Christmas Card Stress

It's time to shoot our Christmas Card pictures again. Last year we did them in front of the Christmas Tree. I think I may do "beach shots" this years.
For the 2008 pictures, I really wanted to get the dogs in the picture, but we had such a hard time getting that "just right" shot. I ended up using one without them.

Looking back at the pictures now, I guess I could have used this one...but I didn't. I think it was because Patrick's head was cut off(?). You can imagine how many shots it took to even get this one...
It is nearly impossible to get 4 kids and 2 dogs to all simultaneously smile at the camera with all of their eyes open...

This one would have been cute, minus the fact that you could see all the way down Max's throat!

Here they are trying to get the dogs in the pic again...

Opps, now Brady isn't happy...

This one could've been cute if Patrick wasn't hidden behind Max...

Poor Max, he is really wanting outta there!

A little brotherly rough-housing...

I thought if I changed the background, maybe I could get a little more cooperation...

NOT!!!

You can tell that everybody is getting aggravated by this time...

So we ended up ditching the dogs and got a couple of really good shots...

Geesh...it tires me out just looking at these...

Wish me luck on this years pictures...I am gonna need it...

Corn Maze

My sister Wendy and her family came to visit this weekend. We had a wonderful time. Saturday night Brian cooked an awesome Cajun Shrimp Pasta and Sunday morning he made homemade Belgian Waffles...My nieces favorite!

We took the younger kids to the Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Kiln, Ms. The kids had a blast. We went on a hayride, picked out our own pumpkins, saw the petting zoo...just enjoyed the beautiful day. When we got home we painted our pumpkins. The smartest thing I did was make everybody wear orange. I was thinking about how we'd look in pictures, but actually it helped keep up with everybody in the corn maze. I definitely recommend everybody wearing one color if you ever do go, especially if you are with a bunch of kids!!

My sweet nieces love coming to my house during Halloween. I was happy they were able to come visit during it!


Here they are having a great time at the Pumpkin Patch!

Katie, Brady, Cameron and Nicole

Wendy and Me Katie and Brady

Nicole

Cameron

We had a wonderful time and I miss them already!!

My Best Friends!

I had the best time this past Labor Day weekend. I got to see both of my very best friends! Brian went to the ballgame in Memphis, so I rode up to Jackson with him and visited with my best friend/twin cousin, Melissa and my best friend Stephanie.

Having your girlfriends is so important, especially for crazy maniac mommies who always need someone to vent too! I am so fortunate to be blessed with all of the friends who are in my life. But these two gals have been with me thru thick and thin so I am dedicating this post the them!!

I was so happy to see Melissa! I miss her so much and I hate living so far away from her. But no matter how far we live away from each other, we always know the other one will drop whatever they are doing to be there if the other needs them. My mom and her dad were twins so we always refer to each other as "twin cousins" and that pretty much sums it up because we are way more than just "cousins". I have lots and lots of stories from our youth, but I'd have to start another blog to write them on...they wouldn't be appropriate for my "mommy blog"!!LOL We always laugh when we are together and no matter what we are doing or where we are...we have fun everytime we are together.


My best friend Stephanie is my friend who I've always been pregnant with, except for Brendan (she sat that one out!:-) We met when I was pregnant with Patrick and she was pg with McKensie. They are now 15 years old! It is hard to believe it has been almost 16 years ago that we were young mommies-2-be, so naive to motherhood! We would lay up in the bed daily with her little dog, Fee, between us, imagining what it would be like to be a mother. Boy, that does seem like ages ago, me without kids?? I can't even imagine that now. I actually credit Stephanie for getting me pregnant with my 4th child, Brady. Credit is a nice way of putting it, I really refer to it as her cursing me or putting a hex on me!LOL It is just such a funny story, (and when I say funny, I mean strange, odd, weird haha). It's just that Stephanie has never been pregnant with out me. Patrick and McKensie were 4 days apart. McLain and Katie were a few months apart. So when Stephanie got pregnant with Wyatt, I laughed and joked and made fun of her getting pregnant again! We had both just lost all our weight from the kids so of course I dogged her out telling her she was gonna gain weight again! We went to a St Paddy's day parade and I called her and told her how much fun we were having and that I wished she was there!! I know I am a mean friend!! (she knows I love her) Brian made fun of Warren, laughing at him. I swear Stephanie must have gotten a voodoo doll and impregnated me because it wasn't a month later....I was PREGNANT! I guess the little fella was meant to be because I was planning to get my tubes tied in May and got pregnant in April. Of course now he is the apple of my eye, but it was quite surprising at first!

I really am fortunate to have these wonderful people in my live. I love them very much! They have both always been there for me, but they really pulled thru for me after Hurricane Katrina and I appreciate all that they did for me and my family so much! There was many a late night phone call during that time period and I thank them both from the bottom of my heart!