On a Roll...

The weather was finally perfect and our trick or treating night was fun! We headed to the big Searcy square to trick or treat with some friends and then on to Harding to trunk or treat. Laura and Jim hit a few neighborhood houses on the way back.
Laura is always ready to strike a pose!
This was the best shot I got of both kids. Grant is so wiggly right now. As you can see, Laura was Ariel and Grant was a skunk.
The reason Grant was a skunk is because like the little heart says he is "a lil stinker".Laura's school had a carnival on Friday. It was games that the 6th graders made for the Pre-K students. It is very cute to see the older students cater to the younger ones.
Grant got to ride in the stroller and eat marshmallows! He was actually pretty content to be still!
Showing off their face paintings!
Grant was done taking pictures and Laura was just ready to get into bed with Stella!

Pumpkin Patch

Lately

The last month has been exceptionally crazy busy. I figured out that in the past 28 days my grandpa passed away; we took a trip to Disney World; spent time in Houston to bury my grandpa; took a weekend girl's trip to Memphis; hung out with my mom while she visited us in Searcy last week; and drove to Norman, OK, with Jim to see a U2 concert. In between all of that, classes have to be prepared and oh yeah I've got a family too who likes to have clean clothes and a warm dinner!!

Disney World was awesome!! Laura LOVED every single moment (except the Snow White and Pirate ride) and we just had a ball with her. One of the highlights was eating dinner with Cinderella in her castle. I thought I was gonna cry when Laura met her for the first time. Big moment! Meeting and getting autographs from the many characters was Laura's favorite part. Another highlight was trick or treating in the Magic Kingdom after the park had closed. It was a "special event" so there weren't as many people and there were more characters roaming around. We enjoyed all the parks from the rides, parades to firework shows. It was as they say "magical".

We spent the next few days after Disney in Houston with my family. While it was a sad time for us to lose Papa, we also are at peace with his passing. He'll be missed greatly.

Once I returned to Searcy, I had a couple of days to recover and get ready for my college girl weekend trip in Memphis. I love my friends, Andrea, Maria and Cara. It amazes me how time passes, but our friendship is still solid. Of course now instead of talking about our "guy prospects" as we did in college, we talk about our babies, our gray hairs, the medicines that we take and droopy body parts. We had a wonderful weekend of shopping, eating, pampering ourselves and talking.

My mom visited us last week. I did not take ONE single picture, but we did have fun having a shopping trip to LR and having a "girls" day with Laura. I think we wore my mom out pretty good!

This past weekend, Jim and I drove to the U2 concert in Norman, OK. We have a fabulous babysitter who watched Laura and Grant over night. They did great and we had a fun time enjoying Bono. Jim is a HUGE U2 fan and therefore I enjoy his music as well. The concert was amazing and it was good to get away even for a short period of time to talk and just have fun.

I am enjoying so much watching Grant start to talk. His verbal skills have really picked up the last couple of weeks and I just love hearing his little voice! We took him to the allergist a couple weeks ago where he had no reaction to 18 different allergens. It didn't really help explain his rashes, but he is on a daily antihistamine which has seemed to help in the constant runny nose department.

And the Disney pictures....

Remembering Papa

On Saturday, September 19th, Heaven welcomed a wonderful man. My grandpa, "Papa", who was 93, went to meet his Savior. Papa had gone into the hospital the first weekend of September after he fell in the shower. He wasn't really hurt, but they did find out that his cough was really pneumonia. He was in ICU for a week on a ventilator, but seemed to be getting better each day. The recovery was going to be long for him, but we remained confident that he could pull through. So we were all surprised when he gave his final breath. But, my heart swells with joy to think of his reunion with his wife, Betsy as he entered the gates of Heaven. He joined so many other loved ones including many of their dogs! (Yes, I believe dogs go to Heaven.) As I am sad that he is no longer here and will no longer call me "sweetheart" or kiss my cheek with his bristly mustache, I know with confidence that he is so much happier.

As I've been thinking about his life the last week, my greatest memories of Papa are his kindness, generosity and wisdom. He was truly a remarkable man.

His graveside service was on Monday and it was really an inspiring day to hear of the wonderful ways in which Papa touched the lives of others. He was extremely giving to so many people. Papa was a "no nonsense" kind of guy. He called it like it was, but he was also a real softy. I could pretty much get what I wanted from him. I am the only granddaughter, so I was often catered to quite a bit. He never made it a secret of how much he loved little girls! When I was younger, we took dates out to dinner and a movie. There have been so many times that he has sent me money just to do something for myself.

He also loved to give advice! He would always ask on each visit on how Jim and I were doing financially and he wanted to make sure I knew that Jim should always come before the kids and to make time for each other.

I could go on and on about my special memories of Papa. He will be greatly missed and it is really hard to believe he is gone. A friend of the family sang "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me and it was so neat to picture my Papa with Jesus. Wow!

"I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...
I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!"

These are two pictures of Papa with Laura when she was a baby and one where he was meeting Grant for the first time.

September

I think I might be turning into a monthly or bi-monthly blogger. In between two busy kids, a busy husband, teaching two classes and maintaining a home, life is just going going going.

1. Jim, Laura and I leave for Disney World in one week. Jim is going to a conference in Orlando and we'll all spend time at the Magic Kingdom. It was a very last minute trip and I'm so thankful we were able to book a "value" resort and get meals with Cinderella, Mary Poppins, Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse! If you are going to Disney, book well in advance. I had to check the computer several times a day to find openings for these character meals. Laura is VERY excited! In this picture, she is holding up her "countdown" to Disney chart!

2. We are finally plugged into a great small group. Actually, we've been in this small group for several months, but it is very comfortable and I enjoy the couples very much. The wives get together quite a bit for movies, dinner or just hanging out. We feel very very blessed by our friends!

3. This is how I found Grant eating his lunch today. I walked to the living room to make a phone call and when I came back, he was sound asleep.
4. I turned 35 this month. I found out that this is the year of mammograms and I am now higher risk for pregnancy (not that it matters--no more babies!). But, boy that made me feel old!

5. The stomach bug has visited everyone in our family. It started off with Laura last week and moved on to Jim. We had a break for a few days before it hit me and Grant. I am praying we stay healthy now.

That is a quick recap of some of the latest happenings.

Grant-17 months

I realized that I haven't posted any "milestones" for Grant since he was 11 months. He has changed a lot in the past 6 months!

1. Gotta keep sayin' it, but he is all boy!
2. He has tons of teeth. I think all of them are in finally. It took 2 months to get the eye teeth to fully poke through the gums.
3. Climbs everything...not out of the crib yet though......
4. He loves his paci (pappy).
5. He loves Laura; he follows her everywhere and she is usually a good sport about it. Although I do feel like a referee most days.
6. His words include: mama, daddy, pappy, lala, melmo, doggy...
7. Grant is not as verbal as his sister was at this age. I usually know what he wants because he points, goes to it or "agh" for it, but not a lot of words and some sign language.
8. He can point to his nose.
9. He loves Elmo!
10. He loves to ride or push anything.
11. He sleeps 12 or 13 hours each night. It took ONE year for that to happen. He naps good too.
12. He is going to MDO 2 days a week while I teach my class at HU and have a couple hours of "me" time. The first day of MDO, he walks into class and pretty much pushes a sweet little girl out of a riding toy, so he can get on it. Great first impression!!!
13. He weighs 24 pounds.
14. He has now entered the stage of throwing fits. (insert smile)
15. He really knows how to make a mess of anything.
16. He likes to read his books. I love to find him sitting on the floor going through his books!
17. The name Grant means "a gift". I thank God everyday for my Grant!

Home Repairs Completed

About 5 months ago, our dishwasher mysteriously leaked causing damage to our kitchen floor. It really wasn't noticeable damage, but the floor would need to be replaced when we someday sell our house AND we have always disliked our white floor! Let's just say it never stayed clean and could be mopped daily.

Thankfully the insurance gave us a check and we were able to replace our floor with no out of pocket. The decision of what type of floor to put into our kitchen took MONTHS of looking at samples, comparing costs, thinking, rethinking and finally we had made our decision. We decided laminate tile would be the best option for our family.

We also were never crazy about the color of our kitchen. Last fall, we paid to get it painted what Jim calls a "split pea" yellow/green color. It wasn't great. After 5 pints later of possible colors and 5 walls with different colors, we decided on "Stratton Blue".

After Jim painted the kitchen, he ripped out the floor. His dad came down to help install the new kitchen floor which was a very tedious task and we had to hire out a bit of help for that. Jim and his dad also replaced our front landing to hardwood. It was a week with lots of mess/noise/confusion and my attitude reflected all of that! But, the end product made it all worth it.

BEFORE:AFTER:

WOOD FLOOR LANDING: