My Promise To My Children...

We are going through the "almost a teenager" phase with Kayli and, needless to say, there have been quite a few arguments and even some eye-rolling and slamming doors. I am sure we will go through it with Chase in a few years, but right now, Kayli and I are butting heads ALOT and sometimes I wonder if I am doing the right thing or being to hard on her. However, I saw this on FaceBook today and it reminded me that my job as a mother IS to be all of those things....because I love them.

So, this is my PROMISE TO MY CHILDREN:

 I will stalk you, freak out on you, lecture you, drive you crazy, be your worst nightmare, embarrass you in front of your friends, hunt you down like a bloodhound til the day you understand why I do it. All because I LOVE YOU. You will never find someone who loves you & cares about you more than your mom! I love you more than life itself !

Love,

~ Mom



Boys.....

This is just a few of the 50 or so pictures I found on my camera today....Chase posing in the mirror with his belt tied around his head like Rambo and socks on his wrists like sweatbands.

One mischievous, bored little boy + camera= hilarious pictures and an overloaded memory card!

This was almost as funny as the time we overheard him giving himself a pep-talk before a baseball game in the mirror...."Chase, you are awesome. You are awesome." Mark and I laughed until we cried.

What can I say...Chase YOU ARE awesome!

Ooops....

Poor Kayli....after she decided to do a little crafting project with my paints (which are SUPPOSED to be off-limits), she was walking around the house and didn't even realize that she was covered in black paint. I guess she kind of got caught with her hand in the cookie jar!

Happy Anniversary, Mr & Mrs Jones!

This was me....13 years ago today.

And this was my handsome groom....

(Ok...so he's probably going to kill me for putting these pictures out for the world to see. But he was rockin' that 90's bowl haircut and he could have been bald or had a mohawk for all I cared. I just couldn't wait to be married!)

 

August 30, 1997, was the day we tied the knot! Mark and I have been together since I was 13 and he was 15. We were babies and I can't even imagine my (almost) 13 year old daughter meeting the love of her life at such a young age! As I have said many times before, it was NOT love at first sight (for either of us) but it didn't take long until we fell madly in love and rode off in the sunset on our white horse decided that we kind of liked each other and that this thing might work out.

And of course, the rest is history! We really did fall madly in love and still are to this day. While marriage is tough and not always pretty, it makes it a lot easier when you are married to your best friend. I love him just as much today as I did when we were care free, starry eyed teenagers!

Happy Anniversary to the most wonderful husband ever! I am so glad that I get to share my life with you and I can't wait to celebrate many, many more years!

I love you!!!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL???

The Jones' sure are!

Chase is playing Pop Warner football for the first time this year and this past Saturday was his very first game! He had the best time and we were so excited to see him in action!

He looks so cute (but tough, of course) in his pads and uniform!

Here he is warming up before the game...

Since this was actually just the "jamboree" they only played two 30 minute games. It's a good thing, too, because it was SO HOT! The coaches were constantly wetting them down and giving them water. Too bad all of us parents didn't have waterboys to keep us cool!

Here are Kayli and Ashlyn trying to share some shade during the game....

Now, back to the game...Of course you can't get started with out a grand entrance!

Huddled up and getting ready to play!

Bring 'em on!

Decatur Thunder Blue played great and won both games! Although they all play different positions, Chase mostly played defensive tackle for these games. He even got his hands on the quarterback a time or two!

Chase LOVES football and can't wait to get suited up for every practice and game. We are excited to watch him play and are so glad that he loves it as much as we do! Maybe we'll have a future Auburn Tiger or UT Volunteer on our hands....you never know!

*Just a side-note from Mom...

Please pray for my sweet little boy. I know God made him rambunctious and tough and some times his mouth may drive me crazy. But he will always be that sweet little 5lb. 8oz. baby boy that I held in my arms almost 8 years ago. I love to watch him play, but I also cringe every time I see him buried alive under a pile of football players. So, please pray for no broken bones and no tears...for him OR me!

~Amen

Back-To-School!!!

Yesterday was the first day of school! I love this time of year! Even if it is a little hectic getting everything ready, I love to see all of the little kiddies with shiny new shoes, cute outfits and happy little smiles!

Especially these two cutie-pies....

Kayli is starting 7th grade and Chase is starting 2nd grade. I can't believe how quickly time goes by. It seems like only yesterday that we celebrated their first day on earth. Now, with every year that goes by, we celebrate another milestone in their little lives.

We love you both very much and are so proud of you both!

Love,

Mom and Dad 

Smith Lake Weekend

Before our summer vacation was over, we decided to make a quick weekend trip to Smith Lake. We asked the Milligans to join us and we were glad we did because we had tons of fun...as always!

We stayed at my Grandparents lake house which is actually up for sale. There is no furniture, or anything else for that matter, in the house so we really had to "rough" it just like we were camping. (However, it did have air conditioner and a shower so I guess that's not technically "camping!")

We started off our weekend by splashing into the lake as fast as we could. It was SO HOT!

When the sun started to go down, we did a little fishing. We didn't have much luck because of the heat but the kids enjoyed it...

After fishing, Mark grilled some steaks while the rest of us relaxed....

After dinner, the grown-ups battled it out in a serious game of Rummy.....Haha!

The next day, we went for what we thought would be a nice day at the recreation/beach area....

However, the water was DISGUSTING and HOT.....

Yuck! We didn't stay there long!

When we got back, we decided to cool off in the house for a while.... but somehow an indoor football game erupted!

Poor Mark!

Good gracious! Watch out kids!

Mini chest-bump!

Don't worry! They're still buddies!

Even though we didn't have a boat, it was miserably hot and we had to sleep on the floor, we had a great time! It is always trips like this that make you thankful to have a great family, great friends....and AIR CONDITIONING! =)