Easter Part II

Today we kicked off Easter Eve by going with Ashley, Joe and Belle to Target and then coming back to Aunt Ashley's for some serious Easter Cooking Decorating! The kids had so much fun and they love being with Belle!

Belle and Annie waiting for the festivities begin! I love Annie looking at Belle like "are you ready, girl?"

My beautiful and happy niece Belle! I could eat her alive she is so stinking cute!

I think Palmer LOVES Easter! He was ready to go with icing his cookies!

Well, in true Ann Mason fashion she could barely get thru decorating one cooking before eating it.... I guess that is the best part right?

BUSTED! :)

Annie was telling Belle how good the cookies were and that she was missing out!

Palmer in the midst of being an Easter cooking artist!

Belle with her first Easter Cookie, look at that face, she wants it bad! I did give her a SMALL taste of the icing, sorry Aunt Ashley :)

Everyone took this decorating business pretty seriously including me, at one point Tex said I was having WAY more fun than the kids!

The Merritt's gearing up to celebrate Belle's first Easter!

The finished product, I think they turned out great! Of course there should have been like 5 more but what is the fun of decorating the cookies if you can't eat them?

Thanks Aunt Ashley for the fun! I am SO excited about celebrating Easter tomorrow. It will be one of our last Holidays in Louisville and at our church so I know it will be special! I am hopeful to maybe even get a decent family photo...that may be really high expectations.

Neenie and Pop made it in safely despite the tornado warnings all over Kentucky. I am excited to see everyone tomorrow, Praise God and enjoy family! We hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Easter Part I

Hello Mommytime! I have missed you dearly. This may be the first night I have had to myself to download pics, blog, facebook, etc... for at least a few weeks! Things have been busy here to say the least. We are trying to tie up some loose ends with moving and making sure it everything is going thru 100%. When I am not trying to worry about making things happen that are out of my control I have been having fun with the kiddos and Tex!

We got invited to a Spring Easter Fling at Tom Sawyer Park. It was AWESOME, they had bounce houses, food, cotton candy, face painting, Easter egg hunt and a firetruck!!! The kids had a BLAST! It definitely kicked off the Easter weekend which is always one of my favorite holidays!

Annie on the hunt for some Easter Eggs, she was NOT intimated by all of the other kids, I think it was the froggy rain boots that she insists on wearing with every outfit!

Ann Mason and Alex (her #1 man) they were holding hands and finding eggs together! Poor kids, the hosts that put this event on obviously don't have kids because all that were in the eggs were bubble gum and now and laters, I am pretty sure my kids almost lost a few teeth :)

Annie probably bossing someone around to find her more Easter eggs!

First time EVER eating Cotton Candy, she was a not a big fan but liked carrying it around.

My sweet Palmer SO excited to watch the professional face painter. He tried to stay in line as long as he could to get a spider man mask painted on his face but he finally pooped out because the line was so long but he loved watching it!

The kids got to watch the firetruck and take a tour, here is our attempt at getting all 4 kiddos together. Palmer, Alex, Reid and Ann Mason

The happiest boy in the world! He got to tour the whole firetruck and he was in heaven!!

I love watching my kids enjoy life! The innocence and excitement of it all is beautiful!

HOLY MOLY!

Holy Moly!~ We went to Owensboro for the weekend and we came back as "almost" homeowners!!! How's that for fast? haha We got an ACCEPTED offer today on THIS home! I am beyond thrilled!!! There are definitely A LOT of things that could happen between now and closing time so I don't want to go overboard but just to know that it is a possibility is AWESOME!!!

So here is the scoop! We knew we were going to look for houses when we went in. Anyone that knows me knows that I am pretty much a focus control type that gets the job done :) I had done all of my research, printed out every home in our price range, school district we wanted, etc... This house caught my eye from the very beginning something about it just said "Come raise your family here". Well, this was the last house we saw after a bunch of other less impressive homes on the list. I immediately walked in and my eyes got all watery. It is not that this house is a magnificent mansion or has marble entryways or anything of the sort but it is the kind of home where you want to raise your family, it had that smell of home! To me, it was more special in person than the pictures portrayed. The best part, Palmer gets a YARD and not just any yard but the lot is 1/2 acre! The backyard is literally a football field with a privacy fence!!! My mind is going wild envisioning basketball goals and swing sets! I know that it seems fast and it is! haha But for some reason I feel so at peace and not nervous just beyond excited about this house! Not to mention it is within 5 miles almost everyone we know in Owensboro! haha

Wish us luck we will keep you updated!!! We have A LOT to do and get settled between now and July 1st! More pictures to come!

Boys Will Be Boys!

I have been a horrible blogger this week!!! I have been gone till about 10 pm 3 nights this week with work and meetings :( BOO!!! If anyone can tell me how I can stay at home and work PLEASE let me know! The amount of money I need to make is minimal since I wouldn't be paying for daycare, any suggestions would be helpful I am done with work for a little while! :) haha I am keeping my sights on sunny Arizona I only have just another work week and I am off to laying by the pool all day!!

Well, these pics were from last weekend! After Palmer's soccer game we let the boys "play" a little bit. It actually turned into a 40 minute wrestling match! My timid, shy, reserved, cautious boy has turned into this rambuncious, wrestling, karatey chopping, jumping off the walls crazy person! I asked for it, I guess!

Palmer and Reid wrestling I think they acutally learned to scream "Uncle!"

Little Alex getting in on the fun of the wrestling!! Notice two things 1. Palmer sweats like his mother! He is drenched in sweat at this point and 2. Poor Annie is all the way in the background looking on in her pretty turquoise dress, I am actually surprised she didn't jump on the top of the pile!

Sweet girl thinking these boys are CRAZY!

Yes, this is 3 boys tangled in a mess of soccer cleats, sweat and who knows what else!

Finally they stopped! They had, had enough!

This weekend we have soccer and we are going to do some house hunting! Exciting but scary. I am still an emotional roller coaster about this move, I am hoping once we get most things in order I will be ok but right now I am one big anxiety ball!

We hope you have great weekend!!! Love, The Templeton's

Shouting from the rooftops!

After my last post I got the call that we have been waiting for, for almost 4 months!!!! TEX GOT A JOB!!! A great job, one that we have been praying and hoping for and one that can hopefully become an amazing career for him! I am SO proud of the perseverance and determination that he has shown over the last months not only looking for a job but instantly becoming a stay at home dad! He has done and AMAZING job!!! With most things in life when something hard comes along it isn't easy to see where God is taking you. I look back now and realize that this experience in our marriage and our life was one of the greatest experiences we could ask for. We became closer as a family, leaned on each other more, respected each other more and found strengths in the new roles we had been given.

We are beyond excited about this new adventure in our lives!!! There's one other big part of this puzzle....we are moving to Owensboro!!! It is bitter-sweet! We will be leaving a city that has become our home for 8 years, it is where we got married, built our first home and had our 2 amazing children. We have kept relationships with our old friends and built relationships with new friends. I know that the friendships here will survive the distance no matter what!

On the sweet side... we get to move to a city we are familiar with, with family right down the street and friends we have known for a lifetime. Tex grew up in Owensboro and we used to laugh because all of his friends would ask him, "when are you coming home?" we thought that was so funny at the time because we told them we did have a home, Louisville. So when Tex called everyone to let them know he got to tell them "We are finally coming home!" I am so excited to put down roots, have a house with a backyard again and embrace being with family! Palmer is also SUPER excited to live next to Mamaw, Papaw, Aunt TT, John and his best buddies/cousins Katelyn and Ethan!

I have had my "crazy" moments in the last 4 days. One minute I am elated and jumping for joy at our new adventure and the next I am driving down the street crying about everything I am going to miss so much. We have A LOT to do in the months to come. Find a job for me, find a home, find a school for the kids, etc... I am trying not to be overwhelmed but that doesn't come easy for me when I have a big task in front of me. :) I think I realize now or hopefully I have learned that everything with time will fall into place.

I am yearning for the simple life :)

So this city family is moving to the "country" haha Our friends in Owensboro would kill me for saying that! Thank you so much for the prayers and thoughts, they have meant the world to us during these months! I will have LOTS to post about as we transition from Louisville to Owensboro!! Much more to come....

Our Weekend in Pictures!

The weekend came and went in a flash as usual :( but at least we have as much fun as we can cram into those two days!

We didn't get to see Gnomeo and Juliet because Ann Mason got her feelings hurt that she couldn't go, so Palmer and I decided it would be just as fun if the whole family went to Graeters ice cream! Little did we know that any day it rains in April you get a BOGO free sundae!!! It was SOOOO good, the next time it rains I am so there!

We were also SO sad to see the CATS lose and especially by only 1 point. We were so proud of them though and they did such an awesome job!!!!

Of course we  had a blast at Palmer's soccer game. It was still cold so we let Annie go hang out with Belle for a while and Tex and I took Palmer to his soccer game and he did AWESOME!

Palmer before the big game! He is my MVP, he scored 4 goals!!! This week it is supposed to be 80 outside so no more coats and hopefully he can wear his cute cool soccer shorts and show off his shin guards.

Some of the teammates! They don't stand still for very long!

I love this picture! Coach Chris giving a pep talk to the boys!

Coach Chris telling Reeves to keep strong :)

An Action Shot, the Navy Ninjas won 10-0!!!!

This girl is a MESS!!! Every morning when mommy gets ready she sits on the counter and wants me to do her hair, put make up on her or paint her nails!!! This morning she got pig tails and she thought she was HOT STUFF!

This is her screaming, "Daddy come here and see me" Anytime she puts on a new outfit or does her hair, I tell her to go get daddy and she stands there and he showers her with compliments and tells her she is the prettiest girl in the world! She LOVES every minute of the attention and it melts my heart!

Sweetest and Fiery Girl I have ever met!

I am SO mad I hardly took any pictures at our girls breakfast at Wild Eggs! I think it was because we were all too busy eating! OH MY GOSH.... the food is incredible and I think all of us cleaned our plates. Here are Brook and Kourtlee!

Katie and Kourtlee! I must have been incredibly lazy and hungry because I only managed two pics of the people that were sitting directly across from me! haha

I am feeling some spring coming on right now! The sun is shining and we are supposed to see 70 today, I even wore capris to work in hopes that it would bring on the great weather!!

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!

Reading is Therapy

I don't think my love for books was immediate. I am certain that when I was younger I read my fair share of Judy Blume books, Super Fudge, Dear God it's me Margaret type books.... I remember vaguely enjoying those but I don't ever remember at an early age feeling inspired by books. That is until I turned 21. When I turned 21 I started experiencing panic attacks for the first time. Uncontrollable, debilitating, life changing panic attacks. At the time I don't even think I realized the magnitude I just knew that something was wrong and I wasn't sure if I would ever feel "right" again. For whatever reason I turned to books, they were my salvation and my therapy. When I felt like my insides were going to explode from anxiety I could pick up a book and finally find some peace in allowing my mind to find its self in another time, another place, another person.

Since then I have embraced reading, it is one of my favorite, ok only hobbies in the world. I always tell Tex when we do find a house I want one room that we can build floor to ceiling bookshelves that I can fill with all of my treasured books. I have never been able to sell any of the books I have read. Books to me are like music to a lot of people, I can look at my books and they can take me to a certain place and time in my life, some I remember fondly and some I am just grateful that I came out on the other side. There is really nothing that I won't read... chic lit, mystery, crime, biographies, self help books, fiction, non-fiction the list goes on forever.

I have always wanted Tex to read. I envisioned us spending late nights in bed together reading and talking about characters and the plots of our books but that seem to be a lost cause, there really was no interest  on his part so I didn't push it. So, to my surprise when Tex lost his job I suddenly found him reading! He didn't say much and neither did I because I knew that he had found his escape in books just like I had found mine when I was 21. Now on most nights you can find us laying in bed reading our books together and I have to look over and just smile....

I have been on a little dry spell with my reading. I have been busy, tired and usually most nights we have a certain 3 year old in our bed. It doesn't allow for much mommy time or reading for that matter but, I am so excited because I have two books that I am dying to read!

This is the first one! I actually downloaded it to my smart phone! I love the feel of a book in my hand but I must admit for pure convenience having it downloaded on your phone is pretty nice! I was hesitant for a long time to read this book, I wanted to so badly, it sparked all of my curiosity. After talking to quite a few people I was told that it was a must read. You can go to Amazon Reviews to read more about this book! So far it has been intriguing and I am only on the 2nd chapter :) I will definitely share my thoughts when I finish it.

The second book that I am so excited to read is The Help. Again, I have heard so many people say that it was one of their favorite reads! Amazon Reviews seems to back this up!

If you have any books that are on your "must read" list, please leave a comment! I love hearing about new books and especially ones that I haven't read! Maybe I will highlight a few books a week. I will give my reviews on these books when I am done with them. Reading will always have a special place in my heart and while it is not the most exciting hobby, it is my hobby and I love it.

TGIF!

Oh my gosh! I know I say this probably every Friday but I am SO glad it is the weekend! It is so hard to hear Palmer and Ann Mason say every morning, "Mom do you have to go to work" I want to say, "Do you have to break my heart EVERY morning by saying that!" but on Fridays I get to tell them that I do have to go to work but when I get home it's the WEEKEND and they scream and get so excited because they know the fun begins on Friday afternoon and Mommy doesn't have to go to work for 2 whole days!

We have a nice little weekend planned! Since Palmer is a big boy and loves movies more than life he gets to go by himself with Tex or I to see Gnomeo and Juliet!! We have head it is really cute and he is super excited! Annie lost all movie theatre privileges a few weeks ago and won't be returning until she is 4! :)

Saturday night is the BIG game!!! Go C-A-T-S!!!! There are a bunch of us here that want to get together to watch the game but we all have little ones that have to go to bed so it looks like we will all be home cheering on the CATS by ourselves! haha I can't wait to watch them play and hopefully go to the end!

After soccer tomorrow I get to go meet a bunch of my girlfriends at Wild Eggs! My mouth is already watering! I LOVE this place and I have only been there once! haha Great Friends, Great Food!

I LOVE the weekends!! I am hoping to get a few naps in and church :) Why can't weekends be 5 days and the week be 2 days? The Templeton's hope everyone has a GREAT weekend and Go C-A-T-S!!!!