Gifts, Love, Laughter

Jamie received several gifts, cards, laughs and hugs throughout the night. Everything from a jacket from Mama Jo for work, candles, a pedicure gift certificate from Becca and Tammy, Planet Earth DVD game for her classroom, several books, a card that Cassidy wrote her ABC's and her name on, balloons and many other surprises.

Family Invades Dixie BBQ

Last night Lynn pulled off the impossible! He successfully threw Jamie a surprise birthday party for her twenty-seventh birthday. Sunday when Jamie said she wanted to go to Dixie BBQ for her birthday dinner since we don't do family dinners until the weekend, he called everyone (over 25 people) and told us all to meet them there last night. She didn't even recognize all the cars of everyone she knows and loves in the parking lot. She walked in and said "I know people here" then "I know a lot of people here" then "I know everyone here!!!" You could tell she didn't have any idea it was so great.

The guest list included all friends:
Chris, Devin, TJ, Laura, Kasey, Cassidy, Lynn's mom, Micheal and his girlfriend, Matt Almeroad, Josh Cain (came all the way up from UT) Amy and her husband, Matthew H, Rebecca, Tammy, Jennifer, Mattie, Timmy, Joseph, friends from work and several others.

Is that really Matthew?

Today Mama Jo took Matthew down and got him a "little trim". As you can see, he now had ears and eyebrows!

Snowman is going Bye-Bye!

Cassidy and Mommy went out side to play in the snow. Cassidy decided that her snowman needed to go bye-bye in the stroller. Cassidy also decided that it didn't need a face, it just needed to go bye-bye.

You know you have a large family when...

• You find yourself relating some small incident to your husband and starting with the words, "Well, I only boiled twenty-six eggs for breakfast..."
• ...you buy a 40 pound box of bananas intending to make banana bread and freeze a bunch for smoothies...but your children eat them all first.
• ...you find an afternoon root canal relaxing.
• ...it takes you twenty-three minutes on the phone to schedule your children's dental appointments.
• ...you've given up on using your toaster entirely and make all of your toast under the broiler in you oven
• ...you find yourself thinking, "Wow, the house is so quiet and peaceful with only nine children".
• ...you have enough children to constitute not one, but TWO large families.
• ...you have a laundry basket devoted entirely to lonely socks seeking their mate.
• ...when you got to buy your children those cool "spin toothbrushes" because you think they get their teeth so much cleaner...but the store doesn't carry enough styles/colors for your children to each have a different toothbrush.
• ...when you can't take all of your children to the doctor's office at the same time because the waiting room has only 10 seats and they are only open 9-5.
• ...you call the doctor to get your children tetnus shots, and they tell you they don't have enough in the office and need to order more from the health department.
• ...you take up more than one entire pew in church.
• ...you take only half of your children to the library, and STILL get asked if they're all yours.
• ...you go to fill your children's prescriptions at the phamacy and you clean them out of every pill they have...and it's still not enough.
• ...you spend sixty dollars on socks...and not everyone gets new socks.
• ...you go shopping at SAM'S club and the cashier asks if you're having a soccer barbecue.

Let it snow?

Happy Martin Luther King Day!! We woke up this morning, and besides Obama on every television station we had snow. Lots of snow. It looks really great if you don't go out in it, but if you have little boys, you look outside and see laundry... lots of laundry every time they go in and out. They have to change each time for some reason.

This weekend both Kasey and us had frozen pipes. Lynn came over and fixed ours but Kasey's landlord is still working on her problems. It seems her hot water heater froze and threw the breakers leaving her with no alternative but dealing with her landlord.

Jamie and Lynn's house is at a standstill with all the snow. Black Ice is really bad out her way, Lynn said even the gravel in the driveway had ice on it.

Cassidy and Damien's Play Date

Yesterday Cassidy had a little play date with Damien, Kayla Smith's little boy. (Kayla was one of Kasey's best friends in high school). Cassidy had a great time. It was especially cute when Damien was petting Cassidy's ponytail. They shared really well and played for hours. (Well, shared except for rat, he is tucked securely under Cassie's arm).

Meet Mary Catherine Plaas

This is Mary Catherine's description of herself:
I'm a part-time student and a stay at home mom to a very headstrong and tempermental red-headed tot. My family calls me Peach and that's just keen with me! I have a handsome little Hubby who serves in the United States Navy. In our three short years of marriage we have moved four times, I have nested all the way from Tennessee to Hawaii and a couple of places in between! In every place that the Navy sends us to I am always so excited to make our house a homey home that my husband will long for on deployments and my daughter will keep with her throughout life.

Mary Catherine is very family oriented, loves her arts and crafts and baking with her little helper Isabella. She grew up in the Seiverville area and it was love at first sight for her and Tyler. She keeps up her own blog page with current pictures of Isabella and craft ideas she is working on. http://www.peaches-and-posh.blogspot.com so be sure and check it out. She is definately Tyler's soulmate and a great mommy for Bella.