Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!! Wow! I can't believe another year has literally flown by! 2009 was an eventful and busy year at the Templeton's! As 2009 closes down I find myself truly excited about what 2010 is going to bring! We have SO many things to be blessed for and I just can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the coming year!

The Templeton's will be sitting this New Years on the sidelines and that is A-Ok with me! :) I think we are going to pop popcorn and rent tons of movies from the Redbox and make a pallet on the floor with the kids and just enjoy each other. I really can't think of too many other ways that I would want to say good-bye to one year and welcome in the New Year than with my family right beside me! Oh and I am convincing Tex to make a Family New Years Resolution List! I love/hate Resolutions (probably cause I break 99% of them in two weeks)!

Here are some of the HIGHLIGHTS from our family in 2009!

Feb 2009- We started out with the greatest gift of the year!

Ann Mason Templeton born 02/16/2009

March 2009- Myke "Papaw" turned 60!!! We got to celebrate in Owensboro with all of the Templeton side! It was Ann Mason's first big party!

May 2009 - Ashley said "I do"! My sister got married to the most wonderful brother-in-law I could ask for! The wedding was Beautiful and SO much fun!
May 2009 - Palmer turned a big 2!!! (Sorry no pics from the party :) We had a great time celebrating Palmer's 2nd year! Lots of friends and family came to celebrate!
May - August 2009 - One of the best highlights of the year was all of the "POOL TIME" with all of our friends! I grew up a total Pool Rat and I know my kids will have the same love for water that I did! Palmer says everyday when we pass the pool "Is it hot for pool yet?" Soon my boy, soon!
One of my most favorite things was watching these two become best friends! From the moment Ann Mason was born Palmer and her have been inseparable! Everyday they wake each other up in the morning and if Ann Mason is up from a nap before Palmer she crawls to his door and bangs on it till I let her go in and wake him up! They just giggle when they see each other!

The Dynamic Duo at their best!
2009 - Palmer participated in his very first team sport with some of his dearest friends! He ended up liking the suckers at the end better than actually playing soccer :) We might wait another year for any more organized sports!

2009 wouldn't be complete without a picture of Neenie on one of her visits. She put a lot of miles on her car coming to see her babies in 2009! Here we are...3 Generations!

October 2009 - Our family got to see the BEACH! What could be better? Ann Mason and Palmer adore the beach and I hope that we get to see it each year!

The Templeton Family 2009

Palmer 2 1/2, Ann Mason 10 1/2 months

Here's to 2010!

Glory to God in highest heaven,Who unto man His Son hath given;While angels sing with tender mirth,A glad new year to all the earth.~Martin Luther

Christmas 2009!

Sorry for the lack of posting! It has been a whirlwind of traveling, presents and celebrating since Monday and I think my days are running together :) I had planned on doing several posts for this Christmas but once I finally set down today and realized I had 175 pictures and 6 days to re-cap my mind was on overload so I just put together a picture slideshow!

Christmas was so special this year because the kids were amazing! My love for them just grows each day and this holiday season was no exception, they made me laugh and cry tears of joy several times and I am just so blessed to have two of the most amazing children in my life! Palmer and Ann Mason loved Santa Claus and have played non stop ever since! I FINALLY spent two hours this morning getting my house clean and back together and it feels SO good!

I am so thankful for the Christmas story in the bible that allows us to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and celebrate his life every day! Jesus is the Reason for the Season! :)I hope that Santa Claus was good to everyone and that everyone had safe travels and wonderful Christmas'!

Chaquita Banana Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from The Templetons!!!

My Little Pony...Tail!!!

Brandi, whom I often refer to as "the best babysitter in the world!" decided it was time that Ann Mason had her first pony tail! She took some pics for me so that I didn't miss this exciting moment! Ann Mason must have known she looked cute because she was a ham for the camera!

Look at me!

My sweet little pebbles!

My best friend in the whole world, Dane! (aka "the best babysitter in the world's son :)

"I don't know if I can walk with a ponytail??"

PS I promise I won't torture you and put 100's of sponge-rollers in your hair every night like your neenie did to me and your aunt Ashley! hahaaaa

Glass Half Full!

Mom and I at Ashley's Wedding 2009

Today I am learning to look at my glass half full! I admit that I do not naturally tend to look at life optimistically and that is a fault I must work to overcome. There is one person in my life that has taught me to look at your glass half full! Mom, I know we have our days when we butt heads because we are so much alike. When you think some days that you must have not taught me anything :) just know that you taught me how to live a life built on faith, optimism and looking at your glass half full!

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world"

I love you!

In Honor of You!

In Honor of You...

Ann Mason, in honor of you turning 10 months old today I want to list 10 reasons why we love you!

1. I love hearing you giggle from the backseat because Palmer is making animal noises and you think it is hilarious!

2. I love your "just waking up" look... it is innocence, beauty and excitement all wrapped up in one precious face!

3. I love that you eat like a man and there is no food you won't taste! (I just hope you stay that way!)

4. I love that you are rough like a boy but soft like a little girl should be!

5. I love getting you dressed and seeing how precious you look in any outfit I put on you :)

6. I LOVE that you get excited when you see your brother everyday!

7. I love when we finally sneak off to have a moment to ourselves in the rocker and for just a moment there is no one else in the world but us!

8. I love when you link your arm with mine every time I hold you!

9. I love you in a diaper so I can squeeze, kiss and tickle every part of your cute self!

10. I love that when you see your dad it's as if no one else in the world matters...he is already your hero, your prince and your best friend forever! That is what I love the most!

We love you Ann Mason!!! Happy 10 month birthday~

Standing on My Own Two Feet!

It is hard to believe that 10 months ago this precious baby girl came into our lives and changed us forever... it is even harder to believe in 2 short months we will celebrate her 1 year birthday! Ann Mason has been surrounded by boys most of her life and she has decided not to be out-done! Here is my little shortcake standing on her own! It makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time! I don't know if I can have two people under 3 feet walking in the same house! haha

Look at Me! I hope this is the only time she will have mardi gras beads around her neck!
This is what I deal with on a daily basis, no drawer or cabinet goes un-open, no toy or home furnishing goes un-turned!

Thanks to our amazing babysitter we now have video to prove Ann Mason can stand on her own! I am HORRIBLE about the video camera so I am so glad she caught this moment for me! Thanks, Brandi!

All I want for Christmas is...

Tonight we are hitting up The Bass Pro Shop's Santa's Wonderland! I can hardly contain the excitement :) Last year we totally missed the holiday decor at The Bass Pro Shop so this year we are hitting it early and going to see all that they have to offer!

I told Palmer that he was going to see Santa tonight and I asked him what he was going to tell Santa he wanted for Christmas. This is what he said, "Palmer tell Santa he wants 5 presents. Palmer tell Santa that sissy wants 2 presents!" Seriously, kids say the funniest things!

INTRODUCING...

I am finally ready to share my craft blog! I am excited about the items I have on their and all of the creativity that is to come! :) I have really wanted a hobby for SO long and now I have finally found something that I enjoy and hopefully I can be good at! haha Please visit my blog and let me know what you think!

www.bstdesigns.blogspot.com

Walking Zombie

See this precious boy above? Don't let his sweet and innocent face fool you for one moment! Do you remember when I was all excited about his "big-boy" bed and the cute comforter and how fun it was going to be! WRONG the big-boy bed = never-ending nightmare!!!!!!

I am at my wits end~ let me preface this by saying that YES I know things could be a lot worse and I do feel BLESSED even though I am sleep deprived but I also want to sit on my pity pot for a minute! My child refuses to stay in his big-boy bed despite every thing we have tried! I have gone against all parenting rules and put movies in his room, toys in his bed, sippy cups filled to the brim with milk and sadly MANY spankings! Yet... NOTHING keeps this child from cracking open that door and army crawling to the couch! Yes, last night he army crawled and we were sitting right there watching him!

I have gotten a lot of advice some warranted some not :) Everything from tying his foot to the bed to putting bungee cords around his door to straight up locking him in his room! What is a mother to do? How do you walk the fine line of helping your child adjust to change and just flat out enabling habit forming behavior? Anyone with ANY ideas please let me know! I don't think I can have another night of lost sleep :)

Sickness!

Sickness has enveloped our house for the last month and today is no different. Just got back from the Dr with Tex and the kids and Palmer has tonsillitis and Ann Mason has a double ear infection! YUCK! I feel so bad for them both especially my sweet little girl who doesn't cry but just looks at me with such helpless eyes that it makes me cry!!!
Instead of dwelling on what we DON'T get to do I have decided to make a list of things that we DO get to do this weekend! Tex will hate this list to no end :) but maybe he can get out and get some fresh air at some point! As for me I am planning on putting my pjs tonight and maybe keeping them on till Sunday! Here is what my perfect weekend inside the home would consist of:
Responsible Things (this is the part that Tex HATES!)
* Cleaning out all of the toys that are not used to donate to other families for Christmas!!!
* Touching up all of the spots the kids have put on our awful flat paint walls! :) (aka covering up greasy hand prints!)
*Organizing Palmer's entire room from closet to drawers to book shelf, etc... His room makes my neck hair's stand up!
*Finish, Fold and Put Away ALL LAUNDRY in our home!
* Organize my entire craft collection!!!
Fun Things (this is the part that Tex LOVES!)
* Making Palmer his first hot chocolate and watching a Children's Christmas Movie
* Having Chinese take-out one night!
* Tex and I watching Four Christmas' (with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon)
* Driving around in our pj's to go see Christmas Lights!

I guess we will see how much actually gets done responsible or fun :0 I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Buisness Casual

I just had to post one more shirt that I did last night! I got this idea off the Internet and it cracks me up! I tried it on Palmer with some jeans and he looks like a total stud :) I thought this was too cute.... I had to share!

Craft Heaven!

I have been in a crafty mood lately and my mind is racing with all things "craft" right now! I have been eyeing some shirts on Etsy and Ebay but honestly haven't wanted to pay the price, so I took matters into my own hands and made the shirts myself! I feared this would be a total flop but I am SO excited with the progress! These are the shirts I did today... Brandi is going to teach me to stitch around them for a more "finished" look! If all goes well I will be making shirts for every kid I know! :) Stay Tuned...

Innocent til proven GUILTY!

Guilty as Charged!!!

Random Friday Post

Today I had one of the best mornings I have ever had. We woke up and got the kids ready to go see all of the "crazy" people at the mall but most importantly we got ready to see Santa for the very first time this holiday season!!!

Here is the best picture that I could get! Yes, I am the CHEAP mom that refuses to pay $49 for a package of Santa photos!!! Are you kidding me? So I stood where any respectable mom would stand... right at the duct taped line (that I wasn't allowed to go past!) From 20 feet away I was able to snap great pics! :) They had a blast and Ann Mason would have sat on Santa's lap for hours she was in awe!

Here is Ann Mason before she went to see Santa! She got lots of compliments on her candy cane stockings! I love having a girl to put tights on :)

Ok, so now for the random...

Do you remember the Turkey Cookies that I said I was going to make with Palmer? Well, I have never claimed to be Martha Stewart but this is downright embarrassing! I wish I could blame it on Palmer but all he did was eat the sprinkles and M&M's. These are all mine, baby!

Random #2... Look at what we caught Ann Mason doing the other day? Yes, she is cruising thru the whole house via her "walker" She is fast, she is good and she is sneaky! I can't believe that she can do this already? I am pretty sure we are going to have a walking little girl by Christmas!

Turkey Day

My little sis Ashley hosted her first ever Thanksgiving at her brand new house! She did a great job and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely! I realized that I didn't like not taking home left-overs though! I would rather make Thanksgiving dinner stick it in the fridge for 4 hours and then heat it up and eat it for the first time :) I am weird I know but T-day leftovers are the best, nothing beats it!

"The Ladies Man" Papaw with all of his daughters and grand-daughters

Aunt Fran and Amanda

Mom, Me and Ashley

Amanda and Ann Mason

Me, Ann Mason and Tex

(I love the face on Ann Mason... I have a feeling a will get many more of these when she is 13!)

Don't ask! Mommy got bored during our Thanksgiving Day game and gave in to Palmer's request for me to draw on his face :) I figured why not.. it is Thanksgiving! haha This is 3 minutes after we got in the car after Thanksgiving the kids were pooped!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day surrounded by all of the blessings in their lives!