Friday, February 26, 2010

Happy Birthday Gigi!

Jeremy, Jackson and I want to wish Jeremy's Mom a very Happy Birthday on Sunday.

We hope you have an amazing day. We love you!

Happy Birthday!!

Things That Make Me Happy

My new painting that I did last night at Kasey's art studio. It's perfect for my bathroom and I love it! I'm going back next week for a new picture for my kitchen!

Cruising to the Bahamas in August. Oh wait. Did I not tell you guys about that? Jeremy and I are going on a cruise for my 30th birthday and it worked out that we will be going with some very good friends of ours, Adam and Britney. We are really excited about it!

But right now, I'm the most happy about this:

Finally getting to meet my nephew Luke Thomas Gibson on Monday! Kellyn is checking into the hospital on Sunday night and will be induced early Monday morning. I'm so excited about this that I just can't stand it. Pray that Kellyn will have an easy, quick and safe labor as her and Jason meet their new addition.

Let the record show that I think Luke will be born with a head full of dark hair and I predict that he will weigh 7lbs. 4 oz. and be 20 inches long. Jackson thinks that Luke will have blue, red, and green hair and weigh 3 pounds.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

There's Nothing Worse Than A Polite Virus

I live in the heart of the deep south where we have plenty of people that you just know are from the country. Yankees People from the north refer to them as Rednecks. When you live in the south you usually refer to them as family.

Anyways, y'all, I ran into some coouunnntrrryyy people yesterday when I was picking Jackson up from school. I had Jackson in tow and we were heading back to the car when I overheard the following conversation:

Lady One (with a Southern drawl as thick as molasses): "Girl, where you been? I haven't seen you in forevah!"
Lady Two (with a drawl even thicker than Lady One): "Shoot, we've had that swine flu virus up in our house. It was the worst thing evah!"
Lady One: "Girl, that's nothing. You just better pray that you don't get that RSVP virus that's going around. It'll make you wish you was dead from what I hear!"

Y'all I'm crossing my fingers that Wade's World won't be infected with a virus that causes us to reply back to people that we either will or won't be in attendance at an event. That would be just terrible! But in all reality, I don't think we should be too afraid; We all know in this day and age RSVP's most certainly aren't contagious, no matter what people say!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Works For Me Wednesday

I know that I share life changing news with you quite frequently here in the blog-o-sphere; Things that I know you can't live without like knowing how much I love my new washing machine or how to make your dryer actually dry clothes. Today is no exception.

Get ready for this.

You probably should be sitting down. It's that exciting!

Here goes:

You know how we have Macy, right?

See that pretty fur coat? Macy's problem is that she sheds. Bad. And we have to vacuum constantly. And usually we have no more finished vacuuming only to turn around and find more dog hair on the floor.

This is the face Jackson and I make when we realize that all our vacuuming was for nothing. Well, last night we introduced Macy to her new best friend. The Furminator!

We heard about it first from PetSmart where we take Macy 4 times a year to get groomed. They use it and we always thought it was something that only groomers could get. Then, I just happened to read in my Real Simple magazine that the furminator was rated the best pet hair removal product and was only $30 at amazon. You better believe that we got it, especially considering that grooming runs us $80 every three months! It came in the mail yesterday and we love it!

See what I got off of her in 10 minutes? Jackson's shoe is just for a size reference, but the glorious product is there in the background. I didn't get an after picture because I was just in shock staring at the pile of dog hair that I got off of Macy. And it wasn't just her top coat hair; it was her undercoat which is exactly what we want thinned. And her coat was so thick that there was actually dust in it. Disgusting, right?

I think I'm in love with the furminator. And no, I'm not being compensated to say this. I just love spreading the word about great products. And the furminator? It's magical.

Excuse me while I wipe a tear from my eye, because having a shed proof dog totally works for me!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Opportunities Lost, But Not Forgotten

Have you ever had a camera in hand only to miss a perfect shot by a split second? Saturday was one of those days for me. It was absolutely beautiful and Jeremy and I decided to let Jackson ride his bike back to the creek and to take Macy with us this time. It seemed like the entire day I was just a fraction of a second taking a picture the entire day!

For instance, right before this picture was taken,

I missed getting a picture of Jackson forgetting how to brake and running off the road into a ditch.

I missed a perfect smile by a split second on this picture!

I just look like a squinty mess in this picture!

I missed Macy's tail in this picture!

But I did capture a smile in this pic!

But sadly, right about the time that Jackson was enjoying "fishing"...

I missed Jeremy falling into the creek!

Tragedy, I know! Check out the left butt check vs. the right butt cheek!

I did however catch Jackson's "hand on hip" action at wondering "What in the world happened to my Daddy?' The answer: Macy! Jeremy learned that it's probably not a good idea to bend down to pick something up when you are standing right beside a creek and holding a retractable leash in your hand with a wild dog on the other end!

One opportunity I didn't miss: laughing the entire squishy walk home!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Buying a Coke from a vending machine and two drop out!

Payday!!

Already having pink eye medication on hand just in case Jackson gets it since there is a case in his class!

An clean report from the dentist!

A perfectly cooked steak dinner from Outback for Jeremy's birthday!

A trip to the creek with the most fun three year old that I know!

Watching said three year old peeing by the creek!

Capturing some cuteness on camera!

Seeing an imagination at work!

Finding a perfect walking stick!

And being told that your precious child loves you "Thhhhiissss Muuucccchhhh!"

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

Today is the day that my wonderful husband officially steps into his mid 30's while I'm still holding down the fort back here in my late 20's! It's pretty cool being married to such a hot older man!

Jackson and I have been truly blessed by God with Jeremy, and we love him to the ends of the earth. He is an amazing husband and father, and we are so lucky that he's a part of our lives.

Happy 31st Birthday Jeremy!!
We Love You!!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Jackson's Idol Picks

Last night I was watching American Idol while Jackson was playing sword fight with Jeremy. Two times (with two different contestants) Jackson froze all action, stared at the screen and said, "That girl is beautiful!" The objects of his affection are:


Katelyn Epperly



and Ashley Rodriguez



Jackson definitely seemed to favor Ashley. Oddly enough, both of his picks made Idol's Top 24! I guess the kid knows true talent when he sees it! Now he can admire all he wants, but I better not find out that he's about to bring some tattooed rocker chick home from preschool.

I have to draw the line somewhere...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Who’s Running This Show?

It seems that now that Jackson is 3 1/2 he's gotten a little big for his size 3T britches. I think he’s got the idea that he’s in charge of our house and that he will always get what he wants.

And Mommy's not happy with that line of thinking.

Not happy at all.

For instance, Nana and Tata gave Jackson a box of truffles for Valentines Day. Jackson loves the chocolates (and they are amazingly delicious) and Jeremy let Jackson have a few after school yesterday. Then around 7:30 last night Jackson spotted the box of chocolates and decided that he just HAD to have one.right.now. Jackson went over to Jeremy and said, “Daddy, I want a chocolate.” Notice he didn't use the word "please" in this exchange. That's a bone of contention with me. Jeremy quickly said, “Jackson you can’t have a chocolate because it’s bedtime.”

Well, Jackson turned right around, walked over to me and said, “Mommy, can I have chocolate?”

Seeing as how I had watched Jeremy and Jackson’s exchange just seconds before, I’m sure you can guess what I said.

And yes, Jackson was quickly reminded about using the "p" word.

And I’m sure you can guess how thrilled Jackson was to find out that he wouldn’t be getting any chocolate from me either because we’re such mean parents like that.

Child Protective Services really should be called on us for our meanness.

So Jackson turned back around to Jeremy and whined, "Mommy wonnntttt lleeeettttt mmmeeeee haaavveee annnyyyy ccchooocccoolllattttee..."

And that is where Jeremy and I started laughing at his antics, because seriously, I gotta give the kid credit for trying.

And I’m sure you can guess that he threw the fit of the century because, “I'M NOT LAUGHING! I JUST WANT ME SOME CHOCOLATE!!!”

I think I’ve yelled the same thing before when I was PMSing.

After 10 minutes of listening to Jackson hollering from his room, because hello, it was bedtime, Jeremy was less than happy with the situation. We both went back into his room to try to talk to Jackson but he wanted nothing to do with us. So we left his room to let him cry it out. Jeremy hates doing that, but I just reminded him of my mantra for times like these which is, “Crying never killed anyone.”

And if it did, then don't tell me about it because it would just ruin my mantra.

I then walked into the kitchen and got a piece of chocolate out of my truffle box.

You know why?

Because I’m the Mommy, that’s why!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Winter Wonderland

Remember how on Friday I told you that I was going to have to be traveling in the snow? Well, I didn't mention that Jeremy and I both were going to be heading to a marriage conference for the weekend. It was a work function for me, and since the conference was going to be focusing on strengthening marriages, Jeremy was able to tag along.

I didn't mention that Jeremy was coming with me mostly because I didn't want to make an announcement on the Internet that basically said, "Hello potential thieves and robbers; If you want an empty house to visit and peruse, drop in to Wade's World. Jeremy and Amy will be gone Friday morning through Saturday night. Beware of the not-so-vicious dog that could lick you to death!"

The conference was amazing and I have so many tidbits and advice on marriage that I want to share with you soon.

And yes, we saw snow! And we drove it it! And we didn't have an accident!

When we left our house it was beginning to flurry and Jeremy just knew that we were going to miss the snow event of the decade at home, while we were off gallivanting around. Luckily for Jeremy it started snowing on the drive up and although it was so pretty to see, it didn't start to stick until we were safely at our destination. Once there, we really enjoyed seeing how beautiful it was!

The chapel covered in snow

Isn't it pretty!

A pitiful marshmallow looking snowman (and no, we didn't make him!)

Jeremy and I enjoying the snow!

And get this. We had musical entertainment at the event and Jeremy and I couldn't get over how much the lead singer and my sister looked alike. Well, except for the fact that Kellyn is 9 months pregnant and the singer isn't. If you take that little fact out of the equation, Kellyn and Beth could have been twins. See for yourself:

Pretty similar, huh?

Well, we really enjoyed the snow, but I was also glad when it melted on Saturday. I couldn't live like that all the time! How about you? How was the weather in your neck of the woods?

And if you don't live in the wonderful South like I do, please feel free to poke fun at the big deal that we Southerners have been known to make over 2 inches of snow!

Have a great day!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The "S" Word

Y'all, it's going to snow here tomorrow! The weather gurus are predicting 2-4 inches in most areas. Whenever they talk, all I hear is, "Blah Blah Blah Blizzard!" I was so excited to see snow in Denver a couple of years ago, where incidentally I also saw my first snow plow, because seriously, the snow does not fall here.

But it's gonna fall tomorrow!!

This global warming stuff is terrible, huh?


And guess what?

You'll never guess.

I have to travel.

In the snow.

This should be interesting!

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll catch up with you later. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Jeremy's parents came in to town this weekend and Jackson decided that he wanted to give them a Jackson Wade original design to take back to Mississippi with them. Jackson had such a good time painting, and Papa and Gigi went home with not just one Jackson original, but two!





He's such a good little artist, and they loved their pictures, but not as much as they love him!

Yep, Pregnancy Suits Her

Jackson is obsessed with babies right now. He's constantly saying things like, "Mama, I need a baby brother" or, "Mama, you need to have a baby so I can be a big brother" or, "I need to have a baby brother and I will name him Charlie!"

Nothing like pressure from a three year old!

Y'all know my sister Kellyn is pregnant. Jackson is fascinated with her belly. In all honesty, I'm quite fascinated with her belly too. She looks like she's smuggling a basketball, and from behind you can't even tell that she's pregnant. I'm also very perplexed as to how someone can be 37 weeks pregnant and not have a.single.stretch.mark.

I'm totally jealous!

She's one of those never-had-morning-sickness pregnant ladies that are just so cute with their glowing skin and perfectly round stretch mark free bellies that just make you want to say, "No Fair!" She's gorgeous!

Last night Kellyn came over for Girls Night Out and before Jeremy and Jackson were evicted from the house, Jackson had to go check on Luke, like he always does when I overheard the following conversation:

Jackson: "KK, is baby Luke still in your belly?"
KK: "He sure is."
Jackson: "He's not done growing and cooking yet?"
KK: "Not yet, but soon. Just a few more weeks and he'll be here."
Jackson: "My Mommy has a baby in her tummy."
KK: "She does?"
Jackson; "Yep. She's gonna have a baby tomorrow morning."

Let the record show that there is no baby in my tummy. I just hope to goodness that he doesn't go share his exciting news at church and school!

But back to Kellyn; Please be in prayer for her as her and Jason are preparing meet Luke Thomas Gibson on March 1st, unless things get started before then. Pray that her last few weeks of this wonderful pregnancy are restful and that she will have a easy and simple labor as she brings Luke into the world.

You know how I told you that pregnancy totally suits her? Kellyn and Jason did a maternity session a few weeks ago with a wonderful photographer, Lori Mercer. The pictures are amazing! See for yourself:

Isn't she gorgeous!

Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you.
Jeremiah 1:5 (The Message)

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Because It's A Tuesday

Y'all, apparently I was too busy posting about the Super Bowl yesterday to notice that I let a huge bloggy milestone slip by me. Yesterday was my 700th blog post! Now I really wish that I had a cool giveaway like $700 to pass on, but sadly, I don't. If anyone wants to offer up a cool prize, then by all means I would pass it on!

Anyone?

Anyone at all?

I'll make sure that I let y'all know when someone steps up! In the meantime, here's some random fun that I thought I'd share with y'all just because it's a Tuesday, but more so becasue I don't have anything else!

1. Do you use the labels various charities send you as “free gifts?”
Yes. Am I not supposed to?

2. What is your favorite time of day (or night) for skywatching?
I absolutely love walking on the beach at sunrise. It's just amazing. One day, I would love to see a sunset over the Pacific, but until then, sunrise is my favorite time of day.

3. What is the most adventurous you've ever been with trying a new food? (Keep it G-rated please)
I've eaten a veggie burger. Is that adventurous? Oh, and there was the time that my Dad tried out a new recipe from a box of rice and I tasted "Orange Juice Rice." Suprisingly enough, it was not a hit! And I bet you didn't know this, but if you google, "Orange Juice Rice Recipe," you will get 971,000hits.

4. Have you ever heard a rock sing?
Not personally, but I am familiar with the Bible verse that talks about that.

5. If you could learn a language you don't presently speak, what would it be?
Spanish. Or Korean so that I could know what the ladies at the nail places are saying about everybody as I get a pedicure.

6. Al Capone's tombstone read, “My Jesus, Mercy.” If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
She Loved God.
She Loved People.
She Loved Life.
And She Was Loved.

And my tombstone will be black granite, just so you know!

7. If you were a famous musician who was known by one name, like “Cher,” “Sting,” or “Jewel,” what would it be? It doesn’t have to be your first name, but it can be, if you’d like.
How about Amy? Short, sweet and to the point.

8. Have you ever been inordinately “into” a television show?
A different times in my life I've been more than a little obsessed with some shows. Friends, 17 18 19 Kids and Counting, Say Yes To The Dress, some seasons of American Idol, The Bachelor/Bacheloette, and Survivor come to mind.

9. When you sneeze, do you go big, or do you do that weird “heenh!” sound that makes people think you’re going to blow your brains out? Any other variation we should know about?
If at all possible I hold my sneezes in. I've been told that it's going to blow my brains out, but so far, that hasn't happened. My sister Kellyn could win an award with how loud her sneezes are. Love you Kellyn!

10. Do you still read an actual newspaper that you hold in your hands, or do you get your news elsewhere?
I get most of my news from the Drudge Report or Fox News. Does this really surprise anyone?

11. Are you a good speller?
Pretty good despite the fact that during the spelling bee in 5th grade that I was eliminated in the first round.

12. At what time each day do you start thinking about lunch? In all honesty, about 7:00 in the morning. That was embarassing just typing that out!

Y'all have a great day!

Monday, February 08, 2010

So The Saints Went Marching In

You need to know that when I was typing the title for this post, I typed the word “went” as “whent.” Either it’s because it’s a Monday, or because I wish I was living in King James times.

And in typing the sentence above me, I typed “Monday” as “Moday.” So apparently it’s going to be a Moday all day long!

So, what I was going to say before I went off on my typo diatribe was that I was so excited about the Saints winning the Super Bowl last night. In all actuality, I don’t care a lick about professional football, I just like watching the Super Bowl for the commercials.

But this year, I was totally pulling for the Saints because I thought it would be really cool for an underdog team that has never even made it to the Super Bowl to leave with a win. Jeremy was pulling for the Colts because he likes the Mannings.

I promise my pulling for the Saints against Jeremy’s wishes had nothing to do with the fact that Jeremy pulled for Alabama over Auburn despite my wishes.

Well, it didn’t have much to do with that little tidbit!

Anyways, the Saints won. The Colts lost. Let’s discuss the commercials! I’m giving my own awards for some of the best!

The "Awww, How Sweet!" Award goes to:



The "Best Use of Screaming Chickens" Award goes to:



The "Cheapest Wardrobe Budget" Award goes to:



The Award for "Most Pre-Game Hype But Overall Kinda A Let Down" goes to:



The "I Gotta Give Them Credit For Being Funny" Award goes to:



The "Cutest Milkaholic" Award goes to:



The "Best Commercial for Upcoming Show" goes to:



And the Award for "Best Waste of Taxpayers Dollars By Our Government" goes to:



If you thought that I would let that one get by me without a comment, then clearly you don't know me at all!

Friday, February 05, 2010

What Are You Dying To Know?

I have come to terms with the fact that Jeremy's job as a funeral director is quite unusual, and is either fascinating or extremely weird to people who find out what he does.

For the most part, people are genuinely curious about the ins and outs of his job. Jeremy's sister has a riddle she uses with her communication class to see if they can guess Jeremy's profession. It goes, "My brother drives around in $100,000 cars, people follow him wherever he goes, and he's invited into strangers homes. What is he?" To my knowledge no one ever guesses funeral director!

We are completely used to people asking questions about what Jeremy does. It's perfectly fine, and Jeremy would rather someone just ask him their question than just keep wondering about something. Here are some of his regular questions:

Does he "do" everything? (Answer: He's licensed to "do" everything, but currently he only directs funerals and works with families.)

Does he drive the hearse home? (Answer: NO. If he brings a company car home it looks like a minivan with the back seats taken out. You would never know! When I used to work at a senior center and Jeremy would ask if he could drop by and visit me at work, my answer was always, "It depends on what are you are driving!" I couldn't have a hearse pull up at a senior center full of old people. They would've just died!"

Did he go to school for that? (Answer: Yes. He is duel licensed which means that he is a funeral director with the ability to embalm. I had to help him study during school and I know more about embalming than I could ever want to know!)

Is that what he always wanted to be? (Answer: No. He also has a bachelor's degree in marketing.)

How did he get started? (Answer: He started off in pre-need sales and moved into funeral directing when he realized how much he liked working with families.)

Does he like it? (Answer: Yes. Most of the time. It is a VERY high stress job and he stays extremely busy, but he really does like helping make things easier on families that he works with. God led him into this field and he's very good at what he does and he takes very good care of his families.)

What does Jackson think he does? (Answer: We've told Jackson that Daddy's job is to help people when they are sad. It works for him.)

Does he wash his hands when he gets home from work? (Answer: You better believe it!)

Does he have his funeral planned? (Answer: We're crossing our fingers for the rapture!)

Do the two of you talk about funerals a lot? (Answer: We've discussed some things, but mostly I've just informed him that if he buries me with socks, pantyhose or shoes on that I will haunt his sorry tail!)

Is it true that more people die around the holidays? (Answer: Yes, it's true. Jeremy can't take any vacation November thru December because of how busy they are that time of year. That stinks with us having an anniversary in December!)

If you have a question that you've been dying to get answered, pun totally intended, I'll get the resident funeral director of Wade's World to answer them, because let's face it, I've got connections!

And now that he's been working in this field for 6 years, we've heard all the funeral director jokes. They were probably funny the first time we heard them, but after you've heard them incessantly several times, they lose some of the humor. We try to laugh anyways so the person telling the joke doesn't feel like a total goob.

For instance: "I bet your husband will be the last person to let me down!" or "How's business? Dead?" (hardy har har) or my personal favorite, "I bet people are just dying to meet your husband!"

Yeah, we're used to the questions and jokes, but I don't think either of us will ever be used to the nights when Jeremy has to take call. On those nights (usually 5-6 a month) any calls that the funeral home takes are sent to our house via an answering service. Mostly these are calls letting the director know that someone has died, but you would be shocked at how many people call funeral homes in the middle of the night with the most random questions such as, "I'm supposed to go to a funeral tomorrow at your funeral home. Can you give me directions?" or "Can you tell so-and-so family member that they can't come to the funeral?" or the calls at midnight, "What time do you open tomorrow?" For each call that comes in after hours Jeremy and my phone rings. Call nights are especially nice on nights like last night, when the phone rang 12 times between 9:00 at night and 5:00 this morning. Jeremy finally gave up on sleep and headed to work at 5:30 this morning to get ready to head out of town.

Needless to say, we're both dead tired today!" (Hardy har har!)

So yes, it's quite an usual job that Jeremy has, but at least he's in a profession with guaranteed job security! If you ever wanted to know something about his job, now's the time to ask. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Storing Up Treasures

I have passed a car several times on the way to work lately with an unusual vanity license plate. The car is a very high end luxury vehicle, and the tag says, "FORNOW." I can't help but thinking to myself every time I pass the car, "What does that mean?"

I can only assume that the tag means something along the lines of, "This car will do FORNOW," as if settling for a $60,000 vehicle is such a heavy burden, because that's how it reads to me. Now I know that I could be wrong in interpreting the tag (maybe she has 4 kids now?), but that's what I think of when I see the car.

I can't help but wonder how in this economy, in this recession, do you go to the DMV and request that tag for your car that costs more than most people make in a year? We live a simple life and are happy with what we have, but I can't imagine being so non-chalant about money that I would so blatantly brag to others about the kind of car I drive.

And to me it kinda comes across that she's complaining about her gorgeous car as if settling for a high end luxury car is such a disappointment. To tell you the truth, that makes me more than a little mad. With entire countries devastated by natural disasters and over 10% unemployment in our own country, I wouldn't dream of complaining about anything when it's pretty obvious she has been very richly blessed.

Jeremy and I may not have a luxury SUV that will do "for now," but I sure hope we are teaching Jackson the importance of knowing that one day material things will be gone. And Jeremy being a funeral director can tell you that you sure can't take your stuff with you. So for now, I'll settle for being content with the life we live and knowing that we are storing up our treasures in a place far better than this world.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:34 (New International Version)

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Need A Laugh?


I recently found the movie Evan Almighty at Walmart for $4. Jackson LOVES this movie, and Jeremy and I like it because we can watch it as a family without fearing bad language or inappropriate material. And seriously, Steve Carrell is hilarious! Two scenes in this movie own Jackson and I though you might get a kick out of how funny he thinks the movie is. The first scene that is hilarious to him is that of the ending credits. You have to watch this. We even get up and dance during the sang because Jackson thinks it's so funny. He especially loves the monkey at the end!


The other scene that owns him is when Evan is making the ark with his boys and they show a collection of scenes where Evans character is getting hurt constantly. Something about watching a person hit their finger with a hammer is always funny. At least it's funny to Jackson and myself. I caught this video of him last night laughing at Evan's antics. Enjoy!

I bet you couldn't not laugh at Jackson. Isn't he the cutest thing ever!
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