One of my Favs...

Today has been one of those days where I can barely keep my eyes open, the laundry is overflowing, my house needs cleaning and the kids... well the kids, let's just say they have WAY more energy than their mom does right now!

If you have never read this book you have to go out and buy it! Even if your not a parent it will make you bawl like a baby at least it does me!

This book is what it is all about even when my eyelids are heavy, the laundry baskets are too full, the house is a mess and Tex and I barely manage to have the energy to have an "adult conversation". When I go to check on Palmer and Ann Mason every night and watch their sweet baby faces sleeping it makes it all worth it, every minute of it!

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"
But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!
But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!
But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always...
But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm living my Mommy you'll be.
When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:
I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

Dedicated

Sunday was an extremely important day for the Templeton's. We were blessed that our church offers a baby dedication where parents can commit to raising their children in a Christian home. It was a wonderful ceremony and we were so grateful that it happened to fall on the very same weekend as Ann Mason's birthday so that our whole family was able to share with us in this special occasion. Tex and I feel so blessed to have found a church that we want to call "home", a church that we look forward to attending and one that can help us grow with God.

"Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it"

Palmer and his very best friend and cousin, Ethan!

Ann Mason on her dedication day!

Very proud Mommy!

My little stinker! He was SO good up on stage at the dedication!
Daddy and his girl waiting to go on stage for the ceremony!

Baby Dedication 02/21/2010

The Old Testament prophet Joel commands us to tell of God's work "to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation"

"Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on their children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Birthday Fun!

Ann Mason survived her first birthday with flying colors! She was such a trooper, I couldn't believe how well she did! There were so many pictures (102!) that I just chose a couple for the blog. As much as we enjoyed every minute and I LOVED decorating in girly colors we may decide to host our birthday parties out of our house next year! haha All of the parents decided we just need to buy a warehouse and pad the walls and rent it out of birthday parties, I bet we could make a lot of money! I couldn't have asked for a better day for Ann Mason, she loved every minute of it!

Me, Neenie, Aunt Ashley and Ann Mason
The Proud Parents, We survived her first year!

I tried everything to get her to eat her cake! Apparently she is like her mom and doesn't like the icing and just likes the cake part!

Singing Happy Birthday and Palmer waiting to blow out her candle for her!

The sweetest birthday girl ever!!!

Some of the decor... remind me, what was I think having a sugar buffet for 10 kids?

My New Slogan for Life!

How Ironic, or is it?

I have been doing a lot of soul searching and a lot of praying. I had some one tell me the other day "This is where the rubber meets the road" I can choose to go right or I can choose to go left.

I am choosing to give it to God and let him show me what His Will is for me!

So, I was eating Chinese Food last night and this was my fortune... it is my new slogan, I LOVE it! It is funny the way God answers you when you least expect it.

FORTUNE : YOU ARE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO ASK AND BLESSED ENOUGH TO RECEIVE!

For anyone going thru a rough time remember this daily! HE is ALWAYS listening!

1st Day of School!

We DID IT! The kids went to their first day of school! They were fine, I cried... just the way it goes! They both had their backpacks and their blankies and I am praying they will LOVE it! I think this is way harder for me than it is them!

They Dynamic Duo going to school!
Mom, my backpack is too heavy!

Ok mom, that's enough pictures!!!

Happy Birthday to You... ChaChaCha

Ann Mason Templeton

02/16/2010

1st Birthday

Today was Ann Mason's "official" 1st Birthday. We didn't do too much since she will have her big bash Saturday but we did enjoy time as a family and of course let her do a test run on a cupcake!

Wow Mom! What do we have here?

I think I like this...

Yep, Sugar + Me = Happy Girl!

Wrangling the Birthday Girl to the bathtub! I think the sugar rush has set in!

We are praying it doesn't snow this weekend so all of our friends and family can travel safely! We are getting SO excited!

My Dearest Ann Mason,

I am sitting here on the eve of your birthday remembering this exact time last year. Neenie, Pop , Mamaw and Papaw had just arrived and we ate dinner and just tried to enjoy our last night and give Palmer lots of loves and hugs before his world changed forever... We slept in your nursery that night and I don't think I slept one wink. I tossed and turned thinking what you would be like, what color your hair would be, if Palmer would love you, etc... That morning we woke up at 5 am and headed to the hospital. I remember being so much more nervous because I knew what awaited me this time! The needles, the IV, the spinal, etc... but at 8:15 am I heard your cry and the world around me faded and my life was forever changed.

From the day you were born you made us a family. You filled a part of me that I never knew was missing. My arms were filled with my precious daughter, that was flawless and prefect in every way imaginable. You were 6pds 6 oz and 20 inches long. You were a tiny bundle of perfection! You fit in our family like the missing piece to the puzzle. We realized that we weren't quite complete until you entered the world!
You were my easy baby, my smiling baby, my laid back baby. You would go with the flow and I often times remember wondering if this was too good to be true! Palmer took immediately to the idea of having a sister, a life long friend... he saw you, he loved you, he never turned back. You have become his biggest fan and he is your superhero!You've always been one to do things your way and the older you get the more feisty you become. I think you were trying to keep up with Palmer from day 1 and haven't stopped since. You stopped eating baby food at 6 months and started eating table food! You crawled at 7 months and walked at 10 1/2 months. There is nothing that you aren't capable of, especially with the help of your brother!
We haven't gone to your one year appointment yet but I am think that you are weighing in at about 21 pounds! I am excited to see how long you are and how much you weigh. You are wearing 12 month clothes and some 12-18 month outfits. You will eat any and everything in sight, meat, potatoes, pickles, dried fruit... you name it and you'll eat it!

You LOVE water! So much so that I am scared of the pool because I caught a glimpse of your "no fear" attitude at the pool in Gatlinburg. I will be a busy lady chasing you around in the water this summer, water wings for you! You have started to dance and of course we think it is the cutest thing ever! You pretty much imitate your brother who bless his heart LOVES to dance but got his daddy's rythmn :) Let's hope you got your momma's moves!

You STILL do not sleep thru the night. I will say 50% of that is your fault, 50% of that is our fault :) We were so worried about you waking up Palmer for so long that it was easier to just give you a bottle. Last night we let you "cry it out" and let me tell you... you are persistent and do not give up easily! Hopefully you will snooze thru the night SOON!

You are starting to be a "blankie" girl and I LOVE it! You have always sucked your thumb but now you pull your blankie down and hand it to me or daddy and we hold you while you hold the blankie and suck your thumb. For some reason I LOVE everything about it. I was a thumb sucker, you know :)

Your birth has blessed me in ways I never thought possible. It has been natural and loving and easy. Your personality is hilarious, you love to laugh and you love to love and you do both with such grace and enthusiasm! We all have learned so much from having you in our lives. I am having a hard time realizing that my baby is already 1 but I am so excited about what this next year brings. I am sure it is going to be full of more milestones and lots of laughs and love! Thank you for making me a better person and mom. We love you and we are SO proud of you! Happy Birthday Baby Girl! Today is your day! Palmer could hardly go to sleep tonight cause he knows tomorrow we are having a little party for you with cake, candles and balloons! He says he gets to help you blow them out :) I think you will probably let him! We love you!

Kelly's Korner at http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ is doing a "Show Us Your Life" Valentines Day Dates... I have always loved Valentine's Day. I know most people hate it and think its cheesy but for some reason I love it! This will be my 10th Valentines Day with Tex, that doesn't seem possible!

I will always remember the first Valentines together cause we threw all of our single friends a party and he got me the most MODEST pj's you have ever seen! So modest in fact that my mom saw them and got herself a matching pair! HA! That was embarrassing!

My favorite Valentines Day was last year and I was SO huge and pregnant and we were set to have Ann Mason on Feb 16th so I was more than ready to meet our daughter! Tex went out and made a plate with Palmer's hand prints and wrote a special message on the back and I got the most beautiful Pandora bracelet with one charm that had Ann Mason's birth stone on it. Due to hormones and happiness I cried for an hour and I will always remember that special time!

Every year we have tried to do something special whether writing sweet cards, going out to dinner, giving sentimental gifts, etc...

This year we are going to dinner together on a real "date" just the two of us and then we are taking the kids to Graters Ice Cream for BOGO Free Sundaes. I love my family and friends and I love that there is a day just for recognizing how much we should appreciate each other!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and a wonderful Valentines Day!

Mini Me's

Palmer and Ann Mason had one of the busiest play weekends of their lives! We headed to Owensboro and spent Saturday at Mamaw and Papaw's playing with their cousins. Then we headed to the Cart's for a little reunion to celebrate Tex's birthday and watch all of our "mini me's" play together. One of our friends from college was there to surprise Tex and we were laughing so hard because he couldn't figure out how we managed to have so many babies since the last time we saw him! He said they needed name tags, there were 5 kids and Palmer was the oldest! Pretty soon there will be 2 more new babies to add to the brood! We had a blast and it made us so thankful for the friendships we have made! Thanks guys!

The Fierce Foursome... they are inseparable! Lindsey and Chris' little boy
Bennett, he is SO beautiful!

Cannon, Tatum and Pamler they were quite a site that night!


Tatum C, she could be the funniest kid I have ever met!
Cannon the sweetest boy you will ever meet! I love this kid!

This is just one out of the 5 videos I took that night. The kids played "Ring around the Rosie" it was Palmer's first time and he loved it! They were instant best friends just like their parents!

Moving On Up...

We had the best weekend! It was such a fun trip to Owensboro with great friends and family. Both kids were WONDERFUL and it was just a great trip all the way around! I have so many pictures and videos to upload but I was just pooped when we got home last night! One exciting thing is.... we are no longer the only family in America to have a tube tv! Myke and Kathy got us a flat screen (thank you, thank you!!) Palmer's eyes were about to bug out of his head and he said, "Mom, look Bob the Builder is SOOOO big on that t.v.!!" Granted it is just a 32" but the picture from a tube to a flat screen makes a big difference, we love it!

Bye- Bye Tube TV

Hello Flat-screen!

I will try and post pics and video tonight!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Palmer and Ann Mason's Daddy turned 31 on Saturday! I can't believe Tex and I are old enough to be in our "30's" (Well, just Tex for another 6 months! haha)!! We had such a great weekend and I am SO proud of Tex and the husband and father he has become. I can honestly say without I doubt I love him more today than the day we got married. We have celebrated 11 birthdays togehter and it doesn't get much better than this one! We were able to spend the weekend with family and friends and most importantly as a family! I love you and happy birthday!

Here are Tex and Palmer signing and blowing out candles!

Buuuusssssyyyy!

I can honestly not even tell you where this week went! It has been on of those weeks where they days blur together and I couldn't tell you what I did yesterday let alone this morning :) Luckily we have survived and God is good and that is all that matters!

The Templeton's have been busy.... One major change this week is sadly Brandi (aka best babysitter in the world) is taking a new job doing something she has always wanted to do. I bawled like a baby for about 2 hours, got mad that she couldn't watch the kids until they were 18 :) and then decided there was nothing I could do about it so I needed to figure out the next step! Luckily about a month ago we visited a great school and we were thinking of sending the kids there in August, well "August" came quicker than we thought as in February! So this is the kids new school, we are excited, anxious and everything in between! Wish Palmer and Ann Mason good luck, this is a big adventure for them!

Other than that life has been full to say the least! I am SO thankful it is Friday and tomorrow is Tex's birthday and we get to spend time with friends and family!!! They will provide a much needed break from my non-stop worry lately!

Hope everyone has a good weekend! I will post pics of Tex's b-day soon!

Early Birthday Present!

Ann Mason got an early birthday present from Neenie and Pop! Mom must have ordered the extra jumbo for the Queen of the house! haha Ann Mason and Palmer LOVE their matching chairs... Palmer is just trying to figure out why sissy's is so much bigger! haha Thanks Neenie~