The 2008 Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

Well if I was to say the month of December was a blur....I'd have 100s of pictures to remind me of the good ole times (literally 100s). Truly we had a very fun, blessed 2008 Christmas and it is not a blur.

Levi had his first Christmas and seemed in awe and amazement in the grandeur. He pretty much just loved trying to get on, in, or around the presents. As usual all he did all the time was grin and go with the flow.

Cason still doesn't really get the whole gift giving idea because he gets presents year round. He does know a little more about Jesus and his daddy Joseph and him mommy Mary Christmas. Yep, not a typo there, Cason said one day, " ...and this is Jesus mommy, Mary Christmas." Oh from the mouth of babes.

We traveled. We visited families. We celebrated and partied with friends. We worshipped at church. All in all it was a great time to remember our Savior's birth. I took tons of pictures so they are labeled over in the photo albums.

Our Schedule went something like this:

Dec. 6th: April cookie swap with gals

Dec. 11 Russell's company party

Dec. 13 Sunday school class party

Dec. 17 Russell's company took us to Rick Erwin's

Dec. 18 Meeting Caleb Jackson Boozer

Dec. 19 Tiny Town experience (to say the least)

Dec. 20 NC Christmas

Dec. 22 April's high school friends party

Dec. 23 Christmas Adam with Ellenburgs

Dec. 24 Christmas Eve morn with Mama and Papa

Christmas Eve night at the Ellenburg Home House

Dec. 25 Christmas Day at Gigil and Pappy's

Dec. 26 shopping

Dec. 31 New Years' Eve Fellowship at Wedgewoods

Thanksgiving 2008

Well words never seem to accurately reflect what I am trying to say when I tell of the events that take place when my big ole family (mom's side) gets together. I really won't even attempt, I'll just say: this year we went to NC for Thanksgiving at Mama Judy's house. It was delicious and everyone had a good time, especially Cason. I have a slideshow~Thanksgiving 2008~ of all the pics I took of the fam. If only you could have seen us trying to get everyone together. I also tried to get my Christmas card picture done nice and early this year but to no avail.

I am thankful for family, so very thankful, with all of them come many memories.
http://www.slide.com/r/BHwzb7z6xz-RRzCM09-12nEBB7Zj5i1t?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Cason, Ready for the Big Screen!!???

Well, my eldest son may be ready for broadway and then onto the big screens of Hollywood~~~NOT!!! I say that so totally kidding because at Cason's first little Thanksgiving performance, he totally flaked! Russell, Levi, Gigi, and I had front row seats, seats that we had to throw a few elbows in order to get, so we could see our little Cason make his big debut. Well, he cried. The teachers walked out all the 1 and 2 year olds and put them on the steps of a stage dawned with spotlights and bright lights. Some kids were waving, some yelling out to their moms, some picking their noses, and Lo, there was Cason who sat on the step and cried. What a hoot! I tried to film some of it on my camera but I was getting too tickled. I'm still proud of my little "star" but I highly doubt that acting is in his future. I must remember, he's only 2. Here are some pictures, he's farthest to the left in khaki cords and a navy shirt.

Dedicating my youngest boy

On November 23, 2008 at Siloam Baptist Church, Russell and I were so grateful we got to give our little boy, Levi, to the Lord. Well, we technically dedicated his life to the Lord Jesus from the hospital room as we got to hold him, but publicly in front of friends and family we were able to promise to raise our son in fear and admonition of the Lord. Parenting doesn't come with instructions but it does come with promises as long as we let the God within us guide us. Thank you Jesus. I love the pictures we took of Levi eating his little New Testament the church gave him....I like to caption it: HUNGRY FOR THE WORD!!

Showering with the Boozers!

Ha!, bet ya' like that title don'tcha?? Anyway, we gave Shelley and Barret a Clemson Tailgating shower for little Caleb. We had every intention of having the shower at an actual tailgate in the parking lot at the Clemson v. Duke homecoming game, but the weather sort of changed our plans. Due to the promise of rain we moved the shower to our house and of course the day ended up being beautiful. The point is though, we had a great time and the Boozers got some really good gifts! Yay, Caleb is ready now!

Going to the Chapel and she's.....

GONNA GET MARRIED!!! Yay, Carrie Copeland Vickery is engaged. Mike Meisenheimer is so, so precious and he is the love of Carrie's life. I knew he was the one when I met him for the first time. They both are perfect for each other and I know Mike knows he is getting a real prize in my best gal pal Carrie. I am so excited for the upcoming nuptuals in March. Congratulations!!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Every year in the "off season" the gals on mom's side of the family venture off down to the beach for a girls weekend away. I've only been a couple of years since there are many by-laws and codes that qualify you as an "adult" so you can attend. They've gone as long as I can remember. Ganmama is almost 83 years old and still a "go git-um granny."My 2 aunts Mama Judy and Aunt Debra go along with momma, my 2 cousins Renee and Molly. We just eat and eat, shop and shop, and try to out talk the other. It is a great time of stories, flagellation, and loitering. Amber now lives at the beach but was able to join us some while working around her crazy work schedule. Check out the slideshow "girls just wanna have fun" for the lovely pics my camera took all on its own.

Real Tears

Ever had a good book literally bring you to tears? I mean profuse weeping? Well, I hate to read so I can honestly say I only cry when I read sweet kid books about little boys and their mommies.Many of you avid readers will know just how Cason felt when he was reading his book about a little boy....he was truly distraught and upset about the little boy in this book who was sad...Cason cried for 20 minutes. When he was still crying after I bathed Levi I decided to video him worrying over the little boy. I kept telling Cason that the little boy could get more balloons and more ice cream. The book is "How Do I Love You?" I took a few pics of the pages in the book that Cason was so overcome by. I will attempt to leave the video snipit as well, if not check it out over on the side under "How Do I Love You?" Reading.

The book

happy little boy

sad little boy who lost his balloons,ice cream and has a tear)

Here's the link for Cason reading his book because the video took way too long to upload.
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=765929899966182bfc8f34&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

How 'Bout Them Tigers??!!!

Booooo!! The Tigers lost, again!!! This is what Levi has to say about Clemson losing to Wake...

God Love It!!!

My sweet Levi is getting so BIG!!! He's almost 5 months old and is one of the happiest people I know. He makes me so, so happy. My favorite sound in the world is to hear him giggle...especially when Cason is playing with him.

The Simple Things in Life

Boy, you'd have thought that Aunt Amber had given Cason $1,000,000,000 when she gave him his new Lightning McQueen shirt (that lights up). Thanks Mrs. Theresa! We love this shirt and wear it too often. Here's a video clip of his new "prize."

Levi Loves to Eat

Levi is already loving food! Here is Levi eating his first food....green beans, just like Cason. I don't think it will be his favorite but he sure does love to eat.

It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To~

Cason had a wonderful 2 year~Curious George~ birthday celebration with family and a few friends. He wasn't supposed to get presents but so many people brought such great "prizes." We are so blessed beyond measure, Glory to God, Praise His Name!!!



We took so many pictures so the slideshow/album is quite long. He's a cutie though.


Aunt Amy made his "happy" cake.

Cason's New Duds

WHO NEEDS TO BE POTTY TRAINED WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS? DIAPER UNDER, UNDER PANTS ON TOP.

Cason got some wonderful birthday presents for his 2nd birthday...he loved them all! One gift in particular caught his eye as he was playing with his new things: his McQueen underwear. Thank you Aunt Shelley and Uncle Boozie. Cason loves his underwear and had me open the box immediately so he could put it on (almost by himself) over his clothes. He had no shame in "cool man" Queen and Mater "under-airs." He might be 5 or 6 when they finally fit. They don't make size 6-9 months for kids who are potty training.

1 Corinthians 1:31...

"Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Thought I would at least recite that verse to myself and try to sound "holy" before I devote an entire post to bragging on my firstborn.

Cason got the "CLEAN UP HELPER" award in his class last Thursday!!! Yay, Cason!! His teacher told me that when it was time to clean up he was the only one who picked up all the toys. I was so proud!! I guess all that practice (and sometimes while crying) is paying off. Way to go my Munchkin.

Is MMO ready for Cason???

Cason walked right in and started to play on meet the teacher night.


Mrs. Angie & Mrs. Amelia are Cason's teachers

All packed up and ready to go to school. We were told to bring a favorite bear from home (since they are studying bears the first week) and I couldn't find one...so we took our favorite~CURIOUS GEORGE!!!



Cason is absolutely loving his "school." He is now attending Brushy Creek Baptist Church's MMO on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are 10 kids in the class. They are all almost 2 years old, so God bless Mrs. Angie and Mrs. Amelia. Cason was so ready to go to school when we were getting ready. He all but ran into the building... as we approached the door of his class he ran (literally) through the door and headed straight to the tool table (back pack and all). He was so excited to be there. I looked his direction as I left and said " I'll miss you too, Munchkin."(ha). Good thing mommy doesn't have separation issues, don't worry I didn't cry and my feelings weren't hurt.

I knew he totally enjoyed his day when I was putting him in his car seat. He began to cry (real tears, now) and say, "Don't go home, don't go home, see my teachers!!!" He even had his hands blocking the seat buckle so I couldn't buckle him in. What a blessing!! Cason loves his teachers and his school and has a blast when he's there. Once we got home he was so tuckered out... he went right to his bed (the first time asked) and went right to sleep.


Ready to take a nap after his first day at MMO

As Days Go By...

I don't know tons of famous stars and pop singers but I do know of Keith Urban (easy on the eyes I might add). He has a song that I probably only know the chorus to but it goes something like "Days go by...something, somethin, somethin, and the somethin..." okay, well, I'm sinking fast here~ I'm hearing the song in my head as I think of how time flies by...way too fast. My little Cason is almost 2 years old. He has grown (somewhat) and is getting smarter as the days go by. He is a little big for his britches most days and is so independent. Every once in a while on one of his "sweet" days (or with a bribe of SMARTIES), I can get him to lay with his ole momma on the couch to watch Curious George . Boy I love these days...but unfortunately and inevitably they "go by..." It has taken quite a while to do this but I have made a slide show of Cason's first year. I took a picture every week of his first year. Thought I'd upload the slide show over in "photo albums"~check it out. Ryan, this ones for you so I can write down directions as I go on how to upload the links. Take care all~

Those Dumb Email Forwards...

So has anyone ever sat down at your computer console with the sole intention of checking pertinent emails for the day??? Yes, I have as well. Have you found that in the email checking process you are bombarded with spams, ads, and probably worst of all DUMB FORWARDS!! Too many people have too much time on their hands. Okay, well I could go on and on. Every once in a while I will read a FORWARD that makes them all worthwhile. Tonight at the ripe hour of 11:30 I have read yet another "Get to Know Your Friend" email, you know, the ones that you copy and paste and put in your answers to, all the while reading what your friend wrote and "getting to know them." I finally did it, yes, I answered (for the first time ever since email started) my first questionnaire. Thought I would copy and paste it here on my blog. If you want, under comment or something copy and paste it here.


Welcome to the 2008 edition of 'Get to Know Your Friends!'. Hit forward then, Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you.The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:15 am then put the paci in Levi and up again at 8
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds-and Russell knows it
3. Last movie you saw? I'm spending a lot of time on this one...hey, the Astro has closed down CARS
4. What is your favorite TV Show? CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Curious George
5 What do you usually have for breakfast? squash
6. What is your middle name? Hope
7. What food do you dislike? watermelon
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Homemade Praise music
9. What kind of car do you drive? Gas guzzler...Toyota forerunner
10. Favorite sandwich? big fat hamburger from The Huddle
11. What characteristic do you despise? disrespectfulness
12. Favorite item of clothing? wedding rings.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? California
14. Favorite brand of clothing? any of the ones I get on sale
15. Where would you retire to? The Villages...ha...just thinking of that song on the commercial for the old folks place down in Florida
16. Favorite birthday? the one my sophomore year at Clemson... I think 19th??
17. Favorite sport to watch? basketball or golf...depends
18. Furthest place you are sending this? California...hey Susan!!
19. Person you expect to send it back first? Natalie or Laura
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning, my little buddies greet the day head on
21. What is your shoe size? 7.5 or 8 depends on who is making the shoe
22. Pets? I do well enough to feed my kids...
23. News you'd like to share with us? I'M PREGNANT
23.Gotcha!!
24. What did you want to be when you were little? mommy (and a football player)
25. How are you today? tired and happy and grateful
26. What is your favorite candy? Smarties (only because they're a good bargaining chip with Cason)
27. What is your favorite flower? one that's alive...I like yellow roses with orange tips or pink tulips
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? the day Jesus comes back for me
29. What are you listening to right now? ahhhh..... quiet :)
30. What was the last thing you ate? Cheerwine and fudge round (and I wonder why my butt is so big)
31. Do you wish on stars? shoot know, I pray to the Maker of them.
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? orange
33. How is the weather right now? unbelievably hot to be 11:00 at night!
34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Dad
35. Favorite soft drink? Dr. Pepper
36. Favorite restaurant? NickHenry's
37. Hair color? brown
38. What was your favorite toy as a child? chalkboard , boy I miss that huge closet I could play school in
39. Summer or winter? Summer
40. Hugs or kisses? both if they're from my Cason
41. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
42. Coffee or tea? coffee
43. Do you want your friends to email you back? yes
44. What is under your bed? dust, Christmas wrapping paper, duffle bags, fire extinguisher, Cason's car,ball, (gee, guess I know what I'll clean out next)
45. What did you do last night? Sleep, thanks Levi
46. What are you afraid of? snakes...more so loved ones going to hell
47. Salty or sweet? sweet
48. How many keys on your key ring? 2
49. How many years at your current job? 23 months, that's how old Cason is
50. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
51. How many towns have you lived in? Powdersville, Clemson, Indian Trail, Easley
52. Do you make friends easily? yep
53. How many people will you send this to? 143 (all the contacts I have) I spent this long answering this dumb thang by gosh I'm sending it to everyone!!
54. How many will respond? that'll be interesting to see, I never respond to these things, but I've seen it from Renee and Amy like 4 times :)

I was wrong...Praise the Lord!!!

The 3 cousins: Campbell, Levi, Cason!!
I predicted that laura would have a boy from the gitgo, well I WAS WRONG. The Ellenburgs now have an addition to the family...a baby girl. In the book of Psalms, the psalmist David says that every thing that has breath should praise the Lord. Well we certainly praise the Lord for our newest family member, Campbell Elizabeth. I am an aunt for the first time!! The boys now have a cousin to play with, although, she'll have to like cars and balls because I have a good feeling Russsell will frown upon baby dolls and make-up. Russell's brother, Ryan, and his wife (who he met because of me and divine providence, also my roommate in college), Laura, had Campbell on July 17th. We made it to the hospital to be there when she was born that night. The boys weren't allowed to go back and see her so our visit was really short. Thankfully Shelley and Barret were there and stayed out in the waiting area with the boys so we could go hold the first little Ellenburg girl. She weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was pretty dadgum long. She looks just like her grandpa, Papa T so far (although I think you have to wait a while to be able to really tell). Please check out the slideshow labeled "Campbell". We are so proud of our niece. Praise the Lord, for He is good!! Hallelujah!!

Summer Trip #5: July 9-12 beach

Cason and Gigi catching some waves!!

Another road trip for the boys and me! Daddy stayed home to work, but, that's okay because we just went down to stay with Gigi and the Donovan kids for a few days. Mom is a nanny (and friend) for Caroline, Carson, and Ellie Donovan. She was at the kids' grandparents' beach house down in Murrell's Inlet while Bill and Angie (their parents) went on a cruise. Mom asked me to come down and stay for a few days...which Cason loved because he loves the beach and playing with the kids. We had a good time, but I didn't get to take that many pictures. We went out on the beach Wednesday for a couple of hours and then came in early for naps before we went to the Medieval Times dinner theater type thing. I don't recommend it, but, do what you like. I'd rather spend the money at the Hard Rock Theme Park next door to it. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday it rained off and on pretty much all day. We were able to get in some flea market time when it was overcast on Friday but the only thing is that we didn't get any rain back home in the upstate. Saturday morning when we were leaving it was golden sun shiny, of course. I had a good time with mom and just hanging out with the kiddos. I also got to see Amber a couple of times in between her long work hours. She lives there now, ya' know. I saw the condo she lives in and it is nice. I miss her so it was good to get a little time with her. I can tell she misses the boys most!!I will say that the Bradshaw house is very big and very nice. Right down the road from their beach house was a monstrosity with a motorcycle built into a glass wall in the living room....I was close to knocking on the door to see if I could go in and see it (we only could see through the window from the road).

Pop and Janet come to town July 6

Pop and the boys

Since Amy was up the weekend of the 4th, Dad and Janet made plans to come visit us on that Sunday afternoon. We had a picnic at JB Owens Park right over here near the house. Dad picked up some KFC and came prepared with chairs, blankets, and coolers. All I contributed was a chocolate cake...I think he knows better than to have me cook. I was going to try though, but he insisted, plus, he got to play with Cason at the park. Cason loved swinging but I think Dad enjoyed going down the slide too much!!! It was a hot day but very fun! I'm glad we got to see them.

We have always loved swinging...although my hiny is a little tighter in the swing these days.

4th of July

The week of July 4th Russell's family stays up at the lake. This year we stayed from Wed. until Sat. night and boy it was fun!!! Amy got to come up from Georgia and spend the weekend with us and she got to partake of the good times, too. We just ate and ate and played and played. Cason loves the hot tub but now I think he loves the jet skiis more. I made a slide show on another website and it has music with it. Check it out under Slideshows..

Cason on the boat in his "fag" outfit

Summer Trip #4 June 28 Stone Mountain, GA

Oh how I wish words could capture the events that took place in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Okay, well, I don't have that many pictures but I sure do have many, many memories. It all started with a "fuss and bustle" out the door because we did not leave at the designated time (clearly pointed out to Russell the night before). After finally getting to my cousins', Molly and Nate's, house it was all good. Levi of course had pooped and was crying as he met them for the first time. Anyway, after a little visit and playing football out in the front yard we finally decide on a place to meet up with all the rest of our family to eat.


playing outside was sooooooo hot!
Nate and Molly meet Levi.

Oh, wait, I failed to mention: this was a planned little family get together of all the cousins, aunts and uncles, and my 83 year old grandma.


So 18 people get a large area in Mellow Mushroom to eat. That was okay once everybody finally got their food, but, my good ole cousin Jim accidentally dumps an entire glass of freezing cold water across the table into my salad, my lap, onto the floor into my new purse and the side of the diaper bag. Thanks Jim for the cold shower.


one of our tables...




So after a couple of hours we finally finish eating making our way to the parking lot. Here we stand for another 18-21 minutes with everyone talking/fussing/sharing opinions of what to do next. My mom,aunts, and Ganmama decide we need to go to Food Lion to get discounted tickets to Stone Mountain Park. We pile into all of our cars to follow each other to yet another minor shananigan. This time Aunt Debra, Molly, and I are the only ones to get out and go in to purchase the discounted tickets with all of the pre-collected cash. We left the others sitting in the cars for about 15-20 minutes since we didn't add enough tax and collect the right amounts of money from each person... all-the-while we are using a friendly guys little "bonus card" while he waits and there was a language/communication barrier between us and the cashier guy, Shadeid. We did get the tickets!!


my cousin Meredith with Cason while we loiter in the parking lot.

We get to Stone Mountain Park and this is where the fun begins...ha...depends on your perspective I suppose but I will try to type it briefly. We take 30 minutes to actually park and get through the gate...maybe closer to 40 (literally). Wait, did I say through the gate, well not exactly we stop right in the middle of the little "building/gate/entrance" type thing to the park. I had a sense of accomplishment with 18 of us through the gate (this includes Russell and Uncle Mike who truly wanted to stay at the hotel and watch golf) once we all made it about 12 yards to a little curb where we stop to look at a map of the attractions in the park.



there we stop to loiter again in the way of the entire entrance,imagine that...we stand here for, no lie, another 20 minutes until we decide to proceed through the park.



So, after we finally get to a good walking pace looking for an activity to do (in this park that we paid $26 per adult to get into) we decide to stop at this rocky place for a family photo op...the best thing we did all day~

Gosh, we look like 3 mm big...the camera was on a rock.



Now more walking as it begins to get really dark in the sky and overcast (yet still sticky sticky hot). We end up at the cable car ride that takes you on a ride to the top of Stone Mountain and back down. Our family is separated...part of us get into a cable car that makes it to the top of the mountain around 3:00, not to come back down until almost 9:00, yes, that's a 9 not a typo and part of us were still in line waiting on the next cable car. Thank you Jesus I was in the part of the family that did not make it to the top! A huge storm came which causes the park people to shut everything down, meaning all 300 people at the top of the mountain must stay at the top of the mountain.When it was nice and sunny again we see the park has no power...yes, no power! So Cason was at the top with Gigi, Pappy, Aunt Debra, Uncle Van, Molly, Nate, Blake age 6, Ganmama age 83, just hanging out watching the storm and luckily (go Molly) playing cards for almost 6 hours of our alleged "family day." Meanwhile, down at the base of the mountain the rest of us, Renee, Jim, Meredith, Andrew, Mama Judy, Uncle Mike, Russell, Levi, and me, are left to find a little tiny diner to get out of the rain. With no seats and no air conditioning we sit and sweat and wait on the huge storm to pass. Well a long time goes by and finally the storm passes and we all leave the little diner to walk through the park hoping to find something to do. Well, with no power still, we find nothing that is up and running. Mama Judy, Meredith, Renee, Levi and I decided to pop-a-squat to people look. This was the most fun we had...we find mom's camera in the bag she left in Levi's stroller so we decided to take pictures of people (of course they didn't know we were taking their pictures because we would make out like we were aiming at one another or "birds" or "signs"). Hey, we got some cutie little guys on the camera for Meredith while we were aiming "at that Honey Baked Ham store." This was fun and passed a lot of time. Wonder what happened to those pics? We sent Jim, Russell, Andrew, and Uncle Mike to get into the car, go to the hotel, get Renee's van so we could all pile in and go eat. Its $8 to park so we didn't want to have all vehicles leave and re-enter.

So our group makes it to Applebee's down the way a bit. With the run of "luck" we'd been having all day I told Renee that they'd probably run out of food. Well the Lord has a sense of humor and they didn't have any Dr.Pepper or any Penne pasta when we ordered. Ha. Not surprised. Did I mention we were all sweaty, stinky and gross (except Levi)? Amy, the sister who was only 1.5 hours away in Columbus, Georgia was on her way to meet us around 6:30 all to have the same type of luck getting in traffic and lost making her miss all of our fun day by not arriving at Applebee's until a little after 8:00. That's okay...she got to cram in the van with us to make it back to the laser light show on the side of Stone Mountain. Yes, finally everyone on the mountain gets down the mountain and on the hillside at about 9:30 in time to see the lights and fireworks. Yay, we did one activitiy together and then had to pack it up. Russell, the boys, and I left Georgia about 10:45 to make it home so we could go to church. Now, how's that for one little day trip???? There is a picture slideshow with some pictures included from mom and Molly's cameras while they were stuck up on the mountain.

Summer Trip #3 June 21 Lake Keowee

Our 3rd little mini trip was just up the road a ways to Gram and Papa T's lake house. It is always a fun time here. We get to just relax, sun ourselves, get wet, and best of all EAT!!! Mama (Russell's grandma) or Joy cooks it up and we are just fat and happy when we are here. Cason loved riding in the kiyak with 2 of his favorite people in the world. He said the water was "cold!!!" Cason got in the hot tub and didn't want to get out. He was a little raisin after he stayed and played in there with his boat, float, the jets and hot tub lights.






I don't know why that all is underlined up above?????