Heartfuls of Happiness

Where oh Where have we all been?????

2012-02-12T08:50:00.001-06:00

Well, here we are again! I am embarassed to say that we have not been "gone"... just incredibly busy! I can only keep up so many websites at a time! It has been an insane few years here. Around the last time I posted, my life began to change ever so much! My daddy got sick, had open-heart surgery with several complications. Then, last May 11th, we lost him. I have not dealt well with this but life does go on! I have a part of my heart that is missing every day, but the boys do fill my emptiness with laughter, wrestling, "don't do that"s, and tons of hugs!!!

I will be updating more or try to... graduate school is keeping me oh so busy and teaching too!!! It is great and I am better when I am busy!!! I don't like idle time!!!

Posts coming soon!!!! :)

More Football Game -- OHS Homecoming

2009-10-09T20:49:00.003-05:00

Here are some more pictures from the Homecoming game.

This is my friend Lynn's little girl. She is such a SWEETIE!!!

Kaitlyn with the Oxford Jacket

The best babysitter in the WORLD!!! Jayme and Zach after the game. Zach wanted her to play with him the entire night!!

Jayme and the boys after the game.

DJ with his buddies during the game... were they watching the game or the cheerleaders? I think he was waiting on a football the whole time????

We're Still Here!!!

2009-10-09T20:24:00.004-05:00

Here are some recent pictures of the boys from the Oxford High School Homecoming Game last week. I know we haven't posted in a LONG time (to say the least), but it has been crazy with 2 boys and 22 precious ones at school!! I will try to do better!

DJ is not in many with me and Zach, he had to be with his buddies the ENTIRE time, unless he needed money!! He is growing up so fast!

The boys and I at the game.

Zach and I watching the halftime show. Oxford's band is amazing!

Berri (my friend who took these pictures) called our names and snapped this great shot of Zach's smile!

He is still at the stage where he clings to us a lot!! I love it!

Zach liked the Jacket until he (she) got close.

At homecoming, students dress up like this. It is called Blackout. They run around the stands and get the crowds going.

Me, Berri, and Lynn -- my great friends from work. I think we may have been separated at birth!!

Berri snapped this shot.... it's an o.k. picture.

Me with the Oxford Yellow Jacket! My classroom is black and gold and Jackets. And of course, I strike a pose no matter where I am!

We had a great time! It was Zach's first high school football game. He really did well and made it through the entire thing!!!!

Long Time No Blog

2008-09-07T17:19:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!! I have lots of posts to make and will do them asap. We have been busy busy since school started back. I have new math, science, and reading to learn this year, so it is lots of studying and prep. Bear with me. I will be updating this week!!!

Love y'all!

More of the Beach

2008-08-02T09:55:00.016-05:00

Here are some more pictures from the trip to the beach.

DJ was off to the Kids Crew Club for a day of activities.

Zach loved to watch the boats every morning. We had to take the juice and a pecan twirl to the balcony every morning and sit there and watch the boats leave for the fishing.

A hazy morning picture of Mommy and Daddy.

DJ taking a break before lunch to play a little game boy.

DJ found the remnants of shell on the beach.

(He has gained weight....he was just taking a deep breath of agitation because I didn't take the picture quick enough. He weighs about 54 lbs now!!!)

I loved this picture of DJ with the water behind him. He is precious!!! His face is changing every day. He does not have that little boy face anymore.

We thought this was neat. On this afternoon, there was a jet ski tour of the gulf coming back into the harbor. It looked like so much fun!!!

Mommy and Zach swimming in the pool.

I thought this was pretty of DJ standing with the gulf and everything in the background.

I could not believe that I got this shot!!! This is one of his new faces. We make it back and forth at each other. Is he not absolutely adorable?????????? Cheese face!

More Beach Yesterday

2008-07-29T08:56:00.003-05:00

Here are some more fun pictures of the boys playing on the beach. David's dad took a picture with his 35 mm camera of us all on the rocks. When we get that developed, I will put it on the blog.

A Day at the Beach

2008-07-29T07:59:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a fun day! We took Zach to the beach for his first walk on the beach. He's been on the beach before, but this was his first time to walk on the beach since he started walking. DJ and David had a great time too! David (as in, Big David) was looking around rocks for blue crabs. DJ was enjoying finding seagull feathers (GERMS...right Nanette?) and looking for seashells.

Here is our journey to the elevator. Where DJ goes, his little shadow is sure to follow ... and not slowly by any means!

Here we are with the boys on our boat ride to the beach. Daddy got a hold of the camera, or else you all know where I would be.... behind it!

Here is Zach's initial reaction to the sand! He wasn't sure of it at first. It has been a while since he has been on the beach (a little over a year, I guess). Too cute!!!

The Beach --- thank goodness!

2008-07-27T21:42:00.004-05:00

Here are the starter pictures from the beach!!! It has been great weather! It is busy busy here, but it is nice to be at the beach. Zach is loving the boats and has no fear of the water in the pool. DJ is meeting friends left and right and having a great time. David and Bill got here today at around 1 p.m. and we had a great afternoon. Of course, my camera decided to act crazy... so David went and got me a cheap digital to get me through until we can get another one!

Enjoy the pictures.

Here is my usual picture of David with the boys... they are getting so big!!!
Playing in the pool is a hard job!!! Zach needed a little juice break!!!
Weee!!!
DJ got a hold of Zach and enjoyed swinging him around in the pool! He is such a great big brother!
DJ with his new friends... Sam (or something like that!).

Happy Birthday Ash!!!

2008-07-27T21:14:00.004-05:00

Most of you know that I have a very close group of girl friends. I met Kerri when I was at JSU finishing college about 6 years ago. That is also where I met Terri. Kerri and I started eating at a local Mexican restaurant, then her cousin, "cuz", Ashley started coming. Then, Terri joined us. These pictures are from Ashley's 29th bday last week (week before, actually). I am the odd one out in the group with the brown hair! They all have beautiful blond hair and blue eyes (sometimes green!).

These are the girls!! Front: Terri, Me.... Back: Kerri, Ashley
They could so be sisters!!! Ashley and Kerri!
This is Kerri and her mom, Cheryl, aka Big Sissy... apple and tree!
Terri and her hubby Eric... ahhhh
Jaylon and Ashley (sweet!!)

These are my girls!! Couldn't live without 'em!

I've Been Tagged

2008-07-27T21:07:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged. My sister, Beth, tagged me. Now I am supposed to describe my life in 6 words.

1. Blessed
2. Busy
3. Fun
4. Fulfilled
5. Chaotic
6. Dreamy

Now I'm supposed to tag five more people...(the rules are to describe your life in 6 words and tag 5 more people, leaving them a comment on their blogs so they'll know they've been tagged).

1. Allison
2. Leisa
3. Nannett
4.
5.

Sad to say... I don't have any other blogger friends yet!! I need more!!!

Farewell Old Friend

2008-07-22T21:23:00.005-05:00

Todd Hurst -- October 1998 -- July 2008

We loved you so much Todd!!! We miss you!

He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.) When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself. He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant. His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever - in case I need him. And I expect I will - as I always have. He is just my dog." - Gene Hill

We had a very sad afternoon today. DJ and I were coming home from working in my classroom this afternoon and it was raining pretty hard. It had been pretty bad by the time we got to our street. As we passed our street headed to get Zach from daycare, I noticed a car pulled off the side of the road and thought "Oh I hope no one has had an accident." Then as we came up on the car, I noticed something black in the street and thought he must be having tire problems. As I drove slowly by him, I noticed that it was a dog covered with a black cloth. DJ noticed it too. He said, "Mommy it's Todd." I pulled off the road and jumped out of the car. The man was standing across the street from me, both of us soaking wet from the rain. He stopped traffic so that I could get to Todd. Todd was still breathing. I tried to get my hands under him to move him and, like any injured dog, he growled and tried to snap at me. The man (don't know his name) had also tried with no avail earlier. This wonderful man had taken his shirt off to cover Todd (that was the black cloth I saw when I pulled up). As it continued to steadily rain, I sat down in the road beside Todd. DJ was in the car crying hysterically. After getting the story from the guy, it turns out that he and his wife live in the house on McIntosh that faces our street. They were on there porch when he heard a dog crying and so he got in his car and went looking, that is when he found Todd. I went to DJ after seeing that Todd was still breathing. I assured him that everything would be o.k. -- of course, not knowing myself. We realized we weren't going to be able to move him, so we called the Oxford Police. I explained that we needed help moving him until David and my Dad got there to take him to the vet. It was just minutes later that I noticed Todd's breathing was becoming more and more labored. The sweet man from up the road was still there with me. Both of us crying. He just kept saying how sorry he was that he couldn't get him moved. He continued to direct traffic around us. I sat back in the road with Todd. He let me rub his head and He took a few more labored breaths and was gone. I called David and told him. He was on his way from Talladega and just didn't make it in time. The police finally got there about 10 minutes after Todd passed. The officer and the nice man rolled Todd onto the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beach towel I had in the car that I had covered Todd with. They moved him to the side of the road. I went to DJ and told him. I was blocking his view and told him that it was o.k. because Todd had gone to Doggy Heaven. The nice man closed Todd's eyes and sat with me a few minutes. I told him that he had done more than enough and my husband and dad were on the way. He went back to his house (literally 200 yards away maybe). I sat in the driveway by the side of the road where had moved Todd and just cried. David got there a few minutes later. He stayed with Todd and DJ and I went to get Zach from daycare. I went back to where Todd was and waited with David for my dad. Daddy got there and David and I loaded him on the back of the truck. DJ said he wanted to bury Todd at the farm where he would be safe. We mentioned burying him in the back yard, but DJ told me "Mom, he got out once, he might get out again! We have to take him the farm." So, I went and quickly changed clothes and shoes and met my Dad out at the farm. He called a friend of his to help dig the hole and we buried Todd in a shaded spot -- which he will love -- between two trees. Granny had made burgers and fries for dinner and the boys had eaten with Aunt Allie while I was taking care of the "matter." Thank you to all of you for helping us with this!

We will miss you Todd!!!

Happy Anniversary Beth and Brannon

2008-07-22T21:21:00.001-05:00

Happy 8th Anniversary Beth and Brannon. Sorry for not calling you today. By the time we got home it was 9 p.m. I hope you had a great day and have many more wonderful years to come!! We love you guys!

Zach's 18 month check up

2008-07-21T21:58:00.002-05:00

Zach had his 18 month check up. He is doing great! He weighed 25.2 lbs, was 33 inches tall and his head was 47 cm around. He got two shots, his MMR and another one that I can't remember the letters of. He is doing great and growing like a weed. We are so blessed to have such wonderful boys!!! Hope all is well with everyone...

Love,

DJ's Day at the Zoo

2008-07-20T20:56:00.007-05:00

Last Tuesday, DJ went to the Birmingham Zoo (about an hour and change from here for those not familiar with Alabama.). He went with Grammy (my mom), Aunt Allie (brother's wife), and cousins Whitney and Dalton. Here are some pictures that Grammy took while they were there. Aunt Allie let DJ use one of her digital cameras and he is hooked on taking pictures now... guess we have two photographers in the family now!!!

Tomorrow Night's Post

2008-07-16T22:48:00.003-05:00

Ok, we have been busy busy! DJ went to the zoo with Grammy and Aunt Allie and her little ones Tuesday (yesterday). I have photos that Grammy took to put on the blog. However, it is 10:50 p.m. and I have a full day of AMSTI training tomorrow -- again! It has been very interesting. We have done lots of neat things that we are taking back to the classroom. I will post some of the things we have done -- probably on Saturday. We have a busy weekend with two parties to attend, so we will see. Grammy, I promise I am going to get them on here! AMSTI is exhausting, but we have had a good time building cars and tomorrow we start Physics of Sound. If we had only had this stuff when I was in school, I would have loved Science! I am growing to love it more, but my mind doesn't work that way so it is alot of training myself to see things differently. Thank goodness for my co-teachers and friends who are in my group (Lynn and Lisa) for showing me how to see this and seeing that I don't have to have step-by-step written instructions to construct things! Our trainer is AWESOME!! Our other teachers in our group got separated from us and are in another group. Have a good Thursday everyone! More to come tomorrow.

Oh No the Curls ... where did they go?

2008-07-16T22:45:00.001-05:00

Well, the curls are gone. Zach can no longer be mistaken for a girl right now. His curls just got a little out of hand and I decided to cut them the other night. His hair was SOOOOO long! He looks like a little man now. I am going to let it grow out a little because I just love the curls. His hair is still curling and it is precious! I just couldn't keep it tame enough. My baby!!!

Boys Will Be Boys????

2008-07-16T21:55:00.004-05:00

Ok, I thought I had a while before the whole "boys will be boys" fighting started. Zach, God love him, is a holy terror!! He is precious, but wooo, does he cause DJ grief sometimes. They often play in the playroom and we just sit back in the living room and listen. We try to let them have some space. Zach adores DJ and DJ adores Zach, however.... Zach has learned how to aggravate DJ at the drop of a hat. Well, Saturday morning (the day of the park), DJ and Zach were playing and Zach threw something at DJ and instead of telling us, DJ threw a Magic Tree House book (a great series of books for kids). The corner of the book hit Zach in the eye. We have our first black eye! Oh how he cried!!!! DJ felt horrible and did not leave Zach's side for about two days. He rode in the back with Zach when I was out with the boys that day. It was precious!

A Day at the Park

2008-07-16T21:23:00.007-05:00

This past Saturday, Grammy got back from Grandma Carol's and a retreat at Myrtle Beach. We had not seen her since before school got out, so it was a treat! We met her and Aunt Allie, Whitney, and Dalton at the park at Oxford Lake. We had a picnic -- as much as we could with the little ones running around -- and played. DJ had great fun playing in the water and Zach had a blast on the slide. He loves the swing like DJ did when he was this age. Enjoy our pictures!

The next few pictures here are my favorites! DJ wanted to push Whitney and Zach in the swings. He was really trying to push them both as they came back. As you will see, Grammy stepped in to help. It was sooo cute to watch!

It is hard to think that in about 15 years, this might actually happen... clear the roads! What would be precious was if we had all three babies -- Brooklyn (oldest 11/4), Whitney (11/24), and Zach (1/16) all here together... our little trio! Next time Beth is here, we will have to get one of them together "on the open road."

Enjoy the curls!!!

Sweet Dalton was sleepy and stayed in his stroller while we watched the little ones and played.

Look at the curls on the back of Zach's head... enjoy them now!

Weeee!!

WHAT A FUN FUN DAY!!!

We are still here

2008-07-15T17:44:00.002-05:00

Ok, we are still here! I have been very busy with AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Institute) training for the past week and a half. It is interesting, but, teachers don't sit well!!

I have lots to post and will do so in a just a bit. Check back later tonight. I have to get the boys settled and dinner done.

Love you all!

Happy Monday

2008-07-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone... posts may be a little slow the next few weeks. I have two weeks of Math and Science training for work. It is all day and exhausting! It is worth it though. The kids really enjoy the hands-on science and math we do. Have a great week!

Love you all!

Answer to the question

2008-07-05T22:28:00.001-05:00

Alli, here is our answer. I found this on discoverymagazine.com (a teacher site I send my students to!).

God has given His creatures the ability to do all sorts of things without even thinking about it. These are called reflexes, and they work by a special connection between nerves and muscles. Examples include the heart beat, blinking, focusing the eyes, swallowing, stepping, and scratching an itch. For instance, we might know when we blink because it goes dark for a split second. Sure, we can blink whenever we want to, but most of the time, we never notice it.

Because reflexes can work without the brain, you still can see movement in the body after the head has been cut off. This is what happened to the snake. Its reflexes worked as long as its nerve cells had oxygen. After your dad cut its head off, no new oxygen reached these cells, and the reflexes stopped.

My Brother's New Friend

2008-07-05T22:12:00.003-05:00

Ok... below you will find a post from my brother's and sister's-in-law blog. They live on the farm and have all kinds of critters... chickens, ducks, dogs, horses, you name it they have it or are trying to get it! For those of you who don't know, my "little" brother, Mike, is 6'8" tall. This was a snake he found near his chicken house when he went looking for eggs on June 29th (last Sunday). I copied the post from Allison (hope you don't mind dear!). AHHHHH... I hate snakes!

The took the snake's head off and it still tried biting!
This snake has no head, y'all!!!

Posted by Allison on July 2, 2008:
"On Sunday Michael was checking for eggs and this is what he found on his way to the chicken coop. It was so weird the snake would actually open it mouth to bite even after is was be headed and it body was still slithering. Mike even commented to me when he came back in that when he through it across the road it finished slithering off of the road. How weird is that?"

Of course, we know that a snake still is able to move after it has been beheaded. I am finding out why... I guess as a teacher, I should know and now that my curiosity is peaked, I am having to find out why.

Sign In

2008-07-05T09:28:00.002-05:00

REMEMBER TO SIGN THE GUEST BOOK WHILE YOU ARE HERE!!! IT IS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE UNDER "CONTACT US." :)

Thank goodness for tubes!!!

2008-07-05T09:17:00.002-05:00

I can't imagine what kind of pain Zach would be going through without these tubes in his wears. His walking and talking were both a little delayed until he got his tubes. As you know from the post the other day, Zach had to go to the doctor. Dr. Keel said there was some soft wax blocking the view of the eardrum. He said not to try to clean out his ears or use any drops to encourage drainage that it would happen in 2-4 days naturally. If it hadn't by then, we were to call the ENT. Let me just say that this morning when I saw that gummy drainage, I was elated. You could tell Zach was feeling better and any pressure in his ear was gone!!! The tubes were the best decision we ever made!!! I have never had ear problems, but I imagine from what we went through with him the first year of his life, they hurt pretty bad!!

Have a great Saturday!!!

2008-07-04T17:48:00.003-05:00

CAUTION: MY PRINCIPAL SENT THIS TO ALL OF THE SCHOOL FACULTY YESTERDAY. THIS IS THE FOURTH OCCURRENCE THAT I HAVE HEARD OF IN OUR AREA SINCE MAY 31ST. THIS IS IN OUR BACKYARDS THAT THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING! THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED AT THE NEW OXFORD EXCHANGE SHOPPING CENTER THIS WEEK. WHAT A SHAME THAT WE CAN NOT EVEN SHOP IN OUR TOWN WITH PEACE OF MIND!

Please be careful at Hobby Lobby, I was out there last Wed. night, (planning for an employee’s retirement party) and my mind was totally on everything that I needed for the event…found out at the register that the floating candles were 80% off, so I dashed back for more. As I made my way across the store, I noticed that someone was following me…he came down my aisle…kept easing closer to me. I got my candles and kept looking at him, so he knew I was watching him. He spoke to me as I passed him in an eerie voice…gave him a “go to heck” look and kept moving. He fell in behind me and followed me almost back to the cashier, and then he turned off. He then tried to zip out the front doors, I watched him and he kept looking at me through both sets of exit doors. I reported it to the cashier and then talked to the manager…another girl about 19 was checking out behind me…she asked me if he was wearing khaki’s….I said, YES, she said he followed her around the store and offered her $500.00 to leave with him. This was a WELL DRESSED and attractive man….just creepy acting. He went out and got into what appeared to be a somewhat new looking WHITE Dodge Ram truck, there was a red 4X4 emblem on the back wheel bed of the truck. He moved his truck out closer to 1-20 and sat there,,,just waiting. A customer with his girlfriend asked, what had happened?… We shared our stories and he hopped in his truck …trying to get the guy’s tag number…about 4 store employees went out and were watching him…HE realized he was being watched so he started leaving the parking lot…at the intersection (light) he realized that he was being followed and ran the red light almost causing an accident. The gentleman did not get the guy's whole tag number, but the first part was 11…so it was from our Calhoun County. Thank God in heaven that I went back for the sale candles, otherwise, I may not have noticed that he was following me. We did call the police and gave a description. It shook me up ..then it made me MAD.

Please be careful, this happened on June 25^th at around 5:45 p.m. inside Hobby Lobby.

Sweet Little Zach

2008-07-04T17:19:00.002-05:00

Well, Zach had to go to the doctor last night at about 10:30. Thank goodness for the aftercare facility we have in town. It sure beats the ER!

When I picked him up from school yesterday, his eyes were watery and the teacher said that when he woke up, they were extremely matted together. With all the dryness in the air, she just thought it was allergies and so forth. They have all had little colds in his class for a week or so now. Just a typical summer cold. Well, Dr. Ray had given us some drops for his eyes when they water so much, so I put some of those in before he went to bed. We put him down when he went to sleep. He slept for about 30 minutes. We let him cry for a bit to see if he would calm himself... not so lucky there! I tried rocking him again and then laying down with him. Nothing worked and he kept pulling on his one ear and rubbing his eyes. So, I got up and got dressed to take him in. DJ was sleeping and there was no sense in having two cranky ones out at that hour! My dad met me up there (with all these people being followed home and shot at and mugged lately, I was a little skittish!). Dr. Keel is WONDERFUL!! He looked at his ears and there was some soft wax covering the view of the ear drum, but nothing bad and the tube was still there. He did have pink eye in both eyes, a running nose and some drainage in the throat. There is some gland that controls all of this (starts with an n, I think) that is disfunctioning. He is on antibiotics so we don't get a secondary infection and a decongestant. He didn't go to sleep until LATE, was up at 7:30, but did take a three hour nap this afternoon! I was exhausted and so is David... Zach is feeling better today and you can see a definite difference in how he feels ( he is aggravating DJ as per normal today!).

Have a great 4th everyone!!!

A Night at the Drive-In

2008-07-04T17:05:00.003-05:00

Well, if you ever thought that taking an 18-month old to the drive-in and actually watching the movie, well, think again! It was fun though. Zach spent the whole 2 hours playing in the front and upper back of the truck while DJ watched the movie in the way back. Zach finally went to sleep the last 20 or so minutes of the movie. We are going to have to go back to the movies so that David and I see the whole thing.

By the way, we went to see Wall-E. David watched most of it and he and DJ both said it was really good! I literally saw none of it except the introduction! :)

Here are some pictures of the boys before the movie started. Zach thought this was great!

Six Flags

2008-07-04T16:29:00.007-05:00

We went to Six Flags last week as many of you know. We had a great time. I know I am just now posting the pictures, but it has been a little crazy with funerals and getting my classroom ready ... yes, it is early, but we have two weeks of training coming up next week and the following week. Then, only 2 weeks before school starts and we have vacation planned for one of those weeks! AHHHH ... the older the boys get, the busier I seem to feel!

Enjoy Six Flags with us!!!

DJ loves the Pirate Swings!! This is usually the 2nd ride we have to do when we go. Monster Plantation is, of course, the first! It is amazing how anxious it makes him after 3 years!!!

Wooo hoooo!!!

Just chillin in the Pirate Swings!!

Mommy and DJ! (Yes, Mommy is in front of the camera here... my battery on my camera died when we were there, so Daddy was taking pics with his phone!)

Wow, a picture of Angie... what a change of pace!

Clear the roads... DJ is driving the bumper cars. Can you believe he will be driving a CAR in 7 1/2 years? Not time at all!

DJ got a Henna tatoo. This is a red panther. And, if you know DJ, a RED panther is the perfect choice.

DJ is such a great big brother! He never forgets about his little brother. He played a dart game to win Zach a rat. AHHHH... a rat! It is the rat from the movie Ratatouille.

Finally!!! DJ took his picture with the characters! He has never wanted to in the past, but he did it this year!!

Oh my gosh!!! He did it... may not have been totally willingly, but he did! DJ rode the Great American Scream Machine. He cried the entire time, but he did it. He says he is NEVER doing it again,but we will see. :)

Sorry

2008-06-25T22:56:00.004-05:00

Sorry about no pictures from Six Flags today. They are on David's phone and I was in a meeting most of the day today. This evening when he got home from work, I left and went to a dear friend's house. She lost her Pop today and I wanted to go see her and her mom to check on them. I am just getting home and headed to bed for 2 more days of running around and meetings. Have a great night!

Love,

Question

2008-06-25T18:00:00.003-05:00

Ok... my curiosity is killing me... who is near Guntown, MS? Post a comment and let me know.

Six Flags

2008-06-24T22:02:00.003-05:00

Hi to all! We took DJ to Six Flags today. It was so much fun. We have pictures that will be up tomorrow, sorry... we took them with David's phone and the adapter is in the truck right now. We are too tired to go get it, our feet hurt, and we are just plain tired!

He had fun... he has very logical fears about everything and thinks things through way too much! He did do 3 roller coasters this year: the Wylie Coyote, Mine Train, and the American Scream Machine. He did NOT like the American Scream Machine! He tried to keep his head down and David had to hold his head up. That made me laugh and think about my first time on the ASM with my Uncle Bob. I begged him to do it and tried to back out when it was our turn to get on and he made me get on. I tried to duck at the same point DJ and rode the entire ride with my head held back by my Uncle Bob. I loved it after that... DJ said, "I did it. It is time for games like you said." Yes, we bargained with our child to get him to do this... it worked. :D

We enjoy this time with DJ when he is alone with us because we feel like sometimes with Zach as little as he is and not as self-sufficient, DJ doesn't "get" us. He is fine with that... he plays and reads and builds battlegrounds with Legos. He is VERY self-sufficient. I still like to have alone time with him. It is important for him.

I will post pictures tomorrow for all to see. He really had fun -- until the scream machine as he said!

Love to all!

Swimming Lessons

2008-06-21T16:09:00.007-05:00

This summer, we decided that DJ was going to do swimming lessons at the YMCA. He has completed one week of them. He has 3 more lessons coming up this week. He is enjoying it and staying in the pool more.

He's really paying attention isn't he???If you can tell, they were doing an exercise where they hold onto a pole and hold their breath and touch the bottom. He has them already wrapped... he only has to put his face in the water.

David

2008-06-21T08:30:00.002-05:00

This is where David is working...

New Truck

2008-06-21T08:20:00.004-05:00

Well, we broke down and bought a new truck. The other was hitting some high mileage and everything seemed to be going wrong now that the warranty was up. We purchased a GMC Yukon SLT. We really like it. David is enjoying it. It is getting about the same gas mileage as the Envoy did, but will accommodate our family a little better. Here are some pictures of the new truck.

I meant to add that it has the flexfuel option which means that we can use either regular fuel or that ethanol fuel.

Why Parents Drink -- too funny!!

2008-06-20T14:37:00.002-05:00

I got this email today and had to pass it on... it is too funny and this could be me in a few years with Zach!!!

Why parents drink

The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in
sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers,
he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a
child's whisper. " Hello ? "
"Is your daddy home?" he asked. " Yes & lt; FONT face=Tahoma size=6>,"
whispered the small voice.
May I talk with him?"
The child whispered, " No ."
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your
Mommy there?" " Yes ." "May I talk with her?" Again the small voice
whispered, " No ."
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss
asked, "Is anybody else there?"
" Yes ," whispered the child, " a policeman ".
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss
asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"
" No, he's busy ", whispered the child.
"Busy doing what?"
" Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ," came the whispered
answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through
the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
" A helicopter " answered the whis pering voice.
"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, " The search team just landed a
helicopter ."
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, "What are
they searching for?"
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle... " ME
.

Miscellaneous Video -- Zach as the Next American Idol

2008-06-20T10:22:00.009-05:00

Here is Zach watching American Idol....he loved American Idol and Dancing with the Stars!!! This was taken in April. I am learning how to deal with video clips from the cameras.

June 2008

2008-06-20T09:27:00.007-05:00

June has been slow.... well, slower! DJ and I have had lots of time together with school being out. Zach is still going to daycare. He is at the door every morning by 7:30 at the latest, saying "Bye bye momma... Jackie Bob." This is him saying I am ready to go and see Miss Jackie and Pastor Bob (they run the daycare/church). He has his cup tucked in his arm and ready to go. If we are not getting ready, he is bringing us his clothes. It is sweet!!!

Grandma Carol and Grammy sent me this outfit. How cute do I look?

I think that someone has been watching mommy a little bit!! I was cooking dinner and couldn't find my oven mitts. I turned around and found this hilarious site!!

Daddy and Zach reading a nursery rhyme book.

We haven't figured this one out either!! Zach likes to take bowls and drums and whatever, turn it over and sit on it. It looks like he is.... well, you use your imaginations!

David and DJ were looking for something that Zach had thrown under the couch. DJ is the finder of all things lost most of the time.

Zach dumped his blocks out of the wagon, pulled it to the hallway table, climbed in to reach and get something ....

then, when he turned around, he couldn't get out and pitched a fit... we have hit terrible twos!!!

Here are the boys in the new truck... which I will post photos of tonight when David gets home. There are wireless headphones for the DVD player and of course, they fit DJ, but don't fit Zach. Zach has to have them because DJ does. Whatever Bubba does, Zach does!!!

I love DJ's smile because big boy teeth are coming in and Zach's because he has started posing more. If he sees the camera, we get the cutest "squishy" face and then a smile!

We put the bubble blower on (yes, can you believe kids don't have to blow bubbles now, they have bubble blowers!!) and DJ really enjoyed it... he was more "fighting" the bubbles and karate kicking them.

Pop, David, and the boys on Father's Day

Bill, Pop, and David on Father's Day.

May 2008

2008-06-20T09:17:00.004-05:00

May was very busy for us. David started working at Bill Stanford selling cars. He is very excited and is enjoying it tremendously. I am starting my 2nd year at Oxford Elementary. DJ is going in to 2nd grade there as well.

I don't know what I have done, but I can only find one picture on my camera from May. I have a ton on my phone. I will have to get them off my phone and post them.

Both my boys truly love books. As you can see, Zach gets whatever DJ has and copies. Here, he has a Harry Potter book. Isn't he brilliant? More of May to come...

April 2008

2008-06-19T15:51:00.016-05:00

April was fun! It was Spring Break time, more baseball, and Zach just seemed to really do some funny stuff. He loves to dance and copies everything. American Idol was something he loved to watch -- listen to. He adores his big brother and I couldn't ask for more from DJ... he is so good with Zach and just adores him as well!

Here Zach is getting his first hair cut. He did pretty good with it. We thought if we cut the back that the curls would go away, but no such luck!! He is stuck with them for a while.

We did not like the water being squirted on our head at all, but...

The first little snip... ahhhh my baby!!!

Hey... who is that good lookin' guy in the mirror?

And the finished product!! Cute, huh?
(The hairstylist is Johnny. She does my hair for me.)

DJ got a special treat this month. Grammy took him to see an off-broadway version of Annie. They had a great time. They went to lunch at Olive Garden and then to the play. What a treat... I was actually very jealous!

While DJ was at the play, Zach decided he would try to be the next American Idol!!
We have the game for our Wii and it is loads of fun!

I thought this was cute with them both in their jeans and no shirts. Zach has some issues with keeping pants up since he has no tooshie... what he doesn't have is very cute though!

This was Zach's shirt for DJ's games. It didn't fit long. He decided to have a growth spurt!

Again, Zach loves to climb on/in this chair. He is always trying to get things that we hide behind there. Wonder what he is going for here????

Aha!! Just like brother, Zach loves sticks and swords!!

On the way to the beach, we always stop at the rest area and have a picnic. The "flowers" (weeds) made for a great background.

In Florala, the King was standing outside a store. David was not thrilled about stopping, but I had to ( I LOVE ELVIS). I made the boys have their picture made with him.

Outside the same store, was a big chair. I talked the boys into getting up in there for a picture. Cute....

Her they are... my three guys looking out at the harbor. The sun was setting and it was beautiful!

Zach's favorite thing to do at the beach became getting Da Bill each morning and sitting on the deck watching the boats leave the harbor. He absolutely loved it and every morning, he would stand at the door knocking saying "Da, Boats." He even learned to say "big boat" while we were there.

A game of early morning catch with Da.

Hey look! This thing has a room under the TV.
Here is Zach as he made his way into the cabinet... which he did several times a day!

Another morning on the deck with Da looking at the boats. It was rather chilly, so Da wrapped Zach up in a blanket to go out on the deck.

I love this picture of the two of them looking out at the boats.

A night out on the town required me to put the boys in their matching spring sweaters... they are a little different, but how cute are they?

Here's my three guys by the indoor pool. We couldn't get in that either that week because the heater was not working on it. Oh well... spring break with no pool and/or tan! It was fun still!

We noticed that Zach had ventured off into Da and Susie's room and was into something. When we went in, we found him by the door, so we snuck back around the corner and watched him. He then started taking their clothes out of the drawers. It was quite cute! Leave it to Zach to get into everything!

Here we are again in Greenville, AL at our usual stop on the way home. The boys really enjoyed getting out of the truck and running around. It never fails that where DJ goes, Zach is sure to follow!

DJ is so protective of Zach.... he really watches him when he is around him and makes sure he doesn't do anything "he is supposed to do."

I thought this was a sweet picture!!

As you all know, DJ has always had a thin for sticks. He is very imaginative and has always played with them as Harry Potter's wand, Luke Skywalker's "lightsaver", Davy Crockett's gun, you name it, a stick can play the part!! He really spent about 20 minutes find the just right sticks and breaking them to suit his needs that day.

Zach met some new friends at this stop. He kept running to the sidewalk and talking to these two bikers who were stopped taking a break. They were very nice and said that if I wanted to get a picture of the boys on the bike that I could. So, here are the pictures of my biker baby and his biker brother.

He's touch with that pi (pacifier) in his mouth, huh... don't want to mess with him!

Clear the roads!!!

Zach likes to get the phone and push the buttons. DJ and David were gone to one of DJ's late ballgames, so Zach and I stayed home.

I LOVE this one!!

Zach doesn't need any toys, just give him a bowl, spoon, pot, phone, or trash can and he is happy! Yes... we took the trash out before we put him in there!

We haven't figured out why he does this. He will see something he wants to pick up, turn his back to it and then try to pick up through his legs like this. It is hilarious when he doesn't get close enough and ends up falling over... he laughs hysterically!

March 2008

2008-06-19T09:27:00.015-05:00

March was no slower for us... baseball season! DJ played in the Double A league this year. This league uses the pitching machine. It was a lot of fun for him. I didn't get to watch many of the games with Zach being mobile this season. Last season, he just stayed in his stroller and slept a lot of the time. I will have to say that March was consumed with baseball!! It was fun though.

Zach is our little monkey! He climbs on everything, but his favorite thing to do is to climb up on the ottoman and big red chair and stand there. He also likes to sit in it ... for about 30 seconds! My favorite part of this picture -- and almost every picture of him -- is the fro. His hair is so curly in the back that it looks like he has a halo around his head. Make no mistake about it, the halo is held up by devil's horns!!! :) I just love the curls!!

All that climbing works up a bit of a thirst!

First Baseball Picture -- Roger's Roofing 2008

Hey batter, batter, batter..... swing!

An afternoon at Da and Susie's house (I think we had gone down to cut Pop's hair and the boys stayed with Da and Susie.)

I just love to see them play together. DJ is so good with Zach and caring!

Sweet picture of DJ.

Have no idea! Just cute!

Come on Nana... Let's go this way!

DJ with 2 holes in his mouth.. He lost the bottom one the day before.

Yea Zach!!!

Mommy and the boys blowing bubbles.

During the months of January and February, Zach took lots of antibiotics due to ear infections (January) and strepp. The result was lots of sleepless nights not knowing why he wouldn't eat or drink. Then, on March 2, we noticed the sores on his chin and the incredible amounts of drool. We just chalked it up to teething, until the sores came up. We went to the doctor and he had the sores all in his mouth too, which explained the drooling and the not wanting to eat or drink. After lots of drool and sleeplessness, Dr. Ray said it was just a reaction to the massive amounts of antibiotics he had been on for so long. They did clear up.

The next day, we had a few more sores on our chin and as you can see by the shirt, a ton of drool!

Mommy thought a bowl of cereal would be a good idea for me, but I decided to make a mess with it.... uh oh as I say constantly!!!

DJ with 3 holes in his mouth -- this makes 3 teeth in 7 days!!

DJ played the majority of the season in left outfield behind 3rd base, but here he was in right outfield behind 1st base.

Go Bubba!!!!

Batter Up!!! DJ's first hit of the season.

Watching baseball is exhausting!!! Wew...

Easter was busy as always. We went to Daddy and Jackie's that Saturday and had an egg hunt down at Mike's. Of course, I didn't have my camera. Zach really didn't understand why we would put the eggs on the ground and then pick them up again... he wanted to put them on the ground after picking them up. It was really quite cute!
Easter Sunday Morning... the surprise of the Easter Bunny...

Wow... wolverine... awesome!

"Kissies" and M & Ms.... my favorite.... radical!

"Dad, Dad, I got Wolverine!"

Look at sweet Zach... he really didn't get the whole "Easter basket"thing!

Wow an egg!!! Why do these people keep putting eggs in the baskets?

When Zach saw his puppy, he immediately called it UhOh, so that is the puppy's name.

The boys were so handsome on Easter Sunday. They were matching outfits ... so precious!

I mean look at them!! I will never have girls to dress up, but as long as I can they will wear stuff like this!

After church and breakfast with Da Jim and Granny, we went to Susie's house for Easter lunch and an Easter egg hunt with cousin Drew. The Easter Bunny always hides special prizes for the boys at Da and Susie's house.

DJ's prize was $10... he was thrilled.... he loves money!

Zach finally got the hang of the egg in the basket/bucket thing...

With lots of prompting, he did well with the egg hunt! So sweet at this age!

Here is cousin Drew running in the bubbles with his special prize (a doggie -- I think Zach got a stuffed animal too).

We tried so hard to get a good shot of all three boys, this is the best we could do. It is cute!!!

February 2008

2008-06-18T17:20:00.009-05:00

February was a relatively slow month. The big event was DJ getting a severe case of the flu and having to have IV antibiotics one night. Other than that, we had basketball every Saturday, baseball tryouts, and stayed busy with school.

The tubes made all the difference in the world for Zach. He started talking more, his balance improved, he went from walking to running, and sleeping a little better.
It was very hard to take a lot of pictures and chase Zach around/keep him off the court.

Here are some pictures from February.

DJ is #3 if anyone can't find him.

DJ really did well for his first year playing basketball.

Susie and Grammy held Zach alot this Saturday. This was the Saturday after he had his tubes and he was still slower than normal.

With his ears tightly covered, Da Bill took Zach for a walk around the building where DJ played basketball.

Da Bill and David and Zach watch DJ as he makes a shot!

I helped mommy make breakfast!!

I ate the breakfast they made.... and made a mess!!

Yummy!!!

Zach also had his first taste of spaghetti this month too!! That was fun!

.... who's cleaning the mess on the floor????

Yum! Yum! Bananas and spaghetti....

Why give the kids toys??? Give them empty soda bottles... way more fun!

Watch out Bubba... here I come armed and ready!

The loads of laundry just keep getting bigger and bigger!

I wanna be a rock star!

Where's Zach? Where'd he go???

There he is!!! Yeah Zach!

Next All-American from UA!

The next picture is where Zach figured out that those tabs on the diaper could be undone! Oops...

What a cute tooshie!!

January 2008

2008-06-18T10:39:00.013-05:00

January 2008 was very busy for us. Zach really had a hard time this winter. He had continuous ear infections, strepp, and just the usual winter uck. DJ stayed busy with basketball this year. He played for the Upward Bound league and really enjoyed it!

Zach is quite the little ham. He is always playing!!!

Zach really enjoyed the push toy that Da and Susie got him for Christmas. Now, it is a riding toy.

Zach really enjoys climbing. DJ likes to pull the sofa out and sleep on it on the weekend in "his den." Zach then builds ladders to climb and get to DJ or whatever he is not supposed to touch!

DJ has really enjoyed is Wii that he got from Santa. It is very interactive. In this picture, he had been playing a spider game and was creating his Wii Me (a character that he creates).

DJ played for Upward Basketball this year. He really enjoyed it and it was good for him. He really loves sports.

Here are a series of pictures. I walked into the kitchen to find Zach on the floor looking for something. He spotted me, so Iwent around piddling and got the camera to catch him trying to get one of his fridge farm magnets out from under the fridge. He never did get it, so I ended up having to get it for him.

I love this!!! Zach was pulling around the basket and getting in and out of it. DJ saw him and got in with him and Zach was NOT happy!! DJ has learned to deal with the temper tantrums very well!!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! It just says it all!!!

Here's our snow this year! On the porch, you will find our neighbor, Jason, and David on the sidewalk. Zach's birthday party was supposed to be this day, but that got canceled and so did basketball. It only lasted a few hours, but it was our yearly snow.

Zach's favorite drawer in the kitchen. Zach likes to pull everything out and DJ follows behind him putting it all back. I have since removed everything from that drawer except what he can get out. He'll get tired of this soon!! DJ did after about ... ummmm 3 years!

This picture is Zach's favorite cabinet in the kitchen... the tupperware/plastic cabinet! He literally takes EVERYTHING out. DJ is a sport and just goes and picks it up as we clean up before bed each night!

We can't forget Todd. He is still with us and so sweet with the boys. We couldn't ask for a better doggie!

Zach's 1st birthday was a busy day! We had basketball that day with DJ and a house to clean. DJ was a tremendous helper with it all! I got lots done while he and David went out and Zach napped!

This is a picture of Zach as guests were arriving. He was very tired, but is such a sport when he is tired.

Wow!! My very own cake!!

Ummmmmm.... this is good! My first bit of cake!

OOOOOO... this is a big mess!

I think I am all done now! It is all over me!!

After a quick bath in the sink ....

It's present time! Thanks to cousin Glen and the best big brother in the world for help opening presents!

Cousin Drew was very busy with his cake. He really liked it!

In fact, he wouldn't get up until he had eaten it all!

January 28th marked the day of the tubes. Little Zach had tubes put in both ears. David took him and Da Bill and Susie went for support! Mommy was very nervous, but didn't have any days to take, so she kept her phone close by for updates. The entire procedure took literally 7 minutes and they were on their way home! Here are some pictures from the day!

It sure is early! I got a teddy bear named Surgie just for being here!

Look what I can do... am I making anyone nervous?

Obviously, I made Susie nervous! Hahaha!

I was a little sleepy before the procedure... gosh it was early!!

But soon I had Susie working hard to entertain me!! I wasn't sleepy at all. Everyone was expecting me to sleep most of the day, but I never even napped!

Happy Birthday Pop!!!
A night out with Nana and Pop for Pop's 87th Birthday and Angie's 31st!!!

This marks the end of January 2008... wow we were busy!

Yes, we are still here!

2008-06-17T10:42:00.004-05:00

Ok, I know! I have been a slacker lately with my blogging. I have had a number of good excuses, the primary one, is just busy!! Between kids being sick, work, sports, it has been crazy. For a while, we had basketball ending and baseball starting. Baseball was much busier this year with more than 2 - 4 games per week, a couple of times 5! We only won 3 games, but it was fun.

I am going to be starting my second year at OES this year. I am very excited! I love it there. Now, that I have a better idea of how things run there, I am hoping to have a little more time on my hands this school year for things such as a blogging. For some reason, I didn't take many pictures in May. I didn't get as many pictures of the baseball season. It is hard to take pictures and chase Zach around the ball park!

I am going to start with January posts and work my way up to May. Enjoy! I will do better... I promise!

Zach is feeling better

2008-01-13T20:54:00.001-06:00

I guess I didn't say it in the email or the previous post, but Zach is feeling better. He is going back to daycare tomorrow. He is sleeping now and sleeping well! I am heading that way myself. Love to you all!

Angie

Zach

2008-01-13T15:20:00.002-06:00

This is an email that I sent out today -- I think. It is just an update on Zach. Have a great week.

I am not sure who all has heard and I apologize for not letting everyone know earlier in the week. We have been exhausted and this is probably the second time I have been on the computer since last Monday.

Zach has been a little sick this week. He was up all night Monday -- literally up all night -- screaming. We assumed it was the tooth that was cutting through. There were no signs that indicated we should be worried. Tuesday was about the same. He did cut part of a tooth, so we just chalked it up to that. Wednesday when David got him from daycare he noticed his right ear was oozing a little. I got home and looked at it and thought it was just draining from the tooth. That is not unheard of and he wasn't displaying any signs of being in pain or pulling on his ears. We went ahead and took DJ to his religion class that night and Zach and I went out to my dad's house. Daddy and Jackie and I were all looking at his ear. The fluid had gotten a little cloudier and concerned me. We decided to wait and take him to the doctor in the morning and see our regular pediatrician. When I left to go get DJ, he wouldn't take his cup of juice, and he was just not happy. A friend of mine, Erika, looked at his ear and we agreed it could probably wait until Dr. Ray's office opened in the morning. When I put him in the car, he SCREAMED!!! I looked at his ear and the fluid had changed colors and wouldn't stop coming out. I called David and he met us at the Patients' First After Hours. Dr. Keel is awesome! We were there for about 2 and 1/2 hours. David took DJ home because it was so late. Dr. Keel finally came in about 9 p.m. or so. Zach tested positive for strep, his right ear drum had burst (probably Monday night when he was screaming so) and his left ear is infected. His white cell count was over 25,000. That concerned Dr. Keel more than anything. Zach got some meds and a shot and SLEPT all night.

David took him to Dr. Ray Thursday morning for a follow-up appointment. He upped the dosage of antibiotics and gave us some ear drops. We also have an appointment on the 21st with an ENT to discuss tubes and what we need to do from here. Zach now has a severe diaper rash from the antibiotics. It is clearing up finally. He hasn't slept well the past two nights, but maybe now that is his hinny is feeling better and his ears are feeling better, he can sleep again.

Like I said, I haven't been on the computer at home all week. So, I apologize for not letting the family know that I didn't. Grandparents took first priority and then it was watching him like a hawk and making sure DJ stayed out of his face so he didn't get strep.

DJ Visits T-Rex Sue

2008-01-04T21:49:00.001-06:00

Grammy took DJ for a day at the Anniston Museum of Natural History. There has been a display of Sue the T-Rex for few months now. DJ and Grammy enjoyed their visit and finished the scavenger hunt. Thanks Grammy!!

Who Looks LIke Who....

2008-01-02T13:37:00.001-06:00

I found this neat site. I thought it was cute! You don't vote or anything, it is just neat!

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family search

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

December Pictures

2008-01-01T17:53:00.004-06:00

As everyone knows, December is a VERY busy month for the Hurst household. We have school programs for Christmas, DJ's birthday, Christmas gatherings, David's birthday, New Year's (which has less significance these days), and getting ready for school to start back. This year was no different for us!

Here is DJ's Christmas program at OES. It was called "The Colours of Christmas." DJ is in the back row (top), 2nd from the left. I didn't get many pictures because my students were also in the program and I had to be with them.

We had a yard sale one Saturday and DJ set up his own little table. He was really quite cute about it all. The novelty wore off soon after the sun came up.... by the way, I will never -- NEVER -- do another one!! Hanna Home can come and pick it up!

Just a shot of Mommy and Zach playing Pat-a-Cake.

A cute shot Daddy got one day before taking Zach to daycare.

DJ lucks up every year! Grammy came by to take him to lunch and a movie for his birthday. She brought over his birthday gifts and he was so excited! We were putting up our Christmas tree. Zach had to get it in on the action and have some paper too!!

Zach eating his first fries from Wendy's -- Yummy!!!

DJ was putting together a puzzle and Zach was trying to help!! Where ever DJ is, Zach is not far behind!

He was officially 7 years old on the 22nd!!!

Not only did we have the milestone of DJ turning 7 on the 22nd, but Zach decided to do something too.... he climbed the stairs!! I had taken the gate down to vacuum the stairs and turned around to find Zach up them. DJ got behind him while I took pictures. Soon after David came home and joined in. At the end of it all, I had to run up the stairs to get him going to the top!!!

We didn't have a "party" for DJ with his friends because it was so close to the holidays. We are going to have one when we have Zach's party after one of his basketball games in a few weeks.

We did have our usual family dinner with the aunts and uncles that could make it and grandparents, great-grandparents, and close family friends. DJ really enjoyed it.

Mr. Donald Trump, Jr. himself -- DJ was so excited to get "his" monopoly game. He is a little tyrant!!! He always wins -- probably due to us changing the rules so it doesn't last 4 hours!!

He also got Stackers. This is something that he was introduced to at school in PE class. It is a big deal and he loves it!!! He was so excited to have his own set of stackers!!

Aunt Shannon took over baby duty for me so that I could take pictures and David could video!

Here is DJ demonstrating the stackers for everyone. Of course, little cousin Drew got in on the action. That was quite funny!

Then Zach wanted in. He is not crying here... he is screaming like the big boys.
I also love this picture of Drew... I think he looks like a little Yoda with the lightsaber!

DJ and Drew got a little rowdy with the tackling after the party. DJ is learning it is o.k. to be rough with the little kids who are old enough to walk and hold their own.

Just a cute picture of Zach - he got a hold of a roll of papertowels that had been on the coffee table and unrolled and tore them all off the roll!!! Too sweet!!!

Christmas Eve we went to Da Jim's and Granny's. Uncle Mike took him for his 2nd ride on a horsey. He loved it!!

I love this picture of him and Mike!!!

November Pictures

2008-01-01T12:22:00.001-06:00

November was a busy month with the holidays and birthdays and such. Brooklyn Elizabeth Parmer turned 1 on 11/9/07 and Whitney Michelle Fink turned 1 on 11/24/07. We of course had the holiday in there and then the birth of Dalton Michael Fink on the 25th. Wow!!! It was busy!

Zach quickly learned to pull himself up and move around the table and various things. He never let us see him go to a sitting position, but he let us see this so I wasn't going to miss it!!!

Zach definitely has his own personality. These are pictures that DJ took. David and I had tried for days to get Zach's "funny face." Of course, he did it for "Bubba" and the picture was gotten.

Da and Susie got Zach a push toy to walk behind. He has enjoyed it.

I cannot believe that it has been a year since Brooklyn and Whitney were born. We didn't get to make it to Huxford for Brooklyn's birthday, but we were all there at Whitney's birthday party. Here is a picture of her on Mike's (Daddy's) shoulders and Zach having his first piece of cake.

Beth and the girls -- Bella and Brooklyn -- came in town for the weekend. We had our Thanksgiving at Daddy's & Jackie's that weekend. It was so neat to see the kids together -- especially the three babies.

We managed to get these pictures of the three babies -- it was an effort well-made! From left to right in each photo: Brooklyn (1 year old); Zach (10 mths old); Whitney ( 1 year old).

Bella is incredible! She loves the babies and was so cute trying to "take care" of them. I love this picture of her in the chair by Zach pointing her finger. I wonder how much she charges per hour to babysit???

We went to Susie's on Thanksgiving Day. Zach pulled up to the piano, so we put him on the bench. Later, DJ joined him. As you can see, Zach adores his big brother!

November ended on a GREAT note! We welcomed the newest addition to the Fink clan. Dalton Michael Fink was born Nov. 25th. Michael and Allison now have Whitney ( 1 year old on 11/24/07) and Dalton (born 11/25/07). Allison is doing great and the kids are precious!

October Pictures

2008-01-01T10:25:00.001-06:00

October was a busy month for us. We enjoyed a trip to Destin during Fall Break at the first of the month. It was great fun! We went with Da and Susie and then Shannon and Drew joined us. We left promptly after school on the 5th and stayed until the following Friday, the 12th. It was a much needed trip!!!

Zach is ready for his trip to the beach. We thought he might sleep some, but unlike his big brother, he is not a car rider! A 5 hour trip took us right at 6 or 6 1/2 hours. He just didn't enjoy the trip in the car!

After a while at the pool playing, Zach needed to go in and take a nap!

After a day at the pool, DJ decided that Da Bill just needed some more play time. So, DJ got Da down on the floor to wrestle!!!

Da managed to get up, but had a DJ on his back!

My two Davids in the pool.... look alikes or what???

DJ really enjoyed the pool. His fears may be subsiding finally!!

I tell you what, I couldn't ask for a more loving set of brothers!! DJ absolutely adores Zach and their love continues to grow each day!

DJ is realizing that little brothers can be a bit of a disturbance, but he handles it well... it is so sweet!

Don't be deceived by the smile... but he is cute isn't he?? My sweet unexpected angel!

Zach is a water baby! He loved the pool... it is a hassle getting him out of the bathtub at night!!

These are my three things... David, Thing 1; DJ, Thing 2; Zach, Thing 3

Daddy and Zach in the pool!

DJ jumping in the pool!

DJ and Drew (behind the splashes of water) and Da splashing in the pool.

Zach at dinner one night. Too sweet!

We all went on a Dolphin Cruise. DJ really enjoyed this!!! He was very fascinated by it all.

Zach touching a blue crab.

My boys!

Since I have become President of the PTA at Zach's daycare, we had a Fall Festival. The children (parents) participated in a fund raiser for King and Queen. Each child took votes for $1 per vote and the girl & boy who received the most votes was crowned King and Queen. Well, all Hail King Zachary Alexander! That's right, my baby is King. The funny thing was, that the little girl who was crowned Queen is the granddaughter of one of my college professors! The Fall Festival was big success! I was very proud. Here are the pictures of the King and his Queen.

King Zach

King Zach and his Queen -- Cassidee

October had a few more landmarks for us. Zach started pulling up and sitting. He never let us see him sit up until he had done it, but towards the end of the month and start of November, we did get to see him pull up. Halloween was of course another first for us. DJ didn't want his picture taken, but he was a transformer -- Optimus Prime.

Look at me Mommy... I can stand up!!!

Zach enjoyed jumping in his jumper while we decorated the front porch and yard and David and DJ carved pumpkins.

This is our crazy neighbor Jason. He and his parents and older brother are great! The boys both love them to death!

DJ and David carving a pumpkin.

Zach ready for trick or treating!

Pictures from September

2008-01-01T09:55:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures from September 2007. Of course there are a ton more, but these were my favorites.

We went to Olive Garden with Nana and Pop. Zach was so sweet!! He had some bread and pulled Nana's hair when she bent down to get his Pi every time he threw it!

Look at this sweet face... drool and all!!!

Ice Cream at Susie's house. This is one of DJ's favorite things to do. Every visit to Grandma Susie's house usually includes an ice cream cone. On this day, Susie and Da had been keeping Drew for Uncle Joey and Aunt Shannon. Susie gave DJ and Drew an ice cream cone (Drew's first). It was so sweet and cute. DJ really loves his younger cousins!!!

The two "bigger" Davids. They had been wrestling. DJ had taken part in his first academic pep rally at OES. He is a "Renaissance Kid." He received a Gold Card the first grading period.

Here are the boys playing on our bed before school.

Here is big boy Zach. We were headed out to my Dad's when I looked back and he was just smiling!!!

Grammy stopped by for a Saturday visit. David and DJ had been playing outside and Zach and I were watching from the porch. I just love this picture of my mom and the boys!

Zach likes for DJ to pull him around him around in the laundry baskets. He loves to sit in them and play while I fold clothes!!!

Bathtime for the brothers!! DJ is very helpful at bathtime. He entertains Zach while I bathe him!! What an awesome brother!

It's Been a While

2007-12-25T20:57:00.001-06:00

Ok.... I know! It has been literally FOREVER since I posted anything. With the day-to-day hussle and bussle, it has just caught up with me. We are staying very busy with the boys and work. DJ is playing basketball right now and that is keeping David busy. He is helping with the coaching. Between homework, my work, and Zach just being into everything, there are not enough hours in the day.

School is GREAT! I am loving my job. DJ is doing great, as always. He turned 7 this past Saturday and it is hard to believe that this time 7 years ago, I had a 3 day old! He is loving school and doing so well. Zach is growing as always. We cut two teeth at some point today between the time we left home for the Hursts' house and when we went to leave. He smiled and I noticed two more top teeth. He is trying to walk, but gets around JUST fine!!

David and I are both enjoying the boys and life in general.

I have just organized over 1000 pictures that I have just been taking off my camera every now and then. I am editing them now and will be posting more tomorrow. Please forgive me for not having done this sooner!!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

Lots of love coming at you from Oxford!

Long Time, No See????

2007-09-02T11:05:00.001-05:00

Ok... I know it has been over a month since a post. It has been crazy here for the past month or so!! Let me catch you up real quick on the goings-on.

1. After the last post, I had lots of training for my new teaching position. It was great, but for those of you who are teachers, you understand that teachers are not still people and it is exhausting to sit and listen to trainers. It was informative and I loved it!!!

2. David took the boy to the beach the week before school started while I got my room ready. It was different without Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3 here for a week. I did get alot done though!

3. That same week, our air conditioner went out. It is working a little bit now, but we have to have some MAJOR work done when it cools off. It is too hot for someone to work on it right now.

4. School started!! It is great! I have a wonderful administration and I work with a wonderful group of people -- grade level and school-wide. It is truly a family!!! DJ is doing great! He loves his teacher and adjusted so well. He is always excited about learning... he loves reading and math! He definitely takes after his Daddy with the math!

5. On July 23, both boys had check ups. DJ had his usual yearly check up. He was 48 lbs and 48 inches tall!! He didn't gain any weight, but he did he grow almost 3 inches in a year!!! Dr. Ray said he is doing great. David and I were concerned because he seems so skinny and I was reminded of how skinny and lanky all of the Fink children were at this age -- David was too from the pictures I have seen!
Zach had his 6 mth check up and was perfect too!! He was 17 lbs and 26 1/2 inches long. He i growing like a weed!! He is the happiest baby I have ever seen. A week or so ago, though, was rough... we have a tooth coming in and it really bothered him! His red hair and blue eyes are to die for!!!

6. This past week was busy as usual. Especially Tuesday! Someone broke into our truck Monday night/Tuesday morning. They took some cash, went through everything, and stole our portable DVD system! Dummies left the batter pack, charger, headphones, and case though!!!

I hope this catches everyone up. Keep reading for pictures!!

Don't want to forget Bella Girl

2007-09-02T10:48:00.001-05:00

As most everyone knows, my niece Bella turned 2 in August! I can not believe it!! I am also sure that Beth has these pictures on her blog already!

Here are some pictures from the weekend of Bella's party

Ooooo mommy... look at that cake! Wonder what it would look like on my dress, in my hair, all over my face??? Wanna see?

Some More From Bill's Birthday

2007-09-02T10:39:00.002-05:00

These are just some pictures that were taken at Bill' birthday party in July.

Just for Fun

2007-09-02T10:25:00.001-05:00

A family gathering at the Hurst's house. Drew, Joey and Shannon's son, really loves "Baby Zach" and helping us. Here, he is trying to feed Zach. He did a good job... too cute!!!

Aunt Toto with all three boys, DJ, Zach, and Drew -- as still as we could get them all at once!!!

Uncle Joey with Zach.

Nana, Pop, and David at Bill's birthday party in July.

Nana and Pop, David's grandparents (Dad's side). What a beautiful couple!

Kerri's Bday

2007-09-02T09:52:00.002-05:00

Here are some pics from our friend Kerri's Birthday party. David was at home with the boys. It was alot of fun -- I love you girly!!

Kerri and her Mom, Cheryl!

Oh my! I can't feel my face!

Love my girlfriend!!!

Two cousins... Kerri and her cousin Bridgett

Good times!! Muy caliente! They love us at Los Mex!!!!

Roll Tide Roll

2007-09-02T09:24:00.003-05:00

Roll Tide Roll!!! Here in the Hursthousehold, it is all about Bama! DJ insisted that all three guys wear their Bama gear for the game. He and David grilled out and ate "football" food while they watched the game. DJ got his Big AL out and for the touchdowns, of course played the fight song. He made it until about 8:30 and crashed.

Here is DJ celebrating the first touchdown of the Saben Era. Yeah Alabama, Crimson Tide!!!

Here is Zman.. chillin' in the swing wondering.. "What is that big brother doing?"

Zach really likes his very first Bama tshirt that his big brother picked out for him.

More of Our Boys

2007-09-02T09:08:00.001-05:00

I took these pictures and fell in love with them. I am having some blown up! I love the candid shots and playful times I can capture with the boys!

Daddy and the Boys Go to the Beach --- with Susie

2007-09-02T07:05:00.001-05:00

David took the boys to the beach the week before school started. I stayed home and got my classroom ready. The boys had a great time! Of course, Daddy wasn't sent without reinforcements -- Grandma Susie went with him!!

David and Susie stopped at our usual rest area and enjoyed a picnic with the boys. Of course, DJ called Mommy to let her know that all was going well!

Zach was trying to wear Da Bill's hat -- it is a big hat to fill!

DJ and Zach enjoyed the beach and the pool. DJ enjoys building with his buckets on the beach and Zach, as you can tell, enjoys relaxing in his tent on the beach! Zach is definitely a water baby and DJ is starting to enjoy the water again!!

Ahhhh -- those were the days!!

2007-07-16T12:46:00.001-05:00

This is my favorite picture of me and Beth. Can you figure out who is who? I think it was taken around 1979 or 80. I was 2 or 3 and Beth must have been about 18 months to 2 years old. The story, if I am not mistaken, is that we had been playing and taken all the dishes out of the cabinet and crawled in. Hard to believe that we were once that little! Her girls look just like her! This is a picture of Bella (in the back) and Brooklyn (in the front) from a few weeks ago. Bella is about the same age as Beth was in this picture. I love you Bethie!!

We Made It!!

2007-07-09T14:38:00.001-05:00

Well, Zach made it through his first day of daycare! I guess I should say that Mommy made it! Things are going great here for all of us and we are staying very busy with the boys. We are going to the beach again in a couple of weeks, so I am excited about that! School starts soon and DJ and I are ready!

I will post new pictures later today when Zach goes to sleep!! Hope this post finds everyone well!

More Kiddie Fun

2007-06-29T14:11:00.001-05:00

Here are some more pictures from our play date! The kids are just too cute!

Kiddie Fun

2007-06-29T13:51:00.001-05:00

Today we had a a couple of families over for a play date. DJ really enjoyed it and Zach of course, slept through it!! Whitney seemed to enjoy just playing on the floor!

Big Brother

2007-06-28T15:42:00.001-05:00

DJ just loves to read! I caught him reading to Zach the other night when I was cooking dinner. After I got the pictures, he said that he was doing a "read aloud" like Ms. Armstrong did at school. It was so sweet!! Zach was totally engaged in every word that DJ said.

The last two pictures are of a piano book that Sheila Mountain (a great friend of mine) gave DJ when Zach was born. She said it was important for him to get a gift too! He loves the book and plays it for Zach!

Requested!

2007-06-28T13:46:00.001-05:00

At the request of so many, here are the pictures that were embedded in the email that I sent with the update notice. Hope everyone enjoys!!!

We have also found Zach a daycare. It is literally a mile from home. It is at a Christian Church and they only take 4 babies!!! That was important to us! We went and visited today and really liked it! He starts July 9th.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

What about Zach lately??

2007-06-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I know you guys are wondering what about Zach right??? Nothing about him since the beach... well, here ya' go if you need a fix!

The second picture is his "chinese" face! He knows how to turn it on that is for sure!

The third picture is just him playing in his playpen. He loves his dog boppy! Thanks Cassie!!!

It Finally Rained!!!

2007-06-25T17:37:00.001-05:00

Well, Sunday at church when rained was prayed for, there was a giggle, but looks like our prayers were answered. It rained for over an hour and was a good rain!! If we could get a whole day of down pours, that would be awesome!
We let DJ go our in the rain and play. There was a game of football with Big David and then he had to get a sword to "battle" the rain!!
He and David then went swimming in the rain in their clothes! He thought this was pretty neat. Of course, then the thunder started and Mommy being a mommy, made the boys come in out of the pool!

Good News for the Hursts

2007-06-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

Well, as most of you know, I resigned from Lincoln Elementary at the end of this school year. It was necessary for me to be closer to home. I had been looking for several months before I made the decision to resign without having another teaching position. I got news last night (Monday, 6/18/07) that I was going to be a new 4th Grade teacher at Oxford Elementary School. I am so excited! This is where I have wanted to teach since I graduated and this is where we have wanted DJ to go to school.

We are very excited and are looking forward to the change! Closer to home and in our hometown! That is what counts!!!

Zach at the Beach

2007-06-19T17:14:00.001-05:00

We don't want to forget little Zach. He was so sweet! Every time that we got to the beach or to the pool, he of course got sleepy and took his nap! This did allow time for Mommy to get some sun too.

More fun from the beach!

2007-06-19T17:00:00.001-05:00

DJ and David spent a lot of time building at the beach. DJ really enjoyed every aspect of all of it this year! Everyday got better and better with his wanting to go to the water and so forth. We did leave Zach with the grandparents one night and take DJ to play putt-putt! It is a tradition that we do when we are there. He really loves it! David got 6 holes in one and DJ got one. Angie also got 2! The fun just kept coming all week!!!

Some More Beach Fun

2007-06-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

We have had such fun this week. We found seashells, saw rays, we think we saw a sea turtle from the balcony, and lots more. We just enjoyed being down there. We are going back very, very soon!! Well, our cousin Drew came down to the beach to join us for the weekend. We all had some great time at the beach that last full day.

Zach liked to sleep in his float in the pool and when he was on the beach. Being outside seems to relax him a lot.... especially the sound of the ocean!

We really enjoyed Drew being there with us! He is the sweetest thing ever! He is such a little ham. It was good to see all the Hurst grandchildren together.

David even let the boys (the big boys) bury him in the sand. Drew didn't quiet understand to put the sand on David, so he was trying to take the sand off of him! It was so cute. Both boys thought it was great that David "rose" up out of the sand and "broke" it!

The Boys at the Beach

2007-06-14T20:14:00.001-05:00

Zach was ready for the beach!! Chillin' in his shades and stroller. Could someone roll me down?

DJ has really enjoyed the water this year! We were really dreading it with his fear of the water. He immediately went in and has been a fish!!

DJ and Daddy worked hard to build a castle... do we have an engineer on our hands?

We all need to enjoy a cold one on the beach every now & then.

Daddy and Aunt Corrie took Zach into the ocean for his first time. He really likes the water!

Keep Watching

2007-06-11T05:51:00.000-05:00

Keep watching throughout the week for updates from Destin. We are having a blast!! Zach seems fascinated with the beach and new things he is seeing. DJ is just so excited to be here!!!

Here are a few pictures that we took while we were having our picnic yesterday. Just too cute!

Our Trip to the Beach -- From DJ's point of view

2007-06-10T19:15:00.000-05:00

We left for the beach this morning!

We got a late start though!

We had to go by Grandma Susie's house to get the key to the condo... are we there yet?

I watched movies and played video games on the way -- I had to help with Zach too...

We stopped at the rest area around Greenville and had lunch. Mom made sandwiches. It was fun. All Zach did was sleep. I even took some pictures too!

Look what I caught Mommy and Daddy doing!!! Ooooo Gross!!!

I just wonder how much longer until we get there... this ride is getting "boring." I did not have very much fun waiting to get there!!! ARE WE THERE YET???

Going over the Mid Bay Bridge was totally fun!!! Mom and I rolled down our windows and took some funny pictures! We even got a pretty picture of the Intercoastal Waterway.

MySpace

2007-06-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

http://www.myspace.com/golfproswife
http://www.myspace.com/davidhurstsr

You can use this to keep up with us on myspace too!! If you are a myspacer, add me as a friend. David is on there too!

Our Little Company

2007-06-06T09:56:00.001-05:00

This is our little company! We are a distributor for Herbalife. The products are FABULOUS! David has lost almost 20 pounds using the products and I have lost the baby weight! (It just sits differently!!) David's family is using several of the skincare and haircare products and they love them! We have two websites you can learn more about some of the products or you can call us and we can get you started that way!
www.dhtrimdownmall.com or www.dhherbalifetrim.com

Easter Sunday

2007-06-06T09:54:00.001-05:00

Easter Sunday at David's parents (Da Bill and Susie). DJ absolutely adores his little brother -- who worships his big brother!!

Batter Up 2007

2007-06-06T09:53:00.001-05:00

BATTER UP!!! DJ's team went undefeated this season! This was our first season of keeping score in Tball! He had wonderful coaches who taught the boys about teamwork and commitment! They were awesome!!

Zach -- March 2007

2007-06-06T09:50:00.001-05:00

How precious they are when they sleep! These were a fluke! He was asleep when we got to the studio and the outfit just worked!!! These were done in March.

The Boys February 2007

2007-06-06T09:49:00.001-05:00

These are some other pictures from February! Wow how both boys have changed!!!

My Favorite from February 07

2007-06-06T09:47:00.002-05:00

Another pic from February of 07! This one is a favorite!

Good Breeding! Roll Tide

2007-06-06T09:45:00.001-05:00

Good breeding starts at birth! Zach -- Zacharooni as DJ calls him -- was 1 month old in this picture. The football, as many know, has been in DJ's hand since he was about 4 months old!!

The First of the Headlines

2007-06-06T09:35:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is! After much prodding about starting a blog from Beth, I did it! We are all doing great! DJ has graduated from Kindergarten, Zach is getting so big and is such a good baby! I hope you all enjoy seeing pictures of the boys and so forth. I have put a few on here from this year, and will get more ASAP!!