LONG OVERDUE!

We are ALIVE and SURVIVED Christmas! Not only did we survive but we had a BLAST!!! The kids were hilarious and I think more this year than in years past we just appreciated our families and spending time together! We didn't get caught up in the hustle and bustle of all of the little stresses but we just enjoyed the moment and enjoyed our children and each other!!! We were busy, don't get me wrong! First off to Owensboro with the Templeton side for Thursday and Christmas Eve Day, then our house Christmas morning with Neenie, Pop, Joe, Ashley and Belle and then Georgetown Christmas Night with my dad, brother, sister in law and neices! It was great and to see my kids smile and have that much fun it was worth every mile on the road!!! There were too many pics to post so I made a slide show! I hope your Christmas was Merry and Bright and filled with lots of love! I know ours was!

Almost There!

Christmas Pic Bass Pro Shop 2010

The minutes are SLOWLY passing until I can get off work and drive to be with my family! Tex and the kids have been in Owensboro for two nights and I am about to go crazy wanting to see them!

This year more than ever I just want to hug them and love them and let them know that everything will be alright! We have been thru a lot this week as a family, we have had job losses, health scares and A LOT of uncertainty as to where we go from here! Our hearts are heavy, our minds are filled with worry, our thoughts are constantly in prayer but I know that no matter what happens God will provide and God has a plan. I may not like his plan right now, I may act like a 2 year old sometimes and scream and cry "why me" but in the end I realize that I never had the control in the first place, God always did. He is testing us and I want to pass! I truly believe He never gives you more than you can handle even when we feel like our shoulders are bearing the weight of the world He is there to carry us thru!

So this Christmas, hug your family a little tighter, say I love you a little more, laugh a little harder, smile a little bigger and be thankful a little more often! May your Christmas be filled with love and happiness!

My favorite saying is the serenity prayer but I NEVER knew that it had a second part to it! I love it and I carry it around in my purse!

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things I can;

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next.

Amen

Merry Christmas from The Templeton's

Our Christmas Card 2010

This household is bounding with excitement for Christmas and all things Santa! I think we have officially watched every Christmas movie on tv, talked about Santa and his master plan at lengths and hit up 75% of all Christmas events around the city! haha Next year remind me to NOT start talking about Christmas SO early!

Palmer sporting his cool shirt that mama made him! I think he is going to grow up and be a heart breaker! haha Watch out ladies this cat can be professional and cool all at the same time!

Oh Ann Mason! This girl barely sits still long enough for me to take a picture, she is a walking, talking mess! I can't wait to see her on Christmas, she has no clue what is going on!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! Lots of pictures to come! 

Dear Molly,

I know that Molly gets neglected A LOT in my postings! She was my first baby and will always have a special place in my heart for her. For different reasons (i.e. 2 babies in 2 years) she has taken to be her Daddy's girl and spends most of her time frolicking on the golf course and riding to and from work with Tex on a daily basis, I know that is where she is most happy! I love Molly and I can't imagine our family without her. I got this email today and I just cried my eyes out for some reason! I feel guilty because I don't always get to curl up with Molly and spend quality time like we did before the "kid days" but we still have our special moments together when everyone else in the house is asleep and she will stay up with me and watch my dvr'd shows :) Love you Molly!


This is one of the best emails I have gotten in a while!

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard.
I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head;
He then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the
Hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. 

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is And ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'   The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?

  

3rd Annual Bass Pro Shop Santa Trip and a Baptism!

We had a BUSY but GREAT weekend! It was full but full of great times and memories! I am LOVING Christmas this year even more than in the years past, it is so much fun having little ones that get SO excited about every little thing, I just want to freeze these moments so I never forget their awe and how much they really, truly believe!

This was our 3rd annual trip to the Bass Pro Shop's Winter Wonderland with the Cook Family. Don't ask me how we ended up making this a tradition but it has become one and we love it! Apparently the Bass Pro Shop has gotten some recognition for this winter wonderland cause with each year it gets more and more packed and the lines are longer! Ashley, Joe and Belle joined us this year and it was great to have them along! 

Here is Belle waiting in the long lines to see Santa for the very first time!

This picture cracks me up! Annie get your gun! There is nothin like a girl all dressed up with her pink rifle! haha She even holds it like a pro!

Trying to get a "nice" picture of her all dressed up! She got a TON of Christmas' dresses from Mamaw so we have been trying to get good use out of all of them!

Ashley and Belle on her very first Christmas!

Palmer and his best friend/pretend cousin Reid! These two melt my heart, they are SO alike and just love being together!

Best Friends waiting to go sit on Santa's lap! Gone are the days when I dress Palmer in cute little khakis, button down shirts and vests! Notice he is wearing CAMO pants of all things, I lost that battle miserably! I guess he fit right in at the Bass Pro Shop!

3 Years of seeing Santa together it is hard to believe how fast they are growing!

Apparently Ann Mason HATES Santa again for the second year in a row! We have pretty much this same pic from last year except they are a year younger! haha Maybe next year she will start liking that guy :)

On Sunday we got to witness something very special! My niece Jillian accepted Jesus as her Savior and was baptized! It was so sweet and special and I was so lucky we all got to share in this moment with her! I can't believe she is 8 already! Here she is ready to go!

SO EXCITED!

Right after being emerged, I love her face!

As another special treat we got to watch Mia sing with her Sunday school class, they did awesome!

Of course they couldn't resist holding precious Belle! They are REALLY close to having a new little sister of their own!

Jillian looks like she is ready for her upcoming role as Big Sister for the second time!

I still have Christmas Cards that need to be sent and presents to wrap but other than that we are READY for Santa!!! If I can just make it thru these next few work weeks I will be SO happy!

The Rest Doesn't Matter

My friend sent me this article and I love EVERYTHING about it! I hope to encompass this philosiphy on parenting and remember that the majority of stuff doesn't matter!!! Read this article you won't regret it!

What Should a 4-Year-Old Know?

We are such a competitive culture that even our preschoolers have become trophies and bragging rights. Childhood shouldn’t be a race.
So here, I offer my list of what a 4 year old should know.

1. She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
2. He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn’t feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.
3. She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.
4. He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he’ll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.
5. She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she’s wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it’s just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that– way more worthy.
   But more important, here’s what parents need to know.
   
   1. That every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra.
   2. That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
   3. That being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest. We are so caught up in trying to give our children “advantages” that we’re giving them lives as multi-tasked and stressful as ours. One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.
   4. That our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them. Most of us could get rid of 90% of our children’s toys and they wouldn’t be missed, but some things are important– building toys like legos and blocks, creative toys like all types of art materials (good stuff), musical instruments (real ones and multicultural ones), dress up clothes and books, books, books. (Incidentally, much of this can be picked up quite cheaply at thrift shops.) They need to have the freedom to explore with these things too– to play with scoops of dried beans in the high chair (supervised, of course), to knead bread and make messes, to use paint and play dough and glitter at the kitchen table while we make supper even though it gets everywhere, to have a spot in the yard where it’s absolutely fine to dig up all the grass and make a mud pit.
   5. That our children need more of us. We have become so good at saying that we need to take care of ourselves that some of us have used it as an excuse to have the rest of the world take care of our kids. Yes, we all need undisturbed baths, time with friends, sanity breaks and an occasional life outside of parenthood. But we live in a time when parenting magazines recommend trying to commit to 10 minutes a day with each child and scheduling one Saturday a month as family day. That’s not okay! Our children don’t need Nintendos, computers, after school activities, ballet lessons, play groups and soccer practice nearly as much as they need US. They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they’re a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them

YOU TUBE MANIA!



We spent most of the night videotaping the kiddos being silly! They LOVE watching themselves on the computer, video, etc.... The first one is Ann Mason attempting to sign God our Father and her ABC's.... The next two are of Palmer and Tex playing basketball! Every night Palmer has to change into his full basketball uniform and he gets SERIOUS about playing! haha I know they will love watching these one day!
Sidenote if the screens are black just press on them and the video should come up and I PROMISE I won't be the sideline mom that is screaming that loud at Palmers games I just got a little excited at home! haha

Tis the Season....

I have definitely been MIA on the blogging scene lately! It seems the weeks get busier and shorter at the same time! ha! We have been gearing up for Christmastime! The kids are at such a fun age, especially Palmer so this year I have tried to start traditions and really make the spirit of Christmas evident in everything we do!

This past week was a blast! I caught up with old friends and celebrated special occasions and spent the weekend just hanging out with Tex and the kids, it was a much needed reprieve from the work week! Here are some of the special things we have been doing for Christmas.

One of the things I most proud of Palmer for doing, is donating SO many toys from his playroom to the less fortunate. We talked to him about some kids not having a lot of toys and he was so generous in packing up a Rubbermaid tub full of toys to give to a charity. I hope this continues throughout the years. If anyone knows of a good charity to give the toys to, let me know. I called Kosairs Children's Hospital since we have stayed there twice and played in their playrooms, I thought it would be great to donate to the playrooms but because of the infection risk, etc... they must be new toys so they referred me to the Ronald McDonald House, Wayside Christian Mission and a few others. Hopefully we can help out at least one this year!

For ANY parents with kids you have to visit the portable north pole website... here is the link to the message I did for Ann Mason

Portable North Pole Message for Ann Mason

Surprisingly enough one of the kiddos favorite Christmas movies is the Elf! Ha! I love this movie so I love the fact that they do. I think we seriously had to rewind the burping scene no less than 5 times for Palmer!

We have brought out buddy the elf again this year and Palmer isn't as scared of him as he was last year! He thinks it is cool that he is friends with Santa and can tell him what a good boy he has been!

 When I was at Hallmark this Black Friday I found these awesome recordable books! We got Twas the Night Before Christmas and Papaw and Mamaw are going to read and record it for the kids. It is so neat because once they record their voices all the kids have to do is flip the page and it keeps on reading, I can't wait to keep this for years!

 I am SO pumped that all of the classic Christmas movies are back and popular again! We have worn Rudolph and Frosty out! Palmer and Ann Mason LOVE them, I want to get the whole collection soon! It brings back so many memories watching those old movies!

 Ashley got all of our stockings monogrammed and I love them! They look so great hanging on our mantel!

 The "kid" Christmas tree has been another tradition and I am loving finding ornaments that signify their year and Neenie has been a HUGE help in supplying some great Kid ornaments!

 And of course the "formal" tree which Ann Mason has demolished at least once a day, I have repaired more ornaments than I care to mention! Maybe next year she will be out of her destructive phase!

We hope everyone is enjoying their December and getting ready for Christmas! I think my shopping is done but there is still wrapping for sure (one of my least favorite things to do) if I could get away with gift bagging everything i would! haha

Thankful for Thanksgiving!

I am SO sad that this long weekend is already over!! The kids and Tex left for Owensboro early Wednesday to get a head start on the festivities and I had to work... but I got to visit with Jamie and see Baby Grayson's nursery and go out to eat at Chuy's the new Mexican restaurant here with my girlfriends. Chuy's is SO good! Can't wait to go back this week! haha

We had a BLAST in Owensboro for Thanksgiving and I think the kids will need to sleep for a week just to get rested up from all of the fun they had! I am pretty sure I could go all week without eating and be fine after all of the food I ate this weekend!

Tricia and I before the big feast!

The kiddos gearing up to eat!!!

 Sweet Katelyn and Ann Mason!

 Just a glimpse into the chaos that ensues at Mamaw's house 24/7

 Papaw and Ann Mason having a serious talk on the couch, she LOVES papaw!

My handsome guy trying to smile for a picture for mom!

I hope you all had a great thanksgiving and safe travels! Palmer asked if Christmas was "just around the corner" I guess it is!!

Turkey Day, A Long Weekend and bunch of other random stuff!

I am at work trying to pretend to work but really just counting down the minutes until the LONG weekend! It's only 8:30 am, so I have some time! haha The kids and Tex are heading to Owensboro today without me to catch the movie Tangled and to hang out with some friends! As much as I wanted to go I had to work and I figured it wasn't fair to make them sit around all day especially since the kiddos are on pins and needles to see their mamaw, papaw, aunt, uncle and cousins! So I will be traveling tomorrow with Molly (our dog) in the morning for the big T-Day!

I am SO very thankful this year for everything God has provided us with, health, happiness and love. No matter what happens in life I know God has a plan and I am SO blessed with the most wonderful family in the world!  Here are a few things I am most thankful for :)

 This sweet/rambuncious/independent/sassy girl of mine! Currently she is going thru a MAJOR daddy spell and I am NOT allowed to do anything with her, just her Daddy. It is endearing but it also kills me at times! haha I know she will continue this going back and forth from wanting mommy to being a daddy's girl her whole life!

* Ann Mason JUMPED out of her crib this weekend! I was almost in tears, I was NOT prepared for my 21 month old escaping so quickly or trying to transition to a toddler bed! Luckily Tex found a solution and we dropped the mattress all the way to the floor while leaving the crib up. So far so good!

 This guy just has the mosy special place in my heart! He is my quirky/dependable/witty/loving/cautious boy! He told me the other night that I could always be his best friend! We seem to have a special bond that only mothers and their sons can have and I  hope it stays like that forever. We have taken to falling asleep together and my MOST favorite part of the day is when we lay in the bed and talk about anything from how our day went to Transformers! I cherish every conversation that we have together, every laugh that we share, it is amazing!

Of course I can't leave out my better half! haha After 11 years of being together (6 married) I love him more today than the day we got married! He is the most amazing dad and I LOVE watching him with the kids. I am SO thankful for a loving and caring husband who allows me to be me and knows how to handle my moods, emotions, etc... He really is my best friend and I am SO thankful for that everyday!

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL thanksgiving day with their family, friends and loved ones!!! Be safe traveling and eat a lot, I am going too! ha!

Show Us Your Life - Playroom!

Kelly at  Kelly's Korner is hosting a tour to showcase your playrooms or extra rooms. Since we just made a playroom I thought I would join in on the fun! Since we only have 3 bedrooms it was more of a decision of if the kids would sleep ok together sharing a room. It has been almost 2 weeks and SO far SO good! I think it actually comforts them to be in the same room together! It was MUCH smoother than I thought! I am still in LOVE with our playroom and LOVE that our living room looks so much less cluttered! I still have some work to do but we were able to create a playroom at no cost, which makes it extra exciting! ha!

 One wall of the playroom, the cabinets hold all of the books that we didn't have anywhere for!

 The Bin/Toy Chest! I LOVE bins more than anything now that I have kids, it makes clean up simple and I just stuff everything in there and it looks organized! I think I have 50 bins around my house at least!

 The Train Table that may get replaced after Santa comes!

Palmer REALLY excited about his new playroom!

Despite all of my quick decisions that I have made, this has been one of the best things we have done for my husband and I space wise and also for the kids! It was a total win/win situation, we couldn't be happier!

Christmas Card Out Takes!

Well, Christmas Cards are ordered and shipped! I LOVE giving and receiving Christmas cards, it is one of my favorite things about Christmas! I couldn't resist showing the out takes of our Christmas shots! It was FREEEEEEZING the day we decided to do pictures and poor Kimmie was so patient with us and so helpful! We didn't last very long due to the cold and having 2 little ones! haha I have really lowered expectations of going in to get pictures cause I learned that you can't control what these little guys are going to do so there is no point in worrying about it!

 This picture literally makes me laugh out loud! I seriously thought about using it as our Christmas Card picture cause this is just "us". I love the way Palmer and AM have their hands out and their faces like, "what are you crazies making us do" Sorry guys the things mommy tries to do to get some good shots is a bit ridiculous i.e. make you stand out in 40 degree weather! You will enjoy looking at them one day! haha

 Done, Done, Done.... I give up!

Total and complete meltdown! Only thing that would make her feel any better was that poor orange sucker! what a pitiful face!

Thanks Kimmie for helping us capture some photos of our family, PS these were the "out takes" we got some great photos!!!

We had two milestones at our house this month, Ann Mason turns 21 months and Palmer turns 3 1/2. It makes me sad and I know it shouldn't. I LOVE watching them grow and hear them say the funniest things but time is just going too fast I can't stand it! It is hard to believe that Ann Mason and Palmer are less than 21 months apart so that would mean at this time I would have a 2 week old newborn! YIKES!! haha Maybe one day, but for now I am enjoying these two every day!

Old Best Friends, New Best Friends

Kelly, my best friend since we were 15 came in with her daughter from Nashville on Tuesday to visit!!! Caroline is just about 10 days younger than Ann Mason and she is a DOLL! It is so amazing to see our daughters playing together and thinking back to the days when we would lay in my bed at 15 and dream of what our lives would be like! God is good and has blessed us both in many ways!~ I don't think at 15 we could have ever grasped the struggles that we would have to face or the joy that we have been blessed with! Thru it all I think we turned out just fine! haha I LOVED that Caroline came to visit, I just want to squeeze her precious, beautiful face! Her and Palmer seemed to really like each other! haha! I don't think Ann Mason liked some one liking her bubby! :) It was a great time! I hope Caroline and Ann Mason can share as many memories and special moments as their moms have!

 Caroline deciding if she likes popcorn!

 Just Joking Around

 Our Goodbye Hug (or tackle)

The stud and his little lady friend!