First Date... Again

Some of you might think I'm a little crazy, some of you probably think I'm a fruitloop, some of you might think I'm just plain pathetic. But, I have major separation anxiety with Zayde. Therefore, Zack and I just went on our first date last night since Zayde was born 10 months ago. Yeah for me!! There have only been two other times that I have been away from Zayde, and they were both for educational training for my preschool. My mom has been asking me for months when her and dad were going to get to keep Zayde, and her wish finally came true last night. Zack's birthday is Saturday, so I surprised him with a date night for his birthday. (I am going to be out of town all weekend, so I will miss his b-day on Saturday.) We had a wonderful time together and enjoyed Seafood at a new restaurant called LouLou's, Christmas lights on the square, and coffee at Arsaga's...


We were so excited and ready to go! I didn't even cry like I did the other two times that I've been away from him.

Papa and Nana were so thrilled to be able to finally keep him!

Mama kissing her baby good-bye. Look at those gorgeous blue eyes! Can you blame me for wanting to be with him all the time?

Zayde's empty car seat base. :(

LouLou's Restaurant on N. College Avenue...
Zack enjoyed crab cakes, appleslaw and french fries. I had a grilled chicken sandwich and hush puppies. Everything was delicious!

Lights on the Square... We didn't get out of the Jeep, because it was waaaaay too cold. I also forgot our coats, stocking caps, scarfs and gloves.

Horse and Carriage Rides...

...Camel Rides

Toy Soldiers...

After eating dinner and driving around the Sqaure, we decided to go to Arsaga's for coffee and dessert. We had this delicious caramel, chocolate cheesecake and our favorite coffee's.

Amy enjoying her White Chocolate Mocha!

Zack reading a newspaper... It was so nice to get to sit, relax and just enjoy each other's company. We used to go sit at coffee shops and talk for hours.

And this is how I found my sweet baby boy when we picked him up. Nana said that he was so good and she can't wait until next time! (I can, ha ha)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

After a very busy, fun, exciting and crazy Thanksgiving break, we are finally back home and settled. We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of food, family, games and traveling! For some reason I failed to take pictures, but I hope you all had a blessed day...

Over the weekend, Zack and his friend, David, took a camping/hiking/caving trip. It was freezing cold, but that didn't stop them! They enjoyed an eleven mile hike, discovering and repelling in a cave, cooking over a campfire and spotting lots of wildlife. They were EXHAUSTED when they returned home Sunday evening, but said that it was well worth it! David's wife, Jessica, and I enjoyed our girl time watching chick flicks, scrapbooking, shopping and talking non-stop!

Zack is not here to describe all of the pictures, but I believe most of them speak for themselves. They saw some incredible sights and scenery!

Visit to Cousin Eli's...

This weekend Zayde and I went with my sister-in-laws, Jessie & Holly, and my mother-in-law, Diana to Little Rock for a visit with my other sister-in-law, Jeana, her husband, Stanley and our nephew, Eli. Eli is at the Children's Hospital in Little Rock after being born with many medical conditions. He is doing pretty well and might be released in a month or so. We all had such a good time and enjoyed the visit immensely!


Mama Jeana and Baby Eli
Eli was so happy and peaceful when his mommy had him.

Daddy Stan and Baby Eli
When Stanley walked into the room, Eli just lit up with a big smile!

Aunt Jessie and Eli

Aunt Amy playing with Eli...

Kisses from MeMaw

Eli was so happy to be in his mommy's arms! He was so relaxed that he fell asleep.

Since he has a lot of tubes and wires, his arms have to be "bound" when nobody is holding him. He is known for pulling the wires out!!

All visitors must be 18 or older to go in the room with Eli. So, Holly and the kids got to play in the hospital play room. They had a blast!

We also visited Jeana and Stanley's friends who had an 18 month old son. He and Zayde had fun playing with each other. Ryan loved to give kisses!

Zayde standing up for us...

Playing outside with new toys from MeMaw...

After visiting Eli, we went to the Capitol Building which is across from the hospital.
Jeana, Tyler, Jessie, Chloe, Zayde, Amy, Holly

Holly, Tyler, Chloe, MeMaw and Zayde

My Sweeeet Boy!

Jeana and Stanley live on the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville. There are several planes and helicopters displayed on the base, so we walked around to look at all the neat aircraft!

7 Things About Me...

Jessica tagged me with this. I'm supposed to list 7 random things about myself.


Here are the rules:
Link to the person that tagged you.
Share 7 random or weird facts about yourself.
Tag 7 people with their links at the end of the post, and then scout them out to let them know they've been tagged. (I may or may not do this step - so if you reading this and I tagged you - surprise!)

Here goes:

1. I have known since I was 5 years old that I wanted to be a teacher. My kindergarten teacher told my mom that I would one day be a teacher. She was right! I played school with my sisters and cousins every time they would agree, and I bossed anybody who was younger than me around like crazy!

2. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Ranch dressing. I eat it on everything: salad, chicken strips, french fries, pizza, veggies, grilled cheese sandwiches, french bread, tator tots, and so much more!

3. I have never been out of the country. (Unless you count barely crossing the border into Canada when we vacationed in Michigan.) I dream of one day going to: a beautiful island in Mexico, France, Figi Islands, Switzerland, and anywhere else that is outside of the United States.

4. I am not a "primpy" girl. I actually rarely wear makeup. When I do, my makeup regime consists of face lotion, eye liner, mascara and chap stick.

5. I got married to my high school sweetheart at the age of barely 19; Zack was 18. We have never looked back and said that we got married too young. We do not feel like we missed out on anything or regret it at all.

6. I have actually never had anyone very close to me pass away. My great aunt passed away when I was around 7 years old, but I was too young to really understand it. My great grandma passed away last year, but we haven't really been very close since I was a little girl. I don't know what I'll do when any of my grandparents or other family/friends pass away.

7. When I was growing up, I always wanted kids. I dreamed of being a mommy. I would play with my dolls ALL the time, and even pretend to breastfeed them! I used to say that I wanted 12 kids. Then when I was teenager, I said that I wanted 4 or 5. Now, it's so crazy, I am seriously considering having only 1 child! Nobody in my family can believe it- they are all shocked. I LOVE being a mommy; it is the BEST thing in the world. I love it so much that I just want to give all my time and love to Zayde. I want to be able to give him everything and provide for him, and I'm afraid I can't do all that for more than one child. I think I put so much on myself to be the best mom and give him the best, that I don't know if I can do that for anymore children. We are still praying about it, because I don't want to be selfish- I want to do what is in God's will and plan.

I tag Miranda, Mandy, Leah, Kellye, Christy, Kristal and Rachel N. to tell me 7 things about themselves!

My Jesus

I stole this from another friends' blog. It is worth the 5 minutes and 45 seconds to watch.

Here are the lyrics:

My Jesus ~Todd Agnew
Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sands

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that You follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He’d prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I’m tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I’m not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me

Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like My Jesus

Chritmas Outfits

Nana (my mom) bought all of the grandkids new Christmas outfilts! Saturday afternoon my mom and I spent over two hours shopping for the grandkids' Christmas outfits. It was so much fun!! We found the cutest plaid skirts for the girls and matching argyle sweaters for the boys. They are taking group pictures next Friday, and they will all coordinate very well. I can't wait! Thanks, Nana!


Coordinating Outfits...

Zayde's Outfit
(They did not have the sweaters in his size or the sweater vest in the bigger boys' sizes.)

Paxton and Cayden's Outfit

Addye, Mia and Kynzie's Outfits

The group pictures are soon to come!

Throwback Thursday- Family Vacation Edition

Growing up, my family took many family vacations. I know it was a sacrifice for us to go, but my parents always wanted the best for us. We enjoyed being together and experiencing many neat places wherever we went...

This was one of many trips to Colorado where we loved to snow ski. This particular trip was with our church youth group.

My dad, Charles

Roxanna and Tamara

Katie and Amy

Christa and Bobby

This was a vacation to Florida that we took with another family from church.

Hanging out at the beach.

An awesome water park that we went to. Tamara is in the water waving.

We ate at the restaurant, Fudpuckers.

Another family vacation to Colorado to snow ski.

My mom and dad, Charles and Carol

Dad, Christa, Tamara, Amy


Amy, Tamara, Dad, Christa


Amy and Tamara enjoying lunch at the food court.


Enjoying dinner at the lodge restaurant.


Our family vacation to Las Vegas...

This is Paxton and me looking out of the airplane window.


...Caesar's Palace


Amy, Christa, Tamara and Paxton


Having fun at the Excalibur...


Family vacation to St. Louis...
The Arch



...watching the St. Louis Cardinals play baseball


Visiting a meat market... (even then I didn't care for meat)


This is a trip that my grandparents, mom and Aunt Cathy took all of the kids to Colorado for sight seeing. We stayed at a campground called, Fun Valley. We visited many neat places, water tubed, and met lots of boys. :)


Tubing with some of the boys we met.


We stopped on the side of the road and fed these very tame deer.


Traffic was stopped due to farmers herding their sheep across the road.


...sight seeing


My mom and I took a vacation to New Orleans with my Aunt Aulois and Cousin Alex.


Aunt Aulois, Cousin Alex, Amy, Carol


...the River Walk in New Orleans


One of many extended family vacations to Galveston.


'Da Beach...


Christa holding a baby shark.


One of many family vacations to New Mexico where we camped, water rafted and snow skied.




Family Vacation to Orlando, Florida where we visited Disney World, Cypress Gardens and much more!


Cypress Gardens


Tea Cup ride at Disney World


Dad, Christa, Tamara, Amy


We also took a fun vacation to Chicago where we did lots of neat sight-seeing, but I couldn't find the pictures.