The Taylor Family

Children's Museum

2012-02-03T13:40:00.000-06:00

I have been a bad blogger lately! Nothing has been going on worth blogging about. After Christmas, we just settled back in to our normal work routine. Baseball practice has started for Jason a few days a week and on Saturday's and try-outs are soon so after that it will be 6 days a week for practice and then games so my life will be hectic again.

My mom came to visit last weekend when Jason was at a coaches conference in Nashville. Even though Chase was a little under the weather with a cold, we decided to go ahead to the Children's Museum. My mom and grandmother had never been so I knew they would enjoy watching Chase play. Chase has been before, but this time was different. He REALLY loved it all, especially the fishing. He played at every exhibit, but came back to the fishing at the end again and he even cried when we had to go home. I promised him a trip back soon! We spent the rest of the weekend at home doing nothing since Chase had a cold and I was starting to get one. I have been fighting it off all week. Here are some pics from the museum!

Christmas Break 2011

2012-01-04T11:56:00.000-06:00

We had such a great holiday! Chase had a ball! We made cookies, went ice skating at the zoo, went bowling, spent Christmas Eve at J's sister's and then the next week at my mom's in MS. Pictures will tell the story the best! Some are out of order, but oh well! We are now back to work after a great break and baseball will be starting up soon! Happy New Year!

Chase ready for PJ day at Mama Jane's. Love the PJ's she got him!

checking out NeNe's Tree

Crew at Mama Jane's on PJ day

Bowling for the first time...he loved it!

Ice Skating at the Zoo..he stayed on the skates for about 15 min and Jason did good too!

Daddy's Birthday- Christmas Eve

Loot from Santa!

Making cookies!

Sara Beth, Denise, Brock, Quin, Anna Garris, Holley, Chase, and myself at the Zoo

Opening the Firetruck Mommaw gave him on Christmas Eve at NeNe's

Checking out Santa's presents with me, but he refused to look at the camera...typical

NaNa (my mom) got him light up shoes...he was so happy about those!

My 84 year old Mamaw...she is a blessing!

Playing Scrabble at Ne Ne's Christmas Eve

Opening a Thomas Train at NaNa's...or maybe a Chugginton. He loves both!

We had the most blessed and best Christmas break I can remember in a long time! We hope 2012 is another great year with our little Chaserman!

Christmas Card and Plans

2011-12-14T14:23:00.002-06:00

This year's card......

We are in our last week of school before the break and I can not wait to be home with Chase for 2 weeks! I love him at 3..he is the most fun! We have some fun plans for the break. We are going to MS this weekend and next. This weekend is to see Disney on Ice. My mom got him tickets to the Tupelo show and I know he will love it. When we get back, I have plans to hang out with the girls from Life Group at the mall playground and to go Ice Skating at the Zoo. I am really pumped about the ice skating. I just hope no one breaks anything. Chase, Sara Beth, and I are going with Holley and Anna Garris Ring. I am sure Chase is too young for it, but it is only for an hour so I can entertain him that long if he hates the skates. I remember as a child coming shopping in Memphis from Tupelo and going to the Mall of Memphis to go ice skating. I looked forward to it. I stink at it, but it is a great memory that I have. I think Chase will be all about it after seeing Disney on Ice. I can't wait for that show! Jason can't wait for hunting everyday all day. I am ready for the break...Come on Friday!

Opryland Hotel and Snow

2011-12-08T09:26:00.002-06:00

Chase and I went to the Opryland Hotel with my mom and grandmother this past weekend. It was beautiful! We had an atrium room and it was like being outside on the inside. We did a lot of cool stuff! We went to ICE! which as Merry Madagascar ice sculptures and 25 ft ice slides...yes, I went down them, but screamed the whole way down! Chase loved it. It was 18 degrees, but worth it. They also had the Dreamworks characters performing during the day in the hotel which was neat. It was a nice show and even nicer since it was free. We also did the carriage ride around the hotel and rode the boats in the hotel and Chase got to swim. It was a great time with my mom and grandmother and absolutely beautiful views.

Tree in the Atrium...HUGE and gorgeous

Big blue "parka" they made you wear for ICE! Chase's was way too big and we couldn't find his arms and he couldn't stand up in it.

View from our room

Silly boy! Loved the stairs!

Family Pic...Poinsetta tree

Chase sliding down the ice slide.

Chase enjoyed dancing to the lady singing piano in the lobby. He is a nut!

Not sure where he got these moves!

This was is of him going down the ice slide. He couldn't get up at the end, but when he did, he would run to do it again.

We woke up to snow this morning, Dec. 7th! It is the earliest I remember snow! We had to go to work so boo to that! Here is Chase loving the snow before Mama Jane's!

We look forward to one more week of school then Christmas break! I can't wait for Christmas this year! I am going to teach Chase and my 2 year old class on Wednesday all about the Nativity using M & M's. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T14:36:00.000-06:00

We are so blessed and we often forget just how many blessings God gives us because the "bad" often overshadows the "good". I am thankful for a healthy family, a job, friends, family, and most importantly God.

Our Thanksgiving week started off with decorating our tree. Chase was not as into as I thought he would be, but boy did the cats love it. Keeping Belle from climbing up it is the hardest thing. We spent Wednesday with Jason's family at his sister's house. We pretty much spend the whole day there, just hanging out and eating. We left that night for Saltillo. We ate lunch with my family, then my mom and I hit wal-mart at 10 for Black Friday. It was fun! I have never done it before. We were not after anything, just wanted to go. Jason hunted most of the break and I shopped. Of course Chase was into everything all weekend!

Chillin' with the iPad in his undies...all learning games

Chase and Granny (Jason's Grandmother)

Clipping limbs with Uncle Todd..always something

Pulling the wagon with his 4-wheeler with Uncle Tim

Helping decorate NaNa's Tree

Santa Landing and Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T12:17:00.000-06:00

Quin and I took Chase to see Santa landing at the Pink Palace. It was one of the neatest things I have gone too. LeBonheur sponsors this and brings Santa in a helicopter. He opens the Hall of Trees and is there for kids to get pictures made. Chase also got to play in the helicopter after we finished the tour. Bellevue had children playing string instruments and singing while everyone waited for the big arrival.

Chase and Mommaw waiting for Santa

Here he comes!

Landed!

Sheer Joy and Excitement!

Playing on the helicopter

I wonder what this does??

Time to go home ..what a fun day!

Thanksgiving is coming up this week and I love Thanksgiving. I get to see so many of my family that I don't see often. We will spend Wednesday afternoon/evening with Jason's sister's family and then leave Thursday am for MS. I am one of those who goes shopping on Black Friday, just not too early. I am lazy and like my bed. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful family at home, in MS, and in my in-laws. God is amazing at what he does for us all and I strive to remember that He is the reason we have things to be thankful for!

On a side note...Jason killed a 10 point buck last night. He was so excited!! I had this one picture on my cell phone, but will post more later.

Halloween

2011-11-02T15:13:00.000-05:00

I LOVE LOVE Halloween! Just seeing the kids dressed up and carving pumpkins makes my heart smile. I do not care at all for the scary part of it like ghosts and goblins, but the fun parts are one of my favorite times of year. Chase was going to be a Triceratops, but the head was too heavy and he really couldn't see so I got him a superhero costume to match the rest of our life group for Trunk or Treat, which he was happy with. We had a huge turn out for Trunk or Treat at church. Lots of families were blessed by that night. We loved handing out candy. Many of the kids wanted their picture made with the superheros! We went trick or treating with the Ring family Monday night. Chase loved running to the doors and ringing the bell or going up to the people sitting outside. He had a blast. We only went out for about 30-45 minutes, but we had a great time. We also went to the nursing home to visit Jason's granny and she was so happy to see him in his costume. Looking forward to the rest of the upcoming holidays!

Chase in his best superhero pose (Thor was the costume)

Chase and J's Granny

Trick or Treating! It was cold!

Holley and Anna Garris

Trick or Treating with Anna Garris. This witch was GREAT

Most of my life group girls. Two were at a birthday party and were late so we didn't get them in the pic

Sara Beth with us at Trunk or Treat--Don't you love Green Lantern!

Superhero Phase

2011-10-27T21:17:00.000-05:00

Chase has entered the Superhero phase. I am not sure how since he has never seen Spiderman, Superman or any other "man". He has watched Super Why a few times. We got him a cape, sadly, it is a dracula halloween cape. I could not find a superman cape at Walmart so to the Halloween store I had to go. This was a few weeks ago. He has also became crazy about UmiZoomi. A show on Nick Jr. I promise that show has taught him all of the shapes. He know octagon, hexagon, and all the simple shapes. I was going to work with him on it, but I didn' t have the chance before he learned it on his on. So... a pair of orange sunglass became "Umi Goggles". Every day we have to take the cape and goggles to Mama Jane's. After Chase took the cape, John brought his cape (he had brought it before, which is probably where Chase got the idea to begin with), then the next day Chase, John, and Caroline had capes. Mama Jane had to make Taylor a cape. They all had capes and it was priceless! I am thankful that Mama Jane sends me pictures of these special things he does!

He told me a month or so ago he wanted to be a dinosaur for Halloween so I ordered the Triceratops he wanted, but now I am wishing I had ordered Super Why. I have learned my lesson...no more buying halloween costumes WAY early since he will surely change his mind. I may go get him a cheap superhero one somewhere. He wore the dino to Zoo Boo.

We have a fun weekend...Trunk-or-Treat...I am Wonder Woman and J is the Green Lantern. Should be hilarious. I will post a pic if I don't look too ridiculous. I am glad my Wonder Woman has a knee length skirl and not hot pants or I would not be wearing it! Ha! Our whole small group is dressing as Superheros. I can't wait to go Trick or Treating Monday night with the Rings. I love watching Chase go up the door to get candy. So priceless!

Caroline, John, Tay, and Chase--- (what's up with those Umi Goggles! )

John and Super Chase!

More Fall Fun

2011-10-25T11:06:00.000-05:00

We spent most of Fall Break at my mom's in MS. Chase rode his little 4 wheeler, played with all of his toys there, and spent a lot of time outside or in the woods. We went to the Buffalo Park and Pumpkin Patch in Tupelo. It was COLD! Jason bow hunted the whole time...saw lots of deer, but none he wanted to shoot. He is very particular about which deer he will shoot..no mommies with babies, thankfully! We had a relaxing time and a great break! Looking forward to Trick-or-Treating with the Rings and Trunk or Treat at church were all of our Life Group will be Superheros!

Buffalo Park Pictures. Chase turns his head now when he sees the camera...Fires me up!

Trick-or-Treating Aunt Jean...a little early since we won't be there Halloween.

October Fun

2011-10-18T12:21:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon we took Chase to Priddy's Farm to pick out some pumpkins. He had a ball running from pumpkin to pumpkin. He finally picked 2 and we picked one to carve after Fall Break. We are going to my mom's today and will go to the Tupelo Buffalo Park Pumpkin Patch so he will get to do all of the fun again...more pictures after fall break!

Fun Week

2011-10-07T10:54:00.000-05:00

We have had a great week this week. It started out with the breakfast and the zoo last Saturday. We met Jason's cousin Sarah and baby Bailey at Cracker Barrel, then Chase, Quin, and I heading to the zoo. We rode some rides, saw the elephants and other animals, and had a picnic with Joy and crew from Life Group. It was a great day..perfect weather. After a nap, we went to "our" pizza place with the Ring family, some of our best best friends. Chase and Anna Garris had a ball making a pizza together to be baked. We went back to the Ring's last night to have Chili and make S'mores in their fire pit. Chase had a ball playing with AG in the yard and making S'mores. We are leaving today for my mom's in MS. Jason is on the hunt for the Great Buck Deer with his bow. He has not killed a deer with his bow yet so he is really excited to maybe get one this weekend. More deer chili and spagetti is in my future.

Chase and his Mommaw

Loves the planes at the zoo...sunglasses make him look silly!

He got the toy at Cracker Barrel and hung on to it all day long.

Watching the Elephants...his favorite. Would watch them for hours

Sticks, leaves, etc...his favorite things to play with outside

Lunch with the Williams' Crew

Chase and Anna Garris making pizza

Chase rolling down the hill at the Rings' house...before dinner and S'mores

We are looking forward to a great fall weekend in MS! More to come soon, I am sure!

This and That

2011-09-30T15:14:00.000-05:00

I haven't had time to blog lately. No time at work and no time at home. To be honest, we really haven't done a lot of blog worthy stuff lately. We have been working, going to church, and doing the daily routine each day...that's about it. We did go to my mom's in MS last weekend and I have some pictures to post of that. Chase got his flu shot yesterday and did not even cry! He is such a big boy, but when I suggested going to walgreens to get mine, he told me to not get a shot and that he and daddy would stay home then I could go. So funny...he didn't want to see me get a shot. I am taking him to the zoo tomorrow and he is so excited! It should be perfect weather for it. Bow season has began. Jason will spend the whole day tomorrow hunting for the Great White Buck. We go from baseball, to golf, to hunting...it is a cycle. I don't know how he does it...never any down time. He loves it all so much!

We spent last weekend at my mom's in Saltillo. It is always a lot of outdoor time and the weather was perfect. Jason and my uncle planted fields for the deer and worked on my grandmother's house. My mom, Chase and I really did not do much. We went to the park to play and feed the ducks, but the rest of the time, we just relaxed.

Chase trying to throw bread for the ducks as far away as he could get it.

At the park, he of course, found the sand. It was not the kind of sand that just dusted off. He was a mess and had to have a bath as soon as he got home.

My Uncle Tim riding Chase on the tractor they used to plow the fields to plant seed for the deer plots.

Uncle Tim got Chase this wagon at the yard sale..I'll give it a paint job soon!

Chase with my mom and grandmother on the back of J's truck...priceless!

Delta Fair

2011-09-13T13:42:00.000-05:00

My mom came into town this past weekend and we took Chase to the fair. He was excited about it for days and asked everyday if it was time to go. He wanted to ride all of the rides that he was too little for, of course! It was also a few days after my mom's birthday so we celebrated that also. Chase loved the petting zoo. I didn't get the pictures off of my mom's camera before she left so I'll have to share those later.
Chase rode the small pumpkin ferris wheel ride, the boats, the dump trucks, the cars, and many other rides. We stayed about 4 hours and was exhausted. No much else has been going on with us...just our daily routine. I am looking so forward to fall break all ready!

I made a Coca-Cola cake for mom's birthday and Chase put the candles on.

He wondered why there was no water under the boats!

He did not like me taking his picture so I pretty much gave up!

He won a whale (dolphin) and a monkey picking up ducks and getting his birthday guessed.

Photo Book

2011-08-23T10:53:00.002-05:00

I just made this free photo book on Shutterfly! It just a summary of our summer!

Click here to view this photo book larger

August Update

2011-08-16T13:01:00.000-05:00

We have started back to work and a routine. I am happy for the routine, but sad about not being home with Chase. I would LOVE to stay at home with him, but I do enjoy my job as well. If I could only work part time at this job, now that would be a great deal! Anyway, not too much has gone on in the past 2 weeks. Just work, after-work stuff, church, and home routine. That is really about all. I am trying not to get overwhelmed this year. I always get so stressed at the beginning of a school year. This year one of my schools has a brand new school and I am trying to take the unpacking and needs of teachers day by day there at an Lucy. It will all calm down once we all get rolling on a normal schedule. I am looking forward to many things about fall...1- the Mississippi State/Memphis Game. I bought Chase a new t-shirt and I will get one soon myself. 2. Zoo Boo and Halloween, pumpkins, and all fall comes with. 3. Outside playtime for Chase after work and 4. Baseball season is over so J and I can have friends again! I am sure there are many, more things but Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons so I am excited for all outdoor activities. No pictures to post...have not taken any in a while. I have to get a new battery for my camera so I can use more than my phone!

HOME!!

2011-07-30T05:11:00.002-05:00

Woo hoo! I am finally home after flying around the world for two days. 1st I want to thank everyone for their prayers for our trip and family. They were heart felt and much needed. I am just so glad to be home, but as you can see by the time of this post, my sleeping pattern is a tad bit off. I have many stories and blessings from this trip, and when you see me I will be glad to share them with you. Again, thanks for the prayers, and I am soooooo glad to be home.
love ya all,
jt

Zambia continued

2011-07-27T02:13:00.000-05:00

I know that i am not blogging as much as i should, but it is difficult to get the time and computer. Communications around here are kind of slow, but this is the best trip i have taken, it could only be better if LaShona and Chase were with me. By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LASHONA, I LOVE YOU!!!!
Now, on to Zambia, it has been great here. I got to help put out a grass fire that started to come on to the camp from the neighbors, seems like they burn grass by starting a fire and then leave, is a common practice, but we did get worried and you should have seen us all with tree branches and leaves putting out the fires. It was exciting and scary, but we got it done, thank the Lord. The class Josh is teaching is going great, and the students are so devoted to the Lord. They are truely eager to learn. It is amazing to here them sing and listen to the questions they ask. We are going to a lady named Stella's house today to visit. It should be a great experience and I am looking forward to it. We will be on the way back home tomorrow, and I am sooooooooo excited to see my wife and son and family and friends. By the way, the Zambian students think i am a music producer, hahahahaha, ask me or Josh when you see us. Please keep us in your prayers for a safe journey home and we will see everyone soon.
love all,
Jason

Chase: The Adventurer! (Pictures to come later)

2011-07-25T16:12:00.000-05:00

We went to Alabama Adventure on Sunday afternoon. It is a Six Flags sort of place with a water park. I think it used to be called Visionland. Anyway, Chase has always been afraid of stuff...the pool, the jumping thing at the mall, etc. I never thought he would be adventurous, but he fooled me yesterday. We went to the water park and they have this jungle gym type thing with HUGE buckets of water that splash down and a big winding water slide. He went down the slide several times and earlier this summer at Point Mallard water park, he would not go near it. I went with him and so did my mom, but he loved it. When we went to the rides, he only wanted to ride things he could ride alone and not with mommy. Luckily, they had a lot of rides for kids at least 36 inches. The one that shocked me was the kiddie roller coaster. I HATE roller coasters and being off the ground. I am scared of heights...terrified actually. I rode this thing with him like 3 or 4 times and my mom rode it 1 time. It went really fast and sort of high up and curved a lot...for a kiddie coaster, it scared me a little! He giggled on it! I was totally shocked. He also stayed in the pool for hours at the hotel, which he has not done all summer so that shocked me too. I guess my little guy is growing up and I could just cry!

I got an email from Jason today and he is doing great in Africa. He said they are going back to the village on Wednesday. I hope for him to blog more soon or at least when he returns write a long one so we will always remember his trip.

I have not taken the pictures off of my camera yet. I will do that and add them to this post a little later.

This is my last 3 days off...Hi Ho, Hi Ho..back to work on Thursday...UGH! Where did the summer go??

Birmingham Trip

2011-07-23T21:34:00.002-05:00

Mom and I decided to get my Mamaw out of the house and go on a weekend trip to Birmingham. I wanted to go to one of the Robert Trent Jones Golf resorts because it is really a resort and really NICE. We wanted to give her a nice time at an awesome hotel. We went to the Ross Bridge Resort in Hoover outside of Birmingham. We had an awesome lunch at the Clubhouse resturant, then we went to pool, and the HUGE Riverchase Galleria Mall. It has a hotel attached and is the biggest mall I have been to in this area. I could have done some damage to the bank account, but I didn't buy one thing...which for those that know me that is surprising. Chase got to ride the carousel twice...rode the frog and the elephant and my mom got suckered into Build-a-Bear. He made an Elephant and named it Joppa from his Jonah and the Whale story. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen and found the Krispy Kreme. I need to go to the gym tonight, but am trying to talk myself into it. Tomorrow we plan to eat at the buffet for breakfast, spend the morning at the pool, and then MAYBE go to Alabama Adventure. We have some BOGO coupons and Chase is free.

Mountain view from our room

Pool

Mom and Chase

Joppa the Elephant and Chase in the Smurf hat

Resort at night

Africa, the 1st 3 days

2011-07-23T11:40:00.000-05:00

Wow, is really all i can say. This place is awesome. The country is beautiful. The people are so nice and kind and glad to see you . We got to go to a tribal community and honestly, it will break your heart to see the absolute poverty that people can live in. However the missionaries over here are connecting with the people and Jesus is making His move. I can't begin to thank God enough for this trip and experience. He is working like mad in me and I can not use words to describe what He is doing in my life.
Josh and i are really missing our families. We are trying to constantly email, but it is hard. Josh is preaching everyday for hours, and i am with him or others helping out doing what i can. I have so many stories and experiences to tell, but i sure am tired of typing, so i gues if you want to know specifics about the trip then you will have to cook me some American dinner and i will tell you the goods.

To my wife and son: i miss and love yall sooooo much and i am constantly praying for and thinking of you. i can not wait until we get to be together again. i LOVE yall.

c everybody next time i blog (probably 2 days).
JT

What we are doing while Jason is in Africa

2011-07-22T18:41:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update (in case Jason is reading this).... we are at my mom's in MS. We are having a lot of fun. I took him to this new Pump it Up type place called Jump in Tupelo today. He had a ball. He played for a good two hours. Then we ate at one of my favorites...Old Venice. To my happy surprise, they have a lunch buffet now and it was wonderful! Chase konked out on the way home. My mom took him outside to play in the dirt down in the woods. He was COVERED! You could not see skin for dirt so he had to then get the water hose and get everyone wet! I twisted my ankle trying to catch the wild kittens in the garage. Not sure what we will do with those, but you can't catch them to tame them! They are cute. My ankle is fine now...luckily, I didn't hurt it really badly. We are leaving for Birmingham tomorrow to stay at a really awesome resort hotel and do some shopping...my last hooray before school start back and to celebrate my 35th birthday. I can't believe I'll be 35! UGH!!

I have heard from Jason over email several times. He hopes to update the blog, but said internet is hard to come by. I guess it is dial-up and doesn't connect each time or something or either he is just telling me that so he does not have to blog! Wouldn't put it past him. We miss him terribly and are ready for him to get home. I'll be a nervous wreck Thursday and Friday while he will be flying for 2 days. Lucky (or not) I have to work at New Teacher In-service those 2 days and will be busy a lot of the time. I am dying to know if he has seen lots of snakes ( I have a HUGE fear and there are tons of them in Zambia where he is), elephants, and what the town is like and most importantly, what kind of work he is doing there. I have never gone this many days without talking to him and it is HARD! I want to text him to tell him something and then put the phone down, because I can't. Chase is fine with him gone...he has my mom to distract him so that is working out well.

Jason..if you are reading this in Africa...my mom made a Reese Cup pie (and you will love it) and something like an armadillo got into your deer corn and ate a lot of it. Mom found the shed door open and the corn torn into. Good luck with that one!

I hope to get my camera working right again so I can take more pictures...so sorry for the no picture post!

London

2011-07-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody, we are in London and it is great. The eight hour flight has really worn us out, We got here at 3am Memphis. We are both very excited to get to Zambia and get to work in whatever the Lord has planned for us. We are actually going to site see when we return on the way home instead of today, We are both missing our families because there are so many kids in the airports, who would have known this many children are world travelers!! I remember when i was 12 going to an Ole Miss baseball camp and you would have thought i was traveling the world! hahahaha well, hope to blog again soon. To our families, we love yall dearly and are thinking of you constantly. To anybody else reading we are thinking of you too, and would greatly appreciate prayers.
love and take care,
JT

Jason's Africa Trip

2011-07-16T19:05:00.004-05:00

Jason leaves for Lusaka, Zambia on Tuesday at 2pm. He will be working at the Mapepe Bible College with our minister. He is really not sure what he will be doing just yet. He has almost 2 days to travel there and back. He will not arrive in Zambia until Thursday morning. He will be gone till July 29th, right before school starts back. The weather should be really nice there. Right at this moment (7 pm) our time, it is 59 degrees. He will have to pack both sweats and shorts. He will stay in a guest hut on the ranch and eat a mixture of African and American foods. I will miss him terribly and really worry how Chase (and I) will handle him being gone for so long. I know God has a plan for him on this trip. I admit that I flat out told him not to go when he brought it up. I am scared of plane crashes and foreign countries in general, but I have to trust that God will keep Jason safe and do great works through him. I know his life and our lives will be forever changed through this trip.

Jason is going to TRY to post to this blog while he is gone to Africa to tell us all what he is doing. He can't post pictures until he gets back since the internet on the ranch is $500 a month!!!!

Please pray for safe travels and a great experience for Jason and most importantly for him to show God to the people he comes in contact with.

This and That

2011-07-08T20:12:00.006-05:00

I have been very lazy about blogging lately. Chase attended two friends' birthday parties in one day and had a ball, then we went on a vacation with Jason's sister's family and our very great friends, The Rings. We went to Muscle Shoals, AL to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. The four guys golfed everyday while we girls and kids played in the HUGE resort type pool. We ate a lot of great food and relaxed a lot. Since we got back, my mom came for a visit and we just really chilled that weekend. Jason has been on a 2 week dead period for baseball and I have so loved having him home. It has been pretty easy going these past couple weeks and I hope for the same next week. Jason leaves for Africa on the 19th and we are trying to get ready for that. I will be going to my mom's for a few days while he is gone. New teacher in-service is the 28th-29th. I can't believe summer is almost over! I have loved being with Chase so much that it will break my heart to go back to work. EPMS will open the new school this fall, so it will be a busy few months of getting situated. Other than that, we are just rolling along happily and enjoying our time together as a family.

Holley and Anna Garris Ring (The guys were always golfing so no pics!)

Denise (My SIL), Anna-Laura, and Sara Beth

Chase and I at the hotel

Chase got to ride his "rolling car". Where he got that name, I don't know!

VBS- Pandamania- God is WILD About Us!

2011-06-15T16:34:00.002-05:00

I am teaching VBS this week...as hilarious as it is, I have 3 and 4 year olds. I doing "God Sightings" and showing a segment of a video each day in Chadder's Theater. We are doing a VBS called Pandamania. Several churches are also doing the same one. It is AWESOME. The music is great and the lessons are well organized and stay true to The Word. This is a video from day 1. Chase got a little crazy in his dancing. It is priceless! I have been so blessed by VBS and aside from being a little clingy to me, Chase has too. I know all the kids will remember this VBS for a long time!

Beach Trip 2011

2011-06-15T16:15:00.007-05:00

Every year my mom and I go on a trip to Gulf Shores. It is a very special trip for us! We enjoy spending that time together and now with Chase. Jason is so busy with baseball that it is the perfect time for us to go.

This year we stayed again at Seawind where they have this great kiddie pool. Although Chase's teacher was awesome, swimming lessons ruined my life! I guess taking him to do them was a bad idea, but he loved the water last year so I thought that he would do well at lessons, but not so much. He did good the first few days, then that was it..got scared. He was scared on vacation. Would not get past the zero entry part of the kiddie pool and would not go in the big pool. He kept asking if he had to go to lessons everyday so I know it traumatized him. Lesson learned.

We had a great time at the beach...went to a dolphin cruise, The Track where Chase rode every ride there he could, and just really relaxed a lot. He didn't love the beach, but loved the "Kiddie Kat" pool as he called it, as long as he was on the edge playing in the sprinklers! I make awesome memories with my mom each year on this trip.

Sadly this year, it ended with my Great Uncle Ed losing his fight with cancer. He was a veteran and a Godly man. I know he is in heaven and looking down on us with no pain. I spent longer at my mom's after we got home from the beach than normal to spend time with family. June has been a whirlwind so far...I am doing some independent projects for work and it feels like I am not off yet! July is free so I am looking forward to that.

My attempt at a picture of Chase in the sand!

Saw lots of these on our cruise, we even saw a baby!

Our awesome "kiddie kat" pool at the condo

Chase and his NaNa!

Bumper boat ride at The Track!

First Bike/School's Out!!

2011-05-30T18:15:00.002-05:00

When we went to my mom's a couple of weekends a go she had a bike that a co-worker had given her for Chase to ride. I was surprised that he could ride it as well as he could, he loved it! When we got home, Jason went and bought him one for our house and he has rode it and rode it. We have TRIED to make him wear a helmet but I pinched his neck putting it on so now he is reluctant to say the least.

In other news, Jason's team made it all the way to the sub-state game and lost to go to State. They were all a little sad, as was I, but I have enjoyed having Jason home for a couple weeks, but tonight it all started back up with practice and games this week.

I took Chase swimming today at J's mom's pool and he would not even get in. He starts swimming lessons tomorrow so I am a little nervous about that and how it will go. I hope after 5 days of 30 minute lessons, he will at least get in the pool again like last year. I have a 50/50 shot of it going well or horrible. Jason will be taking him since I have training for work all week. June is a busy month for me. I am going to the beach with my mom next week, have training this week, then am teaching VBS, and doing a 30 hour independent project for work in addition to teaching a couple of 2 hour technology classes to teachers. July will be pretty free. Even more good news...Jason was able to raise his entire trip to Africa. The Lord providing this money, makes me feel a little better about him going to Africa. I am still very nervous, but I know it will change him and our family. I am used to talking to him like 100 times a day and won't be able to do that so I am not sure how that will go and Chase won't even go to bed until he see's Jason so I am nervous about that too, but the Lord will provide and it will all work out

Lastly, we moved out of the old EPMS building this week and it will be demolished this week. I am pretty sad about it. Looking forward to a nice new school next year, but still 10 years worth of memories in that building is a lot to see torn down.

The next time I post will be pictures from the beach! I. Am. So. Ready!

CRAZY week!!

2011-05-07T10:30:00.006-05:00

We have had quite a week! Last Saturday Chase was at my mother-in-laws and ran intohisplayroom and tripped and landed on a lego. He had a gash that was 2 cm deep by 1.5 in wide. Thankfully, it was at the top of his forehead by his hair and not near his eye or anything thing like that. We had to go to the urgent care to get him stitched up. He got 5 stitches and did so great! I just wish they didn't have to wrap him up like a burrito to do it. As soon as they offered him a popsicle when it was done, he was much more agreeable. Year 3 has started off with a bang for him. This picture does not do the wound justice. It was a lot deeper than you can see here. It did not slow him down, though. He started running again right after we were done. Monday afternoon, Mama Jane called me and said that he had almost a 103 fever. I thought the stitches were infected, but knew they looked fine that morning. I made an appointment and we drove all the way to Germantown to see a doctor. Luckily, it was just a virus that would have to run its course. So he had to stay home Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon, I had to take him to the dentist. The fever was down enough for us to go ahead and go. My mom came in town to check on him after the stitches and went with me to the dentist. He did just great. They cleaned his teeth and he had no cavities. We were told that his teeth are tight which can make getting cavities between the teeth easier so we needed to start flossing with those little sticks. I bought him some and he was all about that. I took off on Wednesday to be with my mom and take Chase to the park. The new park at Shelby Farms is the most awesome thing I have ever seen! I haven't gotten the pictures off my camera yet, but I will add them when I do. The last thing that had to happen was getting the stitches out. Thanks so much to Mama Jane's friend Karen for doing it for me so I didn't have to go back to another doctor again. That would have made 4 in one week which is too much for an adult, much less a 3 year old. Below is the video of him getting the stitches out. It was made on a phone and texted to me so it did not come through as clearly as it was when Mama Jane took it.

In other news, Jason's baseball team had done great. The varsity team is 1st in the district and now is playing in the district tournament. They have to be 1st or 2nd in the tournament to go to the next step for State. Jason's JV team is playing in the JV regional right now and they have lost 1 game and we hope they win the tournament. Elmore Park Middle, one of my schools, will be torn down the first of June to make a parking lot for a new school. I feel both excited and sad about it. The school has termites, etc and we really need a new building, but at the same time it is sad. I have been there 1o years. I am busy with organizing packing the computers.

We have had record rain and flooding is happening everywhere. Our house is safe, but the Mississippi River has overflowed it banks and is not done yet. Lots of road closures and lots of dangers for people who live near the tributaries in Millington and Arlington. I am just praying for as little damage as possible. The other school I work at in Millington has a lot of families affected and it is so sad. I know the kids are worried. I have friends who have had to evacuate their homes already.

This is also Mother's Day weekend. I am so blessed and honored to be Chase's mom. It is a task that is difficult, but worth every up and down that we will face as a family. He is a good boy with a great personality. I am thankful for his health and our family. We are truly blessed and I thank God everyday for His gift of Chase and Jason. I am lucky to have my mom and grandmother. They are my best friends and I cherish them both.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Easter Weekend and CRAZY storms

2011-04-27T08:35:00.006-05:00

We got to spend Easter at my Mom's this year. She is not off every year since she works at the Tupelo hospital. This year she was so Jason, Chase, and I headed to her house Friday night after the big Arlington/Bartlett Baseball game. We won 10-5 in 9 inning so it was HUGE. We got there about midnight, but it was worth it to have all day Sat and all day Sunday. We did have great weather all weekend. Chase played in his new little pool my mom got him for her yard and rode my little cousin's old tricycle, which we brought home. We tried dying eggs and hiding them. Chase was only interested in the candy inside the plastic ones and not finding them. He only wanted to play in the colored water the real ones were in. Hopefully next year, we will be able to try it again and him get the concept of it. We enjoyed a great Ham that was smoked by the baseball team. Jason has not been home with me in a few months due to baseball so this was especially great. The downside is that I ended up with some sort of allergy/sinus/cold thing that has really gotten me down. I am on day 5 of it and am ready for it to go! The doctor gave me 2 nose sprays and Allegra so we will see if it helps.

Starting Monday (the 25th) we are in the middle of 3 days of horrible storms. Very unnerving. Always have to be on the look out for Tornado's and not getting much sleep. I am glad that today is the last day of it. We have had a crazy April...a Tornado watch every week and seems it is always on Mondays. Jason had 6 games this week, but has not played any of them. Two of them were district games that will have to be made up. Senior night is supposed to be today, but I am sure that will be postponed as well.

Easter service at my home church was great. We had a wonderful sermon. I tried to explain to Chase why we celebrate Easter, but he is still too little to understand. I hope to do the Resurrection Eggs/cookies with him next year. He did get a lot of candy and a few small toys.

Update on potty training...doing great at Mama Jane's everyday, but not so good at home...at least one accident a day, but I guess that is better than a bunch of them. We also have not gotten number 2 to go in the potty yet,which makes those accidents especially GROSS!

Other than baseball, we don't have a lot going on. EPMS is moving into a brand new school so my work life is about to get really busy and I am going to TRY not to get stressed about it. Jason is still planning his trip to Lusaka, Zambia in Africa in July. I am praying about this and trying to get a peace about him going. I am really nervous about it. It is in God's hands and I have to trust that he will be safe and will be able to spread the Word. I have a huge fear of airplanes so I am having a hard time with all the flying.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend at my mom's

Me with my grandmother and mom

Best picture I got of him in his Easter outfit...he wasn't feeling pictures

Jason wasn't feeling pictures either, but I got this one.

Easter Bunny Loot!

Dying Eggs did not go well...he didn't get leaving them in and just wanted to play in the water.

Birthday Party and Egg Hunt

2011-04-19T08:37:00.008-05:00

We had a ridiculously busy weekend. We had Chase's 3rd birthday party at the Zoo Saturday morning. No rain, but super chilly! I was so glad I rented the room. We had food, cupcakes, and a pinata. The kids had a ball. I think riding the little zoo rides was their favorite part. Chase got a lot of nice new toys and was excited for his friends and family to be there!

Blowing out his candles

The last string would not come out for the candy, Jason had to cut it!

Chase with this grandmothers- Mommaw and NaNa

Some of the kids at Mama Jane's on his birthday

Chase and Kaden riding the planes

Saturday night we went to our church egg hunt at the Jones' home. They have a large amount of land and have the egg hunt divided by ages so it is really great. They also build a big bonfire to roast hotdogs and make s'mores. It is a great time for our family and church friends!

On a side note...potty training update...we are in week 2 of underwear to Mama Jane's. He does great at her house, but not at ours! Overall, we are pleased!

Chase is 3!!

2011-04-15T09:29:00.009-05:00

Today, my sweet gift from God turned 3! I can't believe it! Happy Birthday Chase! We love you more than you will ever know!

At 3 years old, you..

Are very good at speaking. You can say anything and normally get the context right
Have gotten a lot taller this year. 35 1/4 inches and 27 lbs (still small, but on the growth chart!)
Like most all foods, but not too many vegetables
Love to be outside and can ride a tricycle
Like to "swim" in the bath tub
Seems to be right-handed
You say "I Love You" to everyone all of the time and it melts my heart
Love your friends at Mama Jane's and thinks that Mama Jane is the greatest!
Are very willful. If you don't get your way, it can be an ugly situation.
Go to time-out quiet often for crying over not getting your way
Like to follow daddy around at the baseball field
Loves tractors, bubbles, play-doh and videos (Barney, Elmo, and Wiggles)
Adds an "iz" to the end of works....tractorsiz (maybe trying to do plurals?)
Can operate the computer and iPad with little help
Knows all the letters, sounds, some shapes, all colors, and can count
Draws circles, triangles, and letters
Likes to pick out what shoes you will wear each day and they normally don't match anything (boots with shorts, sandals when its cold)
Loves to sing and go to church
Plays well with others and is learning to share
Pee Pee's in the potty most of the time, but not poop yet. Wore underwear to Mama Jane's this week for the first time. Did great!
Likes to climb and loves to jump (makes mommy very nervous!)
Likes to play with his golf set and t-ball set. Seems to use his right hand more, but bats left.

I am sure I am leaving out many things! We will go to the doctor on Monday so I will add in his weight and height. I am sure he is still on the small side for weight. He has gotten pretty tall.

We thank God everyday for giving us the job of raising you and hope we can teach you to be a Christian and be an example for others.

Milestone

2011-04-13T09:29:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, April 12th, was the first time Chase wore underwear to Mama Jane's. I hadn't planned it, he just said he wanted to wear it. His little girlfriend has started wearing "underpants" as he calls them so he had to be like her. Today is day 2! I hope this is the beginning of life without diapers or pullups!

Weekend in Mississippi

2011-04-11T11:18:00.005-05:00

Chase and I took off to my mom's Friday after work. Jason had games and school work to finish. He is in his internship class and will graduate May 7th. Chase had a ball at my mom's...riding the tricycle, catching frogs and catipillars, and playing in his little pool. He did not want to go in the whole weekend. The frog was the most amazing thing to him. He had not seen one before that I can remember. Of course, when he squeezed it, it relieved itself and I about lost it worrying about warts...wonder if that is true. We ran to wash his hands, but of course, he went right back to the frog. He let the little fuzzy catipillar crawl all over it. Those don't bother me, but I am not a reptile fan...frog, snake, lizard...hate them all. It is always great to see my mom and grandmother and other family. With Chase's birthday being this weekend and then Easter, I will see them 3 weekends in a row and it is a treat to me!

We went to the mall Saturday to get my oil changed and to see the Easter Bunny. Chase was all about going up to that bunny. He waved and talked to him. It was hilarious. Here is the picture from my camera....Enjoy!

Spring Baseball

2011-04-08T09:17:00.003-05:00

As you all know, Jason is a baseball coach for Bartlett High. He is the head JV (9th and 10th grade) coach. He works really hard to be a good coach and a good example for the kids and be as positive with them as possible always. We have had a good start to the season so far. I have taken Chase to a few games this spring. So he is really beginning to "feel his oats" at the field. He thinks it is one big playground and he owns it! He loves riding the tractor with daddy to drag the field between games, so we always try to hit right at the end of the JV games and before the Varsity starts. Here are a few pictures and I promise, these were not posed.....I think I may have a little baseball player on my hands!

Found his way into the dugout and borrowed some equipment

Looks like he is waiting for a ball!

Playing catch with one of J's players

Running the bases with daddy

Watering the field for the next game (keeps down dust, so I am told!)

I know there are many more baseball games to come and many more photos. I posted these on Facebook also. Our next big adventure is Chase's 3rd birthday next week. I am just praying it does not rain! 60% is the forecast, but I will pray for a change in forecast by Saturday!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-21T12:22:00.005-05:00

We had a great spring break! Chase and started it off at my mom's in MS and the weather was gorgeous. We went to the park with one of my best HS friends, Jennifer, and her little girl Sara Margaret. They had a great time playing. I guess the ducks were full already because they weren't eating much. My mom kept my first tricycle and Chase learned to ride it. It was so neat to see him riding my tricycle. Jason started baseball games this week. Chase and I went to a few of them, but mostly stayed home and worked on potty training, which has gone pretty well. We did go to the zoo Thursday with my nieces. It was warm enough for Chase to play in the fountain so he LOVED that and I had to literally carry him away from the elephants. Saturday we went to J's sister's house to go fishing and hang out with them. Chase caught his first ever fish and he was so proud! He cried when we let it go, but he finally got the hang of it! That is about all we did except for cleaning! I got bags ready for NAMI to pick up next Saturday and put some of Chase's summer clothes in a drawer. Lots more cleaning to do, I am sure, but I was a little lazy over the break. I did feel refreshed and ready for work this week. All we have coming up is more ballgames the rest of the month. Chase is doing better at J's games. He doesn't get that daddy is on the field and he can't go to him, but it will get better. Happy Spring!

My adorable almost 3 year old...tear, tear!

First fish with daddy

Trying to reel in number 2!

Zoo fun- Teton Trek boat

Chase with Sara Beth and Anna-Laura, my nieces

Chase riding my old tricycle at Mom's

Silly Pictures and Updates

2011-03-03T12:44:00.004-06:00

Not much to update with us since our last post. Chase and I have been spending a lot of time together since Jason has started baseball. He is really busy. The most not fun thing recently is that all 3 of us had the stomach virus. Chase got it on a Friday and by the following Monday, Jason and I were sick, on the same night. Not a good thing! It was honestly, the worst virus I have had in a LONG time. Jason had an interview for the Administrative pool yesterday. This is the first step in a long process to becoming an administrator. He may get in the pool, he may not, but regardless, I am so proud of him for finishing his Master's and interviewing. If you know my husband, he does not like to be the center of attention and put on the spot. He felt really confident after it so that is all that matters.

My mom, grandmother, and I took Chase to see Barney Live. He LOVED it. You would have thought he was going to jump on the stage with him. He really wanted to. He got tired in the middle, but it was worth taking him to see the look on his face when Barney came out. Chase and I went to the zoo with Carissa and Mariella recently and had a ball. I can't wait to go back Spring Break. I love the membership and am so glad I bought it. Chase spent last weekend at my mom's and learned to ride a tricycle. I guess he will be needing one of those soon! All we really have upcoming is baseball games and trying to make it through TCAP and into the end of May. I already have my beach trip with my mom planned so I am ready for June 5th!

I finally took pictures off my camera today and found some really funny ones of Chase. He is into dressing up some lately. I was going through his clothes and he put on his halloween costume. He wore it all day. Yesterday, he found a yellow bow at Mama Jane's and wore that. His daddy was non too happy over the bow, but it was hilarious, I am sure!

Chase found everything he could to go with his "dragon", hat, boots, you name it!

Just saw Barney on stage!

Chase and Mariella going in the zoo.

This is the bow he found at Mama Jane's and wore for a few minutes...Daddy not happy!

Playing during Life Group, not sure What occupation this is...Dr. Bob the Builder??

Yeah Jason!!!

2011-02-15T14:53:00.001-06:00

We found out on Friday that Jason passed his licensing test to be an administrator! It was an answered prayer for sure. Now, he will apply and hope for an interview. It is in God's hands if he gets a job or not this coming school year. We went to Texas de Brazil and the Cheesecake Corner to celebrate. I am so proud of my hubby!

My mom and grandmother came into town this weekend and we took Chase to see Barney Live. He LOVED it! He danced and sang and clapped. After the intermission, he sort of went downhill...got very tired. We had a great time downtown. We ate at the this great pizza place called Fereras and rode the Trolley. It was like being on vacation in my own city.

I will post pictures soon!

This and That

2011-02-08T13:12:00.003-06:00

Not too much exciting going on in the lives of the Taylor Family these days! We are just day to day with work, Chase, baseball, etc. We are expecting snow tomorrow! We have had a total of 3 snow days and 2 early outs. I am predicting we will get an early out tomorrow and a snow day Thursday. We'll see how it goes!

Jason will finish his LAST Master's class Friday!! He still has the internship to do and will graduate May 7th. He has taken the Praxis for Leadership and we are just waiting to see if he passed. He said it was the hardest test he has taken and he is not confident that he passed. I am literally praying every night that he passed it and does not have to take it again! It is a $400 test, which puts even more stress on him to have to take it again.

Chase is starting to use his potty now and then. I will hit potty training over Spring break and if it doesn't take, I'll do it again when school is out. I am hoping he gets excited when I pull out the underwear!

My mom is coming to town this weekend and we are taking Chase to see Barney. If he likes Barney, we are buying Sesame Street tickets for March. My next thing will be taking him to a movie!!

Hopefully, I'll have some snow pictures to post soon!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-01-25T09:13:00.001-06:00

Hugs and Kisses Valentine's Day Card

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Snow Days!!

2011-01-12T13:33:00.005-06:00

We knew it was coming, but waited and waited to see how much snow we would get last Sunday night. We got about 5 inches, I would guess. Chase watched it out the back door, as did Jason and I, just hoping for a bunch to get us out of school for a day or so. We ended up with 2 days out, which made us get a 4 day weekend. I love that Jason and I are both teachers so we are out together. The time with Chase as a family is priceless to me! We had a great 2 days! We played in the snow, road the 4-wheeler, and went sledding. I made a lot of good food to keep us going while we were confined. I think I watched more Barney than any one human should have to endure in a 2 day span! We were able to get out Tuesday, so we went sledding and out to lunch with our friends, the Rings. We always have the BEST time with them....and Chase adores them. I would like one more good snow this winter to play in again, but I am ready for Spring to get here! Here are a few pics of our Snow Angel!

Horrible picture of me...hadn't combed my hair yet!

Our backyard

Chase with a snowman at Aunt NeNe's...notice Sara Beth's snow angel in the background

Getting ready to ride the neighborhood on our 4-wheeler

My sweet boy!

Jason trying to stop the sled from going into the street by the hill

Not a great pic, but you can see Chase is having a ball!

Chase and his "Miss Holley". He LOVES her and pretends to call her on the phone a lot!

Christmas Break

2011-01-04T13:47:00.007-06:00

We had a very relaxing Christmas break! We spent a lot of time at my mom's in MS so J could hunt. I love being there with family. The first week off, we went to the Children's Museum and really spent most of the days at home playing with Chase and getting ready for Christmas. We made the ugliest Christmas cookies you have ever seen, but they were so good! Chase had a ball with the decorating. Jason's birthday was Christmas Eve. We went the night before for Mexican with our neighbors and he got a pie in the face. The look on Chase's face was priceless! We spent Christmas Eve at J's sister's house with their family and Christmas morning. We headed to my mom's after that for about 4 days. We had a white Christmas there! It snowed Christmas Eve and was gorgeous! We all got too much and ate too much, but it was a perfect holiday! Chase got a pillow pet (dog), iXL hand held learning game, Dance Star Mickey, Chuck Rumbling Truck, small cars, Thomas the train, books, etc. He could have done fine with one gift, because once he opened the little train, that was it! Nothing too exciting happened to report about. We just made a lot of great memories and had a blast! I am hoping for some snow days the next couple of months and am already planning Chase's birthday party! Jason is starting to plan his trip to Africa in July. I am scared for him to go, but the Lord will protect him and he will spread the Word and work with some of our churches ministries in Zambia. Please pray for his trip!

Snow at NaNa's house!

Pie in the face for Daddy's birthday

Our perfectly awesome Christmas cookies

Chase at the Children's Museum

Chase and Jason's Grandmother

Pillow Pet "Bootsie" after Aunt NeNe's dog Boots

The beloved Thomas the Train that moves by battery. It was done after Uncle Tim got it out.

Santa's loot at our house Christmas morning

Dance Star Mickey at NaNa's

Christmas Plans

2010-12-16T15:36:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is our last day of work for 2 weeks! I am beyond excited! I really feel like I need a break this year. Technology has had a lot of changes this school year..new laptops, new wireless network, etc.

We are excited to spend lots of time with Chase over the break and hope to make a Children's Museum trip. Chase loves that place. Jason hopes to kill a deer and I hope he does more than him so he will quit talking about it, no really, he loves the sport so I really do want him to get one or two this deer season. Time just flies by....seems like deer season just started, but soon Baseball practice and games will begin and I really be spending a lot of time alone with Chase.

Jason has one more class left in his Master's and then his internship and he will be done with that. He has made all A's and I am more than proud of him!

We are heading to my mom's the next two weekends and I couldn't be happier. There is just something special about going home for me. Chase loves it too....he gets to ride the 4 wheeler and get to do whatever he wants from NaNa pretty much.

I think I am finally almost finished with Christmas shopping. I have like 1 gift left. I am so excited to see Chase's face when Santa comes. He is so excited already! We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and are as blessed as we are in the new year!

Busy, Busy Fun Weekend

2010-12-06T13:58:00.007-06:00

I have been at an Ed. Tech Conference in Nashville this past week. I missed Chase and Jason terribly! This was the first time I have been away from Chase that he really knew I was gone. He was miserable and honestly, so was I. I enjoyed the sessions and the eating out with co-workers, but nothing beats being home with Chase and Jason. I did come home to a huge surprise...Jason had our carpet cleaned. This is something I have been asking for. Our carpet took a downhill slide after Chase was born. He got stuff everywhere. Now it looks brand new. I wish I had before and after shots because you would not believe it!

My mom came into town this weekend to go to Zoo Lights and our Polar Express party at church for AGAPE. Our life group has been working hard to help our friend Joy pull this thing off. It was a HUGE success and a ton of fun for all involved. The kids made crafts such as pillowcases, sugar cookies, snowball shooters, and frames. Then there were hotdogs, hot cocoa, and popcorn for the movie, which was shown on a giant screen in our gym. All the kids wore PJ's. Our fun started out on Saturday with a trip to the mall for Chase to ride the horsies and build a rudolph at Build-A-Bear, then we took a nap, went to Bass Pro (for the 2nd time), and then on to Zoo Lights. It was COLD! Mom and I decided to ride through Starry Nights at Shelby Farms. It was amazing! I was glad to know the money went to Shelby Farms since the Starry Nights is non-profit. Sunday, we taught 2-3 year old Bible hour..talk about exhausting, worked on decorating for the AGAPE party, then went to the AGAPE party. Chase had a ball! It was an exhausting, but super fun weekend! Oh..I got my outside decor up for Christmas..still have some tweaking to do, but it is there.

Jason and I are about to take on the role of Wednesday night teachers at church. They had an immediate need for a 3 year old teacher. We decided to do it and take Chase in with us, even though he is not 3 yet. I am a nervous wreck about it. I have no idea what to do with them! I hope there is some guidance for me! I am a middle school teacher...not pre-school!! Let's hope it goes well and they are blessed by us as we will be by them.

Here are a few photos of our weekend (in random order):

Sara Beth and Chase with Santa at Polar Express Party

Building Rudolph at Build-A-Bear. He seriously loves this reindeer!

Chase and Anna-Garris Ring at our first trip to Bass Pro last week

Chase at Bass Pro with Santa

Showing of his new hat

Silly Boy at the Polar Express Party

Decorating his pillowcase..I did one side, he did the other. Special Memories!

Chase, My Mom, and Sara Beth decorating a sugar cookie

Jason helping Chase make a "Snowball Shooter". I will be hiding that!

Christmas Cards...Part 2

2010-11-30T11:42:00.003-06:00

I turned in my blog post to Shutterfly and got the code for my 50 free cards. I also had a $10 off card from getting pictures made with Santa...so I ordred 60 cards and saved a total of $121!!! I had to pay a little extra for the other 10 cards and shipping, I only spent $15. I can't wait to see the cards! This was the easiest thing I have done to get something free! I ended up choosing a card that was different that ones I had picked out originally. I am so excited for them to come in...should be here by Monday. The quality of the card is so much nicer than ones I have had made in the past...just can't wait! Now for the fun part...addressing them!

Wow! Look at all of these cards!!!

2010-11-24T19:17:00.009-06:00

In the words of Chase, "Wow, look at all of these cards!". I saw on Facebook and some friends' blogs about Shutterfly's give away of 50 free Christmas cards so I signed up and here I am blogging about it! I can honestly say that I have never used Shutterfly. I think I used it once because Oprah was giving away a free photobook, but normally I get my Christmas cards from Sam's Club. I will, for sure, from this point on use Shutterfly. I was totally amazed at how many cards they had! The colors are beautiful and the layouts are unique. I could have spent hours looking on their site. I am very particular about Christmas cards now that I have Chase. I have his pictures made specially for the Christmas cards because a lot of our family and friends live away and that is the only time they really see them besides picture on this blog or Facebook. I really like these cards, especially. I am not sure which one I will choose since I have not looked through all of the over 800 choices!

So far I like....

Love, Hope, Faith Religious 4 X 8

Splendid Tree 5 X 7

Retro Plaid 5 X 7

I also found some really cool gifts on Shutterfly. I normally do a photobook every year for the grandparents. I found some really cool calendars, and other gifts such as personalized photo mugs. These would be great gifts for an elderly family member or someone who has everything else already. I am so looking forward to picking out my Christmas cards this year. Chase's pictures are especially cute and he is into Christmas this year and will enjoy seeing and sending the cards.

You can be apart of Shutterfly's Christmas Card give away by clicking here!

Picture Time!

2010-11-16T13:00:00.006-06:00

Our awesome friend, Jennifer, took 2 year old pictures of Chase and family pictures of our family and Jason's sister's family. Below are a few samples! Some of Chase are below, but I had to add in a few more! They were all soooo good!

Love those little dangling feet!

Christmas Card??

Too cute!!

Believe it or not, he was too busy with throwing rocks in the pond to enjoy this!

Jason's Mom, Quin, and his sister's family with us.

My awesome family!

The family with Jason's soon to be 87 year old Granny. This is special!

Granny and her great-grand kids

We had a super fun time doing this! Thanks again Jen for helping us make some special memories! I will be using some of these for Christmas gifts for sure!

Hayride and such

2010-11-12T12:20:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, we went on a Hayride out in Oakland at the Foster's farm with our Life Group. We had a great time! Chase really loved roasting the hotdogs and marshmallows. The hayride was cold! We were so loaded down that we almost couldn't get off the grass and onto the road. It was hilarious! Below are some pictures from that night.

My friend Jennifer, took some pictures of Chase yesterday at the Botanical Gardens. Chase did great for the first little while, then of course, he wanted to play. She is doing family pictures this weekend with us and J's sister's family. Here are a few samples!

We (I) am preparing for Thanksgiving cooking. We are having a Thanksgiving meal with our Life Group on the 19th, then with J's sister's family on the 24th, then on the 25th, we will go to MS for 4 days to my mom's. Jason is so pumped about the hunting. I am pretty excited to go shopping. My goal is to get it all done and maybe even wrapped before I get back to Memphis. I am not sure when we will get the tree up. Jason hates getting all that stuff down, but Chase is old enough this year to decorate. On a side note.. Can't believe Santa is in the mall ALREADY!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Halloween Weekend

2010-11-01T10:06:00.016-05:00

First of all, I LOVE Halloween. I am not into the goblins, ghouls, etc part of it, but I love the dressing up, fall decor, pumpkin carving, hayrides, and trick or treating part of it. Chase was a dragon this year. As I have mentioned before, his favorite horse onthe carousel is the dragon. He will not ride it if he can't sit on that one horse (or dragon). We taught him to growl and also to say Trick or treat, but he would go to a door and say, "Hey, What's Up?" and then trick or treat. This "Hey, What's up" is his new favorite saying. Jason taught him to say it so he thinks it is awesome!

Our weekend started with Zoo Boo Friday night. This is my favorite thing to go to. We got there right at 5:30 so it was not crowded and Chase got to ride the train twice and all of the kiddie rides. He had a blast! Our niece, Sara Beth went with us and we rode the bigger rides. She was a vampire.

Zoo Boo was great this year. Lots of GOOD candy, which Chase thought he had to eat all of, and lots of good activities. Chase loved the singing pumpkins and he walked across the stage in the parade of costumes and told them what a dragon said, "RRRoar" and that he was a nice dragon. It was too cute. We stayed about 2 hours and he was tired. I was thankful for the wagon. I can't wait for Zoo Lights!

Saturday night, our life group at church dressed up to pass out candy for Trunk or Treat. We

were movie characters. We had Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Carribean, Toy Story, and How to Train Your Dragon. Jason and I were called the Citibank people all night. Chase already had the dragon so we tried to pick something to go with him, but next

year, we will just do what we want to do and let him be whatever. We got the costumes online and they were hilarious to say the least!

Next year, I want to be cute and not silly so I will go rent one! I felt so blessed to be able to pass out candy to the kids in the community around our church. We have several apartment complexes near by and our church also is a Boys and Girls Club location. We had a lot of those families in addition to our church families. My hope is that they were blessed by our church Saturday night and will want to come check it out on a Sunday. I know I was blessed! It is amazing how just a small thing can make you feel so good!

Sunday night, we went to our friends, the Rings for awesome homemade pizza and to go Trick or Treating.

I tried a new recipe out and didn't realize the colored marshmallows were fruit flavored so I

had to dig them off...YUK! The dessert was great after that! It tookChase a couple houses to get the the hang of it, but he finally did and it was hilarious! Anna Garris helped a lot by going to the doors with him. We had a great time with the Rings and Chase loved his first trick or treating experience. I am already looking forward to next year! I can't wait to see what costume he will pick. I am sure he will have an opinion about it next year.

On a side note...Our Sunday School class just finished Radical and we are going to read the Bible in a year. I am so pumped about this. I can't remember ever reading it all the way through. I have started it a bunch of times, but never made it completely finished. We are using YouVersion and it keeps up with what you read. I can mark it off on my Droid and read from my Droid so I can do it in bed after Chase is asleep or anywhere. It is so great! We will discuss in class what we read and hold each other accountable for doing it. I hope to learn a lot! I know I will miss a day here and there, but for sure will catch up and keep up.

Jason is starting this Aspiring Administrators Academy tomorrow for SCS. I hope he learns a lot and it helps him with his desire to be an administrator. I am looking so forward to the holidays with Chase this year...not the shopping part, but the watching him part. Gotta get our Elf on the Shelf!

Beach and Pumkins

2010-10-26T09:56:00.008-05:00

Chase and I just got back from a trip to Gulf Shores over fall break with my mom and grandmother. It was such a nice trip! The weather was PERFECT! You get great deals on condos and even the resturants are less expensive. We were able to spend 2 days on the beach for about 3 hours each day before Chase got tired of it. The funniest thing he did, was chase the seagulls. Those birds came to eat some crumbs and off he went and then off we had to go chasing him before he got too far down the beach. He just ran and ran and ran! It was hilarious. We got some shopping in. Not much Christmas shopping since it is too far away to return things if they are not right, but we enjoyed the outlet mall and Chase loved the playground. We also went to Boo at the Zoo at the Gulf Coast Zoo. It was at 4 so all of the animals were out. It is a small zoo, but super nice and cute. It only cost us $1 to get in!!! I figured we would pay $1o and then the extra $1 for the activities, but nope...just $1! What a special community event! They had carnival games like throwing a football through a hole and bobbing for apples. Chase had a ball. He got to pet a snake (eww!!!), a wolf, and a ferret. He had a ball. We spend the weekend at my mom's when we got home. Chase was in heaven being outside on their land and on the 4 wheeler. I am afraid I am about to loose my baby to daddy and the boys. He cried to go hunting with Jason....won't be long I guess. Poor deer! Before the beach, we went to Priddy's farm to the Pumpkin patch, which Chase had so much fun on the hayride and choosing every pumpking, then putting it down. We also went to the zoo with my friend Emily and her daughter Eliza Grace. As always, chase loved the Elephants and the Sea Lion show. He also had his first dentist appointment. It went pretty well. It amazed me how quickly they could look in his mouth and check his teeth. We were cavity free! Whoo Hoo!

Last night we carved 2 pumpkins. Chase was not as interested in the "punkin" guts as I thought he would be. He just wanted to use the sharp tools...go figure...and pitched a fit when I wouldn't let him. He did like them when they were lit up.

We have a busy week this week... Veggie Tales Live tonight, Zoo Boo Friday, Trunk-or-Treat Saturday at church, the Trick or treating Sunday night with friends. Our life group at church is dressing up for the Trunk or Treat. Jason and I are vikings and Chase is a dragon. We already had the dragon costume and the group wanted to do Disney movies, so lucky for how, How to Train your Dragon just came out so the people in it are dressed like Vikings. Jason's costume is hilarious! There will be pictures!

Children's Museum and other events

2010-10-11T13:18:00.005-05:00

Chase and I met one of my very best friends, Carissa and her daughter Mariella at the Children's Museum on Saturday. These two are so cute together. They don't see each other too often, but when they do, they love each other! They had a great time!!

Below are a few other pictures of Chase. We went to Isaac's birthday party at the end of September. Isaac is the son of one of Mama Jane's best friends.

I didn't get a lot of pictures, since I was running around trying to keep Chase from kicking the rocks, but this is one of "Caroline, girlfriend" as Chase calls her and Chase before the party. He wasn't about to stand up for the pictures, but she did and they are too cute! He loves her too much. Do you see a theme....Chase and his girlfriends?? What can I say....he is a Ladies Man!

We went this past Saturday to the Agricenter. They were having a fall festival with a hayride and petting zoo. It was pretty hot and Chase was tired from going to the museum earlier that day, but he petted the animals and had a blast!

We have fall break next week and will be going to the zoo and Gulf Shores with NaNa and Mamaw while Daddy stays at NaNa's to hunt. Lots more pictures and stories next week.

Oh..Jason and I are teaching Chase's Bible Hour this Sunday...those of you who know me, know I am a Middle School teacher and have NO CLUE what to do with a room of 2 and 3 year olds. Say a prayer!

Chase singing My God is So Big

2010-10-05T19:56:00.002-05:00

Here is another song that Chase has learned in church. Since blogger will not take a sound file, I have to put it in iMovie and make it a quicktime. He is learning so many songs! He started singing one when we were praying last night that I can't make out all of the words to, but goes to the tune of Brother John. I need the words! I got "God is Listening, God is Listening......lots of words I can't make out, then "Amen" at the end. So cute! I love that he asks to pray at night now! We have a great routine...Brown Bear, Goodnight Room, then prayers. Enjoy his song!

Zoo Trip Number 2

2010-09-20T12:59:00.005-05:00

My mom and mamaw came in town and we made another trip to the zoo. Chase had a blast again. We tried to see all of the exhibits that we missed last time. My 83 year-old grandmother walked over half the zoo before we put her on the tram back to the front. I am so thankful to God that she is still very healthy and active at her age. She is getting to really enjoy her great-grandson.

Jason is beginning a new class. He only has 3 left until he is finished with his Master's. The time has flown by. Soon we will be celebrating his graduation. Hunting season is beginning and Jason is so excited about that. He loves being in the woods and eating the deer meat.

I am just personally ready for some cooler weather! I am looking forward to Halloween and all of the fun fall stuff! Chase will be a dragon this year in honor of the "whorsey dragon" he likes so much on the carousel. I have taught him to growl!

Chase is amazing us every day with his abilities! He can identify all of the letters, count to 10, and knows his colors. I have to get into shapes. He is making full sentences and saying all kinds of hilarious stuff. He is a big helper and loves to help cook or anything else that he doesn't need to help us with yet!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-07T14:41:00.007-05:00

We have had a very exciting and fun weekend! Jason and I had a Bonefish date Friday night, we took Chase to the Zoo Saturday, and then to the Fair on Sunday. Monday was for relaxing (and laundry).

Chase really loved both the zoo and the fair this year. He actually watched the Sea Lion show and tried to copy animal sounds all through the zoo. I think his favorite part was running into his babysitter, Mama Jane, her daughter and grandkids. He talked about that the whole day. We saw them at both the zoo and the fair. The weather was perfect! We had a large group for the fair. Jason's mom, sister and niece came, along with our good friends, the Rings. My uncle Tim, cousin Kyle and their friends came from Tupelo. It was a great time! Chase loved all of the rides, but liked riding the real pony best of all! Jason rode the Super Shot at the fair and the look on his face was priceless when that thing dropped him down. I don't do heights so I enjoyed watching him from the ground!

Chase on the boats with Holley

Big kids on the Crazy Mouse

Jason, Anna Garris, Denise, and Sara Beth on the Super Shot

Chase and me on the China Carousel. He always want the "whorsey dragon"

Mommaw and Chase at the Zoo

Chase and Brayden (Momma Jane's grandson)

Chase and Jason at the Zoo (notice Chase's Miss. State shirt)

Chase at the park (this is from a while back at my mom's)

Chase Singing B-I-B-L-E

2010-08-24T13:15:00.004-05:00

I recorded Chase on my cell phone singing B-I-B-L-E in the car and with some help...got the file converted made it into a little 15 second imovie! Enjoy!

Church

2010-08-23T17:55:00.006-05:00

I just felt the urge to blog about church for a bit. I feel that God is doing some great things in Jason and I. We have recently became involved in a great life group. Our ministers and shepherds charged each life group with taking $100 and showing Jesus to the world. Our group decided to make non-perishable food bags for the ICU waiting room at St. Francis on Park. We went last night to create and deliver these bags. We prayed with a family for their loved one and I felt so blessed by this. I am looking forward to many other rewarding projects with our Life Group. We are also beginning to read Radical, by David Platt, in our Sunday School Class. Mr. Platt just happens to be speaking in Memphis this week and we are going to hear him. We just finished a SHAPE study on Spiritual Gifts by Rick Warren. Lots of great ways to discover your gifts and how to use them. Chase has gone to the 2 year old class in both Children's church and Sunday School. He was having a hard time with it, but now is doing much better! We discovered when the 3's leave Children's church to go to their class, he was thinking he was left so now we go get him between times. He is learning a lot of songs and can sing the whole BIBLE song. It is precious. We have attending church at Sycamore View Church of Christ for years, but are just now really becoming active in a lot of ways and we are thoroughly enjoying all of our church friends and activities.

Our lives have been pretty busy with getting back into the work routine lately. I finally have Chase in a routine and he loves going to Mama Jane's. I am feeling so blessed right now with my family and friends. Jason is still really busy with graduate school and we are enjoying a break from baseball. I am praying often for my great uncle who just got diagnosed with Esphogeal cancer and is going through both radiation and chemo. We are all looking forward to some cooler weather and are looking forward to Fall and all of those activities.

And it begins.....

2010-08-13T19:54:00.004-05:00

I knew it was coming and it did! School.... the end of summer. I have had a great summer with my Chaser. I was sad to leave him, but glad to have a routine again. The first week at a half at Mama Jane's didn't go so well. Chase would wake up at 6:30 am crying "No wanna go Mommy Jane's" and "Daddy gonna get you", meaning that Jason would pick him up. He cried like he was seriously injured for a solid week. This week finally got better. He loves being with his babysitter and his friends so much and of course, he only cried in front of me. As soon as I was down the drive, he was fine. I was so proud today to drop him off and him not cry!

We have not been up to much else lately. We did a few fun things at the end of the summer. We went to the splash park one more time and to the Pink Palace. My friend Amanda and I got to celebrate our 10 year friend Anniversary. We met 10 years ago at New Teacher In-service for SCS. Hard to believe it has been that long! I went with my nieces and sister-in-law to see Justin Bieber. It was loud and crazy with screaming young girls, but a lot of fun and we got to use a gift certificate to the Peabody so that was neat to get to stay there. Jason is still working hard in grad school. I am so thankful for a break from baseball. He is pretty pumped that one of his players is signing with the New York Yankees. It is pretty cool to have coached a Major Leaguer. He is a catcher so Jason has spent a lot of time with him. Taylor Morton will have a great career! I am excited for him and hope to have him for dinner this week before he leaves.

Jason and the senior boys. Taylor is in yellow.

Chase and his cousin Sara Beth at the splash park

Amanda and I celebrating our friendship.

Chase at 2

2010-07-20T22:54:00.003-05:00

There are many things that I never want to forget about Chase when he is 2:

- Says "Me's Hold You" when he wants you to pick him up

- Calls Chicken "Chick, Chicka Boom Boom"

- Loves the Wiggles, Barney, and Elmo

-Sings and dances all of the time

- Asks if he looks cute in his clothes (Vain!!!)

-like to swim naked in his kiddie pool in the backyard (thankfully, we have a fence)

-Says Please, thank you, etc

-Sings in the car to Wheels on the Bus

- Wants me to sing "Be Careful", "Bible", "Clapping Hands" before bed

- Love to cuddle

- Pulls his diaper off and tells us when he is wet, but not so much about his potty

-Says "Hit that ball, Boy", but adds a lot of extra syllables to ball and stretches boy out.

- Loves to ride Horsies at the mall and Bob the Build-der

- Plays Starfall on the computer and can name all of the letters and point them out

- Loves to watch Elmo Potty Song on Youtube and lots of others

- Loves candy and has my sweet tooth

- Says so many new words everyday and more clearly

-Plays good with others and it is sort of learning to share a little better

- Has had a hard transition to his 2 year old Sunday School Class

- Loves Mommy and Daddy

-Wants to spank everything that hurts him or anyone that does something he does not like. "Pank Daddy" is my favorite!

-Finally made the growth chart at the doctor. He weighs 24.5lbs and is 32 in. A little below average, but I like him that way!

-Loves daddy's big red truck and mommy's big car

- Adores his grandmothers and aunt NeNe

-Loves to be outside for any reason and thinks Daddy's baseball field is his playground

I am sure there are many more things and I will add them as I remember them. Chase is a true blessing to us and I hope I never forget this special and funny moments!

Summer...where has it gone?

2010-07-08T16:18:00.006-05:00

We have been having a great rest of June/beginning of July. I met some of my girlfriends at the Big Back Yard for a playdate and lunch at Chick-fil-a. Chase loves that place! They love the Thunderstorm and getting Chase out of it is not easy!

We went on a 2nd beach trip for a week to Ft. Morgan with Jason's sister's family and our good friends the Rings. The boys golfed and the girls tried to go to the beach, but Hurricane Alex gave us a lot of rain and we got to go to the pool everyday in between the rain. The guys had to go to one course 3 times before they actually got to play Lost Key. It was funny. We ate a lot of good food and had lots of fun shopping and just hanging out. Chase had fun with a lot of his favorite people in one house. The funny story of the trip was "Jake the Snake". By the pool one day in the grass (like 6 ft from the landscaping by the pool) was a HUGE black snake....like 6 ft long huge! Chase threw his football out of the pool and I went to get it and just froze. I thought it was a fake snake some kid had thrown down, then it moved! I FREAKED out and started dancing and screaming. The whole pool was laughing at me. We get ready to go and my nieces look down and it is still there and crawling toward us. I was holding Chase and they were not helping to get the gate open, so I grabbed the gate stick thingy and broke it! We ran faster than any of us ever thought we could! Of course, I was teased relentlessly. I almost didn't go back to the pool the rest of the trip. I am deathly afraid of snakes and that was a little too close for comfort!

We spend the 4th at my mom's with my cousins from Illinois who came down for a visit. It was great to see Roger, Lori and their 13 year old twins, Hannah and Tyler. We only get to see them every couple of years so it was great fun. We took Chase to Mud island with our church play group after we came home from the 4th. After the Monorail, he said "one more time". He loved the water. That is such a nice place to go! I felt like a tourist in my own town. I don't realize half of the wonderful things that Memphis has to offer. Other than that, Jason has been busy with school work and summer baseball. I am loving every minute I get with Chase! He is growing up too fast. Enjoy the pictures of our adventures!

Big Back Yard with Harlan, Eliza Grace, Mariella, and Chase

Monorail at Mud Island

Playing in Mud Island with Truitt

The Illinois Crew with my mom, me, Chase and my Mamaw

Hannah blowing bubbles with Chase

Tyler riding Jason's 4-wheeler

Kiddie pool at the beach

Our beach crew- The Rings (Chris, Holley, Anna Garris), Us, and the Currey's (Todd, Denise, Brock, Anna-Laura, and Sara Beth)

Jason and I at LuLu's

This dang tent got blown down daily no matter how the boys tied it down. It didn't blow away, though!

First Gulf Shores Trip

2010-06-12T09:25:00.007-05:00

Chase and I just returned from Gulf Shores yesterday with my mom. Jason is busy with baseball camps and games so we just took off for 5 nights to the beach. Even with the oil spill, the water and beaches were beautiful. Chase was not much on the sand, but I know in the years to come he will like it more. We had a perfect condo and even more perfect view. We basically just hung out, rested, enjoyed each other, and ate a lot! Chase wore his swim vest and loved to jump to us in the pool. He counts "1, 2, 3" for everything. He also really started watching videos on this trip. He made the whole ride fine as long as he had a movie in. He also had his own little bunk room in the condo where he watched Elmo and Barney. As long as it is educational, I don't mind. The little phrases he has started saying are hilarious. "one more time", "Be Nice Mommy", and "Hold You" for hold me are a few. Lots of full sentences, etc too. He is a nutcase and I love every inch of him!

The locals there are really having a hard time with the decrease in tourism. They make their whole years money in just a few months. I would have gone even if the beach was covered in oil, which is it not, only scattered tar balls. This is a place that I love and is like a second home to me. We are going back with Jason's family to Ft. Morgan in 2 weeks. I can't wait to get back the the beach!! Hope all is having a great summer!

School's Out for Summer!!

2010-05-25T19:14:00.004-05:00

We have been busy lately and I am behind on uploading pictures so this post will not include any! Here is the latest...J's team lost the game to go to State 5-4 in the last inning. It was a heartbreaker and Jason still is not over it yet. They have gone the past 4 years so they expected to go again, but there will be other years. Jason has started class 6 of his graduated degree! I am so proud of him! Summer ball starts June 1 for Jason so not too much of a break with baseball.

Chase went to Mama Jane's yesterday for the last day till August. He is going to miss her and the kids so much! I hope we get to visit with most of them this summer sometime. He will be lost when a few days go by and he realizes he is not seeing them.

I am getting ready to going to my mom's for a few days and to the dentist. Shoot me! I hate the dentist! Like would rather have my hair pulled out one strand at a time than go! I am planning my yearly vacation with my mom week after next. I am so ready to go to the beach! I just hope the oil spill stays away! We are going again with J's sister's family at the end of June. I have been obsessed with oil spill maps and coverage! I am so worried about the habitats there as well and will go to support the coast with or without the beach.

Today we spent a day together as a family. Jason and I took Chase to the Big Back Yard and he got soaking wet. I somehow didn't see the water features last time we went. He just loves that place. After that we went to the mall to ride Bob the Builder and the Carosel. Chase had a great day and we loved spending it with him. Last night he started singing the Barney song ( I hate Barney, but he loves him) and it was so sweet! I just adore his singing!

Last piece of news...I traded my CRV for a newer model with leather. I have NEVER had a leather car and am so pumped about it! I just love it.

More news to come as we get into the crazy summer with baseball games, vacations, and who knows what else!

Lately

2010-05-06T13:07:00.009-05:00

I haven't posted in a while...not much going on really with us. Sadly, we have had a lot of rain and storms recently which has caused flooding in our area as well as Jackson, TN and Nasvhille. I teach at Lucy Elementary in Millington at the beginning of the week and a lot of the families there lost everything. My heart goes out to them. Seeing those kids and wondering if they are in a shelter or not just breaks my heart. Thankfully, Shelby County Schools has organized a system-wide relief effort to help with this so hopefully they will get some help sooner than later.

On a happier note...I took a personal day yesterday to spend some time with my mom for Mother's Day. She came into town to babysit for me. We took Chase to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon for his 2 year visit. He got one shot and a finger prick and we all survived it. Since his stay in LeBonheur, we have had a horrible time going to the doctor. I am happy that Chase met all of the 2 year old milestones. He is 24lbs and 32.5 inches tall. Average is 28 lbs and 34 inches. But to have started out at 4.8 lbs and 16 inches, he is doing pretty good.

We took Chase to the Memphis Botantical Garden's Big Back Yard yesterday and he just loved it. I see us doing this often in the summer and fall. If you have not been, it is a great area for little ones to run, play, and explore.

The Big Backyard Tree House

Inside the dog house

Wormville!

Huge Tractor Tire Sandbox

Rose Garden

Jason has finished 5 classes of graduate school for a degree in Educational Leadership to hopefully one day be an administrator. I am not sure how he has managed to do baseball, homework, and be a great daddy to Chase, but he has handled it all like a champ. We have 2 full weeks of school left and are ready to be out to have some fun with Chase this summer! The countdown has begun!

Chase's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-04-12T10:33:00.007-05:00

We had Chase's 2nd Birthday Party on Sunday at the Playground of Dreams in Arlington. It was a gorgeous day at the park! We had both grandmothers, a great-grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and close friends to celebrate with us. I hope the pictures tell the story of his party! Chase was to busy wanting to ride his new jeep or sit in daddy's truck to mess with opening presents. We got lots of great toys including his new obsession of the day, bubbles! He loves them! Thanks to all of our friends and family for making this day special! Enjoy! His real birthday is Thursday, the 15th, so there will be more partying that day!

Chase- You are the best gift God could have ever given us and we will cherish you every day!

** For some reason the pictures went in last to first, but you will still get the idea!

Eating his cupcake.....mmmm he was saying!

Our happy family! I love my hubby and son!

Chase and daddy blowing out candles.

Getting candy out of the pinata...Chase found a Reeses Cup and he was done grabbing candy...opened it and ate it right then.

Chase's cupcake cake..it was soooo good! Thank you Sam's Club!

My Uncle Tim got Chase his jeep from a yard sale...great find and his favorite gift by far. He took a couple girls for a ride in his car!

Too much yummy food!

Chase and daddy in the playground

Seeing the jeep for the first time.

Playing in his sandbox- a gift from his NaNa (name he gave my mom, so much for Momma Deb!)

It was a perfect, sunny day for his party and so special with family and friends!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T10:13:00.006-05:00

We have had a wonderful Easter weekend! I got to go to Jason's game Friday morning since Chase was at his grandmothers. I truly forgot how much I enjoy watching Jason coach. He is so good at it and so good with the kids. He gets upset at them, but he always tells them to have fun and to try their best and for sure praises them when they do good. It was a fun Friday for me. I got lots of errands ran for Chase's little birthday party coming up.

We left for my mom's Friday afternoon in Jason's new red truck. Chase is amazed with the truck. LOVES it and Jason has to ride him in it all of the time. We spent a lot of time outside by riding the 4 wheelers and in my uncle's OLD jeep around the yard. We tried to get Chase to hunt eggs, but he didn't care about it at all. I got some much needed sun sitting in the yard reading The Last Song, an Easter gift from my mom. Great book and much needed relaxation time! Sunday began with a great church service at my home church. It is very small...around 150 members. Totally different from my church here in Memphis. The principles are the same, but the services are a little different. Everything in Saltillo is very traditional, but at my church here, Sycamore View Church of Christ, things are a little more contemporary. Both are great churches and I enjoy being at both of them. It was a perfect weekend with lots of good food and family fun....couldn't have been a better weekend!

Chase with my mom and grandmother in front of the truck---see what he is looking at!

Riding around the yard in the old jeep...not road-ready quite yet!

Our family on Easter Morning

Chase ate 2 bites of chicken and fell asleep on my mom's arm in the mall food court Saturday.

Chase and his Peter Rabbit

Spring Break Pictures

2010-03-26T21:00:00.004-05:00

We went to Tupelo to visit my mom at the end of Spring break. We took Chase and my little cousin to the Buffalo Park where we saw all kinds of animals including Buffalo, Long Horns, Zebra's and even a Zedonk (Zebra and a Donkey's baby---not on purpose, but this is par for Lee county MS!). The most hillarious thing is that my grandmother wanted me to die her graying hair. So I bought some Garnier hair color in a light brown and it turned her hair RED like Lucille Ball. It was so funny! After another try, we got the color right, but I have never laughed so hard in my life. Here are a few pictures of Chase!

Chase, my mom and cousin Kyle feeding goats.

Chase climbing...as always.

Looking at Zebra, Buffalo, and Long Horns

Spring Break Part 1

2010-03-17T22:10:00.005-05:00

We are in the middle of Spring break and the weather has been dreary and yucky. Besides our house showing 2 times, nothing exciting has happened so far. We got great feedback on the house, just no offers. I know one day someone may want to buy it and I will freak since I will be homeless unless we can buy something else quickly! I am leaving tomorrow to go to my mom's and hoping for good weather for the last 2 days. We want to go to the park to feed the ducks and to the Buffalo Park in Tupelo. I am finally getting my highlights done so I am pumped about that! I only go like twice a year to do it in Baldwyn, MS. Love my hair lady....sad she is so far away! I took Chase to one of Jason's games this week and we froze. Once was enough until it warms up! He just runs around so I don't get to see a minute of his team play, but Chase loves being with his daddy.

Chase is getting to be a very silly boy! He is very independent and doesn't like being told what to do. He will push us to the limit and then just grin when we correct him. I see lots of time-outs in my future. Jason wants to spank and I don't...it is a problem. I am sure he will obey Jason more, but I will figure it out, I hope.

Here are some silly pictures of Chase:

New shoes that Daddy got him...feel asleep hanging on to them in the floor.

Trying on his NaNa Deb's (my mom's) reading glasses

Wishing for Spring!

2010-02-25T13:17:00.005-06:00

Well, we have had nothing but a lot of cold weather and a few "springy" days. We are all so tired of the cold. We have not been up to much. Jason has started baseball full swing and I joined the gym...trying to get ready for two beach vacations this summer. Chase has hit the terrible two's a little early, but he is the most precious thing in our lives! He is a nutcase, fearless, and also so loving! We just adore every minute we have with him. We have had several playdates at the mall. He loves the indoor playground and the carousel. He finally holds my hand like a big boy. We are looking forward to his 2nd birthday and to Spring so we can get out and PLAY....Daddy's baseball games and the park....here we come!

Chase and Mariella's Mall Playdate

Mall indoor playground

First time on a sled...not sure about it

Hmmm...why doesn't this guy say anything?

February Snow

2010-02-03T14:28:00.005-06:00

Not much to update...Jason is still studying diligently for is Master's in Administration. Baseball season is kicking up so that means a lot of time away from home for Jason and that I am starting to work with the Diamond Girls again. Managing 30 or so high school girls is not easy, but fun! I have some great help in a couple of parents and a teacher at BHS . I am hoping that Chase will be able to enjoy going to Jason's games this year. If I can keep plenty of snacks, we will be good! Chase has started really repeating everything you say. He is not making a lot of sentences, but talks a lot! He also is addicted to the computer. We have to watch Sprout Videos and play the Starfall website. He can tell you what the pictures are when you ask him and what sounds the animals make. He is a dare-devil for sure...tried to jump off the couch the other day! Keeping him from getting a ton of bruises is getting harder and harder.

As most of you know, we recently had a snow (sleet) storm. It was supposed to be a lot of snow, but was mostly sleet on top of a little snow. We got a 4-day weekend out of the deal so that was exciting! I enjoyed staying home with my little and big man. We played a lot and rested a lot! Here are some of the outside pictures of Chase in the snow.

Chase picked this piece of snow/ice up of the ground and just thought he would try it out.

He tried to ride the 4-wheeler, but it slid more than anything else.

Chase mowed the entire snowy yard...loved it!

Chase and I in the snow. He would have stayed out all day, but I was COLD!

Eventful Holiday

2010-01-04T10:30:00.008-06:00

Our Christmas break started out a day early and with a bang! Chase had to go to the ER for breathing problems. He was diagnosed with Bronchialtitus, which was caused by a virus. He was a very sick little boy for about 24 hours. We survived the ambulance ride from St. Francis Bartlett to LeBonheur, which was not fun and very bumpy! When we finally got released from the ER, we were so happy to go home! They did not have any rooms so we were never admitted and just stuck in this tiny cubicle. It was the scariest thing I have had to deal with as a parent so far. The IV, breathing treatments, etc may have hurt me more than him! We went home with some meds and breathing treatments, but other than that, he is back to normal!

We finally got to begin our break after that incident and the rest of the break was great. We just hung out as a family and got to spend some great time together. We celebrated Jason's birthday on Christmas Eve and had lots of fun with that. We try to make his birthday special and not just part of Christmas. We went to my mom's Christmas day after spending Christmas Eve with J's family. Jason went to the woods immediately and was able to shoot a doe. He skipped over an 8 point buck to give my little 9 year old cousin a chance to kill it, isn't he a nice guy? We had a wonderful break at my mom's and with J's family. A lot of great memories were made. Of course it went by too quickly.

Here are a few of Chase's latest tricks!

Standing (balancing) on his toy. Not safe and another ER trip may come from this!

Sitting on a basketball Christmas Day

Opened the stove drawer and climbed right in!

This box was better than the presents!

Holiday Update

2009-12-15T08:07:00.007-06:00

Tis the season to be busy! We have been so busy with work, J's school and of course, Christmas shopping! Chase has seen Santa a couple times and it has gone well...no freaking out! Our latest adventure has been his first major boo boo. He ran head first into a dinning room chair and well, the chair won! He got this HUGE knot that just popped out and immediately turned purple. It scared us to death and we were on our way to the hospital, but called the nurse who said to watch him that night and the next two and then it would be okay. I am proud to say that Jason has gotten A's in his first two grad classes. He is working so hard and on top of that he is doing a Bible study with his friend Chris and other studies with our minister. He is one dedicated guy in so many ways. The most fun recent thing we have done is gone to Zoo Lights. Chase loved seeing Santa and all of the lights. He loves to be outside,even if it was frigid! Jason and I both took work trips recently too. Jason went to Tucson, Arizona and presented to baseball coaches about catchers while I was in Nashville at the same time presenting to teachers about integrating technology. We are looking so forward to the holidays and getting to spend lots of time with family and friends!

Big goose egg...was purple and HUGE

Fake snow at Zoo Lights. LOVED it!

Mrs. Claus at Zoo Lights....he just wanted more M&M's.

Telling Santa what he wants for Christmas

Not much going on....

2009-11-17T13:08:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't had much to post! Jason is busy working with grad school. Chase and I are doing the same old normal thing. We have a lot of trips to MS planned with the holidays so we are looking forward to that. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping and I am so thrilled about it! Now for the wrapping! Chase is going to LOVE this! We are trying to figure out what to get him for Christmas this year since he is still little, but he needs some new toys. For his birthday in April, I hope to get him a swing set or something like that. Here is one cute pic that I want to share. Chase loves putting on anyone's shoes. He tried and tried to get Jason's hunting boots on, so I stood him up in them and snapped a quick picture.

Zoo Boo

2009-10-19T14:42:00.005-05:00

This Saturday night, we went to Zoo Boo with our good friends, the Rings and my sister-in-law's family. It is such a great family event! Lots of candy for the kids and lots of fun activities to enjoy. Chase was dressed as a pirate and actually kept the hat on for most of the night! They had a disco, haunted train ride, hayride, singing pumpkins, ice cream (too cold, but you know we all ate it!), and many other things! Check it out at the Memphis Zoo Web Site!

We were all bundled up..way too cold!! Lots of Hot Chocolate made it better!

Ring Family- Chris, Holley, and Anna Garris-Pink Poodle.

All the kids (except Brock)- Anna Garris(Poodle), Anna-Laura (Punk Rocker), Chase (Pirate), and Sara Beth (Black Cat)

The Currey's- Jason's sis, Denise, Sara Beth, Anna-Laura, Brock (hiding) and Todd.

My ADORABLE Pirate!

Fall

2009-10-08T21:05:00.006-05:00

I absolutely LOVE fall! It is feeling more and more like fall everyday! I am so glad that it is fall break. Jason and I are going to the Ozark Mountains (Branson) with our dear friends, the Rings. We are so excited to go on a vacation and see the beautiful mountains.

One quick update...Jason has officially started his admin master's program. In 20 months he will graduate with a Master's in Ed. Leadership and can apply for Assistant Principal jobs. This is a huge step for Jason and a lot of work. I am so proud of him for doing this!

Lastly, I recently got a "mommy hazard" injury. Chase was sleeping with me and threw his hand up and hit my eye. I guess I didn't blink fast enough. He scratched my cornea half way through. It was the worse pain I have ever felt, but thankfully due to a lot of prayer, it healed quickly!

Here are a couple fall pictures I have taken so far of Chase.

My mom with Chase at the Agricenter.

Chase and I at the Agricenter Farmer's Market

Trying on Daddy's shoes.

Silly boy playing in the park!

Taylor Family Update

2009-09-21T14:15:00.004-05:00

Not much to update since my last post. We have just been doing the same day to day stuff as always. We are looking forward to fall break and going to Branson! Jason has never been and I have not been since I was like 12. We have a cabin on a lake so it will be so nice to just relax and look at the beautiful surroundings! Chase is climbing on everything and getting very adventurous so that is always interesting! Football and deer hunting fever have taken Jason over these days! I am so tired of sports always being on TV and am ready for all of the new shows to come out for the Fall.

Recent trip to my mom's

Daddy and Chase on the big jeeps at the Delta Fair

Chase and I riding the bee's at the Delta Fair.

Chase trying on his John Deere boots for the first time....he looked sharp!

Just a few pics

2009-09-03T12:50:00.006-05:00

Just a few recent fun pictures of Chase!

Hanging with Daddy

Feeding myself...love ketchup!

Trying dad's sunglasses on

Chasing the ducks in Tupelo with Mama Deb

Ready to be an MSU Bulldog fan!

Arlington Park

My new 4-wheeler

Sitting in my box of trains.

Quick Update

2009-08-23T20:45:00.003-05:00

Things have been busy in the Taylor house lately! Back to school being at the top of that list for sure. We have enrolled Chase in a little gymnastics class at Rivercity so that ties up every Thursday night. He LOVES it. The first class did not go so well and I thought he was too little for it, but Jason wanted to keep him in it and it has gotten better every time. He sort of stays "on course" a little bit better, but still runs all over the place. He loves to run up and down the trampoline. There is a little girl that is 2 months older than him who is IN LOVE with him. She follows him around and kisses him, tackles him, etc. He is okay with it for a bit, but then he starts pushing her off. I think it is cute, but it annoys Jason. He just doesn't get that our son is already a "chick magnet"! Ha Ha! I recently got Chase a little 4-wheeler that goes by pushing one button and he doesn't get that he has to hold the button in for it to go. He also tries to ride it backwards, which is hilarious.

Work is busy at the beginning as always. I am so exhausted when I get home. I am ready for it to settle down a bit.

More to come later on....

First Haircut

2009-08-10T09:52:00.005-05:00

Chase got his first haircut on July 31st. We only snipped a little, but he needed a lot more! His hair looks like he stuck his finger in a light socket when he wakes up, but it sure is cute! I hope he loves his curly locks as much as I do! I think they are part of his outgoing personality and I hope they always make him stand out!

Not much else has been going on with us. Jason got in "Bob the Builder"

mode and built us some shelves for the garage to store all of his tools and hunting equipment. I was pretty proud of him! He has never built anything really before and did and outstanding job with these shelves and now all is nice and neat in our garage and believe me, it was a disaster before.

We took Chase to his first gymnastics class last week. I didn't get any pictures because I was chasing him and around and praying he would not fall off of anything. Jason videoed the whole thing. This week when we go, I will get some pictures. It is at River City, which is a has the word "prayerful" in their motto, so I really like that. Chase just runs around, not with the group, and tries to be bigger than he is, but I think the more he goes, the more structured we can be with it.

Today is our first day back at school with students! I hope all of my teacher family and friends are doing well today. I know I have already have one computer crash and one other major fiasco and I have only been here 2 hours. There was a bunch more between those 2 major things, but at least I don't have a classroom of kids!

Last Days of Summer Break

2009-07-27T21:17:00.005-05:00

Well, all good things must come to an end! I start back to work Thursday of this week, everyone else on Monday, and then the next week, kids start school. It has been such a special summer with Chase and I am dearly going to miss my time with him. Here are a few pictures of our last few weeks:

First Memphis Zoo Trip

Finger painting with his fruit!

Wolfchase Mall indoor playground

Collierville splash park

Arlington Park (Awesome park)

Pushing the stroller at the Collierville Mall (he was working HARD!)

My birthday dinner with my best buds at Bonefish!

Jason's cousin's wedding

Chase dressed up for the wedding

As you can see, we have been very busy with all of this family fun! All of these memories will stay with us and we can't wait to make more as a family soon!

Summer Fun

2009-07-16T18:33:00.009-05:00

We have had a lot of fun this summer and are very sad it is quickly coming to an end before school starts back. Here are a few highlights of things we have done so far.... Chase loves the bookstore with the "Thomas the Train" set. He also loves to run around like a crazy kid between the shelves and look at the books. We have gone to a few of Daddy's ball games. Most recently to the USA stadium in Millington for a tournament. Chase didn't make it but 3 innings. It was too hot, but he did enjoy playing in the pebbles by the dugout and chasing around a baseball. Just yesterday, I got together with two of my best friends in the whole world, Carissa and Amanda. Carissa's little girl Mariella is 2 months younger than Chase and Amanda's little boy, Harlan, just turned 2 last month. Chase and Mariella could be twins. They have the same curly hair and are about the same size. When we went to lunch, Mariella tried to feed Chase and kiss him. He took the food, but not the kisses! Before lunch, we took the kids to the splash park at Johnson Park in Collierville. Chase would have rather just ran in the grass and pavillions, but I tried to keep him on the splash pad. He just didn't like when the water hit him in his face. He really liked turning the wheel to make the water come out. That is the neatest place for little kids! He really loved it!

Tonight when I was making dinner and unloading the dishwasher, Chase decided while I rinsing dishes to put in the dishwasher, that he would just climb on the door. I don't know what fun he thought it would be, but he looked like he was caught in the act. He gets this little pleased look on his face when he does something that he knows he is not supposed to do. He LOVES to throw all of his toys on the kitchen floor and hear them make a crashing sound. He has broken several toys and a remote for our TV doing this and always has that same look on his face. We are trying to control that and him dumping out the cat's water repeatedly, but no luck so far on stopping it!

He has been such a joy to us and we are so lucky to have such a sweet, funny baby!

Family Pictures and the 4th of July

2009-07-04T20:42:00.005-05:00

We (I) have been wanting to get our friend Jennifer to take some family pictures since Chase is a year old. We did not have any huge plans for the 4th and since Chase goes to bed before fireworks, we didn't plan to do that. He is so tired and irritable by 8:30 that there is no keeping him up later too often. We did buy new living room furniture that we had been wanting and then ate at Jason's sister's house. Chase was amazed with a golf club and carried it around outside. Our nephew Brock caught some nice fish in their pond and Chase enjoyed seeing watching them. It was a nice relaxing day! Here are a few of the pictures Jen took:

Shoals Marriott Trip

2009-06-28T21:42:00.008-05:00

We just got back from 4 nights at the Shoals Marriott in Florence, AL. I never thought I would go on vacation in Florence, AL! We went with Jason's sister's family and our friends, the Rings. The boys (Jason, Todd and Brock Currey, and Chris Ring) played tons of golf on the Robert Trent Jones Trail (the whole purpose of this trip) while we ladies and kids stayed at the resort pool. It had zero entry and a cool water slide. It was the biggest hotel pool I have ever seen. Jason's sister, Denise, and I got a massage and facial. The spa there is top rated. It was a great present from my hubby! Chase played in the pool and took a lot of naps so I was up in the room a good bit, but it was a great room so I didn't mind. We enjoyed some great local food and shopping, but mostly stayed at the hotel. Friday night, they showed a movie on a giant screen at the pool and had fireworks Saturday night. Down from the hotel was an awesome playground and sprinkler park. It is a great place for a weekend getaway or for a week's vacation!

Chase loved the pool. Since he can walk so well now, he thought he could just walk right into the pool. He discovered Sara Beth's Noodle and that was it! It was bigger than him so we had to cut it down to his size. He carried that thing all over. The pictures will tell the noodle story!

The "Noodle" love begins!

Noodle cut down to Chase size

All of the kids: Sara Beth, Anna Garris, Anna-Laura, Chase, and Brock

Me and my little man

Holley and Anna Garris Ring

My nieces, Sara Beth and Anna- Laura

My adorable family (in my opinion!)

First Burger King Visit

2009-06-12T20:43:00.002-05:00

I love Burger King if I have to eat fast food. I just think a whopper is great! Jason, however, hates it and loves Wendy's, which I hate so that is obviously a problem! I never get Burger King because I always give in to Wendy's on the occasion we do stop in to get something quick. Anyway, that being said, on the way home from Gulf Shores, we stopped in Meridian to eat quickly and there was a Burger King. The ladies that were working in there just thought Chase walking around was the cutest thing. They put a King Crown on his head and I was able to get him to keep in on long enough to get a great picture! He did great both going and coming home from Gulf Shores. Vacationing with a baby was not as relaxing as vacations have been in the past, but I would not trade anything for those little moments that will be memories forever!

Gulf Shores-Rest of the trip

2009-06-10T16:32:00.005-05:00

We have had a great trip for the most part. I hate to leave this condo, but Chase is ready to go home. He misses his daddy. He is walking everywhere and has learned to flush the toilet! He has done well on this trip, but has had a few melt-downs here and there. He hated shopping at the outlet mall. I have never shopped so fast in my life and am not even sure if what I bought will fit me or Chase. I got some birthday gifts and shower gifts and I hope I got the right sizes in everything.

Chase really enjoyed the zoo and the pool, but not the ocean or mall. It was been a great trip, but I have learned a lot of lessons about traveling with a baby....major one...they do much better in their own environment and not out in strange places! Every year will get better!

Here are a few more pictures!

Gulf Shores Part 1

2009-06-08T22:18:00.004-05:00

My mom and I arrived in Gulf Shores about 2 pm yesterday. Chase actually did really well in the car. He whined a bit and slept for 2 hours of the 5 hour car trip from Tupelo, but overall, he did much better than I expected. This kid flips out if he has to ride for 30 minutes sometimes so I was not looking forward to the ride. We had rented a condo from the www.VRBO.com website and it is was beautiful. I have decided that renting from the owner directly is the way to go for the best price and decor. It is a 2 bedroom in San Carlos, which is a new complex. It was professionally decorated and we are in heaven on the 17th floor! Floor to ceiling windows in the living room and master gives us an amazing view of the water. For those of you who don't know, my mom and I have done this mother-daughter trip to Gulf Shores since I was about 2. We have gone other places every now and then, but Gulf Shores is tradition that we always come back to and I hope to keep it going for as long as I can. It is something special that she and I have to look forward to every year.

Chase did not like the beach so much. He liked the water and played on his blanket for about 30 minutes, but hated the sand. He really loved the zero-entry pool and thought he could walk right into it. He is a wild man in the pool, which I am not sure is a good thing or a bad thing. We plan to go to the Gulf Shores Zoo tomorrow for part of the day. It is a small zoo, but is supposedly really nice. I will get the outlet shops in too, before we leave.

Here are a few pictures so far of our trip:

Chase didn't mind sitting in the sand, but touching it, not so good!

He was not happy at this point, but the wagon helped.

This was the first time his feet touched the ocean.

He had to explore his new house for the week! Those of you that know Chase, know he has a major thing for opening and shutting doors and closing himself in rooms.

We will be here until Thursday so I am sure there are many more adventures to come!

Summertime Update

2009-06-01T13:07:00.003-05:00

School is out and we are all relaxing and enjoying our days. Jason has started summer ball and has two weeks of baseball camps. Chase and I will go to as many of his games as we can this summer. I am trying to get Chase used to the ball field. I will be leaving on Saturday for the beach with my mom and Chase while Jason is doing camp for the older group of kids. After that in a couple of weeks, we will go with Jason's sister's family and our friends, the Rings, to Muscle Shoals and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and stay at this awesome Marriot Hotel that has a wonderful Spa. The boys golf and we will swim and spa. I am working some this summer doing some teacher training, but other than that, we are doing absolutely nothing! I will upload some new pictures of Chase when I get a chance! Happy Summer!

State Tournament Update

2009-05-22T15:29:00.002-05:00

My sweet husband is back at home with Chase and I as of late last night. The Panthers had to beat Mt. Juliet two times in a row to get to play in the championship game tonight. Sadly, that did not happen, but they had an awesome season and are 3rd in the state. We were 2nd in 06, 1st in 07, and 2nd in 08, so third is not too bad, but of course we would have rather won it all!

Chase has been "dada"ing for 3 days now so I am glad Jason is home and can spend some time with our baby boy! We have a fun night planned of the park, dinner out, then just playing at home. I crave family time these days with Jason gone for baseball so much. I really don't mind it because he makes a difference in those kids lives and he loves being a coach. Anyway, that is just a quick little update. Happy Memorial Day!

State Tournament Bound!

2009-05-18T09:49:00.005-05:00

Friday night Jason's team at Bartlett High won the Sectional to make it to the State Baseball Tournament in Murphreesboro for the 4th year in a row! It was an awesome game, very back and forth, but the Panthers came out on top! He leaves today and the whole team is so excited about the opportunity to win 2 State titles. Chase actually made it through the entire game. If we make it to the Friday night Championship game, I hope to get to go and see them win another State title!

We are starting our last full week of school before summer break!!! Yippee! Chase took 4 steps last night and is getting to be so big! He will be walking so soon! It will be a fun summer!

Here are some pictures were took after the game Friday night!

Quick Baseball Update

2009-05-13T14:44:00.003-05:00

Jason's team at Bartlett High has won the District, District Tournament, and are now playing in the Regionals. If they win on Friday night, he will be off to the State Tournament 4 years in a row! Go Panthers!

Nothing new with Chase or me! We are just trying to survive daddy being gone a lot the past couple of weeks and the end of the school year.

Plumbing Disaster Averted!

2009-05-01T14:10:00.003-05:00

To make a VERY long story short, we had a major plumbing issue. What we thought was just a stopped up line, turned into being a crack in our sewage pipe, which required large pieces of machinery to come in today and dig up our yard, that we had just re-sodded part of. The price tag on this was more than I could ever image and I was totally freaking out about it. Then God jumped in and saved us from having to pay that. I prayed really hard that it would all work out and it did! After the plumbers got in our yard, they figured out that a utility that will remain nameless (well-known cable company) drilled a hole in our pipe while doing some work for some new houses that will be put in our subdivision. After hours of phone calls, Jason got in touch with a supervisor and the company will have to pay for our plumbing to be fixed. Disaster adverted! My yard will still be a huge mess, I am sure and I dread going home and seeing that.

Baby Dedication Sunday

2009-04-27T12:52:00.006-05:00

Not much has been going on lately except for enjoying the wonderful weather! My mom and grandmother have gotten to come 2 weekends in a row for events for Chase. Yesterday, our church had their baby dedication ceremony. It was so nice with a reception, slide show, commitment, and prayer with the church. Jason's sister's family attended church with us along with my mom and grandmother and Jason's mom. It was nice to all be in one church since we all go to different ones. Chase did great while we were up front doing the commitment. Before we had to go up front, he was a little loud with his favorite Indian "War Whoop" as my mother-in-law calls it. The most special thing was that he wore an outfit that my nephew, Brock, wore when he was Chase's age and Brock is almost 13!

Jason's Varsity team has won the district championship so they are one step closer to going to State. He coaches the catchers on that team. The next few weeks will be filled with games that really count towards getting to go to State. The have been the past 3 years so we would love to get to go again! The big tournament for the JV team that Jason is the head coach of starts on Thursday.

We have 22 days of school left before Summer break! I can't wait! I am already thinking of fun things to do with Chase this summer!

My mom and Chase before church

Chase in a rocking chair at Cracker Barrell.

He loved to rock and tries to rock in his high chair!

1st Birthday

2009-04-17T09:26:00.003-05:00

Chase has had a great birthday week so far. He got to have a party at Momma Jane's on Wednesday, the cake again Wednesday night, then will again on Sunday! Here are some cute pictures that my friend Jennifer took...more to come later on after Sunday!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T12:28:00.008-05:00

We all had a wonderful Easter Weekend. Chase and I went to my mom's Friday and Saturday. We enjoyed getting to see everyone there. We barely missed a huge hail storm and having to go to the storm house. My grandmother lived through a horrible Tupelo tornado back years and years ago and she is very determined that when a storm comes, EVERYONE goes to the storm house until it passes. It is no fun and I am glad Chase and I missed it. I think he would have been scared in there!

Saturday, we went to an Easter Bunny breakfast at my friend's

parent's resturant. It was a fundraiser for the city park's new playground, which we enjoyed a little bit later on. It was so cold that we didn't

stay at the Saltillo Egg Hunt too long. Chase didn't need to be out with his recent sinus infection. It did warm up later in the afternoon and Chase enjoyed playing in his new swing my mom got him for Easter like he has at Momma Jane's house. Chase also really enjoyed getting to eat some yellow "peeps".

Sunday, we enjoyed a beautiful church service, napping, and eating dinner at Jason's sister's house....his mom got Corky's ribs and they were DIVINE! I hope everyone has a Blessed Easter and took time to remember what we were all celebrating...The Risen Savior.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-06T13:23:00.004-05:00

After a Saturday morning visit to the doctor for a sinus infection, we took Chase to his first Easter Egg Hunt hosted by our church Saturday night. My neice, Sara Beth, went with us. She could hardly stand the waiting for the hunt to start at 6:00. They had over 2000 eggs hidden. They also had areas divided off for each age group. Chase basically just crawled around and we would sit him by an egg, he would pick it up, look at it and then put it back on the ground. It was really cute! After the egg hunt, we got to roast hotdogs and marshmallows on a huge fire. It was a great night of food, fun, and fellowship. We have another egg hunt at my mom's this weekend. He will really have the hang of it by next year! Here are a few pictures.....

Easter Bunny and Laundry Basket

2009-04-01T13:16:00.004-05:00

We took Chase to see the Easter Bunny and he LOVED him. He petted him like he was one of our cats. It was hilarious. I also got to buy his little white walking shoes...who knew those little shoes cost so much! The poor bunny was absolutely burning up. We will take Chase to his first egg hunt Saturday night with our church. We are having an egg hunt and bonfire to do hotdogs and marshmallows. We bought Chase a wagon to pull him around in. Can't wait to see what pictures I get from that!

Last night, Chase learned how to crawl in the laundry basket. We were using it as a baracade from the kitchen and the catfood and I accidentally set his bottle in the basket instead of on the floor by the recliner. He saw the bottle in the basket and climbed in to get it. It was too funny!

Just a Picture....

2009-03-27T12:18:00.003-05:00

I took this picture of Chase when we were sitting in the driveway the other day....too cute not to share!

Spring Break

2009-03-24T09:58:00.009-05:00

We had a lot of fun over the break. We watched a lot of basketball, ate too much, and had a lot of fun family time.

Monday, my mom brought Chase home from the weekend and my cousin Kyle to go to Incredible Pizza. We took my nieces with us also. Kyle's birthday was yesterday, but we celebrated early with the pizza, games, and a cake. Kyle lives in Saltillo, where I am from in MS.

Chase ended up with several bumps and bruises after the week. He spent the first weekend at

my moms and a couple of nights at Jason's moms where at both places he bumped his head pulling up, then on Sunday he got a carpet burn from falling off a tiny chair he was playing in. The bad thing is that all of the bumps are in the same spot on his little head! He is totally accident prone!

We also went to Jason's game on Wednesday to get some sun! Chase is still not so fond of the grass, but he did try to crawl in it a little bit when Jason put him on

the field. He did like to be pushed around in the stroller now and then and he played on his blanket for a little bit. It was such a great day that day !

Chase got to go to the park one of the nice days, but he wasn't much into it this time. He was hungry and sleepy so we didn't stay long to say the least.

To end the week, I went roller skating with my nieces and my sister-in-law. It was quite hilarious and I am just now not sore anymore, but I didn't fall one time so I was proud! My niece thought I was a good skater, which is even funnier! The most weird thing I did (thanks to my sister-in-law) was get a Mystic Tan. I look really tan and it is UV free so it safe, but that little booth you have to stand in is weird and it is the coldest blast of mist I have ever felt and on all 4 sides of my body. I have 2 more times to go and I would for sure do it again, but it was COLD!

Jason and I had the whole day Sunday to spend together with no baseball or other plans. We finally got the flower beds in the back yard under control. We also got our cars cleaned up and they felt like a brand new cars! Spring break was great, but not long enough! We got to make a lot of memories with Chase that will be so special in the years to come!

What a great weekend!

2009-03-09T15:05:00.012-05:00

We really had a great weekend! On Saturday, I took Chase to the park and let him swing for a bit. It was way windy so we didn't stay long. This is him looking at the other kids swinging. He wouldn't look at the camera....just the other kids!

Sara Beth, my niece also went.

She spent the

night because I was taking her to see the Jonas Brother's 3-D movie

with a friend and her daughter. She was so excited and the movie was actually really good!

The 3-D made it like you were really at the concert so that was fun for all! Sara Beth is the one on the right! They danced and had a blast and then we went to Red Robin afterwards for supper.

Sunday, Jason, Chase and I went to visit with Jason's grandmother in Millington. It was such a nice day that we decided to go to the Memphis Baseball game since they were playing at USA Stadium in Millington. I decked us all out in University of Memphis gear which is unusual for me since I am all Mississippi State Maroon! Several of Jason's former players are now playing for Memphis as freshmen so it was fun to watch them play.

Chase did not know what to make of the grass. Since he was so little last summer, he didn't get to sit in the grass. We tried to stand him in it and he did a spread eagle and wanted nothing to do with it and when we sat him in it, he just looked at us like he was in pain. It was hilarious!

Here are a few more pictures:

Chase wearing Coach Clark's hat!

Chase and I at the park.

Jason and Chase at the game....He was almost asleep!

I Survived It!

2009-03-04T15:44:00.003-06:00

Well, the time came to put Chase back in his own bed. I really can not remember the incident that got him in the same bed as one of us at all times. Sunday night we tried to put him in his bed and shut the door, but I could not handle it at all. He cried for what seemed like an eternity, but it was really only about 10 minutes before I got him out and Jason was not happy with me, but I couldn't handle it. After much discussion, I decided to let Jason do it again Monday night if I didn't have to hear Chase cry, I would be okay. Lucky for me, the Bachelor finale was on so I was all engrossed in that drama and was able to block out Chase's crying a little bit anyway. He went to sleep after about 30 minutes of crying and stayed in his bed all night except for a couple of wake-ups. He did better last night. I hope it is even better tonight and the rest of the nights. I know the time is coming where he will be a big boy and not want to be held as much or snuggle so I was reluctant to let that go so soon, but I think in the long run, he will sleep better and so will Jason and I.

He is such a big boy now! He will be a year old on April 15th! Hard to believe!

Snow in Mississippi

2009-03-02T09:42:00.005-06:00

I wasn't aware of the forecast for snow in Memphis or I probably would have stayed home this weekend, but Chase and I went to Saltillo to see my family since Jason had baseball practice all weekend. We got about 3 inches of snow there and it was fun! Before the snow, we took Chase to the mall just to look around and to ride the carousel. He LOVED the carousel. He laughed out loud when it went up and down. Here are a few pictures of the snow at my mom's and of Chase on the Carousel!

New Pictures

2009-02-23T10:22:00.002-06:00

Jennifer called and asked me if we ever did 9 month pictures, which we didn't so we did 10 month pictures! Here is a sample of what she took! He was all over the place. We could not keep him still long enough to get a lot of them, but the ones she got were great!

Cat food!!

2009-02-19T11:47:00.004-06:00

Chase is amazed with the cat food bowls. He went into the kitchen and before I could get there, he had the bowl in his hand. Of course, I waited with the camera to see what he would do! He eats everything! I found him with fuzz and he tried to eat a leaf yesterday! I thought this was priceless! I can't wait to see what he will do next!