Happy Birthday to my Sweet Baby Asher

I can't believe it. My sweet sweet baby is officially two years old. Yesterday was his birthday, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, how could it be possible that my baby, my little baby, is two years old?!

We had a great day. It was super busy, but he seemed to enjoy himself, and that's what mattered most. We started the day early (as has been every day since he started sleeping in his new big boy bed). Since he was up so early, I decided to make pancakes (his favorite breakfast). My family, who was in town for Asher's birthday, was pretty impressed with me making breakfast. It's a rare occurrence. I'm more of a cereal person. ;)

Anyway, after breakfast, we were in a rush to get ready for church. Once at church, Asher was moved to a new Sunday school class. This was quite the big deal. He would no longer be hanging out in the walker room. He was/is a big boy. He got moved up to the two year old room. He was a little shy at first, but by the time we picked him up, it was clear that he had enjoyed himself, especially when he got to get a bag and sucker just like his big brother. :)

After church, we had a Mickey Mouse-themed family party for him (he LOVES MM). Of course, Channing, Tristan, and I were there, but also my parents and sister and Channing's parents were there to celebrate with him. Asher loves his Aunt Tay!
And his "popcorn" aka corn on the cob.Although he was a little tired during his party, he loved all the Mickey Mouse stuff and even blew out his candle. :) (On a side note, apparently the people at the Publix bakery assumed Asher was a girl...notice all the hot pink on his cake? Oh well, it tasted good. Thanks to copyright laws, it's hard to find a cute Mickey Mouse cake that actually tastes good.)A little comparison. Last year's cake-eating picture:And this year's picture. Oh, my baby is growing up!!! {sniff}Once he could convince us all to finish eating (he was in a hurry), we headed outside to do some of his favorite things...ride his bicycle and play t-ball. We had a jumping bean up, but he was totally disinterested.Asher riding his new car from MiMi and PaPa.
Our little family with Channing's parents (I know, I'm HUGE. In my defense, I was wearing my loosest and most comfy clothes. Doesn't help much. :)).Us with my parents and sister:Asher loved his new Mickey Mouse car from Nana, PaPa, and Aunt Tay!
After our families left, we took the boys to Target and let them both use money they'd gotten on their birthdays to pick out some things. Tristan picked "Bolt" and Asher picked out a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. They both picked out toys as well.

From there, we had a small family birthday dinner at Burger King (definitely not a regular occurence. They just happened to have a good playground and Chick-fil-A was closed).
All in all, Sunday was a bittersweet day of many blessings. Asher had a blast on his birthday, and Channing and I had a blast watching him.

My sweet Asher, you are such a blessing. Your name came from Genesis 30:13, and I can totally relate to how Leah felt when she saw her Asher for the first time. Leah named him Asher, for she said, "What joy is mine! The other women will think me blessed indeed." I am SO blessed! You are exactly what your name means, happy and blessed. Not only are you happy and blessed, but your daddy and I are both happy and blessed to be your parents.
Watching you, playing with you, cuddling you, teaching you has been such a joy. I can't tell you the joy I feel whenever you run, walk, talk. You are at such a fun stage, and if I could freeze time, I would. I don't want you to grow up.
I am so amazed and proud to see all that you can do already. Hearing your sweet "Yes ma'ams" when you hear me call your name, your un-prompted "thank-you's" and "bless you's" tug at my heart every time I hear them. Watching you and Tristan together and how much you look up to him just melts my heart. You literally copy everything he does. You love him, and I thank God that you two are so close. What a blessing!
Asher, I pray this next year is a special one for you. I pray that God will bless you and give you favor as you become a big brother yourself, as you grow and learn new things, as you continue to discover your place in this world. I pray that God will work through your daddy and me as we strive to raise you to become a leader in a world that would love nothing more than for you to follow. I wish I could put into words how much I love you and want for you. Just know that you are such an incredible blessing. I could spend days staring at you and never get tired. I LOVE YOU!

My friend, Laura, sent this to me this morning, and it's so special, I have to post it:

Annie,

Hey! I was reading Duet 33 in my devotion this morning and read about the Tribe of Asher...

²⁴The LORD's greatest blessing is for you, tribe of Asher. You will be the favorite of all the other tribes. You will be rich with olive oil ²⁵and have strong town gates with bronze and iron bolts. Your people will be powerful for as long as they live.

I thought of your "Asher" and what blessings will come his way. What a great heritage he has... just in his name!

What makes this email from her even more special is that she had no idea that yesterday was Asher's birthday. Thank you, God, for speaking to us through Laura. YOU are always showing your hand in everything. Thank you that you care even more about Asher than Channing and I do. Thank you, Laura for sharing what God showed you!

I love you, my sweet Asher! Happy happy birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Tristan!!!

Today is my oldest baby's fifth birthday!!! I can hardly believe it. My sweet Tristan is five years old today. Where has the time gone?!? He's still supposed to be my tiny little toddler, dancing to the Wiggles and poking his tongue out. He's supposed to still love to eat sweet potatoes and running with his arms sticking straight out behind him. He's supposed to be pointing out 'Jesus' at the local Mexican restaurant. He is not supposed to be playing t-ball, riding a bike, writing words, helping with his baby brother, pointing out and naming all the super heroes... He's just not. He's still supposed to be my little baby.

Despite the fact that he is growing up entirely too fast, he is and will always be my baby. He is and will always be my kind-hearted little man, my little momma's boy. He will always have the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. He will always be my 'punkin'. He will always be my cuddle-bug. He will always be my surprise blessing from God...my blessing that drew me closer to my heavenly Father by showing me just a tiny glimpse of the love He must feel for me.

When Channing and I found out we were expecting Tristan, we were shocked and scared. I mean, by all accounts, it was a terrible time for us to be having our first child. We were preparing to move to a new place, open a new business, and we had very little money. At the time, we wondered how we would make it, how we could have been so careless. Little did we know the great blessing God had planned for us. Tristan was such a gift, a gift God granted us, though we didn't deserve him. I thank God every day for my sweet surprise. I thank God that He saw what we couldn't at the time...the love that we would have for Tristan, the joy he would bring to our lives, the incredible blessing that he would always be to us. Thank you, Lord, for my Tristan!

To Tristan, I love you more than life. You are my sweet little man, and though you say you never want to grow up, move away, and leave me, one day you will. And that's ok. Just know that I will always be your mommy, and I will always always cherish you and love you. I am so proud of the little boy that you are and all the plans that God has for you. I can't wait to watch Him continue to work in your life. Your name means 'bold', and I truly believe that you will be a bold leader for the work of Christ. I love you!!!

*On a side note, the picture of Tristan is from today, his actual birthday. He is wearing his special 'Backyardigans' birthday shirt. He is also wearing gloves because he's helping a sweet lady clean our office. He loves her and helping her. You may also notice his hair is unfixed...we haven't gotten around to that yet. :)

Surprises Are So Much Fun!

Saturday was a very special day. It was the 30th birthday of one of my favorite people...Holly! I met Holly in college when we both pledged Alpha Gam together. Through the years, I have been blessed to call her my friend. I love Holly for so many reasons, but some of my favorite things about her:

• She always shoots it straight. If you want an honest answer or opinion, ask Holly. I love that about her! With some people, you know they'll sugar coat things but leave you wondering if they have given you the truth or what they thought you wanted to hear. With Holly, I know that I can always count on her to tell me the truth. That is a true gift and something that I really appreciate.
• She is so much fun. Holly is the life of the party. She loves to have fun and brings out the fun in others. At her party, she was quick to sing karaoke, not shy one bit. Very different from myself. :)
• She is super chic. Holly is always dressed and styled in the latest fashion, yet she knows how to do it in a budget. How cool is that?! She is a mom of three, but you would never catch her in mom jeans. You will always find Holly showing off the latest trends.
• She's a great mom. She loves her three precious kiddos and will do whatever it takes to ensure that they are healthy and taken care of, even if it goes against traditional thinking. For instance, she delivered two of her three children sans medication. She's a tough mama!
• Holly is a fantastic friend. She would do anything for those she loves. She has a big heart and really cares. I am so blessed to call her my friend!

On to the party! So Saturday afternoon, Ellen (another super sweet friend) and I drove up to Franklin, TN (actually, it was outside of Franklin, I think) to attend Holly's surprise party. It was at the home of a friend of hers. We stopped at her sister, Lindsey's, house first (what a treat! We got to meet her precious husband and kiddos. Thanks, Lindsey, for opening your home to us!). From Lindsey's we drove to the party. We hung out there and met many of Holly's fabulous friends. Once she arrived, those of us who were surprise guests (leave it to Holly to figure out her friends were having a party for her), hid in different rooms of the house. We took turns coming out and surprising her. It was a BLAST! I wish I had a picture of her face. TOTAL surprise! LOVED it!
Here are some pics from Saturday night:

Holly blowing out her candles. I wish I had a picture of the cupcakes. They were so pretty in their boxes! Um, yeah. So she had a baby like a week and a half ago. Where is the baby weight?! Seriously...NO FAIR! Opening presents. She got some great stuff!Showing off some new jewelry!Ellen, Holly, and me:The party was a lot of fun. There was great food and great entertainment...karaoke! Ok, on the note of karaoke, they kept trying to get Ellen and me to sing, but the thing is...all these girls really sing well. It wasn't a fair arena for those of us who don't sound like we're country music stars. Seriously, they all sounded like pros, and they kepts us in stitches! I mean, until you've seen a tiny southern mama of three sing Fergie, you don't know what you're missing!

I feel fortunate to have been able to meet so many of Holly's great friends. They were a lot of fun and so welcoming. They made Ellen and me feel totally at home, like we had known them forever. Holly, you are SO blessed!

As we were leaving the party and heading back to Lindsey's, it was snowing. It was so incredibly beautiful! Here is a shot of Ellen and me in the snow. On the way back to Lindsey's (who I never got a picture with. What is up with that?!), it was snowing so hard, it was hard to see. We felt like we were in some kind of theme park ride!

I am so thankful that I was able to make it to Tennessee to celebrate a very special birthday. AND not only did I get to celebrate with the birthday girl, spend time with great friends, but I also got to meet Holly's precious new addition, Eli. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of him! He is so tiny and so beautiful!!!

All in all, Saturday was so much fun!!!

Turning 30...What to Do? Go to Disney, Of Course!

Disney~Part 1
This month, I had the distinct pleasure of turning 30. It was something I dreaded for a whole year, but once it got here, it was ok...not nearly as bad as I thought. Of course, I may just still be in denial, who knows? For my monumental birthday, I was given a fabulous weekend trip to Disney to spend with two of my favorite boys, Channing and Tristan. We went last year (and the year before) but last year when we went, Tristan got sick and missed a couple of days of fun. It was so sad, so we really wanted to try to get him back there this year.
Here we are the morning we left. This picture was taken before 5:00 in the morning. Yeah...really early! Despite the early morning, Tristan was really excited!
Here is Tristan on the plane. He was enjoying his newest gadget, the Fisher Price kids' DVD player. This thing is the greatest! It was such a hit in our household, both boy had to have their own. Oh yeah. It's that great.
This trip, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a villa. The hotel was amazing! Here is a shot from inside the lobby:And Tristan's favorite spot...the lobby t.v. The child loves a cartoon. Every time we went down to the lobby, he had to stop, sit, and watch a quick segment of whatever Disney cartoon was on. Seriously, we were at Disney, and our son wanted to watch t.v.This is a shot of the view from our balcony. The pool was made to look like a lake. Behind the pool was a fence, and behind the fence were flamingos and other beautiful birds.A different angle from our balcony. Over our shoulders, was an area with all kinds of animals: giraffes, kudu, wildabeast, zebras...I forget what else, but it was so cool!Our first day there, we spent our time at Animal Kingdom. I didn't take a lot of pictures the first day because this was one of many visits we've made to Animal Kingdom, and I just didn't feel like having tons of repeats. I probably should have taken more, though. I made up for it the next day. I did, however, have to take pictures of what our son enjoyed most while there his first day. Was it the safari ride? No. Was it seeing the hippo swim right in front of us? Nope. The tigers??? Guess again. It was Dino Land...where we have to pay for him to play carnival games. GREAT! That's my boy!Our first night there, Channing and I planned a big surprise dinner for Tristan. He loves dinosaurs and has for the past couple of years, and prior to heading to Orlando, we found out about a new restaurant in Downtown Disney. It's called T-Rex, and it's owned by the same people who own The Rainforest Cafe. Instead of rainforest animals, this restaurant is all about dinosaurs. We knew it would be cool and that Tristan would be excited, but we didn't realize how cool it would be and just how much Tristan would enjoy it. It was FABULOUS! If you have kids who are into dinosaurs, and you are heading to Disney, you have got to make a point of going to this restaurant. Oh, and on a side note, I had the lasagna, and it was AWESOME!This dinosaur was HUGE and was right at the front of restaurant. It was a t-rex that moved and roared. VERY cool to a four, almost five, year old.This little dinosaur was at the foot of the giant t-rex. Tristan spent some time roaring back at it after it would roar at him. Good times. I'm pretty sure he freaked out a woman nearby with a baby. I think she thought my son was a total weirdo, but little does she know. One day her baby boy will be roaring too!Here is Tristan showing off his dino chicken nuggets. We were in the ice age room, or at least, I think that's what it was called. It was cool because the room looked like ice and would change colors every five minutes or so.Another shot at our table. Behind the boys was a big skeleton of a t-rex.The t-rex:Tristan watching more dinosaurs:The baby wooly mammoth:The next morning, we had a character breakfast at O'Hana. We dined with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey. The food was SO delicious! We've tried most of the character breakfasts at Disney, but O'Hana, by far, has the tastiest food. My fav breakfast spot!
Here is Tristan with Mickey:Lilo:Tristan thought this was hilarious! Pluto came and sniffed him as soon as he got to our table. He napped on a guy at a table across from us. We love Pluto!A family shot with Pluto:Us with Stitch:My sweet boy with Stitch:A shot, minus the yummy fruit, of some of our breakfast. It was so delish!Tristan serving himself. This restaurant is family style. And that juice is amazing! At O'Hana, they call it Stitch juice because "Stitch makes it every morning". At the Tusker House it's called something else, which has totally escaped me at the moment.All in all, our first day at Animal Kingdom and T-Rex was FANTASTIC! Our Saturday morning breakfast couldn't be beat! Stay tuned for more of our trip from Disney.

I am trying to get back to posting about my family. They were the main reason I started blogging. I blog because I don't scrapbook. This was my way to document their lives, yet I haven't done a very good job of it. This is Tristan's third trip to Disney, yet this is only the first time I've posted about it. My poor kids! I've got to get better at scrapbooking or something.

FLASHBACK:
Here is a shot from Tristan's very first visit to Disney World. It was the New Year's before he turned three...two years ago. I was preggers with Asher. Channing and I realized on this year's trip that now all three of our kids have been to Disney at least once. Tristan's first visit was at age two, Asher in utero (and then again last year), and Rhiannon in the womb. Very cool! If Rhiannon never gets to go again, I can always tell her she's been once. ;)

It's Official...I'm No Longer in My 20's

That's right, folks. I am officially 30 years old. I still can't believe it. I'm in a bit of denial. I don't feel any different, but I know that I am. I am now in another decade. I am now a certified "ma'am". *sigh* Oh well. Being 30 probably won't be as bad as I feared. I mean, so far it's been great.

First off, my super sweet husband planned a fabulous surprise birthday party for me. It was the weekend before my birthday and was SO much fun! I kind of suspected something was going on but had no idea that my surprise party would be at the park (so clever and creative and PERFECT for all the kiddos) and that so many of my best friends would be there. I am not one that likes parties for myself (I panic at the thought), but I am so thankful that Channing did this for me. I felt so blessed and special to be surrounded by family and great friends.

Let me just say that Channing worked so hard to keep this a secret. It would have worked, too, had I not used his email to send out some stuff for work. When I was in his email, I saw some responses to a message he had sent out about my birthday. I DID NOT open any of the messages but did see the subject line about my birthday. Poor Channing! He tried so hard! Until I saw the messages, I thought he wasn't planning anything at all for my birthday and was kind of sad. I mean, I was, in no way, expecting a party, but I thought he would at least talk about me turning 30. Nope...nothing.

Back to the fabulous party he planned...since I didn't know I was heading to my own birthday party, I didn't have my camera. Channing didn't think to bring it, so I wasn't able to take my own pictures. However, my super sweet friend, Leisha, shared some she took. Thanks, Leisha!!!

Here is a shot of some of the greatest friends in the whole world. Some of these girls I met in college, some I met here in Birmingham. Each one of them holds such a special place in my heart. Each is special and unique and brings me so much joy. I could go on and on about each of the ladies in this picture. You have NO idea. I love you, ladies! Thank you for making my birthday one to remember!!! I am SO incredibly blessed to call you friends.Here is a shot of a little man that stole my heart three years ago...Eli Hairston. Isn't he a doll?!? This sweet little guy wanted a picture with me, and I was more than happy to oblige. Isn't he gorgeous?! He is so precious. He belongs to my sweet friend, Leisha. Oh, and a little lipstick would have been nice. I had no idea I would be seeing so many people. Who gets dressed up to go play at the park with their kids???And here is a shot of Leisha and me. Love you, Leisha!!! Thanks, again, for sharing your pictures.I wish I had a shot of everyone who made it to the party. My mom took one, but she doesn't have a digital camera. :( If I get a copy, I'll have to share it.
Thank you to everyone who went out of their way to make my birthday special, even those who couldn't be there in person. I am so incredibly blessed to have such a great circle of family and friends. Love you all!

Next post...my surprise trip to Disney World. Yes, I spent my 30th birthday in celebration with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the rest of the gang. It was so much fun!!!