I visited my parents at the end of June and before we left, Dad got to take Blake on the tractor for his first tractor ride. He loved it! And to tell you the truth, I think Dad did too. He smiled and laughed as Dad drove around. And as a side note, the tractor you see in these pictures is the mowing tractor. Dad wanted me to make sure to clarify that he does have a bigger one! Blake has been to see the cows before and enjoyed watching them and listening to them. However, he hasn't been to the very back of the field on the tractor to see them in their favorite spot...the shade! I'm not so sure he knew what to think about these creatures that were bigger than the ones that live in our house and smelled just a little. He did watch them intently, though.
Meet some of the members of Dad's herd. There's the bull...
There's Sox and her mommy....
There's the newest baby and her mommy...
Then there's the nosy girls...
Someone had gotten us this shirt specifically for my dad. I made sure to bring it with me so Dad could see it on him. I found it very fitting for riding the tractor.
I like playing with the panoramic feature on my camera, so I got a few pictures of the land. I thought they were pretty and so green despite the lack of rain.These are just a few of the super cute pictures I got of Blake and my dad. Isn't he so adorable? I may be kind of partial....slightly....
Blake was so tired after a fun afternoon of riding around that he just couldn't stay awake anymore. Between the heat, being tired, and the consistent hum of the tractor, he was a goner!
I have such fond memories of this guy because he was the quarterback of the Titans when I would go with my dad to the Titans game. That was probably one of my favorite things to do with my dad and I hope that Blake gets to go to them as well. Anyway, McNair always seemed like such a nice guy and a guy that tried to be a good role model for children. So with that said, here's his tribute video.
One of the blogs I follow brought up something I have been wanting to bring up for a long time. I don't normally talk about politics except with my family because I am not looking for debate. I am also not looking for like-minded people. I hate confrontation, debates, and things that have the potential to cause rifts between people that are friends. Politics is one of those things that has that potential since people can get so fired up over it and their party affiliation. I'm not necessarily a specific party, although my husband disagrees. I like to be informed and have strong opinions on the issues that I feel go against God's Word. With that said, please don't be offended by my post and if you do type a debate, I may not answer simply because that is NOT my personality (my brother's, yes). For those who know me, you know I've been reading Joel Rosenburg's books and was reading Epicenter on vacation. INCREDIBLE book! It gave poor Molly nightmares because I would tell my family all that was talked about, but it was very eye-opening about the Middle East and informative. I now feel like I know more about the importance of the Middle East and how the future may play out, which is why I am much MORE passionate about how the U.S. is dealing with Israel. It scares me that our president doesn't seem to either understand or care about this relationship. Forcing them to do something that can jeopardize their security is crazy. Speaking on the behalf of wanna-be dictators (Honduras) and against what the Honduras law states is crazy. Why support dictators? I think we are definitely on a slippery slope that can go several ways. I have never felt more pressed by God than now on the importance and the swiftness of making sure that our children are taught about God and are taught to stand strong. One of my friends, Jill, and I like to talk about so many things and this was one thing we brought up. She feels strongly that we will face persecution in our lifetime. At the rate things are going, she may be right. I want our children to stand strong and to bring glory to God. Anyway, that's my two-sense! I'll link to the blog and you can read hers, because I pretty much agree with her words and she states it better than me. I pray that the socialized health care doesn't pass and that so many other things don't pass. I've been praying for so many who have lost their jobs and yes, members of our family have been directly affected by this. Join me in praying for our country, won't you? I can think of no greater way to support our country and our troops than through prayer. I've had so many friends and family members go to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight and in one case, die, for our freedom. Thank you for your service to our country and I support you 100% for the job you have done. You have done what most would not consider doing and I thank you. Just so you know, I struggle playing the song that goes through each branch of the military. We play it at church every Memorial Day and Fourth of July, and sometimes once more throughout the year. Every time it's played I get tears in my eyes because I think of not only you guys who have fought, but also of B.J. who fought and died for us. I remember talking to my brother and we just couldn't get over the fact that he died FOR us. Willingly. It was a weird portrayal of Christ's love for us. B.J. was a year old than my brother and one year younger than me. He was only 22 years old when he died. He was in our youth group at church and as far as I know, he was the only one from Manchester that has been killed. He was killed by a roadside bomb. He loved to hunt with our youth leader and he was always smiling. I'm posting his memorial because I think it's so incredibly important to not forget about him and his (as with all of the military) life. What a hero!
Schoff memorialized with bust on square Susan Campbell
Two and one half years after Cpl. Brian J. Schoff of Manchester was killed while serving in Iraq, a bronze bust of his likeness was unveiled in his hometown in front of family, friends, fellow soldiers, veterans, and many others who just wished to be part of the event.
The project has been several months in the making, and is the result of cooperation between city and county volunteers, family members and Operation Never Forget, a veterans group whose goal is to honor the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan by constructing life-like, bronze busts to be displayed in their hometowns.
"This town is awesome in what they have done," said Cathy Odle, Schoff’s mother, during the Labor Day ceremony. "B.J. was a joy in my life. He enjoyed making people laugh and he always made me proud. He was a great example of what it means for a man to keep his word.
"Because of this bust, people will see who he was and not just what his name was.
"His promise was that when he came home (from Iraq) he would never leave again, and I thank you for honoring him in this way."
Guest speakers for the event were State Rep. Judd Matheny, American Legion Post 78 commander Eugene Warren, and U.S. Congressman Lincoln Davis.
"Each of us will remember this day," Matheny said in his remarks. "Ordinary men are sometimes called upon to do extraordinary feats. We are eternally grateful that with his life, B.J. defended you, me and all he believed was right."
Cpl. Schoff, 22, died Jan. 28, 2006 while serving on active during in Iraq.
Schoff served in the U.S. Army as a gunner from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Baghdad.
He was an infantryman assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team.
Hometown: Manchester, Tennessee, U.S.
Age: 22 years old
Died: January 28, 2006 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Incident: Killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his Humvee in Baghdad.
Thank you for our freedom and for your courage. Happy early 4th of July and although it's said all of the time, do remember that freedom is not free. It costs. So those of you who are at my church on Sunday, now you know the reason for those tears. And my passion for what I believe.
Read the title of the post! Since Blake has become mobile, it has been harder for me to get away to post. He requires my constant attention when he is awake because he's into EVERYTHING! Here's all the pictures and a few updates from the past 2 weeks. We're going to a family reunion on Saturday, so that should be lots of fun to see everyone. The last time I saw lots of them was when I was pregnant. Hopefully it won't be too hot there.
Aunt Patricia and Uncle Ray invited us to go to Lake Winnie with them. I didn't get to stay too long since I was working VBS, but Raun and Blake stayed for awhile, along with Mom and Dad. They had fun, despite the heat. I heard that David rode all of the big kid rides and didn't want to go back on the kiddy rides. I can't believe he has the nerve to do some of them!
Notice the little boy...that's David!
After the Lake Winnie trip, my parents came back over to our house. We brought out the little red car (thanks Aunt Patricia and Uncle Ray!) so they could see Blake laugh and ride around in it.
Nanny made Blake this hat and he loves it. He pulls it out of the drawer to hold. His favorite blankets are those homemade crochet blankets that Nanny and Mrs. Janet made for him. He gets excited when it's bed time and he gets to hold them against his face. One day he opened the drawer, found the hat, and thought it was his blanket. He proceeded to carry it around the house and would not give it up. Raun and I thought it was too cute. So, Nanny...Mrs. Janet...if either one of you wants to make a larger one (since he's outgrowing the little ones) for him, we'd gladly accept it! (hint, hint)
Our son loves books. Any book, really. Especially if has fun pages in it that crinkle and tear. And yes...paper is edible for those that are curious. And yes, it is possible to make a meal out of paper!
However, at our house, we don't let our child read just for fun. There is a purpose. We are purely training him to go to college and he intensly studies all he can about UT. Now for those of you that know Raun and I, Raun is a Gator fan and I am a Seminole fan. My brother is a UT alumni (who converted from a Seminole fan---traitor) and people like to joke and give us UT things. Who would have thought that this book would be one of Blake's favorite books to study. (We really do read for fun and have no intent on him studying for college at this stage in his life. But if you notice the title of the book, it explains that statement.) I'm going to have to find a Florida and a Florida State one....(hint, hint, to those family members still in Florida!).
Perhaps tomorrow I can post the pictures of Blake on the tractor with Dad and Kelsey's baby shower. We'll see! Blake is cutting his top tooth and it has been by far the worst teething time than his other two. He cries a lot and just wants me to hold him. I won't lie....it has driven me nuts at times, but I'm still trying to remind myself that "this too shall pass" and I feel like I'm praying constantly! So, please pray for my sanity!
I must share a funny story from today. As most of you know, Blake spends most Mondays with Julie and her 1-year-old baby Eli. Blake and Eli love to play with each other and I'm quite jealous that I miss out on watching the two interact. Julie does send me pictures and tell me all the funny stories, though. She said that Eli and Blake played ALL day with each other. They even napped at the same time, which was great for her. Blake followed Eli around all day and Eli LOVED it. She said that he would look at Blake and laugh and run around. If Blake happened to fall while walking, he would just stay on the floor and crawl so he could get there faster. Too funny!
My favorite story had to do with books. She let the boys play in the living room and hallway since they had never bothered the bookshelf before. Blake followed Eli into the hallway and Julie said that Eli would pull a book off the shelf and give it to Blake. Blake would, of course, have loved it because he enjoys books so much. Eli would then take one off the shelf and run into the living room to find Julie and would show her the book. I think she found Blake and Eli before they destroyed any books. It just cracked me up that Eli would hand Blake a book so he could get in trouble!
They are just too cute together. They share all of their toys and neither one of them seem to get jealous of the other. It helps that they are only 2 months apart. That's my funny story for the day!
I know it has been a while since I have updated. I really do have more pictures to put up, but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and wait for the computer to download them. Blake is keeping us extremely busy these days, going from one thing to another, pulling stuff out of cabinets, opening and closing doors, walking WITHOUT the help of his parents (because that's just not cool at this stage), and making a mess in the whole front of the house! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to nap time more and more these days. Mom came to babysit for me on Monday and I wouldn't let her leave until I had a chance to at least clean the two bathrooms. If anyone has any advice on how to clean a house in the midst of someone following you undoing EVERYTHING you have just done, please tell me! It drives me nuts to know that my house is in shambles and then by the end of the day I'm running around like crazy trying to pick up and make sure it is at least presentable for my lesson students. Pass on your advice, you mothers who have been there, done that. Please!!!
In the work front, I now have a pediatrician who is prescribing music therapy! He is even billing it for insurance purposes so I'm extremely excited. I can't wait to get started with the little boy since he lives not too far from me. It will only be an extra 30 minutes so I can either see him on Mondays or do it when Raun gets home. I'm working at a summer camp for children with disabilities on Wednesdays. It's only for an hour, but it's so much fun. I am doing music therapy with them, as well as teaching them some popular dances that they would normally do if they were ever invited to a dance at school (such as the Chicken Dance, YMCA, etc.). They love it. We did the train last week and they LOVED that. I think we're going to throw a dance for them since they never get invited to anything like that. They are so much fun, though. I'm sad to say that one of my patients at the nursing home I work at passed away while I was on vacation. I couldn't believe it because although she had Alzheimer's, she was not sick. She was so sweet to me, but I hear she could be mean. She always sang the loudest and remembered many of the words to the songs. Her favorite thing to say was "I love you, honey" to which I would respond, "I love you, too, Mrs. E." It's just not the same without her there. I walk in expecting to hear her famous line and I miss it. Anyway, it's off to camp I must go once I wake up the Blakester. I'll try to post some pictures soon!
We've had a busy past two weeks. It began with the trip to Florida with our entire family, which was so much fun. We ate at a really good seafood place (we thought it was GREAT the first day we went, but it could be because we were so hungry!) and got LOTS of ice cream. We celebrated Blake taking his first steps, playing in the water, and playing in the sand. He loved the sand. It was everywhere. He would pick it up by the handfuls and eat it. We went for a walk one day and I let him pick out a seashell. Of course, he wanted to put it in his mouth but I quickly grabbed it. I love the sand and the beach, but I hate the sand when it comes to clean-up time. Blake loves the pool and would often drink the water (even in the ocean). The first night we took him to the pool and it was way past his bedtime. However, it was so nice outside that we decided to do it. He was so sleepy that he kept putting his head in the water because it was too heavy to hold up. Too funny! Since I took so many pictures, I wasn't able to put them all on the blog individually. However, you can click on the link and it will take you to a facebook page that has them on it. You can still right click and save the pictures to your computer just like you normally would. When I get a chance, I will put a link for John's pictures, as well. He has some really good ones with funny captions. Bet you'd never guess that, huh?
This past weekend we threw Raun a surprise party in Atlanta with some of his friends from college. We all met at one of our favorite Cajun restaurants and Raun was truly clueless until he was walking in the parking lot and saw Damon and Leigh Anne's car. Trey had parked in another parking lot so he wouldn't be noticed. Big John met us at Leigh Anne's dad's house. Raun was so excited to spend Friday and Saturday playing golf with the guys. Leigh Anne and I did girly things...like go to the IKEA store, Trader Joe's, and a few other fun places. And of course, Starbucks! And for those who are curious, I haven't had Starbucks in over a week. I'm doing good. We came back on Saturday so that our Sunday School class could suprise Raun with a cookie cake on Sunday morning. Jaime picked it up for me so that it would be there when we arrived because I knew there was no way I could sneak that it. It was from his favorite place in the mall. The rest of the day was spent at his parent's house with his brother and sister-in-law and their children. It was nice to catch up with everyone and enjoy some really good food. I took a lot of pictures during that weekend as well, so you will have to click on the link to see those pictures. Likewise, you can still right click on the picture and save it to your computer.
Blake is now taking steps and is pushing his little fireman walker across the floor. He chose to begin this new phase of development while we were on vacation in Florida. I was taking a shower because I hate the feeling of sand when it dries, while Raun, Blake, and my parents were playing. I came out to loud noises and Raun came in to tell me that Blake had just took his first step. I was so sad. And yes, I cried. Not only because of the fact that he was growing up so fast, but also because I missed his first step. I mean, I'm with him almost every single day and he chooses to do this without me watching. Mom came in and talked to me, telling me that every mother knows how I felt and that I will miss a lot of firsts. That helped just to hear that other mother's felt this way. To top it off, my camera fell in the sand and broke, so I wasn't able to get a picture. I think my mom did, though.
Speaking of pictures, I will try to post some at some point soon. Raun turns 30 years old this weekend so we are going on a suprise trip for a few days. I'll let you know all about it when we get back. I'm excited because he's clueless!
Back to milestones, Blake also has cut another tooth. He now has two on the bottom. He looks so cute with that little toothy smile. I often think about how uncomfortable it must be to only have two teeth. Wouldn't that hurt when it hit the top of your mouth? Who knows. And I don't want to find out.
I am simply a mom of 2 little kiddos that manage to keep my days extremely busy! I love my crazy life and think that raising my children is God's greatest calling in my life.
These are just a few of the super cute pictures I got of Blake and my dad. Isn't he so adorable? I may be kind of partial....slightly.... 
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