Morgan Campbell Stickler

Morgan, Paiger, and Squash. Squash was in the stroller but when I ran in to get the camera she/he jumped out.

Morgan makes us laugh all day long. I always tell myself, "you better write that down because that is so funny"... then before I write it down I forget it. Well this one I remember. A couple days ago Morgan was calling me from the bathroom with a great sense of urgency. "Mommy, get in here fast!" I ran in thinking she had fallen in the potty or something. I was surprised to see her standing in the bathroom staring up at the shower curtain. I said, "What's the matter, Morgan?" She said, "Look up there, I think our house is breaking!" I couldn't help but laugh. I told her that yes our house was breaking in lots of places but that there wasn't much we could do about it. I have to attach a picture of our "broken" bathroom. The shower curtain rod is pulling out of the wall and the stud is also coming out... it will probably only be a matter of months before it falls completely out... I'm scared that I'll be in it when it happens! :)

The mirror is also a little foggy, I was hoping Windex would take care of it but I think it's permanently fogged.

Anyway, just an attempt to blog a few things that she says that make me laugh!

Hair Bows & School Days

Morgan ready for her second day of "school"

Paiger Rager in her first bow! Morgan walked out for breakfast and said, "Ooooo Mommy, Paiger looks so pwetty in her bow!"

There are a few things that I feel too young for: having a child that takes a lunch and goes to school and having a baby old enough to pull her hair back in bows. I honestly can't believe either of these. I guess when you move as often as we have the time seems to FLY by. I feel like I should still live in Anniston and Morgan should be crawling. Instead, Morgan is walking, talking, and going to school and I have another child named Paige who now can wear a bow in her hair and is just a few short weeks away from being 1. This all blows my mind.

Contrary to feeling too young, I also feel too old for something: FACEBOOK. My sister twisted my arm and made me get an account. She told me that it was really fun and you'd be shocked at who you can find on there (and who will find you). I was shocked and now I may have a small addiction and 63 friends! It's like an online reunion. I've talked to people that I haven't talked to for over 10 years. Friends from Louisville, Auburn, Tallahassee, and elsewhere! It's actually really fun and if anyone has some spare time and wants to see what the Facebook world has to offer... check it out, it's free and relatively harmless! Just be careful, it's kinda like ebay... addicting! :) The only hang up I have is that I have yet to see anyone else on there with 2 children... which just reiterates my feeling too old!

Our Big Girl

I took a video as Morgan came home from "school" on Tuesday! I couldn't resist posting it on here. She goes again today and I anxiously await her report from her second day of "school". We have a big day ahead of us; Morgan's cousin, Lucy Ford, is having her 4th Birthday Party today and we can't wait to go!

We continue to look for a house here. I expected the real estate in Dothan to be much more reasonable than the real estate in Tallahassee and that doesn't seem to be the case, unfortunately. But we trust the right house will come along at the right time. Morgan is up and I need to get her ready and pack her lunch. Here's the video.... enjoy!

Back to Reality!!

Justin and the fruits of his labor! (actually this is the fruit of Jorge's labor-- that's why Justin is smiling)

We are back from our wonderful and relaxing trip to North Carolina. We had had an awesome time and I haven't even uploaded my pictures yet... that's why I have this one of Justin and some "'straw". Despite some cold and overcast weather we had a delightful trip. My parents and Erika and Chance joined us and we enjoyed the mountains, the Stickler's wonderful house, the shopping, the food, and most of all we enjoyed each other! Little Raiger had a rough day and a half with a fever and some crying fits at night. We got back last night and couldn't get our house below 85 degrees so we slept at Justin's parents house! We're still dealing with a HOT house, but thankfully it's raining today and it's tolerable in here. Here's a link to Erika's pictures from the weekend. She pretty much captured it all... http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=18herk21.5dxh9ptt&x=1&y=-uhjzlp

Morgan started "Mother's Morning Out" today. We call it "school" and she was so excited. I packed her a lunch and tried hard not to be too sentimental about her going...after all, isn't this what I've been asking for? I kept reminding myself that I needed this time! But it was a little touching to see her get all dressed up and get in the car with daddy with a lunch packed. She'll be back in less than an hour and I can't wait to hear her report of her day! Paige has been sleeping away so I've been able to do laundry and unpack everyone!

The Pool

After church yesterday... it was HOT and little Paiger Rager was ready for her nap!!

There are some really nice things about living in this rental house... it has afforded us some opportunities! One being "the pool". No, not the lovely purple one that we have in our backyard but the one down the street! We decided to bite the bullet and join the Azaela Tennis & Swim Club and we've been twice and we LOVE it! I'm convinced Morgan will learn how to swim this summer. We've been twice and she's already shown improvements. Yesterday she fell in and went under. She held her breath and kicked her legs. I jumped in after her and pulled her up. She was definitely scared but her story quickly changed from almost drowning to "Daddy, did you see me swim under water? I kicked my feet and held my breath!" It's a great community pool and a lot of families from our church are there. I look forward to meeting other moms there and having somewhere cool (literally) to take the girls.

We're getting all geared up for our big trip this week. We're meeting my parents, Justin's parents, and Erika & Chance at the Stickler's house in Cashiers, NC. I'm so excited. It's one of my most favorite places and I'm excited to have the families together. I probably won't blog until we return... hopefully I'll have lots of fun pictures & a good report!

"That's What I'm Talkin' 'Bout!"

The Raiger & Momma Sissy

We had a wonderful weekend and it was such a treat to have Erika and Chance come by yesterday afternoon! Chance is from Geneva (just a little ways away from Dothan) and I hope to be on their way to or from Geneva every time they go. They came by here Sunday around 3 and since Morgan was still napping, Erika and I quickly escaped to "cat" around. I gave her a tour of the garden district and we decided while we were out we needed to go to Old Navy & T.J.'s (that's short for T.J.Maxx; which is where Morgan's best friend Judson says he works... makes Neal and Tami so proud!). We were having so much fun and finding so many good deals that time got away from us. Erika decided while I was checking out she'd run down to TJ's and start looking. It wasn't 2 mins later that she ran back in and said, "Darby, we have to go NOW! The lady just got on the loud speaker at TJs and said it was 7:50 and TJMaxx will be closing in 10 mins" She went on to tell me that I took too long in Old Navy. I knew we had been in there a while but I didn't think it was possible that we were in there for 4 hours. I mean it was good but not that good! We got in the car to hurry home, knowing that we were going to meet 2 angry and hungry husbands. The car radio clock said 4:51. Apparently the employee was used to working on weekdays when they close at 8 o'clock. Sure got us out of there quickly! It was fun sister, let's do that again soon, but lets wear watches next time. I don't spend money unless you're around though.... maybe we only better do it every other month! I'll let Justin replenish the pine straw money before I deplete it again! :) j/k Justin!

In addition to having a great visit I wanted to "blog" a few things about the girls and the things they do and say. First, I'll start with the Raiger. She has finally cut her first tooth. I was starting to wonder if we were going to have to buy her a set of dentures but thankfully the first one has made it's grand entry and hopefully the rest will follow shortly. In addition to cutting her first tooth, she has mastered "scooting". She doesn't crawl on all fours she scoots on her bottom. This enables her to hold toys in both hands and crawl all at the same time. It makes us laugh really hard. At the end of everyday the seat of her pants is filthy. She will wear out the bottom of her pants instead of the knees. The outside of her ankles are calloused from scooting them back and forth on the floor! Morgan has given her the lovely nickname, "Paiger Rager Scooter Rooter" I'm hoping and praying it doesn't stick! :)

As for Morgan. She's a bundle of energy and says things that make me laugh so hard that I wish everyone who knows her was here to hear her. Her latest saying is, "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!" She says it when she colors well, when she gets her clothes on, when she eats something she likes... it's hysterical. She's 2 and 1/2 and loves to test me on just about everything. Bedtime is our biggest battle right now. You'd think we were locking her in a prison cell to sleep if you could hear her beg and plea to sleep in Mommy & Daddy's room on a "powet" (pallet). Besides the "testing" she is an absolute delight and joy and makes us laugh out loud all day long!

Our third child, Squash the cat, has moved in. She is ALWAYS on the veranda and if the kitchen door is open she helps herself in. I put up a baby gate yesterday so I could have some morning sun in the kitchen without squash and sure enough that cat hopped the gate. I've never been a "cat person" so I was quite impressed. Apparently, a baby gate is cake for a cat! :)

Here's my little "that's what I'm talkin' 'bout" eating her cereal... all prim and proper!

More Memorial Day Pictures

Chris & Kara took much better pictures than I did! Here's the link to theirs! Thanks for sharing, Chris & Kara! I enjoyed your perspective... not too many of the babies! I think you did a better job of capturing the weekend than I did!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=b5enhlt.2ip55byp&x=1&y=yp5vu1

Memorial Day Weekend

Paige and Morgan lakeside

We had an absolutely wonderful Memorial Day weekend at Silver Lake. This has been a Memorial Day tradition for many years. Just a few years ago it was a big group of single college kids and it has progressed to a large group of young families with kids. I have to be honest I had several reservations (even more than last year when I was very pregnant and only had one child). I wasn't sure how it would work and where everyone would sleep, etc. I wasn't sure how the kids would nap, or if they would even nap at all. But everything worked out beautifully and it was such a refreshing and renewing weekend. It's always such a blessing to be in the company of excellent friends. These people are genuine friends who mean so much to Justin and me. These are friends that we know we will be friends with for life. Even the ones we just see on Memorial Day. I look forward to seeing all these little children grow up together.

We had excellent weather and thanks to lots of SPF we had responsible tanners and everyone escaped without a trace of sunburn. Even the little fair skinned babies! Sunday was our busiest day, with a total of 24 people, 8 of which were children under age 5. We ate lots and lots of really good food, played lots of dock basketball, threw horseshoes, took several boat rides and canoe rides, fished, read, listened to music and just spent time catching up on each other's lives. I'll attach pictures from the weekend, but I will warn you there are lots and lots of them.

This is Reed Payne, she is the precious daughter of Brannon and Ann (Buster) Payne. She is 10 days older than Paige (10 months old). The Payne's found out last week that she has a mild case of Cerebral Palsy. As you can imagine this is devastating to them. They have an amazing faith in Jesus and I know they trust Him to bring them through. Please keep them in your prayers as they seek second opinions of doctors and therapists in Birmingham. Pray that they will find comfort in their Heavenly Father and that through this He will strengthen their faith in Him.

On a much lighter note and one of no importance at all compared to that of what the Payne's are facing... our old dog Jackson showed up at the lake this weekend. It's been almost a year since we had him put down and somehow he survived and was in full force at the lake this weekend. For those of you who had the pleasure of knowing Jack you will be quite surprised at the resemblance between Jack and the mysterious cur that showed up as soon as we got to the lake.

Enjoy the pictures.... the girls are both at my feet and I have a hard time concentrating... imagine that!!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=b5enhlt.af35hrkx&x=1&y=lhd3zs

Softball & Church

Daddy's Biggest Fans!

I thought Justin's softball games were fun to go to in Tallahassee. That's because I had never been to a softball game in Dothan. In Tallahassee the girls and I would load up the car and stroller (much like the picture above) and head up to Justin's game. We wouldn't see anyone we knew. I would sit in the bleachers and the girls would stay in their stroller. Justin played for his company's team and I didn't know any of the other wives. Well, softball in Dothan is much different. And much more fun. There's just something so enjoyable about going to a softball complex and seeing lots and lots of people you know and lots and lots of kids you know. Morgan doesn't sit in her stroller in Dothan. I talk to other wives that I know and meet lots of nice people who have known Justin and my in-laws for a really long time. We don't really watch the game (sorry Justin) we play, talk and eat fun treats from the concession stand.

Church in Dothan is similar to softball in Dothan. Wednesday night we went to church for supper and Wednesday night church and it took me back to Anniston all over again. It's something that is hard to explain, but going to a church for dinner (even if it is corndogs) and seeing lots of families with lots of children is so comforting to me. Don't get me wrong our church in Tallahassee has all of this and we did go a couple times, it's just so much larger that it has a different feel. We absolutely adored our church in Anniston and some of our fondest memories are due in part to the size of the church. It was a small church. A small church that was thriving, full of life, and full of people who loved Jesus and us. First Pres is larger than Faith Pres but not as large as Wildwood and I know it will be a good fit for us. There are lots of young families and the church body seems to be thriving. This makes me very excited about being a part of it and raising the girls there.

Here are a few random pictures. I may have talked the curtains up too much. The best part I think was the fact that the fabric was only $1.50 a yd. They don't look as cute as I had explained, but they do turn the girls rooms into caves.

Visitors, Wanted and Unwanted

DaddyBoy (the wanted visitor) & "Squash" (the unwanted visitor)

DaddyBoy was fresh from the bed (maybe you can tell by the hair) when I solicited his assistance to remove "Squash" from the living room.

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend with my parents. They came into town on Friday afternoon and just headed out this morning. Friday we had enough time to show them our garden at the farm. It is full and thriving (thanks to an irrigation system rigged up by Justin) with squash, zucchini, corn, peanuts, okra, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, black eye peas, green beans, zipper cream peas, butternut squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, and lots of zinnias for cutting! We've already harvested squash and zucchini and in a few days we'll be up to our eyeballs in the crookneck squash & zucchini. Justin and I have always gardened together. Even when we dated at Auburn. He had a plot through an Auburn Ag. Dept Fraternity. It's been a while since ours has been this big... if ever this big. I look forward to charting the progress of the garden on the blog.

Saturday Justin and dad played at the farm and all the "girls" stayed here. Saturday evening we took Mom and DaddyBoy to see our lot. Because Justin and Dad had been bushogging the farm all day, they both added some sense of urgency to the need of bushogging the lot. On Sunday, with bush-hogging on the mind, he and Justin DROVE THE TRACTOR from the farm to our lot--- a grand total of 18 miles (1.5mi on 231-- which is a death sentence in a car, let alone a tractor going 15) and it only took and hour and a half to get there; thankfully my dad survived. Justin and Morgan followed in the truck, while Mom and Paiger and I went to TJ Maxx. We all headed back out to the lot Sunday night to see Dad's work and we were all duly impressed. I told Dad it looked like Central Park (which might have been a slight exaggeration) but it did look 150% better than it did the day before. We're trying to fix it up to sell it; it's kinda like a house, you fix it up and then you hate to leave, which is the story of our house-buying career. Anyway, it will make a very nice lot for someone... and it's rather relieving that it's not us.

We enjoyed many meals on the veranda (my parents referred to it as a carport but here in S. Alabama we call them verandas-- that is for you dad) and lots of quality time with Squash. She's become somewhat of a permanent fixture around here and has made herself right at home. Since I've told you how hot our house is, you're probably not surprised that we leave all the windows and doors open. Squash thinks that's an open invitation. Mom was quite shocked to find Squash in the bathroom Sunday afternoon and ever since the little stinker likes to sneak in. She also has found a new favorite spot to nap... you'll see on the pictures. She looked so comfortable I couldn't dare throw her out!

I also had a very short and sweet visit with a dear friend from Tallahassee. Brooke, Brock, and Jake Veleber came by on Sunday and it was so good to see them. I was quickly informed by my husband that I needed to go get dad from the lot shortly after they got here, but it was a delight nonetheless! I hope to be a stopping point for lots of Alabamians who now reside in Tallahassee! We both got a good laugh out of the fact that when she called she was in the DQ parking lot... she knew she was close... she just didn't know how close! Thanks Brooke and next time I hope we can visit longer!!

The girls are down and I'm wiped out so I'm going to go to bed. I started this earlier this afternoon and just now have been able to wrap it up! Here's a link to some pictures from our weekend. I didn't get as many as I hoped but here they are anyway!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=b5enhlt.4vh7xuo9&x=1&y=lfsyqd