Our 2011 in Review

Here's what happened...

In January, we kicked off the new year in my mom's hospital room. She had her gall bladder removed.  We also sold our last house in Moberly, Mo. What a relief!

In Feburary, Jeremy and I went to a youth ministry conference in St. Louis together. It was great to get away from the boys for a weekend and fuel our passion for ministry.

 In March, we traveled to Texas for spring break. We had a great time with Jeremy's family and the boys got to go to the Zoo for the first time.

Jerm and Noah at Fortworth Zoo

In April, Jeremy got to preach at our Sunday morning church service. He did great! This helped reaffirm our calling to ministry.

In May, Asa turned one. I now have two ornery toddler boys. I saw my favorite band - Bowling for Soup - in concert for the 4th time! We also went to Texas to celebrate the college graduation of Jeremy's sister, Elaina.

Me and Ash w/ Chris from BFS

Jerm and Asa (1st b-day)

 
 In June, I kicked off my cake pop business. It went well but I soon found out that I want more in life than making cake pops 24/7. 

Fishing Bobber Basket

July was a big month. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We spent a  couple of nights at Chateau Avalon. I seriously can't believe it has been 5 years already!  We learned about fireworks safety, courtesy of my brother, Matt. We also celebrated the marriage of my cousin CJ and her new husband Steve.

Chateau Avalon

Matt broke every tip that was highlighted

Mr. and Mrs. Steve Justice

In August, I must have hit my head. I cannot remember anything from this month!

In September, Noah turned three. I was also able to see Blink-182 in concert with my long-time friend Amanda.

Amanda and I at Blink-182

In October, we lost a dear friend of the family. Davie was such a good friend to my brother. He will not be forgotten.

Matt's fishing buddy

In November, we were able to buy a new car. It gets way better gas mileage than that old truck!

In December, my brave grandfather survived his 12th heart attack. Toughest guy I know!

Grandpa and Asa

I'm sure I could have written a post about each of these events but it seems like I never have time to write anymore. I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

As of right now I don't see Santa as being a part of our family's Christmas. Jeremy and I have many reasons but I won't bore you with those. Don't get me wrong- I'm not hating on Santa. After all, I'll never forget the year he brought me my very own keyboard! I remember how excited I was as I brought it into my parents bedroom to serenade them at 5 a.m. on Christmas day. (I'm sure Mom and Dad won't forget either.)

Despite the fact that Santa won't be bringing my children obnoxious musical instruments, Noah is very aware of who Santa is. Santa is like the coolest cartoon character ever at this time. Noah could spot that red coat a mile away. Just this past week someone asked Noah what Santa was going to bring him. Noah in a very excited but matter-of-fact voice replied, "Uhh...reindeer, reindeer, reindeer and uh... reindeer." Goofy kid. He must have forgotten that animals are on the "Do Not Get List" for Christmas gifts.

Christmas 2010

It's a Guy Thing

Potty training is way harder than college. Ugh. I mean potty training the boys. However, introducing Asa to the potty has given Noah some extra motivation.

Last week Jeremy and I sat Asa on the potty and he went for the first time! Jeremy and I were so proud of him. We were still celebrating as Noah ran in and jumped on the potty. He stayed there for 15 minutes trying. He probably would have stayed longer but we made him go to bed. I can already see that the boys are going to be very competitive!

Playing Catch Up

*This post is a an update on our family*

The last couple of months have been crazy busy. We had a great summer and already busy fall.  There was really never a dull moment. We even made it to the zoo three times (see pic below!)

Starting the cake pop business has been exhausting. I've finally decided to call it quits. It just took too much time away from more important things. I enjoyed it though and I'm not done with cake pops forever. I'm sure I'll still be bringing them to family dinners and church functions.

The boys are growing so fast. At Noah's 3 year check up the doctor told me that he is the height of a 4 year old and the weight of a 5 year old! And it turns out that Asa eats as much as a teenage boy! (The doctor didn't say that last part but I know what I'm talking about.) They are so ornery. They get into everything! I'm sure I'll be posting more stories about them as I have more time.

I'm looking forward to the holidays. I'm already counting down the days till Thanksgiving. Jeremy won't let me put up Christmas decorations till the day after. I don't see what the big deal is. I mean Wal-Mart had their x-mas decorations out after Labor Day!

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I'm sure I'll be writing again soon.

I'm Just a Girl,
Tracy

Honey, I Shrank the Kids...Shoe

What a hot summer it's been! I'm so glad it's finally starting to cool down and show signs of fall. I LOVE fall. Maybe it's because my birthday is in the fall or maybe it's because the holidays are just around the corner.

Last week the temperatures still reached into the 100's a couple of different days. On one of those days I was taking the boys out and running some errands. Asa lost a shoe on the way to the car so I picked it up for him and carried it till we got to the car. I ended up throwing it into the back window so I'd see it later and wouldn't forget it. The other shoe eventually went into our diaper bag.

I left the shoe in our window for hours that day while we went about and did our business. At the end of the day I saw the shoe and threw it into the diaper bag and carried it into the house. Yesterday Jeremy asked me if I knew what happened to Asa's shoes. 

Apparently the shoe in the window had melted and shrank... a lot.  I guess it's a good thing I didn't leave the kids in the car while I ran my errands!

I'm 100% Sane

I never imagined that two little boys could be so wild together. If you follow my blog regularly, you've probably noticed I haven't posted in quite some time. While I'd like to attribute that to the new cake pop business keeping me so busy that's actually not the case. Yes, the cake pop business is going well, better than I ever expected.

It is the boys however that are keeping me from blogging. Right now, I have managed to keep them occupied by offering them pigs in a blanket but in approximately 3.5 minutes, they will be running wild again (covered in ketchup and mustard.) Last week, Noah smeared a jar of jelly all over the couch and redecorated the bathroom with a bottle of Hershey's syrup. Asa has mastered the art of climbing. He has broken two glasses and one plate in just a matter of days. I go from cleaning up one mess to the next. I'm even beginning to think they are planning this stuff out. One of them creates a diversion to distract me, while the other one carries out a massive act of destruction.

Last week someone gave Asa a shirt that appropriately said "100% good, 10% of the time."  That sounds about right- if you are counting the 10% of the time as the time he sleeps. As for myself, I'm 100% sane but not very often. Well I better go, Asa is eating the dirt from the house plants -again!

Chubby Cheeks

I never get tired of hearing the silly things little kids say or the flat out embarrassing things other peoples kids say! My cousin's daughter is always saying the funniest things. I was watching her yesterday and no surprise she had me laughing so hard I had to share!

We were sitting down eating and I said, "This is a pretty good lunch, huh?" Unfortunately, Kaylee reminded me that smoke detector had gone off. Trying to be clever, I told her that wasn't the smoke detector, that was the "lunch bell." She didn't buy it. Jeremy said, "Kaylee, you need to tell her that her nose is growing." Kaylee shook her head and said, "Her nose isn't growing. Her cheeks are chubby!" Apparently she didn't get the Pinocchio reference.

Of course I wasn't laughing at first. I was in a little state of shock and confused. She just told me I have chubby cheeks. But she is just so innocent, I couldn't hold it against her. I guess we'll have to watch Pinocchio sometime soon.