A Rough Start...but Getting Better!

Wow! What a start to our Thanksgiving break (and I don't mean a good one). We didn't make it to school Friday because Karlee Who was sick. Took her to the doctor to find out she has strep throat!  My poor girl was struggling eating her throat was so sore. But...staying home let me get some housework done AND I got to pick Tanner Who up from his school for the first time! (I could so be a Stay-At-Home-Mom....but thankfully I do LOVE my job). He was so cute in his pilgrim hat and hand-print turkey vest. I got to make his class some cute turkey cupcakes for their party (thanks to Pinterest for some easy inspiration)!

Then it got better (defintely some sarcasm)...I was putting away my folded laundry (it had been waiting on me all week) when I heard my Baby Who screaming. As I am running in his direction I hear Karlee say "ooohhhh MOMMY!!" So I knew what I was going to find wasn't going to be good! I ran into my room to find Easton laying on the floor with blood pooring from his forehead!  My sensitive Tanner Who (who might have pushed him down into the corner of my dresser in his hot pursuit of his sister with his nerf gun) kept saying "Mommy I am sorry,  I didn't mean to!" We got Aunt Beth to drive us to the ER (thankfully they weren't busy). It wasn't too bad in the end. He didn't have to get stitches just some glue which he wasn't to happy about...so I am thankful I didn't have to hold him down for stitches! That was our excitement for Friday!

Yesterday was much better (not sarcastic). I got to spend the day with my great friend Michelle and the adorably rotten Cortlyn at Christmas in the South (our annual girl day). We had a great time catching up with each other and SHOPPING! Oh AND of course we ate...Cilantros on Bay St. for an early supper/late lunch THEN cupcakes from Mabel's. We split 6 between us so we could sample a variety of flavors...They were DELICIOUS!!

Now, as I write this post we are on the way to pick our nephews Dawson and Grayson! They are coming to stay with us while Daddy gets taken care of in Birmingham,  Alabama. Please keep Amy and Rey and the boys in your prayers as they go through this difficult time! So for this week (until Wednesday night) we will be the Horton Who's plus 2! (I have been waiting all post to write that) Haha

Well I hope ya'll have a GREAT Sunday and hear the word of God preached somewhere this morning. If you don't have a place to go you can always visit us at Pineora Baptist Church...we would live to have you! If I don't get to post before Thursday...I pray that each one of you has a blessed Thanksgiving and remember to be thankful for what you have because there are SO many around who are in much worse situations!

A Thankful Halloween, Spiritual Warfare & Some Randomness

So this post is going to be a little loaded with different things becasue I have had at least 2 post floating in my head for a couple of weeks and haven't gotten them down! So just bare with me!

Well I know we are a little past Halloween,  but I have to talk about my Halloween this year because it was a little different for me. I have always liked Halloween...the fun of seeing how creative I can be with costumes, seeing my Whos get excited to pretend to be something besides themselves, and the creative decorations we see trick-or-treating! But this Halloween REALLY broke my heart and made me VERY thankful for what I have and my precious family! I had a sweet child at school who was going through an awful situation with his family who I had to say goodbye to Halloween afternoon and that might have been the hardest thing I have had to do in my teaching career so far! I had another precious child at church who was struggling with wanting something she was told she couldn't have. Both situations BROKE my heart and made me realize just how much me and sweet Whos really have and how much we take for granted!! Thank you Lord for using such a holiday to teach me a valuable lesson!

Another topic that has been very prevalent in my life recently is SPIRITUAL WARFARE. In Ephesians chapter 6:11-13 God gives us this word 

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

I feel like as I strive to get closer to God in my studies and in prayer life I becom e more and more aware of all the bad things going on around me. From families struggling with illnesses,  deaths, finances to the battles my friends discuss with me that they are facing, and the battles I am fighting daily. It is so easy to question the Lord and His presence but it is so important to stay close in our relationship with him and to put on our armor daily!

Now for my randomness! I found some time to write this post while we are driving to Jacksonville for another ball tournament.  Excited to see my Who girl play some more ball. Hoping she and the rest of the girls do great! I am missing my Tanner Who...he left yesterday to go to Atlanta with Nana and Grandpa. I can't wait to see him and hear all about his fun trip. He was so excited about going! Well I am done for now! Here are some Halloween pictures.  I am praying for blessings to you my friends!  Oh yeah...i forgot we got to go to the UGA vs. Fla. Game again and had a great time with Daddy & Shelly!

(Sorry for any typos...Mr. Who is rushing me to get off! Haha love ya babe!)

Outdoors, Neat Sites & Great Friends!

Well after a good breakfast Saturday morning we headed over to Chattanooga,  Tennessee (which was in our original plans for Cloudland Canyon). We went to Ruby Falls and Rock City. Ruby Falls was really neat. Rock City was too,  but the kids were about done with walking around and looking at things. Tanner-Who did like walking over the swinging bridge and going through the really small rock passages.

After exploring the sites we decided to check out a local place for dinner. We always say we are going to do this on trips but Mr. Who is not so adventurous when it comes to food and we always end up eating at well known places. But...we did it, we stopped in at a local pizza place called Mr. T's and it was FABULOUS!  After pizza and ice cream cones we headed back to "the camp hizzy" which is what Mr. Who has Tanner-Who calling our tent (for those of you not hip on lingo like Mr. Who "hizzy" means house)LoL...gotta love him!! Once we made it back to the campsite we carved our Jack-o-lantern. Everyone pitched in to create a fabulous work of art...even Baby Who dug in!

After quite a COLD night we woke up to have absolutely NO luck making a camp fire!! I have no idea what was wrong (the wood, the ground, or the fire supervisors) but we COULD NOT seem to get a good fire going. So we pulled out our grill and griddle and had some yummy breakfast minus the camp fire (if you can't tell...I really like cooking breakfast while camping). We hung out around the campground for most of the day playing games, walking a trail & playing on the playground! It was really nice to not have plans, set times, or too many cares. Just a chance to enjoy being outside and with each other. Something Mr. Who and I decided we will do more of on our next camping trip instead of spending a day doing planned activities.

Then we headed to Atlanta to see some more special people...Uncle E and Aunt Sarah!! The Who's played with Brixie, well not Baby Who because he is scared of our dachshund so he wasn't to wild about their Pointer mix. We all went out for dinner and played a game of putt-putt. It is always entertaining to watch my Whos play. So when added Uncle E to the mix to give Mr. Who some competition we were set for a good time! We gave hugs and headed back to the camp hizzy for our last round of s'mores and a quick game of Memory.

It was a great vacation and although we know some things we will change for next time nothing beats getting to spend time together and getting to see good friends! 

Memories Made!!

So Far, So Good!

Well after our short week at school that ended with a long day of parent teacher conferences (which went really well) we headed off on our Who trip! First stop was Atlanta where we got to stay with some special people but we didn't get to see our buddies Reagan and Jake. Well, Wesley did get to walk with Jake to his bus stop but this Mama and her Whos were still in bed! Before we went to our home for the weekend we stopped to see a precious new addition...Mr. Hagan Anderson and his proud Mommy and Daddy. We were so happy it worked out for us to meet him!

We headed out to what we thought was Cloudland Canyon State Park to realize 5 minutes into our drive that Mr. Who might have made a slight mistake 2 months ago and booked Red Top Mountain instead of out expected destination! Luckily it still gave us a campsite in the mountains and it was only a 40 minute drive instead of 2 hours :)

So we arrived picked our spot and setup. We did some exploring and ended the night with a fire and OF COURSE... s'mores!! Today was a good day in Chattanooga but I will post that blog and this pictures tomorrow.
Oh yeah...Tanner Who just whipped our butts at Chutes n Ladders! Go Tanner!!

Softball Mom!!

Well as we ride home tonight from a softball tournament in Jacksonville (& getting home this late on a Sunday night is not usually my thing)....I am one PROUD Mama!! This weekend in My Karlee Who played in her first "kid pitch" softball tournament (only her 2nd tournament with a travel team). I got to be a Softball Mom and coach...& had a blast!!

My baby (ok not so baby) girl pitched in games for her first time! She has been working on pitching for a couple of months now and just threw to batters last weekend for the first time. She did awesome and it was awesome watch her!! I just thought I loved playing the game but watching my girl play the game with determination and desire took it to a whole new level. Even though she has been playing for a few years now...this was different!

It was great to see her learning more about the game, making friends,  and growing as a person! And as she pitched in the championship game today I absolutely loved hearing one of our other coaches say "she gonna be a pitcher!" It definitely put a big smile on my face.

So thank you to my parents who allowed me to play the game and grow to love it. To my Daddy for learning it, coaching me, and pushing me (even when I didn't like it). To both of my Mama's for traveling with us and taking care of me and supporting me! And to my siblings for sticking it out through all of those hot summer days spent at the ball park! Now as a Mama of 3 with one playing I see how much it took for all of y'all to let me play. I can't wait to see how my Karlee Who improves and her desire to play grows! Thank you to Wesley for watching the other Whos in the heat for 2 days (I know that is challenging) and letting me & Karlee enjoy our girl time!

Oh yeah...we got second place in the tournament. Karlee pitched in 2 games and had 3 strike-outs and 8 walks (which isn't too bad for her first game experience).
Thanks for letting me be a "bragging" Mama Horton tonight!

A brief update!

Wow! I haven't looked at this screen in a long time! (That would be the blank screen of my blog page) I have had many blog poata run through my mind in the past 2 months but have yet to put them into words and on the internet.
So...here is a very brief update on me and all of my Whos!
Mr. Who- has finished his second semester of online classes and in the beginning of his third! Woohoo...so proud of him!
Ms. Karlee Who- has begun her fourth grade year in school.  She is really getting into softball (my heart is jumping for joy) and has joined a travel ball team. She is growing up way to fast and trying to be much older than she really is! I am attaching a picture of her latest addition of things taped to her door.
Tanner Who- has started going to school!  Well as far as he is concerned...he is attending a 3 day a week 1/2 day program at Rincon First Baptist. Thanks to Granddaddy and Grandpa for getting him there and picking him up! Oh yeah he is a full blown Ninja Turtle lover (much like his daddy was). We have Ninja Turtle bed set,  Ninja turtle t-phones, nunchucks, swords, & eye masks. He walks around with his eye mask on, his sword in the back of his shirt, and his t-phones & nunchucks in his pockets!  Hilarious. ..I am posting one of our pictures.
Easton Who- is growing  up too! He still won't talk much...but he is a goofy little boy. By far our silliest child yet! Can't wait to see how he grows and who he becomes!  Right now he absolutely loves Tanner and copies him all the time! Oh yeah & he likes helping me clean...I know it won't last long so I am taking pictures of it now!
As for me I have begun my first year as a second grade teacher. Yes this is my 4th grade change in 5 years of teaching! ! Its been alot to get used to but  ao far I am enjoying it. God is working and moving in my life and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for me next!
Well that's all I have for tonight. Here is to hoping I can do this more!

2 Productive Days!

I am super excited becuase have had a good and productive 2 days!

Yesterday I was able to get a lot of computer work done for my classroom and the upcoming school year (becuase...yes I do have to go back to reality on July 29th)! But, I have a brand new "teacher binder" that I designed to fit my theme and my needs. It was completely free (other than the paper, printer ink, and recycled binder that I have pruchased at some point in my life). AND although I did take ideas from some pins & blogs I am super excited to call it mine! I also got my RTI binder done with some things borrowed from a pin that offered me free things!! I got a chance to sort out my Word Study game plan, AR game plan and rewards system, and make my pre-planning to do list!! I know some of you non-teacher folks are going blah, blah, blah (much like Mr. WHO was yesterday after noon as I shared my accomplishments) but my teacher folks will understand and give me a WOOHOO! I love all of you though (teacher or not).

Then today I got my quiet time in, 1 bathroom cleaned, 1 load of laundry done, breakfast cooked, dishes washed, boys bathed, lunch fed, supper started and in the crock pot, and some adjustments to some of my school things all before 1:20!! (Small things make me happy) It all had to be done by 1:20 because then I got to spend some good time with two sweet friends while our kids played at the park and we got to go over some upcoming ladies events for church (yay!). After my mini-date with my friends my sweet husband took me to pick out my next slide for my Pandora bracelet as my anniversary present! WooHoo!!So now I have a pretty blue slide for Baby Who's birthstone!

Now I have to take some time to pick on my biggest Who! We had a church softball game tonight and I convinced Mr. Who to let me play outfield again. I got burned on my first flyball, caught my next one, THEN....HE called me off of my last one! That's right...I was on it and he just shows up, calls the ball and takes right from me!! So much for a Happy Anniversary! ! LoL I guess I will have to let this one slide...but he better not make this a habit!  I love you Wesley Horton Who...Happy Anniversary!

Fun Filled Weekend!! (9th anniversary)

Well we just got back from a GREAT weekend!! Mr. Who and I spent the weekend in Atlanta for our 9th anniversary! We have started a new thing where we alternate years surprising each other with a getaway and it was my turn!

So we went to a Braves game on Friday (they lost) but we had a good time! Had to make a pit-stop in Macon at Academy Sports to get some new Braves attire and well we just LOVE Academy so we left with a little more than Braves attire! He did figure out that we were going to see the Braves before we left but didn't know the next part.

Then Saturday we went to Six Flags....that's right a day of coasters and fun and we didn't have to do any kid-swaps!! It was a little crowded and we waited in some long lines but it was worth it. Nothing like bonding with each other going 60 + mph and doing loops on roller coasters!! My favorite ride was The Goliath. Mr. Who was torn between The Goliath and Superman (i think that's what he said).

Then we went to visit some very special people that we haven't spent time with in a long while! Allison, Ron, Reagan, and Jake. It was the coolest thing to walk in and see Reagan's eyes light up when he saw Wesley...PRICELESS! ! They are all very special to us but Reagan has a special place in Wesley's heart!

It was a great weekend of time spent laughing and enjoying each other (man does he like to sing in the car)!! LoL
Doing things we don't normally get to do with just the 2 of us and just enjoying our time together. I look forward to many more years with this very special man! I thank my Lord for giving me such a great husband and giving us the chance to do things like this together. I also need to thank the grandparents for keeping the sweet Whos while we were gone!

A Good Week!

Wow! What a good end of the week! Wesley had July 4th off and we had family over for a great cookout and fun for the afternoon and evening. The kids played, the grown-ups talked and played, we all ate & ate & ate, and then had a little fireworks show (to the sound of the big fireworks going on down the river)! My family is loud and crazy but I ABSOLUTELY love spending time with my family! We were missing a few people but it was still a good day and night!

Yesterday was not as a good but, not bad. Mr. Who did have to go to work and we missed him not being with us. We did have a good picnic outside with Gi-gi and Easton enjoyed his chicken! I got some things marked off my to-do-list for school (my dry-erase frames for my standards)! Still so much to do though.

Today Mr. Who worked really hard on the rest of the demolition of the deck and is ready to start the construction work! Woohoo! Can't wait to see how it turns out. Then this evening I got to spend some great time with my girlfriend Michelle!! Yes we were the 2 ladies at Logans who stayed from 5:30-10!! Although they probably hated us (most of you that have been in the restaurant business are probably cringing) our waitress was very patient and kind! It was a GREAT time and we got to do some much needed catching-up with each other! Now for a day with our with our brothers and sisters at PBC tomorrow! !

What Is a Mommy To Do?

It was a rainy day today!! And although I wish I could say my fun & creative Mommy juices were really flowing today...they weren't! Instead my Oh my goodness this messy "well-lived-in-house" is driving me crazy juices were flowing! 

So this is how our morning went. While I was trying to clean I had a very helpful 9 year old Who that was helping me clean while a wired/wanting to go outside 3 year old Who was getting stir crazy & a walk around with my arms in the air crying 1 year old Who  was following me around wanting his Mommy! So I cleaned & folded clothes then finally got Who Easton down for his morning nap. Then Who Tanner & I went into his TrAiN wReCk of a room and played a game to get it cleaned and luckily it worked! Although next time I think I might really try some SuperHero socks & cape or maybe a Ninja Turtle suit to help us get some motivation to tackle his mess! We shall see...

Well after lunch and a failed attempt to watch a movie I decided we needed to get out of the house (I needed to get out of the house). What better place for me to go to relieve some stress & get some items to finally start on my to do list for my classroom but....Hobby Lobby. Perfect! ! This would give us at least 45 minutes to nap (no, not me obviously). And YES, all of my little Whos took a nap on the way & woke up refreshed and ready to go to Mommy's favorite place! I know, maybe I should've taken them to the library or a fun indoor place for kids...but Hobby Lobby just sounded much more satisfying today. Besides we had driven by Hobby Lobby yesterday after bowling and it was calling my name...loudly!!

So now I am hoping to use some of the upcoming naptimes to check things off of my classroom to do list (one of those unattained "summmer resolutions"). Wish me luck!!

This is the day that the Lord has made!

Well got the privilege to go to PBC this morning & worship my Lord & Savior with my church family. I was wanting to try to do things differently this morning since I have started reading Parenting in the Pew. Didn't quite go exactly as I was hoping but did take some baby steps to implement some things I have found in the first few chapters.  God has really convicted me not only of how I am leading my children in Him but how I am personally worshipping Him! I thought I was reading the book to give me ideas & guidance in reference to my children but as God usually does, He has had several things in store for me and my personal walk with Him too through the book! Can't wait to see what else is in there.

We got a chance to go deeper into the well known story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It was a very interesting sermon & Brian did a great job bringing it home in the end. I feel very blessed to be a part of a church family that has 2 pastors who speak God's truths!

Then tonight I got the opportunity to spend some time with some awesome kids leading our Wild Ministries group! It was fabulous to see them having fun with each other & learning God's word. Thank you Lord for giving me Your words and allowing me to work with your children! I can't wait to se what He has in store for me with them too!

Feeling very blessed today & looking forward to another day of summer with my Whos...after an early dentist appointment! :(

We love games!

Our Saturday started off at the church with some of our church family cleaning out and up!! My organization motivation was so strong after working at the church that I came home to do some in my own house. Gitra live that feeling!
I have had a 1 to 2 weekend project that has obviously taken more than my scheduled time. My goal is to re-do my laundry room (one of those "summer resolutions" that is slowing gaining speed!) I bought some white cabinets from the Habitat Restore (1 of my new favorites) to help me store my mess... because when I say laundry room I actually mean laundry room/craft storage/tastefully simple storage/ & any other random thing storage room. So I have painted half of the walls gray, had assistance from my dear Mr. Who hanging the cabinets on the wall a few weeks ago & FINALLY got some stuff loaded in the cabinets today!! (Yes I am taking baby steps!)
Oh yeah here is the best part while I was working inside Mr. Who was working outside...re-doing our deck to put a new hot-tub in! When I say new I mean new to the Who's because we had some generous friends give it to us!!
After our hard work we decided to have some well deserved fun by having a family game night with Marcia, Bobby, Mama, & John!!
Not to bad for a days work! Now time for bed to wake up in the morning & celebrate the Lords Day & worship my Savior with my church family!
(I will post pictures of projects when they are finished)

Great Expectations!

I am not really one for setting New Years Resolutions but this year towards the end of the school year I made a decision to set a few summer resolutions.  Well....it went about as good as any New Years Resolution usually goes. I failed miserably! !
We have had a busy summer to say the least and things haven't gone quite like I had planned or hoped to plan and as much as I would like to say today is the day it changes...I might as well just say today is the day life will keep going as it has.

One thing I planned on doing was keeping my blog up to date...as we can see that one didn't work!

I can say that although I haven't done it exactly the way I had hoped, one thing I had set out to do was spend more time with my kids doing things they enjoy. So we have had pool days, movie days, friends days, splash in the boro days, & beach days, a week of VBS, 2 softball tournaments, a wedding, & a weekend vacation to Jacksonville Beach !! We have also done some fun things at home too. Since I haven't kept this up to date I am going to add some pictures of a few activities with hopes that from now on I will fo better up dating! We shall see!!

Family Time

I am trying to get better about making my family & my time spent with them my number 1 priority as it should be. Although I too often fall short of this goal & end up very disappointed in myself. I posted on here a while back about making my time count with all of my Who's & while I have gotten better I am not where I want to be...still a work in progress! !

But tonight we did something quite abnormal for us. We went out to dinner & bowling (on a school night). I left dishes in the sink, folded clothes in the living room, unfolded clothes in the laundry room, & school stuff in my school bag. No...I am not nasty & neither is my house, but we aren't spotless either. I figure I would rather have a legacy of spending time with my Whos and having fun with them than a legacy of a woman with a clean house! Nothing could be better than watching Tanner Who bowl & say his typical Tanner sayings that crack us up, watching my big Who girl bowl some pretty spares, all while my baby Who tried to stand up by himself & clap for all of us. No amount of a clean house is worth missing times like those!

Thank You Lord for these precious times and please bless us with many more!

A Week of Firsts!

I have been one happy Mama this week!
Tuesday was my last Who's 1st birthday!  That's right my precious Easton is 1. Although it was a happy day & I loved watching him attack his smash cake face first at his party over the weekend...this Mama is a little sad to think this was the last 1st birthday we get to celebrate!
Our other first was Karlee's softball tournament.  Yes I was one PROUD Mama to see my girl playing some GREAT ball at 1st base & hitting like crazy! Her & her teamates came all the way through the losers bracket aft er losing their firat game to WIN the tournament!
I don't want to leave Tanner out so I will throw in some "Tannerism" from the week. One was "trust me Mama I didn't hurt him" he said as Easton screemed in his room. Another was "way to go Karlee way to go! Whoop whoop" which is what he sang the whole way home after one of Karlee's games!

I love my Whos!