A storm ashore...

The National Weather Service has announced that an off season tropical disturbance has struck central Alabama. It was named Hurricane Jackson, and the damage costs have not yet been estimated. Stay tuned for further details...

How can one child manage to pull out that many toys at one time?

The guilty party... Who me?

Sitting in his carseat in the living room.

Kissing his favorite family member!

Does it get any cuter than this? I think not!!

"So which one of you is sick this time?"

That was the question asked to me when I went to our lovely Wal-Mart pharmacy and spoke to my favorite pharmacist for the 3rd time in 1 week. The answer: Me. I got the hacking cough/cold/congestion/headache/generally feeling like crap syndrome, late Saturday night and due to my blood pressure issues, there isn't a whole lot that I can take that would actually make me feel better. Because I still can't get my bp under control, I can't even take my migraine medicine. Ugh. It made for a super fun weekend! Anyways, I went to my doc again yesterday, and I have an upper respiratory infection. He gave me one of my two favorite miracle drugs in the whole wide world: steroid shot (the other is an epidural...blessings from God above). I feel so much better today and I haven't coughed at all today. Yet. Knock on wood.

In other news, Jackson is doing much better. He is back at school and having a blast as usual. He has decided that Jeremy is his favorite person in the world, and that I can't even hold him unless it is his idea. He literally turned his body to Jello when he and Jeremy got home yesterday and proceeded to wail when Jeremy put him down. I know that it is just a phase, but let me tell you. It STINKS!!! I can't stand it that he doesn't want me. You think maybe if I give him some Ice Cream tonight he would like me again? Just thinking...

For the rest of this, I am going to break down into bullet format. It will make everything so much easier.

• My favorite Sister-In-Law (affectionately known as "The Original Amy Wade") has decided to start her own blog about her and her fiance Adam. I am soo excited that I just can't stand it. Now if only I can get my sister Kellyn to start blogging...
• I made the best strawberry cake last night. Just a normal cake mix, but the icing is to die for. Here goes: 1 box of confectioners sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of chopped strawberries. That's it..just blend and smooth over the cake. I promise I could eat the entire bowl. Seriously, the cake itself can't compare.
• My Nanny is in town right now staying with my Mom. She is hilarious. She half listens to you, and then gets confused by something she hears. When I was telling everyone that I got a steroid shot, she said, "You got SHOT". Yes Nanny. I got shot today. Didn't you hear? J/K I LOVE my Nanny. She is my last living Grandparent, and she is so funny. You never know quite what she is going to say.

I guess that's all for now. Have a great Tuesday.

Update on Burgess family

I received an email yesterday that had been forwarded from the Scott Dawson evangelism organization that reported that 214 decisions for Christ were made during Bronner's memorial service this past Tuesday. Praise God!!! The Baptist Press has some of the excerpts from Rick's memorial of his son posted, and I wanted to share one of the passages from his eulogy.

Burgess said Satan miscalculated and made a mistake in attacking his family
through Bronner's death."He should have never come after us," Burgess said.
"And when I say family, I speak about this family but I speak about my
family of believers because all of you have gone into action in a way that
is making our Savior smile. If God asked me to give up a son so that some of
you will live in eternity, it is well."

Please take the time to either read this article, or go to Rick & Bubba to view the videos. They are broken down into 3 segments, and I promise your spirit will be blessed by Rick's words.

In Wade family news, Jackson started his new antibiotic this morning for his double ear infection. The medicine has the ever delighful side effect of red Kool-aid colored dirty diapers. I promise, if I hadn't of been warned about that, I would have been driving like crazy to get him to the ER. It would have scared the daylights out of me.

After staying at my Mom's for a couple of days now, Jackson has a few new words. They are:
Boat, Shark, and Mickey Mouse. I have yet to hear any of these, but Jeremy has, and Mom has. What a little monkey. I guess that's it for now. I hope you have a good day.

What else is new...

Hey everyone. I hope you are having a good week. We are still battling the crud at our house, but (hold your breath....) it seems like Jackson is finallly on the mend. BUT...he has a major double ear infection that has popped up since Sunday. The pediatrician is putting him on a new antibiotic, and wants to see him again in one month. If he still has fluid in his ears then, we will be heading back to the ENT for a recheck (and possible a new set of tubes.). So say a little prayer for our little man that his ears heal quickly and that he will be back to his normal self soon.

In other news...Jackson has more tricks that he is loving to show everyone. I seriously think that he has known these for awhile, but he is just now sharing them with us. He can find his: belly button (and yours if you are not careful), eyes, ears, hair, nose, chin, mouth, fingers, and toes. He has also learned how to do the "cheesy kiss". If you say, "Jackson, say cheeeesssseeeee, he will give you the funniest cheesy grin, and then he will try to give you a kiss. It is so funny. Everytime he does this we crack up laughing, and then he starts to clap for himself. He is too cute.

Also, please remember to be in prayer for the Burgess family. Bronner was buried yesterday, and Rick spoke at the Celebration service. The video and audio of Rick's message are posted at Rick & Bubba, and let me just say, there is no doubt that Rick was speaking the word of God. The whole family is struggling, but that are also thanking God for the short time here with Bronner. Rick's words are powerful, and his message is nothing short of an invitation to know Christ. Bronner's short life has been a led so many people to the Lord through his tragic death. If you are intersted, go to the site and hear Rick's message. I promise it will inspire you to be a better Christian. Happy Wednesday, and have a great day!

The Blizzard of 2008

Hey everyone. I am sure that if you are like us, and live somewhere in the south, you saw a little snow this weekend. It hasn't snowed here in 6 years, so obviolsy it was Jackson and Macy's first experience with it. It was so funny. Jackson wasn't sure what to do with it, and Macy kept barking at it. After he figured out that he could play in it, Jackson began to have a ball. When it came time to go back inside, he threw himself down on the front porch and kept screaming, "No No Side. No No Side." I have to say that I found it quite funny, and even took a few pictures of his tantrum.

Me and Jackson in the snow

Jackson looking adorable

Jackson on a mission

Look how stinking cute he is!!

I love this smile!

The beginning of "No No Side!!"

It continues...

I think he finally noticed that I was taking pictures

Our neighorhood

Jackson showing where his belly button is after I changed his clothes

Jackson had to go to the doctor yesterday as I eluded in my earlier post from this morning. He had a bad cough, and was diagnosed with a touch of pneumonia. Please keep him in your prayers as he recovers. Have a great week, and also remember the Burgess family in your prayers.

Pray for the Burgess family...

Please be in prayer for the family of Rick and Sherry Burgess of the Rick and Bubba show. They tragically lost their 2 1/2 year old son, William "Bronner" Burgess, this past Saturday in a drowning accident at their home.

Jeremy and I have been fans of the show for years now, and it seems weird that we both feel like we know them personally. I was in Primed with Jackson yesterday because he was sick, and Jeremy called me and told me the news. I was floored. I have never felt so deeply sorry for any family that I have never personally melt. My heart literally aches for them, and I have cried many tears over their loss. As part of the "Rick and Bubba Army" I feel like I have lost a member of my own family.

When it happened Rick was at a conference in Pigeon Forge, and Sherry was home with the kids. After a day of playing in the snow with the boys, Sherry locked the house up, and sat the kids down in front of a movie to give her time to take a quick shower. When she got out a few minutes later, she couldn't find Bronner. After searching the house, she spotted the back door open, and went outside and found Bronner in the swimming pool. They have a neighbor that is a doctor, and he was immediately called, along with 911, and Bronner later died at Children's Hospital in Birmingham.

The show was on this morning, and was such a testament to the power of Christ. Although we will never know why something so terrible had to happen, the Burgess family has made it clear that they know God is in control, and will do wonderful things out of this tragedy. Please lift Rick, Sherry, Brandi, Blake, Brody, and Brooks up in your prayers, along with their extended family, in the loss of their precious Bronner. May God give them comfort in their darkest hours....

When female Democratic Presidential nominees speak, I hear, "Blah Blah Blah."

I got this in an email and found it be incredibly true. What do you think?

Quarterback for the Packers...In a news conference Deanna Favre announced she will be the starting QB for the Packers this coming Sunday. Deanna asserts that she is qualified to be starting QB because she has spent the past 16 years married to Brett while he played QB for the Packers. During this period of time she became familiar with the definition of a corner blitz, and is now completely comfortable with other terminology of the Packers offense. A survey of Packers fans shows that 50% of those polled supported the move. Does this sound idiotic and unbelievable to you?

Well, Hillary Clinton makes the same claims as to why she is qualified to be President and 50% of Democrats polled agreed. She has never run a City, County, or State. When told Hillary Clinton has experience because she has 8 years in the White House, Dick Morris stated "so has the pastry chef".

Kohl's Schmoles

Let me share with you a little story. Way back at Thanksgiving, when we were visiting Jeremy’s family, I went shopping with Jeremy’s Mom and sister. We had scoped out the ads for the day after Thanksgiving and I set my sights on a Presto Cool Touch Griddle that was on sale for $9.99. Now, I didn’t really need a griddle, but that didn’t stop me from heading out with everyone to get my griddle. When I got to Kohl’s I found a huge stack of the griddles, grabbed one, and after looking around for a little bit longer, we headed for the checkout.

When I got to the front of the line, I found out that the griddles were only $9.99 after a $10 rebate. After I kindly pointed out to the checkout girl that the ad said nothing about a rebate, she commented that some of the ads run the day before had the rebate clause in there, but not all. Hmmm..seems a little shady to me. Maybe a bit of false advertising? Perhaps. I didn’t want to make a huge deal out of it, so I just made sure that I kept up with my receipt for rebate purposes.

3 days after Thanksgiving I mailed off my receipt, model numbers off the box, rebate form. Everything requested for my stupid ten dollar rebate. Then, on Tuesday of this week, 2 months after Thanksgiving, I got a letter back in the mail from Kohl’s with all my rebate stuff inside, saying that they could not process my rebate because “The cash register receipt you submitted does not indicate the correct item purchased, as indicted in the offer requirements.”

Let me just preface my next few paragraphs by saying that I am a nice person. I tip well. I hold doors open for strangers and little ladies. I always throw my trash away in trashcans, not on the side of the road. I always say “please” and “thank you”. I really try to be nice all the time. However, if Kohl’s was betting that they were going to keep my ten dollars because I wasn’t going to be hassled with dealing with this rebate situation, they should think again. No one is getting my ten dollars when it is MINE. Ten dollars may not seem like much, but to a family with a toddler, ten dollars means:

• ½ pack of diapers OR
• 2 huge boxes of Goldfish crackers OR
• 3 gallons of milk OR
• 5 Gerber Graduates meals

My list really could go on and on. So I will move on to my phone call with the Kohls rebate representative who might I say, was extremely rude and snarky. I will call her Gertrude because anyone that ugly over the phone has to have an equally bad name.

Gertrude: “This is Kohl’s rebate center. Can I help you?”

Me: "Hi. My name is Amy and I received a letter in the mail saying that you couldn't process my rebate request."

*long boring part where she gets my name and address

Gertrude: “What is your model number.”

Me: “There are several pieces that I cut off the box that have numbers. I am going to tell you all three of the numbers.” *me telling her the numbers

Gertrude: * in a very snappy tone “None of those numbers are in this rebate. Do you not have the box there in front of you?”

Me: *Biting a small piece of my tongue off to keep from yelling at her “Mam. I’m at work right now. And believe it or not, I didn’t bring my Presto griddle to work with me today.”

Gertrude: “Maybe you should just call back when you have your model number.”

Me: “No mam. I am taking care of this today. I have my receipt and it says Griddle1234567. My model numbers off my piece of the box also say Griddle1234567.”

Gertrude: “They can put anything they want on those receipts.”

*This went on for 5 more minutes before I finally convinced her that I was telling the truth and that I was the proud owner of a Presto griddle. After that was established, her tone was considerably friendlier and she was so helpful. Shocker there huh???

Jeremy always says that he doesn’t want to get on my bad side. I promise that most of the time, my bark is worse than my bite, but I just can’t stand being taken advantage of. Gertrude better be glad she didn’t mess with me when I was pregnant. I was a hot mess then!! I wonder how many people out there shopped at Kohl’s, filled out their rebates correctly, and Kohl’s is just betting that they won’t take the time to resubmit their rebate. So if anyone out there needs help getting a backbone when dealing with corporate America, give me a call, and I would be happy to share some of mine.

Happy Birthday Jason!!

I want to give a big birthday shoutout to my brother-in-law, Jason. He is Kellyn's hubby, and has been such a wonderful addition to our family. He is absolutely hilarious, and you never quite know what he is going to say next. He is great. Jason got his degree from seminary back in the summer, and is now a counselor working with troubled kids at a facility in Montgomery. We are so proud of everything he has accomplished, and know that God has huge things in store for him. We love you Jason!!!

In other news, for the 2 or 3 people out there in blog world that actually care about this, my blood pressure medicine got adjusted on Monday with my visit to my neurololgist, and this morning I got the bp reading of 115/70. Whoooo-hoooooo!!!!! Now, let's just see if I can keep it this low.

Have a great Wednesday!

Jacksonisms

I have to share a cute conversation that I had with Jackson this morning. It brought such a smile to my face. I am seriously crazy about this kid!!!

Me: "Jackson, what does a tiger say?"

Jackson: "GGGGrrrrrrr"

Me: "Jackson, what does a cow say?"

Jackson: "Mmmoooooo"

Me: "Jackson, what does a duck say?"

Jackson: "DuckDuck"

The following pictures are from Mississippi this weekend. We had a great trip, and Jackson discovered that his favorite outside toy in Mississippi is the riding lawnmower, and his favorite inside toy is the tread mill. If only his mother could say the same thing..

Jeremy, Jackson, and Papaw

Jackson loves music and his Papa

Saying goodbye and taking a quick nap

Jackson and Papa

Papa, Jackson, Gigi, and Mimi

Jackson checking out Benj

Just another Manic Monday (oooh ooohh)

Hey everyone. I wanted to say a quick hello out there to the blogger world. I have a few things to share for a cold and breezy Monday.

First of all, today is Jackson's 17 month birthday. I can't believe that it has been almost a year and a half since he was born. He has just been the best thing ever, and it is so much fun watching him learn new things. Seriously, he is like a sponge now, and you can almost see the wheels spinning in his head while he figures out how things work. He is amazing!!!

We had a great trip to Hattiesburg this weekend. Jackson had a great time as usual, and I picked out my dress. It is the one in the picture. It will be all pink (think watermelon pink), and this will actually be the first strapless dress that I have ever worn, and I am excited because it is a beautiful dress, but nervous because I don't want to be one of those girls that is constantly pulling their strapless dress back up. That is sooo tacky. If your dress doesn't fit you , and won't stay up, then Don't Wear It!!!! Now, I am on the search for the perfect strapless bra. This should be easy to find (note the sarcasm in my typed words). I always have the albsolute best time bra shopping....so much fun!!! Puh-lease...I would rather go through labor without pain medication.

In other news, Jeremy now has bronchitis and sinusitis, along with a steroid shot, and $150 worth of prescriptions to make him feel better. I seriously hope that he feels better soon. His cough has been terrible, and goodness knows, neither I nor Jackson needs to come down with anything.

I am heading to the neurologist in a few hours to see about my headaches. I can only imagine that my visit will be so exciting and joyful. I will keep you posted.

Anyways, have a great Monday, and I will post pictures from this weekend tomorrow hopefully. I am hosting a conference for 90 people, so I know I will be busy, but I will see what I can do. Talk to you later!!

TGIF!!!

Hey ya'll!! I hope that you are doing great. I have just a few things to share.

1. My favorite sister in the whole world got a job and a super cute haircut. She will be working with a home health agency and she is really excited. She also got 9 inches cut off of her hair, and it is now a little longer than shoulder length and has the cutest layers. It makes her look so much older (which for both of us, has always been a struggle).

2. We are heading to Hattiesburg to go visit Jeremy 's family and also for me to get measured for my bridesmaid dress for Amy's wedding. We have 5 dresses to choose from, and so far, I have only eliminated 1 of them. So sometime between now and tomorrow, I have to figure it out. They are all gorgeous, and it is going to be so hard to choose...

3. My bp is doing better, but is still not great. I just took it again, and it was 136/92. Fair, but still not great. At least I feel better. I have a slight headache, but nothing intolerable.

4. The 6th grade girls mission class that I teach on Wednesday night is doing a mission project where we are going to be collecting new and gently used shoes of all sizes and styles to donate to a wonderful organization called Soles4Souls. They give these shoes to people who have been in disasters such as the tsunami's in Asia, Katrina, and other various disasters around the world. Their motto is, "Changing the world, one pair at a time." So far, they have contributed over 3 million pairs of shoes to over 40 countries in 5 continents. I know that I have at least 10 pairs of shoes at home that I no longer need and will be donating. We will be collecting for at least a month, and if you would like to donate some shoes, please email me at auflag@yahoo.com to see how you can get involved. We expect that the cost of shipping will be about 1 dollar per pair in case you just wanted to help with that. My girls are so excited, and our goal is 500 pairs of shoes! Can you help us??

Have a great weekend, and let me know if you can help our shoe drive. See ya later!

So much to say, so little time

Hey Ya'll. I hope your New Years has been wonderful. My 2008 has been so stinking busy at work. We have a huge conference next Tuesday, and I have been so busy getting ready for it. I have hand labeled and zip code sorted over 3600 pieces of mail in 3 days, and let me just say, I am sick of labels!!! So far, my smooth move of 2008 has been to send a 1900 piece mail out to the printer only to find out that I had made a huge typo on it, and had to have it reprinted. Fun huh!!! I can promise that I only make the same huge mistakes once. I am a pretty quick learner!!!

In health news, for anyone who knew about my blood pressure problems that I have been having, they are slowly being resolved. I have been on bp medicine for awhile now for my headaches, and once upon a time, before Jackson, my bp was perfect. In fact...it was often rather low. Not so much after Jackson. I promise he doesn't stress me out, but apparently a lot of things can change after you have a baby. During the holidays, I quit taking my medicine. I know, I know, bad idea, but it was making me feel so sick. I have been having headaches really bad for about a week, and when we were at my parents on Monday night we took my bp on their monitor. It was an alarming 182/125 which apparently means that I could have had a stroke. Everyone fussed all over me until I agreed to go see my doctor yesterday. My pressure was still really high when I was there, so Dr. Banach made me have an EKG, and they are doing alot of blood work. I do know that:

1. I am not pregnant

2. I did not have a heart attack

So I have been put on a different medicine, and my bp was much better this morning. The doctor thinks my head has been hurting so bad because of my pressure, so I will see my neurologist on Monday, and see where we go from here. My headache is much better already...still there, but much better!!!

In other much more fun and exciting news, I have been meaning to share some new Jackson stuff. Here goes!

• Jackson can now pitch a fit like a pro. He has mastered the art of turning his whole little body into Jello and sliding out of your arms into a heap on the floor. His new frustrated sound is "Uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." It sounds great, and let me just share what fun it was to carry him over my shoulder through Wal-Mart the other night with him screaming his new word and everyone staring. Apparently, he was not ready to leave the kid trap section that includes all those machines that sell lead-filled toys for only .25 cents and carousel rides. I loved every second of it, and now can be inducted as an official parent.


• Jackson has several new words: Cheese, Ra-Ra (rabbit for those of you not used to Jacksonese), Mommy, Daddy, and our favorite, duck. Duck usually comes out as "Kuh, Kuh, Duck. It is so stinking cute.


• Jackson got his haircut again last night. He did great with the help of a bubble gum flavored sucker. They even used the clippers on him, and he didn't even flinch. He looks so cute.


• Jackson spotted a stuffed animal tiger last night in the front of a car. He was with my Mom when he saw it, and immediately said, "Gggrrrrrrr." He is a genius, and of course, an Auburn Tiger fan!!!

Completely unrelated but blog mention worthy anyway, our friend from church, Miranda, sent out an email today that she had had a flat tire and needed help today getting the tire replaced/repaired and then getting it back on her car. Guess who volunteered???? My little sister, Kellyn!!! We always say that she is the son my Dad never had. I have never changed a tire in my life, and although my Dad tried to show me several times, I would imagine it would be a lost cause if I ever had a flat. No offense Dad, I know you tried hard!!!! Kellyn on the other hand, has changed 3, and is up to the challenge. So in honor of Kellyn, I leave you with these words...

TIREBUSTERS!
We ain't-we ain't-we
We ain't afraid of no tires
TIREBUSTERS!

Happy Birthday Amy!!!

I want to give a huge Happy Birthday shout-out to my favorite Sister-in-law, Amy Elizabeth Wade on her birthday. She is amazing, and I feel so incredibly blessed to know her. She is such a witness for Christ, and has a heart of gold. She is so wonderful, and Jeremy and I are so excited about being in her wedding on 06/07/08. She and Adam are going to have a terrific life together, and everyone knows that their kids will be the smartest kids in the world (except Jackson of course!!) Hopefully we will be able to come visit this weekend, and let Jackson give her a big Birthday kiss. We love you Amy!!! Happy Birthday!!!!

In other news, today is the 1o year anniversary of the death of my Grandpa, Ben Moore. He was a fantastic grandfather, and I will always treasure knowing that his grandkids were forever "his characters." I will always miss him and love him!!

Pics...finally

Jackson on Christmas day with some of his new toys!

Wade family


Jackson on the ride home (notice his hands on the vacuum cleaners...he wouldn't let it go)

Jeremy and I before Trans Siberian orchestra

The incredible Trans Siberian Orchestra

Jeremy and Jackson hanging out at home (Aren't they cute!!!)