The Salter Family

Sewing

2009-03-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

Several of you have asked to see pictures of what I've been making for Addie so here are just a few of them. They all were made from Sandi Henderson's patterns, which I dearly love!!

BUGZ

2009-03-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

Today was the first grade spring musical, "BUGZ" at Rouse. It was the cutest program about...what else? Bugs! The kids did a super job and had a great time. Will was the Bug MC and also had a part in one of the songs, "Going on a Picnic".

Gatlinburg for Valentine's!!

2009-03-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

I had a huge surprise for Valentine's Day. It was also Randy's 40th birthday, so he surprised me with a trip to the Smoky Mountains!!! We left on Thursday and came home on Sunday evening. We stayed in a cabin on top of a mountain (it was actually the same cabin that where we honeymooned) and it was so wonderful. We went to Cade's Cove, Newfound Gap, hiked some trails, and ate, ate, ate!! We even managed to get some shopping in (of course!!!). The kids stayed with my parents and had a wonderful time with them. Thank you Mimi and Papa for keeping them so we could get away for a few days!!

Will and Parker's 7th Birthday Celebration

2009-01-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

This year, instead of doing a huge party, Will decided to take just a few people and go bowling with his best friend, Parker. Parker invited a bunch of his friends.They had an awesome Star Wars birthday cake. It was a huge hit...and not only was it beautiful, it was delicious too!!! The boys had a great time bowling and eating cake and ice cream. Here are just a few pictures from the morning.

Happy Birthday Will!

2009-01-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Will celebrated his 7th birthday last week on January 2. I can't believe my first baby is 7!!! Where in the world has the time gone? It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were bringing home that new, tiny little baby boy home from the hospital and embarking on the wonderful journey of parenthood. We're so blessed to have him. He's so very full of life and energy and fun, yet he's compassionate and at the same time, all little boy! He's such a good big brother to Addie and Wyatt...they're lucky to have him for a big brother and we're blessed to call him our son.

Wyatt and the Z06

2008-12-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

Wyatt absolutely loves Corvettes. Our friend Sam brought over the Z06 for a little visit this afternoon. Wyatt just went crazy when he saw it...he loved it. Sam let him sit in it, and offered to take him for a ride, but he didn't want to do that. Sam and Randy took it out for a drive. Boys and their toys!!!

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

We've had such a wonderful Christmas. The only sad thing is that it passes so quickly. We look forward to it for so long with such great anticipation, and then it's over in a flash. On Christmas Eve, we spent the evening with my parents at their house and went to church with them to have the Lord's Supper and pray. Then we ate dinner at their house and exchanged gifts with them.

This morning, the kids woke up bright and early to the sound of sleigh bells ringing!!! They jumped out of bed and were yelling that they heard sleigh bells. Randy and I thought we had heard something too, but you know how it is.....in all of the excitement of Christmas, maybe we were just imagining it. Santa was very good to the kids and some very nice gifts were left for them. After breakfast, we went outside to turn our outside lights off and there at the edge of the porch, Will found a reindeer collar of sleigh bells. One of the reindeer must have lost it when they took off from our house. So they DID hear sleigh bells ringing!!! Ahhhh.....the magic and wonder of Christmas :)

We can't forget though the real reason that we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Randy read the story from Luke 2 and all throughout the day we could hear the kids saying Happy Birthday Jesus. Addie asked if he was having a birthday party in heaven.

Enjoy a few pictures from our day!

Addie's Ballet Recital

2008-12-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

Addie had her first ballet recital, "Joy to the World" Saturday at FBC Brandon. The girls did a beautiful job and the little ones were so precious!! Addie's group was the little shining stars and their dance was to "Silent Night". It was just precious!

Addie's K3 Christmas Celebration

2008-12-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

Addie's K3 class with members of the Nativity Story.
Addie and her sweet friend, Addie Hart.
Addie the innkeeper.
Addie waiting for her turn to be the innkeeper in the telling of the Christmas story.

Addie's preschool had their Christmas celebration this morning. This year, instead of having individual class parties, all of the classes rotated through different areas. First we went to the sanctuary and listened to a storyteller tell the Nativity Story. Some of the children helped act out the story, and Addie was the innkeeper. The next activity was a plateful of yummy food to eat and they had their picture made with other members of the Nativity Story. After that, there was singing in the sanctuary to end the morning. Now we're officially on Christmas vacation!!!!

Will's 1st Grade Christmas Party

2008-12-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Will reading the book that Mrs. Luke and Mrs. Sanders gave everyone for Christmas.
Our wonderful assistant, Mrs. Sanders, opening her Christmas gift from Will.
Some of the kids in Will's class
Such yummy food!!!
Will's teacher, Mrs. Luke, in the blue sweater. It was a wonderful party!!

Today was Will's Christmas party at Rouse. Being room mother is so much fun and I have enjoyed every minute of it, but before a party, I always experience a little bit of stress wondering things like: Will people bring what they said they would? Are the treat bags good enough? Will the children have a good time? Everyone always comes through, the parents show up (with food!) and the kids have a ball. They're still at the age that they love having their moms and dads there with them and I wouldn't trade these moments for anything in the world!!

Addie's K3 Christmas Program

2008-12-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

You can see our sweet friend Hudson Cruthirds in this picture.

This morning was Park Place Christian Academy's K3 and K4 Christmas program, "Jesus, What A Wonderful Child". It was precious and the children did a great job!! Enjoy some pictures from the program.

SNOW!!!!

2008-12-12T04:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, we actually got snow...can you believe it?? It was such a great surprise! It seems like in the past we've had so many disappointments when they thought it might snow but it didn't. This time, we actually got it. The children were ecstatic, and yes, so were we! We had a wonderful time playing in the snow and Randy made us a great snowman, which the kids named......hold on to your hats.....Frosty.

Upwards Basketball Begins!

2008-12-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

This is Will's first year to play Upwards Basketball and he has been so excited about playing. His first game was December 6 and he'll play through February. Our good friend, Misty, is our coach, so that makes it even more fun!

Will's Flag Football Party

2008-12-11T14:25:00.001-08:00

My sweet Daddy came to see Will get his trophy.

Will had his flag football team party at McDonald's on Dec 1. The funny thing was that just as exciting as getting a football trophy was seeing what toy he got in his Happy Meal!

Christmas in Canton 2008

2008-11-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

Riding in a horse and carriage around the Canton Square.

We took the kids last night, along with some friends, to Canton to see the Christmas lights. This will definitely be a tradition for our family. We had such a good time even though it was misting rain. We got to ride a train, a fire truck, the carousel, the cars, and took a horse and buggy ride around the square. We even got to see Santa Claus!

Addie's Thanksgiving Feast

2008-11-29T13:18:00.000-08:00

Addie's preschool K3 class had a Thanksgiving Feast on the last day of school before the Thanksgiving holidays. They had some great food and got to wear the Pilgrim hats that they made! The kids had a great time showing us their room and what they're learning.

Addie's 4th Birthday

2008-11-29T13:10:00.000-08:00

Addie opening her gifts
Blowing out the candles...we actually had to do this twice...we forgot to light the candles the first time!
Dora the Explorer bouncer

Tinkerbell!!!

I know that I'm way behind in my blogging; this is just such a busy time of year!! Super fun, but so busy. We celebrated Addie's fourth birthday on November 18. I can't believe our sweet baby girl is already four years old. Where has the time gone? I'll never forget the night she was born and Will coming to the hospital and kissing her on the top of her little head. She's such a sweet little girl and brings so much joy to our family. I sent cookies to her preschool class on her birthday and Randy and I took her to eat lunch that day at Newk's. We had her birthday party later that week at the gym at church. We had an inflatable for the kids to jump in, a Tinkerbell cake, and everyone had a blast! Enjoy the pictures!!

Halloween '08

2008-11-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat!!
Parker Bryant and Will: best friends and Optimus Prime for Halloween
Hangin out for a Halloween picture
Trick or Treating at Grandview's Trunk or Treat. We had to make a stop at Mimi and Papa's trunk!!
Seeing what Mimi has in her basket.

We had such a fun Halloween this year. Thursday night we went to my parents church (and the church I grew up in), Grandview Baptist Church in Pearl. They had their first Trunk or Treat and it was so fun. The kids had fun getting candy and I enjoyed seeing a lot of people that I've known my whole life. When we left there, we went trick or treating in Patrick Farms with our dear friends, the Bryants. The kids had a wonderful time!

2008-11-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Walt Disney World!!!

2008-11-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

I'm behind on my blog, that's for sure! The last few weeks have been just crazy busy. It's all been very fun stuff, just busy. We had a WONDERFUL time at Disney World a couple of weeks ago. Our trip had to be rescheduled due to those back to back hurricanes in September and Randy's job. We were so disappointed at the time, but it really worked out so well. The weather couldn't have been better. We had blue skies and temps in the low 80's. It was warm but not terribly hot. It rained one time for about 10 minutes and that was one night. The kids had a blast and Randy & I had as much fun as they did. Will LOVED riding Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain with Randy. He'd have ridden those over and over if the lines hadn't been so long! The highlight of Addie's trip was meeting Cinderellla and Wyatt loved seeing Goofy and Tigger. Will got kisses from Belle and Jasmine, and boy did that make his day!! :) I hope you enjoy some pictures from our trip!

Mississippi State Fair

2008-10-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

We love going to the fair!! Here are a few pictures from a couple of weeks ago when we went.

Fall Family Fun

2008-10-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hangin' out on the pumpkins while we waited to go on the hayride
Me with Wyatt, Addie, Weston, and Will
We found our pumpkins to take home!!
Addie enjoying the potato sack swing with her daddy.
Whew..this hay maze can just wear a little girl out!
It's been a while since I posted, but we've been so very busy that it's hard to find time to write about it. This is such a fun time of year, my favorite hands down, with so many fun things for the family to do. We've been to the MS State Fair, the Nichols Boyd pumpkin patch, and are getting ready to leave tomorrow morning for Disney World!!!!! We're very excited about our trip to see Mickey, Minnie, and of course, the princesses so I wanted to share a few pictures of our fall activities, b/c I'm sure I'll have lots of Disney pictures to share when we return.

Hellooooooo....anybody there??

2008-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

I heard Wyatt just chattering away earlier today and I went in his room and this is what I found.....
he's talking away to his friend Ella on his little play telephone. This is how the conversation went:
Phone ringing....."Helloooo Ella! How are you? I talk to you on the phone. Ok Ella. Love you, bye bye" It was so sweet!!

Flag Football and Ballet

2008-09-11T20:42:00.001-07:00

Addie and Adeline Pinkerton at the first ballet class
Addie, Adeline, and Kynzie
Will is number 6

This was one tired little boy after his game!! We had no trouble at all getting him to sleep tonight!!

What a combination!! Flag football and ballet. Addie started ballet last week and so far seems to really like it. She loves twirling around the house in her ballet outfit and of course she says she going to be a ballerina.

Will is playing flag football and had his first game tonight. He made a touchdown!! BUT...sadly, it was called back due to an illegal forward pass. His team is the Brandon Bullets and they played a great game. They've only been able to have three practices due to all the rain we've had lately. He's number six. GO BULLETS!!

Will's Baptism

2008-09-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Me and Randy with Will before we left for church
Randy's parents on the left; my parents on the right.
This was taken right before the service.
Our pastor, Scott Thomas.

Yesterday was such a special day for our family. Will was baptized yesterday morning. I cried through the whole thing..imagine that :) Randy's parents and mine were there with us and we had a big lunch here at our house after church. The sad note of the day was that Addie got sick at church. Wyatt had a fever virus last week and Addie apparently picked it up too. She went into the service with us to see her big brother be baptized and then we took her to her Sunday School class. She was absolutely fine then. When we picked her up about two hrs later, she was burning up with fever. I feel horrible that she was around the other children in the class, but we had no way of knowing that was coming. Bless her heart....she was just pitiful. She slept the rest of the day and missed all the activities at home. Her fever went up to 104 last night, which really worried us. She's much better today. We're so thankful that Will has made this decision and was baptized yesterday. It was a wonderful day for us.

Addie Starts Preschool

2008-08-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today was Addie's first day of preschool (K3) at Park Place Christian Academy. This is the same school that Will went to for K3 and K4. She was so excited and did much better than her mommy did. I can't wait to hear about her first day of school! It made me very sad to realize that she won't be at home with me every day anymore. From now on, she'll be in school five days a week. I can't think about that anymore or I'll cry again..

Addie Meets her Teacher

2008-08-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

We went to Park Place Christian Academy's Open House tonight to meet Addie's new K3 teacher. Her name is Mrs. Robertson and she seems so very sweet. We're sad that her two best friends from Mom's Morning Out are not in her class, but hopefully she'll see them on the playground. She sat in her seat and Wyatt sat down right beside her and said, "I go to school with my Addie". He's going to miss his brother and sister when they're both gone every day!!

Addie's first day will be this Thursday.

Starting First Grade

2008-08-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

Will started first grade at Rouse Elementary on 08/08/08. His teacher is Mrs. Luke and she seems so sweet. Will had a great first day and rode the school bus home for the first time. That was a really big deal to him. There's just something about that big yellow bus that kids dearly love! Enjoy the pictures from his first day.

The Wiggles

2008-08-09T19:27:00.001-07:00

We went a couple of weekends ago to Birmingham with our friends the Cruthirds to see the Wiggles. We had a blast!! The adults had as much fun at the show as the kids did. It was a great show and a great weekend with our friends!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Wyatt!!

2008-07-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today was Wyatt's second birthday. It's so hard to believe that he's two years old. It seems like just last week that we brought that precious baby boy home from the hospital and Addie asked, "Is he staying with us?" He's such a precious little boy and we all love him so much. Tonight we had his birthday party in the gym of our church. We had an inflatable rented and everyone had a great time. His cake was Barney and he loved it.
Wyatt was the only one who did NOT jump in the jumping thing but he had a great time anyway.

Summer Fun

2008-07-24T20:47:00.001-07:00

We've had a wonderful summer full of fun stuff to do. Last week, we spent a few days in Collins with my parents at the house that was my grandparents. I spent every summer there with them as a child, so I have many wonderful memories there. It was very fun to see my children playing in the same place that I did. While we were there, I took Will to the Grand Paradise Water Park, and we had a ball!!! I can't wait to go back there. On another day, we met Will's best friend, Parker, and his mom at Jellystone park in Pelahatchie and had a great time there too.

A Night with the Braves

2008-06-25T02:46:00.001-07:00

Last night, Will's spring tball team had their end of the party at a Mississippi Braves game and they got to run out on the field with the players. Will had been assigned to the left fielder, so when they called his name in the starting line up, Will ran out on the field with him. They stayed out there through the National Anthem then came back to us. It was so cute to see him out there by the real player! After that, they had the party complete with hot dogs, cake, ice cream, and the best part.....the trophy! We had a great time together and this was such a fun thing for the boys to do!

Will loses his first tooth!!!

2008-06-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

Last night, Will lost his first baby tooth!! It had been loose for quite a while and we actually tried to pull it yesterday morning, but it wasn't quite ready. Last night, Will went to the bathroom and pulled it all by himself. I had already fallen asleep and Randy was painting in the kitchen and the next thing we knew, he was running through the house screaming, "MY TOOTH!! MY TOOTH!! I GOT IT!!!" He was so excited and looks so cute. My baby is growing up way too fast.

Addie's Big Cut!!

2008-06-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Addie participated in the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that one of our local tv stations sponsors. People sign up to have their hair cut, and the donated hair is made into wigs for people battling cancer and who lose their hair due to the treatments. Addie has only had her hair trimmed once but has never had any length cut off, so this was a big day for her. We talked to her about it at length b/c we didn't want to push her into it if it was going to traumatize her. After all, she is only 3 1/2 and could do it when she's older. We explained to her that it would help a very sick little girl who doesn't have any hair. She wanted to do it from the time we told her about it. Well, today was the big day. We went to the appointed facility at six am this morning (whew...I had to get up at 4!!) The WLBT crew was there with cameras rolling as Addie came in. Her entire haircut was filmed (she had approximately 10 inches cut) and she sat there so sweetly as if she's been on tv every day of her life. After her cut was done, they interviewed me and that part was on their live morning report. She looks precious and we're so proud of you, Addie! We love you!!

Memorial Day 2008

2008-05-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Memorial Day. Randy was off and we took the kids to the park to play for a little while this morning. Then we took a drive up the Natchez Trace to the Cypress Swamp. We thought that would be a nice little nature walk for the kids. It would've been if the mosquitoes hadn't been quite so bad..they were huge and there were tons of them. We saw a cottonmouth snake that crossed the trail right in front of us. I am no fan of snakes at all. I was quite glad to get the kids back to the van. We saw some deer, snakes, and one alligator on our drive. That evening, my parents came over to eat dinner with us. Randy grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. And the very very best part of all was....that night, Will asked Jesus into his heart to be his Lord and Savior!!! We are so excited that he has made this decision. He has been asking questions for a very long time now and we knew he was getting close. This was one of the happiest days of our life, to know that he has made this profession of faith. He'll go through a New Believers class for children at church and will be baptized later this year, after he completes that class.

K5 Kids Kamp '08

2008-05-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Our church has Kids Kamp right after school gets out. It's for first through fifth graders but the kindergartners get to go just for one day as a preview day to see what they'll be able to do next year. We had a great time with Will!! We spent the day of May 23 at Twin Lakes Conference Center in Florence. It was so beautiful and peaceful there. We got to take a tour of the cabins where they'll stay, play at the Treehouse area, we had a short devotional and did a craft. We ate lunch in the cafeteria and then went swimming in the pool. We ended our day with pictures in our Kids Kamp t-shirts.

Finishing K5

2008-05-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

Will finished Kindergarten on May 21. I can hardly believe that he's on the way to first grade in the fall. Where in the world does the time go? It seems just last week that we were bringing home our first baby from the hospital. He had a wonderful year in kindergarten and we'll miss Ms. Castle and Mrs. Scarbrough but it's on to other adventures now. On the last Friday of school, they had a program and received their kindergarten diploma. Congratulations, Will!! We love you and are so proud of you!!

Beach Trip!!

2008-05-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

We took a vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama, for Mother's Day weekend. We had a wonderful time!! We got to play in the sand, walk on the beach, play in the surf, the pool, see our cousins, and eat some wonderful seafood! We all had a really great time. Wyatt didn't so much care for the water. He did warm up to playing in the sand after a little while. We went to Lulu's to eat and the kids got to play on the beach playground there. Karen, Todd, Jordan, and Jacob came to meet us there and we're so glad we were able to spend some time with them.

Field Trips

2008-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

For the first time, two of our children had field trips on the same day. Will's entire school went to a Mississippi Braves game and Randy took the day off to do that with him. They had a great time together and they came home sunburned and happy.

I went with Addie's Mom's Morning Out class to the Natural Science Museum and to play at LeFleur's Bluff park. It was extremely crowded in the museum but they didn't notice and still had a great time. We hung out with our good friends Hudson and Addie Hart and their moms. They are so precious and all had a blast.

Weekend in Huntsville

2008-04-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to Huntsville, Alabama, this past weekend to visit our dear friends, Jimmy and Elizabeth Sentell. They have two little boys, Matthew and Jack, who are 8 and 5. They used to live here in Jackson and Elizabeth and I worked together at that time and got to be great friends. We go to Huntsville to see them each spring and they come to Jackson to visit us each fall. We so look forward to our visits with them and the kids are all great friends too. Friday when we arrived, we played at their house, went out to eat for dinner, then drove to Grant, where we were spending the night at Jimmy's mom's house. She lives on top of a mountain, and the view from her back deck was just gorgeous. We took the kids to a park near her house where they have a brand new playground. That was a huge hit and we stayed til after dark. They had a ball and all went right to sleep. Saturday we went to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. It was so beautiful there and we could've stayed all day. They had a big children's area and were having lots of children's activities that day. It was the opening day of the butterfly house and that was so fun. You could put a little bit of butterfly food on your arm and hold it out and hope that a butterfly would land on you. All the kids at some point had a butterfly on them. Addie had two land on her bow and she never knew it. That was so sweet. She was just sitting there with those butterflies on her head and she was completely unaware of it. After naps that afternoon, we went downtown to Panoply, which is a festival of the arts that Huntsville hosts each year on the last weekend of April. There was lots of music and ice cream and balloons and crafts for the kids to do. The night ended with a fireworks show that was so great. Thank you Jimmy and Elizabeth for a wonderful weekend!! Can't wait to see you again in B'ham this summer!!

K5 Choir Sings in Worship Service

2008-04-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day that our church's new Children's Minister was there. So this afternoon, there was a welcome party for her. The kids all brought snacks to fill her pantry at home and there were games and lots of fun. Then, during the worship service, the K5 choir opened the service by singing three songs. They were so precious and did a great job!! Our church loves the children so much. Anytime they do something in the service, the congregation stands for the children when they finish. This is so encouraging and affirming to the kids. After they sang, some of the kids presented bouquets of flowers to Kristy Hill, Lynn Melear, and Carolyn Smith for all of their hard work in the preschool ministry. Will gave flowers to Mrs. Carolyn.

T Ball 2008

2008-04-18T15:27:00.001-07:00

Last night was Will's first tball game of the season. He hasn't played t ball since 2006, so we're having to get back in the swing of things...sorry, no pun intended :)
He looks so grown up in his uniform and had a great time playing. They get three pitches from the coach and if they don't hit the ball, they get to hit from the tee. Will hit the ball once but it was a foul so he wound up having to hit from the tee both times at bat. His team is the Brandon Dragons and they all did a great job! Way to go Will!! Addie and Wyatt had a great time watching their big brother play and Addie tried a couple of times to go on the field. When Randy told her that she couldn't go out there, she said, "But Daddy, I want to go give Will a hug." that's what it's all about....those precious moments that I wouldn't trade anything in the world for. The last picture is of Will and his best friend, Parker. They are on different teams, and they are both number 1. They were so excited to learn that they have the same number!

Welcome Abby Grace

2008-04-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

We went to spend the day in Collins today and had a wonderful time. My cousin Melinda and her new baby, Abby Grace, came to meet us there and spent the day with us. Abby Grace is three months old and this was our first time to meet her. She is absolutely beautiful; such a little doll. Thanks for coming up Melinda! We had a great time catching up and playing with the kids. My mom and dad were there also. We got Sonic for lunch and had a picnic in the park and then the kids got to play there.

I'm Not Ready for This!!

2008-04-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

When Wyatt woke up from his nap this afternoon, he decided to try a new trick...I'm so not ready for this!!! Both Will and Addie were two years and two months old when they started climbing out of the crib and we moved them to a bed. Wyatt is only 20 months old. He didn't make it all the way out, but he climbed up on the rail and sat there and looked so proud of himself!!! That's our little cowboy.....

Our Little Football Player

2008-04-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Here comes Wyatt walking in this afternoon holding this helmet. I put it on him and you could tell that he was so excited. The neat thing is that this is his daddy's football helmet from when he was young.

Havin' Fun in the Sun

2008-03-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day and after the cold weekend we had last weekend, it was so nice to get outside and play. After naps this afternoon, we spent the rest of the day outside. Boy, are we tired tonight! But we had a great time. The kids love to swing. Wyatt and Addie especially would swing all day if we stayed out there. Randy took Will to tball practice this afternoon and Addie and Wyatt stayed in the swings. Addie was such a sweet big sister to push Wyatt for a while. She adores her baby brother. Actually, they all adore each other (most of the time! HA!) Randy was able to push them for a few minutes when he and Will got home and then he grilled us some steaks for supper. He is still recovering from c spine surgery almost four weeks ago and is doing great. The hardest part for him has been not being able to pick up the kids or play with them like he's used to doing. I'm so thankful to have a husband who is so very involved with the kids and who loves to play with them. We are so very blessed to have him for a husband and daddy!!

More Easter Pics

2008-03-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Just a few more Easter pictures to share.....

Easter Sunday

2008-03-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. The kids woke up early to see what the Easter Bunny brought them. They each got a sandbucket and shovel and a kite. Will and Addie each got a new watch and Wyatt got a little football. I think the Easter bunny knows that we're going to the beach later this year. We went to church and the service was awesome. After naps, we went to my parents house and spent the rest of the day with them. The Easter Bunny had also left a little happy for them at Mimi and Papa's house. They got McDonald's gift certificates and sunglasses for the beach. Mimi had made a bunny cake which was so cute...way to go Mimi!! You'll have to make that a yearly tradition! We want to make sure that the kids understand the real meaning of Easter.

Down at the Farm

2008-03-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, we had the opportunity to go with our friends the Ashleys (Anne Marie, Sarah, and baby Carter) to a friend of theirs who has a farm in Byram. This sweet family let us come see their sheep and baby lambs and donkey. The kids had a great time and Will even got to hold a lamb! He loved that!! Wyatt didn't care for the lambs, he chose to ride the spring horse instead :)

Easter at the Ag Museum

2008-03-24T14:26:00.001-07:00

Our annual Easter tradition is to go to the Easter Egg hunt at the Ag Museum. We had such a great time. It's such a great, family oriented event that the Ag Museum sponsors every year. The kids got to ride the ponies, the carousel, the train, play on the inflatables, we had hot dogs and sno cones for lunch, we had our picture made with the Easter bunny, and of course, the big event...the Easter Egg Hunt...which lasted all of 20 seconds. It's so cute to see the kids running for those eggs!! We had a wonderful time.

Spring Break 2008

2008-03-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last week was spring break for us and we had a wonderful time! The kids and I headed to TN last Sunday after church to stay with Lala and Papaw for a few days. We started off the week by going to the Memphis Zoo last Monday. It was so cold!! The temp was in the mid forties with winds of about 25mph but despite the cold, we had a great time. We got to ride the tram, we saw giraffes, panda bears, and the polar bear. One of the pandas was out playing on the wooden playset and slid down the slide for us! It was so cute!
We also went to the Collierville town square, the Wolfchase Galleria where the kids got to ride the carousel and get their picture made with the Easter bunny. While we were there, we ran into an old friend, Julie, who used to be in our Sunday School class in Jackson before they moved to Memphis. It was so good to see her! Thank you Lala and Papaw for a great time in Tennessee!

SNOW!!

2008-02-23T19:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know that I'm way late in posting this but I need to put the pictures up even though they're late. Back in January, we got a treat that we don't get very often at all...SNOW!! The kids were so excited. This was Will's second time to see snow, but the first time that he remembered it. He had just turned two the last time he saw snow, while we were in TN, but he doesn't remember it. This was Addie and Wyatt's first snow. We took them out to play in it for just a few minutes and they had a ball. Will had spent the night with my parents the night before, so I don't have any pictures of him in it.

Will and Parker's Birthday Party

2008-01-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

Will and his best friend, Parker, have their birthday party together every year since their birthdays are only a few days apart. This year, they chose to have a Transformers party at Pump It Up. It was a great party and everyone had a wonderful time!!! We got the boys matching t shirts and we got them for their main gift a Transformers voice changer helmet. They opened it together at the very end and they loved it!!! Their voices sound so funny when they talk through it..it was hilarious!
We had some tired children when we left there...they jumped and slid and played hard for 2 hours. On the way home, Will said that it was his best sixth birthday ever!!

Will's Sixth Birthday

2008-01-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Will is six...time flies. I can remember people telling us when he was born that we'd blink our eyes and he'd be in kindergarten..and he is.
Where have the last six years gone? We've been a little busy!! We're so thankful for him and the joy that he brings to our lives and our family. He has been so excited about his birthday and it was a great day! We ate lunch at McDonald's, played with new Christmas toys, and tonight we went to Gatti Town, a new place in town that's pizza and lots and lots of games to play. They even had a small bowling alley and bumper cars!! We loved it and had a great time together. Lala and Pa Paw came down from TN for his birthday.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting a chance to post a few pictures from Christmas. We left the Saturday before Christmas for Collierville, TN, to see Randy's family. We had a wonderful time seeing everyone. The only downside was that Randy, Addie, and Will all got sick. Randy and Addie were sick on Christmas Day. Santa even remembered that the kids were at Lala and Pa Paw's house this year! We came home the day after Christmas. It was so fun to watch the kids play with their cousins and to see them open their gifts and see the look of joy on their faces as they looked at what Santa left them.

Christmas Cookies

2007-12-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Christmas time and one of my great memories of growing up was making Christmas cookies with my mom. I want to make the same good memories for my own children. So far, we've made one batch of cookies and Will loved to help me. His favorite part was licking the beaters. Addie wanted to help too, but bless her heart, her idea of helping was just playing in the flour. Oh well..that's fun too! Wyatt just watched everything from his high chair and said PUPPY (his new and favorite word).

Christmas in Canton

2007-12-05T01:33:00.000-08:00

This is the first year that we have gone to Christmas in Canton and it will be a new tradition for our family. We went last week with our dear friends, The Bryants, and had a wonderful time. This event is held on the square in Canton and there are lots of Christmas lights, a carousel, a train, a firetruck, and horse and buggy rides. We drank hot chocolate and enjoyed the night so much.

Decorating Mimi & Papa's Christmas Tree

2007-12-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

My mom and dad put up a small Christmas tree each year and the kids get to come over and decorate it. They had such a good time doing this. It's so fun to watch them choose the ornaments and find just the right spot on the tree to hang them. It's moments like this that make the most precious memories.

Happy Thanksgiving 2007!

2007-12-05T01:22:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We have so much to be thankful for and try to show that thanks daily, not just on this day each year. We celebrated the day at our house and my parents spent the day with us. We had lots of good food, watched the parade, and of course, lots of football.

Wyatt's First Haircut

2007-11-20T09:11:00.002-08:00

Well, we finally had to do it. We got Wyatt's hair cut for the first time. I just love that sweet little baaby hair, but he really did need it. Now he looks like such a big boy!!! He did really well sitting in his daddy's lap but his head was moving the whole time. He was trying to watch what the lady was doing. It was very entertaining for all of us in there.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-11-20T09:11:00.001-08:00

Addie's Third Birthday

2007-11-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe our baby girl is three!! We had her birthday party in the gym at our church on the 17th. We had a blast! It was a Disney Princess party and we had the castle inflatable and the kids had a ball. They also got to play with balls, ride bikes, scooters, and roller skate. It was a great birthday party and thank you to all of our friends and family who shared this special day with us. She was one tired little girl that night. Sunday was her actual birthday and she loved telling everyone at church, "I'm three today!". Happy Birthday Addie!! We love you!

Indian "Little Deer" Salter

2007-11-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

The kindergarten classes at Rouse have been learning about Indians and had an Indian pow wow yesterday at school. They made lots of cool things and Will's Indian name was "Little Deer". He had a great time at the pow wow and he said that his favorite thing that he made was the tom tom b/c you can play it like a drum.

Wyatt's First Steps

2007-11-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Well, we knew it would happen one day and it has. Wyatt took his first steps by himself last night. We were at our sweet friends', the Cruthirds, and he made about three steps and then sat down on his little bottom. He did it a couple of different times and hasn't done it again since. What a milestone! Our little guy is growing up!! Since we didn't know he was going to do that, we of course didn't have our camera or camcorder with us but Randy managed to get a picture on his cell phone.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-31T20:42:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today I was able to go to Will's Halloween party at school. The children got to wear their costumes to school and a lot of the teachers dressed up also. The party lasted half an hour and the kids had a ball. They had lots of yummy stuff to eat and they all looked adorable in their costumes. Will was a racecar driver (Jeff Gordon). I wasn't able to find an actual Jeff Gordon costume, so his was a motorcycle racer. He didn't know the difference and told everyone that he was Jeff Gordon, number 24.
Tonight we took the kids trick or treating just on our street. We all had so much fun!! Will was a racecar driver, Addie was Snow White, and Wyatt was Curious George. Addie was supposed to be Strawberry Shortcake like she was at our church Sunday night, but she decided that she wanted to be Snow White. One of our sweet neighbors had a SW costume, so she got to wear that. The little girl in one of the pictures dressed as Glenda the Good Witch is Sarah, who lives in our neighborhood and we carpool with. It was such a fun Halloween!

Addie's First Field Trip

2007-10-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today was Addie's first field trip and it was to the Nichols Boyd pumpkin patch. We were supposed to go last Tuesday, but got rained out so they rescheduled it for today. We had a ball! This is the same one that we go to as a family every year. We got to go on a hayride, pick a pumpkin, play in the hay maze and swing. During the hayride, we got to stop and look at the animals and watch them feed the fish and the goats. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time with our friends. Addie got to sit by and play with her sweet friend, Hudson.

Trunk or Treat 07

2007-10-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday night, we went to Trunk or Treat at church. This is where the backs of vehicles are decorated and filled with candy and the kids dress up in their costumes and trick or treat from trunk to trunk..lots of them had little games for the kids to do or questions to answer before they could get their candy. There was also inflatables, pony rides, and food. We had such a great time! This year Will is a racecar driver (Jeff Gordon), Addie is Strawberry Shortcake, and Wyatt is a monkey (Curious George).

The Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we went on our annual fall trip to the Nichols Boyd pumpkin patch. We look forward to this outing every year and this year was no exception. The only thing was this was by far the hottest hay ride we've ever been on. Only in Mississippi can you go on a hayride when it's 85 degrees outside! We all had a ball. The kids loved the hayride, seeing the animals, playing in the hay maze, and of course, picking out their pumpkins.

Field Trip to the Fire Museum

2007-10-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go with Will's class this morning to the Fire Museum in Jackson. We all had a great time. Ms. Sherry, the museum curator, gave a presentation on fire safety and all the children got to stop, drop, and roll; then they got to crawl through a room filled with "smoke", and slide down the fire pole. Then we took a tour of the museum and saw all kinds of fire trucks, from current ones to vintage ones. The kids got to sit in one and ring the bell...the highlight of the morning for Will!! The firemen talked to them and let them see where they eat, sleep, and live during their shifts. One of the firemen got in a truck and turned on the lights, horn, and sirens..after that, they loaded back on the big yellow school bus and went to LeFleur's Bluff park to play and have a pizza lunch.

Our sick baby

2007-10-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

Wyatt is sick...he's been coughing for a couple of weeks now and it all of a sudden got much worse..he has a nasty case of bronchitis with wheezing. We're doing breathing treatments every four hours at home. He doesn't care for them at all...bless his heart, I guess I wouldn't like someone holding a mask over my face either. Here he is with his daddy giving him his treatment. I'm so blessed that Randy is such a wonderful, hands on dad..there's nothing that he won't do for the kids. God has blessed them with a wonderful daddy. Thanks for the prayers for Wyatt.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-05T02:25:00.001-07:00

Mississippi State Fair

2007-10-05T02:04:00.000-07:00

The kids look forward to the fair coming all year..Well, at least Will does. Addie doesn't have that concept of time yet and Wyatt's just along for the ride still. When we went to church downtown, we'd pass the fairgrounds every Sunday morning and Will would see the giant slide and we'd hear him say from the back seat, "I sure wish that fair would hurry up and come back." Well, it's back and we went last night. We all had a great time. There's just something about the lights and sounds and smells that we look forward to every year. It wasn't crowded at all and the kids got to really enjoy the rides. Since there weren't many children on the rides, most of them let the rides go pretty long. For the first time, Will rode the ferris wheel with Randy. This was the one in the kids section, but still...it's pretty high to me. He loved it. Wyatt rode in his stroller and watched his big brother and sister ride but next year, he'll be in on the action too!

Will's First Kindergarten Field Trip

2007-09-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, September 18, we went on Will's first field trip. We went to a huge cotton field in Pelahatchie to pick cotton. Prior to the trip, the kids had made cotton sacks. Randy and I were both able to go and we had a great time with the kids. After stuffing their sacks full of cotton, Ms. Castle read them a story and they had a snack and then it was time to go back to school.

Fall Soccer

2007-09-17T20:02:00.001-07:00

Will is playing soccer this fall and loves it. This is his second year to play and he has such a good time. It's so cute to see all the kids out there playing and learning to be a part of a team. His team is the Sonic Tigers and he's number 3.

Happy Birthday Mimi!

2007-08-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and she and my daddy came over for lunch after church. It was a pretty short visit since we had to get the kids down for a nap and then be back at church at 4:45 but we had a good time while they were there. The kids sang Happy Birthday to her..well, Will and Addie did, Wyatt just sat in his high chair and laughed. Happy Birthday and we hope you have many more!!!

Wyatt's First Real Shoes

2007-08-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wyatt had his first trip to Stride Rite this past Saturday for his first pair of real shoes. We got him the same white pair that we got for the other two kids as their first pair. He had so much fun and kept looking down at his little feet. His very favorite part though, was when the nice lady gave him an animal cookie. I never knew that such a small cookie could be spread so far on a little guy! He had that cookie from head to toe!

Will's First Day of Kindergarten!

2007-08-16T22:19:00.001-07:00

Will's first day of kindergarten at Rouse Elementary was Friday, August 10. He was so very excited! I, on the other hand, was an emotional mess. I cried most of the day. How in the world did the past five and a half years pass by so quickly??? I can remember when he was born people saying to us, "Before you know it, he'll be starting kindergarten". I remember thinking that's soo long away. And here we are. So hard to believe.
His teacher is Ms. Castle and his teacher's assistant is Mrs. Scarborough. They are both so sweet and he loves them. Will goes to bed talking about school and wakes up talking about school. We're so thankful that he's so excited about it. I hope it lasts through the years.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-08-01T21:51:00.001-07:00

Happy First Birthday Wyatt!!

2007-07-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 24 was Wyatt's first birthday...it's so incredibly hard to believe that a year has passed already. It's been such a good year, and we're so very thankful for him. Will and Addie adjusted so well overall to another sibling and the time has truly flown by. I can remember people telling me when I was younger that the years seem to go by faster the older you get..it's so true. I want to hold on tightly to all these precious moments while the children are small and it just rushes by so quickly. We don't go for his one year check up for another couple of weeks, so I don't know exactly how much he weighs or how tall he is, but we'll have that info in a little while. We had a small birthday party for him on the afternoon of his birthday and he had such a good time!! He mostly just sat in his high chair and watched everyone else. He helped me open a couple of his gifts and when it came time for cake, he didn't really have anything to do with it. The other children helped him with his little smash cake and it was so cute! He enjoyed his party so much that he immediately went to sleep when it was over. We took him for a ride later that evening in his new front facing car seat (which was his birthday gift from Lala and Pa paw). His birthday cake was custom made to match his birthday shortall, which was adorable.. I got pretty emotional (nothing too unusual, right? :) It was our last first birthday....they grow so fast, it's just unbelievable..

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-07-11T22:25:00.001-07:00

So far we are having an awesome summer. We've stayed so busy and have had so much fun. We've traveled, played with friends, gone to the park, the library, movies, painted at Harry the Potter, and just played in our own backyard. Will & Addie are going to Mom's Morning Out two mornings a week and love playing with their friends there. The important thing is that we've spent so much quality time together as a family and are making wonderful memories for the kids. These are just a few pictures from our summer that we hope you'll enjoy. Thanks for sharing in our story with us!

Happy 4th of July!!

2007-07-11T21:12:00.001-07:00

We had a great day today. I actually had to work from 6pm on the 3rd to 10am on the 4th so I was pretty tired. We all went to the Ag Museum for their 4th of July celebration and had a blast. This is an annual tradition for our family and we always have such a good time. There are pony rides, a carousel, train rides, face painting, and free ice cream just to name a few. This is the second year in a row that we've made it on the local evening news. We had no idea they were filming us until we turned around and saw the camera right in front of us. I said OOHHH! and thank goodness they didn't put that part on tv!!!! Addie and Will were so excited to see themselves on tv. Will said We're on the news!! and Addie kept saying..Addie on tv..Addie on tv.

We all got good naps this afternoon and Randy grilled burgers and hot dogs tonight. It was a great holiday and we had a great time just being together as a family.

More Summer Fun

2007-06-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by. This week is VBS at our church and we've been having a blast at Game Day Central. Wyatt went for the first time this week to his little nursery class and unfortunately, didn't get off to a great start. He's in that phase of crying when we leave him and it's so hard to leave him crying, but I know he's fine after a few minutes. We had a great time this past weekend with our friends the Wiggintons and the Bryants cooking out and the kids played in the kiddie pool.

Kiddie Pictures

2007-06-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going to share some of our recent pictures with you..the kids and I took a trip to Collierville, TN, back in May to spend a few days with Randy's parents. We had a wonderful time sightseeing and going to the Memphis Zoo. The kids got to ride a couple of carousels and that was Wyatt's very first ride...they all loved it. Thanks LaLa and Pa Paw for a wonderful time!

Happy Belated Father's Day Randy!

2007-06-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

My sweet husband didn't get to celebrate Father's Day on the actual day. He had a raging case of pink eye and strep throat and was sicker than I've ever seen him. He spent 6 days in bed and so we finally got to give him his gifts last night when he started to feel a little bit better. I'm so blessed to have him for a husband and best friend. He's an absolutely wonderful husband and father and we're so thankful for the three precious children God has blessed us with. Happy Father's Day...we love you!

Welcome to our Blog!

2007-06-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

This is our very first blog...I've heard of them and I'm going to give it a try...welcome us to the world of technology! It seems like a great way to keep in touch with our family and friends. We're having a great summer so far. The kids are doing well and having fun. Will is enjoying reading, Addie plays with her dolls and stuffed animals (her "priends") and Wyatt loves to be right in the middle of his brother and sister. He just started crawling two weeks ago at the age of 10 months. He's so cute..we'll move to another room and here he comes, crawling as fast as he can to find us. He'll be one next month and I can't believe that at all! Time goes by so very fast. We're trying so hard to hold on to these precious moments with the kids and it seems like one day just melts into the next and before we know it, another year has passed. We're so thankful for our three precious children that God has blessed us with and of course for each other. Randy and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary this October and I thank God every day for bringing him into my life. He's an absolutely wonderful husband and father and helps tremendously with the kids. He's a very hands on, involved daddy and I'm so thankful for that.