The Foster Four

CHRISTmas 2011

2012-01-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went like a flash!!! This year I still grabbed my camera but instead of trying to capture every single moment, I tried to sit back and take it all in just by watching. Not just snap, snap, snapping away on the camera. I still got lots of cute pics and below is our Christmas in a nutshell.

Christmas Eve, Children's pageant at our church

Twas the night before Christmas......................

Christmas Day with family

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!!!!

Brunch with the Man in Red

2012-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's me, still posting Christmas pictures as if they happened yesterday....once again playing 'catch up'!!!

We had our annual trip to the Country Club to have brunch with Santa. The boys love this day and can't wait to tell him exactly what they are wishing for.

Nathan decided he wanted to know what all those keys on Santa's belt were for. The answer was pretty impressive. I encourage you next year to ask him if you already haven't ;)

No telling what is coming out of Wilson's mouth.......just hope it was sweet ;)

They each got a "Rudolph's nose" and check it out......when Santa touches it it glows!!!! Impressive!

My two reindeer

Another highlight of the morning was getting to see our KiKi (aka Kristi)!!!! We love you KiKi!!!!

Sounds of Christmas

2011-12-29T07:55:00.001-08:00

As always, both boys schools did their Christmas programs. And of course like every year, they were super cute and funny. This year at Nathan's school he was actually chosen to be in the "play" portion of the musical. He was asked to play the part of Donner the reindeer. He had several speaking lines and did very well. Rod and I were SOOOO proud of him!!! To be in front of a packed house and step up to that microphone (especially for Nathan, who is a bit reserved) took a lot of courage! Great performance!!!!!

Aren't we glad to know Donner is an Auburn fan ;-) Check out the AU necklace he forgot to take off. LOL
All the reindeer and Mr. and Mrs. Clause

At Wilson's school, they did their annual Caroling on the Porch. All the kids are sitting on the porch while the parents gather out on the playground to listen to all of the Christmas music/songs the kids have been working on. Always super cute too!

If you don't already know....Wilson is NOT much of a singer. He just doesn't get excited about it.....BUT check it out, I caught him in the act!!! Yep, he actually opened his mouth and sang a few songs this year!! Yay!!!

Sweet cousins! BB came to watch her big sister and cousin!

Wilson and his best bud Rucker!

A Night in Lights

2011-12-18T12:13:00.001-08:00

We took our annual trip to Calloway Gardens this year right after Thanksgiving. And it was PERFECT!!!! The crowds were small and we got to see and do everything we love! And the best part of it was we practically had Santa all to ourselves!!! This is one of my all time favorite holiday activities to do with my kids. And no matter how many times we have been, the smiles on their faces make every second of it worth it. It has become "tradition" that we go see Fantasy in Lights with our cousins.......and that makes me love it even more!!!

Hopefully next year baby Haynes will make the trip with us!

This year we put on our coats, hats and long underwear and braved the trolley ride through the lights. We grabbed some hot chocolate and we were ready to ride!

What a great way to kickoff the Christmas season! Thank you Calloway Gardens for a wonderful event.........we are already looking forward to next year!

Day of Thanks

2011-12-17T14:24:00.001-08:00

Lots to be thankful for this year of 2011........of course our families and friends, our church, our health, our home, our sweet teachers that love on my babies everyday, our jobs, and the list could go on forever!

Thankful for sweet little friends that my kids have made this year

Thankful that my nieces and nephew will grow up being super close with my kids!

Thankful for my cousins and their sweet families and my brothers family of course!

(Me, Katie, Ali and Shannon)

Thankful for these two turkeys!

Thank you Lord for all your many blessings!

Ghosts and Frankenstein and Dracula......Oh My!!!!

2011-12-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's December 7th and I am just now posting about our Halloween!!!!! Remember a few posts back I asked you to bare with me because my goal was to play catch up before Christmas got here......well, I'm still playing catch up ;)

Halloween was once again a success!!!! Of course those pumpkins we picked up at the pumpkin patch quickly became Jack-o-Lanterns. The boys were extremely proud of them too.

This year Nathan begged to be something "scary"......I told him it still had to pass my approval because he was only 8. His choices were vampire, mummy or Frankenstein. He chose the vampire......of course because of the blood. Wilson got to choose from the left over choices and went with Frankenstein, and boy was he cute! We went all out this year with make up and all.......I'm no professional by any means but I thought they looked pretty good if I do say so myself.
Farmer Prather and his flower Anne Reynolds came to trick or treat with us. And of course the 2 AU cheerleaders (Stirling and Bradley) were along for part of the night. The kids had a blast!!!

Until next year...................

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!!!

2011-12-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

The Pumpkin Patch trips were in full force this year. I don't care how many time we go during the fall to one of them, the boys always ask "so mom, when are we going back to the patch?" Seriously.....they are obsessed. I guess it's all the hay, tractors, corn, scarecrows, PUMPKINS, corn pits, slides.....should I continue my list. I think not. You pretty much get the picture.

Our first trip was to a local farm here in Auburn.....The Lazenby Farm. Nathan's class doesn't do a pumpkin patch field trip so I checked him out on his birthday and we made an afternoon of it. And of course it wouldn't be fun without friends so we talked the Zapps into coming along with us.

Wilson & Owen playing in the corn.

Nathan and Walker on top of the hay maze

Nothing like spending a beautiful day with both my boys!

Then it was on to the next excursion......this time it was with Wilson's 4 year old class from his school. Let me just tell you, there were about 20 4 year olds that were beside themselves with excitement. Especially once they got to there and saw all the fun stuff they could do. The pictures need no words..................

This is just half the class. They had a blast and cannot wait until next year to do it all over again!

War Eagle, Fly Down the Field!!!!

2011-12-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

This football season Nathan got to experience something that most people (or at least the MEN I know) would love to do.......especially if they love AU football! Our sweet babysitter, Sarah, whom is pretty much part of our family took Nathan down on to the field before one of our home games. Lets just say she has some "connections" ;) Of course, I sent my camera along with them to capture this special day. From what Sarah said, Nathan was pretty taken back by everything going on around him. He had a blast!!!!

Nathan wishing the AU eagle, Nova, "good luck" before her pregame flight

AU's awesome Drum Majors

Thanks Mr. Rick (Sarah's dad) for making this happen for Nathan!!!
We love the Good Family!!!

Nate said....."mom, those guys were BIG!!!"

And of course the "man" of the hour.......AUBIE!!!!!

Thank you Sarah for always making my boys feel so special and loved! They truly think of you as a big sister and we wouldn't trade you for the world! Love you!!!!
fyi.......Wilson keeps asking when his turn will be ;) LOL!!!!

Another year older......8!!!

2011-11-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Nathan turned 8 on October 14 and honestly I just can't believe it!!!! There is no way that my "baby" can be this old?!?!?!?! If you don't believe that time flies, watch out because IT DOES!!!
This year we had an ALL boy, ALL sports birthday party :) Nathan and his friends had a blast playing football, kickball, dodge ball, sharks and minnows and tug of war. They were all a sweaty mess by the end of the party....which with boys = success!!!

The birthday boy and myself

At Sports Academy all the Birthday kiddos get to leave a hand print on their birthday wall! So cute!

Thanks boys for making Nathan's 8th birthday special and so much fun!

Sports, Sports and more Sports

2011-11-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you people but we have been SUPER busy this fall. It's been lots of fun but definitely busy. My mom laughs at me because she says before I had children I always talked about how I wanted little boys................well I got 'em!!!! We have either been at a baseball game, soccer game/practice, golf lessons or karate. Phew, I AM TIRED!!! This was Wilson's first "organized" sport (if you can call 4 yr old soccer organized) and I think he had fun. Of course all he was really worried about was if he was going to get a trophy at some point ---and I am happy to report, yes he did. Then there are the golf lessons..........once a week (which we will continue through winter). Thank goodness the golf course is practically in our back yard. No running all over town for this hobby ;)Nathan kept us busy too. Baseball this fall was great. He had a great season and once again Daddy was his coach. I love fall ball because it is not nearly as "competitive" as the spring league. The kids really get out there and just have fun.

I love this pic......check out daddy on the mound!

Last event of the fall was Karate. Nathan has been doing karate now for almost 2 years and still likes it a lot. He just had a belt test that promoted him to a brown belt.....this is the first belt of the Upper belt classes. Meaning he is only 4 belts away from becoming a black belt. Go Nate!!!

A Tomahawk Choppin, War Eagle Weekend!!

2011-11-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

One word.....Pitiful! Yep that describes me and my blogging these days. If you are a "regular" reader I apologize. It is my goal to catch my "documenting" up in the next couple of weeks. Especially since Christmas is right around the corner.......Oh dear!

Yes, I admit, this post should have been done back in September (right after this fun weekend happened) BUT it didn't, so here it goes..................................The first weekend of September was a lot of fun and full of sporting events. On that Friday, Rod and I took the boys to Atlanta to see the Braves play and the next morning we were off to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first AU Tigers football game of the season. Phew....we were tired on Sunday.

Having a little dinner at the Braves Chop House while we watched a little batting practice!

Love them.........AND we LOVED our seats!! That is the Braves dugout the boys are standing by.......yep, we were that close :)

Nathan was a dancing machine that night.......this pic was during a little "YMCA"! I have to give him props though, he made it on to the jumbo tron 4 times that night!

A big "Thank You" to these two guys! I went to school at AU with David and Tim when they both played baseball there and we all got to be good friends. They made the boys night even more special. David signed a hat and ball for them and Tim tossed both of them a ball. How AUsome!!!!
By the end of the night this little guy was exhausted. But he pushed through and we made it all the way through the Friday night fireworks display. Which I might add is pretty impressive!

The next morning came quick and we were up and at 'em ready for some Auburn football.

Tailgating with friends!

Cousins ready for some football!

Ogletree Fun Run 2011

2011-10-04T07:50:00.001-07:00

Nathan's school had their annual fundraiser at the beginning of September. The kids love this event and really do get in to it. I am proud to announce that Nathan was one of the top $$ raisers in his class. YAY Nathan!!!! Way to go buddy!

The class got to pick a "team name" so they went with Howell's Hurricanes!!!

Little man came out to support and cheer on his big brother.

On the very last lap, the kids get to grab a parent/or special someone to run it with them!That might have been the most running I have done in a long time, ha ha! ;)

Great job Nathan!

Afterwards, the class got to celebrate with Popsicles!!!!!

Nathan and Walker! You guys did awesome!!!

Wilson/Foster Beach Trip 2011

2011-10-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

I only have two things to say.......FAMILY and FUN!!!!!
I will let the 1 million pictures do the talking!

Big Time 2nd Grader

2011-09-04T14:14:00.001-07:00

Yes this post is a little late seeing how we are about to start week 4 of the school year but better late than never, right?!?!?!? Nathan is full speed into his 2nd grade year and seems to be enjoying it. He did say that they sure do have to do "A LOT more work" but he seems happy, so no complaints.
This year Nathan has Ms. Howell for his teacher. She is precious.....very sweet and soft spoken. Thank goodness for the FM system and hearing aide. But Nathan really likes her and so do I.

Meet the teacher night. Nathan & Ms. Howell

Off to the first day of school!!!
Check out his new backpack. He insisted he have an orange one this year for Auburn. Boy is it orange!!!!
Of course, Wilson was extremely happy to see his big brother after a long, boring day at home with mom by himself.

And there is no better way to end a hot first day of school than Popsicles with friends!

Notice anything different????????

2011-08-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

When you look at this first picture of Nathan do you notice anything different about him????????

Let me help you out......................................

We are LOVING the new hearing aide!!!!!! I don't think Nathan ( or Rod and I) have stopped smiling since we got this precious new item on Monday. Nate's doctor decided that it was definitely time to amplify. To give you a little history on how we got here let me back up.................. Nathan received his first tube in his "good" ear at the early age of 6 months, since then we have averaged about 1 tube replacement a year. So if you do the math ;) he has had 7 tubes since he was born. The last one he had put in late last spring....well when it finally dislodged (or Nate's ear rejected it) just a few months later it left about a 30% perforation (hole) in his ear drum. NOT GOOD AT ALL!!!! This caused a major decrease in his hearing. The hole has finally healed completely but he is still suffering from a mild/moderate conductive hearing loss in his only hearing ear. BOOOOOO!

Nathan got the aide on Monday and let me just tell you, this momma cried some happy tears that day. The look on his face was priceless when we turned it on. To quote him..."mom, you are so clear and loud.......wait, I'm so loud"! That's when the tears started to fall. Rod had his teary moment in the car with him on the way to baseball....Rod called and said, "I can't believe I just had a complete conversation with Nathan and never had to repeat myself or turn my head around so he could read my lips" WOW!!!! How blessed are we?!?!?!? And to top it all off, Nathan is just as proud of this hearing aide as the rest of us. He shows everyone that stops to talk to him....too funny!

Just a Ridin'

2011-08-10T06:31:00.001-07:00

FINALLY!!!!!!!! It's been a definite struggle trying to get Nathan to want to learn to ride his bike. I mean seriously, your almost 8 and you don't want to learn to ride so eventually you can take off with your friends in the neighborhood!!!!???!!! That just shows you how cautious my oldest child is and has always been.
A couple weeks ago after much chit chat and negotiating he caved and spent the morning with his dad learning this 2 wheeled contraption. Notice in the pics we are all decked out in every piece of protective gear we had........elbow pads, knee pads and of course the helmet.

Good job Nathan ( and good job daddy)!!!

I am also proud to report that we have also graduated to helmet ONLY!!!!

A Wet Beach Weekend

2011-07-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Orange Beach a couple weekends ago for our first family beach trip of the summer. I can't believe it took us this long to make it down to the Gulf but oh well, at least we made it. The only downer about the whole thing was it was the first time in a month that it rained down there......and when I say rain, I mean RAINED!!!!! I truly thought we were in the middle of a tropical storm. We made the most of it.............went to the beach every chance there was a break in the rain, spent lots of money at the arcade, and ate till our tummies couldn't stand it anymore.

Can you tell by this picture how rough the waves/water was?!?!?!?

We even took our fave sitter, Sarah and her friend Linda, down to the beach as a "thank you" trip for all she/they do for us. She is like a big sister to my boys and they love her to pieces. Sorry Sarah and Linda, I couldn't produce more sunshine for ya ;)

We also met up with our friends the Holmes'. Our boys love getting together and hanging out. If you look in the background you will see Ryan too. He was too busy to get a pic taken. ;)

We even got to visit with Granny Rie (Rod's mom) while we were there.

Never have seen this before in an arcade but this place had a "game" (as Wilson called it) where you watched it make your fresh cotton candy. There was no getting out of spending that $3. LOL

Bye for now..............but look for more beach posts coming up. We aren't done with the sand and surf just yet. One more trip (but sshhh, don't tell our teachers....it's after school starts back) as a family is on the books. Can't wait!!!!!

Holiday weekend at the lake!

2011-07-05T14:08:00.001-07:00

This holiday weekend we were blessed enough to be invited by 2 different families to join in their festivities at Lake Martin. We had SO much fun and made some great memories. On Saturday, we headed up to the Cabbage's cabin to spend some time with our sweet friends Jennifer and Ryan and their 3 boys. This visit was extra special because Ryan just took a job at UNC-Charlotte as the Head Golf Coach and this amazing family will soon be leaving Auburn. We will miss them greatly but look forward to more impromptu visits at the lake when they come home to visit. (WARNING: LOTS of pics below)

Day 1 started like this:
And ended like this.....................

Day 2 begins....................... This time we were at the Dubberley cabin. Of course, once again lots of fun and friends.

And this is how it ended...........................

The 4th with Family!

2011-07-05T13:56:00.001-07:00

The 4th of July has come and gone and I hope all of you had a great holiday as did we. We spent our 4th with mostly family (and friends whom are like family) swimming, cooking ribs, playing in bounce houses and on water slides. And of course ended it with Auburn's firework show. Happy Birthday America! Until next year.....enjoy some red, white and blue.

Nate and Ali

Rod, Brad and Dave. Each sporting an American color.....did you guys plan that?!?!? ;)

I tried to explain to W that the tiaras were for girls but he didn't mind sporting one anyway.

Sweet Bradley....aka Beebs!

Little man..... excuse me,I mean BIG man Haynes.

Nothing like an impromptu show of our VBS songs. It was hilarious.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy!!!

2011-06-23T07:53:00.001-07:00

These two boys are O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D with fishing!!!!! This is a fairly new hobby that they both have decided they LOVE! Which is great because mom and dad live on a small lake/pond that is full of fish for them to TRY and catch. Papa (my dad) has always hoped one of these little guys would become his "fishing buddy".......but instead he got both of them.

They are actually pretty good too! Both of them cast on their own and can really put the worm/hook pretty far out there. Wilson actually landed a huge fish this weekend that jumped out of the water and then broke his line and took the bait with him. Oh well.....Wilson still counts that as a "catch".

Love that they enjoy doing these kind of things together. And love even more they are making precious memories with their Papa.

BLESSED!!!!!!

2011-06-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY ROD!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU........FOREVER AND ALWAYS!

Baseball Season.....It's a Wrap!

2011-05-29T08:13:00.001-07:00

Our baseball season is over.....FINALLY! And I say that so, because it was a rough one. A lot more losses than wins. But oh well, as long as they are having fun who cares at this age.
This was Nathan's first "real" season of machine pitch (6-8 yr olds). Our daddy was the head coach along with my sweet cousin Ben. Both Rod and Ben played Junior College baseball so they definitely have a lot to offer these young boys when it comes to learning the game of baseball.

Hanging in the dugout with some of our favorites.....The Holmes Brothers, Luke & Ryan.

A little action sequence (above). Great hit Nate....now RUN!!!!

Ready to run!

A little second base action.

Nathan and his Coaches!

Of course....no season would be complete with out the end of season party (which I took no pics at). The Rangers headed up to Shakey's pizza for food and games. And of course TROPHIES!!!!

Two of my guys! Proud of both of you always!!!!

2 Blessings & 1 Loving Mom

2011-05-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day my friends!!!!! Today was beautiful and perfect. We didn't make it to church as a family due to my littlest guy trying to get over a cold (didn't want to scare anyone at Sunday School if he tried to cough up a lung) BUT we did make it to a lovely lunch with my parents and my brother and his family.

Obviously the 2 BLESSINGS I speak of are these two little guys.....Nathan and Wilson. Oh how they have changed my life....for the better I must add.

And the 1 LOVING MOM I am speaking of is my wonderful Mom......Nina, as the grands like to call her. In my eyes she is a great example of "The Virtuous Woman" spoken of in Proverbs 31:10-31..........."Her children arise and call her blessed".
I don't know if I could be the mother that I am if it wasn't for her. She is truly an example to live by and I do hope to one day say I have filled her shoes well. I must say, I have a long way to go before I am there but I am proud to say I have a great role model. I love you mom!!!!

My brother, Brad and I with our Mom (Gina Wilson)

Mother's Day 2011

Egg-citing Stuff & Egg-cellent Fun!

2011-04-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

Let me start off by saying HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL FROM THE FOSTER FOUR!
We, like most of you, have had a super busy Holy Week. Getting prepared for Easter can be exhausting but compared to what our Lord and Savior did for us hundreds of years ago I guess it's the least we could do :) I won't write too much because let me warn you......LOTS of pictures are coming below.

We started out the week with Wilson's school Easter Egg hunt. There had to have been over 150 eggs in his classmates backyard BUT it only took these 3-4 year olds 2.5 seconds to gather them all up.

Then of course came the egg dying fun!!!!!

Easter morning always is fun! Checking out what the Easter Bunny left us!
Heading to church to celebrate the true reason for Easter. HE is Risen!!!!

All the grand babies and Nina & Papa!

Of course, after lunch we had to have another Easter Egg hunt in the Grands backyard.

Check out these silly rabbits! :)

We even busted out the water slide and had some fun with the Reaves and Basden Families!
So as I stated earlier.......WORN OUT and EXHAUSTED!!!!! Until next Easter.........................

Sunday Skate

2011-03-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

That's right, we went roller skating this afternoon...............well, Nathan did. He was invited to his very first Skating Party. Oh boy, was it hilarious! He started off pretty rough, meaning he spent most of his time picking himself up off the floor. But as the time passed he definitely got better.......no pro, but better. At least everyone there was in the same "shoes". It was all pretty much their first or second time in the rink. His buddies Manning and Jeffrey Taking a little break.

Rod dropped by the party with Wilson just so he could catch a glimpse of Nathan rockin the skates. Little did we know that Wilson would be begging us to let him try. So..................................

Everyone will probably have sore bottoms tomorrow but boy did they have fun!!!!!

Z.O.O. Time!!!!

2011-03-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

Spring break is HERE and believe it or not it is almost over with too! We didn't make any big plans this year for travel, so with these beautiful days we have been blessed with we have had to come up with some fun stuff to do. We've done the park, gone to a movie, AU baseball games, etc.....and of course the ZOO!!!! The boys L.O.V.E. it! They were so excited when we told them we were going to take a quick trip to Montgomery and spend the afternoon with some furry friends.

The zoo has a new "thing" they are doing called the Giraffe post. You can pay a couple extra bucks per person and actually go out and feed the giraffes and get some up close and personal time with them. The boys thought it was awesome!

Check out that tongue!!!!

An even more special treat about going to the zoo this time was that our daddy got to go with us. We have been to the zoo so many times but never has he gotten a chance to enjoy it too. I think he had just as much fun as they did.

And of course, no trip to the zoo would be complete without the train ride!

Those of you who know this little man know that he is O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D. with trains. So here he is waiting as patiently as he can for our turn.

There is nothing that makes me happier than spending a fun filled day with the little men in my life --- and the big man too ;)!

Happy Spring Break Ya'll!!!

Four is Fabulous!!!!

2011-02-07T14:17:00.001-08:00

Four IS fabulous and boy did we celebrate....ALL WEEK LONG!!!! First off, our daddy was out of town on business so we had to do all the partying on our own (with the help of family and friends) :( It was definitely a little sad but we made do.

Let me just say, I CANNOT BELIEVE that Wilson is 4 years old! It seems like yesterday he was making his early debut (almost 6 weeks early) and was this tiny little wrinkly old man looking thing (5 lbs, 9 oz)--- and I do say all of that with L.O.V.E! Now I look at him and boy has he grown.... into this beautiful, handsome, blonde haired, blue eyed little devil that keeps us on our toes. And all of that is also said with lots of L.O.V.E!!!!!!

The first celebration was held at his preschool! We took decorated cookies to share with our friends and I do think they were a hit.

Wilson with his little lady, Claire

That night we celebrated at my mom and dad's house with the rest of the family. Wilson's one request was to have a pinata on his birthday. Well, I made the executive decision to do this with only us and cousins versus 25 little 3 & 4 year olds. Wise choice, very wise choice.

Cupcake time!We missed you Rod!!!!!

Even though Rod was stuck in Minnesota......the party had to go on!!!!! Thank goodness Wilson wanted his party at Frog Legs (indoor inflatable zone) this year. It was definitely an easy party to throw on my own. Thanks to all my friends who were there that helped take pics and video---I couldn't have done it without you.

The cake turned out super cute (thanks Gourmet Tiger)! Wilson is OBSESSED with gumball machines.....or better yet, gum period.

Birthday Boy having a blast!

Thomas, Prather and Wilson. This is the best they would give us. Typical boys....no one wants their pic taken.
And then you have the little ladies! They will strike a pose on any given moment!

Anna Grace, Lily and Stirling

Hope he made a good wish!

I know I sure did! My Wish: That time would slow down!

My babies aren't babies anymore!

It's Great To Be An AUBURN TIGER....................

2011-01-14T15:37:00.001-08:00

BECAUSE WE ARE #1!!!!!

I don't care who was in the past or who will be in the future, for the next 365 days the Auburn Tigers are National Champions!!!!
Rod and I were blessed to be able to travel to Arizona to witness the big game in person.......and boy what an experience it was. Something we will remember for the rest of our lives. I will let most of the pictures do the talking...............................................

Getting ready for the AU pep rally with Blair and Alan (Rod's brother)

Look who I found the night before the game.....our sweet babysitter, Sarah and her fun side kick Linda.

Rod and his brothers, Alan & Bo on game day!!!

Arriving at the stadium!!!!

A little tailgating action.....................................

GAME TIME!!!!!!!!!!! And let me just tell you, the Auburn fans were there in mass! We took over that stadium and made it our own! 70% Auburn, 30% Oregon!

Rona, Amy and I right before kickoff!!! How AUsome were our seats?!?!?!?

The coin toss.....which we lost. But that was the only thing ;)

LOVED this sign!

3 seconds left on the clock, game is tied, the kick is up and it's...........................GOOD!
TIGERS WIN, TIGERS WIN, TIGERS WIN!!!!!!!

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2010!

Good to Great...............this was our teams "motto" for this past season. Don't you think they lived up to that?!?!?!?!

This was one H.A.P.P.Y. man!!!

And these are 2 of the happiest life long Auburn natives you will ever meet!

Joanna and I have been saying "War Eagle" since we were toddlers, thanks to our Dads. What a fun trip with fun friends!

BCS Bound!!!

2011-01-03T14:32:00.001-08:00

One of the many reasons I love living in this college town is depicted below in these pictures. Today our beloved Auburn Tigers left for Arizona in preparation to take on the Oregon Ducks. There was an "official" send off/mini Tiger Walk I guess you could say. I swear over half of Auburn was there --- guess going back to work after the holidays will have to wait until the Tigers are on the road. ;) We loaded up the boys with shakers in hand ready to cheer them on as they drove out of town. So much energy was at that complex.

It was a little bit more subdued because the players/coaches/family had to go through TSA security screening at the Athletic complex -- they did this so that the team could directly board the plane in Atlanta and avoid all the security. So the fans/us really couldn't get that close to them....once through security, they could have no contact with anyone.

Getting ready for the players!!!
Big Josh Bynes............I sure wouldn't want to see him staring me down if I was playing on the offensive side of the ball :)

Cam!!!!! Of course he didn't let the fans down. He ran around videoing everyone before he ever boarded the bus. He even laid back into the crowd to take a self portrait of himself with the fans and then had to go back through security AGAIN. It was pretty funny!

Waiting on the buses to pull away!

WARRRRRRRRRRRRRR EAGLE, HEY!!!!!

And they are off! Good luck boys! Rod and I will see you in Glendale!!!

Merry Merry Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T13:48:00.001-08:00

WARNING: Major Bed Head pics below ;0)

Christmas 2010 was GREAT!!!! The boys woke up at the usual EARLY time and couldn't wait to see what St. Nick had left for them. They had each made "lists" of the things they wanted more than anything. This year the major wants from Nathan were..............DS games, Wii games, and a Golf Cart. Wilson was pretty direct about what he wanted.............a see saw, a "DS" like Nate's and the Criss Cross Crash Track by Hot Wheels. See below to find out how happy these two kiddos were :)

This is pretty much what Nathan has done since Christmas!!! I'm about to slap a DS time limit on him.

Can you tell this little guy was excited about his Criss Cross Crash Track!

Opening presents from each other. They both gave each other a new fun board game.

SEE SAW!!!!! This has definitely been a hit!

Oh yeah, and notice the wardrobe addition on Nathan. He finally got the Cam Newton jersey he has been asking for!!!!

And the much anticipated Golf Cart. Nathan has been asking for one for the family for the past 2 yrs. Guess he has been a pretty good boy this year!

Twas the Night Before Christmas!!!!

2010-12-24T19:03:00.001-08:00

CHRISTmas Eve service at our church. I grew up in this church.......was christened here, got married here, both of my babies were christened here and this is where I spent every Christmas Eve as a child (and as a young adult) with my family. I can't tell you how special it is to keep this tradition going with my own children.Each Christmas Eve we open one special present............it's a gift my mom passed on to my brother and I after we started our own families. Inside this box is a baby Jesus (from a nativity) and the book called The Real Story of Christmas. We recycle this gift every year and it sits wrapped among all of the other presents through out the month of December until this special night.

This year it was so fun to have Nathan actually read Twas the Night Before Christmas to Wilson....can I just tell you how awesome it is to have another "reader" in the house. :)
Boys will be Boys!!!!
This is what happens when you ask my two if they will take a few pics in their Christmas pjs before we go to bed..................................

I finally got them calmed down long enough to capture a couple sweet pictures.

And lets not forget the COOKIES!!!!!!! The Man in Red might be disappointed if these didn't get left out for him :)

Santa Treats!

2010-12-24T09:21:00.001-08:00

Treats actually mean COOKIES!!!!!!! This week we tried to find lots of fun things to do and of course one of those being cookie decorating in preparation of Santa's arrival. We all know he LOVES some cookies.

I'm not sure why it is, but the older my kiddos get, it seems the busier I am so.........................I would tell you a little white lie about how I slaved in the kitchen trying to make the perfect cookies to decorate BUT I won't. Instead, I will tell you my secret

I called Gourmet Tiger and ordered a dozen undecorated sugar cookies, bought the icing and sprinkles and wa-la, it's cookie decorating time! :)

Please tell me you can figure out the ones the kiddos did?!?!?!?!? ;)

MERRY MERRY!!!!

Party Time----Christmas style!!!

2010-12-20T08:10:00.001-08:00

Wilson's class party was great!!!! The big man in red (not real authentic looking- but the kiddos don't care) dropped by to hand out a little treat to each little person. After he moved onto the older kids classes, the kids got to enjoy lots of yummy snacks/treats.

The whole class with Santa!!!!

Yummy time!!!

And after the food was all consumed, the class had a gift/book exchange with each other. Everyone brought a book for their gender and had it wrapped up. They traded with each other and everyone LOVED IT!!!!
Wilson and Claire!!! Love bugs!!!
Present time!!!! Wilson was extremely pleased with the gift he got to open........Thomas the Train book! With little character pieces......he thought he had hit the jack pot.

A little CHRISTmas singin'!!!!!

2010-12-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

It's definitely Christmas time when moms and dads are running themselves crazy to make it to each one of their kiddos programs and parties at their schools..................BUT once you get there and you witness all the "cuteness" these little people can bestow on some Christmas songs, it's ALL WORTH IT!!!!

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Wilson would actually participate in the singing.......he surprised us all. Now, he didn't sing the whole time but I will take what I can get. He even did some of the motions that went with the songs. So precious!!!!!

Playing a little maraca during one of the songs.

myself, Wilson, Stirling & Ali

Kissing cousins at Christmas time............it's better than the alternative. Which is Wilson pushing or shoving her ;0)

Then it was on to Nathan's performance. At Ogletree the 1st & 2nd graders do their own show together. This year it was a Western Christmas theme. It was an all out Musical with script, characters and all!!!!

That's my cowboy on the back/top row.

Nathan with his buddy Davis.

And the most exciting thing for Nathan that day was that Wilson got to come see the performance with me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS YA'LL!!!!

A Night filled with Lights!!!!

2010-12-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

Last week we took our annual trip to Callaway Gardens to see Fantasy in lights with the Wilson Fam. It was SUPER C.O.L.D. so at the last minute we opted to go in our car versus the trolley. I think the kiddos loved it just as much. **Especially mine since they stuck their heads out the sunroof most of the time** Crazy kids! We had lots of fun before taking off on the trail of lights.....face painting, shopping, pics with fun characters, hot chocolate and a FRIED milky way!!! The cousins seemed to really enjoy themselves --- hopefully this tradition will continue on!!!!Family Time!!!! CHRISTmas 2010

Ali and I with all the kiddos!!!

Check out these 2 little Rudolphs!! Love them!!!!

These 2 brothers were super excited about the lights!!!!

See ya next year Callaway!!!!

Brunch with Santa

2010-12-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the boys and I ventured out for a morning with Santa. Our daddy was away on a business trip so we were always looking for something fun to do. Of course they were super excited to see the main man dressed in red. But it was also fun running into some of our favorite peeps and enjoying some yummy food with good friends.

Check out these 2 clowns......er, I mean "rudolphs"!!!

Prather and Wilson are best buds.

And this little lady is Anne Reynolds, affectionately known to me as JJ (Joanna Jr.) -- for those who know her mother, Joanna, let me just tell you this is exactly what Jo looked like as a baby! I

And the day wouldn't have been complete had we not gotten to see the "girlfriend"!! These two miss each other greatly due to the fact they are at different elementary schools this year. But when they do see each other, it's like they haven't missed a beat.
Last but not least......the Clegg Clan were there too! So much fun was had by ALL!!!!

28-27 Baby!!!! WDE!!!!!

2010-11-27T17:37:00.001-08:00

It's Great To Be An Auburn Tiger!!!!!!!

Yesterday was Iron Bowl 2010 in Tuscaloosa. Neither Rod or I had ever been to an Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa so it was definitely a new experience for both of us. But I am extremely happy to report that at least our first trip there will always be memorable. This will definitely be a game that goes in the history books!!! After a lack luster start to the game (at least from the AU bench) we thought......"oh my, what have we gotten ourselves into. This is going to be, for lack of better words, HELL for the next few hours.

But our AUBURN TIGERS did NOT disappoint!!!!!!

I swear to you, the sky ALL DAY was grey and overcast with little drizzles everywhere. But when the 3rd quarter started and Auburn scored their 2nd touchdown of the game, this is what we looked up and saw. That beautiful Orange and Blue sky.........I guess to quote our Quarterback, " The Lord was blessin' today!" It truly gave us all chills.

Post game shot!!! I would have gotten a picture of the scoreboard but I swear to you they shut that thing off IMMEDIATELY after the time ticked off! HAHAHAHAHA!!! Kind of funny actually! Whatever, we know the final score!

28-27!!!!!
War Damn Eagle!!!!!!
See ya in Arizona!!!!
But first we will stop off in Atlanta ;)

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!!!!!

2010-11-25T15:22:00.001-08:00

I hope this post finds all of you happy with tummies full on this Thanksgiving Day!! What a beautiful day it was here in Auburn. We spent the majority of our day at my mom and dad's house gorging ourselves with the annual Thanksgiving feast. YUMMO!!!!! Nothing is better than my mom and aunt's dressing ( a recipe they got from their mom, aka. Mimi). It is something I look forward to every year. I just wanted to share with you some of my many blessings.........................

My older brother, Brad and my sweet husband, Rod.

My two handsome boys and one of my sweet nieces!

A fabo sister-in-law that I also call one of my "best"friends.

A daddy (aka, Papa) that I love oh so much.
Have I ever mentioned how much of a daddy's girl I am????

A wonderful aunt (aka, Nettie) and loving mother (aka, Nina)
Can you tell they are sisters????

And don't forget this munchkin!!!! Baby Bradley (aka, BB or Beebs), another one of my nieces.

We missed my other cousins and their children this year but what a blessing they are to me as well!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL!!!!!!

Thankful..............

2010-11-24T15:35:00.000-08:00

For wonderful schools with wonderful teachers!!!!! This past week both boys had Thanksgiving events planned. Nathan's 1st grade class did a Thanksgiving play. It was super cute and the kids did a great job. Nathan had a "major" speaking role where he told about the Mayflower and the journey the pilgrims went through.

Nina even dropped by as a surprise.

Wilson's sweet school had their annual Thanksgiving feast. The kids got to enjoy some of the traditional Thanksgiving yummys. Turkey (aka. chick-fil-a nuggets), green beans, corn on the cob, potatoes and pumpkin bread.

Sweet Cousins!

Me and my turkey!!!!

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. And oh yeah...................................................WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!!!!

Seeing Green

2010-11-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

I would like to introduce you to the newest GREEN belt Karate Kid. Congratulations Nathan, we are oh so proud of you!!!!

Nathan and Matthew worked hard to get here!

Nate and Master Patrick

Oh yeah, this is what you have to do if you forget to say "YES SIR" --- I might start trying this at home with our yes mams ;0)

A Star Wars Kind of Halloween!!!!!

2010-11-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!! I hope your spooky, fun filled evening was as great as ours was. After watching almost all of the Star Wars movies post surgeries this past year, Nathan was dying to dress up as Darth Vader.....so what better to dress Wilson as than Yoda!!!! :) I thought they ended up looking pretty cute myself.

Of course the night is always a bit chaotic....trying to get every one dressed, visiting all the aunts & uncles, cousins, and grandparents, and fitting in a "nutritious" dinner before all the candy consumption. All of this to be done BEFORE actual trick-or-treating gets started. Whew....I'm just tired remembering all of it.

All the cousins!!! Little Bo-Peep & her sheep (Stirling and Bradley), Yoda and Darth Vader (my boys) and Tom & Jerry (Sara and Megan). How cute are they?!?!?!?!?
Quick family pic before the fun begins!

And just because I know you all need a good laugh, here is a picture of Rod and I before the annual adult Halloween party that some couples here in Auburn host every year. If you know anything about the reality TV show Jersey Shore then you will appreciate this. Drum Roll please.....................................................................................................................................introducing Snookie and Pauly D!!!!!

I love Halloween but I LOVE to see it go even more!!!! It's just one of those holidays that exhausts me. :) Now bring on the Turkey and Dressing!!!!!!

Pumpkins to.......Jack-O-Lanterns!!!

2010-10-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Wilson's sweet school went to the pumpkin patch in Lafayette. It is only a short distance from Auburn and such a cute, fun place. They have lots for the kids to do......Hayride out to the pumpkin patch, petting zoo, tractors to play on, inflatables, train rides. In other words, lots of things to do to burn off that 3 year old energy :)

Wilson and his two best girl buddies.... Stirling and Claire.

Loving the hayride with mommy!

This was the expression he made when we came around the corner and he first spotted the pumpkin patch.......priceless!! Love it!

"I think this is it!!!!"

On to the petting zoo!

Since brother couldn't make the trip with us, we picked him out one too. Those pumpkins have been sitting on our front porch for a lot of days now and FINALLY the time came to give them a little personality :). So yesterday after Nathan got home from school the Jack-O-Lantern fun began!!!

The finished projects!!!!!!

Typical 7 yr old boy.....had to do a "scary" face pumpkin. Don't you love Nathan's scary face too! :)

And the 3 yr old went with a fun, happy face!

Celebration of #7

2010-10-17T17:55:00.001-07:00

As I said in my previous post......I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE A 7 YEAR OLD!!!!!!! Where in the world did the time go?!?!?!?!?!?

We started Nathan's birthday off with an all boys (except one special girl--cousin Stirling) Karate Birthday Party!!!! The kids had a great time and I think they pretty much loved every minute of it. How could they not with games of dodge ball, dodge ball freeze tag, getting to break their own wooden board, and obstacle courses. It was a perfect start to Nate's birthday week.

Nate even got to be a black belt for the day!!!! He loved that!

The boys thought this was totally cool.....Nathan (along with some assistance) got to cut his cake with a real Samurai sword.

Check out this rowdy group!!! Notice Stirling.....that's about as close as we could get her to all those boys. Do you blame her?!?!?!?!?

On Nathan's actual birthday (Oct. 14th) I dropped by his school for a lunch visit and brought his class some yummy cookies. The class was so cute and very appreciative.

And then to wrap up the big day, Nathan chose Mikata for his birthday dinner with family. I told him since his party was for only boys that he could invite one "special" friend to go to dinner with us. OF COURSE it was his "girlfriend" Isabel.

And of course, one last set of candles to blow out!!

7 Years......Really?!?!?!?!?

2010-10-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

This whole 7 year old thing is about to much for me!!!!! I want to go back to these sweet little years........................... Happy Birthday Nathan!

More pics to come from today!!!!!!

The Magical World of Disney

2010-09-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

I am going to start off by apologizing for the longest post in the history of blogging --this quite possibly should be illegal to post this BUT it's hard enough these days to find the time to do one post...much less try to break these pictures up in to multiple posts. So with that said, hang in there with me. ;)

This post is about the much anticipated "celebration" trip for Nathan. What could be better than a trip to Disney after a year full of multiple surgeries for his reconstruction???? Nothing, I say!!!! We had a BLAST! We rode tons of rides, watched lots of parades, met LOTS of new friends and ate yummy food. The look on Nathan's face the day we got to each park was priceless and around every corner we went there were always fun and friendly characters to meet and get autographs from. My sweet boy was in HEAVEN!!!

These first pictures are from just SOME of our many new friends that we met. Definitely some of our favorites!!!!

On to the rides, parades and all the fun we had!!! This trip was so special -- first of all, it was just Rod and I and Nathan. We left little man at home with my parents so that we could really experience EVERY thing at Disney. It was a great opportunity to give Nate some one on one time without a hospital or doctor visits being involved. It will definitely be a trip we always remember.

Two of our favorite rides were Toy Story Mania (above) at Hollywood Studios and (below) Buzz Lightyear's Alien Invasion. Please take note on the intensity of my husband as he competed against his 6 year old.

And you definitely can't go to Disney World without getting your face painted, watching every parade/street party they have, and just plain goofing around!

Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground

Nemo and Friends

Nathan, we are so proud of you for what you endured this past year! What a brave and courageous little boy you were. We are so glad to say that this chapter of your life is finally closed --- you will only be a better/stronger man one day because of it.

Last but not least................we missed this little mousketeer TERRIBLY while we were gone and from what I understand he missed us just as much. Let's just say, he knew exactly where we were and missed us so much that he decided to start using the big boy potty while were gone--- he now thinks that we will be taking him to Disney because "I'm a big boy now mommy, I go to the potty.....now I can go to Disney World"!!!! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

IT"S Here!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-05T12:14:00.001-07:00

"IT" would be Auburn Football and Tailgating!!!!!!! Oh how I love both of them. Our city of Auburn is in full swing, geared up for this season of Auburn Football ----this is just one of the many reasons it's great raising a family here (I might be a little biased though, considering I was born and raised here ). Let's just say, the Foster Family LOVES this time of year.

Yesterday was AU's first home football game, so we headed out to do a little tailgating and enjoy some college football. The boys were troopers to hang with us all day. Nathan even got to experience the luxury of one of the stadium suites. He sat with some friends of ours and their boys, while Rod, Wilson and I hung with the "common folk". ;) It was a GREAT day!

Ready to head out to the tailgate!

Sweet Stirling loving on Wilson.

Sis-in-laws

Auburn football make this guy one happy man!!!

Wilson and Prather ready for kickoff!!!!

Fun Run

2010-08-26T12:54:00.001-07:00

This morning the family attended Nathan's school fundraising event --- the Boosterthon Fun Run!!!! For the past week, Nate has been calling friends and family (mainly family) and asking them to pledge a dollar amount for every lap he will run. Well, wouldn't you know it, he ran the maximum amount of laps they were allowed ----35 LAPS!!!!!!! So all you loved ones who made a pledge will be receiving a call from Nathan sometime soon :)

The event was super cute and fun. The group of young men who have been working with the school for the past week have really done a great job and definitely know how to get these kids pumped up.

Nathan's class being introduced on to the track.....I love how Nathan was waving to the crowd.

And they are OFF!!!!!!!!!

They ran......................

and ran.........................

Stopped to get a pep talk!!!! Nathan loved these guys--- he said they were hilarious.

and ran some more!!!!!!!

High fives from most everyone surrounding the track! The kids loved this!

And on the last lap, the victory lap, we got to walk it out with them.

Great Job Nathan!!!! We are so proud of you!

Beach Bums!!!!!!

2010-08-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

The week before school started we took our annual Wilson/Foster Family Beach trip to Panama City Beach. This year the rest of our family in Auburn (McGhees and Lowerys) came too...............and what fun we had. We spent 6 beautiful days down on the coast and soaked up as much fun and sun as we could. You can say, we definitely packed it all in......all day at the beach/pool and at night eating out/cooking out. We even spent one evening at Pier Park riding all the fun kiddie rides that they moved from Miracle Strip over to that area. The kids had a BLAST!!!!! Don't they say, pictures say a thousand words? In that case, I will quit blabbering and you can enjoy some snap shots.

The End!!!!! (sorry Baby Bradley, this is all I got of you....guess it's because you slept most of the time)

10 years.............Can you believe it?!?!?!?!?

2010-08-12T12:04:00.001-07:00

I absolutely can not believe that 10 years ago I married this wonderful man.

Rod, thank you for loving me, watching over me and taking care of us. Not only have you blessed me by taking me as your wife, but what a blessing you are to our 2 boys. I couldn't ask for a better daddy for them. I pray they grow up to be half the gentleman you are. We have definitely had our ups and downs over the past 10 yrs but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving me unconditionally. I look forward to the next 10 yrs ;). I love you.........and I will "all my life".

1st Day of 1st Grade!!!!

2010-08-10T13:22:00.001-07:00

Ok.....somebody tell me IT'S NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!! My baby started 1st grade today and I can absolutely not believe we are already at this point in his life. It truly feels just like yesterday I was rocking and singing to this brown-eyed cutie.

Nathan, your daddy and I are SO proud of you and love you so very much. We know you will have a great year at Ogletree......just be your sweet, smart little self and you will do just fine!!!!
Let your loving, kind character shine through everyday in all that you do and you will sail through 1st grade with flying colors.

Getting comfy in his classroom.

The day is complete now and he has come home saying he can't wait to go back tomorrow.....good thing b/c not much choice in that one. His favorite part was lunch of all things and then second was recess. Typical! Can't wait to hear if those change tomorrow (wink, wink).

5 Boys and a Beach Trip

2010-08-01T13:58:00.001-07:00

1 little guy....................Plus 4 bigger guys...........................

Makes for a VERY FUN TRIP!!!! We got back a couple of weekends ago from Orange Beach with our sweet friends, the Holmes family. We packed it all in ......lots of swimming, eating, and just plain ole having a good time.

Snack break!

We stayed at The Caribe......it's basically a water park built into a condo. All kinds of slides for all ages and even a lazy river. The dad's (and mom's-no pics for proof though) even got in on the fun!

The dad's got lots of exercise throwing the young ones.

Nathan and Ryan

Nathan, Luke, Matthew and Wilson

We did venture down to the ocean one afternoon but didn't spend too much time there because of the oil situation and also a tropical storm was causing the waters to be pretty rough.

Until next year Holmes Family-----We had a blast!!!!!!

I think we are missing something........................

2010-07-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

OUR TWO FRONT TEETH!!!!!!!!

Check out that crooked little toothless grin!!!! I love it! And while you are at it check out those 2 ears your looking at.....LOVE THAT EVEN MORE!!!!!!

I know I haven't posted any pics of Nathan's ear since right after the surgery, so here is the almost 2 month post op pics. How amazing is this?!?!?!?!?!?

The inside still has minimal healing to go through and of course like I have said before, the ear will continue to change over the next 2 yrs. The ears don't have a drainage system like most of our other body parts, therefore the swelling is slower to dissipate.
On a different note........I do need some prayers for our sweet Nathan. Last week we took him back to his ENT here in Auburn and had his hearing rechecked (in his "good" ear). I had started thinking he wasn't hearing very well and with him being deaf on the right side we really can't be to careful with his left ear. Much to our dismay Nathan's hearing on the left side had dropped by 10 decibels over the past 4-5 months. Not really good!

Our plan of action is this..........on July 28th Nate will go back to have a new kind of tube put into his eardrum. Right now he has what they call a T-tube, but our Dr. is not very happy with how things are going with his hearing so he wants to try a brand new kind of tube called a U-tube. We hope this new tube will work much better for him and that his hearing will somewhat be restored. If not and the hearing does not improve we will begin looking at our options for hearing aids. Obviously, this new obstacle has put a bit of a damper on our summer of celebration of the conclusion of Nate's surgeries. Please continue to lift Nate up in your prayers-- we pray for ultimate healing of his hearing: complete restoration; pray for his bravery, he is not really happy about another hospital, operating room and more doctors; pray for Rod and I, this year has been a tough one and we are feeling like we are at the end of our ropes. But we are definitely thankful for all of our family and friends who have travelled down this road with us over the past year......we love you guys more than you know.

Family+ Fun + Fireworks = The 4th of July!

2010-07-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Lots of pictures but not a whole lot to say EXCEPT.......our 4th of July was lots of fun with family, good food, sparklers, and fireworks. The pictures speak a thousand words.

Until next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or at least my next post ;)

10 Years, 8 Sweet Friends & A Fun Trip

2010-06-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

This is where Rod and I have been since last Wednesday............................... The Mayan Riviera, Mexico and what a wonderful time we had!

Us along with 3 other sweet couples from Auburn are celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversaries this summer. So we thought it would be fun to all travel together somewhere and make some special memories. We had a BLAST!!!!!! The boys played golf a couple days and the girls lived it up in the spa EVERYDAY-----coming back to the "real world" has definitely been interesting. We spent our days talking, laughing, relaxing, drinking, eating....and pretty much that cycle continued on for the 4 1/2 days we were there.

The Wilsons (June 24th), The Cleggs (Aug 12), The Cabbages (July 29) and The Fosters (Aug 12)

Happy Anniversary Friends!!!!!!

I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to but here are a few shots from the week.

Happy Anniversary Baby!

Relaxing at the pool ---notice the drink in Rod's hand. It's called a Banana Monkey---Rod is probably having withdrawals by now since he consumed too many to count.

Rod and Ryan thought it would be fun to participate in a ping-pong tournament. They didn't win but they made it to the semi-finals.....when you see them ask them how many people they were competing against ;) If my memory serves me correctly one of them lost to a guy named Sally....I mean Sam...hee-hee!

The ladies before dinner one night.

And then there was our friend Tropical Storm Alex that made his/her debut on Saturday. It ruined our sun bathing but definitely didn't ruin our fun. This first pic is of the storm just as it was coming ashore.

Jennifer and I aren't scared of a little tropical storm -- give us a mudslide and we are all smiles.

We were definitely sad to leave our little tropical paradise and are missing the constant pampering we received all week but coming home to these 2 little amigos made it all worth while.

Daddy's Day

2010-06-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to two of the best daddy's I know! We love you so much!

(hate that my big brother, Brad, wasn't in town for this picture with his girls -- he's a pretty awesome daddy too.)

Almost There!!!!!

2010-06-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

We are ALMOST THERE!!!!! Meaning we are almost to the finish line my friends. My mom (aka Nina), Nathan and I headed up to Atlanta this morning for his post-op visit. This visit always entails stitches removal -- not a favorite of Nate's BUT he did so great today. Maybe it was knowing that this is the last time we will go for this type of appointment or maybe it was just the fact he has now done this 4 times, either way minimal tears were shed.Quick picture before the bandage comes off.
This is Bella, she is Dr. Jones's nurse. She does all of his stitches removal after surgeries, Nathan usually likes her a lot EXCEPT on days like today ;). But he always warms back up to her minutes after its over.

As you can see the swelling of the whole ear is back -- but obviously that is supposed to happen, he just had major surgery. The tragus is VERY swollen and over the next couple of weeks will start to lay down as the swelling subsides. Again, Dr. Jones assured me that we will be surprised at how much the ear changes over the next 2 years.

Last but not least --- rewrapping of the new ear. We are now home with only our right ear covered, which means I can finally turn the volume down on the T.V. -- this bandage will come off on Thursday of this week (I will take it off here at home) and that my friends will be one of the happiest days of our lives. NO MORE SURGERY, NO MORE BANDAGES!!!! But he will have..........TWO BEAUTIFUL EARS!!!!

We will go back in September (after our trip to Disney --whoo-hoo!) for a re-check and after that Dr. Jones will follow us over the next 2 years and then will send us on our merry way. Can you believe it-----Chapter Closed!

How are we and what have we been up to?

2010-06-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

We are surviving!!!!!! The hard part is trying to keep Wilson off of Nathan and keep him entertained. Nathan is content watching movies or playing the Wii but Wilson is about to drive us ALL CRAZY!!! Love this little guy but I guess he is just going stir crazy like the rest of us.Now what have we been up to???? Lots of love and kisses for the little patient of the house.

Impromptu visits from some sweet cousins (thanks Megan and Sara for the visit)

The one request Nathan had when we got home was to make homemade orange sherbet. So of course I obliged him. He did all the "work"......I opened the cans and he dumped ;) and stirred.

An hour later....the finished product.

Another morning, the "girlfriend" came to visit for donuts and a movie. Thanks Isabel for spending the morning with Nate ---look at those smiles!
Last night, we headed to Ali & Brad's for an impromptu cookout. It was great getting out of the house! Thanks guys we (I) needed that!

And this morning we FINALLY lost this stubborn tooth. It has been loose since our previous surgery in December. Guess the tooth fairy will need to get to work tonight!
Post-op appointment is Monday morning in Atlanta. My mom and I will head up there with Nathan bright and early. The bandages will come off for a short period for stitches removal and then they will re-bandage his "new" ear for a few more days. Be back blogging after the appt. Have a great weekend!

Which one do you like better?

2010-06-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

So, which of these pics do you like better????????

I think they are both pretty sweet if you ask me................BUT I will definitely take the at home, eyes open, half way smiling version ANY DAY!!!! Thanks again for all the prayers today. We are glad to be home! Let the healing commence :)

What Have We Been Up To Today???????

2010-06-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

Well we can answer that question with the following pictures:Lots of Nintendo DS playing.....it's a very good distraction for whats to come.

Lots of vitals.....blood pressure, temp, heart rate, etc......

"Lets listen to that ticker!" Can you tell Nathan has had about enough of people in his personal space. LOL!

Lots of cuddling, kisses and prayers!

Lots of laughing at mommy all dressed up to go to the OR with him.

These last two pics are of him on the table in the OR. We had moved on from the DS and were watching a movie on daddy's iTouch. Let me tell you, Scooby Doo was a GREAT distraction from all of the hustle and bustle that was going on in the OR.

This surgery we opted to not take the "yucky" medicine that Nathan despises....it is usually the hardest part of this whole process. It is usually used as an amnesia type drug and it does help relax him but since this is hopefully his last trip to surgery we decided to try it this way.

Let me just tell you....HE DID GREAT!!!! Not one tear, no fighting or fussing about ANYTHING!! Praise God! He shimmied over onto the OR table without blinking an eye and when they put the mask on him to start the "sleeping" process he had no arguments. Once again, I watched my baby boy drift off to sleep, I kissed him night night and walked out of the OR with some tears in my eyes. We can't wait for the next 3 1/2-4 hrs to pass so we can be with him and hopefully heading back to Auburn. Thank you for all of your prayers, calls and text messages....you don't know how much they mean to us.

The Time Has Come..........

2010-05-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

To close the chapter called "Reconstruction" for this sweet angel. I can't believe the 4th stage surgery is here!!!!!! We leave tomorrow for Atlanta once again -- surgery is scheduled for Tuesday (June 1) at 7:30 est. time. What a bittersweet feeling we are having ~~~ it's so great knowing that as long as there are no complications (which we know God will take care of that) this is the final time Nathan will go into the OR for any reconstruction, but at the same time, those feelings of nervousness, sadness, and stress are resurfacing because WHO THE HECK WANTS to send their baby to surgery. Please say some prayers for ALL of us on Tuesday~~~ God is in control and we know he will have His hand on all of us but most importantly on Nathan.

In the above picture, you can see what his ear looks like as of today. Still some swelling on the top portion of the ear but as I have stated before, Dr. Jones says swelling doesn't completely subside until about 2 yrs after the final surgery~~ the detail will be at it's best at that point. I try not to get anxious about it, considering it still looks GREAT as it is, but God is the ultimate physician and only he can create a "perfect" ear. I am just thankful he has blessed Drs with the talent to do what they do.

On Tuesday the surgery Nate will undergo is called the Tragus Construction. The tragus is the small flap-like cartilage we all have at the front of our ears. This surgery will create that for Nathan---but most importantly if the tragus heals favorably, when the light strikes the front of the ear, a shadow is thrown beneath which can look quite like an opening to an ear canal.

To create the tragus, two small grafts are borrowed from the opposite ear~~ this donor tissue is the same tissue one removes and discards when people with protruding ears have their ear "pinned back." In the instance of building a tragus, this tissue instead is used as "building material".

Because surgically-constructed ears rarely protrude as far as the opposite, normal ear, this operation is a "two-for-one" procedure as removing the grafts from one ear and switching them to the other tends to equalize the two ears' projections and give better frontal (head-on) symmetry.

With all that being said (sorry so lengthy) we are definitely excited we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tonight we had a mini-celebration with family and friends to show Nathan how proud we all are of him for being so brave and tough over this past year. Nothing like a good old fashion cook-out with people we love.

The Cousins!

"Yea Nate!"

Disney World HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Little Graduate!

2010-05-24T15:03:00.001-07:00

Meet the newest "official" 1st grader.....excuse me as I wipe my tears away~ sniff, sniff. Last week Nathan's school had it's annual Spring Sing to wrap up the school year, as usual the kids were cute as ever. They all seem to LOVE performing in front of an audience.
At the end of the program all the younger kiddos are dismissed into the audience and the Kindergarten class has it's "graduation ceremony".

He was oh so proud to have been selected to hold the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let the performance begin.....Sweet Mally (to the right of Nathan) is such a shy little thing. But let me tell you, she sure can get into some singing :) Loved it!
Nathan's "solo" ~~~"We're Imaginative!"

Let the commencement begin!

Checking out his diploma with sweet Sophie.

These ladies taught Nathan SO much over this past year! Thank you for all you do Ms. Hanna and Ms. Irwin.
And let's not forget our little love ~~ Isabel. What are they going to do next year when they are at separate schools :(? I still don't think they get it.

Nina and Papa made it to the ceremony.

Love you Nathan! Mommy and Daddy are SO proud of you!

Wilson's End of Year Program

2010-05-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

What more do you expect from a 2 year old preschool program than ---- SILLINESS!!!! And that is just what you get from Wilson.....silly, silly, silly! That is the going trait as of lately around the Foster household (that and not listening). The class was a little timid about singing in front of an audience....actually they weren't happy about it at all, a good handful of them left the stage crying and were alot happier in their mommies arms. NOT WILSON~~~the sillier the better.

And that just carried over into the class pizza party.....as you can see below!

Of course when you get these two together there will definitely be some laughs. Cousin Stirling was enjoying her pizza, while Wilson tried to get her attention most of the time.

The only thing that will get my little man to slow down and take a "serious" picture is this little angel........Claire Bear as she is affectionately known.

Wilson's sweet teachers! Thank you so much for putting up with my sweet little devil :)

Wilson's buddy Owen

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

2010-05-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

One word............Blessed!

Not only for my two special gifts from God but for a fabulous mom of my own! Love you mom!

Karate Kid

2010-05-02T08:33:00.001-07:00

That's right......The Foster home has a Karate Kid living with us :) Nathan started taking karate about a month and a half ago and has truly enjoyed every minute of it. Yesterday morning he had his first belt test --- this was to promote him from a white belt (which is the belt of purity) to a yellow belt (belt of obedience). He was nervous but did GREAT!!!!! It is so funny to watch him do all of these karate combinations and how serious he can get. Taking karate has done wonders for his self confidence and that puts a smile on my face.

You did a fantastic job Nathan!!!! We are so proud of you!

Part of their test is breaking a wooden board. Notice in the 3rd pic, that thing is in 2 pieces. He was SO PROUD!

Belt presentation!
Two new yellow belts----way to go Nathan and Matthew!

This is Mr. Patrick--- he does a wonderful job with the kids. He makes it fun for them but definitely does not play around when it comes to learning their stuff. Fun but Tough is what I would say.

Sunny Sunday

2010-04-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

What do you do on a beautiful sunny Sunday when you live in a college town?!?!?!?!?! You head to the ballpark to watch the AU Tigers take on the Kentucky Wildcats. This was the first game of the season for us Fosters but I guarantee one thing......it's definitely not our last! The boys LOVED it! Nathan actually was getting into it and was making the people behind us giggle with all of his "baseball jargon" he kept yelling!
But of course, the best thing that happened would be that we got to hug on and love our most favorite Tiger of all.............AUBIE!!!!!!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!!!!

2010-04-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here he is.....the newest member of the Pirates! Nathan's tball season started last week and he is loving it. Definitely doing much better this year (more interested) than last. I have yet to see him play in the dirt :)----unless he is after a ball. He even had a home run last night! Whoo-hoo! Go Nathan!

The Team!

Warming up before the game.

The reason Wilson comes to the games ----RING POPS!

Check out this wink he gave me right before the game -- cracked me up! Right back at cha big guy ;)

There he is.....Coach Daddy!

A little dugout chatter!

Good game everyone! Way to go Pirates!

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T12:00:00.001-07:00

Not a whole lot to say about yesterday's Easter, other than --- PERFECT!!! What more do you want? Celebrating the sacrifice our Lord and Savior made for us on a gorgeous day with a wonderful family. Life couldn't get much better!Nina & Papa with all their Grands!
Papa and Wilson---if you have seen pics of my dad as a baby, it's like you are looking at Wilson

Cousins

My sweet little BB!

Family Pic!!!!

I wonder what they were talking about?

Nina and Nathan

EASTER EGG HUNT TIME!!!!!!!!

Checking out the loot!
See ya next year Easter Bunny!

A Hunting We Will Go!!!!!

2010-04-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Easter Egg Hunts for the season have come and gone......and boy did my two kiddos have fun----along with all of their classmates. This year the boys egg hunts were on two separate days which was great because that meant I could be at both of them (unlike last year). It was great getting to see the excitement in their eyes when they found those special eggs. Thursday was Wilson's class egg hunt and those little cuties were too funny.

The sweet little class (some of our friends were out sick-that's why there weren't quite as many as usual)

Wilson and his Claire Bear

He couldn't grab them fast enough---they all looked like little ants scurrying around.

Wilson, Spence and Sam

Do you think he got enough?

On to Friday......Nathan had his Easter egg hunt at a classmates house. They of course had a blast as well. This was a little bit more intense.....more of a competition you might say. Who can find the most eggs......thank goodness God blessed me with a sweet, kind boy.... after it was all over he saw some of his friends who didn't find as many eggs as he did and offered to share some of his. Love him!!!!!

The little "married couple" as we call them.....Isabel and Nate.

The class getting the rules and guidelines.

Oh what determination!!!!!

Guess it payed off :)

Taking a break after the hunt....Nathan, Isabel, Jacob and Kaylin

Buddies~~~Jacob and Nathan

Eggscellent Evening

2010-04-01T12:57:00.001-07:00

One of the things I realized yesterday......as this Holy Week of Easter has crept upon us.....is that we were running out of time to dye our Easter eggs. So last night after dinner was over I got everything set up and ready for the boys to get the job done. Not only is this something the boys look forward too, especially Nate, but I also need these eggs for our Easter dinner on Sunday ( deviled eggs -- yummo!) They had so much fun, as usual. Something I did different this year was with Wilson still being "little" I decided to take a tip I read somewhere in a magazine ( i believe in a doctor's office). I took his eggs and put them inside a whisk so that he could partake in the fun without making such a huge mess.

The whisk technique in action.....you can use a regular style whisk, but for some reason I have one of these silly looking things so I grabbed it.

Total concentration....and NO Wilson did not drink the dye (hence the blue mouth) he had a blue Gatorade earlier in the evening :)

So proud!

**Notice the missing egg. That would be the "one" that took a nose dive onto the floor before we incorporated the whisk idea. Daddy decided to have a little snack :)

Birthday Bash.....Cowboy Style!!!!

2010-03-29T13:07:00.001-07:00

WARNING: This post may be long and drawn out -- but hunker down Cowboys and Cowgirls and enjoy the pictures!
This past weekend we had a HUGE birthday bash for Wilson, his fave cousin Stirling, and his good buddy Thomas. It was a Cowboy/Cowgirl themed party with ponies galore! Alot of there sweet friends came out to help celebrate and I think they all had a blast. I wish I could have gotten a picture of every little cowboy/cowgirl that came -- but I think I spent a lot of my time chasing my cowboy hat that kept blowing off my head --- did I mention we had typhoon type wind blowing us around all morning. It was pretty amusing. Ok, Ok....enough typing/talking. On with the pictures!

The guests of honor!!! I think one of those little cowboys must have done something to little Stirling to make her cry ;)

Thomas and Wilson --- Birthday boys!

Wilson's cake -- they each had their own little cake and their friends got fun cupcakes with stick pony cookies!

Birthday Boy #1

THE Birthday Girl on her princess pony

Birthday Boy #2

Cowboy Nathan -- loved the horses until he had a bit of an allergic reaction ( eyes got really red and itchy)

Cowboy Barrett -- isn't he a doll!

Catching a ride in the carriages with my little men!

Little Cousins -- great picture of how windy it is! Can't believe my hat was actually on!

Cowgirls Mally and Claire with their mom Julee!

Cowgirls Sara and Megan ( also our cousins)

Pony riding with a little help from daddy!

Even our cousin Luke came up from Daphne!

Cowboy Prather

Cake Time!!!!!

Pretending to blow candles out --- thanks to all that wind!

Cowboy Spence

Cowboys William and Ford enjoying the goodies!

And that's all folks!!!!!!!

The Greatest Show on Earth

2010-03-26T12:39:00.001-07:00

Last night we took these little munchkins to the Circus in Montgomery. They had never been to a "real" circus before so you can imagine the twinkle in their eyes when the show started. It was 2 hours of magic, amazing acrobatics, animals of all kinds and clowns! What more could a kid want?!?!?!? Our pics were limited based on the "no photography" rule instituted once the show began. Seeing how the elephants and lions were literally a few feet from us (our seats were on the front row), Ali and I were on our best "picture taking" behavior. We didn't want to make a hungry lion angry with our flashes :)

And of course, you have to get a fun souvenir at the circus. The boys (and Stirling) picked out these fun glasses that have flashing lights all around them. They thought they were SOOO cool!

ONE FISH, TWO FISH

2010-03-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

RED FISH, BLUE FISH!!!!!

That is exactly what we saw all day on Thursday!!!! Off we headed to Atlanta with some sweet friends (the Cleggs) to check out the Aquarium. Little did we know that everyone else in the southeast had the SAME IDEA!!!!!!! It was so much fun and the kids did great--Jennifer and I were the ones that were stressed out by the end of the day. Keeping up with 4 kiddos in a crowd that big about put us over the edge. If they had had a drive through margarita bar in ATL we would have definitely stopped! :)

Matthew, Wilson, Nathan and Brantley

We Survived!!!!!! Thanks Cleggs for a fun adventure ---we had a blast!

Got Cars???????

2010-02-27T11:15:00.001-08:00

As with most 3 year olds, there is NEVER a dull moment in the Foster household. This morning as I was checking emails and such at the computer I heard Wilson's sweet little voice calling for me. Along with that little voice I heard a clink,clack,clink,clack coming down the hallway with him. He rounded the corner but I saw nothing with him that would make that noise............until I looked down at the legs of his pjs and noticed they looked a little odd. With the biggest smile Wilson says.........."I put all my cars in my pants!" He was SO PROUD!!!! Check out the pics below to see just how many he managed to get in there.

REALLY?!?!?!?!?!? Just how many did you put in there Wilson?

Wha-la!!!! The hidden stash!

This little kiddo cracks me up!

SMITTEN!!!

2010-02-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

Check these two cuties out!!!! This is Claire, aka "Claire Bear" . Wilson's little love bug that he loves, loves, loves!!! They go to preschool together and their daddy's are business partners so we get to spend quite a good amount of time with her. They absolutely adore one another....to stinkin cute. They were born one week apart, thanks to Wilson's early debut and became fast friends and are still going strong. It never fails, when we drive up to school each morning he says, "mommy, I go see Claire Bear!" She already has him wrapped around her little finger.

Thanks Ms. Dannell for taking this pic and passing it along to us.

**He is short, but I promise not as short as this pic displays ;)

God is Good, Snow is Beautiful!

2010-02-13T06:50:00.001-08:00

WOW! What a beautiful day we had here in Auburn. As did everyone else in this town, we spent most of our day out in God's beautiful creation ~~~~~The Snow!!!!!!! Auburn truly looked like a "Winter Wonderland". The boys were so excited and pumped about the snow falling fast to the ground. And Rod and myself were a little giddy too. :)
We made lots of fun memories with different friends and family. Enjoy the pics.....too many to chose from so there are tons below.

Row-ee (Rosemary) and Nathan!

Sledding time!!! We met the Reaves and Basdens out on the AU Campus and found the perfect little hill by the AU Library~~~ this was definitely the highlight of Nate's day. We literally had to drag him away when little man could no longer take the cold. Oh so fun! Rod and I even got in on the action.

Wilson & Prather about to take the plunge! They laughed the whole way down.

Here is my proof I participated! After this pic was taken, Rod just let us keep going right past him and we ended up literally stuck in some bushes. Not cool daddy, not cool!!!

The Basdens had this awesome sled! We all got some good use out of it!

Family Time!!!!

After we headed home for hot chocolate, naps and warmth by the fire, we headed out for another round of fun. Off we went to the Wilsons ---let's just say that this fun ended up with quite a few snow ball fights between Nathan, Rod and Brad. The little ones just couldn't keep up.
Look at those blue eyed cousins! Love it!

Nina & Papa even came down to watch the fun unfold.

Nathan is a little serious about his snowball fights --yes that is a snowball he is ABOUT to throw, NOT the head to a snowman. LOOK OUT!!!!!

Trying to keep up!

Ali and I had to show off our matching boots :) Bradley was just hoping we wouldn't drop her.

Back inside and getting warm. These two were hilarious. Wilson just wanted to give Stirling a little love and help warm her up. Too cute!

Let the Fun Begin!!!

2010-02-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

This is ONLY the beginning of the pics!!!!! What a day we have here in good ol' Auburn! SNOW is EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!

A New, Very Special Friend

2010-02-07T14:18:00.001-08:00

I have been wanting to share this wonderful story since right after Christmas time but with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, getting back into the school swing of things, and other silly reasons I just haven't gotten to it.
BUT NOW IS THE TIME!!!!!

Let's go back to the week after Nathan's last surgery.....it was the night before we were due to head back to Atlanta for stitches removal and our 1st opportunity to see the results of this 3rd surgery. Like ALL of the surgeries, Rod and I are both very anxious about EVERYTHING. We start worrying if we have done the right thing?, have we made Nathan's ear look even more "different" than it already was?, were surgeries the right road to take?, is Nathan really going to appreciate what we have done in the years to come?..........and the list of worry and doubt goes on and on. I usually lose ALOT of sleep about all of the afore mentioned, BUT not that night!!!! Just after we had tucked the boys into bed I sat down at my computer to do a little facebookin' (just as I know all of you do too~~wink, wink) and I noticed that I had a new message in my inbox. I wasn't sure who the person was that was writing me but someone (thank you Lord) made me open that message. You see, all of those questions of worry that I have had in the past, have always ended up in my prayers at night. At the end, I always ask God to please show me something to let me know that we have made the right decisions for our sweet Nathan. As I opened the message and began reading these were the words that I read:
My mom and I were just looking at your blog and saw one of your children in a bandage very similar to ones I often wore as a child. We were instantly intrigued and saw that your son has microtia, too. I was diagnosed with it around the same age and went through all four surgeries as a young child. My parents and I were just talking about what a blessing those surgeries have been and the positive influence they have had on my life.I hope y'all have had just as great of experience as we had and that your son is quickly recovering from this most recent procedure. We saw that y'all are from Auburn which is where I am living right now, too. I am finishing up my senior year at Auburn and am learning how fast time flies! Hope those message didn't creep you out too much, but just wanted to encourage you and let you know how much those surgeries pay off! God bless!-Caroline

God's timing is PERFECT!!!! You see, this amazing young woman happened to be looking at a mutual friends blog that night and "decided" to click on a link that led her to my blog. We had never met nor spoken before but because she was led, for whatever reason, to "peek" at my blog and discover she had something in common with this little boy she had never met, MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!!!! Thanks to some encouragement from her mom, she decided to email me -- she was worried that I might think it was "creepy" or strange that a random stranger was contacting me. Little did she know that it did the total opposite~~ I sat and read that email with tears streaming down my face, I called my family and read it to them, only to produce the same reaction (my mom was even teary). So that is the long of it!!!!! Now for the short of it.......being that Caroline is a student at AU we set up a time for her to come meet us/Nathan. That little meeting happened last week......Everyone, meet Caroline!!!!!

I can truly tell you, that it was THE MOST WONDERFUL visit! The insight she provided Rod and I on how Nathan is feeling or how well he is hearing in certain situations is/was priceless. She is the cutest, sweetest thing......she brought Nathan some cookies she had made. They were "2" cookies ~~~ in honor of him now having 2 ears. They compared ears (Nathan's is still swollen a good bit) and talked about their "scars" and surgery. LOVE HER!!!! We hope we can continue this special friendship that we found in her.

Caroline, from the bottom of our hearts....thank you, thank you, thank you! It truly was a pleasure to meet you and spend some time with you. Our prayers are that Nathan will grow up to be as confident, caring and endearing as you are. We still hope to meet your parents one day soon and please come visit us anytime!

Terrific #3

2010-02-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

My littlest man, Wilson turned the big 3 yesterday!!!!!! (shedding a tear right now) ~~ and lets just say he had a day full of bday festivities. We started the day with a little birthday celebration at his preschool. We took cupcakes to share with the class and from the look on his face it was a hit. He then got to go to lunch with mommy and daddy all by himself (nate - nate was still at school). What a treat!
We capped the night off with a small birthday party with our family here in Auburn. My parents (Nina & Papa) and Brad & Ali (with kiddos) all came over to celebrate with pizza and cake. It was a fun filled day ---enjoy some of the pics we snapped.

His little class enjoying cupcakes~~~we missed you Stirling!

If you know my Wilson, you know he is a bit obsessed with monster trucks!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Wilson, Happy Birthday to you! We love you!

This is what Stirling thought about all this attention Wilson was getting :).....it was too funny! Baby girl, I promise in 11 weeks you will be enjoying all the attention too! Love you Sis!

The cousins ~ minus Bradley

Present Time!!!!!!
This was definitely the hit of the night! I wonder why!

And this was Wilson's reaction to Stirling giving him that wonderful Monster Truck!

Sweet little BB was also there for the fun! What an angel!

Check out these new rain boots!!! Thanks Wilsons!

Wilson, we hope you had a great bday and can't wait to see what the big #3 has in store for us over the next year. I hope you keep your fun little personality but ease out of your definite stubbornness (wonder where you get that from ~wink, wink). Happy Birthday Little Man! We love you so much.

**in march we are having a big bday blowout with our sweet cousin Stirling and good buddy Thomas. Can't wait to share those pics with ya. They all have bdays so close we decided to go in together and do one big party. Should be fun!!!!

The Little Things

2010-01-31T08:01:00.001-08:00

All it took this morning was for little brother to go grab his sunglasses to make Nathan realize~~~~"wait a minute, I can do that too now!" He quickly went and grabbed a pair we had bought him when his journey of reconstruction began. He was so proud to come and show his dad and me that he could finally where sunglasses without them falling off or one of us trying to rig them up so they would stay. The face of disappointment will no longer be seen when it comes to wearing sunglasses.......................sometimes it really is the LITTLE THINGS that matter.

Side note: every week we see some change in his ear........less swelling and more definition. The skin graft so far is beautiful, we have one little scab that is still on the back of the ear but right now it doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. Progression, Progression!!!

Run, Run, Run...STOP!

2010-01-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

Today was BEAUTIFUL!!!! Cool but not too cold........perfect for some time outside! The boys were outside running around like wild men so I grabbed my camera to try and capture some of their fun. What started out as typical boys being boys ended up being a great little photo shoot/op. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Oh how I love thee..........let me count the ways~~~~

Showing improvement....4 weeks later

2010-01-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

The anxiousness is still there every time I look at this precious new ear (Christi, I know you know what I am talking about.) BUT, we are definitely seeing signs of improvement. The swelling is obviously still there but we are starting to see more and more definition every week. This is a slow process we have been told and to just be patient. God give me patience, Amen. The redness around the whole ear is also normal......seeing as how the healing process is well underway blood flow naturally returns or gravitates to areas of healing~~hence the red appearance.

Do you think he is sick of the picture taking yet?!?!?!? I think so!

In this last picture you can see the ear is elevated away from the head and the bright pink skin behind the ear is the skin graft that is finally showing us it is healthy. We still have one or two small areas with scabs on them but the improvement is unbelievable. Please pray that underneath these remaining scabs there is pretty pink skin too.

Let me just tell you how PROUD my little man is of his new ear. The first day back at school he proudly walked in and says to his class...."Notice anything different?" Then did a looping motion on either side of his head and said "1,2....there are 2 ears now." His class has been very receptive thus far and we have had no hurt feelings as of yet.

Those that know Nathan know that he is somewhat of a "ladies man". The girls were the cutest, I could here them saying "Nathan, I like your new ear.".....he would just thank them politely and keeping on trucking.

FYI~~~Scroll down to compare the first set of pictures with what we are looking at now. Amazing!

Fun Friday Night!

2010-01-08T17:16:00.001-08:00

What do you do when it's frightfully cold outside and you don't have plans for Friday night other than to stay home in front of a warm fire with the most important men in your life?????????

GRAB THESE INGREDIENTS!!!!!!!!!
That's right..................SMORES!!!!!! Yummo!

The task at hand.........to roast the marshmallow to its ooiest-gooiest form.

Adult supervision required :) (Notice in the picture, Nathan's ear. Still swollen a good bit but definitely better than before)

Add it to some scrumptious chocolate and crunchy graham crackers and

Wa-La...............Dessert!!!!

I hope your Friday night was as warm and yummy as ours was!

COLD Outside but.................

2010-01-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

But WARM when you are snuggled up to this guy!!!!

We braved the cold tonight and headed out to the AU basketball game. The boys LOVE Aubie and the past couple times we have taken them to the game they have gotten their fair share of Aubie lovin/entertainment. Thanks Aubie for brightening my little guys night up and War Eagle!

BIG Change!

2010-01-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

With everything that has been going on with Nathan, I feel like I have left little man out. Over the weekend we had a BIG change with him........NO MORE CRIB!!! I'm kind of sad. This just reminds me that my baby is no longer a "baby" anymore. He has done relatively well with it~~~maybe it is the fact I have put the fear of God in him if he gets out of the bed during nap or night time. But what ever works, right? :) His first night in the bed was pretty uneventful, until the morning. He came downstairs and I noticed he had a bruise/rug burn on his chin~~~he wouldn't let me touch it, I asked him..."Wilson, what happened to your chin? Did you fall out of your bed last night?". Wilson: "Yes, I fall out.". Me: "What did you do?". Wilson: " I get back in bed.....no get out of bed, member?" Needless to say, the safety rails for the bed have been ordered. Next task at hand.................Potty training! But give me a few months.....he is absolutely NOT interested!

Any ideas on how to get this little booger to sleep UNDER the covers? Or at least with his head on the pillow?

Bandages are off!!!

2009-12-31T10:32:00.000-08:00

The bandages are off and the hair has been washed...whoo-hoo!!! The ear is still VERY swollen and hopefully over the next few days the swelling will start to go down even more and the ridges of the ear will start to show through. Remember we are ONLY 1 week post op. Nathan is sooooo happy to have that bandage off, and I don't blame him one bit. He is pretty impressed by his ear.....this first picture of him, he looked at it with me and was all smiles about those 2 (count 'em..1,2) ears.

Please pray for continued healing and a successful skin graft! And also add to that prayer list that the swelling starts to subside soon.

A Little Peeky Peek........

2009-12-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Into our Christmas 2009!!!!

We are so very blessed, is all I can say. Not only with what Santa brought us but most importantly with family, friends and the best gift of all....our precious Lord above. I hope this post finds all of you enjoying this holiday season and remembering what CHRISTmas is really all about......with all the toys, food and chaos that comes with this time of year, I know I am guilty of sometimes letting the "big picture" slip out of sight. But what a great day to celebrate a special birthday.....Happy Birthday Baby Jesus! Enjoy some pics from our Christmas morning.

Nathan's new pride and joy, The Green Machine III!

Wilson got that "monster truck" he has been asking for..........EVERYDAY!!!

We then headed to Nina and Papa's for a yummy Christmas brunch and more presents.

Look at this little love bug........My little B.B. (a.k.a Baby Bradley)

Stirling: "Hey Wilson, whatcha got over there?" These two were a hoot.

Then back home to enjoy those Santa gifts!

This is definitely not part of the Dr's orders but we had to let him test it out!

Christmas Cousins!!!

2009-12-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Last night was not our "traditional" Christmas Eve...............we usually have dinner with my family and either go to our church's Christmas Eve service before or after with everyone. But sometimes you just have to have a little change in your life............with Nathan just 2 days post surgery, awful weather, and my mom (Nina) under the weather we decided to play it a little low key. The Wilsons came over for a pizza dinner and Christmas cookies. The cousins had a BLAST..........I don't think I have seen Wilson and Stirling play so well together. It was so cute and the night was perfect! We missed you Nina and Papa! Hopefully next year we can ease back into that wonderful tradition that we all love. Merry Merry everyone!!!!

Nathan and Bradley

The two rascals...........Wilson and Stirling!

The ONLY picture of the four of them that was worthy of posting :) Rascal 1 and rascal 2 were not quite cooperative! Silly is a better word :)

"Night, Night everybody..............Santa is coming to town!!!"