Community Carnival- October 4!

Just wanted to let everyone know that my church, Hixson United Methodist, is holding there annual Community Carnival this Saturday, October 4th from 2-6. The carnival is done as a Christian outreach to the Community and is completely FREE! The flyer says, games, prizes, crafts, face painting, snowcones, bingo, petting zoo, inflatables, popcorn, and pony rides. Hotdogs will be sold for a small fee. The carnival is held on the ballfields below the church (across from Vandergriff Park). That ballfield, Thaxton Field, holds a very special place in my heart. Not only did my brother and I spend countless years playing there, but they are named after my late grandfather, Ned Thaxton, who I miss every day! Hope to see you there!

Fun at the County Fair

Yesterday we went to the Hamilton County Fair at Chester Frost Park. We went last year, but Trace only being 7 months old, we were very limited in what we could do. This year, he was full steam ahead! He would have run all over that park if we had turned him loose. That is until he got to the goats...
Trace wasn't quite sure about the goats and the horses. Needless to say, we opted to skip the pony rides. He loved them as long as we were holding him and standing up but once you bent down to actually touch them, he held on for dear life! It's sad what a momma will do to get a hug these days!

We then went into the barn and he was fascinated by the baby pigs (a little more his size). See the little girl in the picture with him. Yeah, we don't know her, but she was very sweet and patient. We looked over and Trace had literally crawled onto her lap and was standing on her legs to get a better look at the pigs. I'm sure she appreciated the fact that his little sandals were covered in piggie poo! Boy, we need to work on his shyness!
We got to meet up with our friends Jill and Will and their precious kids, Ethan and Abby. Abby was nice enough to break her cookie apart and share with Trace. Unfortunately, it fell between the passing and this is Trace feeding her the cookie covered in rocks (and probably a little piggie poo too!) It's amazing what kids will eat...sorry Jill!!
Here they all are on the haystack. Look at that brotherly love! You can't tell if he is hugging his baby sister or choking her... it's a very fine line! I promise we didn't play the "GO BIG ORANGE" attire, but we thought they looked pretty cute!
Overall, I think the highlight of Trace's trip to the fair was getting to ride on the school bus totally unrestrained! He couldn't believe he got to sit in our laps and look out the window. You forget just how little it takes sometimes to entertain a child. After goats, pigs, horses, crafts, play equipment, funnel cakes, lemonade, and cotton candy we headed home for a BIG nap! Great day!

Didn't Lance Armstrong start off this way?

Well, tonight we dusted off the old bikes and took them for a spin. Other than one time on vacation, it has been a LONG time since I have been on a bike. We bought a child seat and headed to the high school where there were few people and a lot of open space... thank goodness. I resisted the urge to purchase the full armor of pads for Trace, opting only for the helmet and the wonderful bicycle skills of his father! I made Jimmy ride with Trace, if you have ever seen me run you would completely understand! It is not that I am that uncoordinated, but I didn't trust myself on a bike with my "precious cargo". We had a great time and Trace seemed to really love it. We heard a lot of "whee", "oh boy", "go", and "bump" (speed humps were everywhere).

House for Rent

We have a house for rent, if you know of anyone who may be interested. The previous renters just moved out and it is available. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a 2 car garage and new carpet. It sits on a private 1 1/2 acres on the Chickamauga Creek. The schools are Hixson Elementary, Middle, and High. The rent is $1,100 monthly with a $1,000 deposit. The address is 1305 Lower Mill Road and the contact number is 595-4329. Please pass along if you know of anyone interested. Thanks!

Pudding, Muzzleloaders, and WalMart... Friday Night Fun

As we finished our lasagna dinner tonight, Jimmy got up to go to the pantry for what I thought was his usual, nilla wafers and peanut butter. However, this time he brought back 2 things of pudding... and a big grin. I knew who the other pudding was for! It has always driven him crazy that I would much rather have a bag of potato chips or McDonald's french fries than ice cream. So, he has now found an ally in his quest for dessert, Trace. I cringed, with my "he shouldn't be eating that" look, but didn't say a word as they dove into their chocolate pudding. Trace even remembered to share with Ginger (we are working on sharing). As you can tell from the pictures, a wet one just would not suffice in cleaning him up so our plans to go straight to WalMart were put on hold while we hosed Trace off.

At WalMart, Jimmy bought a muzzleloader (aka... hunting rifle) for upcoming hunting season. After nearly 5 years of marriage, I am slowly learning that this is not a hobby, but a passion. Anyone who purposely gets out of a warm bed at 4 in the morning when it is less than 20 degrees outside, to clammer through the dark woods and shimmy up a tree in the hopes of seeing "the big one" is either passionate or clinically insane! But, I have come to expect and respect this. I knew NOTHING about hunting or fishing when we got married, however, I am beginning to realize that now raising a son with a father who loves it, I better start learning! I have nightmares that one day, I, too will be forced to get out of my warm bed at an ungodly hour in the freezing cold to make sure my only son doesn't fall out of the tree that he is perched in, holding a gun. I am so torn between wanting Trace to love it for Jimmy's sake and the constant fear it can bring worrying about your child.

I realized tonight, through the pudding and muzzleloader incidents, that I can't control every situation in Trace's life, God is in control. I have to learn to let go of the nagging concerns and questions I constantly want to say like "Hasn't he had enough pudding?", "Isn't he swinging too high?", "Please don't take him on the lawnmower", and now " That muzzleloader isn't loaded, is it?"

Oh boy, this is not going to be easy!

Family Day at Lake Winnie

Jimmy's family from Alabama came in this weekend and we decided to take Trace and Sara Kathryn (his cousin's 2-year-old) to Lake Winnie. None of us had been there in years (decades really... we are so old) but it is only open 2 more weeks so we decided to go and had a blast! We headed out with 4 cameras and 2 video cameras. Thank you Sylvia (Jimmy's mom) and Sandy and Sheila (Jimmy's aunts) for capturing those precious moments on film! I always know when Sandy and Sheila are around, there will be plenty of pictures to remember the event by!

It was very kid friendly and I was surprised at how many rides there were for little ones. We used the coupons in the school coupon books (thanks Aunt Penny) and all 7 of us went. Millie, Sara Kathryn's mom, is 9 months pregnant so Aunt Kate rode along with Sara Kathryn. She was such a trooper because it was very humid! The kids loved it, and so did we! It is so much fun seeing it through their eyes! I can't wait for Disney World!!! My mom would have had a nervous breakdown if she had seen Trace riding the Sky Lift over the water with me. I will admit, I was very nervous, knowing how quick his little body works, but he sat perfectly still and never moved a muscle. Fortunatley, he is very into boats and the sky buckets go right over the paddle boats and boat chute, so he was mesmerized. We topped the day off with Dippin Dots (which I couldn't believe Jimmy had never had, I thought he had tried EVERY form and flavor of ice cream) and headed home. Trace zonked out in the car about the time we hit 75 South. It was a great morning and we were so glad we got to share it with our family! Thanks for coming guys!!

HELP... he has escaped the crib!

This is one of those mommy moments I have been dreading. Trace was supposedly down for his nap when he begins singing at the top of his lungs. I go upstairs to retuck and replug and I find him standing at the door!! I put him back in his crib and anxiously watch to see how he did it. He got his leg slung over and was pushing himself up onto the top rail when I pulled him down, thankful he hadn't busted his head the first time.

There are few moments during the day when you can relax and know that your toddler is contained and virtually safe (God willing). Nap time is one of those, actually, it's the only one. Now, I have to live in fear that the moment I close the door and walk down the steps he will catipult (sp?) himself right out of his bed and once again be free. I can't stand the thought that he is old enough for a "big boy" bed but don't want to take the chance of him hurting himself. For now, I have turned his bed around so that the lowest part is against the wall. Maybe that will detour him for a little while... any other suggestions????

"Lupper" with the girls

Today I got to spend some time with my friends from college celebrating a new job. Iris, Jill, Leslie, and I met at Big River at yes, 3:45 in the afternoon to celebrate Leslie's new job as the Nurse Practitioner at Erlanger for the Chattanooga Heart Institute. After the burn unit closed this summer, Leslie had been "displaced" and is so excited to begin her new job next week. Jill is still at Battle Elementary and Iris is a realtor for Keller Williams. It is always so nice to get to visit and catch up with them. It is funny how things change, our "girls night out" now happens in the middle of the afternoon due to jobs and childcare but we don't care, we're just glad to find the time to do it! I feel very blessed to have these girls in my life and look forward to many more "lupper" dates!! Congrats Leslie, we are so proud of you!

Grandparent's Day

Well, I really dropped the ball on this one. I didn't even realize until we got to church this morning that it was Grandparent's Day. Even worse, it was my dad who reminded me! I just have to say that in the grandparent department, Trace truly won out. He has the 4 most caring, loving grandparents any little boy could ask for. He is the only grandchild on both sides (until Andy and Kadi give my parents another one, of course!!!) so he has to be shared quite often. We feel so blessed to have parents that want to be such a part of his life and have waited so long for him. I love watching Trace develop relationships with each of them. They all have their own special things they do together. Jimmy and I both have and had grandparents that were a big part of our lives and are fortunate enough to have 5 of the 8 still living! Grandaddy, Sisty, Papaw, and Nana, thank you for loving Trace so much and for being so supportive to us! We love you and appreciate you more than words can say!! Happy Grandparent's Day!

May-men... aka Amen

There are few things in this world more precious than hearing a child trying to say new words for the first time. Jimmy and I often talk in "Trace Language" without even realizing in. The other night while I was putting Trace to bed, we were saying our prayers together. As I concluded with "in God's name we pray... Amen," Trace lifted his head off my shoulder, pulls out his paci, and in the sweetest, softest voice I have ever heard said, "May-men". Talk about making a mamma cry. Since the day he was born, my prayer has been that he will come to know and love Jesus Christ and when he is old enough, to except him as his Lord and Savior. I'm sure it is every parents wish to know that they will spend eternity in heaven with their children. We take the responsibility of guiding his Christian walk very seriously as Jimmy and my parents did us. That, as his mother, is my greatest role. It may sound silly, knowing that an 18-month-old has no understanding of what Amen means, but it was if God was smiling down on us, again reminding me He is in control.

We buried a very close family friend today who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday. As I sat listening to the pastor talk about what a Godly man Jim was, and that today he sits at Jesus' feet healthy and whole, it gave me peace and hope for the future. Bonnie, if you are reading this, know how special Jim was and that you and your family will continue to be in our prayers. Sometimes it takes someone we love passing or a simple sweet word from a baby to make you stop and remember what life is all about. And all of God's children said... "May-men".

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be... firemen

Christmas came early at our house last week. After picking Trace up from MDO and discovering his new love, the Cozy Coupe Car, we rushed out to get him one. Yes, we are sooo first time parents. As if the car itself wasn't enough, we had to get the fire engine one that made the siren sounds, like we really needed another toy that made noise! Anyway, Jimmy tried putting it together with Trace still awake and about the time he got the basic car finished without the roof or doors, Trace realized what it was and there was no getting him out. So we had to wait until he went to sleep to finish and put the roof and all the stickers on. The next morning he was so excited to see it sitting in the kitchen and he has loved it ever since. He has even mastered the "Dukes of Hazzard" way of getting in, sliding through the windows without opening the doors. Here are some pictures of my little fireman! Now all he needs is a hat and a dalmation!

You just don't know!

OK, I'm sure this will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me but... computers are not my thing. I have been wanting so badly to set up a blog after spending months reading my friends (thank you Leslie, Trinity, and Andi). I have even become a little stalkerish by reading blogs of people I hardly know from my friends links. I feel like I already know some of those people. I decided it was time. After a LOT of work (I even had to get a "lesson" from the Infiniti + Computer man today AND one of Jimmy's workers) I have a blog!!! This is just a fun way to stay in touch with people and to share with family and friends. I love watching all the little ones grow up in the pictures you send and hearing about your lives. So... here is a glimpse into mine!