Jason's Haven

One of the main reasons we purchased our house almost 8 years ago was because of the yard and beyond.

We have a HUGE backyard.  We have always loved it, but do even more so now that we have kids.

Beyond our lot, is nothing but woods.  Woods that Jason worked hours on, paving out a safe 4 wheeler path that led to the Cahaba River.  He use to ride that trail ALL the time.  He would see deer and hogs galore.  I even braved the trip one time.  We cruised down on the 4 wheelers and spent time admiring how beautiful the scenery was.  The river was amazing.

He even extended our irrigation system to run in the woods to help feed the deer that often crept up.  We loved seeing all the deer in our backyard.  It made us happy.

However, when the tornados came thru in 2011, his path was totally destroyed.  Sadly, he hasn't had much time to work back there either.  What once was his happy place has now become a very sad picture to him.  All his hours, blood, sweat and tears gone.  In an instant.  Just like that.

I'm not sure if he's just discouraged now or what, but he rarely ventures past our fence these days.  It makes me sad because I know how much peace going back there brought to him.

Now, he just stares out the windows of the back of the house at ALL hours of the day and night in hopes of catching a glimpse of deer once again.  I catch him looking out at least 20 times a day.  It really makes me sad because he NEVER sees deer anymore.  He/We LOVED having deer soo close to our house.  The hogs-now thats another story!

Until this morning.  He must've peeked out the bathroom window while he was getting ready for work because all I recall was, "Deer-look.  Deer!  We have deer!!!"  He ran out, swooped P up and told me to come see.  This was around 6:30.  Sure enough, there were 2 baby deer and 1 doe.

You could just hear the excitement in his voice.  The pep in his step.  The place that once brought soo much joy to him was back.  I was more happy about that than I was about seeing the deer for myself.

We all just sat in the dining room, staring out the window.  They were the sweetest looking deer ever.

After almost 3 years, I can finally say Jason's Haven is BACK.

Just Not Yet

Yesterday was a hard day for me.

I took Phoenix to look at a MDO program.  He will start MBCC (Mountain Brook Community Church) the last week of August.  He'll go Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30-1:30.  People say it'll be good for him.

I'm not convinced yet.

He is totally, 100% anti-school.  He has NO desire to go.  And as much as I agree with him, Jason feels differently.

As we were driving to his new school, I felt myself wanting to burst into tears.  I mean I was almost sick to my stomach.  However, with his already anti-school attitude, I knew I couldn't let him see me like that.  So instead, we talked about all the fun stuff he'd be doing.  About the friends, toys, learning, and snacks he'd get while at school.  To my surprise, he was actually excited.  He wanted to go see it.  He was excited for this adventure.  My heart was happy.

But I knew it was too good to be true.

We got there and went into 1 of the 2 3 yr old classes.  He was offered a snack by the teachers.  He sat and didn't move.  Not even touching his snack.  I stood by the door (I assured him I wouldn't leave).  Within minutes, he was crying and ready to leave.

We stayed.

After snack he went and joined the class for circle time.  They were singing about the days of the week.  They also counted to 15-in Spanish.  That might have sealed the deal for me!!!!  He didn't participate-just sat there.

I spoke with one of the teachers about the class during this time.

We then went to the other 3 year old class.  He didn't want to go in.  But we did.  He joined them for circle time as well.  They stood to sing a song and do the motions.  To my surprise, he joined in.  However, after that he was ready to go.

So we left.

I definitely have a favorite class.  Just based off of the teacher's personalities, Phoenix's personality, and the overall structure of how the two classes ran.  I now feel like a kid waiting on Christmas morning-I can't wait to see which of the two he gets in.  I'm guessing the one I liked less, since the other is mainly filled with kids that go 5 days a week.  Hopefully, I won't be disappointed however it turns out.  I do have a few people up there who are going to try and help my case :).  Fingers crossed.

Even though he didn't take to it as well as I hoped and prayed, I still signed him up.  I guess I was afraid I might chicken out if I didn't right then and there.  I was impressed with how the classes were run and the learning that was taking place.  I know Phoenix will love it once he understands how good this will be for him.  I know I will love it too.

Just not yet.

A Walk in the Park

Saturday was BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Jason wasn't working, so we decided to load the kids up and go to Veteran's Trail.  Its located right by the backside of Mountain Brook High School.  We'd never been, so we weren't sure what to expect.  We just knew it was too pretty to be inside all day.

Here's a look at what we got:

Always remember to stop and smell the plants :)

My camera LOVES this subject!

Jumping for a great family day!

Sweetness in a hat!

A boy and his Dad.

A boy and his toys!

The BEST part of the day :)

Valentine's Day

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  Well, partly.

The morning started great.  Dada went to work.  Uncle Danny came by for a surprise visit with goodies for P.  After that, we headed to the store to buy Valentine's, so P could deliver them to some special people that day.  After running to walgreens, I noticed P wasn't feeling so well.  It was only like 9:00 and he was already dragging.  So, instead of going on deliveries, we headed home for an early nap.

P woke up burning hot.  Needless to say, we were homebound the rest of the day.  I took him to the Doctor the next day.  Strep.

Once Dada got home, we did our Valentine surprises.  Poor Luna didn't get any photos with her goodies or in her Valentine's outfit, but I did at least remember to take a picture of her.  I feel like all of her firsts get overlooked.  Poor kid.

Phoenix got Dada a sword.  Luna got him a book.  Mama got him a bass pro shop gift card.
Mama & Dada got Luna a bath toy, a toy, candy and some other little stuff.
Mama & Dada got Phoenix a cap gun, a sword, markers for the bath tub, hair gel, candy and some other little stuff.
Mama got herself a picture of her babies :)

Snow #2

Two weeks after our big snow, we were lucky enough to get another beautiful snowfall (2.12-2.13 2014).  This one was perfect.  People were prepared, snow fell (4-6") and the next day it was gone!  Exactly how I like it.

Luna, unfortunately missed out this go around.  However, Phoenix had a BLAST!

I mean, this kid did NOT want to come inside.  EVER.  He loves the snow.  We also made snow ice cream, which was a fun, mess free activity!