Our Christmas

"Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above." James 1:17. This is Parker's second verse that he has memorized. It is so true. We did enjoy lots of gifts from friends and family. We also enjoyed the gift of friends and family. We praise God for the gift of His Son, Jesus. We had such a blessed time with all of our family. We started out at the Kelley's and then went to my grandparents. We got to spend some much anticipated time with Clay and Esma (our cousins whom we haven't seen in over a year). On Christmas day we got to spend the day at my parents house with Jason, Cindy, baby Oaklee, Nonna, Pop, my grandparents (all four of them), and the Marlins. It was a great day until 9:00 when we discovered Parker's ear infection. Actually Jason discovered his ear infection (thankfully his clinic is at the end of my parents' driveway). We then went to Atoka, OK to spend more time with Clay, Esma, "Uncle Woger", and "Aunt Cake." Then we all went to Frisco, Texas to spend time shopping, eating, and going to IKEA. It was really, really challenging having a sick kid on the road. That is why we don't have any pictures of us at Christmas. Thankfully, he is doing much better!

More paintings...

These are two paintings that I recently finished. The "AKR" is for Addison Katherine Reed (Amanda & Jim Ed Reed's soon to be born little girl).

Merry Christmas!

We finally made it to the square this year. Parker really enjoyed the lights, the camel, and especially the reindeer. I think this was actually my first time to see a live reindeer. It was pretty cool. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

We had a great time in DeQueen with our family for Thanksgiving. It was great being able to spend time with Oaklee for several days. Parker refers to Oaklee as "Parker's baby brother." We're working on saying cousin.

We are so thankful for the blessings God has given us....like family, and a baby girl, and lots of yummy food. HE is good.

Cowboy Up

This little cowpoke had a great time tonight. It took several bags of gummy bears to bribe him to wear the hat. He surprisingly said "twick or tweet" to most of our neighbors. I think it helped having Jack, Max, Grant, Drew bear, & Ben there. He was pretty scared of Nate. (Yes, that is right, Nate dressed up for Halloween. You'll have to check their blog out to get pictures-mine didn't do it justice). There was a lot of candy, smores, and cider even though it wasn't very cold. A good time was had by all!

Parker's First Razorback Game

We decided to take Parker to his first Razorback game today. Patrick told him before the game that we were going to watch the Razorbacks play football and tackle. Parker would say "tickle" instead of tackle. We weren't sure how he would do since the game was during his nap time. He was amazing! It helped having Uncle Philip, Gigi Vicki and Papa Russ there to play with. He loved watching the Hogs play....thankfully we won!

Sweet Oaklee

We just got back from a quick trip to DeQueen to meet Oaklee. She is so precious! Jason and Cindy have adjusted well. They are amazing parents! It is so nice to have a sweet baby girl in our family! Parker loves his "Oakwee".

Welcome Oaklee

Here is our sweet niece, Oaklee Kimberling Lofton. The name Oaklee is derived from the verse " They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor" Isaiah 61:3. Oaklee and Cindy are doing fine. We can't wait to hold you sweet girl.

We're back

We had an enjoyable trip to Beaver Creek, CO. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the beautiful Aspen leaves. The weather was perfect. It snowed the first night we were there. Parker went on his first hike at Maroon Bells (in Aspen). We visited Breckenridge, Vail, and Aspen. We ate at some of our favorite spots like Blue Moose pizza. It was an incredible week, but we are glad to be back in NWA.

Happy Birthday Parker!

Happy Birthday P! Parker, I praise God for you. You are such a blessing to us.

Birthday Boy

Parker is almost 2! He officially turns two on Friday. We had his birthday party yesterday at Fun City. He and his friends had a blast. His favorite things were the gifts and the Elmo cake. He woke up this morning and asked if he could eat "Elmo cake."

Powder Mishap

Parker's Big Day

Today I took Parker to Mother's Day Out. I had prepared him (and myself) for this. This morning we prayed for a good day at school (that Parker would be obedient, have fun, that God would protect him). I kept telling him about his school and that he would have two teachers. He was so excited this morning when he saw his lunch box and nap mat. He brought them to me and said, "I ready Mommy." I had not prepared myself for him being ready. We picked up Drew Bear and Kelli and we all went together. Yes, Drew Bear and Parker are in the same class. Their poor, poor teachers. We took them to the classroom....all was well. I kissed him goodbye and he didn't care that I was leaving. God knew exactly what I needed!

Go Hogs!

We had fun with the fam yesterday at the game. My mom graciously stayed home with Parker so that we could actually watch the game. We tailgated with the Marlins.

"P Mac"

Parker has no idea who D Mac is, but he does love the Hogs (who doesn't). The first picture is Parker's attempt to flex his muscles like D Mac. We're excited to see the Razorbacks in action this Saturday. GO HOGS!

Parker's Funnies of the Day...

Oh this kid, and it's only 1:00pm! Today's funnies include:

-I grabbed my keys to the car, Parker gets his keys and says, "I drive it Mommy, I drive the car." Then I said, "No, you can't drive until you're 16" and then I get sad because I'm already having to say this to him.

-We get to Wal-Mart, "no ride shopping cart Mommy."

-We get home, I start making a cake, Parker starts "cooking" in his kitchen. I asked him what he was cooking, he says, "I cook the horse." I looked in his oven, sure enough, all his horses were in there. poor guys.

-I ask him if he wants to watch Sesame Street. His response: "No, I watch golf." I think he's after his daddy's heart!

-I put him down for his nap and he said, "I love you too Mommy." It was very sweet and heart felt...love those moments! 10 minutes later, I think that he is asleep, he starts yelling, "I LOVE YOU TOO MOMMY. MOMMY, MOMMY, I LOVE YOU TOO!" That wasn't so heart felt. I think it was more a cry for help to get him out of the crib. Unfortunately it didn't work. It did make me smile!

He's not even 2 yet. Oh what does this next year have in store for us?

I've been tagged

Thanks to Jaime for this bit of randomness..


The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

**I feel like I need to preface this by saying "Just Lindsey", like Jack did from Will & Grace.

Random Info. 1: I am a new coffee drinker (really cappiccino b/c of the way I make it). I have had it the past three days.

Random Info. 2: I do not enjoy the heat....AT ALL...I've been burning my new fall candle (Snickerdoodle flavor) and listening to Christmas carols to get my mind off the heat.

Random Info. 3: I love the show "So you think you can dance" and I'm super excited about the finale this week (Go Sabra).

Random Info. 4: We're Dave Ramsey junkies. We recently sold our Denali and bought a used Xterra and paid for it with cash. We're on our way to be completely debt free!

Random Info. 5: My goal is to run the Dallas White Rock Marathon in December of 2008. I need time to mentally prepare.

Random Info. 6: I have an obsession with chocolate. Especially chocolate covered almonds and chocolate cake. Lord help me!

Random Info. 7: We're going to Beaver Creek, Colorado at the end of September and I can't wait. I've always wanted to see the fall leaves in Colorado.

Random Info. 8: I'm going to be an aunt in 2 months. It's truly a dream come true.

Tag, you're it: Jason, Cindy, Kelli, Heidi, Rich & Renee, Cat, Lauren, Sharon

Watch out Britney Spears...

I know it's a little scary, but this is one of Parker's favorite things to do. He gets his dad's xbox headphones and then runs to the guitar and sings as loud as he can. It's quite hilarious. I'm not sure who he gets this from? OK, yes I do, it's me.

10 Year Reunion

Last weekend, I went to DeQueen for my 10 year reunion. I had such a great time catching up with friends. These are the only two pictures I managed to take. I was reluctant to go, but I am so glad that I did!

Fun with B & B

We got to spend a fun evening with our good friends the Baledges. They are very special to us. We've known Brooke & Barrett since they were 2 and now they are 10. It's so hard to believe. Parker really had fun hanging out with the big kids. He especially enjoyed swimming with Brooke & Barrett.

Tulsa Zoo

Last Saturday, we headed over to Tulsa with the McGooden's and the Davis's to go to the zoo. It was Parker's first time to see most of the animals that were there. We all had a great time even though it was sooooo hot. Thankfully the zoo also has a little waterpark for the kids to play in. That was probably the boys favorite part!