloween....check out my pirate and pirate lass!!

After we got Halloween behind us, a few of us from church took off to Kentucky to help our youth minister lead worship at a youth conference. It was an AWESOME trip....thanks in HUGE part to our accomadations. If I could only use one picture to try to describe this hotel, uh, lodge, to you...I think this one sums it up. This is the celing in the hallway just outside our room:
People, if you ever find yourselves in Gilbertsville, Kentucky...please be sure you stay at the Ken-Bar Lodge! It rocks!!!!

Now, I guess the latest thing to report is Brady's last injury. I picked him up from preschool on Wednesday, and his teacher said, "He had a little accident with his finger today. We've put Neosporin and a bandaid on it, but it's pretty gross. He really took the hyde off of it." (I'm not sure if that's how you spell "hyde" in this instance...I can't say that I've ever actually typed that sentence...) Well, she really tried to prepare me, but I didn't think much of it. That night, I put him in the tub before church and he started screaming saying his finger was stinging. So, I got him bathed, and when I got him out, we changed the bandages...YUK! She wasn't kidding! It wasn't until the next day that I asked her to tell me again exactly what happened. Brady was telling me one thing, and the teacher gave me the other story. He and another little boy were playing with a chair. They had it turned upside down. The other little boy decided to stand on it...with Brady's finger under it. Well, Brady didn't cry about it, he just decided to pull his finger out from under the chair...tearing a big piece of skin off. Here is the result (for the full effect, click on the picture...you'll get a HUGE close up of his ripped up finger, and as I just noticed, you will also get a nice shot of the chocolate in the corner of his mouth...darned tootsie rolls!):
Pretty nasty...the picture really doesn't do it justice! It's been fun to keep doctored up! It's really healed pretty quickly. Now, if we could just get rid of the bronchitis! Oh the joys of parenthood!

Well, both kids are out all week for Thanksgiving...I don't think I'll be posting any this week, but I hope to not go as long as I have this time! My grandmother will be 90 on Friday, so we'll be having a big party over the holiday! Hope you all have a great one!!!

Priceless Gifts

Well, I have to give a shout out to my great sister-in-law, Etta. She is a very creative person, and an even more creative gift giver. She is a great scrapbooker, which I am not. For Christmas the year after Macy was born, she gave me a scrapbook of her first year of life. She did the same the year after Brady was born...gave me a scrapbook of Brady's first year, that is... not another one of Macy's first year! HA! I wouldn't take ANYTHING for those special gifts! I still get them out and look at them on a fairly regular basis. Just when I thought she couldn't come up with anything sweeter, she managed to pull this one out of her hat a couple of years ago for Christmas. Now, I realize this post is 2 years late, but I pass these pictures a million times a day in my home, and I look at them nearly every time! I LOVE them! Thanks, Etta, for being so thoughtful! I have some priceless memories of my kiddos, thanks to you!

Forgive the angle...I couldn't take it straight on because there is a window that was reflecting on them. You get the idea, though! Click on the picture to make it bigger and you can see the pics that she put in the frames. Check out my chubby boy in that first picture! Hilarious!

While I'm giving kuddos to family members, I'd like to say a big "thank you" to my in-laws for taking care of my baby this past weekend. For those of you that don't know, Macy and Brady spent the night with Nana and Pawpaw while I was out of town, and as luck would have it, Brady got the stomach virus. Nana got a big throw back into being the mother of small children and handled it well, proving to herself, and all of us, that she's still got it! I hated that I wasn't there to take care of him, but I know Nana did a great job and proved to be super-Nana! Thanks again! Oh, and so far so good...Macy hasn't had it (despite the fact that she was in the bed with him when he got it)! Knock on wood...it's been nearly a week now!

God Bless America!!

Catching Up

Well, it's been a while....again! Sorry. I know y'all are getting sick of seeing the "High School Muscial" post. Especially since it's star has been busted for taking nude pics of herself. Niiiiice. Anyway...moving on.

Things have been hectic around the Wallace household, as usual. Macy started soccer a few weeks ago. Here are a couple of pictures from her first game:

Taking a break...one of the big differences in the Instructional league (4&5 year olds) and the 1st-3rd grade division is that instead of playing 3 minutes before they do substitutions, they play 6 minutes. This really took some getting used to by all the girls!

Another difference is that they have goalies in this league. Here is her coach (and her daddy) helping her get her "goalie gear" straight. She really does a great job defending the goal, I must say! She's having a great time, and so are we. UPWARD soccer has been a great addition at Cross Point.

Now, I have to brag on my baby boy! He has really taken an interest lately in learning to write. That makes me quite happy! Macy was always intersted in reading and writing and just learning stuff from a very early age, and I didn't think I'd get that lucky twice. Well, he has surprised us. He likes to be read to as much as she always did. He asks more questions than she ever did (a few examples: "Does the devil have ankle bones?" "Do your ears have bones in them?" "What's a christian?" "Am I a christian?"....just to name a few) He love sharks, whales, and dinosaurs and can tell you LOTS of facts about any of the 3. Needless to say, he makes me proud. Anyway, he's known how to spell his name (and his "sissy's" name) for a while now, but he has just started writing them. Here is his latest work:

How cute is that? Well, I think it is anyway!

Heading off to Nashville this weekend for the ZOE conference. If you've never been, you should give it shot! It's awesome! Check it out at www.zoegroup.org

Kudos, Disney Channel!

I have to give a shout out to Disney, here. We love the "High School Musical" movies in my house. I like to use the kids as an excuse to watch, but truth be told, I like them just as much (if not more)!! I'm a sucker for a good musical, and even more...a good CLEAN musical that the whole family can enjoy together. We have both soundtracks, and just the other day, my husband got in the car and made fun of me for listening to one of them without even having the kids with me! HA!

We'll be watching High School Musical 2 again this weekend, only this is the dance along version! Oh, that should be interesting! I won't be busting any moves, but I'm sure Macy will be!

So, if you have kids, use them as an excuse to see these really good family fun (although a little cheesy in part) movies! Enjoy!

What a Week!

Well, there has been quite a lot happening in my family since I last posted. Most of you know that my husband lost his cousin, Kristin, on August 11. She was 28 years old and has 2 children, ages 2 and 4. She will be greatly missed, but we know that she's running in heaven right now. Since I've been in the family, Kristin has had struggles. In October of 1996, before Jarrod and I begin dating in January, she was in a car wreck that left her partially paralyzed. The doctors told her she probably wouldn't walk again, but she proved them wrong and was walking 6 months after her accident. She had recently had lots of trouble with one of her feet, and had major surgery on it only about 1 1/2 weeks before she died. She was SO excited about the possibility of that surgery being the answer to her trouble with her foot. I know that now, she isn't having any trouble with that foot and is getting around better than any of us!

She was such a fun, happy person and I'm so glad that I was a part of her family for nearly 10 years! I wanted to share a quote that she has on her myspace page...I think it's awesome that she had this attitude, and it REALLY speaks to me since she's gone home:

"Someday everything will all make perfect sense. So for now, Laugh at the confusion, Smile through the tears, and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason"

First Grade Girl

Well, it's hard to believe, but today was Macy's first day of first grade! She was very excited. It's so different from kindergarten. Now, she knew her classmates, so it was like she was going back to see friends instead of going into a brand new situation! She was thrilled to be in the same class as several of her classmates from last year. She was especially glad to be back in class with her best friend, Abby. Here are some pictures that I took this morning. I still have to post about our trip to the aquarium in Chattanooga last weekend. Hopefully, I'll do that soon. Have a great rest of the week!!

Here she is ready to go to school:

Here she is outside of her new classroom:
Macy and Abby:

And, my personal favorite, Brady telling his "Sissy" goodbye:

Last Beach Trip...

Well, we had to come home from the beach...bummer. I love going, and we were lucky enough to go twice this year. I only am taking the time to post a few pics. We had a great time. This trip was with my in-laws. Here is a picture of Macy with Brady and her cousin, Justin Michael. Can you tell she's the little mother??

How 'bout the boys playing cars in the sand:
This one was just TOO sweet not to share. They really are loving toward each other most of the time! This was not a posed picture...it just happened:
Now, for the biggest news in our family. After 2 years of listening to her beg...I finally let her...
cut her hair! I know...big deal for us! She has literally been asking for 2 years. We inched it up 2, then 3, then 4 inches. This was a big one! She is SO happy! I knew it would be cute, but I also knew she'd look older! I've been wanting her to keep it long because it looked pretty...and I never had pretty long hair. I was forced to keep mine short because it was stringy! I guess I was living through her!

School starts next week...I'll have a first grader. Hard to believe! It doesn't seem possible! Hope you all have a good rest of the week.

Well, for whatever reason, blogger won't let me enter a title for this post. So, you will soon see, it's all about my little birthday girl! Her birthday was yesterday, and we had her party Saturday. I thought I'd post a few pics from the party. She had a great time...we love having it at the church building so that they can just run around and be kids...yet we don't have to worry about them destroying our house! Here's my favorite picture of the day...me and my big 6 year old girl!!
Here is a picture of her and Mimi (my mom, for any of you that might not know that).
Since Macy had 2 cakes, (which by the way turned out to be a wise choice this year...we almost ate them both) she wanted to put 3 candles on one and 3 candles on the other:
This picture is HILARIOUS to me. Brady was so sad that he didn't get to help her blow her candles out...he just didn't understand why the day was all about Macy. In this picture, his face is telling you all exactly how he felt about not being able to help:
It's always nice to get clothes...and I am lucky to have a daughter that gets just as excited about clothes as she does toys and such! She was pretty happy to have a new fall outfit from Mimi!
And finally, she was rather excited to get a new camera from me and Jarrod. She's about to drive us nuts taking pictures of anything and everything!!

She also got a pretty American Girl doll from her Nana, but I was so busy helping her get into it without messing it up, I failed to get a picture of her with it! Thanks to everyone for the fun day and the great gifts! She's loving using her gift cards, and will enjoy her new earrings, too (today is the 6 week mark...she can take hers out if she wants too).

Thank y'all for continuing to check in on my blog...even though 9 times out of 10, it's about my kids! Sorry, they're the most exciting thing I've got going on in my life right now!

Well...one other exciting thing...me and a bunch of girlfriends are going to B'ham Thursday night to the American Idol concert! We're very excited! Maybe that will bring a post that has nothing to do with my kids! We leave on Saturday for the beach. I'm sure I'll post about that trip as well. Have a great weekend!

More Baking!!

Well, the time has come for me to show yet another couple of cakes! Yes, I said "couple" because I've gone completely mad! I always think that the cakes I make look small...never mind that they are made from a regular cake mix that would fit into a 9x13...they just don't look like they would feed many people. For that reason, there have been more than 1 of Macy's birthday's that I've made 2 cakes. One year, I think it was the year I made the Dora cake, I also just made a regular sheet cake. The year I made the butterfly, I actually made 2, and I don't even think we cut one of them!! So, this year...what did I decide? That we needed more than one, yet again. There are going to be a lot of adults at this party, and she's invited more friends than she has in the past...so.....

She had already decided on a beach theme. The cake she wanted was a palm tree. After thinking about the fact that I needed something else...I decided to pull down the soccer ball pan from last year and create...you guessed it...a beach ball. At this point in my "parenting career," I've made several birthday cakes. I'm getting a little more lazy than I used to be. This year, I used a bigger star tip so I wouldn't have arthritis by the end of the day! There are also a few more little holes where you can see the cake peeking through...so don't look too closely! That being said...we're ready for the party tomorrow. All that's left now is for you to feast your eyes on the cakes! Ta Dah!!

Happy 4th!

Well, here it is...sooner than you expected, you're being forced to look at some of my baking adventures! We're traveling to my Grandmother's for the 4th, so I thought I'd take some snazzy cupcakes! Behold:
I'm such a dork! Trust me, my 89 1/2 year old grandmother will think she's got the most genius granddaughter in the world!

Coming this weekend...the palm tree cake and pictures from Macy's upcoming birthday party! I know you're all on the edge of your seats!

Also, if you're a reader of this blog and haven't already done so, I challenge you all to do the "50 Things About Me." (see previous post). It's so fun and I love hearing what you all have to say!