February Top Ten...

As promised... our February Top Ten...

1) Pulling Teeth Poor Bennett has been cursed with my teeth - he's only had one or two visits at the dentist with a clean report :( This visit was no exception - but it was even worse. Bennett needed to have 2 teeth pulled - bottom left and top right. They had abscessed (tons of mommy guilt since he had told me that his gums were hurting and I didn't know that it was due to decay!!) We sought a 2nd opinion and got the same news - the teeth needed to come out.

So, on Feb 1 those 2 teeth were pulled and 2 teeth were filled. Other than not liking the numbness (and creating a big blister from sucking on his lip!!) he did great! He had to eat soft foods for a week, but milk shakes are always good!!

Coincidentally, February was dental month at school!! They talked alot about teeth, apparently... and this is just one of the many pieces of work that came home...

On this side, Bennett has detailed 2 facts that they discussed at school.

They are: Canine teeth rip food and you teeth fall out. (pictures coincide with the facts)

On the other side we have...

(I'll translate) "Fact 3: Dentists may have to take out your teeth. Take it from me it's painful. They may have to give you a silver tooth."

That picture is showing the spacer that he has where the teeth were removed. Please note: It is NOT drawn to scale... much like this picture :)

2) Reading to the kindergarteners Bennett came home on Feb 4 and told us (quite proudly!!) that he was going to read to his kindergarten teacher's class. He carefully picked out a book and practiced with Brad and me. (we heckled him with lots of questions - asking to go to the bathroom, telling him we want to see the pictures :) It was so fun...

He reported that the reading went very well :)

3) Murder Mystery - On Feb 6 we had a Murder Mystery party with book club. The whole thing didn't work out quite right - but we sure had a good time!!

4) Baseball We were so excited to be back on Coach Mark's team this Spring!! Don't worry - there will be many more pics in the future!! :)

5) A look into the future

In 100 years, Bennett assumes he will still be an Auburn fan (blue hat), walk his dog (which we don't EVER do), and be fully decked out with ammo and guns :) Nice.

Oh, and I see from the picture that in 100 years, he will have learned how to tie his shoes...

6) Skiing!! You can read all about our trip here... It was fun!!

7) Pinot Camp We got to go on a double date with Mike and Rebecca to the Pinot Camp at B&A Warehouse. I'm not a red wine drinker, but there was still plenty for me to taste... and I even found a few that I could tolerate! (But Brad didn't love the ones I liked, so we're still on different wine teams :) This was so much fun - can't wait to go again next year!!

8) Giggles and Grace - I worked the sale again this year, but did not Chair the Finance area. It was strange to be there without any 'responsibility', but it was also really nice... The sale was a HUGE success - selling over $105,000 in just over 2 days!! God is great!

9) Spring Into Art This year I co-chaired the Silent Auction at Spring Into Art at Bennett's school. Wow!! It was a ton of work - but we've raised over $14,000 by auction alone!!

While I was working, Brad and Bennett played games and make great art projects. Check this out...

They made a Jedi (with light saber and gun!) from a recycled water bottle!! So great!

10) Women's Conference I didn't get to attend Asbury's women's conference this year because it was the same weekend as Spring Into Art. I did, however, get the opportunity to host a break out session about scrapbooking and the importance of remembering the journey that God has prepared for us. It was a wonderful reminder of how important it is to take a breather - no matter how hectic and crazy life is (and this month was SUPER busy for us!!).

God is so good to me - he's given me so many sweet memories - and I want to be sure that I take the time to appreciate each moment. No matter how small the event seems, it can be a life changer :) I'm trying to absorb it all day by day...

January top 10

Yes, I do know that it is March... how can it be March already?? I have no idea!!

I've been planning on posting January's 'Top 10' since the beginning of February - but better late, than never, right?? :)

So here they are (in no particular order - well, maybe chronological order :)...

1) New Year's Eve - Ok, well, that is technically December, but close enough! We spent the early part of the evening at the Wargo's - lots of yummy food, wine, and games. We told Bennett that he could stay up as long as he wanted (last year we told him the same thing, and he made it to about 9:04!!) So, we got home at about 9:45 - we thought we could get him to make it to the NY ball drop (11 o'clock our time), but he passed out cold on the couch at 10:57. No kidding. He missed it!! Poor guy :)

This picture is really dark, but it is me, trying to wake him up!

2)Visit with the Christophers. Brad got to be a part of a presentation about his mission trip to India on Sunday, the 3rd, at a church in Murphreesboro. Murphreesboro is too close to Nashville not a make a stop to see Jenn, Joe, and the girls!! We had a great time catching up... We CAN'T wait another 2 years to see each other again!!

3) My 35th Birthday!! It was a great day - Bennett and Brad took me out to eat at Mt. Fuji for dinner and cupcakes at home afterward. I got a nice gift card to get a new camcorder - I'm still waiting for the one that want to come into stock!

No party is complete without noise makers!!

We celebrated with mom, Ang, Gavin, Dad, and Papa on Saturday night. Good times!!

Oh, yeah... cookie cake!! (Dinner was my fave - ham and mac & cheese!!)

4) New Car!! Brad decided that I needed a new car... I told him that I was happy with the van, but he insisted!! So, we spent a few days thinking and I decided on this little beauty... I love it!! I do have to apologize to Honda for not continuing my loyalty. But, Acura is a Honda product, right? And, it IS still silver!! Oh, and Brad is driving the van!!

5) Seeing Ron and Denver - Ron and Denver, of 'Same Kind of Different As Me' came to town and spoke at Samford on January 22. Angie and I gave mom a ticket to go with us - it was a really great time! Their story is fabulous and so inspiring! Have you read their book? You should!!

6) Supper Club - on the 23rd we had the Parsons, the Fountains, and the Johnsons over for supper club. We fixed The Pioneer Woman's chili and White Chicken Chili. So much fun!!

7) Dad's Birthday - Dad's birthday was on January 20, but we didn't get to celebrate until the 29th. We enjoyed a wonderful night of entertainment with Bennett and Pa bantering back and forth. Bennett sold coupon books to everyone at the table - and the fortunes proved to be extra special. Dad's said something along the lines of 'Rarely does such poise and beauty rest in one person as it does in you.' Perfect!! :)

8) Basketball - In one of our more ingenious moves, we decided to offer Bennett $1 for each time he shot the ball in a game. Before this offer, he ran up and down the court like a fiend, but was too shy to get the ball. That $1 made all the difference!!

He's so handsome!!

9) Nighttime Technology Fast - Brad, Bennett, and I did a 21 day technology fast this month. At night, we didn't use the computer or TV for 21 days. Boy - it was so hard!!! The hardest part for me was when Brad was gone and I had no one to talk to once Bennett went to bed... we talk alot around here :) It was a really great experience for our family, though, and I'm so glad that we did it!

10) Kits for Haiti - We made 24 kits for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. It was a small thing, but really helped us talk about what was going on with Bennett. Our prayers are always with them.

Ok, so that is January... February might come tomorrow or Tuesday :)

Do you ski?

So, do you ski? I don't. I tried to learn 2 years ago, and learned after just a few short hours that skiing wasn't for me. So, I threw down my poles, got out of those horribly uncomfortable ski boots, grabbed some hot chocolate and retired in front of the fire for the rest of the vacation. And you know what, it was a WONDERFUL vacation :) The boys continued skiing, I met them for lunch at the top of the mountain each day, and I read to my heart's content. So relaxing!!

So, Brad had another opportunity to head to Park City last week for a conference, and Bennett and I joined him toward the end of the week. Angie and Gavin joined us for the trip, and we had a blast!!

Here they are skiing...

This is called the 'Sweet Pea' slope. When I was learning, I called it the 'Hill of Terror'...

And this thing... I can't tell you how many times I fell on this little lift thingy. So embarrassing. Bennett does it with ease...

But, I do enjoy the snow. And visiting with the boys when they aren't skiing...

And, we do enjoy a good snow ball fight...

And there is nothing better than a snow dog and his owner. These were built right outside our patio (with pretzels and bugles, of course!)

We really had a great time in Utah!

So tell me, do you ski?

If you do, please don't try to make me feel bad because I don't. (At one point Bennett asked why 'mommies don't like to go outside of the lobby', which is totally unfair - I went outside of the lobby plenty of times!! :)

And if you don't, do you want to come hang out with me by the fire the next time we go?

I'll buy the hot chocolate :)

Remembering My Creative Side

Wow! It has been a looonggg time since my last post!! Wow! Sorry to my 2 readers :)

I have a post in my brain about January - I'll do it soon, I promise!!

In the meantime, I've actually been busy scrapbooking! Check it out :)

Here are a few new layouts:

This is a book that I've made that will have our family Christmas card and Bennett's Santa picture from each year. It's up to date :)

Here is my December Daily album with pictures and details from every day in December, 2009. This was a Teresa Collins kit from last year. It came together really easily (I'm just including a few pages).

So, that's just part of what has been keeping me busy.

Well, actually, this is a little bit of fun that I've been having recently.

Hope you have had a great weekend! It's COLD here!!

Things Are So Grand at the Ole Opry

Brad was gone for 1o days to India. 1o looong days. Long for me, anyway!! In an effort to make the last weekend a little more bearable, Bennett and I planned a trip with Nana and Gigi to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. We had SO much fun!!

We went to Charlie Brown ICE! where everything was made from ice. Everything. It was so wild! And, it was so COLD!!! We wore our ski gear and we were still really cold!

They gave us these very stylish blue jackets for warmth.

Bennett didn't like it that his was so long, but he stuck it out!

I have to note here that Linus' blanket was NOT made from ice.

Bennett thought that it was special that the blanket was real :)

Bennett and Gigi were special buddies the whole weekend long

(complete with wrestling matches and singing various renditions of 'Jingle Bells') :)

On Saturday morning we had breakfast with Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

It was probably the highlight of the whole trip for Bennett.

Of course, we were up REALLY early, so there weren't many people to compete for Charlie's attention :)

We love Snoopy too!!

Bennett was in heaven... pancakes with whipped cream, sprinkles, oreos, and white chocolate chips and a doughnut.

I made him get the strawberries and eggs. I don't think that he ate them!!

We also shopped all morning at the mall and then we went to the Rockette's Christmas show. Bennett did really great at the show... the live nativity was totally amazing!

We spent the evening back at the hotel. We checked out the lights - the whole hotel was a Christmas Wonderland (and you know we Boothe girls LOVE all things Christmas - a trait, I'm glad to report, has been passed on to Bennett :) I'll spare you all of the pictures of the scenery... but here's one more of Bennett in the outdoor light spectacular...

Thankfully, Brad made it back (on time!!) last night. We were so glad to have him home!!! Bennett didn't get to see him until tonight - and I have to say that I don't think I've ever seen him so happy and excited to see someone!! :)

So much to be thankful for...

I'm going to start with the top 100:

1. God - His love and mercy amaze me every day.
2. Brad
3. Bennett
4. Mom
5. Angie
6. My family
7. Brad's family
8. Asbury UMC
9. Friends that are just like family
10. Bible Studies
11. 1st and 2nd Grade Children's choir
12. Kim, who keeps me sane while attempting to teach the Children in the choir :)
13. Bennett's school
14. Bennett's teacher (this year and last year - they are the best!!)
15. Bennett's imagination and the fact that he spent Thanksgiving day as Indiana Jones
16. Bennett's love of reading
17. Bennett's love of paper and markers
18. Brad's job
19. Our house
20. the mini-van :)
21. Thursday night TV
22. MacBook Pro
23. photo printers
24. my 'big' camera
25. my little point and shoot camera!!
26. Coke zero
27. scrapbooking - the hobby and the collection!!
28. Rony, my hair dresser
29. ABC family's 25 days of Christmas shows (and the 25 day countdown to the 25 days of Christmas!)
30. Coach handbags
31. Bobbi Brown lathering tube soap
32. Book Club
33. Golden Grahams
34. Nestle Toll House break and bake cookies
35. My washing machine and dryer
36. The DVR that lets me watch all of those shows that I technically don't have time to watch!!
37. My hair dryer
38. the new Chris Tomlin Christmas CD
39. to do lists
40. great pens
41. new notebooks
42. my G1 phone
43. Gmail
44. the Google calendar
45. my watch
46. the color of fall leaves
47. Hydrangeas
48. My workout partner, Tonya.
49. my back - it's not perfect, but it's better than it was!!
50. Bennett's giggle
51. Bennett's snaggle-tooth grin :)
52. the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom
53. Sadie
54. our mailman
55. coupons
56. our pastors
57. Christmas music
58. Facebook
59. my Ipod
60. scent-free Bounce and All detergent
61. hand sanitizer
62. outlet malls
63. Dairy Queen
64. Publix
65. Good neighbors
66. the light-fixer pro
67. raisinettes
68. family dinners
69. turkey - especially the one that Angie cooked today. Yum!
70. cherry pie with ice cream
71. internet shopping
72. free shipping
73. fond memories
74. chapstick
75. Bennett's coaches
76. garbage collectors
77. online bill payments
78. cute (and comfortable!!) shoes
79. down comforters
80. clinique super powder
81. plastic bins that I can organize things in
82. Chick fil a
83. Static Guard
84. my new bathroom
85. soft towels
86. freedom
87. safety (Bennett wants me to put 'safety in our new land'... he's been thinking a lot about the Pilgrims!!) :)
88. clean sheets
89. slippers
90. my hair barrette
91. hand lotion (a must with the high usage of hand sanitizer :)
92. Kraft 2% sharp cheddar cheese
93. Sandestin
94. remote controls
95. in-door ice and water on the refrigerator
96. Dyson vacuums
97. clothes that don't require ironing
98. medicine
99. double sided tape
100. car washes

Wow... 100 things came to me pretty quickly!! I could probably think of hundreds more. How about you??

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday, Brad. You're the best husband and daddy in the whole wide world :)

This week, as I'm counting my blessings, you're at the top of my list :)

Love you!!