This cowboy's hat!

Oh, our sweet baby Joseph!! What can I say, he is full of life! Joseph has so much personality it is overflowing! Joseph LOVES his boots, and now he has become attached to cowboy hats! Uncle Clay and Grandpa Holmes often wear cowboy hats while on the farm, but today Joseph marched around in a cowboy hat! He was so proud of himself! The boys were also feeling like big stuff because Grandpa Holmes brought them back a luxury....french fries! It is rare, if ever, the boys get french fries from us. But we have learned that Grandparents do not always obey rules, and it is easier to allow the "luxuries" in life. Today the finer things in life were cowboy hats and french fries, boy farm life is good!

Police Academy

My brother, "The Hero in the Night." Uncle Clay graduated from the Police Academy this week. It was a humbling ceremony, and made me appreciate law enforcement so much more than I have before. Our family and friends enjoyed celebrating this new milestone with him, and look forward to his career as a police officer.

Next time a cop stops you because you are driving too fast,
Remember he saved you from that day being your last.
Next time you call him a name,
Would he have called you the same?
To break up a fight, knowing later it will be worse,
And from his help, all that came was him being cursed.
To know that people don’t respect what he chose to do,
But day after day, he’s out there to protect people like me and you.
The job has no glamour, doesn’t even pay well,
He does it because he cares for more than himself.
He cares for you and he cares for me,
He’s out there hoping we will all see.
He took a path not many would take,
And he chose it for our sake.
He’s a remarkable soul, a Hero in the Night,
When all is well, he’s not in sight.
But, if you ever need him, he’ll be right there,
Not just because he’s a cop but because he cares.
Author Unknown

We are so proud of you Uncle Clay!


























Since Anthony had the day off for my brother's graduation, we made a day of it! The boys stayed home and we were able to spend great time with Jayne Elizabeth! We took her for the first trip to the mall! Anthony stayed with her and read business finance books at the book store, and I made my way through the children's stores! We had a great day! I love my family.



















Please remember to pray for our military and police. Now that my brother will be out on the streets, you can be assured that I will cover him in prayer daily. We should all pray for those men and women that sacrifice so much, so that we can be safe.

Super Bowl Sunday

We enjoyed having friends over to watch the Super Bowl, and I enjoyed all the food! The boys played and played, and Jayne Elizabeth slept. The pictures are the boys watching Mickey Mouse, not the Super Bowl. One day I am sure Anthony and the boys will be staring at the TV screen for hours watching football! But for now Mickey is their interest.......

To Sleep or not to sleep.....

As many of you know our precious little boys have given us much difficulty in the sleep department. We still have someone crying for extended periods every night, and they wake up at approx 5:30-6:00 AM, every morning! We have had them puke they cry so hard, and attempted every sleep method known to parenting! We co-slept until they were 6 months old, then transisted them to share a crib. We thought they weren't sleeping because of each other so then we put them in their own cribs in the same room. However this didnt achieve more sleep, so we moved them upstairs to their own rooms at 13 months! Now at 19 months we still arent sleeping well, so as a desparate last move, we moved them back into the same room in their individual cribs!! We will see the outcome!

The moving beds and changing bedrooms was a huge Saturday afternoon project. However we had plenty of hands trying to help, they were just little hands!





















Joseph's Dug Out! This is his old room, with no crib! Now it has the big boy bed...I am glad we aren't to that phase yet! That will make me cry for sure!



















The final product, after their nap....all pacifiers, blankets, bears, and pillows thrown in the middle on the floor. We watched this happen on video monitors! Johnathan fell asleep first, and Joseph called to him and made every farm animal sound possible trying to wake him up! It was so funny! One thing is for sure- they had a good time together in the same room!


Note: We welcome any potions, songs, dances, or sleep technique suggestions!! Just remember, we now have a newborn in the sleep situation!

Mrs. Becky!

Mrs. Becky deserves an exclaimation point behind her name!! She is amazing!! She is our neighbor and also a good friend to us! She appeared at our front door the first day I stayed home with the twins alone, and she ended up staying at our house that day trying to assure me and calm babies! I thought we scared her off that day, but she has been coming over regularly since then! Mrs. Becky has two amazing boys of her own, and both are away at college. I listen close to her advice, and love her visits! I am so thankful that she is close by if ( and when ) we need her! Thanks Mrs. Becky!! Come see us soon!!

Birthday Cake!

Thank you for all the cards and birthday wishes! Over the weekend we celebrated my 31st Birthday! Yay!! It was a great day. Anthony and I even snuck away to Knoxville without the kids! We had a birthday pound cake and steak dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Holmes' house! Uncle Clay even made fried squash! yummy. Although I think the boys enjoyed feeding us the cake the most!

Rubber Boots

Being raised on a dairy farm you learn many things. There are no weekends or holidays to the cows, hard work is a must, long days are inevitable, it is a family business, fresh aromas found everywhere, and rubber boots are must have in your wardrobe. Even though our family is no longer in the dairy cow business, since then Dad has moved to Tennessee and operates a beef cattle farm, the boys are proud owners of their first pair of rubber boots! It is so cute to see them march around at my parents farm wearing their rubber boots! Joseph loves all boots, and brings Johnathan his boots to wear too! Also note the boys spiffy monogrammed "Phoenix Farm" jean jackets! Watch out Grandpa Holmes and Uncle Clay-- the boys will be driving the tractor and feeding the cows soon!





THANKS JACK AND JAKE FOR THE RUBBER BOOTS!! CHECK OUT THEIR BLOG!!