Mama's Night Out

Bea J. and I have been friends for a LONG time, and there's not very many people on this Earth that I feel as "at home" being with as her. We just really get each other and that's so unbelievably nice sometimes!LOL! We had a blast last night, and we really didn't do much of anything, except laugh...We laughed ALOT! But the simple fact of being able to do whatever we wanted was awesome. We went and stuffed our guts at Outback, did a little shopping, got disgusted at how everything fit us, and then went and had ice cream!LOL! Oh, and I stayed out until past eleven....GASP! I couldn't even tell you the last time that has happened. But I'm SO glad that we had the chance to get away together. We have vowed to do this once a month from now on...And I plan on holding her up on this! We both deserve it!

Brandon and Rhett had a great "Boys Night" too! They went and ate at Zaxby's and then ended up going to Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and Sears. Oh, and Rhett had to have his strawberry milkshake from Sonic for the ride home!LOL! Brandon says that Rhett was an "angel" the whole time they were shopping...What is up with that? If that would have been me with him, it would have been a completely different story!LOL!

Oh, and Nikki...Thanks so much for the birthday soup! It was SO sweet of you to think of me...And it was delicious as usual! :)

Blessed

Today is my birthday and let me just say that I have the BEST family and friends EVER! Yall sure know how to make a girl feel special! I got SO many sweet (and funny)cards and phone calls and I am so thankful for each one. Hannah made me this card...Is it not the sweetest?

Brandon took me out on a "date" last Friday to Texas Roadhouse(along with a really sweet card), Mr. Swain (one of our great neighbors) had a Low Country Boil for mine and Lisa's birthday on Sunday (talk about yummy), and tonight we had a get together at Memaw's! Memaw says that I always get shorted because I always just want soup...But she just doesn't know how good (and world famous in my opinion) her soup really is! :) She made me a really yummy strawberry cake, too!

Rhett and Aunt Debbie with Rhett's favorite part of the night....CAKE!

I got a Daily Devotional book from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Randy, some yummy Hershey Kisses from Joseph and Holly, and thanks to all the special people who gave me some money I was able to get some new tennis shoes (or "catheads" as Lisa and I like to call them...LOL!) and an external hard drive for my computer (since the 3000+ pictures of Rhett was beginning to bog my computer down) And Bea J. is taking me on a "Mama's Night Out" on Friday...Can I get a "WooHoo?"! If any of you know of any good movies playing right now, let me know!

Rhett walked around all day saying "Birfday, Mommy" and singing "Happy Birfday to Joo", he gave me lots of birthday hugs and kisses, and he gave me the sweetest Mickey Mouse card! (And I have to say that this sweetness was the best part about turning 27 today!)

So, you tell me...Am I blessed or what? As I sit here tonight, I am just about to burst with thankfulness. For our daily Bible reading today we read Psalm 23 and it just seemed so appropriate for my day, and my life for that matter!

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want" Psalm 23:1

So, thank you all for your calls, cards, and gifts...."My cup runneth over"!

School Craft

Here's what Rhett made at school yesterday:

I'm a sucker for anything with handprints, so of course I loved it! He looks pretty proud of himself too, huh?

Playlist

I've added a playlist to our blog! It's at the bottom of the page and most have you have already noticed that when you come to the blog a song starts playing. If you want to listen to any other songs in the playlist, just scroll down and click on the song. Just thought I'd let everyone know...There's some pretty good songs in my opinion! :)

Fireproof

Just wanted to remind everyone that Fireproof came out on DVD today! For any married couples (or those thinking about marriage) who haven't seen this....Run, don't walk, to get it! It is by the same people who did Facing the Giants and Flywheel and you will NOT be disappointed. Brandon and I have seen it twice (once at the movies and again last weekend at Homerville Freewill Baptist Church) and it has really had an impact on the way we see each other! I plan on buying it soon for us to watch from time to time. I was blessed enough to recieve the Love Dare book (this will make more sense to those who have seen the movie) from the preacher at HFBC and have already dug into it! Anyways, I know I'm starting to ramble, but if you haven't seen it...Please do! :)

The best seat in the house.....

Park Days

We've had a few nice days lately so we hit the parks for some fun!

Some things I want to remember....

Here are some things that I want to remember about Rhett at this age:

1. He likes to take the crickets on a walk...Don't ask me what that's all about, but he likes to grab the cricket can and head down the road with them!haha


2. He calls kisses "Niches" and he's very stingy when it comes to giving them to his Mommy. Mommy has gotten really good at stealing them, though!

3. When he wants you to hold him, he says "Hold You" instead of "Hold Me".

4. He still has his binky at bedtime...We actually tried to take it away last weekend but it broke both mine and Brandon's heart so we gave it back! I feel quite confident that he'll give it up before Kindergarten, so I'm not so much worried about it!LOL!

5. He likes waffles, pizza, noodles, cereal (with milk), strawberries, grapes, pineapple, corn, and chocolate...He definitely got the chocolate lovin' honest!

6. He loves his teacher and school! He actually tells me now that he wants to go.

7. He has a MAJOR obsession with keys and flashlights. He actally lost Brandon's keys for about two weeks before we found them in his change jug...Sneaky, sneaky!

8. He has to put money in his bank every night....And if you're around and you have change or keys in your pocket, know that you are at risk for this little pickpocket!

9. His favorite books are "Good Morning, Good Night" and his "Who Loves Baby" picture book. We have to read them every night!

10. He talks all the time...Sometimes my ears get numb!LOL!

11. He loves to help Daddy take out the trash...I'm sure this one will be short lived!LOL!

12. We have to sing a variety of songs before we he goes to bed...They include "Jesus Loves Me", "ABCs", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Jesus Loves The Little Children", and "You Are My Sunshine".

13. He is becoming VERY independant...When he doesn't want you to help him do something, he says "Self".

14. Anytime you ask him what he wants to eat, he almost ALWAYS says waffles.

15. If you tell him that something is NOT what he says it is, he will say "Is" telling you yes, it is...He's already beginning to argue! Oh boy!

16. He loves strawberry milkshakes...Got that honest too! :)

17. He loves to take a shower with Daddy...Mama loves this too!haha

18. He closes his eyes when we say the blessing without you having to tell him most times.

19. When we pray at church, he will keep his eyes closed until someone says Amen...This is just the sweetest thing to see!

20. He knows how to crank a four-wheeler all by himself...That's a scary one for me!

21. He has to put his boots on by himself, or he has a major meltdown!

I'm sure that there are more that I just can't think of right now! He is just such a smart, funny, and precious boy!

Rhett's 1st Coon Hunt

A few weeks ago (January 2nd to be exact) we took Rhett on his first coon hunt...And he just really thought that was something! We took these pictures before we left...As I was snappin' them, Brandon said "You do realize that he is going to kill you for this one day, right?"LOL! Maybe so, but ask me if I care!

The gang

Brandon, Ray, Rhett, and Krista

Checkin' out the dogbox

At the tree...I was worried that all the commotion and barking might scare Rhett, but I couldn't have been more wrong! He just ate it up...Must be in the Lilly blood!Haha!

Walking back from the tree...I love this picture!

Helping Daddy walk Joe in the woods

Breaking his boots in!

He had a great time....And I'm sure that's just one of MANY trips he be going on!

Fishin'

We took Rhett fishing the other day for the first time since he had gotten his new Lightning McQueen fishin' pole for his birthday from Aunt Kimberly...And it turned out to be the last trip for the poor rod and reel! On the first cast, about halfway through reeling it in he decides to just toss the whole thing in the water! It was one of those times when everything seems to run in slow motion, but you just can't move fast enough! LOL! Let me just say that the situation almost sent me over the edge as well...I just couldn't believe that after I had warned him not to do that, he just tossed it like that!Uggh!LOL! Brandon drug the bottom of the pond for about an hour, but he never did find it...What a bummer!

Leaving the dock...Notice the fish keys!LOL!

Learning how to reel it in....This was right before it bit the dust!

The whole time we were riding Rhett was yelling "Faster, Faster, Faster!"

Now, when you ask Rhett where his fishin' pole is he says "Pond"....Kids!!!!

This is the smile.....

That melts his Mama's heart...And gets the little stinker anything he wants!LOL!

New Year's Resolution

Did any of you make a New Year's resolution? I made one last year, and don't even remember what it was...But this year, Brandon and I have decided that we are going to read the entire Bible in one year. And so far, as of day 26, we haven't missed a day! I bought us a One Year Bible and I love the way it breaks the readings up each day. We read a portion of the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs each day. And I can honestly say that my days seem to go so much better now that I am reading my Bible every day!

Another one that I should have made was to start working out and lose some weight, but I didn't....So I haven't!LOL!

So, did anyone else make a resolution?

Cousin Time

After Christmas, Hannah, Austin, and Aunt Kimberly came for a visit. We always have a blast (and lots of brownies!LOL!) when they come!

Reading and Playing before bedtime

Isn't this just the sweetest picture? Hannah (aka Little Mama) tried her best to hold Rhett, but he just wasn't havin' much of it! One thing's for sure though, having Hannah around helps keep the boys in line...She doesn't put up with much nonsense!LOL!

The Boys on the 4-wheeler...All I can say is Austin is one brave boy!LOL!

This is the beginnings of a "Fit"...He throws himself on the floor and kicks and hits the ground! All the while telling you "Fit, Fit, Fit"and "Ugy" for ugly because every time he does that I tell him he's being ugly! What a mess he is!LOL!

Some things that just don't mix....

Cheetos, Coke, and the Carseat! We learned this the hard way...Check out those hands!LOL! Looks like someone is enjoying himself, though!

Christmas 2008

I am so behind....Where does time go? Anyways, we had such a blessed Christmas! Rhett was alot more into the holidays this year and I loved it! We started some new traditions and Rhett was all into those. For our Advent calendar, we read about a different Bible story every night for each day in Dec. leading up to Christmas and then Rhett would get some sort of treat to go along with it. It didn't take him long AT ALL to realize that Advent=Treats...So needless to say, he reminded you every night about "Ahment" as he called it! LOL! We also did a book called "What God Wants For Christmas" and it was alot of fun too! It really helped Rhett learn the names of all the characters in the Nativity story and it really brings the story down to a toddler level...I recommend it to anybody with young children. Here's Rhett setting a up some of the characters before we read our story one night:

Rhett also made a Countdown to Jesus's birthday craft at school that was fun! He was so excited about tearing off one every night: We had breakfast with Santa...That didn't go so well: (LOL!)
We made yummy Christmas cookies:
Family Pic @ Memaw D's:Cool, a remote control Hummer...Can't you just see the excitement on his face?

Just not sure who like it more, Rhett or Daddy!LOL!

Happy Birthday Jesus! Please excuse the outfit!LOL!

Christmas at Memaw O's:
Rhett loves the bugs that Mimi got him for Christmas...He named them Hopper and Bee! He especially like it when you put them on his head so he can slap them off!

Cookies for Santa...We hear that Oreos are one of his favorites! He loves his new "bike" from Grammy and Papa!
Matching PJs on Christmas Morning...Please excuse the "No Makeup" look and the PJs with boots!LOL! That seems to be a trend around here lately! :)

Look what Santa brought! We call it a playset...Rhett calls it his "building"!LOL! Whatever you call it, Rhett loves it! His favorites are the swing and the ramp...More specifically walking up the ramp and throwing things down his slide!

Deacon wants to play, too!
Fishin' with Daddy!

The Aftermath

Whew! That was alot of catching up to do! But what a Blessed and magical Christmas it was for us!