Baby's First Christmas

Merry Christmas friends! I hope you and your family are enjoying a special time of joy, love, and fellowship together.

Marathon day!

Today was a CRAZY day! In fact, I had to list all the things on our "to do" list out so we wouldn't miss something. Here's how our day went on this wild Thursday. Austin's play was today at preschool. He played Joseph (see video). I really thought he was going to all out ball on stage. I tried not to make eye contact with him and just kept a huge smile on my face the whole time. He did wonderful and he was so relieved when it was finished. From there, Kent went to speak at the nursing home and I went to Wal-Mart with my fellow PTA mom, Tina, and we bought 45 cases of Capri Sun for "movie day" at school tomorrow. Left WM and went to Mcky D's to celebrate Austin's performance.

A and I came home and made the cutest reindeer cookies for his class party tomorrow. He was a big helper and decided that the reindeer are of course Rudolph, but the brown nosed one is Blitzen.

I had arranged with Derek's teacher earlier this month to come and do a craft with the class. Today was the day, and it fit in my schedule around 1:30. So from 1:30-2:15 Tina and I made cute little snowmen with 21 second graders. They were very well behaved and it went much smoother than I had anticipated. Left school and went back to WM to buy items to make a dessert for our staff party at church tomorrow. Now it was time to go back to school and pick up D. Back to the house we go. Both little ones are napping, but I have to wake them up for A's doc appointment. This was just a follow up from surgery. Took B with me so Kent could get D ready for his basketball practice at 4:30. I took A's bball clothes with me to change after the doc. Man, was his office crazy today. Perfect! We were there for an hour for him just to look in and say "looks good, I'm here if you ever need me again". Thanks, but no thanks! I hope we're done with the ENT for ever!!!! (wishful thinking...I know)

Went to the boys club for practice and walked back and forth between gyms to see both boys practice. B was such a trooper and the loud noises of the gyms kept her alert and happy even though she's suffering with a nasty cold.

Left bball in time to come home and change for a boy scout dinner/meeting. D got 2 new patches. Left meeting, looked at Christmas lights, and came home to bake a cake for tomorrow. It's not a very pretty cake, so I hope it tastes divine. I'll let you know.

Sorry this is so long and rambly. We had such a fast paced day that my mind is still racing, I guess. Tis the season! And now it's time for bed!

Christmas Cookies are yummy!

We're home

Thank you all for your prayers. We are home. Austin did so good. He was nervous, so we took coloring pages and the dot game to keep him occupied. They gave him a "happy drink" but took him away before we could see how it affected him. When the doc came in to talk to us he said it was harder to get than he thought. He had to try 4 or 5 different instruments to get it out. Once they rolled Austin back to us, he was still drowsy. He was confused and didn't understand that the rock wasn't in there anymore. He was disoriented, he saw 2 Diego's on the tv...strange! He cried and was a little combative. But a little time passed and he was more like himself. The anaesthesia did make him sick though. All in all, it was an experience I will never forget. I do have the rock as a souvenir, too. Again, thank you friends for praying. Our God is an AWESOME God!

Are you kidding me?

Some of you may remember when Austin and I met Dr. Pillsbury in the spring of '06. That is the day Austin thought a small yellow flower would smell better in his nose than out of his nose. Well, we got to renew our acquaintance with the good doc today. When I picked Aus up from school at 1 he told me, "I fell on the playground and a rock jumped up and got stuck in my ear!"
Me: What!?! Let me see.
Sure enough, there it was, a bit out of my reach. Of course I tried shaking it out...ha, it didn't work. I called his doctor and the nurse said, just call the ENT doc. We head over to meet Dr. Pillsbury once again. Bless his heart, he really did try to get it out, but it slipped further down the ear canal. So, tomorrow we are scheduled to be at the hospital at 6:15 a.m. for Austin to undergo his first surgery. Poor baby! He's my first to be "put under". Please say a prayer for him tonight and tomorrow morning. I'll post when it's all over and let you know how he did. (And how I did :))

On a side note: We had pics taken yesterday. If you would like to take a look, go to
www.lairdphotography.smugmug.com
proofs
jobe
password: green

Not how I planned my week!

Take a look at my new accessory. Here's how this came about: Julie and I, with our children, drove to Pocahontas on Friday afternoon. El Dorado played Jonesboro in the playoffs Friday night so we thought we would come up for the game and just stay here until Thanksgiving. Good plan, right? We won the game and are now in the semi-finals. Yay! Being that there aren't too many places to shop here in Pokey, we traveled back to Jonesboro yesterday. Target was calling my name!!! We arrived at the mall around 2:15 p.m. and waited on a parking space because apparently Target was calling all of Jonesboro's names. We got parked, placed the babies in their strollers and were off. (Side note: Mom had the boys and my niece Hailey with her in Jboro at the movies.) There was a lady who I thought had said something to us as we passed her. So I jog up to Julie and ask what she had said. As I'm jogging, just like 3 quick steps, my right foot caught the stroller wheel, my ankle popped, and down I went. I was hurt! Julie picked me up but I couldn't put any weight on my foot. Two nice women helped us get back to the van with the babies. Off to the ER we went. I called mom and she and the kids came to the ER, too. Two hours later we find out it's not broken (thank you God!) or the doc didn't think there was a fracture. It was so swollen he said if I was still having trouble in a week or so to go to an orthopedic dr. So now I have this lovely boot and crutches. Had a little break down last night. I cried in front of the boys and I probably shouldn't have, but I was so frustrated. It is HARD having everyone wait on you when you can do nothing yourself. Just getting up to go to the bathroom is a chore. I can't just hop up and fix Brylee a bottle or get the boys a drink. Julie and Jarett had to move to the downstairs bedroom and the boys brought all our bags upstairs. This is NOT how I thought my week would go. I wanted to shop, and play, and go to church and show off my kids. Mom took the kids to church this morning w/out me. I can't remember the last time I skipped church on Sunday. It feels strange. Hopefully I can begin putting some weight on my foot soon. Kent is coming up here on Tuesday and that will be a big help. Say a prayer that this severely sprained ankle heals quickly. Being out of commission is not fun. Now I'm just wondering what God has planned and why this was part of that plan :)

We LOVE Karen!

November 7-8 I, along with 8 other ladies from church, mostly ministers and elders wives, went to Jackson, MS for a women's conference. So many of us are avid Karen Kingsbury readers and we were so excited to hear her speak and to meet her in person. My friend Tina was the MOST excited. In fact I thought she was going to tackle her when it was our turn to meet her. Karen was so sweet and not too overwhelmed with Tina's enthusiasm. She even gave her an autographed tote bag that read "to my BFF Tina"! We had a wonderful weekend together. Here's a picture of us squashing Karen. We have this enlarged to a 20x30 to place in our church library above all of her books.

Mary Claire is famous!

Remember when I told you a while back if you needed a laugh to click on Magen's memoirs blog and watch Mary Claire sing her A,B,C's? If you watched it, you'll be happy to know that Magen did submit the video to America's Funniest Videos and Mary Claire is now on their web site. Magen has the link on her newest post. If you watch it make sure to give her 5 smiles for the rating. The AFV people will call Magen if they put the video on t.v. So cool! Yay, Mary Claire!

Home in my pj's at 8:10 a.m.

How sweet it is to be at home in my pj's at 8:10 a.m. Yes, the extra money is nice and will make for a "stress free" Christmas. But there's nothing much better than sitting here with your baby and just hanging out, washing clothes, blogging and playing all at the same time! I did get 2 calls this morning to sub and I quickly told the sub lady to deactivate my status today. Derek is the only one that is sad about my 6 weeks being over. He enjoyed walking to my room after school, grabbing some change and getting a snack in the lounge. Austin is thrilled and can't wait to leave preschool at 11:30 this morning. Oh, the dryer just buzzed...time to get off the computer and do some work :)

Wooo-Hooo!!!!!!!

We FINALLY got new hardwood laminate floors. Bye bye nasty ole' carpet with stains that never go away even with carpet cleaner! Hello my beautiful heritage pecan floor! We had wanted to do this oh about a year ago and you know how things go...cars mess up, heater needs fixing, babies are born, etc. So we finally bit the bullet and did it and boy am I glad. What do you think?

Mock elections

Both boys had mock elections at school today. Derek told me he voted for the guy who looked like Poppa. And Austin said he voted for "The Rock" Obama! ha! I asked him why he voted for "the Rock" and he said that was the only name he knew. Apparently, you had to whisper the name of your candidate in the teacher's ear. I'm so ready for this election to be over. Either way it ends up, God is still in control.

Trunk or Treat

Ok...this picture isn't from trunk or treat. It's of Brylee's new dress made by an "old" friend from my elementary school years. I found her blog through my cousin Andria's site. I ordered this dress and a purple one with her initials smocked. I love them! I'll probably get B's 1 year picture made in the purple one. We had a great time at trunk or treat. Here are two of my favorite costumes: Here is Mr. UPS (Will). As he went around to the cars, people put the candy in his box. So cute and clever.

Oh and here is Sarah Palin (Loren). I love this girl. She is always so creative with her costumes.

Mickey and Minnie had a blast at their first trunk or treat. They didn't get any candy, but they got lots of attention!

All three kids ready to get some candy. Not sure if you will remember last year's costumes, but we are really similar this year. Austin stayed in the Nascar family...last year as Tony Stewart...this year, Jeff Gordon. Derek stayed with the baseball theme...Harding last year and Arkansas this year. Sorry for all of you who are so imaginative and hand make you children's outfits. Not this momma! I'll order from ebay or the nascar store anytime :)

Pumpkin Patch perfection

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch yesterday. Usually we just go up the street to a church that does a small one on their property. But this year they didn't have it. :( So we took the kids about 2 hours away to Grady, AR. We had been to the Hardin Farm before with Derek but this was Austin and Brylee's first visit. We had a GREAT day! The weather could not have been more perfect. The kids did great in the car and were not ready to leave the farm when we said it was time to go. Here are some pictures from our fun day. Thumbs up for the hayride. Austin was so excited to go "pick" his pumpkin.
We didn't do the tire swings too much. My boys tend to get a queasy stomach after a few swings.
Petting the animals.
Playing in the sand.
This is a "take two" picture of me and Kent. Derek took one first, and with the magic of a digital camera I saw my wonderful double chin. So I quickly deleted it and took hold of the camera and snapped one myself. Notice me stretching out my neck. HA!
My sweet little farm animals!
We found the perfect pumpkins.
Brylee couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.
Kent found this sign by the animals and wanted a "boys" picture. Sometimes the differences between boys and girls is so evident! Case in point.
Brylee really liked the animals. She wasn't afraid at all.

Derek's glasses

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this sweet picture. Doesn't he look so smart and handsome!

Still here...just busy!

I've started my 6 weeks at Derek's school filling in for a 1st grade teacher who had a baby. It's going good. I just don't have the time I'm used to to do the things I like to do...like blog! :) Just wanted you to know that we're doing good. Brylee is staying with Aunt Julie and is slowing adjusting to not having me during the day...SLOWING adjusting. Austin is doing great staying all day in aftercare when pre-school is over. He's actually more pleasant in the evenings b/c they have to take a nap. Derek got glasses last week and looks so cute. I'll post a picture later. Kent's busy working on grad papers and preaching. Hope you all have a great weekend. Oh, and if you need a quick laugh, check out Magen's blog. Mary Claire sings her ABC's. She's so precious!

Chatty Kathy

Enjoy the sweet video of Brylee's babbles. Notice the cool book she got from a friend at church.

Sweet Soccer Stud!

Where's Waldo...I mean Austin? Please don't judge me and my messy garage. I just wanted you to see where Austin fell asleep while waiting on bub and daddy to come home from work and school. He was so hyper about his first soccer game and couldn't wait to show them what he looked like in his uniform. I knew he was outside waiting and when Kent came in and asked where Austin was, it kinda worried me. I told him he was waiting outside for them to come home. So we went in the garage and found him wedged between the ball boxes, basketball goal and other random things that I can't tell what they are in the picture because of the horrible mess! Sweet, hyper but exhausted boy! Down and ready for the game to begin.
Bless his heart...he gets sweaty and red faced, just like me!
Yea Wildcats!
In celebration of Austin's first soccer game and his four goals scored, we let him pick where he wanted to eat dinner. To McDonald's we went! Kent and Austin got into a small ice cream fight. I think Austin was the loser.
Austin was so much fun to watch during his first game. He was so aggressive (don't know where that comes from :)) Of course he knows the rules and how to kick b/c of big bro. He loved every minute of it. In fact on the way to the car after the game he said, "Who cares about this week. I want it to hurry by so I can get to my next game!" I'll try to add a video soon.

Good weekend....well except for the hogs game!

This picture is from last weekend at our Fall kick-off party at church. Our FLC was turned into a jump zone! We had over 100 people come for hours of fun.
This picture is a little dark and I took it with my camera that has 2 flashes, which means Brylee's eyes are closed! But I wanted you to see her hair. I've been putting it up with 2 bows into little pigtails! She just sits and lets me play with her hair! I LOVE it! Her hair is so fine that the bows don't stay long, but isn't it precious.
Derek passing during the punt, pass, and kick competition.
D getting his 2nd place award.

We had a fun, stress free weekend. Friday night EHS didn't have a home game, so we stayed in. Derek went to a sleepover. It's amazing how "loosing" one child can make a difference in the house. Derek doesn't usually cause too much commotion, but it was really different without him here. Probably because Austin had no one argue with :)



Saturday was pretty busy. Austin had a birthday party at 10 a.m. and Derek had one at 2. Between the parties we endured the torturous game. Poor hogs...I'm afraid it's going to be one long, painful season. But I'm not a fair weather fan. I'll still be sporting my hogs attire!



Saturday afternoon Derek participated in the pass, punt, and kick competition. He's been looking forward to this for 2 years. You have to be 8 to compete. He placed 2nd in 8/9 year old division. The boy that placed first was great. Derek and I both think he turned 10 yesterday :) It was a good learning experience for him. Now that we know what is expected, he's already looking forward to next year. If you place first in your division at the local level, you move on to Little Rock. And from there you go to a NFL game to compete. Our neighbor went all the way to the TN Titan game last year to compete. She got 2nd!



Church was great yesterday. We are having such a wonderful turnout to Bible classes. For so long we've tried to get kids pumped up about coming to class. But truthfully, you've got to provide good adult classes and get the parents excited about class in order to get the kids there. I guess we have a good line up of adult classes this quarter. Our children's classes are all full and we had over 50 in Kent's marriage class. Also, last week was our kick-off for our small groups. We had 80% retention from our Sunday morning attendance in our growth groups that night. AMAZING! God is working in this church. I can feel it. We are growing in number but also in purpose. What a blessing!



Soccer games begin tonight. Derek has a game tonight and Austin's is tomorrow. Pictures to come!

Quick update

Here's a quick update on our family:

Kent: He went to Dallas to his grad class last weekend. He enjoyed it, but the drive back was a bit rough. Ike was in his way :)

Cara: We started back to our Tuesday Ladies class last week. It's going to be great to get back in a regular Bible study. The good Lord knows I need it :)

Derek: He's involved in a fundraiser at school. The last 2 years he has not cared at all about it. This year he's "Mr. Salesman". I'm not sure what kicked in this year, but I know his school will appreciate all the $.

Austin: Show and Tell at school began last week. This year is different b/c you have to bring in something that begins with the letter they are studying for the week. Last week "A" he took a cup with his name on it. Today "B" he took his "builder bear". Got any suggestions for "C"?

Brylee: She got 3 shots today, so she's a bit whiny. I would be too! She did great though. She has started clapping, which I love. You just say "YAY" and she'll clap for you.

We started our small groups at church last night. This is the first time Kent and I get to really participate. We have always been at church involved with the youth ministries. We're having it at our house and we had 11 last night. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year with this group!

We are really busy with soccer practice for both boys. Kent is coaching Austin's team. I can't believe he's old enough to play. I'm so curious to see how he acts in a game. Aggressive or stand offish. I'll let you know!

Happy Monday!

Random things

Watch out HU freshman boys 2026. We took the boys to Magic Springs on Labor Day. This was Austin's favorite ride.
I wanted you all to see how much these two favor each other. Austin is 2 in this picture.
This is Avery and Serenity. I wanted you all to see how sweet this baby girl is. Karen and Jeremy go to court this Friday to get official temporary custody. The mama (Marie) is now in Morrillton, too. Please pray for God's will in this situation. I think Avery will make a great big brother.

Who knew getting hit in the chest with a ball could be SO entertaining.

Brylee's 6 month pictures

If you would like to see my sweet Brylee's six month pictures go to
www.denisewaterfield.com
Click on gallery
click on client proofs
scroll down to Jobe and click
password: jobe

I thought they turned out really cute! There's one picture we have of Austin that looks so much like the first one of Brylee (minus the sailor hat). :)

Two little kids

Two little kids are in a hospital, lying on stretchers next to each other outside the operating room. The first kid leans over and asks, 'What are you in here for?'
The second kid says, 'I'm in here to get my tonsils out and I'm a little nervous.'
The first kid says, 'You've got nothing to worry about. I had that done when I was four. They put you to sleep, and when you wake up they give you lots of Jello and ice cream. It's a breeze. 'The second kid then asks, 'What are you here for?'
The first kid says, 'A circumcision.' 'Whoa!' the second kid replies. 'Good luck buddy. I had that done when I was born. Couldn't walk for a year.'

Evacuees

It's 2:35 a.m. on Sunday morning and our phone rings. My heart always skips a beat or two when we get a phone call in the middle of the night! Who's hurt, who's sick, who has died....these are the thoughts that run through my sleepy mind in a split second.

This time, none of the above had happened. It was the Red Cross lady telling Kent the evacuees were on their way to our church. Kent got up, got dressed and headed to the church. He did not sleep again until last night. What a trooper! We are housing over 80 people in our Family Life Center. So many sweet babies, too. One story I want to tell you about: My friend Karen has a sister who lives in New Orleans. She was leaving N.O. and stopped by a shelter where some of her friends worked before she left town. Somehow she ended up bringing a young mom from the shelter and her 5 month old baby with her here to El Dorado. On the way the mom expresses her desire to give her baby up for adoption. She says she can't give her a good life. She has no family, no job, nothing. She has been raising her in shelters the last 5 months! Long story short, this mom signs her rights (temporarily) over to Karen. Karen and her husband are house parents at the children's home in Morrilton. I went to the church to see Serenity today. She was absolutely precious. In fact, I wanted the young mom to sign her rights over to me! She is only 1 month younger than Brylee, but seems so little. She is long and skinny, with a smile that lights up the room. Pray for Serenity and her mom, Maria. Thankfully, Karen works for the children's home where there are men and women who deal with this situation often. I think Karen and Jeremy will adopt Serenity if possible. This whole ordeal got me thinking....one day I would really like to be a foster parent. We don't have the room right now for that to happen, but one day we would. Just a thought.........

Amazing Video...please watch

This video is of the song Slow Fade by Casting Crowns. It's shows how one sinful decision can lead to a multitude of problems and destroy a family. It is powerful.

Looking for God

Tonight at church, Kent was leading singing. He had already led a few songs when I noticed Austin looking up at the ceiling. I guess I gave him a puzzled look because he looked back at me and said matter of fact, "I'm looking for God."

I pray that I can have eyes like my child. That I can look for God anywhere, everywhere, and anytime.

On another note, I'm really going to miss the Olympics. I've been a junkie these last 2 weeks. My favorites have been gymnastics and swimming. But I would often catch myself getting really engulfed in a good sport I'm not accustomed to watching like... water polo. Never watched it before, but it really kept my attention while I was at the gym one day. Also, the women's triathlon. Wow, I would love to be able to do that. Swim, bike, then run. Amazing. So, I was wondering....if you could have your dream fulfilled and be in the Olympics (pretend your still in your late teens or early 20's) what sport would you be competing in? Me...remember this is a dream...I would love to be a gymnast.

I was also wondering if any of you teared up during a medal ceremony while the national anthem played. Just curious.

Have a great week dear friends. Keep your eyes open and look for God.

Great day!

How can I have a 2nd grader and a pre-K4? I can't believe how old they are getting. I swear they both grew a foot over the summer. Rain, rain, go away.

Big blue eyes!

The boys both had a great day for their first day of school. Derek does NOT like change, so he teared up a bit this morning. He gets so nervous with anything out of the norm. Bless his heart, I'm not sure why he is this way and I must admit, it gets really frustrating. I walked him to where his class was sitting in the hallway, talked to a few of his classmates, and turned around to say bye and he's all teary. Being that he cried himself to sleep last night, I was in no mood to deal with it this morning. I told him I loved him, that I would not come pick him up if he threw up (something he can do on command) and I would be back at 3:15 to pick him up. I know no mother of the year awards are in my future, but Kent and I both feel we can't "give in" to him crying about so many things. Last night I reminded him of how smart he is and about how many friends he has. I told him he should be so confident, not so scared. Any advice from all you blogger friends on how to deal with him?

Of course this afternoon he was all smiles and said "You were right, mom. It was his best first
day ever!" So prayerfully, tomorrow will be much smoother than this morning.

Austin is a different bird all together. He was so excited and couldn't go to sleep fast enough last night. He walked in this morning like an old pro. All smiles when I picked him up, too. Yea!

As you can see from the pictures, I has rained ALL day. These are from our back yard. We haven't seen it this bad and we've lived in this house for 6 1/2 years. Rain is in the forecast for the whole week.

Last Day of Summer

Really the actual last day of summer is September 21. But in my children's eyes, today's the day. School starts tomorrow at 7:55. Derek is having mixed emotions. He's excited but knows he's going to miss staying up late and sleeping in. Me too! I am not sure how Austin will act tomorrow. He begins 4 yr. old preschool. He gets dropped off at 8 and picked up at 11:30. I have missed the quite mornings with Brylee that we enjoyed at the end of last school year. It will be great to have those back. Also, it's going to be much easier to make it to the gym just getting Brylee ready. It has been a struggle to get all 4 of us up there these past few weeks.

The agenda today is to wash clothes and clean the boys room (with their help). We are going to take the boys bowling today, too. One more afternoon of fun before summer ends. : )

Pictures from our vacation

Ok...once again, I know you all are used to this...these pictures are in the opposite order that I wanted them in. You'd think I would remember from time to time how to do that. Oh well! Here are some pics from our time in Branson and Lake Norfork.

The fam in front of Sight and Sound Theater.

Waiting patiently for the musical to begin.
This is inside Marvel Cave.
The wound before stitches.
Jason and Kent tubing.
Austin helping Jody drive.
Brylee and Jarett enjoying Fred's Catfish. Yum, Yum!
Sweet boy lovin' on his momma and daddy.
Beautiful sunset on the lake.