Happy Anniversary!

December the 16th will mark the 10th year that Andrew and I have been married. It seems so strange that it has been that long. Alot of changing and maturing has went on in this 10 years. We have had alot of tough times, but alot of joyous, happy times. We have brought three beautiful little boys into this world, and they make my everyday complete. I could not ask for anything to be any different. Andrew is a very hardworking and devoted husband and I would not change him for anything in this world. There is only one like him, believe me. :)

We took off on Friday and headed to Nashville to stay at the Opryland Hotel and to go to a Christmas show. We had a great time, but it was sooooo crowded. When we left Sunday, it was snowing like crazy. Oh, how I love the snow! It was a much needed weekend alone. And we slept until 9:00 both days. Oh, how I love uninterrupted sleep! It had been such a long time since I had slept until 9:00. Actually, I don't even remember when. It has probably been before Austin was born.

When we got home on Sunday, it was back to reality. Kamden had been sick running a fever the whole time we were gone, so it was off to the doctor today. He has an ear infection, but not so sure what is going on with his belly hurting all the time. Me being at home with a sick baby has given me a little time to post. My blog is looking kinda shabby with mainly old pictures and little updates. Sorry! What can I say, life is kinda busy. So if no more posting before Christmas, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Class Reuninon Attempt

Okay, so I know that it has been a while since I have posted anything. I went from several posts a month to well....nothing! Life has been so busy. I have been working full time, and by the time we get home, get homework up, and try to get lunches and clothes ready for the next day, I am totally exhausted. Once everyone is in the bed, I try to sit down and watch t.v., but that lasts for about 20 minutes before I am asleep for the night. I sleep most nights on the couch, because that is where I crash. I have enjoyed my job in Talladega, have enjoyed the people and the type of work, but it has been so hard being that far away from the kids. With that being said, God has blessed me with a new job working in Ashland for Dr. Poole and Dr. Champion. It will be 8-5, Monday through Friday. Yay! No working Saturdays anymore, plus I am so happy that I will be able to get off in time to pick the kids up from daycare. I have had to rely on Maurine Monday through Thursday, and my Mom on Fridays to pick my kids up. I do not like relying on someone every day to pick up MY kids. But, I am so thankful for a mother and mother-in-law that has been willing to go that extra step to help us out. I will start my new job on Monday.

Last weekend was my class reunion, or should I say attempted class reunion. We were to meet at Court Square Cafe for supper and then attend the Homecoming football game. Well, four of us showed up for supper and then there were three others that were at the ballgame! Hahaha! Even though this was not as successful as intended to be, I enjoyed seeing old friends. Even though I see Matt and Ben pretty often, I do not get to see Lisa that much, and I enjoyed getting to see her. Lisa is a type of friend that it doesn't matter how long we haven't talked, we can just pick up like it was just yesterday that we seen each other. I really need to visit my friends more often. Here are some pictures that were taken that night.

Oh, and yes I do realize I have a summer beach picture of the boys and have a fall themed blog, and it is now October. :) Just so hard to get a good picture of all three of the boys together and this was the last attempt. Ha!

It's that time of year again......School time!

Austin is officially a first grader as of Aug. 10th. He has Allison Wesley as a teacher and I could not be happier. Allison is such a sweet person and seems to have so much patience. Austin started his year off just fine. I went in with him the first two mornings, but he really could of cared less if I went in with him or not. He does not get nervous or anxious about much of anything (well at least not at this point in his life). I even had to drag him out of bed on his first day. I think he is becoming little Andrew a little more every day, just doesn't get worked up about a whole lot.

Kade and Kamden start their school year at First Assembly tomorrow. Kamden will be in K2 and Kade will be in K4. They seem to be getting adjusted to getting up in the mornings and having to go to school. Kamden hardly cries anymore. KAMDEN.....Oh, my sweet baby is going through the terrible twos in a very terrible way. Some mornings it seems as if he whines and cries from the moment he wakes up until I get him out of the car at school. And we pick up where we left off when I pick him up in the afternoons. Somedays are worse than others. I guess this really started getting bad about 2 months ago. Don't get me wrong...he does have good days, just not a whole of them right now.

Kade has recovered from getting his tonsils out. Everything seems to be doing okay with that except for his voice. Kade has a nasaly voice anyway, but it seems to actually be worse. He is talking through his nose really bad. I am hoping it is related to this runny/stopped up nose he has been having. I am going to let him totally recover from his cold before I call the dr. But, it seems as though something may be going on with that. He sounds really funny at times, and yes, I admit we have been getting a laugh out of it. Just hoping his voice clears up really soon.

Andrew and I have just been working alot. I am off work today, but it is only because I have to work on Saturday. Andrew has been working until about 9 or 10:00 every night this last week and he is just drowning in work. Side work for him can be a good thing $, but I know he is getting exhausted. Just hope it slows down a little bit.

Well, that is about all we have been up to. I don't get to blog that often now, but I will try to keep this updated as much as possible. Hope everyone has a great week!

Sickness, Surgery, and Broken Bones......

Okay, so I have worked for a total of one month (almost). Since I have started working, Kamden has had a stomach virus, Kade has a possible fractured arm (accident that happened at school), and Kade has had to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. The first day I missed work was because I had to take Kade to the Ortho doctor, because our family doctor said his arm was fractured. The Ortho doctor couldn't tell anything for sure, so we have to go back this Thursday to get a repeat x-ray, because the doc said it is easier to see a fracture on a x-ray 10 days later. Why??? I don't really know. Just hoping it is not fractured because Kade would not be a happy camper in a cast. But, for right now, he is just in a splint (most of the time). :) Then, Kamden had a stomach virus. One day Maurine and Jenny took turns keeping him, the next day Andrew took some sick time and stayed with him, and then the next day, Shani (babysitter) stayed with him. Which brings me to today. Kade had his tonsils and adenoids removed this morning, and is asleep on the couch as I type this. He has done okay with the surgery so far. Just real sore throat and laying around. I will be home with him tomorrow too. Andrew will have his turn on Thursday, and not so sure what Friday holds. So, as you can tell there are definitely drawbacks to working full time and trying to be Mommy too. I know it will not always be this hard, but for right now it seems like a juggling act. Just hoping things will start getting a little easier.

So It's Off to Work I Go!

Well, after several weeks of feeling like it was the end of the earth because I was putting the boys in preschool, I started back to work again. I have been at home with my babies for four years, and it was the hardest decision ever to decide to go back to work. And, honestly, if we had plenty of money, of course I would still be at home with my monkeys, but that is just not the case. I started working for Dr. Pickrell (eye doctor) two weeks ago, and everything has been going pretty good. The first night I cried myself to sleep, because it was then that I realized exactly how much time a day I would be spending with the kids. I started Kade and Kamden at First Assembly Christian School and Austin is going too for the month of July. I have been very pleased with the care they are getting there and feel like they are in good hands of good Christian people. Kade absolutely loves it, and has not cried any. Kamden, on the other hand, is very hesitant in the mornings. For the first three days he cried, then the next two days after that he kinda walked in, slammed his backpack down, and looked at everybody like he really, really, didn't want to be there :), then Friday, he just kinda walked in and seemed pretty much okay, and I slipped out the door. To see him slam his backpack against the wall and give the look that he gave, was absolutely hilarious! But, we are slowly making progress. I am thinking this working thing may actually work out after all, although I do feel overwhelmed when I finally get home in the evenings and see the kitchen is still a disaster and breakfast from that morning is still on the table. :/ I am exhausted during the week because there is alot of preparation that goes into getting me off to work and the three monkeys off to daycare. But, anywho that is what life at our house has been like lately. As I am typing this, the boys are screaming and fighting, and Andrew is yelling for me to get in there. Another sign that all is well here! lol! Until next time.......

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Family Trip to the Beach

Our family went to the beach this past week and we had a blast. It was the first time we had been on a vacation without grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. It was kinda nice it just being us. Plus, you get to walk around only half clothed if you want to and that is always a plus! :) We stayed at Destin West Beach and Bay Club and it was so nice. It is somewhere I would want to stay at again! The beach was beautiful, the water was so clear, and guess what? NO OIL! Andrew and Austin done a lot of fishing, and me, Kade, and Kamden just enjoyed the water and sun. It was a great trip, although I could've went without the ride home. Kamden honestly cried and screamed for about two hours on the way home. He has never traveled well. To this day, he still cries when you put him in his carseat. But, I was impressed on the way down there because we didn't hear a peep out of him. All in all, it was a great vacation, and we got to spend some much needed family time. Just wish we could've stayed longer!

Kade's Birthday Party

Last Friday we had Kade a swimming birthday party. I honestly didn't think the birthday party or vacation were going to happen, but everything pulled together, the boys started feeling better, and everything turned out great. Thanks to everyone for coming, for the gifts, and for being part of Kade's 4th birthday. We love you all!

Happy Birthday Kade!

Today is Kade's 4th birthday!! I can't believe how the time has flown by. He is excited today too, even though he is running a high fever with a sore throat. He got a card in the mail yesterday from the church and toted it around the rest of the afternoon. I had to read it to him three different times. He was proud of his personal mail! We are going to have him a swimming birthday party Friday night, so I will post party pictures later. Happy birthday Kadie-bug!! We love you!

Update on Sparky

Okay, so maybe Sparky didn't adjust to the wild life after all. Less than 24 hours after being free, after a storm came through yesterday evening, Austin hollers out, "Look, there's Sparky." And yes, there was Sparky on our front porch on top of the rocking chair all drenched looking in the window at us. So, we went out to visit him and Austin had went and got him a piece of a waffle from supper, so Sparky sat on top of my head and ate part of his waffle, then took back off to the woods with the waffle in his mouth. We just thought he was probably hungry. But, no he came back, got back on top of the rocking chair and kept jumping up and hitting the window until we put him back in the house. So, he got to sleep in his stroller again or as known to him, his home. But, this morning Andrew took him back out to the woods, but who knows he will probably come back pretty soon, especially since he has figured out how to get our attention to let him back in. So cute!

You're Free Little Guy......

A couple of months ago, Jenny gave me a call that someone had given her a baby squirrel and that she didn't want it. I guess she knew I would take it, because I had to bottle feed one last year too. So, Sparky has been part of our family for a little while. I had to bottle feed him for several weeks, and he stayed in our bathroom in a cage, until he was active enough to get out of the cage and plus, to be honest squirrels are just messy little creatures. I took all I could with Sparky in my bathroom, so we moved him out in the garage until we could come up with another solution as to where we could put him until he was ready to be released. So he took up residence in my garage and called a stroller I had hanging up on the wall home. Yes, he slept in this stroller and when you went out there and called him, he would peek his head out of the top of the stroller. And, no this stroller is not usable anymore. He was very friendly and tame, and would love to crawl around on you and "fight" with your hand. He was definitely a cutie, but as time went on I was starting to miss my garage and longed for it to be cleaned out. Oh, did I mention that squirrels are not very tidy? So I started feeling sorry for him, because he knew nothing of the outside world, and me and the boys got Sparky and took him outside. At first he jumped off in my shrubs, but then came right back to me and jumped on my shoulder, but then it was like he realized he was free and took off running for a little patch of woods by our house and started playing in the trees. It was funny, because this even looked like new territory to him, because he actually fell out of the tree, but caught himself on another limb. So that is where we left him. A couple of hours later it started thundering and yes, I went outside and started to call him to see if he would come back to me. And yes, my thoughts were to put him back in the house until the storm was over, but no Sparky. I know, pathetic, right? So, anyways, this was my successful story of mothering a squirrel and returning it back to the wild.

What We've Been Up To....

I just wanted to update on what our family has been up to.

Austin is finishing up his last week of Kindergarten. He loves school, but I think he is ready for a little vacation. The other day when I asked him if he was ready for first grade, he replied,"No, I'm not signing up for first grade this time." It is funny how they catch on to the "signing up" thing. I guess in his little mind he had signed up for tball, had signed up for arts camp, will be signing up for peewee football soon, so he just took it that you "signed up" for school too. :) His last tball game (I think it will be his last) is Saturday. Tball has been fun and I think it has taught him some things. Our Awana program at church has ended for this year and we are having a pool party tonight at Meme and Paw's house. We have already been swimming a couple of times, and Austin is really getting better at swimming. He just needs to work on going under water, but he is definitely making some progress.

Kade is just Kade. He is just hanging out taking it easy. He is just going with the flow and enjoying life. I am beginning to see that he is taking on my personality. He tends to be quiet and keeps to himself alot. He likes being around other kids, but also likes to be by himself. As far as his progress in the pool...he would rather just float around relaxing.

Kamden is a clown. We laugh at him constantly. He is now using the potty (most of the time) and feels such accomplishment from this. He giggles all the time and is just so full of life. He is starting to become obsessed with playing ball. Any kind of ball, as long as it is round and he can throw it. You can tell he is going to be athletic. Me and Andrew was laughing the other day because we seen that Kamden could throw a baseball just as far as Austin could. But, of course we would not tell Austin that. Another thing that he does is he will run and jump in the swing, lay back, and wrap his little legs around the chains, and will swing completely upside down. He looks like a monkey when he does this. It is so cute!

I have just been chasing kids and doing the normal day to day routine. I have actually been sick with the crud, and didn't move from the couch much at all yesterday. I feel better today, but still not wonderful. Another "big" thing going on with me is that I have a job interview tomorrow. I had applied several months ago for a job opening in an eye doctor's office. It is a technician's job. I think I would enjoy this, but had actually just forgot about it since it had been a couple of months without hearing anything from it. So, when I got a message that they wanted to come in for an interview, my stomach automatically was tied in knots. I have been at home with my babies for four years now, and it is hard to imagine anything else. Plus, my first thought was,"Oh no, it is summer and Austin is about to be out of school". But after talking to Andrew and seeing that this could possibly take a load off of him from having to work all the time, it just feels right to go for the interview, find out how many hours per week, how much the pay is, and then sit down and figure out exactly if this little bit of extra income would make any difference because I have to consider the cost of daycare, plus it would be daycare for three for the summer. I just need to pray and weigh my options. I just know that our life feels a little off balance with Andrew working all the time. I just wish he could spend some more time at home with his boys, and if me working to help out means that he can be home a little more with the boys, and not so stressed out about money, then that is what I will need to do, because our kids need their daddy home a little more.

That brings me to Andrew.....he has been working his butt off! He is such a hard worker, and I am so thankful to have a husband that works so hard to provide for his family. He has been getting home around 8 or 9:00 alot of nights here lately and has been working alot on Saturdays. Do I think that getting a job would really make him home more and not work on the side so much???.....Uh,no. Are you kidding? But, maybe he wouldn't feel so stressed out all the time. He has been so busy with side work lately, that we are struggling to fit in some "family time". We really need a vacation!!!!

Sorry this post was a little lengthy, but just wanted to update.

Austin is a graduate!

Wow! This year has really flew by so fast. I can not believe that Austin's Kindergarten year is almost over. He had his graduation last night and I was so proud of him. Oh, yeah! Did I mention he was the most handsome little kid there? His part in the graduation was the groom, so he was all decked out in his suit and tie. And, he didn't go without noticing that he looked handsome either. We got a good laugh out of that. He held his head up and walked around the gym with a new found confidence. He couldn't even sit down and stay still. He wanted everybody to see him. The graduation was really cute, but it was suffocating hot in there. I think everyone could have breathed a whole lot better if they would have just had it outside. But, anyways I just wanted to share some pictures of my little man and his special night. I am such a proud Mom!

My Mother, My Friend

Yesterday was a great Mother's Day. We got to see the mothers and grandmothers on both mine and Andrew's side of the family. I have been very blessed to have such a special mother in which at age 30, I can call her my friend. I talk to my Mom everyday and even as I am typing this, she has already called to check on us today. She has went through many trials in her life, but has always came out as a stronger lady. She is a person I can laugh with and laugh at. She is someone I can confide in and she is my best friend. Andrew tells me everyday that I am beginning to act a little more like my Mother, and on occasion I can see it myself. She was always a great, very involved mother when I was growing up and continues to be a great Mom and a great Sweet Nanny (Sweet Nanny is what my boys call her). My kids adore her and I love to see them put a smile on her face like only they can do. I could not ask for a better grandmother or a better mother. She is the absolute best! I love you Mom and I hope you have had a great Mother's Day.

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo....

Austin had his Kindergarten field trip on Friday to the Montgomery Zoo. We had so much fun. The weather was perfect. It was enjoyable having the day with just Austin, because as a mother of more than one child, it is nice just to spend one-on-one time with each of them. We got to see all the animals, ride the train, ride (or should I say pedal) the pedal boats, indulge in some cotton candy, and Austin even got to ride a camel. Fun, fun, fun!!! And out of all the exotic animals, Austin picked a huge turtle to be amazed by. I think it was some kind of Alligator snapping turtle ? or something. Go figure. You would think he would be more fascinated by the tigers, elephants, rhinos, or something like that. But, no it was a turtle that caught his attention. But, we had a great day together and here are some of the pics.

Take me out to the ballgame.......

Tball season has finally started. We had our first game yesterday. Well actually we had two games yesterday. We won both of them!!! Woo-hoo! I didn't realize this was going to be so much fun, but I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying this and I am so proud of my Austin! We won the first game against Mtview Cable 15-8. We only won by 1 pt against Wellborn Cabinet, 20-19. That's right! Twenty runs! Those little guys are so funny out there, but they really know what is going on a lot better than I thought they would. Our second game was a little more exciting. Since this was a double header I thought that they would be exhausted by the second game, but they pulled it off. I was very hesitant about signing Austin up this year, but I am so glad I did. It is just so much fun!

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Here comes Peter Cottontail.........

We had an awesome Easter weekend. Our Easter festivities began with an egg hunt at church on Wednesday night. The kids had a blast and it is just so nice to be part of a church family that cares and goes out of their way to make others feel welcomed and loved. Then on Friday, we had Austin's Kindergarten egg hunt at the Ashland Park. I think Kade and Kamden had just as much fun as Austin did. Then on Sunday, we had a great service at church and it was a great feeling to look around and see the church full. Even if the was a once a year service for some people, they got to hear an awesome message and hear praises to God. Then, it was off to Jeff and Jimmie Nell Williams' house for lunch and egg hunt. Ben and Wendy had their three boys there plus Ashley, Ryan, and Carson were up for the weekend, so we had some cousins to hunt eggs with. Then, we went to my Mom's house later that evening and ate and of course......they had to hunt eggs again. It was funny to look at my mother out in the yard all excited holding her basket full of eggs saying, "Come on everybody, lets go hide eggs." We all just kind of looked at her and didn't move. She tried again and still nobody got up. Hahaha! Then, she asked the boys if they were ready to hunt eggs, and Kade and Austin just kind of looked at her and said, "Nooooooo." It was funny. By that time, everybody was so tired of hunting eggs. Sorry Mom, but maybe you shouldn't make your house the last stop next year! We have had a great week and the weather can not be any better. I actually laid out in the sun for a little while today and I actually got too hot and had to come in. Well, that's all for now. Austin's tball games start this Thursday, so I will post later with Austin and Andrew in uniform. Andrew has actually had enough time to help out with Austin's team. How great is that! Oh, and I'll post a slide show of our Easter photos later too. Just too many of them to not make a slide show!

We have a new addition to our family......

........a car that is! I am on cloud nine right now, because we now have reliable transportation! For two years (almost) I have drove a little minivan that we bought for around $3,500. Don't get me wrong it did get us around, but barely. I am not trying to complain about our van that God did bless us with, but I just want you to get a real good mental picture of why I feel so blessed today to get in my little Honda Civic. The steering wheel was crooked, and when you made a sharp turn, it starting going beep, beep, beep, the door handle on the sliding door was broke so you had to open the driver door then open the sliding door from the inside and just push on it, the emergency brake didn't work, the radio controls didn't do what you pushed them to do, the air conditioner didn't work which was absolutely miserable, something ? in the transmission was going out, and the on the way to trade it in, it started making a strange noise and Andrew said the power steering ? was fixing to go out, plus when we traded it in, we found out it had been in a front end collision which we knew nothing about. Whew! I think that was all the dings. Anyways, we bought a four door 2007 Honda Civic, 4 cyl., and it is supposed to get around like 32 to 34 mpg. It drives great, everything works like it is supposed to, we all fit (but, barely), and the a.c. is cold. Plus, we got a good deal and I was real happy with the price we got on our van for a trade in, bc I sure didn't want to put $1,000 + to get the van fixed just so we could sell it. Anywho, this is our little car. Just wanted to share this with you, bc I am so thrilled.

Our problems are never bigger than our God!

This week feels like the worst week I have ever had so far. I don't mean to sound so negative, but it is the truth! Tuesday my Dad was found in the floor and was unable to get up. An ambulance picked him up and took him to the ER at Clay County. Shortly after he got there, his bp bottomed out and he had a seizure. It took about an hour to get him completely stable. They found that he was bleeding internally from a spot on his upper small intestine that was not healed from a previous surgery and since this spot was so swollen and inflamed it had caused an obstruction, so nothing could go through, so they had to put a NG tube down to get all the blood out plus he has pancreatitis. He was transferred out to Trinity Medical Center in B'ham. He is doing better, but is still in rough shape. On Tuesday, I honestly thought that I was going to lose my Dad. Nobody knows this but Andrew, but I constantly have dreams about my Dad dying. In my dreams I feel so helpless and angry. On top of this, our van is torn up and we have had to borrow Jenny's vehicles. Plus, our finances our not in great shape. The boys have been acting up and on Thursday afternoon, I honestly thought I was going to lose my mind. But, our God is great.....It is Friday and the sun is shining.....which gives me hope that there is a light at the end of tunnel no matter what I am going through. And I know this may sound a little nutty to some people.....but as I stand in the sun, feel its warmth, hear the birds singing, and feel the gentle breeze......that is where I feel the presence of my God, and feel the presence of his arms around me protecting me from the things of this world.

Lazy Saturday at the River

Dirty little boys!

Andrew always has this great big smile on his face!

These are the chairs Andrew made us. There are actually five.

This was Austin, Kade, and Kamden's. Aren't they cute?

Me and my babies!



This past Saturday, Andrew and Austin got up early and went down to the river. They went ahead early that morning and went fishing, but me, Kade and Kamden waited unitl it warmed up before we went. Andrew had us a campfire built, and had even made us some little homemade chairs made out of trees that had already been cut down. So we just sat around the campfire and cooked some weinees and fish that they had caught earlier. The fish was actually pretty good. When it started getting dark we even told some ghost stories around the campfire. How cheesey is that! I was so amazed at how quick the boys got soooo dirty! By the time we were loading up to come home, they were covered in dirt and mud and smelled like smoke and fish. The reason they smelled like fish is because all three of them carried around minnows all afternoon that Andrew had been fishing with. But, it ended up being a great Saturday! It had been a while since we have been able to get outdoors and just make an afternoon of it!

WELCOME SUNSHINE!!!!!!

Today the sun is shining and it is a good day! I am so tired of winter, cold, dreary, wet days. And as odd as this sounds coming out of my mouth, I am so tired of the snow. I am ready for warmth, flip flops, painted toenails, blooming flowers and trees, and the smell of fresh cut grass. It was very pretty today, although the wind was still cold. I am getting excited about spring time. I was looking in my yard today, and my hydrangeas and peonies are starting to peak out of the ground. :) Now if the temps will just mellow out. And we have Austin signed up for t-ball this year. He had tryouts the other night, but practice doesn't actually start until next week. This will be a first for us, bc he didn't play last year. I know tball will be fun, but also very time consuming, but in a good way! I just hope Kade and Kamden cooperates with tball season, bc there will be some nights that Andrew will have to work. Well, that is all that has been happening around the Harris household lately. Just glad the sun is starting to shine!

Shana's Wedding

This is me with my cousin Shana, and my cousin Whitney

My two handsome dates!

Don't my baby look all grown up in his tie?

This is Shana dancing with her nephew, Charles Robert.

She had to get down on her knees. How sweet!!!

My cousin, Shana got married this past Saturday, and I was one of the bridesmaids. She had thirteen bridesmaids total so this of course was the biggest wedding I had been in. The wedding turned out beautiful and we had a great time. Congratulations Shana and Jeremy!!!!!