Five on Friday

It's been a busy week and I never blogged from last weekend. Here's a quick five on Friday to recap what's been going on. 

I am hosting a shower at my house this weekend and wanted to try out a new recipe that I was going to make. Let's just say that I am glad I tried it out before the event. I made homemade doughnut holes. The first batch burned to a crisp in about 10 seconds. This was the second batch before the icing went on. I am not a grease cooking kind of gal and I don't think I will become one. I hated the way our house smelled....for days. 

Saturday we had a birthday party and these two are superheroes in training. It was a dress as your favorite superhero kind of party and Batman won out in our house. Laylee and Fulton are best buds!!

Saturday night we made our own pizza. Complete with wheat crust, turkey sausage, and turkey pepperoni. It was pretty good for these first timers. 

Sunday was our day to keep Fulton's class at church. I really do love when we get to do this. First because we are getting to serve and second because I love seeing him interact with his buddies. He usually isn't one for sitting at the table long, but he was enjoying his craft that day. 

And last.... this guy is such a joy. Despite the challenging days that we sometimes have, he is such a blessing. We just love watching him grow, learn, and soak in the love that he is surrounded by. This was before school one morning this week when we were laughing so hard we nearly cried. I love moments like these. Here's to a great Friday and fun weekend!!

Happy Heart Day

I love Valentine's Day. I am sucker for all things red, hearts, flowers, 

and sending cute goodies to your friends and family. 

Fulton and I worked hard on his Valentine's for his friends at school. 

This was one of the goodies inside. Their party is postponed until this week, but I know he will enjoy giving them to his little buddies. 

Thursday night KK came over to visit and brought Fulton a little Valentine's prize. He was excited. 

Kiki came bearing gifts as well and got Fulton this cute Valentine's shirt. They don't make these heart day shirts very manly, but he had to be dressed for the holiday. 

We finally went back to school on Friday and I came home to this sweetness. My man is good to me. 

We had dinner with sweet friends and made the night about being with family. 

Sister made us a life size Hershey kiss but it's really a rice krispie treat. Isn't she creative? Saturday night KK and Pops kept Fulton and Matt and I celebrated with dinner at Sumo, hibachi style. 

It was fabulous. 

Did it really snow last week? It was mid 60's today and we took full advantage of it. We skipped naps and opted for playing outdoors. We went walking on the trail and enjoyed God's creation. 

We came back home and played with sweet friends. 

Our driveway often becomes the meeting spot for good times with friends. Fulton enjoyed several buddies playing with him this afternoon. He had a ball. 

More Weather

We just came off another three day weather event where we only went to school two days last week. This is wild that it has happened twice in about 3 weeks time. 

Tuesday night it finally started snowing. We got out of the bath and watched from the window. We were planning to wait until the next day to play in it some. 

When we finally got ready to go out in it on Wednesday, it had already melted too much. We bundled up and headed to KK and Pops to see what they had left. 

Daddy rounded up enough snow to make a little mini snowman. It was the best 

we could do, it was melting fast. 

We headed to Kiki and Pete's house and left them a little surprise too. Matt took one for the team and rolled that snow man in his bare hands. What a man!!

We enjoyed a quick lunch at Steak n Shake. 

We enjoyed the next two days and actually were able to play outside some. You would never have known it actually snowed that morning. 

We even made it to the mall one day and enjoyed the restrooms of Von Maur. We are frequent visitors in there these days. So, it was another unexpected break, but we had a blast being home together as a family. Much better than the last snow days we had. Now, here's to spring coming quickly. 

Puppy Love

Our family is home for a snow day today and this is my kind of snow day. One with no snow and we can get out and about. So, let's catch up over the last week or so. 

Last weekend we did a quick trip to the lake and I realized I never mentioned it. My mema got a new dog, Teddy, and he is a maltypoo. He is so cute, but a handful. Fulton and Teddy became friends quickly. 

But Fulton's number one four legged love hasn't changed. Harley is so tolerable of 

Fulton's lack of gentleness. 

We had a blast playing at the lake. We rode the four wheeler, fed the cows, visited with mema and papa, and saw all of papa's tractors. We stopped by Grandma's on the way home and the guys took on a quick afternoon job of cleaning out her gutters. 

We are trying to be so intentional with him and bathing him in the word of God. We pray together every night before putting him to bed and he actually prayed himself this week. It was pretty cool to hear what he has on his little heart. 

Friday night I worked our middle school Valentine's Dance. It was a night filled with awkward middle schoolers, watching them run around and chase each other. Please don't tell me I did this in my middle school days, but I am afraid it may be true. 

Saturday we went to an art show with the fam, which was totally not toddler appropriate and we didn't stay long. Fulton was anxious to eat. He is just like his mommy. 

We had a great day at church on Sunday learning about envy. It's not something you like to admit... hey, my name is Kristen and I am envious. But it's true... I began to examine my own heart and realized it's there more than I want to admit. Whether it's something small or something big, it's still sin and it is separating me from the Lord. Our pastor reminded us--don't focus on what you don't have, focus on what the Lord has blessed you with. 

We were itching to get outside after nap. We knew it would be a cold week and we were trying to enjoy the somewhat mild temperatures. Our sweet friends gave us a motorized John Deer gator and Fulton spent the afternoon riding that and his yellow car. We are all so ready for warmer temps so we can play outside. We just aren't indoor people... bring on Spring!

Who's Playing?

There was a big game Sunday... the good ole Super Bowl. I am really not into NFL football. Something about these grown men running around getting paid millions to play football just doesn't entertain me. But you know what does entertain me... good friends and good food. And that's just what we enjoyed. 

We went to our sweet friends Alan and Ashley's house for the game. I did have to ask Matt on the way there what teams were playing and he told me who to cheer for. Not sure why Matt looks like he has been at the beach in this picture, but he hasn't. 

Fulton loves to eat with the ladies. He sure loves his sweet friends and these two girls are so kind to him. 

Looks like someone got into the girl dress up attire. This sure makes Matt proud. 

So the kids played, the guys watched football, and the girls chatted. The fellowship and food were great. Now, it's back to a regular work week after our little unplanned break last week.. it sure was nice though. 

Snow Day(s)

Wewh... what a couple of days it has been. Let me just recap my "snow day" this week. 

 

Tuesday morning the forecast was for a little "dusting" of snow in the Birmingham area. I watched the weather like normal that morning and really didn't think much of it. Thankfully it was pretty cold and I dressed Fulton in several layers (he would need these later). 

This is from my classroom window about 10:30. They had just announced we would be getting out at 11:15. No more pictures until many hours later because that's when the chaos began. The snow came harder and kept sticking and began instantly freezing on the roads. Our busses were late because they had to run the elementary routes first. I decided to try and leave quickly to get Fulton. I got about a quarter of a mile down the road and it was impassable. The cars were wrecking everywhere and I couldn't get out. I made the decision to turn around quickly and get back to school. That was probably the best decision because the roads and conditions just got worse from there. 

We were able to get a few bus loads of kids gone but one ended up in a wreck and the students had to walk back to school. Many students checked out, but we were still left with hundreds. We started making lunch, kept them entertained and knew it was going to be a long afternoon. Meanwhile, Fulton was absolutely fine at Mrs. Lavina's house, even though I was panicked that I couldn't get to him. Matt's students were gone and he had three teachers in his car attempting to make it home. He finally did after 5 hours of creeping down the roads. So, here are a couple of my teacher buddies as we realize we are about to spend the night at school. Did I mention the whole time the phones were jammed and wouldn't work?? Ugh. 

So, Matt was home, Fulton was having a slumber party with his friends (no parents could get there) and this was my sleeping quarters for the night. My area was the school library with about 100 seventh and eighth grade girls. It was rough, but not nearly as rough as the hundreds of people still stuck in their cars and walking down the side of the road. I was blessed to have a warm place to stay. We fed the kids dinner, let them play in the gym, and then put on a movie until we called it bedtime. I finally was able to sleep from 2:00-4:00 am. The students did an amazing job. So proud of them. We got up, made breakfast and started another day. At this point, I started to get a little upset, thinking I may be staying another night. Matt was doing everything he could to try and get Fulton and me home. 

This was the view close to my school and the way I would normally go home. This is the road people. Just pure mayhem. So, Matt and our dear friend Daniel (with four wheel drive) decided to try and get Fulton first. They couldn't get there. The roads were blocked all the way around. They decided then to attempt to get me. 

 Even though we still had about 75 kids at this point, our principal was letting people leave if they had ways to get out. Matt called and they were close. They couldn't get all the way to my school, but made it within a mile or so. I found some clothes throughout the school, borrowed shoes from a friend, and started walking. Let me remind you I was still in dress clothes from the previous school day. 

So, here I am walking the trek hoping to see Matt soon. Daniel stayed in the truck and Matt walked towards me so we would eventually meet. It's amazing though, because once I walked out of that school, I wasn't worried about the cold or the walk. It was pure adrenaline and a feeling of relief to know I was out... now, we just needed to get my baby. 

And this is why they couldn't get to me (and why I never could get out when I had tried the day before). I am still not sure how all these cars will ever get out. It was like this all the way down. I finally caught up with Matt and was so happy to see him. We continued the walk back to the truck and made the drive home. I won't say that I didn't freak out a few times on the way home because we were spinning a little. I was so relieved when we made it home. Daniel set out to rescue some others and Matt was determined to find a way to get Fulton before the end of the day. 

Matt and our neighbor Brad took off in Matt's truck to meet Mom and Dad (with another 4 wheel drive) to see if they could get close to the neighborhood where Fulton was. They were only able to get within a couple of miles of her house, but parked the truck and started the walk. They made it!! Here they are making the trek back with Fulton in tow. 

My boys made it home just before dark. Operation Fulton was complete. I was finally able to rest and breathe now that all my family was safe at home. We were purely exhausted, mentally, physically, and emotionally. I got word from our school that there were just a handful of kids left and most teachers had made it home or home with someone. 

I slept for 11 hours and my view this morning was so much better than yesterday. 

I got breakfast in bed from my boys. 

We enjoyed a little snow time this morning, but honestly, I am just ready for it to melt and get over all of this. It has been so horrible for so many people and I know there are still so many that are stranded from their families. The Lord is so good to us. A teacher friend and I just sat at the window in my classroom yesterday and prayed over that ice and that the Lord would melt it and allow us a way home. God is so good to us and he brought us all home safely. So, that little "dusting" turned into quite the experience. 

Loving This Monday

We are out of school today and the weather couldn't be any better. But first, a 

quick recap of our weekend. 

These two had a little daddy son breakfast outing Saturday morning. I went with the girls to a clothing sale and all of us came home happy campers. 

The rest of the day was spent indoors because it was so chilly. Matt and I are officially on the Biscuit Ministry Team now and it was our Sunday to make the biscuits. We had 72 biscuits to make and have at the church by 6:30 am Sunday morning. The youth then took them downtown and gave them out to the homeless. Such an amazing ministry to these men and women. 

This little ladies man was up and ready for church, waiting patiently for his momma, 

who was running late. 

We had a great service at church, continuing the Seven Deadly Sins series. We enjoyed naps and a walk in the neighborhood. I had a craving for chili and we headed to Wendy's for a big bowl. Kind of random huh?! What other fast food place serves chili... don't think there is one. It was delish. 

So, here we are at Monday. The weather has been in the 60's, sun is shining, and nothing on our calendar but enjoying the day together. 

We went to the park where we ran, slid, jumped, and even fed the geese. 

Kiki and Pete came to see us too. 

We brought a picnic lunch to enjoy. By the way this is Kiki and Pete's first official picnic together. Glad we could be there to witness it. Kiki sure does bring some good stuff to her picnics. She can come back anytime. 

This little stinker had a first today. What do you do when a potty training toddler says they need to go to the potty and the restroom is absolutely disgusting and making me gag to even walk in it?? Well, good thing we have a boy. We enjoyed our first sprinkling of the leaves today and this 

guy performed like a champ. 

My boys are snoozing wonderfully right now and I couldn't be more blessed. 

Thank you Lord for this day!