Clemson Football National Champions

Clemson has had an exciting season, and we have had fun at the games. Clemsonwon the ACC,then the Fiesta Bowl, and went on to the National Championship in Tampa. We would have loved to have gone but couldn't afford it this year. ( 450 face value going for 1700).

We had a if tailgate party at school on Monday and then tailgated at Noni's and watched the first quarter with her.

The boys went to bed, and Tim was too nervous to watch. I watched it by myself. Deshaun threw the winning touchdown with 1 second left. I can't lie- I did get a little teary! The game wasn't o ear until close to 1,and then I watched all of the post game.  The p,ayes and Dabo were very inspirational. It was close to 3 a before I fell asleep. I am too old to stay up that late and be back up at 5:30 for work!

Thousands of people greeted the Tigers when the got back on Tuesday. We enjoyed Clemson spirit days the rest of the week.

Today we went to the celebration. We left at 7:30 and luckily found a parking spot near the library. We walked and found a spot to watch the parade. The boys had fun drawing on the sidewalk with rocks. The parade was so fun. Brooks loved holding his sign. Jackson and Will loved giving high fives and fist bumps from former players.  Thatcher wanted to join the parade.  Walker soaked it all in!

Then we walked to the stadium and had to sit in the upper deck. We were there with 65,000 of our closest friends! I loved listening to players and their love of God and how appreciative they were of their coaches and teachers! We took the boys down on the field while Dabo spoke.  Again he was inspiring. He is such an awesome motivator!

We ended our celebration with lunch at Mama Penn's! It was such a great day and so wonderful to be part of this National Championship!

Walker is 8 months!

Where did the last month go?

Walker

• Wears 12m
• Weighs 20lbs 10oz
• Size 3 diapers
• Crawls everywhere
• Into everything (has broken 3 bowls from the kitchen island)
• Says "Ma Ma" and "Bye"
• Waves bye bye
• Has 7 teeth and getting another
•  Still loves his Paci (mainly the legs on his Wubbie)
• Loves real food especially Noni's macaroni and cheese, pizza, and biscuits
• Loves Puffs, MumMums, and fruit baby food
• Loves to play with his brothers' toys
• Has had constant ear infections the last 3 months and just finished 20days on antibiotics. Ears are still not better, so we are headed to the ENT for tubes
• Has RSV right now and isn't sleeping
• Has had an exciting past month- Christmas, first snow, and a Clemson National Championship
• Nicknames- Walkman, Walkerboo (Brooks), Mister (Jackson)[
• Loves to cuddle and hold my hair when fe falls asleep
• I love when he holds out his arms for me to hold him!

Walker keeps us on our toes and needs constant supervision. We love this sweet and silly baby!

Snow Day

For the past few days, the weather has been forecasting 3-5 inches of snow. Jackson was so excited! We did all the things Southerners do- sleep in pajamas inside out, put ice in the toilet, and sleep with a spoon under the pillow. I woke up early and was disappointed to see nothing on the ground! Jackson woke up and was so mad! He was in the worst mood. It did start to snow a little, and we ended up with a dusting. That made the boys happy.

We ended up going sledding with Parker at Whitney's parents' house. They have a big hill in their front yard. The boys had fun. They loved having a snowball fight. Well it was actually snow and leaves. Noni, Brent, and I joined in on the snowballs.

Once that melted, we took the boys to Clemson. They got about an inch of snow. We went to the Wren. house and went sledding down the big hill. It was so fun!  They loved it! The hill is steep, and so you go very fast. The best thing- we were the only ones there.

Lunch at McAlister's warmed us up.

Happy 2017!

As I cuddle Walker listening to the rain and never ending fireworks, I am grateful for a new year and a fresh start. 2016 brought many blessings, but it has also brought lots of trials and sadness. In this new year, I am looking for peace in all aspects of my life. I am looking for peace in things and situations that I cannot change.

Walker has been such a blessing. His cuddles have brought me so much joy and comfort. I have loved watching Jackson and Brooks be the best big brothers. They have both grown and changed so much this year. I am so proud of these boys!

My mom's cancer diagnosis has really rocked me to my core. I have been an emotional wreck these past few months in between everything else. I have been very blessed with wonderful coworkers and friends. I have also been blessed that I have been able to go to all of the appointments with my mom that I have needed to.

Time is precious and goes too fast. While I want to be able to spend as much time with my parents and the boys, I also need to take care of me. I get 15 minutes to myself a week (my drive to pick up the boys on Tuesday afternoons).  That is the only time I am ever alone. I need to do better so I can have time to think and reflect and have quiet time with God.

My goals for 2017:
1. Make quality time with my family a priority
2. Find some time for me
3. Be grateful for what I have
4. Live in the moment
5. Figure some way to move out of this house! (I have no doubt that this will be a goal for the next 10-15 years or until I win the lottery!)

Walker is 7 months (and a few days)

So I realized I never did a 6 months post... At 6 months, Walker was sitting up by himself and eating lots of baby food.

At 7 months:

• Weighs 19 lbs and 3 oz
• Wears 9m-12m
• Hates socks
• Size 3 diapers
• Sits up independently
• Moves from sitting to crawling position and back
• Moves around the room by crawling backwards, rolling, and crawling forwards a little
• Babbles a lot
• Loves big boy toys and really doesn't like baby toys
• Can pull up on the couch
• Has 3 teeth and 3 more popping through
• Loves to eat- oatmeal, apples, sweet potatoes, pancakes, bread, pizza
• Dislikes anything green and gets so mad when we sneak in a spoon
• Prefers real food over baby food
• Loves Mum Mums and does really well feeding himself
• Loves to cuddle when he naps
• Naps around 10, 1, and 4:30
• Sleeps 8:00-6:00
• Has another ear infection (This makes 3 since his 3 month appointment. Jackson has only had 1 his entire life!)) He is on 20 days of antibiotics.  He goes back for a recheck January 11th. If they are not clear at that appointment, we are headed to the ENT for tubes.
• Happy Baby

Time, slow down! Walker is growing up so fast. I feel like he has done everything sooner than the other two, and it makes me sad!

I love this age where his personality is starting to show!

Christmas Adventure

The big boys spent the day at church, so we surprised them with a Christmas adventure. We went to eat at Carraba's. Jackson loved his pizza. Walker loved his bread. Brooks loved his ketchup.

Then we went to Roper Mountain lights followed by a quick trip to the mall.

Central Christmas Pageant

The boys have spent the weekend getting ready for the annual church Christmas Pageant. Jackson has been so excited to be a shepherd. That is what he wanted to be. Brooks was a donkey. His choir got to pick any animal they wanted to be. He wanted to a lion, a tiger, and then Paw Patrol. He settled for a donkey costume that Noni and I made.

On Saturday the boys has a rehearsal and then a birthday party for Jesus. The shepherds were having too much fun sword fighting with their " hooks."

The had to be dressed and ready to rehearse at 3:00. All of the little animals were so cute.

Brooks has a cold so he spent most of the show picking his nose with his middle finger or turned around talking to "Rudolph." He must have been hot too because he rolled up his pants. Of course he was right up front.

Jackson did not sing much but he was a good shepherd!

We enjoyed our spaghetti dinner and pictures with Santa. Of course Walker almost yanked off Santa's beard.  The evening ended in tears- Brooks broke his candy cane! You can't eat a broken candy cane!