Cheering on the Vols! Even when times are a little rough...

Last Saturday (10/3), we took Carter to his second UT game. Even though the team is not doing so hot (to say the least)we really had a great time. He wore his jersey and his helmet, of course! On our way from where we parked to the Vol walk, a man stopped us. "He looks so cute in that jersey! We have got to get a picture of him!" All right. "Do you have a camera? I can take one for you too." I'm thinking as I look for the camera, which has fallen to the innermost depths of the diaper bag, "Is this guy going to take off with our camera or what? He looks like a nice guy, he has his camera why would he need ours?" Just as I look up with the camera, I notice that there is a really tall (and good looking) man right beside me- It's Eric Ainge! "I had to get my picture taken with him. He looks so cute!" This is Eric talking about Carter who is wisely wearing the #10!

Carter giving Eric a high five. He is really tall but we were on the downside of the hill in this picture making him look even taller!



Jumping in the inflatables at Volunteer Village


Our happy little family!

He's still awake! It only took about 10 minutes in the car until he was snoring. He takes after his mom when it comes to hard core snoozing! We had so much fun talking him to the game. He was cheering along with everyone and even told a few people "That's not nice, your not posed to say that" when they were booing some not so good plays. He loved doing the wave- even though he was always a bit behind everyone else. I think everyone around us enjoyed seeing the game through his eyes. There were so many people who stopped and talked to us and told stories about bringing their own kids to UT games. I hope this is a fun tradition that we are able to continue with Carter and the new babyfor many years.

It's a....

healthy baby at 16 weeks. We didn't want to find out if we are having a boy or girl. We actually hoped for a suprise when Carter was born, but a little miscommunication with the doctor meant that we found out we were having a boy around 15 weeks with Carter.

Right now the plan is for Carter to get a big boy room (currently the guest room) and move the baby into his nursery. The nursery is decorated with pale lime green walls and white beadboard and other pastel colors. It is a pretty gender neutral room. Several family members have voiced their frustrations with ,but for now we are not swayed! If only we could think of a name!

Changes

I posted this last night but it showed up in June instead of August. Instead of spending more time trying to figure out how to fix it, I am just going to copy and paste it here.

I have always been someone who looks forward to changes. I like to visit new places, try new foods, and I am often rearranging my furniture at home or in my class. Now don't get me wrong, I am big on traditions too. There are lots of things I don't want to budge on. I also like to change things on my terms. I want to make the plans and see them through. Over the past few years, I have grown to understand that I don't always get to plan when these changes will take place. I don't always understand why God makes me wait when I am ready to move on. In time it always makes sense but in the moment, I usually get a little impatient and frustrated.

This last year was really tough for me in a lot of ways. The most difficult aspect of this last year was work. It was just one of those years. I couldn't have had another one like it this year. When I finally made it through the year, Matt and I were focusing on what kind of changes we wanted to make to improve our lives. We thought about moving to Bristol to the FREE house waiting for us. Did I mention that this house is on the lake and was built only 2 years ago? There is a pictue of Matt, Carter, and Wayne taken at the creek about 200 feet from the house on my father's day post. We also though about staying here. As a matter of fact I applied for jobs in Bristol and surrounding systems and transfers in Knox County. I really prayed and asked for God's guidance in the decisions that we would need to make. If I get a job in Bristol do I move and let Matt stay here until he finds a job? Do we sell the house or try to rent it? If I get a job here, do I take it? What if I take it and then Bristol calls and offers a job? What if nothing happens and next year is even harder at school?!!

While I was trying to play the "what if" game, I was also really trying to turn things over to God. That's not easy for me. Remember, I like to be in charge. That's probably why I like teaching. I am in charge of about 20 little people all day long. If something isn't working, I can change the way we do it.

I also thought about all the times in my life when I was looking for what was going to come next, instead of fully enjoying where I was. When I was in high school, I couldn't wait to be more independent and move off to college. When I was in college, I couldn't wait to get married and start teaching. When I was living in an apartment I couldn't wait for us to buy a house. All of these stages were wonderful, but I didn't always appreciate them at the time.

I have to say that when I began focusing on turning things over to God everything became a lot more clear. I have more peace. My life is great, even though it is far from perfect. I am accepting the flaws and working on them.

As far as the big decisions in my life, I feel like God helped me out there. I just started a job at a Cedar Bluff Elementary School where I am teaching Kindergarten. The new building is being finished this year and I love my huge brand new room! It has an office and a huge closet! I will miss some wonderful friends and mentors at Pond Gap but I am ready for this change. I think God knew that I needed a new path to follow.

The week after I went on my interview for the postion at CBE, I began feeling sick. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, I just felt nauseaus all day. Of course (as you know by now), I was pregnant. Another way God was showing me he was in control! We just assumed we would have to go back to a specialist to make it a reality. This baby is such a blesssing. We had wanted a little brother or sister for Carter for a while. I am so glad that we did not have to wait as long or go through all the struggles that we went through before.

I am not the only one with big changes- Matt is going back to school. He started the MBA program at King College last week. He drives to Bristol for class once a week and spends the night. He is really enjoying the learning and I know he is going to do great!Carter also started preschool. We were so lucky to have Holly adopt him as her own the past two years, I was afraid we wouldn't find anything that we would be satisfied with. We still miss Holly, but he is doing well at his new school.

I am humbled by all of the ways our family is experiencing blessings right now. I hope that all of my friends and family who have showed me the example of truly turning things over to God will understand what an impact you have made in my life. I feel blessed to have such wonderful people to go on life's journey with. I pray that you are all well and will continue to live for Him.


Carter's first day at school! He loves his backpack. He left it on for the first 30 minutes each day that first week.

Thanks for taking pictures Matt! I had to be at work :(.

What other things we've been up to...

I'll give you a clue. Check out the new ticker to the right. :)

I also started my new job today! I was ready for change and boy are we getting some exciting changes!

Do you know the way to San Jose?

I do. Unfortunately it requires two flights from Knoxville and took about 8 hours, including layovers. When I flew from Dallas to San Jose, I kept singing the lyrics to this song. I could only remember that one line and the humming that comes after. Very annoying.

When I arrived DeAnna and the family were there to pick me up and take me to eat at the Cheesecake factory. When we finished and headed to their house it was about 9:00. That's 12:00 according to my body's clock! We finished driving to their house and I tried to stay up so that I could sleep later the next morning but found mysef waking up at 4:00 and again at 5:30 (7:00 and 8:30). Later, DeAnna and I went to have lunch in a little tea house in downtown Tracy. We spet the rest of the day shopping. It was so nice to have girl time. We had a lot of fun shopping and I enjoyed helping her find a lot of cute things. I found a few for myself also! I tried staying up again but still woke up very early on Saturday. I went ahead and began getting ready for a day of sightseeing in San Francisco. That brings another song to mind, and no I did not wear flowers in my hair.

We all went into town and spent the WHOLE day traveling around. I'll fill in the details when I can upoad the pictures to go with the commentary. After visiting DeAnna's church and staying for a cookout after church, we headed back to San Fran for more sightseeing on Sunday.

Today I have been getting my email inbox cleaned out, reading, taking a long relaxing bath, and reading. It has been so nice! I feel selfish spending all of this time on myself, but I have to admit- I like it!

I miss Carter and Matt and I know I will be ready to get back to them, but having a fun and restful visit with my sis and her family before returning to school feels like such a blessing.

Headgear

If you haven't been around Carter much, you may not truly understand his love for sports. Not only does he like to play the games, he really enjoys all the equipment that goes along with them. His favorite piece of equipment is probably his glove or his batting helmet. He also really likes his football helmet. He recently went with Brittney to see one of her friends playing football in a summer league. Of course, he had to take along his football and his helmet. Here are some of the shots Brittney's friend Megan took.

Playing with Brittney


Water Break!


What a cutie!

What we've been up to...

If I had been blogging as regularly as I really should have these are some of the pictures I would have shared. I will spare you all of the details for each picture, just a way to catch friends up on some of the things we have been doing the past few weeks.

Playing in the Pool


Gardening in my PJs with Granny


Watering flowers (result of gardening with Gran)


Brushing the goats with Lauren at the Knoxville Zoo


Feeding the ducks with Daddy


Playing baseball


Mini-golf with Grandaddy - notice the batting helmet, it's worn at least an hour each day!


Playing at Fort Kid


Look at how dirty I got!


What toddler wouldn't love for a picture like this to be show to future girlfriends!


Hopefully that will catch you up on some of what we have been doing! I can't believe the summer is coming to an end in just a few weeks! I have really been enjoying my time with Carter!

It Worked!!!

Last week I had a popcorn kernel stuck between my tooth and gum. I know you have all been there! I flossed and brushed and picked at it but I could not get it out! I irritated my gums so much that I decided to but some ora gel on it. Yes of course that made my gums feel better, but that is not where the story ends.

Apparently, I left the ora gel in the pocket of my new shorts. This was not discovered until they had gone through the wash and had been dried. &$%*! 3 of Matt's work pants, 2 pairs of his shorts, a pair of my capris, and the pair of shorts got grease stains on them. And they had already been through the dryer. How do I redeem myself for this lazy mistake. We really couldn't afford to replace all of these things...

I went to the trusty internet and googled "grease stain removal" and read through lots of suggestions. One tip I saw over and over suggested to apply Dawn (this was the specific name brand given) to the stains. The theory is that it cuts through grease. After working on the spots I put water in the washer and added 1/2 cup of simple green all-purpose cleaner and my regular detergent then added the clothes and washed them. Of course, as you already know- it worked! I have thrown away so many clothes that got grease stains from food, I know I will use this tip again. As a matter of fact I have a shirt I wore recently with a stain on it because I just didn't want to give it up!

Just thought I would share my little victory with my friends out there! Hopefully it's a tip that might save something you want to hang on to!

My new favorite summer recipe!

I tried this recipe almost a year ago when the Bashams (Matt's Aunt Donna, Uncle Bruce, and cousin Brittney) invited us over for dinner. I forgot about it until recently and have made this meal twice in the past few weeks. What is it? Fish Tacos! They are so fresh and yummy! It's one of those meals that you fill up on but don't feel like your stuffed. Thanks for introducing it Brittney! I am now sharing the recipe with all of you.

I serve it with Knorr instant Mexican rice and canned black beans for a quick meal that doesn't heat up the kitchen. Carter loves this meal and Matt does too. Sometimes Matt's a little picky when it comes to fish, but this one passes the test. Let me know if you try it, I would like to hear what others think!

Baja Fish Tacos
1/2 cup mayo (I use light mayo)
1/2 cup sour cream (light again)
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pound white fish (I use cod or tilapia)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice (I use fresh lime instead)
1 pkg hard taco shells
Toppings: shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes

1. Chop the cilantro and tomatoes. I buy already shredded cabbage. Cut the fish into approx. 1-inch pieces.
2. Mix the mayo, sour cream and cilanto together. Add 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning and stir well.
3. In a skillet combine vegetable oil, fish, remaining taco seasoning and lemon/lime juice. Cook over med.-high heat for about 5 min.

Serve in taco shells, with sour cream mixture, cabbage, and tomatoes.

I love the fresh taste of lime, cilantro and fish with the crunchy shells! Hope you enjoy it too!

Changes...

I have always been someone who looks forward to changes. I like to visit new places, try new foods, and I am often rearranging my furniture at home or in my class. Now don't get me wrong, I am big on traditions too. There are lots of things I don't want to budge on. I also like to change things on my terms. I want to make the plans and see them through. Over the past few years, I have grown to understand that I don't always get to plan when these changes will take place. I don't always understand why God makes me wait when I am ready to move on. In time it always makes sense but in the moment, I usually get a little impatient and frustrated.

This last year was really tough for me in a lot of ways. The most difficult aspect of this last year was work. It was just one of those years. I couldn't have had another one like it this year. When I finally made it through the year, Matt and I were focusing on what kind of changes we wanted to make to improve our lives. We thought about moving to Bristol to the FREE house waiting for us. Did I mention that this house is on the lake and was built only 2 years ago? There is a pictue of Matt, Carter, and Wayne taken at the creek about 200 feet from the house on my father's day post. We also though about staying here. As a matter of fact I applied for jobs in Bristol and surrounding systems and transfers in Knox County. I really prayed and asked for God's guidance in the decisions that we would need to make. If I get a job in Bristol do I move and let Matt stay here until he finds a job? Do we sell the house or try to rent it? If I get a job here, do I take it? What if I take it and then Bristol calls and offers a job? What if nothing happens and next year is even harder at school?!!

While I was trying to play the "what if" game, I was also really trying to turn things over to God. That's not easy for me. Remember, I like to be in charge. That's probably why I like teaching. I am in charge of about 20 little people all day long. If something isn't working, I can change the way we do it.

I also thought about all the times in my life when I was looking for what was going to come next, instead of fully enjoying where I was. When I was in high school, I couldn't wait to be more independent and move off to college. When I was in college, I couldn't wait to get married and start teaching. When I was living in an apartment I couldn't wait for us to buy a house. All of these stages were wonderful, but I didn't always appreciate them at the time.

I have to say that when I began focusing on turning things over to God everything became a lot more clear. I have more peace. My life is great, even though it is far from perfect. I am accepting the flaws and working on them.

As far as the big decisions in my life, I feel like God helped me out there. I just started a job at a Cedar Bluff Elementary School where I am teaching Kindergarten. The new building is being finished this year and I love my huge brand new room! It has an office and a huge closet! I will miss some wonderful friends and mentors at Pond Gap but I am ready for this change. I think God knew that I needed a new path to follow.

The week after I went on my interview for the postion at CBE, I began feeling sick. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, I just felt nauseaus all day. Of course (as you know by now), I was pregnant. Another way God was showing me he was in control! We just assumed we would have to go back to a specialist to make it a reality. This baby is such a blesssing. We had wanted a little brother or sister for Carter for a while. I am so glad that we did not have to wait as long or go through all the struggles that we went through before.

I am not the only one with big changes- Matt is going back to school. He started the MBA program at King College last week. He drives to Bristol for class once a week and spends the night. He is really enjoying the learning and I know he is going to do great!Carter also started preschool. We were so lucky to have Holly adopt him as her own the past two years, I was afraid we wouldn't find anything that we would be satisfied with. We still miss Holly, but he is doing well at his new school.

I am humbled by all of the ways our family is experiencing blessings right now. I hope that all of my friends and family who have showed me the example of truly turning things over to God will understand what an impact you have made in my life. I feel blessed to have such wonderful people to go on life's journey with. I pray that you are all well and will continue to live for Him.


Carter's first day at school! He loves his backpack. He left it on for the first 30 minutes each day that first week.

Thanks for taking pictures Matt! I had to be at work :(.

Happy Father's Day!

I always knew that Matt would make a great dad. He is such a caring person and family is very important to him. It has been wonderful to see him turn into such a confident dad. I love this picture- one of the first ones taken after he became a Dad. You can feel the excitement just by looking at it!

He's always ready to play with Carter. Here he is helping him out in the ball pit he got for Christmas.

Of course, Carter is lucky to have two wonderful grandfathers as well. Grandaddy (or "Khiney"- rhymes with hiney- as Carter calls him) is showing him some of the skills needed to throw rocks in the cretk at the lakehouse. Something Matt loved doing too. We have a picture of Matt at the same age on these rocks. This is another one of my favorite pictures.

Here's one of my favorites of Carter and Papa. I also have one of them wrestling that I love. I picked this one because I love the look on Carter's face. SO excited! Carter is blessed to have such wonderful role models. He will be able to learn so many wonderful things from each of these men. We are also lucky enough to live close enough to visit both of them regularly. Of course, they never turn down an opportunity to see their little man! Happy father's day to all the special fathers in our lives! We love you!

He's All Boy!

Our Saturday was going so well! We had blueberry pancakes, played with cars and threw baseball. Matt and I even got motivated to go for a walk in the neighborhood. If you were anywhere near Knoxville on Saturday, you know that that took motivation! It was hot! When we got back from our walk we started getting ready for a day full of fun. Matt jumped in the shower and I started forlding some laundry. Carter found a ball and chased it all around the room while I was folding clothes. Actually, he chased it right into the corner of a dresser in our bedroom. It started bleeding immediately and I knew right away we were probably headed to the emergency room. I called Matt's aunt Donna for her opinion- it didn't seem that bad, I just wasn't sure. She suggested that I go just in case- better safe than sorry. So off we went. For the second time in less than two months.

Thank goodness they weren't very busy. We were called back quickly and didn't wait in our room very long. Here is a picture of Carter waiting. As you can tell, he didn't seem very bothered. Of course he did have his froggy to make him feel safe.


Two stiches and a posicle later, he was good to go! I think he looks kind of drunk in this picture- the scar on his nose is not really obvious. I am hoping it is going to keep getting better. Maybe we will luck out with no scar on his forehead also. Matt's afraid he's going to look like a hockey player.

I hope this isn't becoming a pattern, but as everyone says, "He's all boy." I might need to get used to my little daredevil and not only count how many times we have to go to the ER but how many times we were blessed to avoid it. Let's see- two weeks ago he rode his tricycle down a flight of steps...



I love you Carter, but I'm going to be gray by the time I'm 35 if you keep this up!

Books and Blooms

On Thursday, Carter and I went to Books and Blooms with Ashley and Lauren. (Ashley is married to Jason Wade- a friend Matt has known since Kindergarten.) It is held at the UT botanical gardens. After storytime, there were sprinklers set up for the kids to play in. It was great for a hot day like yesterday. I think it was in the low 90s when we were there from 10:30-12:00. You can probably guess what part of the day Carter liked best. (Although he did enjoy the picnic lunch- especially everything Lauren brought!) Of course, it didn't take him long to find a football laying around. I was pretty impressed with this throw and even more impressed with the fact that I got a decent picture of it. I think he was trying to throw it to Will, a friend from church, but it doesn't look like Will knew. He's wearing the Spiderman shorts in the picture below.

Lauren wasn't so sure about playing in the sprinklers. Can't say I blame her- there were some wild kids in the sprinklers and why take a chance on messing up your hair. By the way you can see the "tats" she gave herself if you look at her legs. It's nice to ask a two year old to smile for a picture and have them cooperate! Thanks Lauren!

I really enjoyed spending time with Ashley doing "Mommy" things. We usually visit at book club, but we are going to try to get Lauren and Carter together more this summer. They play well together. Lauren has such a sweet spirit and hopefully some of her gentleness will rub off on him!

Thanks again to Cindy for letting me know about the event! I plan on returning next week. Carter already asked if we could go back and play in the "pinkluhs." It was nice to go somewhere I have not been in Knoxville. The gardens were beautiful and we might return for another picnic on a weekend when Matt can come with us. It's hard to believe that I have lived here for eight years and still have so many places to go!

BTW fellow bloggers, I know I have an issue with the placement of my pictures and there is a large space between the bottom of the pictures and the remainder of my post. If any of you could tell me how I could get the preview and post to look like the section where I am editing, I would appreciate it! Maybe it is because I uploaded all the pictures at one time? I can't get it to display the way I want and it is frustrating me! I am going to post anyway. I know you have all been waiting and checking this sight to see when the next exciting entry would come! LOL!

Entering the world of Blogging

Over the past month or two I have been reading a blog from one of my closest high school friends. We have had only a few opportunities to visit with each other over the past 10 years, but I always enjoy getting together and remembering the good times (and sometimes the bad- over course there were very few of these!). Our lives have changed so much since college, but we will always have a special bond. I have really enjoyed getting to know her family and seeing what her life is like now that we have our own families. I hope that this blog will enable me to reconnect and stay connected to those who have been such great relationships over the years. When I was looking for a picture to post I had a hard time finding one with all of the family. I know that I take most of the pictures so there are very few of me but I did not realize how rarely we get a shot of our family. I am going to have to really push to get more family pictures. Of course, I decide this just as Carter reaches an age where he will not sit still. I thinks this picture avoidance stage will continue for about 20 more years. Both of us might as well learn to deal with it now.

Well Jenny- thanks for the inspiration! I will try to keep it current! ... Welcome to our life!