Our Trip to Target

This post is an "oldie" from Myspace. I posted it April 5th, so when reading keep in mind that this happened a few months ago. I hope you enjoy...

Last night I tried my luck again with getting the boys out by myself. It was not as good as our Wal-Mart trip that I blogged about a few weeks ago.

If any of you reading this live in the Dogwood area, you might have heard us. It was screaming, whining, crying, tears, snot... and that's me I'm talking about while running out of Target.

The boys were terrible. They didn't want to stay in the buggy, they were throwing the items out of the buggy and hollering "uh-oh", spitting their juice at each other and then laughing about it as it were part of their comedy act (only no one seemed to be laughing but them).

I knew it was time to go when they both started hollering "doo-doo" while grabbing the crotch of their pants. And since recently they have done that to let me know they need changing, it's not unusual for both to have a dirty diaper within minutes of each other if not at the same time.

I paid for what few items were fortunate to have remained in the buggy and had not fallen victim of literally being thrown overboard. Upon getting them in their car seats, I learned that neither had "doo-doo". I guess it was their last effort of getting themselves out of shopping with mom--to which they claim victory, because it worked.

When I got home, JB could tell I was frazzled. He just shook his head and reminded me of his continuous warning..."HB, one day I'm gonna come home and find you rope bound and gagged. And all I can say is, 'I told you not to turn your back on them'"

Until next time, I will be sleeping with one eye open,
HB

"Holy Goldfish"

Why is it that the goldfish I eat at home aren't nearly as good as the goldfish I eat at church when doing extended session? I have bags of goldfish on hand here at home for the boys and there's rarely a week that goes by that we haven't snacked on goldfish. But I promise, the ones at home just aren't as good as the ones at church. I get in that classroom full of children and I just crave 'em--at home, I don't want to look at another goldfish. This past Sunday I had extended session duties and I found myself eating the leftovers even after eating the little cup they brought for me. It's just something about them "holy goldfish" that I just can't resist.

Until next time, HB

Oldies but Goodies

Several of you have asked and suggested that I post some of my older blogs from MySpace onto Blogger. I blogged on MySpace before using Blogger. These earlier blogs are only available to MySpace users that I have approved to read. Because there are too many to post at one time, I will start posting the one at a time sporadically. I will remind you that the post is not recent so when reading them keep in mind that the event probably happened as long 3 months ago. Hope you enjoy them. And thanks to those who care enough and enjoy the blogs enough for your suggestions and requests.

Until next time, HB

Friends + Family = FUN

This past weekend was full of family and friends. JB's friend, John, blessed us with a visit for the weekend. John and JB were roommates in college all 4 years. They also played football together. John is now a Physical Therapist and graduated with a DPT this past Friday. Congratulations, John! John took to the boys like a big brother. And they loved him! John is very special to us and we look forward to his next visit. John, BB, and CB

While John, JB, and my dad spent the day fishing on Saturday, the boys, Meme and I spent the day visiting my grandmother. I am always so glad to visit her and while down there my 2 aunts also got to stop by. It is always such a joy to see them, also.

Mammaw, BB and CB

Until next time, HB

We now have our own "biby water"

For those who keep up with my blogs, you know that our previous pool was too little, or is it that the boys are too big? Anyway, regardless we needed a new pool and we finally have one. This past Tuesday we put it to good use. While swimming, we were surprised to see coming through our backyard gate-- Babbey, Alex, Aunt Fiffi, and Daddaw. The boys were ecstatic. We enjoyed their company and play. It made a fun day even better. As you look at the pictures, you will notice that Alex nor Babbey are dressed in swimsuits. They did not know that we would be swimming so we had to make do.



Until next time, HB

All in a days work...

Today was like any other. The boys were busy which keeps me busy. I decided to blog about my day and what all it entails.

Today, I again did one of my most hated chores, laundry. As I have said before, it seems to never end. Well, in reality it never does. After emptying the dryer only to load it again with the clothes from the washer, only to load it again, I had to go retrieve the clothes from our bathroom hamper. When I walked in I found the boys doing this to the bathroom floor...

They had managed to get their tub crayons out of a drawer and proceeded to graffiti the floor. After taking the crayons away, I then cleaned up the mess.

As I returned to the laundry room with more dirty clothes in hand, I found this...

While I was cleaning the mess in the bathroom, the boys managed to drag out all the clothes that were waiting to be folded. They were in a laundry basket.

Well the day went on, and I again found myself in the laundry room tackling the clothes. This time the boys followed me in there. What could possibly happen with them in there that I can't stop. Well, as I am sure most of you have experienced, things happen so quickly with toddlers. As I was loading and unloading, this happened...

CB managed to grab and spill JB's bag of sunflower seeds. Of course his mere reaction was "uh-oh". And again, I found myself cleaning up another mess.

It was time to cook supper. As I was preparing supper, I heard loud laughter coming from the den. When I walked into the den I found this...

These are some their winter clothes that I had put in a garbage bag to donate somewhere or to someone. The boys had managed to empty the clothes out of the bag. The poor bag was smothered under the clothes. Again, I found myself cleaning up yet another mess.

So, to wrap up my day...it was full of doing, undoing, and redoing. Oh, and I managed to change 7 dirty diapers. If I could market this stuff, I would be a rich lady on today's production alone.

Until next time, I will keep running in the hamster's wheel hoping I will eventually get somewhere, HB

First day on the job!

There's just something encouraging about walking into a job where this is displayed in the front door for every customer to see. This is called a kugal. It is a type of water fountain that literally elevates a marbel globe of the world and spins in any direction that you make it. And for those who can't see the writing on the base--it says "Go into the world and make disciples"...Matthew 28:19. This is also known as "The Great Commission".

JB started his new job today as the Corporate Trainer for this company. He said that it was overwhelming realizing during his "orientation" that he is in a total different environment and career other than banking. JB has worked at a bank in some capacity for almost 10 years. And now working at a furniture store, especially one that is as massive as this one, is very different to say the least. Although, he is not in retail but just learning the furniture business is going to be a challenge.

I have full confidence that he can do it and will be the best at it. JB enjoys challenges and has proven to overcome them throughout his life. He deligently worked hard and trained to remain the starting kicker all 4 years during his college football career. His hard work broke several kicking records. He earned his Master's Degree in Business Administration despite the challenges during those years. His hard work allowed him to graduate as 1 of 3 with honors.

I believe God placed JB in those challenging positions with many others that I probably don't know about in order to grow him for the present and future challenges that he faces.

I am proud of him and look forward to seeing what God has in store as he faces these challenges with His guidance and grace.
I'll keep ya'll posted on his progress.

Until next time, HB

What some may call an obsession, I call a hobby

One of the best Mother's Day gifts I have gotten is my digital camera. I have used it to the fullest, literally. If you read my blog about our beach trip, then you already know that I took 900 pictures. Not 899 not 901, but 900! Some would say that is obsessive (and I would agree while "tweeking" all 900) but I say it's a hobby.

With my toddlers, I have to just take pictures randomly hoping that I get a few good ones. CB's view of the world is looking down. That child rarely looks up while walking. This being said, plus the fact that CB is rarely still when in open places and spaces, it is hard to get a frontal picture or a picture of him looking at the camera. He rarely stayed in one place while at the beach. Even so to the point that he enjoyed the "biby water" better than the beach because we weren't holding his hand. BB tends to stay in one place and look at the camera more often, though, still hard to get most pictures of him looking at the camera.

Ironically, I have very few pictures developed. As I am sure with most people (at least the ones I know), digital pictures seem to stay on the computer and rarely go anywhere else. The advantage is, when you do actually get them ordered you can order just the ones you want and you can delete those that are unsatisfactory. I did better at getting my 35mm pictures developed because it was the only way to see the actual pictures. But I enjoy the options of cropping, tinting, and converting to black and white that the digital camera gives. It amazes me what timeless memories you can make after all the tweeking.

I enjoy getting my pictures "to say a thousand words" without even having to talk. And some of those words only I can hear because I am the mother, daughter, sister, wife, or friend of the person in the picture. And only I know what they are saying when I look at it. Some of the pictures of my boys brings tears because I have captured such an innocence that will not always be there. Yet, those pictures give me that memory that will last a lifetime. Those pictures also show me that there is still joy, peace, and hope in the world. And they give me frozen memories of timeless blessings.

What these pictures say to me: "They are getting so big, yet they are still so small"

With all this being said, I have added some new black and white pictures to my present slide show at the bottom of the blog. I have also added a new slide show of just beach pictures. Now don't panic, I didn't include all 900, just 899 (just kidding).

I invite you to pull up a chair, relax, pop some popcorn, grab a coke and enjoy the shows. Admission is free.

Photographer: HB
Editor: HB
Producer: HB
CEO of "The Family Bond" slide shows: HB
Directors: CB and BB--they dictated where and how I took the pictures

Camera: 190.00
AA batteries for this trip alone: 20.00 (this cameral sucks the life out of batteries really quick)
The memories I captured: priceless

Hope you enjoy and until next time, HB

Our "Big Water" vacation

Well, we have been to the beach and back. I must honestly say that it was a relative "uneventful" trip. No territorial marking, at least not out of the water, and no major melt downs. We arrived Saturday, May 12th and returned Wed. May 16th. The weather was best on Saturday and Sunday. But, it was "red flag" days on Monday and Tuesday. However, it didn't stop us from enjoying the outdoors. On the "red flag" days we played in the sand and the pool. The boys called the ocean the "bi awah" and the pool the "biby awah". ("bi" is pronouced as big without the g). CB preferred the "biby awah" because he was free from mama and daddy's hands. BB was indifferent. Although, he enjoyed the sand a little more than CB. CB never stopped. He was like Forrest Gump, just ran and ran. It was hard getting a frontal view picture of him (as you will see in the pics that I post). Even today, the boys asked about the "bi awah" and the "biby awah".

We did perform a bit of a dog and pony show at DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen. We ate there the last night of our stay. Just before being seated, CB took a pretty hard fall off the deck steps onto the asphalt which caused a big gasp from the crowd waiting to eat. And on the way out, JB picked BB up to put him on his shoulder only to have the turning ceiling fan hit poor BB in the head. Not much harm was done, however it did knock off a bunch of dust landing on those of us following behind.

We enjoyed seafood from the Original Oyster House (our personal favorite), Sea n Suds, and DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen. I got my fill of fried crab claws and JB got his fill of fried shrimp. The boys got their fill of grilled cheese, hot dogs, and popcorn shrimp.

As JB and a friend of ours said, maybe the Memphis Zoo wasn't for nothing. It did show us that the boys were not ready for an aquarium and zoo trip to Atlanta as we had originally planned. It was definitely the right decision to vacation at the beach.

We are feel blessed to have spent this time as a family and thank God for giving us this opportunity.

As for pictures, I am embarrassed to say that I took 900! Obviously too many to include in the blog, so instead I am creating a slide show just like the one at the bottom of the page. Instead it will contain only our beach pictures. Give me a few days to get this done, I just finished cropping and resizing all the pics. After this process, I did elimanate the number of pictures to 750. (I'll blog about my picture taking in another blog).

Until next time, HB

JB has won the Masters!

Well maybe not The Masters, but close enough for us. Last night, JB, was able to walk across the stage and accept his Masters in Business Administration diploma. I can't tell you a thing about the commencement speech but I will tell how proud I am of him. Earning his Masters has been a 3 1/2 to 4 years in the making. And I don't know who was more excited about the final night, he or I.


JB has worked very hard and it was obvious when he graduated Cum Laude. I learned during the ceremony that there were only 3 people who graduated with honors in Business Administration---1 Magna, 1 Summa, he the only Cum Laude.

This diploma is even more special considering what all has happened during his time earning it. He persisted and sacrificed even through us moving, job changes within the bank, traveling for his job weeks at a time, my pregnancy (for those who know us very well, you know the struggles that entails), the most life changing, the birth of our twins, and the most life challenging, their first 2 years of growing up. Despite all of these challenges, JB, constistently worked hard and even so, graduated Cum Laude.

I am so proud of him. He is truly a leader in our home in which I am blessed to have. As proud as I am of him, I am just as glad that it is over. Now he will be able to spend more time with his family.

JB and I after the

ceremony proudly

holding his diploma.

JB and his family--minus his brother. We are so appreciative that they came to the ceremony. It was a long drive over and late drive back. We cherish the sacrifice they made for this special event.

I am excited to see what the Lord has instore for us now. What doors he will open next.

Until next time, HB

Airing my dirty laundry...again

A friend asked this morning, "How was the laundry coming?". So I thought I would update everyone through the blog.

I am embarrassed to say that it has gone nowhere and only multiplied. I would take pictures again; however, it would the same only the piles would be higher and bigger. As a matter of fact, I have run out of laundry baskets to haul the clothes from one point to another.

We are leaving tomorrow for the beach. I do believe we might have to change our reservations to a nudist beach...if I don't get the laundry done today...we won't have a thing to wear.

I am hoping between cleaning the rest of my house, last minute grocery shopping, packing (which shouldn't take long without clothes)...and the general taking care of 2 toddlers, and getting ready for JB's graduation, I can get the laundry done...

You know, come to think about it...nudist beach might not be so bad... no clothes on the trip means no laundry after we get back.

If you all see unclothed pictures of us from our trip, then you know the laundry didn't get done.

Until next time, be afraid...be very afraid of what might yet to come, HB

You did Great, Alex!!

Last night my neice, Alex, exhibited her great performing abilities in her "end of the year" program for her choir/children's class at her church. I was grateful to be able to attend this special performance. I am so proud of her exciting and animated performance. She was a natural. She even graced me with great smile between their songs. I was sitting on the floor near the front with my camera as if I were the paparazzi. This is only the 2nd "program" I have been able to attend and was glad to be there.

Alex and me after her performance. I was one of the few lucky ones to get a picture with the big star. The paparrazzi tended to take over during and after the performance.

This is one of the many pictures that the "paparazzi" aka, Aunt HB, was able to shoot while she was being escorted back to her ride. Alex is a beautiful girl from the inside out.

Until next time, HB

I do believe it's time to do laundry

Let me begin by saying that I generally do not mind cleaning my house. However, with 2 toddlers, there is not much cleaning that I can do at one time. I used to stress about my house looking like a tornado has come through. But I have learned that I can't do it all. I don't have a time when I am home by myself to do a good overall cleaning. But there are 2 chores that I hate doing that must be done on a regular basis...laundry and dishes. And I noticed yesterday that my laundry has gotten a little out of control.

It's as if my laundry room and clothes hamper are bulemic. They both seem to binge on our clothes and towels and then purge the same. As I am sure you will notice in the above pictures.

I hate doing the dishes also. The hate for these 2 chores makes me procrastinate to the point of having barely nothing to wear or having to thaw meat in the tub because the dishes have piled up. (this hasn't happened recently, but it has in the past and has the possibility of happening again.) However, I must say, that JB is good about doing the dishes most of the time.

Both chores are so redundant to the point that they repeat themselves (get the point). I think that's why I hate doing them so much. My mother, who I am sure will eventually read this, will be embarrassed. And some of you probably wonder why I would blog about such matters. I do because this is our life. And in order for you to get the whole picture of our life, you must see the good, the bad and the ugly. I would think this situation is part of "the ugly". Let's just hope it doesn't go from bad to worse.

Needless to say, you all now know what I will be doing for the rest of the week. Please feel free to join me.

Until next time, HB

Holy Playground

This past Saturday, JB, attended a Crown Financial Ministries Conference. Therefore, the boys and I had to find something to do in order to keep our Saturday from being like any other day. The boys love the park; however, I can't take them by myself. One usually wants to go one way while the other wants to go another. Because of this, I have to think of "creative" places that we can go to play. I remembered that our church has a wonderful playground...and the best part is--it's confined within the walls of a fence. The boys had a great time and I enjoyed watching them play because I didn't have worry about one or both getting away from me. As you will see in the pictures below, they enjoyed themselves very much.

CB seems to enjoy the slide the most. He is usually attracted to the slides at most playgrounds.

It's a good thing God blessed BB with a hard head, because he uses it the most when sliding head first. I don't think he knows how to slide the proper way.

And of course, it wouldn't have a been "normal" family outing without a melt down. BB just couldn't help himself nor would he let anyone else.

So Long and Farewell to the Bank

As most of you know, JB is leaving the banking business. Today is his last day as a banker. After 7 1/2 years of banking, JB has decided to pursue a different career. He has enjoyed his career in banking and made some wonderful friends; however, it's not what he enjoys doing the most. JB is a teacher/trainer at heart. He enjoys presenting and teaching in front of a group. After much prayer and consideration, he has accepted the Corporate Trainer position at a local furniture company. (I am not comfortable naming the company on the web for numerous reasons; however, if you are interested in knowing I will be glad to give you the info through email). It is a very reputable company and they claim to be the largest in the Southeast.

This job position is a blessing and due to only circumstances that God allowed, we feel that is it what is best for our family at this time. This job is giving us a little more financial blessings and they added an extra week of vacation than they normally would do for new employees. And the best part, it was more than JB expected and asked for. This is proof that God really does care about His children and the desires of their heart. I am proud of JB and look forward to what God has in store for him in this new position.

As best as I can explain, JB will be the only trainer in his "department". He will have the responsibility of communicating on an on-going bases with all the managers to discuss what their "underlings" need training on. Anywhere from management skills, sales, customer service skills, etc. JB will then create/develop the material in which will be needed to train. This is a new position for this company and JB is looking forward to the new challenges that await.

Although, today is JB's last day at the bank, he will not begin his new job until May 21st. I am looking forward to him being home for the next 2 weeks. During this time off, we will be taking a family vacation to the beach. (More to come on concerning our trip, later).

I will keep you all posted on the adventures of his new career. I ask that you keep JB in your prayers as he eagerly begins this new path in his life.(This company employees approximately 350 to 400 employees).

Until next time, HB

Target practice, anyone?

Have you seen this bird? He is notorious for pecking on my house and waking me up way earlier than I want. I don't mean to sound cruel, but I welcome anyone who would like to have some target practice use it as your target. Not only is it frustrating being woken up by a bird but we don't need holes in our house. Part of our house is made of cypress wood so I guess he feels it's his privilege to help himself to my house.

While searching the web for the picture, I learned that there are 2,500,000 and I wouldn't mind if it was 2,499,999. With that many, I don't think this one will be missed. I know I won't miss it.

For those who keep up with my blogs on MySpace (You know it's not gonna be a good day when...), I am convinced the birds are out to get me.



Until next time, HB

It's time for a new pool

Pool too little...


Boys too big...


Smiles just right!

Today, I got out the pool that we bought the boys at end of the summer last year. While blowing it up with an air pump, I was worried that it wouldn't fit through the door to the backyard. Well, it wasn't long that my worries were eased. This pool, such as it is, is extremely small, petite, little, tiny (you get the point). I think my mamma's wash tub is bigger. Anyway, I continued to blow it up hoping the boys would enjoy it regardless. And of course they did. As you can see, the pictures explain it.

I think JB and I will be investing in a bigger and better pool for the boys in the near future.

Until next time, HB

Partying Hard

This past Saturday evening, we enjoyed a time of fun, food and fellowship with all of our dear friends in our Sunday School Class. I am proud to say that boys were well behaved and as you can tell from the pics below, they had a great time playing. As you know, we Baptist will have some good food. We feasted on grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, potato salad, chips & dip, and of course dessert. We proudly pulled off a "surprise" baby shower/celebration for a dear couple who is expecting a baby boy in August. We showered them with baby gifts. It was fun celebrating in their miracle. Can't wait for our next party!

CB having fun on the climbing "gym" as well as making his daddy proud with the football.

BB also had fun in the jumping "gym" and playing with the "larger than life" ball.

Until next time, HB