Brooks Paul Russell

Brooks Paul Russell was born at Brookwood Medical Center at 12:23 this afternoon. He weighed 8lbs 3oz. He was 21inches long. Jennifer and Brooks are doing good, just tired from their big day! He is so precious!

He is here!

I just got the call!! BROOKS PAUL RUSSELL is here! He weighed in at 8 lbs and was 21 inches long! Everyone is doing good! You know that I will have pictures to post tonight when I get home! We are on our way to check out the kids and head to Birmingham! I am so excited!!

Prayer Request

My brother and his wife Jennifer are on their way to the hospital right now to have their first baby. The C-Section is scheduled for 12:15! We are heading up to Birmingham around 1:00! I am so excited. Please keep them in your prayers today!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful and excited that tomorrow I will be an Aunt again!
(my brother, Loren and his wife are having their first baby tomorrow!)

I am thankful that I don't have school again until Monday.

I am thankful that I was able to drop Elementary Statistics.

I am thankful that there is a teacher at AUM that is willing to help me prepare for the math class that I have to take!

I am thankful that there were no leftovers last night after our first dinner with hidden veggies!

I am thankful that I was able to sneak in butternut squash and bananas into breakfast....undetected!

I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband, that is willing to help out at home after a long day at work or school.

I am thankful that Todd and I have some extra time together since we ride to school together on Monday and Wednesday.

I am thankful that I have great friends!

I am thankful that I have not had a serious headache since I have gotten my glasses!

Wordless Wednesday!

ALL STEAMED OUT!

These are the three pureed veggies!

I stopped by the store this afternoon and pick up some carrots, butternut squash, and some sweet potatoes. I was excited about concealing new veggies in our meals! Well, cooking the vegetables was easy, as was the pureeing part! I made pancakes with sweet potatoes. I had Todd taste them and he said that they were good! I also mixed the carrot and the squash puree into a pizza casserole that I made for tomorrow night! Todd tasted the sauce and said that he could not taste anything out of the ordinary! This makes me feel pretty good because he does not eat cooked carrots! We will see what the kids say tomorrow.

Deceptively Delicious?? We will see!

I have been wanting this book since I saw Jessica on the Today Show! I noticed that my friend Vicki also uses vegetable purees hidden in food! I can't wait to can't started. I hope that it helps my picky little eater that ALWAYS has a tummy ache! I will let you know if I can sneak some veggies past Savannah!

Week in Review

Well, this past week did not feel as busy as most weeks. I guess, that is because of the holiday on Monday. Todd used that time to do school work. I used the time to take the Zach and Savannah to finish spending their gift cards, I took Savannah to the doctor and I went to the grocery store to stock up on groceries for the next month!

On Tuesday, I took my friend Christy to our favorite restaurant, Friday's, to celebrate her birthday! We had to drive an hour but it was so worth it! We also made a pit stop at the Cheesecake Factory for some dessert! I must say, that was the best piece of cheesecake that I have EVER had. Christy and I had a good time!

I also got to pick up my glasses on Tuesday! I have not had a single bad headache since I have been wearing them. I have had little small ones, but I think that is just getting used to wearing them.

Wednesday, was back to school! Nothing to report there, except more homework.

Thursday, Todd was back at work and I cleaned house all day!

Usually on Fridays, Todd does not have to work, but he did this past Friday, so I was able to finish up a few things that needed to be done before he got home! We took the kids to the eye doctor (see post below) and that is about it!

Today, Morgan has a birthday party to go to and we are going to go over to the Locke's house tonight to celebrate their little girl's birthday, and to learn how to play Apples to Apples! I also feel a Rummy rematch coming on! Look out Brad! Jordan is 8 today! Happy Birthday Jordan!

I have to also go to the grocery store to pick up a few fresh things for the next week. I hope to have a smooth easy weekend!

Eyes, Toys, and Pancakes

We are home from the eye doctor and we have good news! None of the kids needed glasses....at this point! Dr. Trott said that Morgan had perfect eyes and Zach and Savannah had a very small astigmatism
and were a little nearsighted, but he said that most kids outgrow this! I am glad that they do not need glasses right now, but Savannah was upset! She was really hoping that she would need them!

After our appointment, we checked out the toy section at Sears. Last time we were there they had all of their toys 50% off! We bought Christmas presents for all of nieces and nephews (even Brooks, who is not even born yet!) We even picked up a few birthday presents! We were really pleased with our "finds".

On the way home instead of having to wait for me to cook supper we decided to stop at IHOP! We were just about through with our dinner, when we heard dishes flying and people screaming in the kitchen. That is the kind of thing that you see on TV! Well, all we know is that someone through food on one of the managers and she lost it and started screaming and yelling (and cursing!) Well, the Police were called and outside talking to the lady when we were leaving. She was talking about how this other manager treats everyone badly and he threw food at her. Who knew that you could get some entertainment while eating dinner at IHOP!

The Weekend!

I am so glad that today is Friday and that we can sleep in tomorrow! I look so forward to the weekends, even though sometimes it seems that we are just as busy on the weekends as we are during the week. This weekend is no exception. Todd and I have school work to do for the next week, Morgan has a birthday party, Zach has a birthday party, we are going over to Christy and Brad's to celebrate Jordan's birthday! We are going to be doing some serious partying this weekend!

This afternoon we are taking the kids to get their eyes checked! We are hoping that none of them needs glasses. Savannah is hoping for just the opposite....she wants glasses!

Have a good weekend!!

New Glasses!!

Well, I guess it is official, I am OLD! I went to the eye doctor Friday and I have to get glasses! Today was my first full day with them and boy was my head hurting! Well, anyway, here is a picture of me and my new glasses!

Inauguration Day 2009

My children really got into the Presidential Election this time. All of my children understood who we were going to be voting for and they also voted for the same candidate at school.

I have a tried really hard, even though he was not my first choice, to have my children see me respect Obama. As far as I can remember, I have not said one negative thing about him in front of the kids. I am troubled by the comments that they come home saying about him. I know that these are things that other kids hear their parents say.

I want my kids to know that he is still the President of our great country and even though we may not agree with him, we still have to respect and pray for him.

Here are some bible verses that I got from my friend Donna.

1 Timothy 2:1-2
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Daniel 2:19-21
19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

MONSTER TRUCK JAM

We took Zach and Savannah to the Monster Truck Jams last Saturday afternoon! We went with Christy and Brad and two of their kids! Morgan had wanted to spend the night with my parents so she was in Clanton!

We had a really good time even though it was really loud! Here are some pictures!

New Routine--Same Old Thing

Well, our nice break from school has come to an end! Yesterday was our first day back to class at Auburn Montgomery! I, of course was a nervous wreck, Todd, however, was not nervous and could not understand why I was. Well, the main reason for my nerves, was the math class that I have to take this semester--Elementary Statistics! More about this later.

Todd and I have decided to take all of our classes on the same days. Our thought behind this was that we would go to school 2 days a week and have more of a routine, especially with the kids! We go to school on Monday and Wednesday from 8-7:30 on Monday and 8-4:30 on Wednesday. Todd ends up getting the same hours at work and we can ride together and only use one car. We do have a baby-sitter, which is a new thing for us! This new schedule is going to work out great, I think! Todd has a class that is worth 9 credit hours, I think that it is Teaching Reading or Literature or something, but he is in class from 8-1:30. My first class does not start until 9:25 and is over around 10:30, my next class does not begin until 2:10! A nice big break! I thought that I would go to my GRANDADDY'S house and hang out!

Let me tell you, there is NOTHING elementary about this Math class. The teacher was great, but he kept saying you should remember this from Finite Math. Of course I have NO IDEA what in the world the man was talking about. I was almost in tears during the class! I have no other options, I have to pass this class!

Well, if my post are sporadic then you know why! Between three kids, guitar lessons, tennis lessons, school, yearbook, Box Tops, and a husband, I really don't have time to blog much! We will see how it goes!

And the winner is........

Well, I am proud and a little sad to announce that I beat my children in the "graham cracker" house contest. We had a great time and it is something that I think that we will continue to do each year! Thanks to all those who voted! Here are pictures of who built each house!