My LIFE these days

We seem to be too busy these days. I feel at times I don't have time to sit and play with my children. I am busying myself with too many other projects, whether it be getting ready for vacation, redecorating the house, calling pest control, cleaning, laundry and anything else you can imagine.
My heart breaks when I read a friends blog who has just lost her little girl. I sit, wonder and pray for her and her family and can't imagine what she is going through. Please, pray for this family, if you're interested in her blog, you can go to Atchison family from my blog.
Another good friend (Amy Cook, she's really neat you should read her blog too), one day they will be too old to ask you to play and we'll wish we had played with them when they were asking us to. There are so many times that I've told Hudson I would play with him later because I was having to cook, unload the dish washer, iron or some other thing that's not nearly as important as he is.
Todd and I have really been missing Birmingham lately, not the city itself, but our great friends there. We have been here a little over 2 1/2 years now and still feel homesick. We miss all of you from there so much and wish we could be living our lives with you and your families.
This was a quick update of me and what's going on right now.

Barcelona,Spain

This is Todd in front of a Catholic church being built. It is huge and is not finished. It's actually really sad, this church is being paid for by the people in Barcelona, because they believe that if they give money to build this building, it is paying for their sins. This makes me sad that they actually believe their sins can be paid for by anything other than Christ. He is our only redeemer! Also, a very small percentage of people actually do attend a church service. This is being built for tourists.

We took a boat ride and saw these ridiculously huge jellyfish. And, there were tons of windsurfers out there. What were they thinking?

Needless to say we did not go on the beach. Where would we have put our towels and umbrella had we decided to go? Another tidbit, you could wear your top if you wanted or you could just take it off. No big deal!

Okay, not a good picture of me, but this was us on our way to the gala. We ate at the place that Christopher Columbus's welcoming home celebration took place. The buildings there were beautiful.

All in all, we had a great time. It was good for us to hang out, sleep in, tour and shop the city.

Our hotel was lovely and guess who stayed there while we were there. The cast of Batman. I didn't see them, but some others from our group did. They had their opening premiere one evening that we were there. I think it was a day or two after Christian Bale was released from jail. Huuummm!!!!

Hair Tip #3 (i think)

So I haven't written lately on hair tips. I guess this really isn't a tip it's just a suggestion if you're someone like me who's had your hair highlighted for years. For the past few years I've had my hair highlighted and low lighted at the same time. It makes for a pretty color, but in the past year or two, the styles have had a more solid hair color look. Are most of these still highlighted? Yes! What some of the stylists are doing is highlighting and low lighting the hair then using a toner to soften the look making the hair appear a solid color. Are some of these not highlighted? Yes! Some are just going dark all over. I'm sure you've seen this in magazines, television, etc. So my suggestion is go for a solid color look. Is my hair highlighted still? Yes, but much smaller weaves, which also let's you go longer between services because the new growth is not as obvious.

For products, my all time favorite is Kerastase! Love it, Love it, Love it! It's expensive, but it's good.

I would love to share a picture of Lauren Conrad with you. She has this darker look, but still blond. It's a great shade. I just can't find the picture, so if you're in the grocery store, it's in Entertainment weekly this week.

What's been going on

It's been a while since I've last posted. I'm sorry to all of you dedicated readers. I'm sure I've lost most of you by now. I'll promise to always do better, but I really can't right now. We have had a busy summer and it's not slowing down anytime soon. We are usually out of the house by 7:55 every morning, then off for a fun filled, rushed day. I realized today that I keep saying hurry! hurry! My children are going to always think we need to be in a hurry.

We traveled to Gulfport a few weeks ago and had a blast visiting mom, family and friends. We went to the river on day and Hudson loved it, Caroline didn't like the sand too much. We were right there on the coast, but never made it to the beach Hmmm, I don't know what happened there. Maybe next time mom! Back to the river, Hudson loved it, he kept saying "This river is great, it's just wonderful, I love this place," there was no way I could put him down for a nap.

Todd's parents came up for the 4th, we went to Franklin on the fourth, which was fun, the kiddos enjoyed the animals, jumping things and the fireworks.

An update on swimming, they are doing really well and I think we'll finish next week. Hip Hip Hooray!

Last but not least we are leaving for Barcelona, Spain in a week. I am extremely nervous, anxious and all the other emotions that come when you're leaving your children. I've left them both before, but this seems harder, well it is in a way, we are farther and this trip is longer. Todd and I met with an attorney today to sign our wills and make sure we have all of that in order. Whoa! Scary! But it's nice to know that everything is taken care of. I'm sure I'll be crying many tears while leaving them. I usually do! This trip sounds fun, but for any of you who know me, I would almost rather stay with my children and not go. So, if you would please pray for me, that I would put my trust in the Lord and that He would calm my fears. This sounds petty, but it's really hard. Thank you and I hope to blog again soon.

Swim Lessons

I haven't been on here in a while. I thought this summer would slow down for a while, but we've only gotten busier. This is good, but tiring at times - I must confess. The kiddos started swim lessons about three weeks ago. These lessons are every day for 10 minutes, for 6 weeks. H.R. is doing so good, he is swimming underwater and rolling onto his back for a rest time. I am completely amazed because last year he wouldn't get off the steps and he had to have a life jacket and floaties on. I must have instilled some fear in him. C.G. is swimming, but cries the intire time, except when she's underwater. It's really sad! I will try to get some pictures of them up soon. These lessons are mainly for learning survival skills. If you're interested in knowing more about these lessons, you can go to www.infantswim.com

I've been tagged!

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was in my 4th year of college, had just become a christian and was getting ready for my first beach project.

5 things on my to do list
1. clean and straighten house
2. make a list of things to do this summer with the kids (activities)
3. call and cancel my hair appt. for this weekend and reschedule for the next
4. move H.T.'s train table to his room and find a table and rug for the play room.
5. organize my house

5 snacks I love
1. chex muddy buddies
2. snickers
3. baked chick peas
4. dry cereal
5. diet caffeine free coke

5 things I would love to do if I were a billionaire
1. have a house on a bay or beach with our own private pier with hanging beds on the screened in back porch.
2. buy my mom a place near us
3. boutique shopping
4. spend a few days at a spa
5. give to ministries and family in need of help (this would be number one of course)

5 bad habits
1. snacking when I'm not hungry
2. needing coffee every morning to wake up
3. sometimes I get in a habit of taking a nap when my children go down.
4. talking on the phone in the car
5. complaining

5 places I've lived
1. Gulfport, MS (born and raised)
2. Mobile, AL (college)
3. Birmingham, AL (first 5 yrs. of marriage)
4. Franklin, TN (now)
5. I don't know, I would love to live in Fairhope, AL

5 jobs I've had or have
1. stylist at The Greenhouse Spa
2. stylist at Salon Elite
3. nanny in college
4. new accts. rep at a The Peoples bank
5. maid at a hotel in panama city for a summer beach project in college

I want to know more about: (you've been tagged)
Shea Williams
Kaitlin Graves
Allison Stephens
Paula Cibula
Jessica Parris
Annie Haralson
Amanda Skinner you are off the hook!

"You're gonna miss this"

I'm sure many of you have heard this song by Trace Adkins. The first time I heard it, I really felt like it was about my life. I have always looked toward the next phase of my life. As a child, I couldn't wait to be like my older cousins, driving, going out, having a feeling of independence. When I was in college, I couldn't wait to find the man I was going to marry and spend the rest of my life with. I thought that when that happened, then I would have arrived, that nothing could be better. After getting married, we had a one bedroom apartment, and began looking at houses. That was going to be the greatest, our first little home. It was so exciting, then shortly after, we decided to have a child. We did, and that was great. I now have two precious children and a wonderful husband. At the end of the song, it's a plumber who comes to her house and one kid is screaming, one is crying and the phone is ringing. That is me so many times over. The plumber says to the girl, you're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back, you're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast, these are some good times, so take a good look around, you may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this.

This is so true! I look at my children every day and try to take a snapshot of their looks in my mind. I pray that moments with them will not leave my memory. I can't imagine what my life will be like in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or 15 years from now. But I don't want to, I love this stage, I love where I am. Sometimes, the days are hard, long and tiring, but I wouldn't want it any other way. These are the days that I'm going to miss! As I look back, I miss a lot of my past, I miss high school, I miss living with my mom, I miss having my best friend two miles down the road from me, I miss a lot. But I am so thankful that God has given me these memories to miss. I want to know that these days are going to go by so fast, and I want to make the most of them now.