Just a quick somethin'-somethin'

Hello Pals. Long time no blog.
Let's see...where to begin. Since we last spoke, I have taught school every day, gotten re-certified in the proper way to restrain "out of control" kids, tried to be a good wife, a good mama, a good teacher, failed miserably at all 3, and painted about 45 of those Trick-or-Treat buckets. Yeah, that's right. The buckets are taking over. I told my pal Kristin (from The Family Fields) that all this crafting, while once fun, is now for the birds. Shawn and I got the bright idea to have booths at the local MASSIVE Cotton Pickin' Festival at the Old Baker Farm this weekend. He sold boiled and parched peanuts, I did my bucket thing. Until Saturday, Shawn had NEVER boiled peanuts, and I am not exactly known for my craftiness. Long story short, Shawny-Boy sold ALL of his almost 200 lbs. of nuts and I painted buckets until I grew sick of looking at them. People kept coming up to his booth asking for his secret recipe, telling him that they were the best peanuts they'd ever eaten. All I can say is "Thank you, Jesus." I was on the verge of hysteria Thursday night, bc he had NEVER practiced or cooked a trial batch, but we had 200 lbs of peanuts soaking in our garage. He ran his first test batch Friday and brought them to school to the "car-rider" ladies for a taste test. They LOVED them. So, he boiled. I painted. I stayed up until 2:00 am Sat. morning, and got up at 5. We were at the farm until 5pm, went to Mom and Dad's to eat supper, watch the Bama game (ROOOOOOOOOOOOLLL TIDE!), and get our sweet boys. Back home, straight to bed, up again at 6 , I got the boys ready for church, took them to Mom and Dad's, then back to the farm. While I am thankful for the money that we made, I am literally exhausted. I told Shawn that I seriously considered getting a sub for today, I needed a day off from my real job to recoup from my side job. But I went to school and taught. On fumes. Here are some lessons I learned this weekend while on the farm.
#1. I have awesome parents. They kept my boys all day Saturday and Sunday. My Dad played outside with them, my mom helped them make dough Christmas ornaments and let them paint them. They are great parents, and EXCELLENT Gigi and Grandaddy.
#2. It sucks not taking your kids to church. We NEVER miss church. NEVER. But I have now missed 2 Sundays in a row. Last week, I took Griffin to the after-hours dr. with an earache. This week I had the farm. As I was getting my boys ready to take to my parents to take them to church, I felt uneasy. It just wasn't right. I knew that we had this commitment that we made to The Bakers, and that it was a 1-time deal. But it isn't right, not taking your children to church. I am THANKFUL that my parents ALWAYS took me to church, and that Shawn and I always take our boys to church. Griffin showed us the picture he made in Sunday School. Oh, how I wish I had a video link to share. It was of a queen standing before a king. (OT king and queen) He said, "Mom-tee...I GOTTA tell you 'bout this. This guh (girl), she is Es-tah (Esther). And dis boy, he's da king. His name is Nez-a-bess-nevah (Nebuchanazzar). I LOVE IT!
#3 I may have a little craft in me, but I am a teacher. It's like I told Shawn and Kristin, I had fun, but I'm not going to go running of to join the craft show caravan any time soon.

Poor Jennifer Hudson. I like her so much, and now she's lost her mom, her brother, and her sweet nephew. I can't IMAGINE. Please say a prayer for her, and for her sister, Julian's mom.
More to come...I need to go to sleep.
AGM:)

A few more money shots from this weekend...

I hate that I still don't exactly have this blog stuff figured out. I wanted to post all kinds of pics, but once I start loading, I realize that it will only accept 5 at a time. So I actually did the post under this one first, now I am doing this one second. I wish that I knew how to manipulate them and make this post come second, but alas, I don't. So just be sure to read both posts...okay?

So of course, we are down on the field for a while before we actually went to our seats. What we saw...that's another story for another day. And believe me...it's a GOODIE. "Bingo - that was a goodie!" (if you can tell me who coined that phrase - you win a prize!) (not a real prize, but a prize of acknowledgement) Anyhoo, we were standing right there when Ole' Miss' band marched in. I happened to turn around and see a SENIOR CITIZEN in full band regalia marching with them. I believe that my exact quote was, "What the....?" And I was standing beside my preacher. I must honestly say, he was right there with me...WHAT THE CRAP?!?! I mean hello...it's not every day that you see Paw Paw in his band uni. marching. So I was hooked. When they took the stands...I couldn't let it go. This is one of 7 shots I took of him. I have to know more! What should I do, google "Old Man in Ole Miss band?" I will get to the bottom of this mystery, I assure you I will.
What a lovely sight.
This shot was on the Jumbo-Trons before the Tide took the field. The sound was DEAFENING. It really did give me chills hearing the crowd react to them *about* to come out. ROLL TIDE!
For the record, I was as fervent a BAMA fan for the past 7 years as I am now. Nothing has changed. I love em', win, lose, or draw. Draw? Maybe not so much. :) I'm not saying anything about any other team...I'm just saying that I love the Tide!
Nothing more to add to this. It speaks volumes. I'll leave you with the quote that I love so much..."THIS is ALABAMA football!"

God's Country...

TUSCALOOSA! It's like my brother says...it truly is God's Country.

This past weekend Shawn and I had a day to ourselves. The first in months. Literally.

And how did we choose to spend it? With 2 of our friends at the Bama game!

Here are a few little shots that I wanted to share.

Above is one of the fan shots that they sucker you into buying.

Call me a sucker. I bought it today.

I grow so weary of people complaining about John Parker Wilson. First of all, he holds the records for passing, most yards, completions, etcat Alabama. WHAT THE FREAK ARE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT? Statistically speaking, he's the best we've had.And he is the quarterback. OUR quarterback.So to quote Doug Heffernan from The King of Queens..."Shutty." Second of all - he is somebody's baby. Maybe it's because I'm a Mama to 3 boys...I really don't want to hear anyone complaining about him. How would his Mama feel? Thirdly - he is pretty much too cute for words. Seriously. Could he be any cuter? Before any of you get worried about my saying that, let me share an epiphany I had this weekend...I am old enough to be his mom. Literally. I just puked a little bit in my mouth realizing how stinking old I am.

Julio Jones...I love you too. I love that you are a phenomenal player. I love that when you score, you toss the ball back to the referee and don't act like you just cured cancer. I love that you act like you've done it all before. I LOVE that you'll do it a million times more before your career at UA is over.

Terrence Cody = Hercules. Surely you all know this story...if not I'll just tell ya.

I love John Parker Wilson.

I love Julio Jones.

I am OBSESSED with Terrence Cody. Seriously. I am. You've all seen "The Nutty Professor," right? Remember the scenes around the table where Eddie Murphy played all the roles except for the fat kid? TERRENCE CODY IS THAT FAT KID. Really. That's him. Remember, "Hercules, Hercules, HERCULES!" Mt. Cody is Hercules! This is a pic I took during warm ups, when they were doing the PA announcements of the starting lineups. We were ca-RACKING up when we watched him. He was getting all pumped up waiting for them to call his name. He was bouncing up and down, pumping his fists down by his side...it was priceless. I stinking love him. I want to adopt him.

Hercules, Hercules, HERCULES!

Here's why I LOVE Kamin

Maybe it's just me...but I'm pretty

jazzed about these fellas.

I mean come on...

just look at these precious boys.

Kamin has such a great eye.
There is nobody, anywhere that I would rather take their pictures than our Kamin.
This shot will be one of my all time favorites, forever.

There are SO many wonderful pictures that she took that day, I will try and post more. If you live anywhere close, or even if you don't...it would be SO worth it to have Kamin shoot your kids. With her camera, of course. :) The best part is that she is just as wonderful on the inside as she is talented and beautiful on the outside. She's pretty much one of my favorite people...

Visit her blog...she's at "Behind K's Lens" on my links on the right. Tell her that Amy sent you.

A quick post...just to say that I updated!

Not much new to post. I like this sweet snapshot of Keith and Zack. This was during our *professional* photo shoot with Kamin. These sweet boys had been so patient...they were resting on Gigi's quilt in the cotton field. I told ya, these are gonna be some AMAZING pics...can't wait to be able to share them. Anyhoo, they aren't models, ya know? They don't exactly enjoy taking pictures. But they were so good and so sweet...just taking a little rest while they waited. And I LOVE seeing Keith's basketball wallet peeking out of his back pocket...what a little man!
Then you have Griffin. He has a slight obsession with Spider Man (hence the web fingers). I have quite the dilemma on my hands. He totally wants to be Spidey for Halloween. I just don't know...he's always been something "cute" for Halloween, I don't think I'm ready for him to be something grown up yet. I know...he's almost 5. But he's my BABY! Here are his Halloween costumes of years past...The Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz (K was the Tin Man, Zack the Cowardly Lion...they were so darn cute!), Elvis ( I ordered this diddy online, and LOVED IT. It was a white velvet jumpsuit with red, blue, and gold sequin phoenix on the front. It was an exact replica of his Las Vegas outfit. Shelley, don't you have this now? If so...I want to see Mattson as The King.) Woody from Toy Story, and last year he was the CUTEST spider you've ever seen. He HATED it, he kept saying, "But Momtee...I look like a baaaaaaaaaaaaby." But Spider Man? I just don't know yet....
Another little number I took during out photo shoot with Kamin. Maddie is looking at Gigi's flower, and Breanna's feet are in the background. Sweet, sweet girls. I love my nieces to pieces! Have a great week! And ROOOLLLLL TIDE ROLL!

Heredity explains it...

Of all of my mom and dad's 6 grandchildren, only 3 are biological. Keith, Zack, and Breanna are all adopted. (K and Z are my oldest 2 sons, and B is my brother's oldest daughter) All of us are so blessed by these precious gifts, and we are all certain that they were just as much of God's plan for our lives as the 3 biological. I always cringe when people say, "Now which ones are yours?" IDIOTS! All 3 are mine! All 3 are equally mine, equally me + Shawn. There is no difference WHATSOEVER in the love. I do imagine that this concept is hard for people to comprehend...people who haven't experienced it firsthand. It's like people who only have 1 child, they can't imagine loving another child as much as the one they have. Then they have a second one, and the love is just there - and it's the same. That's how it is with my boys. Now, if you know Griffin and Maddie (the first 2 biological grand kids) then you know that they are *delightful* little creatures. They are so alike with their strong wills, their fiery dispositions, and their drama filled personalities. Our favorite photographer Kamin took a TON of pictures for us this weekend. I CAN NOT WAIT to get these back and to share them with all of you. While Kamin was taking some individuals of someone, I spotted Griffin and Cupcake playing with some of Gigi's pumpkins. I told them REPEATEDLY to put them back, alas, they didn't. So I stole this shot. You've gotta love them...rebellion, er, individual expression is part of their DNA...it's in their blood.

I'm back...and I've got my CRAFT on!

Okay, so its been a while. I've been busy teaching, being a mom, and making these crazy cute little numbers! They are cauldrons, and they are way too precious! I bet that I have painted 15 of these babies since Saturday, and 10 of them are now in Louisiana. I got the idea from one of my mom's http://www.sue-thecottonpatch.blogspot.com/ blog pals, Susie. http://susieharris.blogspot.com/. (sorry for the link mess...that's the best I can do until I learn more) I am now selling these for $10. I can personalize with your child's name, or I have made some that say Trick or Treat (above), Boo-y'all, be*witched, spooky, etc. Just tell me what you want. Each is hand painted and has 3 different ribbons on each side of the handle. So, if you want one, or 4 or 5, let me know. I am actually enjoying this crafting crap, um, hobby.