The Carr Chronicles

UGH.... such a slacker!!!

2010-11-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

What can i say?! I feel terrible about not updating in soooo long! so much has happened since I last updated! Julie is doing fabulous in Kindergarten, Logan had a rough start to preschool and is doing much better now, we adopted 2 cats (outdoor b/c of my allergies of corse!), Isabel started walking, she turned one, Logan had his 4th birthday, I turned 30, and Julie earned the nickname "the wall" on her soccer team for being a fantastic goalie!!!! WHEW!!! Life with 3 kids is wonderful and it keeps me insanely busy! (and it only gets worse i hear!!!!) so.... here are a few pics to catch you up quickly and hopefully I will be better about updating!

Isabel's Birthday ~ 1st bottle of the day!!! Isabel, we love you so much and are so glad about God's wonderul plan to include you in our family, you complete us!

We celebrated her party a few days before on labor day.

attempt at a family picture

Yes, we have 2 cats now. My sweet sister in law Lauren talked us into one of the best decisions we have ever made, we LOVE these cats! Boo is the black one, and Tinkerbell is the grayish one, they are sitting in the appropriate chairs before isabel's party!

Izzie showin the love to her big Bubby!

Julie played soccer this fall, and she loved it. We had a great time going out and supporting her! Here is one of her sweet friends, Ella.

Here is Julie earning her nickname, Julie "the wall" Carr. who knew the Carr family would produce such greatness at soccer!!!

Julie playing dress up, notice the pink shin gaurds.... her uncle austin would be proud!!!

Logan with some of his friends at his halloween parade! He was Mario this year, and he is quite the gamer on the nintendo! Logan had a rough start to preschool this year, and he has worked hard to get his behavior much better and we are so proud of him! He had a really hard time with big sister going to kindergarten this fall, but he has finally adjusted :0) He has grown so much and we love to have conversations with him, he is hilarious! My favorite thing though is that he still twirls his hair like when he was little baby :0) He will always be mommy's sweet boy!

Isabel was a bumble bee for school, and a pumpkin for halloween. She had two costumes this year! Julie ended up wearing a costume on 3 different occasions, and was belle for zoo boo, sleeping beauty for church trunk n treat, and minnie mouse on actual halloween!!! thank goodness for the dress up box!!! :0)

Zoo Boo with the homegroup! It was so fun!

My sweet little angels! they were so cute!

Me Jenn and Bridget did race for the cure!!! We froze our hineys off!!!

some pics of Isabel on her actual 1 year birthday. Out of about 42 pictures, only 4 turned out okay! She was being a stinker, but I had a lot of fun!!!

A Little Kindergarten Girl!

2010-08-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

My sweet Julie, I cannot believe it is here! I remember 6 years ago when I was pregnant with you sitting in our apartment in Denver, CO and feeling you kick me. I remember thinking about the various stages in your life-like starting Kindergarten- and how I would feel. I feel a lot of sadness, and a lot of joy and a lot of excitement all at once! I am so proud of you, and I am so excited that you are starting this part of your educational journey in a safe, christian environment. Staying home with you the last 5 years has been wonderful, and I hope you have been as blessed as much as I have!

Sweet baby girl's first Christmas

Gotta love a Binky baby!

Just plain cute

First Day of the 3 year old class at preschool!

Christmas 1 year ago

Very first day of Kindergarten!! Mommy hugs before we left :0)

Logan ran over and gave her a hug. He will probably have the hardest time adjusting. He asked me about 4 times yesterday, can we go get Julie yet? I miss my sissy!!!

Julie's wonderful teacher, Miss Claire, she is super sweet, and we love her already

another cute uniform pic!

A few people asked me if I cried, but I didn't in front of Julie when we were leaving her because I didn't want her to be upset. She gets very upset whenever I cry, and I didn't want her to feel scared about us leaving her there with me crying! Travis and I got very teary eyed on the way home from dropping her off, and we were both very quiet. When she came home she said she had a great great day, and that she loves her class and her teacher. She asked me and Logan what we did while she was at school, and we told her we just missed you! and she responded, "I know you did!" Stay tuned for next week when Logan and Isabel start "school"

some summer fun and a little gamer :0)

2010-08-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

Julie started Kindergarten today! I am going to do a whole separate post tonight or tomorrow and post more pics and write my thoughts about it! so stay tuned for that! Doesn't she look so cute in her uniform for good ole' Harding Academy?! She was giggling in this pic :0)

Logan LOVES Mario Kart and Mario party, and we have a little gamer on our hands as well. Isabel loves to "bother" her big brother when he gets to play, so we have to give her a controller to play with too! we just don't plug it in

She thinks she is really getting away with something!

One day when it was 120 heat index, we went out at 6:30 one night to play in the water, it was still smokin' outside, as you can tell because my lens kept fogging up!!!! Isabel is a wagon girl, she loves it!

Travis and I have gone on a lot of dates lately because he has been out of town a lot recently! We decided one night to go out and go to Incredible Pizza Company! We had a coupon and so it didn't cost us a fortune. We stayed for 3 hours and had a blast! thanks to Sam and Bonnie for babysitting that night!

Us Before going out

sometimes a girl just needs a nap on her mommy :0) PS, julie took this picture!

7 years!!!!

2010-08-02T09:59:00.001-07:00

we went on a date last night, and my parents watched the kids for us. I wanted to just go somewhere fun and we picked red lobster! We had some yummy food and talked a lot about how blessed we are!
Us before going out last night

The love of my life! I was preggers with Logan then :0)

Last year on my 29th birthday

okay, Julie and Logan got these in a wendy's kids meal, and we have had so much fun with them!!! Kids being silly :0)

Julie wanted to take a picture of me and trav wearing them!

Trav, here are 7 reasons I love you!!!
1) You are my ears for me without even realizing it now.
2) You are the best husband because you love me no matter what, and have learned exactly what I need and when!!!
3) You are the most awesome provider for our family.... thanks for working so hard for us!
4) You always take such good care of the kids and help me out with them!- they love you so much and love the memories you make with them :0)
5) You are my best friend, and I can truly tell you anything.
6) You always know how to make me laugh, and have taken our surprises better than I could have ever imagined.
7) Getting us to heaven is your number one priority, and I thank you for loving God most and praying for us always!

My poor neglected blog... an update with pics part 1

2010-07-06T14:41:00.001-07:00

My mom has been on me about my poor pitiful neglected blog!!! Now we really know what she is doing instead of working.... hee hee :0)
Isabel is almost 10 months old, and she is crawling everywhere and saying a lot of different sounds when babbling. She is going to be my mischeivious one... already trying to bite down on electrical cords and getting into cabinets! We are so in awe of how determined she is to keep up with Julie and Logan. We are very busy and loving it.
It has been awhile, but I will try to catch you up quickly, with pics!!!!

My Isabel, look at that little angelic face~ She has daddy, sissy, and bubby totally wrapped!!!! okay yes, I admit, she has mommy wrapped too! How could we resist those adorable little cheeks?!

Logan fell asleep sitting up on the couch after pump it up one day, and then he just fell over and stayed asleep! Julie and I laughed for days about that one!

Sweet smiles :0)

Sisters :0) they have on matching bathing suits, but you can't really tell in this picture. Isabel's hat only lasted about 10 seconds, but it was cute while it lasted.

Isabel laughed every time Julie jumped in or went down the slide.

My handsome tea party host... a benefit of being around girls all day!

I love my sweet family!

My 3 Kids~ at Nanna's house for some fun.

More of Isabel, she is starting to chunk up here!

After a day of swimming, travis needs a nap!!! LOL

Just me

2010-07-06T13:55:00.001-07:00

I have been going through so much with spiritual growth lately, and my hearing, and making some final decisions on how to handle some things, and I wanted to post this simply for journaling purposes.

I feel like there is so much to say about the last 3-4 months. Many of my close friends have asked, soooo how is your hearing doing lately? well.... I would rather not talk about it, but it is something i need to face, and often neglect. I used to be so open about it, and I just don't like to open that can of worms with people anymore. I think sometimes that people will judge me or think i might not be as good of a mom because of it sometimes, and being a mom is something that I really want to be the best at, and I don't want any extra scrutiny from people thinking that my hearing affects my ability to be a good mom. goodness, parenting is difficult enough as it is!!!! Dealing with my hearing loss is hard, and I struggle with it often. Even Travis doesn't always know what is going on in my head about it, and he often wants to know. On a much more positive note, I have had the glorious privaledge of hearing Julie and Logan's voices, and they are firmly imprinted in my brain. I am anxiously waiting to hear my sweet Isabel's voice the first time she says "I love you." When she babbles and coos, I think it is the most sweet, angelic sound I have ever heard. I am doing okay with my hearing loss, and though i do not feel like I have lost more, I feel like the ringing in my ears is louder, making the clarity of words sort of an issue. I can "hear" what people are saying, but occasionally I can't understand what word/words they may have said. It is complicated, and well, that is probably the best way to explain it.

Spiritually, i am learning, A LOT. God has been so patient with me and I am so grateful for this. I am learning that I need to listen and read and just be still right now in this phase of my spiritual journey. I used to have such a selfish form of spirituality. Let me explain. I would always think, what is God's purpose for MY life? What does MY future hold? What will God bless ME with? What are MY talents and gifts that I should be using. I used to love things that helped ME feel better about myself. I am learning that yes, God gave me talents and gifts, but they are for HIS glory. Really isn't my purpose as a Christian to live as Christ? for people to see Jesus in me, and to really not see "me" at all? My purpose is try to get as many people to heaven as I can, and to live that out not only by reaching out to people, but by living by example. So really.... it is about Jesus, and others, myself being last. That is hard in our society that says, put yourself first!!!
I credit having kids to realize this in a slow and difficult manner. having kids has been such a wonderul amazing sacrifice of myself. As a mom, I often put myself last- and gladly do so. But I do it out of love. They are so needy and I never get to really "choose" when my services are demanded. God reserves the right to expect the same thing of me. I shouldn't choose and pick when and if I will say yes to what God is calling me to do. I should just say yes and take every opportunity to serve.

I have been struggling with a situation in the last 6 months that has greatly impacted my faith. Some loved ones are hurting some members of my immediate family unintentionally, and it is heartbreaking to watch. It has been brought out in the open, and discussed, but not much has changed. It has been repetitious and exhausting emotionally and mentally. Sometimes I regret being such a passionate person with a temper. I have prayed and prayed about this and God has called me to forgive them. Forgiveness is something I have known about, and heard many sermmons on, but have never fully had to comprehend it or apply it to a situation in my own personal life. It was so humbling when God said to me, "You have no right to keep anger, rage, and biterness in your heart, your heart belongs to me and I am not those things. you are to forgive, and forget. How many times have I forgiven you?" The bible clearly states, we must forgive others as God forgives us. Even if that means having to forgive over and over and over. but forgetting? really? that is the hardest part for me. I have a great memory, and it is sometimes my worst characteristic... keeping a record of wrongs. Grrrr....
The situation still did not improve and after more prayer and reflection and reading, God said to me, "You think forgiveness is difficult, but now I am calling you to have mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement."
So... together with forgiveness and mercy, I will let God's love prevail and not let Satan win with anger, rage, hurt and bitterness. As tempting as it may be to throw in the towel....I am working day by day to get better, and again, am thankful for HIS patience in this.
I also want to say how much I love that Paul compares his spiritual journey to a race at the end of 2 Timothy. Life is truly a marathon, isn't it?! How awesome! The runner in me loves the parallel that it presents.
I know this was a boring post, but I felt I needed to chronicle what has been going on with me spiritually, so tune in for more pictures of who you really want to see in the post below ;)

My poor neglected blog... an update with pics part 2

2010-07-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

My very best most awesome friend had her 3rd sweet little angel! She is now the proud hot mamma of 3 beautiful boys. Garrett was born on May 24th, and he is absolutely precious!
Me holding sweet chubby cheeks Garrett

Bridget and Garrett

Family Photo :0)

Look at those sweet cheeks!

Julie and Logan had their preschool program and Julie graduated from preschool. ***Sniff*** I was worried about what I feel that night, and it was mostly sadness and pride and joy and sweetness all rolled together. I am amazed at my precious Julie. She blows me away with her deepness and her empathy for others. I felt so so sad about closing this sweet and fun chapter in her life, but I feel nervous and excited about her going off to kindergarten this fall. She is so much fun and I know she is going to LOVE kindergarten! I feel like preschool more than prepared her for this next stage of her life, thanks Sycamore View!!!!
My sweet Isabel and me waiting for it all to start :0)

Julie is the one on the far right!

Before graduation, she had to do her "program" where she got to dance! she loooooves to dance and was thrilled she got to wear purple!

Family photo of corse, it was crazy trying to get our mini circus to get a decent pic!!! oh well

Pappy and Isabel watching the program

Is this not totally hilarious!!!! Logan did so awesome as a mexican senior for his program, complete with moustache and all!!!! Ay caramba, what a muy handsome little senor!

Look what we got!!!! I was so excited about getting this play gym thing because now I can push the older two out the door while the baby naps and they can be as loud and rowdy as they want with out waking her up! they call the top part their tree house! Thanks to Grandpa for pitching in some money to help us get it!

These last 2 pictures were when happy times farm came to school.
Julie and Miss Stephanie

Julie and Isabel, her friend from school!

Ten Years

2010-04-11T13:57:00.001-07:00

This past friday on April 9th, Travis and I celebrated our ten year dating anniversary! I know that now we are married, this one really doesn't count.... but we will make any excuse to go out and spend some time together without the kids, and ten years of being together is a long time! Thanks to Bonnie and Sam for coming over to house sit after the kids went to bed :0)
Below are some fun pics I pulled out of our files really quick!

Travis and I leaving Zoo lights 3 years ago

This is one of my favorite pictures that we have of us! We lived in Denver, CO right after we got married, and it was probably one of the best decisions we have ever made! We were visiting a place near Breckenridge, and yes it was this gorgeous!!!

Travis being a goofy Gator fan at Christmas

Right after Isabel was born on my birthday dinner~

I feel like Travis and I have been through so much together and have had so many crazy changes and obstacles in our lives! We are much closer because of it and are best friends. I am so thankful that he is my husband and the father of my angels!
I love you Trav, and can't wait to see what the next 10 years will be like :0)

Gorgeous Weather in Memphis and Easter!

2010-04-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Logan was less than thrilled when we made him take a picture with Julie! These are their Easter clothes :0)

One day last week Travis came home early and found us out on the deck having dinner and wanted to take a picture. We actually ate outside 4 or 5 times for dinner or lunch, the kids loved it!

A week or so ago, Julie went with both Grandmothers to the Ballet in Jackson TN to see Cinderella, and she has been "twirling" and dancing around the house ever since! This is the pretty dress she wore, and she got to wear some pink lip gloss (as you can see with her pooching her lips out!!!), and a pretty ballerina hairbow~

I LOVE THIS GIRL!!! She has been nicknamed smiley, and you can see why! :0)

The kids eating lunch outside, they would NOT all look at the camera and smile at the same time!!! LOL We have been loving this weather and hope it stays pretty so we can stay outside some more!

Happy Easter and have a great week!

Isabel is 6 months old!

2010-03-16T16:12:00.001-07:00

At 6 months our little sweet pea:
weighed in at 13 lbs 6 ounces (3rd percentile)
was almost 24 inches long! 10th percentile (she is a little thing!)
Is rolling from front to back and back to front
Reaching for things and putting them in her mouth
transferring objects from one hand to the other
sitting with support
putting weight on legs
Babbling and cooing
smiling tons!!!

Here are my 3 monkeys, Julie and Logan can't stand it and jump into all the pictures!
they are such wonderul siblings to Isabel, and I couldn't get through the day with her without their help. They are a huge source of entertainment for her!

After eating her carrots! She loves her solid foods, and every night Julie and Logan will entertain her while she eats, so she gets dinner and a show!!!

I asked the kids to "watch" her the other day and they got toys, a pillow and a blanket for her, it was really sweet!

This is Isabel after her nap, she is so sweet when she wakes up!!!

I included this picture below of Logan around the same age, a lot of people say Isabel and Logan look alike.... what do you think?

Life with 3 kids

2010-02-25T15:43:00.000-08:00

okay this is maily for journaling purposes, but I am feeling a bit mushy about my munchkins!!!
A lot of people have asked me lately, "how is life with 3 kids?" I must say, it is a blessing in EVERY sense of the word. I am not sure why, but having a third child has been AWESOME. It was actually easier for me to go from having 2-3 kids than going from 1-2. I absolutely LOVE being a mom and I am so excited about how crazy, loud, chaotic, and busy our lives are, and will be for the next 20 years!!! I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by, and even though I am very tired a lot of the time, it is a happy and content sort of tired. Isabel is stiiiiiiil (notice the extra I's for emphasis, and you can imagine me drawing the word out in my southern twang to get my point across!!!) not sleeping through the night, and Travis and I are very ready for her to start soon! We know that she will... EVENTUALLY, and that is helping us see the light at the end of the tunnel. Watching Julie and Logan play has brought tears to my eyes lately. They are SO sweet and have gotten a lot better at not fighting as much. I know I mentioned in an earlier post that I have cried and cried about Julie turning 5 years old, but it has really helped me to cherish my sweet children even more, because when she starts "real school" in the fall, I know it will never quite be the same. ***Sniff***
I am also so thankful that Travis' parents and my parents all live so close to us, because I feel like my children will be blessed even more having such a positive and wonderful influence on a constant basis. Can you just imagine all the love?!! And the free babysitting and lots of memories being made with their grandparents is the BEST!!! We are truly blessed and thankful that God has let us "borrow" these sweet angels!

Lately..

2010-02-17T16:12:00.001-08:00

Cha cha the frog came home with Julie for a week! we got lots of pictures, so i included just one for your viewing pleasure :0)

**Gasp** Sleeping Beauty resides at the Carr house?! who knew?

My sweet little miniature sleeping beauty :0)

A sad face... she was tired of me taking pics, I just can't help myself, what a cute pie!!! we are loving this girl's sweet personality and easy going nature.

cheese!!!

Logan got glasses a month ago!!! He is doing sooo well wearing them and we are so glad that we noticed him squinting a few months ago and got it checked out. he is nearsighted and has a stigmatism. He asks to put his glasses on every morning and says oh great, now I can see!!! whenever we put them on him.

Julie looks so grown up to me in this picture. She looooves GAP clothes, (just like her momma!!!) and when I asked her why she loves GAP clothes she said, "Because I can read the word GAP so easily!!!" go figure :0)

Yes, I am aware that the Gators lost, but Isabel and I are representin'! We still love those gators... :0)

Julie turned 5!!!!!

2010-02-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

My sweetest little angel turned 5 last week, and it was an awesome day! We didn't do any big party this year for lots of reasons, maily being tired and having a little baby topped the list. We woke up to a hot pink table cloth on the table with confetti and lots of doughnuts for breakfast, she got to wear her PJ's to school for pajama day, and grammy made cupcakes to share with her friends at school. She wanted to go to Joe's Crab shack to eat again this year, because she loooooves the macaroni and cheese there! LOL! We showered her with tons of presents and let her stay up late. We ended the day by telling her the story of her first day of life and how much we are so very glad she is our daughter.
I cannot believe she is five years old. I actually cried really hard that night because she has grown so fast. The time has flown by, and she will be starting kindergarten in the fall! She is already reading a lot of words, and her vocabulary is astounding! She actually uses words like dubious, complicated, and immunizations (instead of shots). Julie we love you more than words could express, and can't wait to see what God has in store for your life.

more of christmas!

2010-01-27T13:15:00.001-08:00

Daddy with kids and santa stuff

the kids got sleeping bags from my parents, and I think those may have been the favorite gift for them!!!

Kids christmas parties at school

Julie and 2 of her good friends, Isabel and Ammie

This is what happened when I said I had to leave... poor guy

"Da Man" this is Logan's best friend Emma, she is very good at telling him what to do!!!

I am catching up soon, I promise!!!!

2010-01-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

Kids with loot from Santa

Traditional family photo :0)

Christmas clothes

okay, I promise to upload about a months worth of photos sometime in the next few days, but so much is happening! Logan got glasses, Julie starts kindergarten THIS YEAR and Isabel is already 4 months old and laughing out loud!!! I feel like my life is flashing before my eyes, and my babies are growing up too fast!!! hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, and I will update soon :)

A love/hate relationship....

2009-12-09T18:29:00.000-08:00

With Running.

I know I have posted a ton lately, so don't get used to it! :0) I wanted to record some thoughts about my favorite past-time for journaling purposes.

So I have started back up again with running. I started when Isabel was about 5 weeks old, and have been chipping away at it since then. I wish sometimes that runner's world magazing would do a feature on that first "post-partum" run. Hmmmm.... maybe I should send one in!!! LOL Just kidding!
I remember when i first started running after I had Logan, I ran for 3 minutes, and was beet faced and gasping for air. I mentally prepared myself for a repeat of that performance 5 weeks after my sweet baby girl was born. I told Travis I was heading for the treadmill, and he says to me, "Are you gonna come home crying?" I said "well, I might!" Travis knows me well and knows how much I don't like being out of shape. He reminded me that I should take it easy and to remember to start slowly so I wouldn't injure myself.
I went and did pretty good for me. I remember thinking 3 minutes in to it, jogging at a 12 min per mile pace, "why do I do this again?!" I actually hated it at that point. and did for quite a few runs after that. That is because I knew I was 20 pounds heavier than usual, my knees wouldn't like that one bit, and my feet were going to have to get "broken in" again. I know the pushing and straining it is going to take to get it all back- to be able to run for 30 minutes effortlessly. I am doing a walk/run program so my shins can adjust. My shins hate it when I add to much mileage to soon and usually punish me with shin splints if I don't take it easy at first.
I would say after about 7 weeks of glorified jogging, I am running about 80% and walking 20% of my distance/time. I am not running at a very fast pace, but I am adding some mileage, and that is my goal for now. ENDURANCE. Speed will come later. I come home with endless amounts of energy, and feel like all of my stress stays out on the pavement where I left it. Let's face it, as a mom of 3, my stress sometimes comes in tidal waves! But now that I am in better shape, my runs are more good than bad, and I love it most of the time. I reconnect with God, listen to some new music other than baby einstein or dora, or I just take time for me. It is what keeps me healthy during flu season, and keeps me sane so I can be a good wife and mommy. So when I have a difficult run, or my legs feel like lead weights, I remember all the good things I love about running... and push on.

I did it!!!

2009-12-08T17:23:00.001-08:00

I cut Julie's hair. I know, completely crazy. We had a tiny incident with gum, that was in the very ends of her hair, and I thought, no biggie, we will just snip a half inch to an inch and we will be done. I prepped her, got it wet and turned her around. she was looking up while I was cutting and i didn't realize it, so it ended up being shorter than I wanted it to be. After Julie looked in the mirror, she wanted it even shorter. She has been asking me for a long time now to please cut her hair. So... I did.
The rough part? I was kind of hoping with all the weight out of it, the curls would bounce right up and be more curly, but.... they just dissapeared :(

Here is a before picture, we had been braiding her hair after we washed it so it would be really wavy. Notice we are sporting our gator gear! (this was pre Alabama game)
Daddy's Two little Gators

notice the wavy hair on Julie!

Drum roll please........

and here it is! Much shorter for her and much healthier looking in my opinion. Okay lets face it, I really miss her baby curls, but she is a big girl now! *Sniff*

My sweet grown up girl!

I asked her how she felt about it and she said, "mom, I totally love it!"
So there you have it, she is now a pre teen. :0)

It's a hard knock life...

2009-12-08T15:44:00.001-08:00

Whomever said that my third would be the best baby ever and be so laid back was totally right! It has been 3 months since this little angel came to us and we can't believe how sweet she is. She is so smiley and loves people. She nurses like a champ (weighing in at 11 pounds!) and sleeps through the night most of the time!!! (don't worry, I am knocking on some wood right now! LOL) She is usually up between 5 or 6 in the morning to eat, and usually i put her in bed with me after that feeding and we doze untill Julie and Logan wake up. It is such a sweet time for her and me, and Travis got a picture of us!

More to come later on her 3month check up stats and what julie and logan have been up to :0)

The big 29

2009-11-18T11:46:00.001-08:00

My birthday was a few days ago, and it was so awesome! We made it a whole weekend event!
Thursday night just Travis and I went to Joe's Crab shack. We had so much fun and talked a lot about how much we appreciated eachother and how much fun we are going to have with our 3 kids. Travis is such a blessing in my life, and is such a wonderful father.
Here is us before going out

Little did I know, there was a huge surprise in store for me! I suspected something was up because my mom and travis were whispering to eachother every chance they could, and they kept making me think we were just gonna hang out with family on my birthday like it was no big deal. I was getting ready to go out with the family when the doorbell rang and Travis yelled at me to get it! I was on the phone with one of my very best friends who lives in texas-Laura Staples-and was very annoyed that I had to get off the phone to answer the door, and IT WAS LAURA STANDING THERE!!!! I was sooo excited! She ended up spending the weekend with us and I was so thankful we got to see eachother. Thankyou Laura for making my birthday so special! Here are some pics of each night she was here.

Last year I listed 28 things about myself that many of you may not have known, so this year I am going to list 29 things I am thankful for!
1. Jesus
2. Bible
3. Travis
4. Julie, Logan, and Isabel
5. My extended family! I love you ALL so much!
6. Bridget Sussey
7. All of my amazing friends
8. My health
9. My running shoes
10. House
11. My Mini-Van!!!
12. Cozy Warm bed
13. Clothes
14. Hearing aid
15. Church Family
16. Life group friends
17. Prayers from my 4 year old
18. A sense of humor
19. Glasses and Contacts
20. disposable Diapers-hey I have 2 kids in them!
21. Thompson Dunavant
22. Raleigh Group
23. Sycamore View Church of Christ Preschool and mother's day out
24. My camera
25. Central Heating and Air Conditioning
26. Running Water-hot or cold
27. telephone and cell phone
28. Internet
29. The opportunity to be a servant of Christ

Terrific Tuesdays...

2009-11-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

Guess who turned 2 months old, and is cooing and smiling at us now!

My 3 little stinkers piled up in my bed!

what a weekend!

2009-11-09T11:50:00.000-08:00

Logan turned 3!!! I can't believe my little boy is 3 years old! He is the most precious, affectionate, sweet, happy boy. He loves all things that have wheels and is most interested in learning how things work. An engineer in the making?! Perhaps... He was a bit spoiled this year for his birthday. He got a train table, a Lightening McQueen Bike and Helmet, a t.v. and some trains. We didn't have a big party, we just had the g'parents over for cheese pizza and some cake with chocolate frosting per the birthday boy's request! I still can't believe he is 3 years old.
Newborn

2weeks old- he was such an alert baby!

first birthday :0)

14 months old-look at those pudgy cheeks!!!

2nd birthday

Momma's sweet little boy. He has always been a momma's boy! How can I resist those big blue eyes? :0)

His AWESOME train table, it takes up most of his room, but totally worth it!

Typical "Logan" cheese face

His new Bike, getting some help from Pappy

safety first!

Logan, mommy and daddy love you more than words can express, you are such a joy to our lives! We can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for your life. Happy Birthday!

Lots of Fall Festivities!

2009-10-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Picture overload!!!
Being a mommy of 3 has been fun, fulfilling, and exhausting! I have been very busy and have not updated in a month! here are lots of pictures about what we have been up to.

Julie's wonderful teachers Mrs. Stephanie and Mrs. Karen of the Froggy Fours

The kids have a Halloween parade every year at school, and then they have their little class party afterwards. Here is Julie... er...Ariel!!!

Grammy and Pappy came to watch the parade and join in the class parties! Julie and Logan are so thankful to have 2 sets of grandparents living so close to them (Bonnie was at work)
Grammy and Logan -- Logan had already changed out of his thomas costume in this pic, they are kind of out of order, but for time sake, we will just go with it!

Pappy and Logan

Sweet Ariel :0)

Eating her goodies at the party

Logan in his costume doing their halloween program. Last year he cried his eyes out when he saw me, this year he blew me kisses and waved! what a difference a year makes!

My BFF and I went to an awesome pumpkin patch down in Hernando, MS and spent the day with the kids! There was face painting, pony rides, hay rides, a petting zoo, corn maze, play grounds and a pumpkin patch. Isabel stayed home with Grammy and daddy was out of town, so i was able to spend some really good quality time with Julie, Logan, Bridget, and her boys!
Here is Nathan and Logan, they are such good buddies, and I see a lifelong friendship coming on with these two!!! Nathan was being a bit camera shy :0)

Julie picked a butterfly for her face painting. She kept asking every few minutes, "mom, do i still look like a beautiful butterfly?"

Kids on the pirate ship

On the hayride

One saturday morning, we were playing in Logan's room, and I put isabel in his bed so I could play. Well... both kids thought it was hilarious and fun to see their baby sister in a big bed, so they wanted to climb in and cuddle! I got tons of cute pictures of them together, and notice Julie and Logan representing: GO GATORS!

Tinkerbell and Thomas trying out thier costumes, Juie ended up changing her mind and wanting to be Ariel instead.

My sweet little boy is getting so big! He LOVES thomas and friends!

Happy Halloween! :0)

Another monkey at our zoo!

2009-09-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked me what it was like to have 3 kids, and I say, "it is just another monkey at the zoo!" I feel like I have been going in fast forward mode for so long, that not much has changed! Ask me again when Isabel isn't sleeping quite as much, but I am sure we will be great :0)
I must say, I am totally smitten with all of my children. They are so precious to me. I am just loving the experience of such close contact with a wonderful creation of God. I look at my baby girl and thank the Lord for blessing us yet again with a tiny perfect angel. God is so good!

Isabel loves to sleep on her big brother, and he holds her for up to 30 minutes at a time and sometimes cries when we take her from him!

Julie has gotten sooo grown up lately- ;)

Santa came early for me this year!!!

My little toodle bug~ this was taken 2 days ago, she had her checkup today and is weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz! she is finally in her newborn size clothes!!!

my little sunshine :0)

Sweet brother and sisters

Trav catches me doing this a lot, I was thinking she would wake up any minute and need to eat, and dozed off! she smells so sweet after a bath!

Daddy with the newest princess

More about Isabel

2009-09-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

proud big sister

All 3 of my babies!!!

Isabel loves her swing

So I decided to breast feed Isabel, and boy has that sparked a lot of interest from Julie and Logan! here are some things they have asked in general about their sister.

Logan says, "mommy, what baby isabel doin?" I explained that she was eating. Logan says, "is she eating cheetos?" I laugh and say, "No, she is drinking milk." Logan says, "yummy chocolate milk?" I say no just regular milk. "yuck. I drink chocolate milk!"
Julie says, "MOM! Is she gonna poop like this forever and ever?!"
Julie says, "man mom, it is about time. I thought your tummy would never get small again!" I say, "me neither honey!!!"

We are in heaven with our newest addition, and are so thankful that Julie and Logan are being wonderful with her. They hug and kiss and pat her all the time! I will be posting about my birthing story later, when I have a minute to update!

Introducing...Isabel Faith Carr!

2009-09-11T08:31:00.001-07:00

me at 37 weeks, the morning I went into labor

family photo- all 5 of us!!!!!

will write more later, enjoy the pics!

fun at the zoo

2009-09-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, memphis was having some unbelievable weather for this time of year, so we headed to the zoo one sunday afternoon! Grammy and Pap joined us, and then we met Grandma and Grandpa for dinner at Abuelos. we had so much fun!

Pap and Logan~Logan adores my dad, and poor pappy ends up taking him and holding him the whole time they are around each other! Pappy loves it though :0)

Girrafes

attempt at a family photo! even though my eyes are closed and kids aren't looking!

Sister and Brother :0)

Daddy and Logan

The tigers were so active! We watched them for about 20 minutes!

Julie with both Grandma and Grammy

Logan fell asleep at the restaurant, he was so pooped!!!

Hope you all are enjoying the weather as well!

a new family pic - and some belly shots!

2009-07-31T09:48:00.001-07:00

Thanks so much for doing these Bridget, you are the best!

a day in the life of this mom....

2009-07-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

I wanted to blog about a day I had the other day mainly for journaling purposes. I must say, most days are not like this for me, but occasionally I have one.
It started at 6:45 with Logan up needing a diaper change. Diaper changed, "cartoons on peas?" Logan says. I turn on the TV, get the coffee pot started, fix the kids their OJ and julie wakes up. "I need a hug mommy, I hurt my chin getting out of bed." Hug given, I go back to the kitchen and both kids are asking for breakfast. 2 cups of OJ, and 2 toaster streudals later, the kids are finally quiet- for about a minute.
I enjoy a few sips of coffee...

Now on to empty the dishwasher. I get half way done and Logan falls and cries. After kisses, hugs and a band-aid for both kids (Julie suddenly needed one too...) I realize hey i need to throw some laundry in to wash. I get that started and think, wait, what was I doing? oh... emptying the dishwasher.

I head back to the kitchen where i pick up empty OJ cups and think, I need to check the kids rooms for any sippy cups. we give them water at night. the phone rings. it's my mom checking on us. The kids fight over a toy and they both go to time out while I am on the phone. I get off the phone to get them out of time out and the door bell rings. ugh, the pest control guy, and of corse, I am in my PJ's still. He says he needs in the back yard and the gate is locked. of corse it is! I get the kids out of time out and see my car keys under the edge of julie's bed, and ask her, "why do you have these?" she goes into a long explaination of "I wanted to drive to be like you mommy, but mommy who was at the door?" Oh, wait! the locked gate. I grab my keys, threaten to beat my children if they touch eachother while i run barefoot out back to unlock the gate- yes, still in my PJs.
I come back in to sweet children who have not touched eachother, and realize ugh, what is that smell? No wonder Julie didn't mess with him, he stinks!!! Diaper change time for Logan. I get him dressed while I am at it. The washing machine stopped so I gather the clothes from the dryer to fold and put the ones from the washer to the dryer. the phone rings. A good friend is calling so I chat a minute. Julie needs to potty and says she just HAS to have help with wiping. Julie is on outfit number 2 of the day at this point. I get off the phone to help with her and....the doorbell rings. ugh, the pest control guy to tell me he is done, "Ummm, thanks for letting me know!" I come back in from locking the gate and realize the dish washer is still not emptied and I forgot to start the dryer. I trip over leggos that Logan had played with earlier and pick those up so no one else about breaks their neck. We all 3 end up playing with the blocks for about 30 minutes before I put them away.

I see an empty drink cup in Logan's room and take it to put in the dishwasher that I just realized is still not empty. on the way to the kitchen I pick up some crayons that were on the floor and put those away in the art drawer. Julie walks in and says,"hey i wasn't done coloring yet!!!" I sigh and say okay, then you can get them out again later. and try, really really try, to empty the dishwasher.

Travis calls and needs the kids social security numbers for our insurance change... and I catch Logan jumping off of his hope chest in his room and tell trav I will have to call him back. Julie is on outfit number 5 of the day at this point and all the clothes are strewn all over her floor. I make her pick them up while she is yelling, "NO mommy! I was gonna do something with those!!!" I say, "I know it, you were going to fold all of those and put them all away!!!" Logan is out of time out, Julie's clothes are picked up and I call travis back with the numbers he needs.
Kids run in the kitchen shouting, "I am hungry!" I say "What how can you be hungry?!" I look up, sure enough it is almost lunchtime. and I have not even had breakfast yet!!! ugh i think. I give the kids a small snack. The phone rings. It is the wrong number. I start the dryer (finally) and grab another load of laundry to throw in the wash. all the while grabbing a few of Julie's treasures to put away in her room... while I am in there I tidy up her drawers from her earlier attempt..

okay time to to EMPTY THE DISHWASHER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!! I finally get that done and fix lunch. While I am fixing lunch, another fight breaks out over a toy and some serious hitting occurs. Spankings for both kids and they both go to time out. I finish preparing lunch. Logan doesn't want to wash his hands, so I have to force him to and after feeding the kids, cleaning up the dishes, and finally hiding in the kitchen to eat my own lunch (hey i needed the peace and didn't feel like sharing!) it is almost nap time. Thankyou Lord I think!!! I can get some clothes folded! After changing Logan's diaper, helping Julie potty, book time, and snuggling, the kids are asleep. the phone rings as I am coming out of Julie's room. I step on a toy car as I am running to grab the phone before it disturbs the kids and mentally curse whoever thought of producing metal toy cars that can cut bare feet...

It is the shriner's asking for money. I politely say no, and wish them luck. I sit down. I need to pee again so I get back up. The doorbell rings. The True green lawn care dude is standing at the door. Yes I am still in my PJ's at 2:00 in the afternoon. He just wanted to let me know to make sure and water the grass sometime in the next few days. okay fine i got it, thanks. I am so tired but I fold the clothes, and realize i have not had a shower in 2 days. I take a shower and get dressed and the phone rings yet again! A wonderful friend I haven't talked to in awhile. I sit down to chat and after 15 minutes the kids wake up. Another fight over what DVD to watch and what color popsicle they each want. I threaten to send them back to their bed and they both stop.
After snacks I try to do another load of laundry and realize that the lunch dishes are still in the sink, oh and it is 4:20 at this point, about time to start dinner!!!! I get the kids to sort of help pick up the toys out of the living room so my poor yet understanding hubby won't break his neck while trying to get in the door from work. They don't help much so I get some of it done and then go to start dinner. Another fight breaks out between the kids. ugh. I have about had it with the 2 of them fighting, and I tell them.

Travis comes home, Thank goodness!!!!! Logan needs another diaper change, and Julie is on outfit number 7 at this point, I think. Julie asks to color at the table while dinner is cooking and I tell her only if she promises not to change clothes anymore. she agrees. Logan cries and wants me to build a train track for him. I almost burn dinner. Dinner is kind of saved and we battle with Julie to eat her meat. (we think she is on the path to being a vegetarian.) After dinner I clean up the kitchen, go to pick up the trains and blocks and realize i need to put the clothes that are wet in the washer into the dryer. I go to do that and then julie wants help into her PJs.I tell her we need to do baths and she protests trying to bargain about not washing her hair. I win. Her hair gets washed, and then I bathe Logan. Travis helps a ton and we finally after an hour long bed time routine get the kids to bed. It is 8:30 PM and I am exhausted yet I have not left my house!!! I look around and there is 2 loads of laundry waiting to be folded, toys all through the house, and I am frustrated. I feel like I have been picking up and cleaning and doing stuff all day with NOTHING to show for it. I am preggers so of corse I burst into tears at this point. Travis is wonderful and says, yes, but noone can take care of our kids the way you do! they are happy, healthy kids and you are doing a great job. I realize how blessed I am to have my sweet family and be able to stay at home and I feel better.
Whew! what a day. I finally get in bed around 10, and get a good night's sleep so I can do it ALL over again the next day!!!

what we have been up to!

2009-07-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

Trav is the best dad. About a month ago, we decided to do more of a joint bedtime where we do everything together so that when the new baby gets here it won't be a big deal to have just trav put them to bed at night if that is what needs to happen. Trav has made a habit of telling the kids, go get 2 books each and we will read them! Now they only want daddy to read to them on the couch at night. I had to do it the other night b/c trav wasn't home, and they both cried saying only daddy could read to them!!! (made me sad, but trav grinned when i told him! :0) It is a great time for me to fold a load of clothes or empty the dishwasher before they get to sleep!
We have had such a great summer! Now that both kids can occasionally skip a nap here and there, we have been really enjoying playing outside and going swimming. We have had lazy days where we stay in our pajamas and do laundry, and we have had lots of days of being on the go! I would say the sprinkler park, the swimming pool (my in laws community pool), and the mall are the biggest hits for the kids!
I will be posting more swimmy pics later! have a great week!

27 weeks pregnant

2009-06-30T08:23:00.001-07:00

Me at 27 weeks

I am finally feeling really great after 18 weeks of nausea/vomiting, and getting on prilosec for heartburn! I have lots of energy right now so I feel like I am in "rushing mode" to get everything done in the next few weeks before I become miserable!!!! :0)

why I love this guy

2009-06-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is my dad and me. I know I am a few days late posting about father's day, but better late than never, right?!

If I could sum up in one word what a I feel about my dad it would probably be Security. As a child growing up, I don't think I could have thought of that particular word, but the feeling was there. My dad was always there. During hospital stays, holidays, birthdays, you name it! Every T-ball game, volleyball, basketball, softball, and cheerleading event, my mom and dad could be found cheering me on in the stands. I remember taking piano lessons with my dad- He was the only adult in the recital, but he did it with me!

I also remember my dad trying to convey how important character and values were. Not just by talking to me about them, but by making examples by his own actions. He supported me academically, helped me with my algebra, and many science projects, encouraged my spiritual growth, and saw me off to college. He made sure I always had everything I need!

My favorite memories of my dad occured in college believe it or not. When Email was starting to be the most popular way to correspond, my dad and I communicated with letters through snail mail. I would check my campus mail box and would be so excited to see a letter addressed to me with his handwriting! He would draw funny pictures and games in his letters and tell me how much he missed me and how proud he was of me. His letters motivated me to get through those rough classes at college!

There were lots of times I knew that Dad would do anything for me, but what sticks out in my mind most is something that happened my freshman year at college. It had snowed several feet one thursday, and classes were canceled for friday. I had just broken up with boyfriend, and failed a chemistry test and was very very homesick. I remember crying on the phone with my mom and saying I just wanted to come home for the weekend, but couldn't because of the weather. 5 hours later, I got a call from my dad, he was in the lobby of my dorm ready to pick me up and take me home for the weekend!!!
That is how my dad is. He would do anything for me, and I know he will always do that for me. Even trav says sometimes when something happens at our house like the air goes out, or a squirel falls down our chimney, let's call your dad, he will know what to do!!!

Dad I love you so much and hope you had a great father's day!!!

Disney in a day

2009-06-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to Disney for a day! We traveled down to florida for Travis' 10 year reunion, and we took advantage of flying into orlando :0) I have never been to Disney World, and was so excited about getting to go! Because we only went for a day, and we have small kids we went to Magic Kingdom, it was great!
I must say, never having been there, I was totally amazed at the attention to detail from the light fixtures to the paths through the park. Even the ride It's a small world amazed me with all the water (and no mildew) and the details on the little dolls outfits and shoes! WOW!!! I also kept wondering, man how do they dust these things?!- you know you're a mom when you think that while riding through the rides!

Before leaving the hotel

Riding on the ferry boat to get to the entrance

Our first glimpse of Cinderella's Castle

Watching a show with all of the characters

Grandpa and Logan

Julie actually was not a very big fan of Disney World... crazy i know. My poor child is bawling in the middle of the "happiest place on Earth" and saying she wants to go home. She was very afraid of the rides because they were too dark and scary! She also said there were way too many people there! After calming her down and letting her go by and see some of the character greetings and getting some ice cream she was much better! Guess theme parks aren't her thing, at least not yet!!! :0)
Julie and the nice lady that sang to her!

Daddy and Julie watching a parade

I must say, Logan LOVED it. He rode the rides and asked to do it again! He wasn't scared and seemed to be content with whatever we were doing at the time. He was tired by the end of the day, but was quite a trooper!

They really conked out at bedtime!

Overall, the trip was a great success!

end of the year program

2009-05-19T14:12:00.001-07:00

Logan is on the far right, with hands on chin :0)

swingin with his friend Jordan

Dancin' again

mommy, Logan, and Grammy

Karlie, Julie and Elechi

4 best friends, Neely, Isabel, Karlie and Julie!

Julie and Kisor, her "dance parter!"

This was the end of year program for our church's preschool and mother's day out. We laughed and clapped and cheered as they danced! Logan was hilarious as a blue's brother; he really did the whole routine! Julie's class did a 20's theme and did a song called "Ballin' the jack!" She did so great, and loved dancing in front of the crowd. Grammy, Pap, Grandpa and Gradma joined mommy and daddy that night, and we were so proud of our performers!
We are so thankful that Sycamore View Preschool is where we put our children. We feel like they have done a TREMENDOUS job at teaching them while making it fun. We can't wait to start back next August!!!

sunday side dishes...

2009-05-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

Well, after a long winter with busy season and getting sick kids to and from school/church/doctor's office, I feel like I need to get back into the swing of having my daily quiet times again. I often feel guilty when I get so busy I just resign myself to saying a quick prayer at night before I exhaustingly fall asleep. It seems like there have been several seasons of this in my life, and it seems to be worse when my life is so chaotic. My husband's job requires 60 plus hours a week during busy season, and this "season" also occurs during cold and flu season when my babies stay sick! I have coped much better each year, but I am hoping to get better and better in my daily walks with God, because isn't when life is so chaotic when I need God the most?!
I recently decided, instead of just "reading" the word, I needed something more engaging, like a workbook. When Julie was first born, I did a Beth Moore bible study called "Believing God." Ladies, If you have ever done a Beth Moore bible study, you know how hard core and awesome these are! I remember this study having a tremendous effect on my faith. I pulled out my workbook and began. Sure, I don't have the videos to watch, but just going through the day to day lessons and homework has been so rewarding for me.
I wanted to share some of what I have learned. This whole study is about applying faith and going from the noun form of faith to the present-active-participle form of the word faith. in other words Faith=active beilieving in God through our actions.
One of the things I have been guilty of is seeking God's rewards and blessings instead of just purely seeking Him. It's as if I am saying okay, I will trust you..... but you will provide, right?! In my heart, I shouldn't need proof that He will never leave me or forsake me (because after all, God is who HE says HE is), but in my head I want PROOF. He wants me to continually seek Him, and DO HIS pleasing will for my life. Beth Moore says that in doing this, 1) God is glorified, 2)the body of Christ is edified, 3) our souls will be satisfied, and 4)the world is further evangelized.
The bible says we are to diligently seek the Lord. but it must occur in the correct verb tense in our life- the present-active-participle form. Okay so I have faith in God, the thing that "got" me my salvation, but how can it be applied in an active sense? Some of my questions that were answered was, "What kind of seeking does God most reward?" and "What does HIS will for my life include?" we will know when:
We are consistent in our relationship, and we communicat often with HIM
We are never ceasing in prayer
We pray for opportunities to "find the Lord" in all situations
and We open our hearts continually to God.

I am very excited about doing my daily homework and going through this workbook again and seeing how my answers have changed from 4 years ago.
May you all have a blessed week!

We are having a.......

2009-04-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

for those of you who have not already heard through facebook, email, or word of mouth..... it's A GIRL!!!!

Isabel Faith Carr will arrive sometime near the end of September, and we cannot wait to meet our precious baby girl!

Eggstravaganza

2009-04-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

everyone at the table, we each get a dozen eggs to dye!

Look at that concentration!!!

Cheese mom!

Grammy and Pap with Logan, he kept tasting the dye... yuck

Every year the family gets together and dyes easter eggs! This year we did the Easter Egg dying event on friday night instead of the night before easter because we had a wedding to attend saturday. We had so much fun getting together with our parents and continuing a special tradition! I have been so blessed all my life to have such a huge extended family and grandparents that were so involved in my life, and I am thankful that the tradition will continue with my kids. I love that my aunts/uncles/cousins and grandparents all want to be a part of my kids lives!
will post more pics of easter morning later!!

My PawPaw

2009-04-06T11:10:00.001-07:00

He died a year ago today, and we have missed him so much. I had a hard time for awhile right after he died, then it got really hard around in the fall and around christmas. I was so blessed to have him be such a huge part of my life! We miss you and love you PawPaw!

A picture...

2009-03-30T14:52:00.001-07:00

Me at about 14 weeks

So I decided to write some about my precious third baby. I had such terrible mixed emotions when I found out I was pregnant. Honestly most of them weren't good feelings. I felt scared, stressed, anxious and dreaded the whole thing. Travis and I had decided just this past Christmas that we were definitely done in the "having kids" realm. We loved being a little family of four. We had a little girl, and little boy, and a cute little 3 bedroom house. Just enough space for us :0) We were transitioning to an easier stage in life, Logan was older, sleeping through the night a lot more, and Julie is pretty much independent with playing for the most part.

AND BOOM, I ended up pregnant again. I was so hysterical when the test was positive that I cried for 2 hours and threw up. Travis and I walked around in shock for a week before telling anyone. Thinking about all the hard stuff that goes along with having a baby made me nauseated- or it could have been the hormones... :0)

Through the next few weeks I hit my bible pretty hard in search for encouragement, and hit my knees to pray often. I prayed mostly things like, "Why?!" I told God I was angry about this and that I didn't know how I could possibly divide my attention between my husband, my 2 kids, and my house! I feel like I am in survival mode some days as it is!
God used these few weeks to assure me. He gently told me to give it all over to Him and that He had more faith in me that I had in myself. I CAN and WILL succeed at this and I won't go crazy doing it!!! He told me to be thankful and verses about how children are blessings from the Lord, kept sort of popping up around me. He assured me He would provide everything I needed.

Then in my ninth week, I woke up one morning to a ton of bleeding. I thought, oh no, I am having a miscarraige. I was again hysterical, anxious and scared. My mom rushed over to get Julie ready for school and to watch Logan for me so I could get to the doc's office. Travis left work to meet me there. He talked to me on the phone for most of the way there. I thought the whole drive to the doctor's office, I don't want to lose this baby! It must have known I didn't want it! Travis kept telling me to stop crying and drive, and just wait to see what would happen.
When the ultrasound tech started doing the scan, you could have heard a pin drop! Travis and I were holding our breath, and there was our sweet little baby! His little heart was beating and he was swimming all around! Travis and I burst into tears, and I was so relieved! I ended up having a sub-chorionic hemmorhage(and area of blood vessels had burst on my uterine wall), and it didn't affect the baby at all.
All of this to sat...This baby isn't just a baby... It is half of me and half of Travis. It is part of Julie and Logan, And I want this baby more than anything. It was almost like God was showing me, I can give you a blessing and just as easily as I can take it away. Thankyou Lord for loving me, and for knowing what is best for me even when I don't!!!

Long time no Post!!!

2009-03-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in quite awhile, so I will just update over the next day or 2! Here is what we have been up to!
Julie has been taking some swimming lessons, and getting more comfortable in the water. She is loving school still and cracking us up with her silly sayings. Her 2 latest funnies include- "Hey mom, you gots your click-clacks on?" I say, "Oh, you do you mean my flip-flops?"- she giggled and gave me a sheepish grin~ :0)
Then the other day I was showing Logan pictures in a book and I said, "Look Logan, a parrot!" Julie comes over and says, "Mom that is not a parrot, it is a tropical bird!" I say, "oh you're right, you are so smart, what would Logan and I do without you?" she says, "Just not know stuff, I guess!!!"
Julie is such a sponge and a chatterbox right now! She is really asking more in depth questions, like, mom what is the difference between a tortoise and a turtle? And what is the difference between a crocodile and an alligator? and Why is the ocean so big, but lakes are not? Ummm, thankgoodness for google... :0) What did moms do back then without the internet at their fingertips?!
Logan's speech has just exploded and I am so thankful that we are able to put off speech therapy for now! He is having so much fun asking, "whas that?" and telling me things that he knows outside or in his books. He is speaking in 4 or 5 word sentences now and other people can actually understand him! (yaaaaaaay!)
Here are a few pictures!

Julie has been helping Logan learn to draw his shapes and letters! She is the best teacher.

My cuddle bugs

Tea Party...

Yes, Logan will play teaparty! :0)

Waking up Sister

Have a great week!

Party Time...

2009-02-07T13:33:00.001-08:00

We had Julie's party at a place called Glitz-N-Glam! All her friends got to dress up as their favorite princess, put on makeup, and have their nails painted! Julie had so much fun having all her favorite people doing all the things she loves!
Julie getting her makeup done by Ariel

Julie and her friend Emmersen

Julie and her friend Karlie

Julie and Ariel-the guest of honor!!!

All the girls dressed up

Opening presents

The cupcake queen :0)

Thankyou to everyone who came and made Julie's party a huge success!

I have a 4 year old

2009-02-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

My precious little girl turned 4 years old on January 27th!!! These are pictures from Joe's Crab shack! She wanted to go there for dinner because, "they really like to do birthdays there!" She stood on a chair with a pretend bouquet of flowers waving at everyone while they sang happy birthday to her! She loved it!
My sweet Julie girl, you are such a happy, vivacious, sweet person, and we are so thankful to have you!

Big News!!!!

2009-01-31T06:48:00.001-08:00

in case you are illiterate in pregnancy tests.... it's POSITIVE!!!!

We are expecting another sweet little baby! We weren't planning/trying, and it was quite a shock, but babies are blessings from God and we are thrilled! Baby 3 should be here around the end of September if I got my math right :0) I go to the doctor in february, and will keep you updated through our journey!!!

I heart Salads....

2009-01-28T12:29:00.001-08:00

So I absolutely love salads, so I thought I would post why. Besides being gluten-free, a salad is a quick and easy meal for me that packs an awesome nutrional punch in my day. You can add vitamins A and C, folate, zinc, and iron among other things!!!There are so many possible variations, you really can't go wrong! I used to use Iceberg lettuce, but since it has almost ZERO nutritional value, I have slowly switched to the darker, leafier version over the years. A couple of months ago, I served trav a salad for dinner and he looked up at me with raised eyebrows and said, "honey, if you wanted leaves that looked like this, let's save money and I'll grab you some from the back yard!" hee hee, silly boy :0)
I actually love the bitter red leaf, radiccio, boston red leaf, and the dark green romaine variations. I always try to add a ton of good ole' veggies (and or grilled chicken/shrimp) in any sort of combo depending on what I have on hand. Some of my favorite examples include: carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, avacado, cucumbers, red/orange/yellow bell peppers, broccoli/bean sprouts and spinach. Sometimes i will go really crazy and add fruit, like blueberries, strawberries or mandarin oranges. If you use fruits, I like the sweeter dressings such as Brianna's poppy seed. DELISH!!!
If you are trying to count calories, I would stay away from things like cheese, ham, boiled eggs (or just the yoke, the white part is okay), croutons, or bacon bits. these ingredients not only add a ton of calories (especially if combined) but you are more likely to get msg's or preservatives, things we can all do without!
If you want a lower calorie option, go for some lighter dressings... BUT I must warn you, often lighter versions may have more sugar/salt or preservatives. Also, there has been some recent research that states "light" foods may leave you hungry for more, and make you more likely to binge on something else later! (go figure) I suggest choosing regular dressings in moderation. The fewer ingredients, the better. I use Marzetti's Ranch dressing, and when I eat a good salad with this on it, I can go all afternoon without feeling hungry!
Happy Salad eating!!!

Our new president

2009-01-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

First of all, I am NOT a very political person. In fact, I will openly admit, that this is the first year that I have ever voted. I have always heard growing up that democrats give everything away!!! But I decided to hear out both sides. I listened this year to a lot of the campaigns/claims/ads, and made my choice. I voted for McCain. I felt he had more experience, and wouldn't tax me to death :0)

After watching some of the inaugeration, and most of the commentators in the "post-inaugeration" where they analyze everything from what our president's wife was wearing to the tone of voice our president used, I had some mixed emotions.
I think, that Barack Obama is a very educated man, and I think he has read about all of the things that McCain has experienced. It makes me nervous to think about Obama's lack of experience, but then I am grateful for our country's checks and balances system.

I was very glad to see that some of the emails i received weren't true, such as yes Obama DID put his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegience and the national anthem. He even sang along and knew all of the words....

I also feel that our president being african-american was completely blown out of proportion. He is half white you know... I think it is important to recognize this as a part of history, but leave it at that. The irish catholic americans didn't claim "their huge minorty victory" card when JFK was elected. Yes, he was our first catholic president, and irish to boot. It seems that suddenly african americans are exclaiming, "finally, we really are free!" Ummm.... okay. The same rules and laws still apply.
I loved how Obama (who is a democrat no less) inspired americans of every race, religion, and orientation to get back to the values that this country was founded on- (back to God hopefully?!) and that the american dream is available for everyone, but you have to work for it, and "unclench your fist to accept it."
Obama is saying that it is time to get back to work, we will make it better, but you have to do your end of the bargain by working hard and loving your neighbors.
Obama has a lot of cleaning up to do, and has his work cut out for him. I urge you, and challenge you to support and pray that this man can lead our country and get us back on track not as a black man, but as an AMERICAN man.

My little physician...

2009-01-16T14:14:00.001-08:00

Julie is very interested in medical stuff right now, and loves to play doctor. Here is what she said today:

"okay mom, sometimes doctors use their telescopers (stethescopes) to feel your froat (throat) and make it all better!"

"mom, this is great! I am hearing babooms in your leg, you are one healthy girl, missy-prissy!!!"

NEVER a dull moment with this kid :0)

A pet peeve...

2009-01-08T14:28:00.001-08:00

I have been running outside more often this winter due to 60 degree temperatures, it has been great exept for a few complications. What drives me nuts is when people honk at me and/or yell out their windows!!! A friend of mine said some teenagers even threw an empty water bottle at her!! my goodness. Please please please do not honk when you see someone jogging! If you feel compelled to do anything, a polite wave out the window or a thumbs up will suffice! Not only is being honked at annoying, but it scares the livin' daylights out of me!-pardon my southern expression :0)
I wonder how rude honkers would feel if i came to their house while they were doing their favorite hobby or pastime and honked at them... hmmmm.

christmas day

2009-01-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Logan in his powerwheels bus!

Our traditionsal Christmas tree made out of cinnamon rolls

Daddy and Logan checking out the new toys from santa

Julie hugging her baby doll

Julie's Princess Bike!!!!

We had a fabulous christmas day! It was so incredible to see the magic on the kids faces as they saw what santa brought them! Travis and I both said that this was the best christmas ever because of the kids reactions to everything. We went out to my grandparents and spent the afternoon eating and playing outside. Hope you all had a very merry christmas!

christmas Eve

2008-12-31T12:33:00.000-08:00

The awesome Jelly Bean Jumper!

We spent Christmas eve with Travis' parents, and this was their big gift to the kids, it was sooo much fun! It is the material of a pool raft, and just bouncy enough to burn some energy without being dangerous. The kids fully approved!

Beginnings of Christmas

2008-12-31T12:16:00.000-08:00

Our attempt at a family picture after doing our christmas cookies!

Logan trying to eat the cookies :0)

My proud girl displaying what we did!

A few days before christmas my mom and dad came over with sugar cookies that my mom had already baked, and the kids had a BLAST icing them and putting sprinkles on them! We even brought out the m&ms and other stuff we had! They were very Yummy :0)

tagged!

2008-12-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Becky, here is the 4th photo from the 4th folder! It is Julie combing Logan's hair after I had him buzzed! Logan was about 7 months old, and Julie was 2.

A Very Carr Christmas

2008-12-09T19:02:00.001-08:00

Julie and I made a gingerbread house!!!

Church clothes

More Christmas Church clothes

Here is what we have been up to lately :0)
Wishing you a blessed holiday season!!!

Faithful Fridays

2008-12-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the post about my hearing loss! Many of you who grew up with me or who already know about my journey can skip this post!

I have decided to write this mainly for journaling purposes, and for my bloggy friends who may know, not know, or have questions about it. In the last 5-6 years or so, my hearing loss has become a very private issue for me. I am not really sure why, but I just don't talk about it anymore. This is strange/new for me b/c growing up I was incredibly open about it and shared my story with many people. I think as I have gotten older, I feel like I internalize a lot of my feelings about this and cope in a completely different way. So here is my story:

When I was baby, during one of my many ear infections, my eardrum burst and bled some. My mom looked down and saw some blood coming out of my ear and panicked b/c the doctor's offices were closed, so she took me to the emergency room. A doctor there made a huge mistake and put silver nitrate in my RIGHT ear. The reason this was really bad is because silver nitrate causes scar tissue to grow rapidly and should only be used in large skin wounds. (not to be used in any small openings/orafaces!) My mom knew something was very wrong, because I was in a lot of pain. She called my ear nose and throat doctor that night, and he was so worried he asked my mom to meet him at the office on a sunday morning. He ran some tests and this is when we found out I was completely deaf in my LEFT ear, and the doctor had put silver nitrate in my RIGHT ear. The doc told my mom he wasn't sure what would happen with that right ear, but it didn't look promising. He told my mom we would have to wait and see what happened. So basically this is looking like two bad ears for me!!!
As time went on, my mom, bless her heart, noticed I was exhibiting all the signs of a deaf child. I had my own language that only she could understand. I repeated things over and over and over as if to make whatever was said make sense in my brain. I always wanted to sit 2 inches from the television screen. She said to me once, that she would sit in a room and cover her ears and rock back and forth to try to get a better perspective on what I was going through.

I began speech therapy soon after that, and went to see an audiologist on a very regular basis. I was fitted with a hearing aid, in my right ear (my left ear is nerve damage and can never be fixed, but my right ear is a conductive loss, meaning one of the bones doesn't transmit the soundwaves, so I need tons of amplication to make things louder)I remember having to sit in front of a tape recorder and "learn" all of those sounds I missed that most kids pick up on as part of their daily lives. I had to learn the phone ringing, the doorbell, someone knocking on a door, chicken frying, dogs barking, police sirens, ect... the list went on and on! I remember my sweet mom working with me for hours and making a game out of everything so I could catch up! I started kindergarten on time and went to Harding (parents chose this b/c of carpeted classroom to absorb background/extra noise!) I was never taught sign language because they thought i wouldn't learn speech and only depend on signing (a lot has changed in 20 years about that, now we encourage babies to sign and speak) I was what they called completely "mainstreamed."
On to the summer before my senior year. After a rough spring with an ear infection and a lot of congestion, I lost a lot of hearing. It was like I woke up one day and it was gone! Many of the specialists I grew up seeing were really perplexed and basically had no answers. I was really really frustrated at this point. They basically wished me a nice life and lots of luck! It was then when I realized that this was huge to me. I had lived my whole life taking what little hearing I had for granted. I was terrified of waking up and being completely deaf. what would happen? I was mainstreamed, so i had no resources for living in a "deaf world." I wouldn't fit in anywhere!!! My wonderful parents encouraged me to continue living my life as i normally would, and they would be there to help and support me whatever happened. I went ahead to college, entered nursing school, and met the man of my dreams :)

Trav really encouraged me when we were dating to find out all of my options for my hearing loss. We went to a specialist who said that he could put in a prosthetic ear bone to fix whatever earbone wasn't conducting sound through my right ear, and I wouldn't have to wear a hearing aid ever again!!! The only catch was that there was a 10% chance I could wake up from surgery and be completely deaf. It was a risk. I toyed with the idea for 2 years. And went for it.
The summer before my junior year of college, I had surgery. When the doctor got in there, he found that I had no Stapes bone- that is the one closes to the nerve (there are 3 middle ear bones, the malleus, the incus, and the stapes-in that order)and where my stapes bone should have been, my facial nerve was sort of drooping down, and if the doctor had touched that nerve, I would have been completely paralyzed in my face. So he pulled out and was finished. Just him shining the light on my facial nerve caused me to loose my sense of taste and sense of smell on the right side of my face. the taste sense came back after about 6 months, the sense of smell... I am still waiting :0) When I woke up from surgery, my mom, my dad and travis were all surrounding me crying. my mom mouthed the words (I am a pro at lip reading) and I cried too. for a long time. It was real then. I was going to be this way for forever, and how long would i get to keep what little hearing I have? Hearing aids can only help so much...
I remember feeling frustrated in social situations, and my sweet Travis would be my ears. I used to be embarassed that he had to help me, but now I love him all the more for being so willing to "hear" for me. We truly are a team! He has been so wonderful through this whole journey and I thank God that he is my husband.

So here I am. hearing impaired. Some days I don't ever even think about it. There are other days when it is all I can think about. I prayed to God that I would get to hear my babies voices and what they sound like, He has granted me that. If I wake up tomorrow with no hearing, I know what my babies voices sound like- they are branded in my brain! :0) I am now praying that I can still hear them as teenagers and have long conversations with them. I am faithful that God has a purpose for my hearing loss, the hard part is that I think I haven't let go of it completely and given it over to God because I am afraid of what will happen. I am working on it, and i am thanful for God's patience with me. I am coping better I think, I am not angry anymore about it, or confused. I feel at peace, and I take one day at a time.

Christmas Jammies

2008-12-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

I have started the tradition every year to have matching PJ's for the kids! I couldn't find any really cute gender neutral this year, so I found the same print with different color back ground. We had a blast putting up our christmas tree, both kids helped :0) It has been so fun seeing christmas in Julie's eyes, it is so magical and exciting! Logan is still a little young to understand completely what is going on, but he gets really excited with Julie and they are so cute to watch. Happy Holidays!!!

Wonderful Wednesdays...

2008-11-26T14:08:00.001-08:00

Gimme Kiss Logan!!!!

**Hugs**

Cheese mom! :0)

Please note: Rare photo opportunity!!!! The kids were being so sweet with eachother and I grabbed my camera and they were still being sweet even while I was trying to get their picture! I used to advise people not to have their kids as close in age as mine are (about 22 months) because that first year is so hard! But now, I absolutely love that they have eachother. They are playing better and Logan is learning a lot from his SEESEE. (it went from zeezee to seeesee) They warm my heart when they are being sweet to each other. I have to say my favorite thing lately is them holding hands in their carseats! Here is Julie's latest funny:
Yesterday, as I was getting her dressed, I told her we were going christmas shopping for Grammy and Pap. (my mom and dad) Her eyes lit up and she was ready! As we pull up to Bass Pro Shop, Julie says, "mom, this is NOT the Christmas store. It is over by the mall. Why are we going this way?" I explained that we were getting a present for under the tree, and it didn't have to be an all out christmas store to get actual presents for under the christmas tree. She then says, "oh man, I wanted to go to hobby lobby!!!"

My Birthday

2008-11-15T20:29:00.001-08:00

I had my birthday last week (the big 28!), and even though i was sick on the actual day, it was still wonderful because I have the most amazing hubby, parents and friends ever! So here are 28 random things that you may not know about me.

1. I was born November 13th at 10:07 a.m. to Rick and Pam Logan
2. I have been told my whole life that I am a child of God- thanks mom :0)
3. I will always be daddy's little girl and mommy's little angel
4. I have negative associations with elementary school- it was such an awkward time in my life!!!
5. I have allergies-like I am allergic to EVERYTHING! haa haa!
6. I have asthma
7. I have had a near death experience
8. I am hearing impaired, completely deaf in my left ear, and I wear a hearing aid in my right ear- (this is another post for another day :0)
9. I was a cheerleader in high school
10.I was a tumbler on my cheerleading squad
11. I cannot dance well-hence why I was always in the back or tumbling during the dance routines in cheerleading! Haaa haa!
12. I wear glasses/contacts
13. I love to sleep in long johns
14. I actually enjoy duck hunting with my daddy
15. as a child, I went to church with Justin Timberlake- he was the nerdy kid that ate the play dough, and no i didn't really like him then!!!
16. I require at LEAST nine hours of sleep to function, and prefer to get 10 hours
17. I have high cholesterol- 230 last time it was checked! (yes i keep an eye on it)
18. I am a Registered Nurse with a Bachelors degree-worked darn hard for it!!!
19. I only do Pediatric nursing
20. I love running with a passion
21. I love to shop, but seriously what girl doesn't?!
22. I am an AVID reader, I have read a 400 page book in one night!
23. I am very afraid of spiders
24. I am only child-and yes I love being an only child, my parents are my best friends!!!
25. I dye my hair brown.
26. I do NOT do the finances at our house. I would rather not know...
27. I have the most amazing children and consider them the most awesome blessing I have ever received from God!!!
28. I have an amazing husband that continues to bless me in our marriage- he keeps me grounded, loves me with all his heart, tells me so often, is my main support in all I do! AND I love him with all of my heart!

The Wedding

2008-11-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Julie in our pretty dresses!

The Princess getting a lot of attention

Logan (my sweet baby boy)

Julie and Grandma Bonnie

Julie and I had the honor of being in Justin (my cousin) and Kristen's wedding! They are the sweetest couple and we wish them the best, we love you!
So here are the pics as requested!!! The wedding was beautiful, and after lots of bribing and coaxing, Julie walked down the aisle!!! She was such a beautiful flower girl, and I was so proud of her for being a big girl and walking down that aisle by herself even when she wasn't feeling good! (she was sick with the stomach bug 2 days earlier) Julie had a BLAST dancing at the reception and thoroughly enjoyed the wedding cake :0)

He's 2!!!

2008-11-10T13:26:00.001-08:00

Eating his birthday cupcake

Mommy and Julie at lunch

Look mom, I put my trains together!

Sweet Julie telling Logan happy birthday!

This is Logan's cheese face!

Logan turned 2 on Saturday! We had his Lightening McQueen birthday party at our house on sunday because Julie and I were in a wedding on saturday! The pictures are from our day sunday. He got so many wonderful new toys and presents, He loves his Harold the Helicopter(from Thomas the Train) the pack of matchbox cars, his tonka airplanes, and his caterpiller dumptruck the best(it the loudest-hee hee)
I must admit that I am in shock that 2 years has flown by so quickly! We have had so much fun getting to know his sweet personality. I cannot begin to express how much I love this little boy! He is growing up so fast!(***Sniff***) He has filled all of our lives with such joy with his sweet grins and soft pats and hugs. He is the most affectionate child ever, and we are so thankful for his sweet spirit. We love you Logan!

So God can clean....

2008-10-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

A quick Julie song. The other night we were watching the greatest hits of Veggie Tales songs and Julie is a pro at singing along. One of our favorites is "Stand Up." it goes: "Stand up, stand up, for what you believe in, believe in, believe in God He's the one to back you up, He'll stand with you!!!" So here is Julie's version: "Stand up, Stand up for what you believe in, believe in, believe in God, He's the one to Vacuum up! He'll stand with you!!!" Travis and I were CRACKING UP! We asked her to repeat the song again and again because it was so hilarious!

tagged...

2008-10-28T20:37:00.001-07:00

Julie at her first birthday!

So I was tagged by Morgan, to pick the 6th file and the 6th picture in our computer picture files! So here it is! Julie was running a 101 fever that day and was very clingy, and as you can see Barney's bottom is in the picture, because this was her favorite security item. That purple dinosaur went EVERYWHERE with us :0) She has grown up so much!

I tag: Sonya, Bridget, and Karla!

Sweet Logan

2008-10-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

That's right people, Barbie sunglasses are unisex at the Carr house!

Daddy decided to join in on the fun :0)

Logan lookin' super mischeivious!

Sweet snugglies!

Logan has been warming our hearts lately with his pats, hugs, kisses and grins! His new thing is to say "No" to everything (sounds like he says new instead of no...) even if he means yes. He is also starting to finish some of our phrases, songs, and lines in favorite books! Usually only Julie and I can understand him though. He is still very behind in speech, so I am reading to him more than ever and asking him to repeat me- which he only does about 30% of the time. I also point to things and say, "what is that, Logan?" He usually answers but it is very garbled, so I repeat him clearly and say "That's right, Logan, that is a tractor(or whatever I was pointing to)." But we are trying! He is so precious and I love to see him watch Julie with so much intensity. He just wants to keep up with her. He is loooooving school and loves his teachers. He will be turning 2 very soon, so be looking for more fun birthday pics!

Uh oh.... what have I started?!

2008-10-13T13:52:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of our coffee mugs, side by side, per Julie's request!

So one morning I was drinking one of my many cups of coffee and julie says, mommy, I need some! So I pulled out one of the tiny coffee cups that came with all my dishes/place settings. I only put a little bit in and added lots of milk with a tiny bit of sugar, and BAM! she was hooked. Just about every morning she gets her coffee. Well, she takes after her daddy in most everything else, so she can be a little coffee drinker like her mommy, right?! She is very good at keeping it on the table and not spilling it! I will leave you with her latest funny:

So after homegroup last night, Julie and I were "recapping" the evening and she was telling me about playing with her friends. She told me she was playing with Jamie and Erin and she "shot em'." I gasped and said, "what? umm.. what did you shoot them with?" (I was prepared for her to say a gun of course...) when she says, "you know, they were pretendin to be sick and I gave em' a shot, ya know, I shot em'!!!" Travis busts out laughing from the other room, and I was totally relieved! haa haa!
Whew! that was a close one :0)

I promise, more posts about my sweet Logan are comming!

The one stop shopping center...

2008-10-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hooooray! I wanted to share with my fellow bloggers, Wal-Mart has started listing on their products if they are gluten-free or not! The FDA has passed a rule that all foods have to list if they have gluten in them along with the other common food allergies such as wheat, soy, milk or peanuts and ect. by the year 2009. Wal-Mart has gotten a jump start on this! I am now starting to find more and more gluten-free products there, and I have been so thankful because Wal-Mart is definitely cheaper than Whole Foods! They are definitely on my weekly grocery run :0)

Lebonheur Pumpkin Run

2008-10-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

I ran in the pumpkin run this past saturday! It was perfect weather, and I had a blast! This was the first race that Travis and the kids came out and supported me in, and they had fun eating all of the free food and playing in the moon bounce! It was so fun running across the finish line with my very own cheerleaders yelling for me and waving! I would have some pictures, but after we discussed it, I didn't want Trav to have to keep up with it while juggling our 2 kiddos (okay okay, I didn't want to risk him losing the camera or dropping it!) Travis said that he would like to run it with me next year if we can get our parents to come with us and play with the kids while we run. So I think the pumpkin run will be a yearly Carr family tradition!!!

Oh so very grown up....

2008-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

I love this picture b/c you can barely see travis smiling at her in the background mirror!!!
Well.... I have to admit, Julie is growing up so fast that I could cry! It has been so amazing to see her grow and change and we are really enjoying our conversations with her, she is so much fun! She is really starting to figure out that she really cares about what her friends think of her. Earlier this week I had her blue jeans laid out and her Ariel shirt and she says, "ummm I don't like blue jeans." I say, well, you always liked them before... why not today?" She says,"Neely(one of her friends at school) doesn't like them." So I told her, well I know you do like them, and your wearing them because this is what I have laid out and we are in a hurry!!! she says, "okay, okay mister bossy!" hmmmm.... then yesterday, I go to fix her hair, and she says, "mom, I really need a ponytail today!" (She NEVER wants her hair this way!) I say, "So how come you want to wear your hair in a pony tail today, does it get in your way at school?" She says, "No, Karlie(her other side-kick at school) likes to wear her hair in a ponytail." hmmmm So it already begins! aaaaah! so grown up! I will leave you with her latest funnies :0)

We were eating lasagna the other night (you know, spagetti with extra cheese....) and Julie says, "Well, it is NOT delicious, or adorable, but I guess I will eat it!" well alrighty then!!!

Logan is squirming while I change his diaper and gets a mess on the clean one. I say to Julie, "sweetie, can you run and get me a clean diaper for Logan?" she says "weeeeelll, not right now, but don't worry mom, when I grow up, I will help you change bubby's diaper allll the time!"

Julie walks into the kitchen and asks to help me cook. So I get the chair and she is helping me and she asks to stir the fried okra, and I say "well, you need to be a little older before you are around the stove." She says, "Mom, I am old."

Have a blessed week!

This is for you Cindy!!!!

2008-10-02T20:01:00.001-07:00

These are 2 of my very dear friends Cindy and Bridget! They are the Sweetest people you would ever meet (of course they are sweet and wonderful, they are friends with ME!! heee heee) cindy you are now officially famous and have your picture on the world wide web! I love you girls!

"Arrrrrrr.... MATEY!!!!"

2008-10-02T19:34:00.001-07:00

Can you see Logan's poor swollen fat lip :(
Sweet Julie loving her bubby
Cheeeeeeese!!! He looks bigger than her in this picture!!!
Sweet precious smile!!!!!

So on Friday of last week, I felt like the little kid in that book, The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Did you ever read this book as a kid?! It is about a kid who wakes up and the mom gave the last of his favorite cereal to his brothers, then they go to the shoe store, and his brothers get their favorite shoe and the store doesn't have the kids size in the shoe he wanted, so he had to get the ugly ones.... and so on and so forth, he just has "one of those days". you get the picture! That was my day on friday, but I have to admit, the kids were pretty good!
So I woke up feeling like junk, I knew I had bronchitis, (I wont gross you out and tell you what color the stuff I was coughing up was...-that is for you bridget, hee hee) I spilled milk all over the floor, stepped on a matchbox car and got a puncture wound on my foot (did not curse or scream though i felt like it... just cried silent, painful tears!) Logan then falls, busts his lip, and as I pick him up praying that his teeth are still intact (they were) he shoves his head in that space between my neck and shoulder where all my hair is and gets blood EVERYWHERE! Rats! now I have to wash my hair before my 2:30 doctors appt. But through all of this, Julie was my little ray of sunshine! She came up to me at while I was resting for one of my 10 second bouts before motherhoood would call yet again and said, "AAAARRRR Matey! Can I please be a pirate and play in the basket?!" It was a basket of clean clothes, so I was like, sure!!!! have at it! It bought me about 45 minutes of awesome rest, and of course I took pictures!!! She was so sweet to Logan and "helped" me take care of him, so sweet :0)

Look at my Babies!!!

2008-09-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

Mommy and her babies, they are getting so big!!!!
Daddy giving Logan his nightly breathing treatment. Logan is about to doze off!
Look at how long her hair is! It is still wet from her bath :0)

So here are some pics as promised! The first picture is right after their bath, and they both wanted to sit in momma's lap! I was in hog heaven :0) The kids have done really great at getting used to "school" and what all of that involves. We are gearing up for a very busy fall and holiday season with showers, birthday parties and weddings! Julie has loved getting to go to all of these events, as they all usually involve cake and/or icecream :0)
A few of her latest funnies:

I say, "If I see you doing that again, then you are going to time out and getting a spanking." Julie says, "well, just don't look at me then!"

Julie says in the car, "So mom, when you gonna teach me to drive?!"

I say, "Julie, I am so sorry you chose to disobey me, this is why you went to time-out." about 10 minutes later she says, "Mommy, I am so sorry you chose to be ugly to me."

we went to a princess birthday party where the kids were supposed to say their names and their favorite disney character. Julie says, "uuuummm, my name is Julie, and I really love to just hop on one foot!" haaa haa! okay.....

Logan is jibber jabbering up a storm and increases his vocabulary each day! He went to the pantry the other morning and pointed and said, "eeeetooos!" I told him no, we don't eat cheetos at 9 o'clock in the morning! Little stinker :0)

We are having a huge problem with sibling rivalry right now, as it comes in waves here and there. It really helps to separate them for awhile after a fight, then find something to do that involves everyone. I am an only child, and am shocked speechless at how quickly they can go from huggy kissy to fighting and hair pulling! All of my friends assure me this is normal, but I am still not used to it! I actually had to yell at them the other night, don't touch him, don't look at her! you sit there, you go to your room! It was crazy! I would love to hear some suggestions on how to deal with this in a more effective way for an almost 4 year old and an almost 2 year old! Any ideas?!

Recipe for Kick Butt Rotel

2008-09-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

1 16 ounce pkg of Velveeta cheese, cut into very small cubes
1 can original Rotel (can get hot/spicy if you like it like that!)
3 tbsp milk
1/2 lb very lean ground beef
1/2 cup salsa
3 tsp garlic powder
salt pepper to taste

cook ground beef on medium high, during cooking add 1/2 cup salsa ( I like the pace picante sauce in mild) 3tsp garlic powder, salt/pepper. When meat is done, set aside.
In a sauce pan add velveeta cubes, 3 tbsp milk, can of rotel (do not drain). stir constantly until melted, add meat, and stir some more. put heat on low when all of cheese is melted, serve with your favorite brand of corn chips and enjoy!
Trav and I will have this for dinner every once in awhile, we loooove it!

Ten things I have done in last ten days....

2008-09-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

1) Run, run, and run some more!

2) Read a 450 page novel

3) Had lunch and a manicure with my awesome friend Bridget! She is the best!

4) Found out that one of my friends, Laura, is having twin girls! How fun :0)

5) Held Logan for an hour in the middle of the night to get him back to sleep, and snuggled him close and breathed in his sweet little scent!

6) Played with my kids for 2 hours strait at the park

7) Listen to my poor sweet hubby cough and cough at night as he is recovering from a cold

8) Trav and I ate a whole thing of my Kick Butt Rotel Cheese Dip for dinner one night! so yummmy....

9) Held an abandoned 4 day old newborn and prayed that a wonderful family would adopt her

10) Gave Julie a manicure and a pedicure!

We have had a very fun fast paced week, and are gearing up for an even busier weekend! Just wanted to randomly catch you all up on what we have been up to! I will post pics soon :0)

Awesome new website....

2008-09-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

So my good friend Laura just launched her new business! you HAVE to check it out:

www.forkeepsdesign.com

Love you Laura, Blessings to your new biz!!!

Fun with the RG girls....

2008-09-10T19:24:00.001-07:00

You guys are the best! thanks for being so awesome :0)

My Diet....

2008-09-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

So a lot of you blog readers and my friends have been asking me, "So how is that gluten-free diet of yours going?!" So I thought I might go ahead and post my feelings on it since my blog is also sort of a journal for me. For those of you who don't know, back in February I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. After a year of battling lots of symptoms, I began researching and figured out that I needed to be tested for this, and the test came back postitive meaning I needed to go on (and stay on) a gluten free diet for me to feel much better and let my intestines heal.

Here it is September and I am about to embark on my first gluten free HOLIDAY journey. Yes, I plan on sticking to my gluten free diet religiously! But first I need to back track a bit and tell you why i plan on sticking to my gluten free diet....
A couple of weeks ago, I got so fed up with still reading labels and having to cook EVERYTHING I ate, I went off of my diet for a whole week. I know what you are thinking, "What?! why would she do that to herself!!!" To be plain honest, I just missed gluten so much and I was sort of going throught this weird depression about not being able to eat just what i wanted! Remember, I am also allergic to like everything, nuts, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, (ANY kind of nut) and sesame seeds. also lately I found out I am also starting to be allergic to tomatoes and pineapple!!!! so you see the list of foods i can eat is just dwindling down and dwindling down..... I missed pizza and bread and pasta and real cereal that didn't taste like styrofoam, and doghnuts and croutons and being able to eat out without the frustrations and worries! I missed not being able to just grab something in a pinch for myself when the kids needed my full attention- like a granola bar, or goldfish or pretzels! I got to eat with abandon for a whole week, but.... it came with a huge price! I was okay the first few days, but by day 4 it was horrible. I couldn't stand it anymore!!!! So back on the gluten free diet I went.

WHEW~ I will NEVER do that again. To put it lightly, I was MISERABLE for a 2 whole weeks after that!!!! I was a solid itchy hive from head to toe, my stomache ached endlessly, I had terrible gas, bloating, diarrhea, and I felt like I was on the first day of a cold for 2 whole weeks. I also had a full blown lymphatic system response! my glands were swollen, i had 5 mouth sores, 2 fever blisters, and swollen lymph nodes here and there!!! I guess since I have not had gluten in so long, me just "blowing it" really hurt my system. Now I remember why I will not, shall not, EVER eat gluten purposefully again!

But I can't just leave you with the negatives. So I shall share some of the positives. I have never eaten so healthy in all my life!!!! Eating gluten free has forced me to be super good at reading food labels (praise the Lord for google! HA!!!), and I am learning that foods in their rawest form are best for you anyway. I eat a ton of salads full of veggies and powerhouse foods like broccoli srouts, avacados, raw sunflower seeds, carrots, orange/yellow bell peppers and whatever else i have in the fridge and need to use!! I eat lots of fruits and veggies, and beans and brown rice. but don't feel to sorry for me, I do go to Whole Foods market about once a month and spend around $70 dollars on my freezer foods like biscuits, waffles, corn bread, gluten free flours, baking mix, gluten free pastas and such! but it is soooo expensive, I try to make it last (which is why i stick to freezer goods). Also, I am finding out that i love foods that I would have never even tried, like turnip greens, brussels sprouts, artichokes, squash, and asparagus!!! I have several gluten free cookbooks that have been AWESOME and I usually attempt a new recipe about once every week or two. I have also maintained a healthy weight much more easily in the last 7 months or so(as my mom says, well I guess so if you can't eat any bread!!!) So I will leave you with, I am doing well on my gluten free diet, and I will never again have a cheatin' heart!!!!!

School Days

2008-09-01T12:58:00.001-07:00

Julie with her star that she colored ALL by herself! well, I helped with the name a little....
Logan being entertained by Julie, she was singing and waving her star around!
Julie in her class, she said right before i took this, "mom, hurry, I need to go and play!"

So the first day of school was great! There were no tears shed from any kids, and only a few from mom when I got back into my empty van!!! They were so excited about getting to go in and see their teachers and play with their friends. Trav and I feel so blessed that our kids go to "school" and church at the same place. They are even in the same classrooms for school and sunday school! How great is that?! Now Julie asks when we pull up the the church building, "mom, are we going to school today, or church?"
I didn't get very many pictures of our first day as I was running around like a madmom making sure everyone had what they needed, and so i only got pics in their carseats plus that one of Julie in her classroom. I really wanted to get one of Logan with his teachers, but I was afraid if I started all of that he might get upset and want me to stay! oh well, I will get more pics later in the year at holiday parties and such!
Hooooray for great first weeks!

Wordless Wednesdays...

2008-08-20T12:42:00.001-07:00

pics

2008-08-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

My sweet painter! Her pictures are absolutely GORGEOUS!!! ;)
Notice how thin Logan looks! This was taken 2 weeks after his tonsilectomy, he lost almost 2 Lbs
This is thier new favorite thing to do, play in Logan's crib while mommy throws pillows at them!

Well, summer is about to draw to an official close at our house!!!! We all start back to "school" and work a week from today. I am slowly moving our routine about an hour earlier! (up an hour earlier, nap time, and bed time all an hour earlier!!!) A week ago I was really glad and excited about getting to get out, work and have some adult conversation, but now I am starting to feel kind of sad about them being away from me! I do know that they LOOOOVE going and that they learn lots of cool stuff! Also being in a more stable routine is easier for everyone. I can't wait to see how their first day goes!

Randomness....

2008-08-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so is anyone else irritated by the 2X concentrated laundry detergent? I can't seem to find any of my laundry detergent that isn't the 2X concentrated anymore. Don't get me wrong, the new smaller containers do fit in the cabinets above the washer and dryer niceley... but EVERY time I go to wash clothes I have to STRONGLY resist the urge to pour more than a capfull in! Does that little amount really get my clothes as clean? I have to wonder if the laundry detergent companies are banking on the fact that many people don't resist the urge to do just one capfull, and then they run out of laundry detergent more quickly thus leading to consumers buying more detergent than they are used to. hmmmm.....

5 Years

2008-08-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

We just celebrated our 5 Year wedding anniversary! Here are 5 reasons I love my hubby:

1) He gives 100% of himself to whatever he commits to! (mainly the Lord, Me and the kids!)

2) He values Loyalty over anything, not just to him, but he is loyal to those he loves! (this sooo comes in handy when I am venting to him about stuff!) hee hee

3) He protects me, he always checks the windows/doors at night to make sure they are locked, and he always checks out strange sounds outside!

4) He hurts when I hurt... helps me succeed at whatever I want to commit to, and encourages me endlessly.

5) He lovingly listens to things for me (people in loud social settings, our kids at night, anything else that needs to be heard!) and has always been "my ears" -

I love you Trav! You are the best, and I pray that God continues to bless our journey!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Julie hearts Gymnastics...

2008-08-05T14:43:00.001-07:00

Finishing a back flip over a large roll
About to attempt a back flip all on her own!
She had just finished a cart-wheel with help, she is so proud!!
Sweet Logan chillin out and eating his weight in blue berries, that bowl was full!
My little skinny girl, so so sweet, even though you can see her belly button and count her ribs!!

We started gymnastics this week! Julie loved it, and I am so glad of this because she changes her mind a lot on weather or not she likes things! (not to mention my non-refundable $50 registration fee....) She wore her precious little pink leotard (that SHE picked out) and off we went. She liked swinging on the rings and jumping on the trampoline the best. Logan and I get to watch her from an upstairs viewing room that is really cool! She would look up at us every few minutes and wave and blow kisses! When we got in the car she said, "Mommy, I am so glad you saw me and waved at me!" and I was glad too!

thankful thursdays

2008-07-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I should share what has been going on in my mommy brain. This summer has been such a huge trial and tribulation for me! With one very sick toddler, and another one that decided she wanted to test the boundaries of my authority once again, I have about lost my mind. When "school" let out, and I cut way back on my hours at work to be at home with them, I thought yipee! we are going to have a blast! But then... the days were getting longer and longer....and more and more tears were being shed-from all 3 of us!!! Julie was missing school and her friends, and Logan kept going to the door like, hey are we about to go somewhere?- Don't get me wrong, staying at home with two kids is one of the best things I have ever done, but it took a long time this summer for me to realize where I was in this parental game, and how to step up to the plate successfully. (for me that meant I got through one day without tears, or feeling like I could pull my hair out! ha!)
Here is what I did~I cried a lot at first, then I prayed! I learned that when they both get upset and they both start screaming and crying over sibling junk, I have got to "detach" emotionally. I needed to be very calm and not react, but ACT. Before I was just reacting and getting upset and stressed out and they could feel that! (thus making it all worse) So I would pick up whomever was crying the hardest, put him or her in their bed, turn out the light and shut their door. I would repeat the same ritual with sibling B, and then take 3 deep breaths, count to ten wait about 1 minute and go and get them. It usually worked! (and i felt better too)
Then when Logan kept getting sicker, I started having to cook, clean, move clothes from washer to dryer with him on my hip. (He is my 27 pounder) He just didn't feel good, and we were waiting to have his nasty infected tonsils taken out! I didn't have the heart to let my baby cry it out! Here is what I started doing. I started being thankful. Thankful that I had Christ as my savior to give me hope that I can do this and do a great job (with only HIM of corse :0) I began thinking, i am thankful that I have use of my arms and legs so that I CAN carry my 27 pounder around while I get my stuff done! I began thanking God for the awesome things we all take for granted like running water, working toilets, air-conditioning, oven, microwave, television, comfy couches, and the list goes on and on. I thought about women in third world countries that wake up each day and wonder if their children will be killed in front of them by terrorists or militia. (okay way extreme, but you get my drift...) I thought about how petty I was being, and changed my perspective. It helped a lot.
So how am I doing? Much better, and I only take one hour at a time :0)

oh the joys...

2008-07-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Julie has been hilarious lately, and Logan is on the up and up after surgery! thought I would share!!!

well, the other day, I was getting ready to go to the dentinst when I heard, "smack! and Logan was wailing!" I run into the living room where Logan is crying and Julie with a deer in the headlights look on her face says, "I did NOT just hit him really hard!" -gotta love when they tell on themselves!!!

Then the next day she runs into the kitchen and points to the living room and says in an extremely parental tone,"mom, look at what your son is doing." (pulling all the pillows off the couch)

Last week I made her try some sautee'd (sp?) squash. She gingerly picks up a tiny piece with her fingers, puts it in her mouth and starts to cry, "no, I don't like it, it is hurting my face!" ---what?! haa haa!!

She runs into my bedroom the other day and says..."mom, I don't know what I wanna be when I grow up!" I say, "well, sweetie, that's okay, you have a long time to decide, and you get to pick whatever you want to be!" she then exclaims, "okay, I wanna be tinkerbell!" and skips out happily :0)

Yesterday, Logan's diaper leaked during the night, so when he woke up I just grabbed some other pj bottoms and put them on with the shirt he was already wearing. Julie walked into the room and started crying, and I say, what is the matter? she says, "bubby's outfit doesn't match he wants it to match!" Yikes! (I have created a fashion girl!!!) hee hee

Logan is having such a great time learning to talk. Julie and I are the only ones that can really understand him, but at least he is making an effort! He is adding to his vocabulary each day and loooooves ELMO! He can say several animals, sounds they make, alphabet letters, sounds they make, a few colors, a few foods, and a few needs (like ink=drink, and ore=more)

After his tonsillectomy, he has become quite attached to me and will not tolerate anyone holding him except me or travis or my dad. (stranger anxiety maybe?) he calls for me 100% of the time when he needs anything or when he wakes up.

He loves the family picture of the 4 of us on our coffee table and he often brings it to me and points out every member of the family and says who they are! -so sweet!-
He loves his Zee Zee(sister) and loves going with me to get her up in the morning. When she sits up he says,"Zee Zee!" and waves and blows her a kiss. She usually respons by squeezing his hand or kissing his cheek. Such a heart melter these 2 are!!!

Oh the joys of kids!!!

What a trooper...

2008-07-30T13:53:00.001-07:00

This is a picture from the wedding of Travis' parents, Bonnie and Sam. I wanted to post a little bit about them. About a year and half ago, sam had a stroke in his right eye, called an ischemic optic neuropathy. This has nothing to do with the brain, it just happened in his eye-not his brain- and he lost some sight from it. It improved slightly over the next few months, and Sam learned to adjust very well with his partial sight loss. A few weeks ago, we received a call that Sam had another stroke in his left eye. He went to a specialist that confirmed the same thing had happened in his left eye that had happened in his right eye. He has very narrow optic nerves, and it just happened. Needless to say, we all were pretty devastated. Sam's whole life changed in a matter of a days. He is unable to read, use the computer or drive (3 of his favorite things to do) But I must say, Sam andBonnie visited us this past weekend and we were AMAZED at Sam's positive attitude! He was wonderful! He was very upbeat and tried to help in any way that he could. We are so impressed and so blessed that he is handling this with such grace and dignity... what a role model! We are very excited about them moving here in December and are ready to help in any way that we can, We love you Sam and Bon!

What we have been up to!

2008-07-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

well... sorry about not posting for awhile! We have been very busy. Logan had is tonsils out this past wednesday, and we had to stay overnight at the hospital! We are very tired, and have been sick off and on all summer with them :( Hopefully with a full recovery, he will get better and not be sick so much! Thankyou to all my friends and family who called and checked on him or came by to visit! We feel so blessed and very loved :0)
Other than that, we have just been spending a lot family time at home playing in the sprinkler or playing inside to beat the heat. Trav's parents are coming in for quick visit this weekend, so I will post some pics earlier next week!

More pics from the wedding....

2008-07-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Julie and Logan had a blast dancing, and we had fun getting to know Uncle Bruce and Aunt Barbara better!!!

Austin is married!!!

2008-07-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

We went to mobile a week ago to see Travis' brother Austin get married! Welcome to the family Lauren! We had such a great time and were able to see a lot of extended family. The rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and the reception were all beautiful and fun! Here are some pictures of our trip.

My Two Cents worth...

2008-07-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

Please note, this post is not in any way meant to diagnose/treat or OFFEND anyone!!!!!

Because I am a pediatric RN working in a pediatrician's office, I thought I should post some thoughts of mine on the relationship between autism and vaccines. I would venture to say that vaccinating children encompasses at least 75% of my job. I feel it is my professional responsibility to decide how I should deal with certain issues, this being one of them. I know of many people who are pregnant or who have very young infants who have varying concerns on this issue. So I began researching a month or so ago. I spoke with some of the pediatricians in my office about this, read on the CDC-Centers for Disease Control website, and researched the definition/signs/symptoms of autism on the internet-(all medically sound websites).

the question is, to vaccinate or not to vaccinate??? yes that is the question I am getting...
I say, go ahead and vaccinate your children. Before I launch into my theory, here is what I read about the causes of Autism in Wikepedia. *ASD=Autistic Spectrum Disorder
"Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by multigene interactions or by rare mutations with major effects.[3] Early studies of twins estimated heritability explains more than 90% of the risk of autism, assuming a shared environment and no other genetic or medical syndromes.[14] However, most of the mutations that increase autism risk have not been identified. Typically, autism cannot be traced to a Mendelian (single-gene) mutation or to single chromosome abnormalities such as Angelman syndrome or fragile X syndrome, and none of the genetic syndromes associated with ASDs has been shown to selectively cause ASD.[3] There may be significant interactions among mutations in several genes, or between the environment and mutated genes. Numerous candidate genes have been located, with only small effects attributable to any particular gene.[3] The large number of autistic individuals with unaffected family members may result from copy number variations (CNVs)—spontaneous deletions or duplications in genetic material during meiosis.[49] Hence, a substantial fraction of autism may be highly heritable but not inherited: that is, the mutation that causes the autism is not present in the parental genome.[48]
All known teratogens (agents that cause birth defects) related to the risk of autism appear to act during the first eight weeks from conception, and though this does not exclude the possibility that autism can be initiated or affected later, it is strong evidence that autism arises very early in development.[4] Although evidence for other environmental causes is anecdotal and has not been confirmed by reliable studies,[5] extensive searches are underway.[50] Environmental factors that have been claimed to contribute to or exacerbate autism, or may be important in future research, include certain foods, infectious disease, heavy metals, solvents, diesel exhaust, PCBs, phthalates and phenols used in plastic products, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, alcohol, smoking, illicit drugs, and vaccines.[6] Although parents may first become aware of autistic symptoms in their child around the time of a routine vaccination, and parental concern about vaccines has led to a decreasing uptake of childhood immunizations and an increasing likelihood of measles outbreaks, there is overwhelming scientific evidence showing no causal association between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, and there is no scientific evidence that the vaccine preservative thiomersal helps cause autism.[51]"-From Wikepedia

So here is my theory. Austism is mainly genetic. What I gathered from all of my research is that there are some children that have the gene mutations and there is possibly some unknown environmental factor(s) that trigger these gene mutations and alas the child ends up on the austism spectrum. I also read that 23% of autistic children were completely cured of autism when put on a gluten-free and casein (milk protein) free diet. So in this percentage of children, gluten and casein may be those environmental "triggers."

Some of us are predisposed to have medical issues, and given the "right circumstances/stress/time of life" may go into having full blown health issue that requires a change of life or medication. Type 1 diabetes is another example. Some of us have DNA that predisposes us to Diabetes. (it is often genetic) Then we lead a stressful life, don't get enough exercise, and eat sweets on a regular basis, then suddenly one may find themselves with a diabetes diagnosis. (poor example I know, but easily identified with)
Another reason I feel that autism is genetic, is because in SOME cases, the autistic child often has a sibling with the same diagnosis.

So after the CDC takes mercury and other preservatives that are thought to cause autism out of vaccines, we are still having a child be diagnosed on average every 20 minutes! I think what has happened is that the medical community has learned how to better diagnose children at a younger age, and vaccines are getting the blame. (because of the time frame)

So here is why you should vaccinate your children. We as a society depend on what is called Herd Immunity(go look it up for more info). Polio, Measles, Pertussis, and Diptheria are still around and very much alive. The reason we never see any of this is because we have all been vaccinated against them!!! When working as a nurse at Arkansas children's hospital, I saw a 14 month child almost die from pertussis. He was in ICU for several several weeks with an unsure prognosis... (he did make it thankfully)-- This was easily preventable!!! His mother was in a small cult, and they did not believe in vaccinating their children.

So I will leave you with this: Weather or not you want to vaccinate your children is your choice. But please research this for yourself and ask questions!!!! Please find a pediatrician that will listen and respect your decision and discuss all possibilities with you (ex: a different or slower vaccine schedule?!) Thanks for reading!

Fun Friday...

2008-06-20T12:44:00.001-07:00

Why I love having a 3 1/2 year old little girl!

2008-06-19T11:11:00.001-07:00

Seriously, do i need to say anything in relation to this picture?! She is so much fun. there is never a dull moment in our house with this kid :0) If there was a picture in the dictionary for the word princess, her picture would surely be there.
So here are some reasons why I love this phase Julie is in. 1) She never lets me forget ANYTHING 2) She always tells me if I am driving to fast, or going down hills to fast, it makes her dizzy 3) She could spend hours looking at nail polish and lip gloss when we go to walgreens or walmart (how fun is that!!!) 4) She tells me on a regular basis that she looooves being a princess 5) If I can't find something there is a huge chance that she knows where it is, or has seen it! 6) She reports on a very regular basis exactly where her brother is and what exactly he is doing 7) She is the best at stalling, at bedtime she will say, mommy let's say our prayers aaaaallll over again, or can I tuck you in a little bit more?, or my favorite- I just need to hold you and hug you one more time 8) she always keeps me in stitches with her hilarious quotes. My favorite lately being when she had a mini melt down at TCBY, I asked her about it later and she says, "weeeelll.... sometimes kids just cry at the ice cream place, ya know?" 9) She sees beauty in the sweetest things. She loves sunsets and if you ask her why she will say, "because there is pink in the sky!" and who knew that sticks and rocks could make such a cool collection?! 10) She adores going shopping of any sort. - I have seriously raised her right!!! :0) grocery, clothes, shoes, whatever it is we need to get she is ready to go!
We love her so much and are so blessed to have the opportunity to show her God's love!

Logan~18 months!!!

2008-06-16T19:48:00.001-07:00

My sweetie pie is 18 months old!!! Here are some of his stats: 27 Lbs (65th percentile), and 33.5 inches long (48th percentile). He is a strong, healthy sweet baby boy. He is a bit behind on speech, but that is b/c Juie and I take such good care of him. He is right on track with other developmental milestones. Some of the things we love about our little man: He is a lover! He loves to grab us and give huge hugs, he loves to play with my hair when he is sleepy, he loves to stop whatever he is doing and run up to us and pat us in a loving way and grin! He is very laid back usually and goes with the flow pretty well. He is actually stronger (physically) than Julie, and has proved this on many occasions. Some words that he can say (that usually only me or Julie can understand) are:

Nana=Banana

CAAAA= car

dell dell= yellow

eeew= blue

uht=up

ink=drink

mama

dada

zeezee=sissy

We are praying that he is a steadfast rock for our family and the family he will have one day (**sniff**) :0) We pray that he and Julie have a very close and loyal relationship. He has been a sick boy a lot in the last year, so I wonder if he is such a well behaved boy for being sick a lot, I couldn't imagine how good he is when he feels better! PS, yes he is definitely a "mommy's boy," and i loooove it!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, Trav is the best Father in the world! But you don't have to take my word for it, just be here when he gets home from work and see the kids going CRAZY when he walks through the door! He (right along with me) cried like a baby when they were born :0) He did his duty with the diapers, and did more than his share of walking fussy sick infants at 3 am. He reads to them, plays with them, and prays for them! One thing I love about him is how he makes the littlest things fun, like cleaning up their rooms or brushing their teeth. He can get Julie to try any new food at dinner by being persistent and patient. He loves us with all his heart, and we love him! Happy Father's Day Trav! (and yes, here is your written proof that you get to sleep in on Father's Day!)

Some fun pics!

2008-05-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

To my first pair of running shoes.....

2008-05-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so since I (Lindy) am the author of this blog... I had to dedicate one post to my first running shoes.

When Logan turned 2 months old, I decided I needed to get back into shape (yes, I gained loooots of weight during that pregnancy). I also felt like I needed to do something for ME instead of being a portable milk jug for my baby, and a personal baby wipe for my 2 year old. Running sounded like a fun challenge.

But then it wasn't at first...

Because it was January and freezing outside, I ventured out to the gym. I tried running on the treadmill and about passed out after 3 minutes. I mean like my face was beet red, sweat pouring, gasping for breath, about to pass out. I felt discouraged. So I decided to research. Shoes seemed like the best place to start. I knew my shoes were old, and I needed some good quality ones. After researching in runner's world magazines and their awesome website, I figured out that I was an over-pronator, and needed lots of arch support. So I set out to get my first pair of REAL running shoes. the ASICS GEL KEYANO. I will never forget the trepidation I felt as I handed the guy behind the counter my debit card. $130 bucks was a lot to spend on a tight budget, and I left the store feeling dread about my new investment. My committment to being a runner became solid that day. After several months on the treadmill, I decided to try outside running, and loved it even better. (treadmills can only go so far....). Running became my time. No one else could go out and do it for me. I started praying and meditating during my runs. Usually after the first mile, I could feel the tension easing out of my body and slipping into the concrete. After a long courtship, I fell in love, and my shoes were there to capture every second!!!

When I look back at Logan's firs summer, I think about my running. These shoes and running pushed me through one of the most difficult seasons of my life. Dealing with depression, 2 very small children, a struggling marraige, weird symptoms leading to celiac, and adjusting to life as a full time mom was too much for me. God, family, my children and running got me through. These shoes were there with me on my 5:30 a.m. runs. They were there for my 8 p.m. runs after my children went to bed. They were helping me pound out my stress and frustrations. They helped pave the way to a healthier, more emotionally stable ME.

These shoes were there the first time I ran for one hour straight (without stopping). They felt my fear in my first 5K race(32:10), and my exhilaration in my second 5K race(31:15). When I went this past fall to get my new running shoes, the guy helping me scolded me for not getting a new pair sooner, they were really worn down!!! I smiled and said, "well, they have a lot of history." He smiled and nodded his understanding. I will never throw these shoes out, and they stay at the bottom of my closet in plain view. They serve as a reminder that i can push through just about anything and that hard work does pay off. I sort of feel like they should be dipped in bronze for all that they have been through! so here's to my shoes....

Our weekend getaway :0)

2008-05-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

So trav and I finally went away for the weekend!!! We want to thank BOTH sets of our parents, without them we wouldn't have been able to do it. Grammy and Pap kept the kids all weekend, and Grandma and Grandpa paid for us to go! It was wonderful. Travis and I decided we should do a small weekend getaway once every year, especially after busy season. We talked a lot about our spiritual and emotional growth and the direction we want to go as a family. We set a few goals for our marraige and prayed for our family. It was a relaxing fun weekend that we both really needed! I love you trav, thanks for a great weekend!!!

My little Artists

2008-05-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

Now that it is warmer out, we have been playing outside a lot! Julie and Logan love to draw with side walk chalk, and they do really well because it fits into their hands (especially Logan's) just right! we also go for wagon rides, play at the park and blow bubbles :0) stay tuned for some water fun later in the summer!!!

About Me

2008-05-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

So I was tagged via Email from a friend at work!!! Here goes!

1. Two things that you despise that no one knows about you~
a) I hate drinking the milk at the bottom of the bowl after i finish my cereal! ugh, it grosses me out!
b) I cannot stand worms! ugh... they are so slimey and gross. It gives me a panick attack if i have to touch one! (my poor friend Laura had to bait my hook every time on a fishing trip in Colorado!)

2. Name something fun you want to do in your life:
a) well... I really love bright colors! I eventually want to decorate my whole house in hot pinks, lime green, lemon yellow, sunny orange.... and other bright bright colors with white trimmings/furniture. I am so not brave enougth to do it yet!! It will happen, someday!

3. Something that gives you joy, then something that gives you happiness~
sheesh! these are hard ones!
a) hmmm.. my kids loving eachother on a daily basis gives my soul so much joy!
b) Coffee, reading, manicures, massages, hanging out with friends makes me happy!

4. Biggest Fear in Life~
I have 2...
a) That I will not fulfill the purposes in life for the reasons that Christ put me on Earth
b) Losing the rest of my hearing, and not being able to hear my loved ones voices! (you all know how i looooove to talk!)

5. A secret talent you would like to posses~
a) I would love to grow all of my favorite vegetables in my own back yard! Hopefully when the kids get a little older, I can nurture my green thumb! :0)

6. Where do you see yourself in 10 years~
I see myself as a calmer me. I see me loving my husband so much I might burst. I see me raising pre teens in a rough world and praying a lot for their spiritual survival. I see me working as a nurse and teaching people how to take better care of themselves!

7. Something that is consuming your thoughts lateley~
there are so many things that I think about..... I would have to say my health. I need to reign in my eating habits, and completely quit the gluten! (oh how i miss it!) and exercise a little more consistently. I need to keep my self healthy on a spiritual level the most. Prayer and fasting and reading the scripture to"arm myself in Christ Jesus!!!"
My grandfather's death. Did he do all that he wanted to do? Did he have any regrets? What would he say now that he has experienced death? (i know, this is late night thinking...)

Now! I tag... Morgan, Karla, Laura, and Kristen!

I am so jealous!!!

2008-04-28T10:53:00.001-07:00

Okay, so my totally hip, cool, awesome parents went to a wedding this weekend and guess who was there!!!
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel!
So it turns out that some long time family friends of ours son got married to Justin Timberlake's first cousin. Justin actually escorted the bride's mother down the aisle! I am soooo bummed that I didn't go to the wedding! (Trav was sick, and I had some other family festivities going on!)
So my dad got to shake JT's hand and talk to him at the wedding reception. Mom reported that Jessica Biel is way more gorgeous in person and was wearing a beautiful peach dress with brown sandals. Way to go mom and dad!

Big Sister Julie

2008-04-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my precious girl, who is a fabulous big sister. From the moment Julie met Logan, she was facinated. All of the pictures from the day he was born are of her looking at him!

She just kept touching him and smiling. Even now poor Logan has two mommies. She is constantly telling him no and that if he doesn't stop, he will get a spanking or a time out! If she isn't correcting him, she is "guiding" him during play time (a nice way of saying she bosses him around some!) She can mess with him, but no one else can!

A week ago, I had to spat Logan on the bare leg for the first time, and Julie went crazy yelling at me to not spank her Bubby! (this is Logan's nickname in our family) She hugged him and pat him and told him it would be okay. Logan in turn adores his big sister and loves to aggravate her to the point of tears. He doesn't talk much b/c big sis and mommy anticipates his every need! He calls her ZeeZee right now ( his word for Sissy?) Logan loves to hug his ZeeZee and then pull her hair, but Julie is a great sport most of the time!

Another instance, I had to discipline her, and she was so angry she looked at me with her angry eyes and said, come on Bubby, let's go play! He followed his big sister to her room where they shut the door! I prayed looooong and hard that my two babies would be super close and extremely loyal to eachother, and I am finally seeing my answered prayer~ although sometimes it feels like they are ganging up on me :0) Here's to many years of sibling lovalry!

Some pics...

2008-04-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

He called Julie and Logan Inky and Stinky!!!! they were wearing their T-shirts with their nick names on them :0)

My PawPaw

2008-04-07T15:21:00.001-07:00

My PawPaw passed from this Earth on April 6th, 2008 @ 11:53 pm. I was so blessed that he was such a huge part of my life! My precious cousin Lorin (who is like a sister to me) and I were at his bedside when he passed. We had been laughing and reminiscing about all of our favorite memories of our pawpaw when he passed. We feel like this was an awesome way to go! He was a wonderful man who loved his family. He had a unique sense of humor that only those close to him understood and loved. He had been suffering with several health ailments for the last five years, After a long, tough fight with cancer, he is no longer in pain and resting peacefully :0)
We love you PawPaw and treasure all of the wonderful memories we shared~

So I have been tagged...

2008-04-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

was tagged by Kristen... so here goes!!!
) Gone on a blind date – yes, once, and we ended up dating for awhile!
(x) Skipped school – Only if I did something fun with my mom :0)
( ) Watched someone die – no, but I am currently wathing my grandfather, and it is heartbreaking
( ) Been to Canada – nope
(x) Been to Mexico – nope
(x) Been to Florida – Many times!!! My hubby is from FL. Go Gators!!!
(x) Been on a plane – Yes, and with a kid too!
(x) Been lost – When I was a kid, several times actually.
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country – no, but would love to travel some day
(x) Gone to Washington, DC – Went for my 8th grade field trip
(x) Swam in the ocean – yes, and barefooted too! - (that was for you mom)
(x) Cried yourself to sleep- not very often, but a few times in my life.
( ) Played cops and robber – No
(x) Recently colored with crayons – Yes, this is like a daily activity for me and Julie! (Logan usually just eats them.... yes we have had some interesting poopy colors....)
( ) Sang Karaoke – No, I have a terrible singing voice
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only – I used to use the coins in my piggy bank for happy meals as a kid
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't –start seriously dating this cute guy in college.... i ended up marrying him!!!
(x) Made prank phone calls – Yes, in middle school my friends and I spent many, many hours prank calling.
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose – No, not yet anyway.
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue – Yes
(x) Danced in the rain – Yes, when i was little and stayed with my Nanny, she always let me go out and play in the rain and write with soap on her driveway! so fun.
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus – Not since I was a kid.
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe – Yes, but only once
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about – no... not that i can remember... hmmmm......... something to add to my to do list :0)
(x) Blown bubbles – Yes, all the time for the kids! we love it
(x) Gone ice-skating – Yes, occasionally as a kid
(x) Been skinny dipping – Yes, at the beginning of every school year in college, some of my Zeta Rho friends would go!! It was such a fun tradition
(x) Gone rock climbing – nope
1. Any nickname? – Lin, mommy
2. Mother's name? Pamela Kaye Hillman Logan
3. Favorite drink? Coffee
4. Tattoo? - no
5. Body Piercing? – Ears, belly button, but took that out when I got pregnant with Julie!
6. Birthplace? – Alexandria, LA
7. Favorite vacation spot? - The Beach
8. Ever been to Africa? no, but would like to go on a medical mission trip there some day
9. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yes, I have been known to do this on occasion during girl scout cookie time!!
10. Ever been on TV? – not that i can remember
11. Ever steal a traffic sign? – no, but my husband has!
12. Ever been in a car accident? – Yes, some of them very bad.
13. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? - 4, I am a minivan mom, and proud of it!
14. Favorite salad dressing? - gluten free creamy dill......yummm
15. Favorite pie? Since my celiac stuff, i don't do pies!
16. Favorite number? - 4
17. Favorite movie? – the notebook
18. Favorite holiday? - Valentines day
19. Favorite dessert? – cookies/brownies all gluten free of course!
20. Favorite food? – Grilled Salmon, Crab legs
21. Favorite day of the week – Any day Travis is home and we have nothing planned.
22. Favorite brand of body wash? - Bath and bodyworks – Warm Vanilla Sugar
23. Favorite toothpaste? – Crest sensitivity
24. Favorite smell? – Kids, after a bath
25. What do you do to relax? – take a warm bath, read, or sleep
26. How do you see yourself in 10 years? - More in love with my husband than ever, Raising a 13 year old girl and an 11 year old boy in Christ, being very busy, still running, working PRN on a mother baby until at a hospital, and spending lots of time with people at church!

Jesus, family, bunnies, eggs, and candy!!!!

2008-03-24T11:19:00.001-07:00

Even though this wansn't either of the kids' first Easter, it sort of felt like it because they had so much fun and really enjoyed all of it!!! I feel terrible though because i forgot my camera and didn't get any actual "Easter Clothes" pictures! But you can't rest assured that they both looked so cute all dressed up- PS, thanks Grammy Pammy and Grandma Bonnie for helping out with Easter Clothes, Toys and Books!!!