I Nearly Shed a Tear

Welcome back!!! College Gameday, I'VE MISSED YOU SO!!! I didn't even realize how much until 9:00 this morning when you came back to me. It was like seeing an old friend, a best friend, that you haven't seen in many years. The emotions came flooding back, and I nearly shed a tear. Seeing great plays from college football games from past games...what a feeling!!! I am filled with excitement!

YEA for college football! YEA for having two tickets to a game that SO many want to go to. It's the HOTTEST ticket of the weekend. Word has it, people have paid like $1500 for tickets. Can you believe that?! That's WILD! I am SO excited about seeing my Tide play. I am SO excited about having college gameday back. I'm just plain excited! I really do love college football!

So today, ROLL TIDE! GO DAWGS! and GO TEBOW (love him!).

Oh, and a little shout out for Troy...YEA, TROJANS!!! You looked GREAT!!!

What?! Not Gifted?

I think this story is hilarious. I found it earlier in the week and just had to post it.

Is your kid really gifted? Probably not

I find this story funny because I am a mom who, of course, thinks her kids are super smart. I mean, all 16 months old aren't repeating everything their parents say, are they? All four year olds can't count to 100 can they? Does your 16 month old know where to find all the hidden snacks in your house? Nope, didn't think so. ;)

It's also funny because I have many friends who also find their kids to be "really smart", "brilliant", and "geniuses". Are these people telling us we're all wrong? We're all confused? Misguided? Our kids aren't in the two to five percent?! I was just about to sign my boys up for Harvard. Should I hold off???

I'm pretty sure this story doesn't apply to my boys. It's the rest of you who should be worried! ;)

On Their Way...

...to see the Bulldogs play!

Our boys have left us. They're on the road to Athens, Georgia to see their beloved Bulldogs play whatever high school team they're playing this weekend (ha! That was just for my beloved brother-in-law). Tristan was super excited, but Ash, well...just look at his thoughts about the big Bulldog game:
In the next picture, you'll see he's come back to life. I'm sure he heard some Bama news! He already says "Roll Tide"!
Before we passed the boys off to their Mimi, we had lunch together at Cracker Barrell.
I thought this picture was really cute! I love it because Asher is wearing a Georgia jersey and rocking in an Alabama rocking chair. PERFECT!
Both my boys sporting Georgia in their Bama chairs:Asher had a fit over all the Christmas singing toys. He watched them over and over.Channing and Asher at lunch:
Tristan and me. He kept telling me he was going to teach Asher, "Go Dawgs!" I told him he better not. He was quick to remind me that we like Alabama and Georgia.
My sweet boys are gone. I sure do miss them, but I know they will have a blast. Tristan has been counting down the days until he could go play on the "little football field" (aka the Georgia practice field; one of his favorite things to do in Athens). On Wednesday night, he asked me to pray that God would protect the Georgia football players when they played their game on Saturday night. How sweet is that?! Sad thing is, he didn't say a thing about Alabama. Sorry, John Parker!!!

I am THRILLED!!!

Way to go, McCain!!! I am SO excited about your choice for vice president!!!

You go, Sarah Palin!!!

Some info on Palin and her stance on big issues:

Palin for VP

More on Palin

WE'RE GOING!!!

We've got tickets and are going to THE game!!! YEA! The only unfortunate thing is that we can't leave until Saturday afternoon, but that's ok. We're going to see THE TIDE play!!! YEA!
Our boys are going to watch the Dawgs (actually, Tristan will watch the Dawgs, Asher will tailgate and then go back to the Center to hang out with Mimi).
I am SO excited!

Thursday's Random Thoughts

COLLEGE FOOTBALL EDITION

Last week, I shared some of my random thoughts. Today, I've got some more to share, specific to college football. Here they are:

It's here! It's finally here! I just can't believe that it's already time for college football. It almost doesn't even seem real. Tonight, I will be able to watch a college football game...live. It won't be a replay from 2005. Yippee!!!

The Tide plays on Saturday. I can't wait! I hope John Parker Wilson has a clear head. They say he's more focused. I hope so. When he's good, he's great, but when he's intimidated, it's all down hill from there. I trust that he'll be ready.

Clemson? I mean, what's all this talk about Clemson? We can take them. Yes, we can. We can, can't we? Yes we can. Don't waiver!

Julio Jones. Should I follow the hype? I mean, everyone's talking about him. I'm ready to see him play. I won't go on and on about him. I think he'll be great, but I also think that Clemson will have him covered. They've heard the hype too.

My brother has box seats. What are the chances? Box seats to one of the hardest games to get tickets for? How is that fair? I mean, I think I deserve a box seat; at this point, I would take a nose bleed seat. I want to see my Tide roll! UPDATE: WE HAVE TICKETS!!! WE'RE GOING TO THE GAME!!! WOO HOO!!! Hmmm...Wonder if my brother will trade tickets? Unlikely...

Do LSU fans really like their colors? I mean, in all honesty...really? How do the men feel about having to wear purple and yellow...oh, I mean gold. Oh, and do their fans really smell like corn dogs? I mean, that's what I hear. ;)

As for Auburn, Bama, PLEASE don't lose to Auburn again. Seriously, please.

Georgia Bulldogs...hmmm...So tough for me. They really used to be my second favorite team. Then I had to be taunted and aggravated continually by Channing's brother and dad...continually. When it comes to football, they can make me madder than fire (a nice southern phrase). They've kind of turned me against Georgia. Sad, but true. The past couple of years, I've struggled with my desire to be a good wife and support and root for them because it's so important to my hubby. I want to do it from my heart, though. Sometimes I'm successful, then a Georgia fan ruins it for me. This year, I'll have to try to gear myself up again to root for the Dawgs. HOWEVER, I really really really want Bama to beat them this year...really. If Alabama were to win only two games, I would want them to beat Auburn and beat Georgia (in no particular order). Oh, and I LOVE my father-in-law and brother-in-law. We just don't see eye to eye when it comes to football. They really push my buttons on this.

Georgia has a TOUGH schedule, not that you would hear it from them. HA! They like to remind us of that. It's true, though. If it weren't for their tough schedule, I think they would take the national title. Thing is, they do have a tough schedule. I don't think this year is their year. Love ya, Mark Richt!

Florida Gators...I pick them to take it this year. I think it's their year. I think they'll beat Georgia this year since they were embarrassed by them last year. Too, they have an amazing quarterback (I dare say the best).

I listen to A LOT of sports radio. I have been AMAZED that all they talk about is Alabama. Seriously. I'm sure that must get extremely annoying to the fans of other teams. I mean, it's annoying to me, and I am a Bama fan. EVERY time I turn on sports radio, they are talking about Nick Saban and/or Alabama. Seriously...every time. Often times, they're talking bad about Nick and my Tide, but they're talking about them nonetheless. Find something else to talk about, or get more supportive.

How can everyone not be a Tide fan? I just don't get it. How can you not feel that excitement well up inside when you see those crimson helmets run out onto the field? How can everyone not have that crimson pride??? Channing gets this question EVERY year. I just don't understand it...at all.

Along those lines, how can people not love college football? I mean, really?! Do you know that there are people out there who would rather shop than watch ESPN's College Game Day??? These same people totally miss all the games each Saturday. Craziness! There's no sport as great as college football. It's the best!!! Come on, people! You gotta love it!

I hope my mom doesn't trash talk this year. Every year, she trash talks Auburn fans and fans of other teams. When they have a bad week and we have a good one, they don't hear the end of it. Thing is, she doesn't even watch football! She's one of those "Saturday Shoppers". If you DON'T watch football and don't have a passion for your team, keep your trash talking to yourself. I mean, that just makes sense, dontcha think? You make the rest of us look bad.

It aggravates me when some Christians who don't like football assume that those of us who are passionate about it are not passionate about Christ. That is true for some but not for all. It is possible to get excited about multiple things. :)

There is no conference in the nation as tough as the SEC. They deserve respect!

One final thought....ROLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE! Bama, I can't wait to watch you play!!!

For those who don't know me, this was all said very tongue in cheek. I'm a super sarcastic person. I'm not trying to be ugly. :)

Confessions of a Messy Mom

Ok, I admit it...I'm coming clean...I am messy. Actually, messy is an understatement. I am a walking tornado. Yes, that sounds about right. A walking tornado. I leave a path of destruction everywhere I go...at home, at work...everywhere. Ok, well I guess not everywhere, just at my places. I'm not proud of this. It's pretty embarrassing, actually. I'm just incredibly messy.

Problem is, my husband is incredibly messy too. If I'm a walking tornado, he's the massive hurricane. He blows through the house and leaves destruction as well. This is a problem. You see, in most marriages, there is one or the other in the relationship. You may have one messy, and the other is a total clean freak (btw, clean freaks...I SO admire you). They kind of balance each other out.

Not Channing and me. We both leave destruction (our poor kids!). I can have the house totally clean, and in like 30 minutes, it's a complete disaster. I mean, how does that happen? I've tried all kinds of things to get better: I've attended an organization seminar (I left with more clutter), I joined flylady (yet another thing to keep up with. Who has the time? Plus, she says, "Don't expect it to happen overnight. Things didn't get a mess overnight, and it can't be fixed overnight." I beg to differ. As I said earlier, we do make messes VERY quickly), I've prayed about, I've quizzed the clean freaks. So far, my inspiration always wears off.

Just three months ago, God led me to Proverbs 31 and showed me the error of my ways (as He lovingly tends to do). I was also reminded of 1 Corinthians 14:33 of the NIV : "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." It was the inspiration I needed. I was on fire. My home looked great (we're not counting closets and drawers here, ok?). I felt great. Then things went back to normal. I got super busy, and my house got super messy. I'm now back where I started. In a pit of messiness, trying to claw my way out.

How about you? Are you a clean freak, or are you messy? Clean freaks, let me in on your secrets. What is it that drives you to insanity if you see a piece of lint on the floor? What is it about crayons on the floor that makes you twitch? Can you pass that on to me? Believe me, I would take it. I want it. I need some of that.
You see, it bothers me to have a mess, but I get so overwhelmed that I don't know where to begin.
Realistically, I don't think I'll ever be a clean freak (although my mom wasn't either until a few years ago, now she's a super clean freak like my grandmother. It kind of gives me hope). I would like to be somewhat orderly, though.

If you're messy, let me know, why is it that you're messy? What are your challenges? Am I alone in this?

As for my opening sentence, I just read it and found it kind of ironic, "Ok, I admit it...I'm coming clean... IF ONLY I were coming clean. Ha! :) Oh! That's not a personal picture of one of my messes, but it sure does come close!

Soccer Season Has Begun

Tristan's 2008 soccer season started with practice last week. This is his second year playing. He played last fall but wasn't crazy about it. He played t-ball in the spring and LOVED it, but our city doesn't have a 4 year old t-ball league for the fall season. Some of our t-ball teammates opted to play anyway, they just have to play up. So they play with ages 4-6 and use machine pitch. We have confidence that Tristan could handle the machine pitch; however, the older the kids get, the more competitive the parents get. We got a taste of that during our t-ball tournament when score was actually kept. Some of the parents and coaches go CRAZY. In my opinion, they take it WAY too seriously. This fall, we kind of wanted to keep things mellow. So we went for soccer.

Tristan is on the team with one of his very best friends, so that brought a little more excitement to the sport for him. Another fun thing is that everyone from his last year's soccer team is playing again this year. All through the season, we'll get to see them. YEA! They were a super sweet group.

Here are some pictures from Tristan's first practice:

Aren't they precious?! I just love watching little kids play sports!
Getting his ball set for the big kick:Coach Steven:
Tristan and his buddy, T:
Running for the kick!
In our family, we really all like baseball better, but soccer will be a nice change of pace. It's so fun to watch all the kids run all over the field, and it's fun to catch up with all the soccer moms and dads. Too, it's very rare to find a "do or die" soccer dad out there. For the most part, everyone's out there to have a good time and to watch their kids have fun. AND, one of the greatest things about soccer is that the kids run through a "parent tunnel" at the end. T-ball is really missing that super important part. There's no parent tunnel.

Tristan's First Day in 4K

The day has finally come, the day Tristan has been waiting for. Today was his first day in four year old kindergarten. Tristan lovingly refers to four year old kindergarten as "four and a half year old kindergarten" because he is four and a half. He corrects me every time I say the other.

Since this is such a milestone, I, of course, had to take LOTS of pictures! I wish I could spare you! ;)

Here is he is with his folder. He had not been given his bag yet, so we just had to pose with his homework folder.Here he is in the car getting buckled up. Excited about seeing his friends!
Daddy and Tristan
Tristan and me
He was SO patient with me this morning! I really did take A LOT of pictures.
Here is Tristan at his classroom. I had to get a shot of him in front of his class sign.
This is when he actually started to look a little nervous. He assured me that he wasn't, though.On Friday, when we met his teacher, she told him that each day he came to school, he would need to drop his snack in the left bucket and his folder in the right. Here he is following directions.Snapshot of Tristan and his new teacher, Mrs. Ashley. She is super sweet. Channing and I have a lot of confidence in her.
Settling in at his table. He was assigned a choice seat with the pretty ladies!This is the first year that I've dropped Tristan off and didn't leave in tears. I guess because I had Channing there for support. Channing, however, had a more difficult time letting go. He didn't cry, but I worried he might.

Three hours after we dropped him off, it was time to pick him up. Here he was waiting in the car line. We were SO excited to see him and to hear all about his school day.
As usual, he was much less interested in giving us play by play details of his day and much more interested in being silly. While I was quizzing him about everything school, he decided to take a break from answering and put his school bag on his head. My silly boy!This was Tristan's very last first day of 4K. He is growing up! It's exciting to see but a little (ok, a lot) sad too. I just kind of wish I could freeze time. I'm not ready to lose my baby!
This year, 4K. Next year KINDERGARTEN. Where has the time gone?!

The Publix Corporate Coupon Policy

I am currently preparing to lead a church small group based on frugal shopping and giving. Among many other things, my preparations include getting all the local stores' corporate coupon policies in writing (safest bet). Sweetwater Savings has Publix's corporate policy via email. One down, several to go!

To see the Publix corporate coupon policy, check out the post on Sweetwater Savings:

Publix Coupon Policy

Also, I had a friend who talked to Publix corporate and was told that they do not consider CVS to be one of their competitors. Therefore, the corporate office does not accept their coupons. My personal Publix store always accepted them when I used them there, but since their corporate office disapproves, I am no longer using drug store coupons at Publix. Just a little FYI.

Sarah at Fiddledeedee has more info on Publix. It seems my favorite store is starting to crack down on the coupons they accept.

For those of you who are just here to see my kiddos' pictures...SORRY to bore you! :) I'm just in major preparation for my small group, and I want to make sure I teach the right things. I want to make my Savior proud!

4K, Here We Come!

Tomorrow is Tristan's first official day of 4K (four year old kindergarten for those who don't know the lingo). ;) He is SO excited. He has literally been counting down the days (and hours) until school starts.

Last Friday, we went to the school to meet his teacher and see his classroom. We were all impressed. Tristan's teacher is super sweet and seems eager to see the kids learn. As a mom and teacher, I LOVE that! She seems to be very organized and gave us a list of the objectives the kids will be learning between now and December and then between January and May. Again, I was impressed.

I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to see that Tristan has a teacher who genuinely seems to love children and seeing them learn. You would think that would be a prerequisite in order to teach, but sadly, it's not. Through the four and half years he has gone to school, we have had a couple of teachers who seemed to not enjoy their jobs. That always made me sad, and I even thought about pulling him out of school a couple of times. Each time I decided to do so, God would show me that Tristan was in the best place. He would even send "helper teachers" that would balance the others out.

Tristan's class this year is also full of friends. He has several of his friends from his previous years of school, as well as a super sweet kid we love from his soccer team, and one of his oldest friends from our neighborhood. He really has a great group of sweet kids this year. Praise God!

So tomorrow's the first day. Let the fun begin!

Honest Couponing?

I just stopped by one of my most favorite frugal blogs, Keeping the Kingdom First. Alyssa has published a really great post written by Dana of Frugal in Virginia about honest couponing and using God's principles as we shop and take advantage of deals. I strongly encourage everyone to read it, especially if you're a frugal shopper. Many of the things she mentions in her post are specific things that God has been speaking to me over the past couple of weeks.
I trust that you will find it as helpful, convicting, and encouraging as I did!

Honest Couponing

Dana, if you read this, thank you for being such a great role model for the rest of us!

Prophesy to the Bones

Last night as I was preparing dinner, I turned on Joyce Meyer (I took a mini break from watching the Olympics because they were doing re-plays). About a year or so ago, I became a huge Joyce Meyer fan. For so long, I refused to watch her because what I had seen of her made me think she was harsh and critical. Once I actually sat down and watched her teach, I knew I was wrong. She is an awesome teacher of the Word. I respect her so much and can relate to her because I feel like I sometimes deal with the same struggles she has overcome.

Last night's lesson was one of the best I've heard from her. It was a powerful lesson on what God can do in my life. I'll share just a couple of the things she said because I can't remember all of it.

She was talking about how many people pray to God to change their circumstances but they never speak any life over themselves. They pray for God to help them financially, with their families, to be healed, better jobs, etc, but after they're done praying, they say stuff like, "Oh, I'll always be sick." Or, "I'll never be able to eat anything but hamburgers. I'll never be able to afford to buy steaks." She said that when you do that, not even God can help you because you keep talking Him out of it. You have NO faith! She said that she's not a "name it claim it" person (which I really respect). She said she thinks that's weird and doesn't believe in that (and gave examples of people doing that sort of thing); however, she said what you speak determines so much. She gave these examples from the Bible:

She used Romans 4 and the story of how Abraham came to be the father of many nations. She taught of how he was told, when it seemed impossible, that he would be the father of many nations...when he had NO children. Romans 4:17 says, "As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." he is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed-the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

The highlighted verse is one that she directly pointed out. God called this into Abraham's life. It had not happened yet, but it was called into his life as if it had already happened. We must do the same! If you want to be healthy, don't walk around always talking about how sick you are! Speak words of life and words of health over yourself. If you want to be more stable financially, don't walk around talking about how it will never happen!

Joyce also quoted this amazing story from scripture as an example of the power of words:
Ezekiel 37:1-9: The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. he asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.
Then He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!' This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord."
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army.

The Lord told him to "prophesy over the bones"; to speak life over them. Joyce said that if he could raise a dead army with the power of his words, we can certainly speak life and God's Word over our bodies and our circumstances! We don't have to settle for mediocre lives. So why do we? Why do I? Why do I continue to see the worst and expect it to always be that way? Today I am going to go the other route. I am going to speak words of life over myself, my family, my friends, our circumstances... I am going to trust God and believe that He can and will do what He says He can do.

Today Joyce is doing part two of this amazing lesson. To watch yesterday's lesson (because she explains it WAY WAY better than I just did), click the link:

Your Words and Your Future- Pt 1- Viewer's Choice #1

Your Words and Your Future- Pt 2- Viewer's Choice #1

After watching yesterday's lesson, I know why this is the #1 viewer's choice. It's really really great! I strongly encourage you to watch these lessons, especially if you struggle at all with the words you speak and the expectations you have of your life. It will take 20 minutes of your life (each lesson) but will give you so much more!!!

$25 CVS Giftcard Giveaway

The Newlyweds blog is giving away a $25 CVS gift card. Check out her post for all the details. Think of the damage you could do with $25 at CVS!!!

The Savin' Mavin is doing a $25 CVS gift card giveaway too! Check it out for all the details!

Random Thoughts

I thought I would try something new today. I'm going to share some of the random thoughts and questions I've had this morning and over the past couple of days. So, here they are. Oh and a little disclaimer, they're not necessarily deep thoughts or philosophical. Just random, weird thoughts...

I have loved watching the Olympics this year. The athletes, their stories, and their God-given abilities are incredibly inspiring. I've never enjoyed an Olympic season like this one.

I have a hard time coping with the athletes who don't get gold, especially those that look really nervous before they perform. I had a super tough time with one of the 100 meter sprinters from Jamaica over the weekend. He looked SO nervous before he ran, he lost to a guy who seemed really arrogant, and he looked heart-broken. I worried about him for two days!

Is Michael Phelps part fish? I mean, seriously. Is he? Has anyone checked? That guy is INCREDIBLE! He is no human. The guy has got to have gills somewhere.

Is the scrunchy back? A great majority of the female Olympic athletes wear them. Do they even sell them in stores anymore, or is they made specially for Olympic athletes? I haven't rocked a scrunchy in many years. I was just wondering if I should be running to Wal-Mart.

A night out with a friend, minus the hubby and kids, is needed more than I realized! I had dinner with a great friend last night and was reminded of how I need to do that more often. Friends and personal time should be more of a priority for me. I must make time. I'm a better wife, mom and friend for it.

Asher can say so many things these days. He never ceases to amaze me.

Tristan's school actually starts next week. I can't believe it! For so long, it seemed a ways away, now it's just days. He can't wait.

Kobe Bryant is fluent in Italian and Spanish (and who knows how many other languages). Who knew?

Charles Barkley has a really embarrassing golf swing, and he's coming out with a golf show. I will have to watch that!

I missed Sunday's service at church and am sad about it. I heard it was really great. I tried to watch it online but ran into trouble. When will I find a spare 30 minutes to watch it?

Is it bad to tell people how much you love your makeup? Because I do. I think it's fantastic. But if I came up to you and said, "Wow. I really like my new mineral makeup." Would you think, "Wow. Thanks for letting me know because I've been wanting to try that out. Now I know I shouldn't." Is it one of those things? I'm going to confess right here... I've thought that before when someone has told me how much they love their makeup. That's BAD!!! I'm not proud of it. Or do you think, "Man, she sure is conceited. She's bragging about how pretty she thinks she is." Just wondering.
On this note...thanks, Lindsay, for pointing me in the right direction! I LOVE it!

I really really want to use my $2/$10 CVS coupon. It STINKS that they don't want me to.

That's all I can think of right now. Do you have any random thoughts you want to share???

Sad Day for Me and My CVS Plans

This morning, I happened across an awesome blog, The Homemakers Resource. As I was reading her posts, I came across some sad news that will affect the deals I have planned for CVS. Check out what she found on Hot Coupon World:

"CVS has LEGALLY requested that online printable coupons no longer be posted anywhere on the internet. CVS has contacted several of the larger websites, not just HCW. It is their position that the only valid printable coupons will be sent to you directly through their email system.

As to the online magazines and newspapers. Their online version is simply a convenience service. It's not meant to be printed out and replace their paper magazines and newspapers, otherwise they'd lose their income from their product. Same goes with the coupons in those situations, they are not meant to be printed out and replace the paper ones. My guess is CVS doesn't have the time to police every single newspaper or magazine's online source to make sure that their coupons are blacked out or made unprintable.

In the end, we at HCW are intent on following the parameters stated on the legal notice that we received. And that is that the only valid internet coupons will come directly to you in your email and that any other sources of internet coupons are not legitimate, not approved by CVS and will not be allowed to be posted on HCW."

So... that $2/$10 CVS coupon I've been printing and using, the one found from the Richmond Parent's Magazine, should only be used if I actually bought the magazine and cut it out. SAD!
Like the Homemaker's Resource and HCW, I want to make sure that all my frugal shopping trips are ethical, legit, and 100% above board. That being said, I will only be using CVS printable coupons that I personally receive through email. So CVS, if you read this (and I'm SO sure you do) please send me some coupons. Pretty please!

To read more about this, check out this ABC News story: Secrets of Online Shopping Discounts

Lake + Friends = Fun!

Last weekend, my three boys and I headed down to the lake for a much-needed getaway. We haven't been able to go much this year because we've had such a busy summer. The fact that we haven't been down in more than a month and that we had good friends who were able to join us made this weekend even sweeter.
For Tristan, there is no greater place to go than the lake. He counted down all week last week. Friday couldn't get here soon enough.

Here are my two of my three boys and me right after we got there:

Jon and Karen, two of our family's favorite people, joined us Friday night. They don't have any kids yet, but they sure do love on ours. Our boys adore them! We are so blessed to have such awesome friends!!! Here they are on Saturday morning, right before we went down for some relaxing on the lake:
My sweet Tristan floating in the lake. Sheer joy!Karen and Tristan on one of our boat rides:Asher is a GREAT driver!
Daddy's first mate!
Tristan and Jon on the sea doo. Jon was amazed at how fast Tristan likes to drive. He said Tristan always has the throttle completely down. That's my boy!
Here are a couple of random pics of my sweet boys. The first one is a great "noodle" shot (that's what I call it when my boys don't have any clothes on). I just love noodle babies!And finally, my sweet grinning Tristan!We had a great weekend. We didn't get much rest because Asher didn't sleep well...at all. Aside from that, it was the perfect getaway. We enjoyed it so much, we think we'll go back this weekend and spend some time with Mimi and PaPa.