Bouncey ball + JODY = $$

Jody went to the auction in ATL yesterday. As he walked in, they were starting early arrival prizes. Well, as you know, Jody is always early & has pretty good luck. But luck wouldn't help him this day. Today his speed & agility was the key. I'm sure you've guessed it involves this silly ball. His mission, should he choose to accept, was to race someone, about 50 feet, while both are sitting on the ball & bouncing their way to the finish line. Ha! Ha! Ha! That is Hilarious! I wish I could have been there to watch this & take pictures. I even tried to get him to reenact this last night, but he didn't fall for it. Anyway, Jody did win the race, so he got the cash prize. WooHoo!! We are sooo proud of Jody & his skills. This is just an example of how hard work & dedication(& being early) pays off. Way to win again, Jody!! I love you!

Kim & Heather at babyshower for Emily
Emily 8 weeks & Jonathan 3 weeks
Emily & Jonathan at birthday party

Jonathan, Alex, Emily & Jessi (Ella too)

Old & Young Friends (I mean longtime, not old)

Jonathan & Jase, Alex, Ella, Emily & Jessi
My friend Heather & I have been friends for almost 12 years now. We met at our work, & became instant friends. We lived close to each other, spent lots of time together, went on trips together etc. But then the kids came & we moved 2 counties away. Most of that came to a halt. So then we started getting together once a week and then every other week and now hardly ever. We still try to have a good talk at least once a week, but because of the school schedules, the kids rarely ever see each other. So this week, with winter break & a little guys First Birthday Party, we were able to see them 2 times in 1 week. Can you believe it. We all had lots of fun, and were glad we got to spend time together. Of course with 6 kids between us we don't always get pictures, but I did have some that I wanted to share. Now most of you know what a miracle it is to get 6 kids to sit down, let alone look in the direction of the camera. So these turned out really good. By the way Heather & I haven't had our picture taken since right after Emily was born. So I may throw in an old one of us. I know she'll love that. Isn't it nice to have old friends? We love you Arwood family!

Winter Break

We were able to go to PCB for a few days this week. We had fun relaxing & playing. The weather ended up being very nice except for a severe thunderstorm Sunday night. There was wind, rain, thunder & lightning. All the things that make up a thunderstorm; except, crazy guy. Crazy guy walks out onto the beach, in the midst of the storm. Then crazy guy proceeds to lay down, face up, on the sand. He laid there at least 15 minutes, during the worst part of the storm. I'm pretty sure he was asking to be struck by lightning. But, we kept looking out during the lightning flashes(which was pretty dangerous) to see if crazy guy was still there. Yep, he was there. Alex said. He's dead." & Emily just stayed in the back room. Then the police showed up & ran him off. So crazy guy made it through.

While in PC we got to play mini golf and go through a maze. We all enjoyed it. I tied with Jody in golf, which was great. Then for the maze we split up-Jody & Alex and Me & Emily. At the start you punch your time in through a machine. In the maze you have 4 checkpoints, where you punch your ticket, then try to find your way out & punch time out. Emily & I got to all 4 checkpoints, and found Jody & Alex, who only had 3. So we won. Maybe Jody was having an off day, or maybe Ella slowed him down. I'm sure Ella was to blame. Anyway, we had a good time. As you can see I took zero pictures, which I am now kicking myself for. You know what that means. We have to go back again, soon!!!

Valentine's Day (or is it week?)

Happy Valentine's Day! A little late. I was waiting to post till I had pictures, and I temporarily misplaced my camera, so now here I am. For those of you who don't know, at our house, we tend to stretch celebrations out for at least a week. So we started last Friday night, with Jody & Emily going on a date. Jody took Emily to Marietta Square to walk around and to get dessert. Emily loved the square, especially the stage. She got up there and danced and sang a song. She also played on the little train. She thought she was really something, showing off for Daddy. From the Square, they headed to Chili's for her favorite dessert~ Chocolate Molten Cake. MMM SO GOOD!! They had a lot of fun. Here they are on date night.

I didn't take many pictures of our other celebrations, but we had a busy week. Sunday night was the First Grade Bible presentation at church. So Alex walked up on stage to get his Bible presented to him by Pastor Johnny. My neice Hope got one also. Afterwards, they had a reception with pizza, balloon animals & pictures with the pastor. Wow, what a line. We opted out & decided Alex & Hope could have a private photo session with Pastor Johnny and maybe Mrs Janet too. Without the wait.
From that we moved on into the week, so Alex & I could plan our date. We were going to go to the Melting Pot for dessert, but that didn't work out. So we settled for Chick-fil-a milkshakes, which is one of his favorite things. But he only likes "Ranilla"(as he calls it), unlike his mom who only likes chocolate. Spending time with the kids one on one, is really special & fun. That is actually one of our goals for the year. We are planning at least one little date a month, Alex & Emily get one on one with either me or Jody. January was Jody & Alex and Me & Emily. And we're rotating every month. Ella already gets one on one time with me all week, and Jody spends 1 or 2 mornings with her. It may not seem like much, but it's a start, and now it is a priority. So because of these new priorities, Jody & I didn't really get to go on a date. We did go to lunch on Thursday, but you know I still want the Melting Pot or even Stoney River. But, we are creating special memories for the kids now, and that is important too.
Our most exciting celebration for Valentine's Day was Thursday afternoon, when my little brother got married. Brett and Stacy were married yesterday and it was really a special time. The whole family was there and the kids were almost as excited as the adults. Emily said back in May, before they were engaged, "Guess what. I'm going to be the flower girl in your wedding." We were like, O-KAY, great honey. Nothing like kids and their impatience. So Emily was the flower girl. She couldn't go to sleep the night before, then had her alarm set for 5:45am (she thought) so she could get ready for the wedding. She was so excited, she forgot about school that day. Poor thing that must have been one of the longest days for her. But she made it through, and Emily, Lindsey & Hope got to be the flower girls. Alex stood up there too, but he wasn't "holding no flowers". My Aunt Penny also came from FL.

Brett has always been a great brother, you know since I'm older & he listens to me. But I am really proud of him. And Stacy has become a good friend and is now a sister. I'm proud of her too, for picking a great guy. We are so happy for them and glad we could share in this special time. I'm looking forward to seeing the blessings God has in store for Brett, Stacy & baby Landon. Congratulations Guys!

Now the kids are out of school, and we're off to PCB. Have a good weekend!

Super Sunday & Super Tuesday

Super Bowl Sunday Mike Huckabee came to hear some awesome preaching by Pastor Johnny. It was an exciting time at church, with security buzzing around, people trying to get a parking space and even an airplane flying around. The airplane had a Mike Huckabee banner behind it, you know like the ones at PCB that say "Come to Schooners for Ladies Night tonight". Anyway, Jody, Alex and Emily got to meet Mr Huckabee before the service, and Jody took a picture of the kids with him. I know Jody was really more excited than the kids, but they'll appreciate it one day. Mr Huckabee also shared a brief testimony during the service. He was saved as a child at VBS. Later as an adult was elected Governor for 2 terms. He was honored to be Governor, but he said the most important thing in his life is God and his salvation. Well we were impressed and we would love for a man like him to be the next President. If you'd like to learn more about him visit http://www.mikehuckabee.com/. Pastor Johnny also had a great message about Gratitude.
Well, as soon as church was out we rushed over to Rachel's 8th birthday party. (sorry we were late). The kids had a lot of fun with all the inflatables.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!!! Then closer to Super Bowl time we headed over to Brian & Tonya's. We enjoyed good food with family and friends. I did not see a bit of the Football game till the last 2 minutes. Can you tell I'm a big fan. We had to call it an early night because of Miss Ella. She was into EVERYTHING & was EVERYWHERE.
So that brings us to Super Tuesday. I went to vote at 11:00 and was in and out in less than 10 minutes. That was with Ella, the stroller and all. Anyway I was excited to see Mike Huckabee won GA. Also, Jody came home early to eat dinner and spend time with the kids, while I went to a shower. Now that's a Super Tuesday.