Little Visitor

Today we had our newest addition come for a little visit and of course his big brother too!!

so I did get big brother to love on little brother long enough for me to get a few pictures…..

and our Butter Bean was even willing to love on her little cousin….

such a sweet baby our little Gunner….

and after they left, Papa had to take our Butter Bean on her daily ride around the yard….and I think it wore her out!!…haha

Harrison, Tuff and Ada (Butter Bean) make sure they get their daily ride around the yard before Papa leaves for work……I love that they look forward to this special time with Papa and it’s such a little thing…Papa actually ran out of gas in the  truck the other day!! So funny!!  Even Aunt Tori get’s in on the action if she is at home!! Ha!

Fair Disaster of 2011

Ha! That is just what I think of our spontaneous trip to the fair that was a few counties over!!  My hubby gave in to our very persistent 13 year old and decided to her and 2 of her friends to the fair.  Well, I was not feeling it!! I told the hubby that I didn’t want to go to no fair and he said “it’s family time”!!  So I gave in and I will tell you I was grumpy about the whole thing!!  I am not a big fan of fairs to begin with! I think they cost way too much money and I haven’t been to a fair in several years and every single time we go with one of the kids it just cost so much and I am regretting it as soon as we walk in the gate.  Yeah, the $7 it cost just to walk through the gate and then the $20 for a wrist band (only for the 13 year old, $10 for 10 tickets for the hubby)to ride all the rides you want just doesn’t appeal to me.  Especially when it seems like these fair people think they are right up there along with Disney World or something and it’s so crowded that you wait NO LESS than an hour to ride one single ride!!!

So after sitting in traffic for an hour and 50 minutes (not counting the hour it took to get there) and 25 min to walk from the car to the gate, fighting the crowd, waiting in lines (which I refused to do), we finally left there at 11:45 pm and sat yet again in 50 minute traffic to get out of the place we finally made it home at 1:45 am.  Yeah, I ate some yummy food while my child and hubby waited in those ridiculous lines to get their thrill on, but seriously it wasn’t even worth it to me after all the stress of getting there!! Oh and did I mention it was H.O.T.!!!!! Yeah, I thought I was gonna pass out from a heat stroke!! 

So as we were sitting in the exit traffic my hubby decides to start complaining!! Seriously??  Don’t even go there!!  The whole time we were sitting in the traffic going in I was complaing, whining and I may or may not have showed a little James C.  (that’s my daddy’s temper)…….I told him to ZIP IT!!!!

We finally made it home and I woke up feeling like I had a hangover!!!!!  Hope you all had a better Saturday night than we did!!  All is well now! I am getting ready to have a Taco Dinner for my oldest baby girls 27th birthday.  Gosh I can’t even believe it!!

27 Years Ago!!

 

My baby girl, April,  came into this world full of curiosity!!  I will never forget that day! For some reason your first child’s birth is stuck in your memory where it doesn’t take much thinking to bring that moment back to the front of your mind! 

To say that she has made me and her daddy proud is an understatement and I just don’t have words adequate enough!  But she has been the very person I knew she would be!!  She was my “easy” child!   She has become a wife and mother and is doing amazing things!!  She has been given the gift of adoption and has made us proud grandparents to our first grandson, Harrison, and soon we will have 2 new additions when Sophie and Greer make it home!!  She has made us one proud Mama and Daddy!!  God has blessed her family beyond words!!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl and Thank  you for making me and your daddy proud!! We love you to the moon and back!!

Pure Sweetness!!

Gunner Blake is home!!

Meet Gunner Blake Alford

Gunner entered the world today at 12:01 p.m.

after only 5 1/2 hours of labor and 3 pushes (which is a HUGE blessing compared to 4 hours of pushing with Tuff) Gunner Blake is ready to meet the world!!  or maybe take a nap!!

Tuff still isn’t too sure about baby brother but he will catch on really soon!!

Gunner weighed 7 pounds 5 oz and is 19 1/4 inch long!!

and he has some pretty proud family members!!  Aunt April and labor coach number 4!!

Proud Aunt Tori!!

Excited cousin Ada!!!

Cousin Harrison checking me out!!

and of course the proud MeMe and Papa!!!

Welcome Gunner Blake, we already love you to the moon and back!!

Tuesday…..Will Be The Day and A Benefit!!

 

I know it’s only Sunday but the next few days will are going to be pretty busy so I though I would go ahead and give a few details about Gunner’s arrival and also some details on the Adoption Benefit that was held on behalf of my daughter, April and her family, Brandon, Harrison, Sophie and Greer.

We thought Gunner was going to make an earlier appearance than he was scheduled last Thursday when Ashley’s BP was pretty high so we went to see her doctor and they admitted her to the hospital for observation.  Well as soon as she was hooked up to the BP monitor her BP was normal or below normal the WHOLE time but there were some pretty consistent contractions going on so we thought maybe she was going into labor on her own.   Well, evidently Gunner was just wanting to play tricks on us because they ended up sending her home and she hasn’t had any contractions since!!! Go Figure!!!!  Anyway the hospital will call Ashley tomorrow night to let her know what time to be at the hospital on Tuesday.  So as of right now he will make his grand appearance on the 16th or maybe the 17th depending on how fast he wants out of there!! ha!!  We are all getting pretty excited to meet him!  Will give details as soon as I have them….Please keep Ashley and Gunner in your prayers for a safe delivery and a healthy baby and mama.

Now on Saturday we went to April and Brandon’s Adoption Benefit that was held out at the Reddell Farm!  Pam, Eric and their 3 boys are like family to April and Brandon and they graciously opened up their family farm to host this blessed event!!  So a big THANK YOU to the Reddell’s!!   We all had a great time with great food, games, and a silent auction!  April and Brandon have so many sweet friends that love them and support their decision in following God’s calling to adopt!! and that my friends, is called Abundant Blessings from our God.

Please keep my daughter and her family in your prayers as we wait for the arrival of Sophie and Greer.  We are anxiously waiting to get these sweet babies home so we can give them shower them with all this love that is going around on their behalf!!

Annnn-tic-aaaaaa-paaaa-tion!!!!

 

That’s what is going on around our house today and for the week ahead!!! We are anticipating the arrival of Gunner Blake!!! So the news is that he will definitely be here on August 161th if he doesn’t come on his own before then.  So we are all gearing up for our newest member of our family!!

I can’t wait to see Tuff being a sweet big brother (at least we hope he is a sweet big brother) and loving on his little brother!! I think he will do great since he is pretty loving when it comes to Ada.  But that doesn’t mean he will love being a big brother once he figures out that Gunner is here to stay!! ha!

I never thought in a million years that I would have 6 grandbabies within a 2 1/2 year period.  Wow I am feeling old!!   I love all of my grandbabies and I am so thankful that I get the privilege of keeping them everyday!! At least until they have a voice and can more or less tell about their day in a daycare/preschool setting.  I hear so many horror stories about daycare abuse and I know not all daycares are this way but if I can stay home and help my kids a little (financial and peace of mind) then I am thankful that I can do that.

I haven’t blogged in a week or so but it’s been pretty busy around here also.  I have painted Victoria’s bathroom and I have to say I love love the color.  I went with Natural Linen by Martha Stewart and I had it mixed with Glidden paint.  Then I painted my little laundry room and used Sherwin Williams Rice Grain.  I am not too sure about this color but I am thinking it’s because of the lack of lighting in this room.  No window equals no natural light So I am going to proceed with this color for my kitchen and dining room unless I have a last minute changing of the mind!! 

I did pick out a creamy white color for my cabinets but haven’t had it mixed yet.  It is called Country Cloud by Valspar I think.  The sample card came from Wal-Mart.  It was really hard to find a creamy white that didn’t have a yellow/pink/green tint to it.   Maybe I will step it up a bit and post some before and after pictures!!

On top of the painting we have had a sick little Butter Bean on our hands.  Ada has had a respiratory infection since Tuesday night.  Poor thing has been running a almost constant fever since then.  Doctor said she would probably run a fever for 3 – 5 days.  She has really been down the last few days.  I hate to see my grandbabies sick that’s for sure.  She is starting to walk so I am sure I will definitely have my hands full when she is in full walking mode.  She also has that “I’m the princess attitude”.  Ha!

Our little Harrison is really growing up to be a little man.  He has been so so good for us the last few weeks.  He has definitely outgrown his picking on Tuff and now Tuff has taken on his role.  Oh me!! But Harrison has been such a sweet and loving little man and he is talking so much more!!

Victoria started 8th grade this year and she is so excited about this year!! Her first day went great and she can’t wait to see what this year has in store for her.  My baby is growing up too fast!

And as for the hubby, he is still working a lot, helping me with the grandbabies, and just being the glue that holds our family together.  He’s pretty special and I sometimes take him for granted!!  But am thankful for him each everyday.  I would be lost without him!!

Hope all of you are doing great and have a great week!!