Diary of a Bad Blogger

Well, obviously blogging is not going to be my thing. I would say I'm going to do better, but I won't. On a more positive note, Jerry's gonna graduate!! That's right folks, mark you calendars because on May 13th Jerry will receive a Bachelor's in Business Administration in Accounting. Yay Jerry!!

We camped over Spring Break at Shouse Ford on Lake Degray and we are still loving our new (to us) camper. The boys absolutely had a blast, I could not keep them clean! Chase got to go fishing for the first time, and Cole went almost every day with Jerry. We camped with our friends, the Helton family, and as always had a great time with them. It's very nice to spend time with good people.

Only 9 more weeks of school for me! Woohoo!! I am looking forward to being able to go several places this summer (Lord willing I won't be working - Jerry will). First up will be my cousin Ellen's high school graduation in Michigan, followed by the Johnson Family Reunion which I have been unable to attend for the past couple of years. Then, I think I'll ask Dad to take me to Puerto Rico so I can "brush up on my Spanish".

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Holy Cow I need to Update!

Man, I haven't been on here in forever!!! Here is a list of some things that are going on with us:

• Jerry is still in school, but will graduate with an Accounting degree in May 2011! (We are so proud of him!)
• Cole has started going to preschool 2 days a week, and loves it!
• Work is going great for me, I am so blessed to have a wonderful job and work for a wonderful organization, and enjoy it so much.
• My Gran (Dad's mom) has lymphoma. Please keep her in your prayers.
• Cole will be three in October! Ahhhhh!
• Chase is becoming more and more outgoing everyday - just like his brother! Double Ahhhh!

The Toy Box

So Cole got a Razorback toy box for his birthday from Charolette and Jerry. We completely filled it to the top with all of the toys he got at the birthday party. There were so many, he runs around like a crazy person from toy to toy, trying to decide which one to play with. Normally I just get a few out and leave the toy box closed. The other night, however, I left it open and let him go to town. He took every toy out and climbed in it and sat. And sat. That is all he wanted to do, to get in that box!! It reminds me of a story Bro. Sonny used to tell when he was preaching. He and his wife pawned some of their class rings so they could have some money for their daughter's first Christmas. They were so excited for her to be able to open up girts on Christmas morning. They got her something big that came in a box, and once they had everything opened, they sat back to watch her play with the stuff, and all she cared about were the boxes the stuff came in!! Children are truly a blessing and it is so fascinating to me to watch him discover the world! And he is so proud when he accomplishes something he wants, like getting in that box.......he probably wanted to get in it the whole time, there just wasn't any room!!

The First Birthday Has Come and Gone....

Well, I can't believe he is the big ONE, but he is! It is bittersweet - I'm glad to have that party over with, and sad that a whole year has passed so quickly!! I got a new video camera for my birthday from Jerry's family, so you'll have to forgive the shakiness, I didn't realize it was so sensitive!! Enjoy! Cole did!

Here we are a month later....

Ok, I am just going to stop making all the empty promises of being a better blogger. It happens when it happens, people, that's all I've got. I have been on the verge of a nervous breakdown for about two weeks now.....school is draining me. Walt and I also put our trailer up for sale so in my spare time I was trying to get it ready and show it to people whenever they called - not fun. Then, we sold it and had a ton of furniture we didn't need, so my sister-in-law and I had this bright idea to have a yard sale.......I will NEVER, EVER have another yard sale. We each made about $120. Which is better than nothing. But NOT WORTH THE WORK. I spent that much in gas getting ready for the darn thing, seing as how $120 will fill my gas tank once with a little left over. The moral of the story - one trip to GoodWill would have been cheaper, and a lot less stressful.

I have also been trying my hardest to lose weight. It is sooooo hard. I have done really well though, 35 pounds lost!!!! I still have about 20 to go, and it seems like this last 20 is definitely the hardest...they just don't come off as easy. But Tara (my sister-in-law), myself, and a friend of ours have been walking up at the school at least 5 times a week for about an hour and a half. But when I say walk, I don't mean your usual stroll in the park. We do lunges and squats and hike up those Fountain Lake stairs, so it has been really tough but definitely worth it. The only problem is, because of our schedules the only time we can go is around 6 or 7 - when my husband and baby come home for the day, and I'm out the door to go work out. So, I guess I've been feeling a little guilty about not being home much and plus there just aren't enough hours in the day!!!!

However, on a lighter note, I will be finished with school in 2 more days!!!! Yay!!!! I am not going to know what to do with myself with no homework, or papers, or driving to do! I am soooo excited to spend time at home with Cole and Jerry at night that I am just beside myself. I can't wait.

We are going to Florida on Friday. We are going to act like beach bums for 6 days straight, we've all agreed that this is a much needed vacation. My dad even says he needs to relax, and I don't ever think I've heard him say that in my life!!

Cole is of course getting bigger by the second!! He took his first steps last week, and I am sooo thankful I was there to witness them. He was standing up hanging on to the coffee table just babbling to himself and he noticed that I was sitting in the recliner close by and he just stumbled right over to me! And then of course I was cheering for him and yelling for Jerry to come see, and he was just BEAMING with pride.....standing up tall on his tippee-toes, with his head tilted back and grinning from ear to ear. It was so funny!! I also bought him a "big boy" car seat yesterday, so it will be fun to see his reaction to actually facing the front and sitting up in the car. He will like it soooo much better. After the trip to MS, we decided that for vacation we would go ahead and get the new car seat, he is at that age where he doesn't want to lay there, he wants to be sitting up and talking to everyone and act like a big boy, so, we'll see.....

I am attaching some pictures of......you guessed it, Cole! They are just random pictures from the summer and one of the three of us before church in MS. And by the way - thanks for the comments and a big congrats to Aunt Cindy for successfully posting one! She's been trying all this time! I can't figure it out either..... I am going to try to post a video of Cole - it was his first time swimming....hilarious!! He was all over the place and you will see why he keeps me on my toes (though most of you probably know), he is not afraid of anything!

With Sincere Apologies....

I don't think that there are many who are reading this, but for those who are, (hmmm..Aunt Patrice), I am so sorry that I have not posted in so long. I really am going to try to do better this time!

We have been doing great, just trying to keep up! I am going to summer school (I will finish in August) and that has been just lovely. Driving back and forth to Arkadelphia everyday in my gas-guzzling Yukon has been just lovely. I just keep telling myself that surely those gas prices will go down soon, right?? There is no way we could sell my car right now, I mean, what idiots would buy a Yukon during these horrible gas times??? Yeah, that would be my husband and I. I will say, however, that gas was actually only $3 a gallon when we bought it last May. Of course now it is $4 a gallon, but every time I get to complaining about it, I think of Aunt Cindy, in Michigan, where the prices are even higher!

We are looking forward to going to Mississippi the last weekend in June for the Johnson family reunion. I haven't been in probably 7 years due to working. When you are a waitress you do not get weekends off in the summer. But I have missed a lot. I talked to my Grandaddy a few days ago and he said that it has dwindled down to only a few. The last time I was there, there were so many people I could not keep up with them all! I guess that is the circle of life, my generation will have to start bringing lots of babies so that the reunion can stay alive! I guess that means it is up to me, Walt, and Jacob as of right now! Just kidding Aunt Patrice!! Haha!

We are also going to Navarre Beach, FL in July with my mom and dad. I CANNOT WAIT! The last time I was at the beach was a year ago when I married my sweetie and I didn't even get to relax on the beach! Well, I did at night time when everyone else was searching for crabs, but I wanted to relax in the sunshine!! So I am definitely looking forward to that. Plus - it will be Cole's very first Family Vacation. Let's hope we don't turn it into a re-run of National Lampoon's!!

I am adding some pictures of Cole - these are mostly 7 month pictures. He will be 8 months old next week!!!

Go Baby Go!

Ok, I know i am awful at this, I told you I would be. It has been about 5 weeks since my last blog and so much has happened. After Cole rolled over, he finally started to push himself up into push-up position! It was hilarious! He would just sit there like he was gonna do a push-up and look up at me and Jerry like "Look what I can do!". And then he started scooting, but mainly with his legs. It seemed to be very awkward for him, almost like he couldn't figure out that his arms had to work WITH his legs! And then it happened, he just started taking off.....and before we knew it he was in a different room, and then before we knew it he had managed to get every spec of dirt in my floors on his face.

So, last weekend, I had my final portfolio interview with the Teachers College at Henderson. Thank the good Lord that is over! I still have two classes to take this summer, but they will be nothing compared to that portfolio class. And then I will have a Master's degree!!!! Jerry's sister Tara kept Cole for me while i had my interview, so once I was finished, I used some time to get my floors "ready" for Cole. I vacuumed every inch of every floor in my house, and paid special attention to the corners and along the trim. It took me like 4 hours just to clean the floors!

And then he came home. I had put him over in his play pen while I went outside to do something, and I came back in and the little monkey was STANDING UP, hanging on to the top of it, trying to peer over the play pen. I almost cried. I mean, not only is my kid now a big kid, but all I could think was now I have to get everything in the house ready for that level! Like the coffee table and end tables and chairs and all of that. I mean, how am I supposed to keep up with him???!!!!!

He is also saying "da da". Now, he doesn't say it like he knows that is Jerry, he just kind of babbles, "da da da da da da da". I am fighting it with my utmost power. "Say mama. Mama. Mama. Mama." And he looks straight at me and says, "da da". Jerry obviously thinks it is hilarious and he is just smitten with Cole. I love watching them together. Cole LOVES him. He is always looking around to see where Jerry is and then he will just crawl over to him and sit at his feet or pull up on his leg. It is so cute!

I am going to stop for now, I am sure there will be something different to report next week. I will try and do better with the blog now that school is finished. Love to all!!!

Oh - and I am posting some pics of Jerry and my Grandpa's fish they caught over Spring Break.

*I cannot figure out how to format the pictures with the text, so it looks awful. Sorry!