Frazer UMC: Trunk or Treat

Frazer UMC: Trunk or Treat

Bama Boys, a legend and Sean's new room. ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!

Sean with a few of our neighbors. Having a street full of Bama fans is quite lovely :-)

We have prayed since we moved in our home six years ago that Sean would have some friends on the street to play with. Little did we know, he would be eight years old with a half dozen little boys around his age to play with. ALL Bama fans. I love it because it gets him away from the TV and video games. It is such a joy watching them all play football in the front yard. I have really come to care so much about some of these precious boys. Rambunctious? YEP! But ohhh, so sweet.

Sean, Jake and Alex

Buddy has been taking Sean to some Alabama games lately. It has been a wonderful, bonding experience for them. During one of the trips, Buddy was able to take Sean into the University and the theater where Buddy spent so much of his time while in college. Sean loved getting on stage and seeing everything about where daddy went to college. One very special thing Buddy was able to do was to introduce Sean to his most influential Teacher/Mentor, Dr. Edmond  "Ed" Williams. Dr. Williams also works with the ASF student program here in Montgomery.

Staying on the subject of Bama...... Sean got a new room and a remodel. WHOO HOO!!

This is only a portion of the whole, but it is fabulous. I mean, I want to live in that room~

This is a picture of Bryant Denny Stadium. It is a 6 foot by 4 foot wall art (stick up) and nearly landed Buddy and I in divorce court. Heh, not really! But it sure was a booger to mount that thing.

Frazer's Trunk or Treat is coming UP!!!!

I am SOOOOO excited about this year's Trunk or Treat at my church. I am married to a theatre man and, well, we tend to go over the top a little (tiny) bit when it comes to anything involving building a set or dressing up. Welp, the only occasion for building a "set" or dressing UP would be Trunk or Treat. And, well.... maybe birthday parties.
Ok, sooooo you don't have to be smart to figure out our theme this year :-) We will definitely be dressing UP for this one....Stay tuned ~ More to come!!!!

Lily's party invite (sneek peek)

Ooh, La, La!!! Lily is almost SEVEN.

HOW can it be true??? I am overwhelmed with so many emotions about this.

1. Thankfulness to God for blessing me with this child nearly seven years ago after three heartbreaking losses and a pregnancy with her filled with complications, needles and bed rest.

2. Overflowing gratitude for the miracle of her life when she lay at death's door five years later.

3. Bittersweet feelings for her growing up way to quickly, right before my eyes.

4. Giddy, giddy, giddy about giving her another fabulous birthday bash.

I could go on and on but you get it, right?

Anyway, I am not sure if you have noticed or not, but.... these parties are all for ME! I was not privledged as a child. I don't want to make this post sad but, we were... well, how do I say it?? - We were POOR!
Now, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with a simple party in the backyard, but, as a child I always dreamed of a fabulous party fit for a princess. I daydreamed for hours on end of pink in every shade, tutu's, feather boas, tiny sandwiches, candy, goodies, fabulous cakes and LOTS of friends. It never happened but my momma always made it filled with love. The dream never left me and I was blessed with a bundle on PURE PINK LOVE on December 1st 2004.
  I think I am living the childhood I always wanted. Hey, at least I'm honest. Oh, don't get me wrong, Lily is having a blast along the way as well :-)

I am usually pushy with the themes (I admit with shame) BUT, this year was totally Lily. She chose the theme and is helping plan every single detail along the way - momma taught her well - hah!
Her sweet "Shisha" designed the invitations for her. I. LOVE. THEM....
This is the back of the invitation. I am sure you can guess the theme :-)
More to come....

"I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee"!!!

The song that comes to mind when looking at this picture: "I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee"!

I sang it over and over, day after day, to my little preschoolers when I taught at Montessori Academy.

After the STJ Halloween party, we delivered Sean to a friend's house to spend the night. This meant that this glorious little "bug" was all ours. We planned movies, snuggles, giggles.... BUT, this is what we got ~ one VERY sleepy little bumblebee. NOPE, she did not brush her teeth.

Second Grade - STJ Halloween party

"Siblings invited"
That was all Lily needed to hear when she learned about Sean's second grade party.

Sean wanted to be this scary thing.... UH! Whatever it is. Grim Reaper? Oh, I just dislike it totally.
Apparently it is the "thing to be" since there were six other kids dressed just like him.

The party WAS great though. (loud) Buddy and I both went. We walked into a room filled with screaming, running and very LOUD 7-9 year olds. There was a grand buffet of food for the kids, (kids were loud)  cool, jamming music, (kids were loud) fun decorations, (kids were extremely loud) cookie cake, cupcakes and candy (Did I mention the kids were LOUD)?? HA! The parents sat in a circle around the great big room as kids came around to each of us for candy. It was chaotic, crazy, LOUD and fun. Enjoy these years as they will pass too quickly :-)

A teacher for Lily "Bug"

I started this post about a year ago......I wanted to "do it justice" so I just left it as a draft to come back to after some thought. Well, I forgot about it :(

October 11th, 2012
 Until..... today as I was scrolling down on my bloggie dashboard, I saw the unfinished post.
Where do I begin?  Because, here we are an entire year later with an entirely different teacher. But let's talk about THIS teacher.
 "Mrs Hubbie" as Lily affectionately calls her sometimes, was an absolute angel for our sweet girl when she needed an "angel" most.
After being at STJ for two years, we moved Lily and Sean to a different school. They were only there for a year. Many prayers, tears and discussions later, we decided to bring them back to STJ. We were happy to be back, but worried about the transition on the kids. Mrs Hubbard knew about Lily's accident and her switching schools. She was sensitive to all of Lily's needs and gave her extra TLC. Lily had another surgery for her tracheal stenosis during this time as well. Mrs Hubbard made sure Lily was safe in cold weather and let her rest when needed. She was also mindful of Lily's breathing issues or if she ever had any cough or episodes of stridor. What I discovered about this precious teacher though is that she gives this TLC to each and every one of her students. She truly has a special gift and a love for what she does.
When the school year was up, Lily had gotten so attached to her teacher, she asked to be held back (hah)! Of course, she DID move on to second grade. But, even over the summer (after her first grade year) Mrs Hubbard still continued to love her "babies". The kids all met her at the movies one day for a movie date. To our kids, this teacher was like a SUPERSTAR!! How awesome is that?
Thank a teacher today. They have the most important job of all ~ growing our babies.

Lily had such a fun time in the corn boxes!

and in the hammock.....

and in the corn boxes....... :-)

 

HAPPY FALL, YA'LL

Lily's great pumpkin quest!

Lily's first six birthdays

This collage makes me VERY glad I take way too many pictures and go a little over the top for birthday parties. Now, going "over the top" does NOT always mean spending a fortune. More on that later. As Lily's seventh birthday draws near, I will be trying to come up with theme/ideas. For now though, I loved this little trip down memory lane of all of her birthday cakes (with pic of her). Look out seven, here we come !!!!!

Where did this baby girl go???

A new room for Lily

Has it really been almost FOUR years??? It was November of 2007. Lily was still two. She was almost three, and we decided to take her crib down and put her in a bed. The mattress was called a "bunkie board" and was at the absolute lowest level. She still had a little climb so we put a bed rail up. I have always been hyper aware of falls for them since Lily took a tumble down our hardwood stairs at 8 months and then Sean fell (at 4 years old) down those same stairs with his leg cast on.
Anyway, I was so exited about Buddy painting her light pink walls and having her pink toille stuff that she had had in her crib. I found a soft, sweet green comforter to match and we put up a little chandelier. Voila, "big girl (sorta) bed" yet, STILL my baby girl's room. It was the best of both worlds. UNTIL.... Fast forward four years to 2011. Her it is at almost the same time of year. Lily will be SEVEN years old in about eight weeks (tear). She still adores pink, er..... only a few shades darker. She was having nothing doing with that "baby stuff" of what we called her comforter. AND..... she wanted to move upstairs to the "big room". (gulp)

So recently we took the first of many new leaps. First, we got her a real deal mattress and box springs and raised the level of the bed up. That worked out. Next, we painted her a REALLY PINK (she picked the color) room upstairs and let her pick out her own bedding. Last night was her first night with it all finished and I must say, I LOVE it!!! I did sleep upstairs with her though :-) I just can't take anymore accidents for a while so we will install a baby gate soon. In the meantime though, we are busy getting Sean upstairs as well. He has chosen crimson RED (Roll Tide). Here is a before and after of her room makeover. Will post Sean's in a few days.

A heart for "JJ" - Heart cath day!

Former Frazer family member blogs about adopting a son from China and the battle they are now facing with a heart condition he has. He is already a little miracle to have survived this long. We are all praying and following thier incredible journey.

MIRACLES ~

Cate's miracle

Patrick Quinn, One of our Frazer pastors, holds his daughter Cate. A week ago she suffered a tragic fall and landed on her head. Patrick tells of the pain he and his wofe experienced as they waited to see if she would be ok.

http://www.offerchrist.com/general/experiencing-pain/

Learning

Look how mommy padded him up real good :-)

Pinky up....

Oh... I forgot about our Disney trip. I do believe I am so far behind with blogging, I will never catch up.

I CAN take this girly ANYWHERE!

We were priveleged to recieve the great honor of a gift for Lily from an organization called "Compassion Partners". Due to Lily's pontentially life threatning condition (she is fine now) and the dignosis of tracheal stenosis, which can be serious if not treated, She was granted a wish to go to Disney World. The organization paid for Buddy, Myself and Sean as well as Lily. We went for the Fourth of July weekend and had a fabulous time. The weekend was all about celebrating the life and miracle of Lily and just having some great family time with no schedules or stress. I will say that it was about the most enjoyable trip to date. We took it easy and just did whatever we liked. Lily wanted to "Royal treatment" of course. This included the "Perfectly Princess Tea Party" at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Something she has wanted to do for a few years. However, the price was a bit steep for the luxery so we never did it. With the trip being paid for, we were able to splurge a little on things like the tea party for Lily and boating excursion for daddy and Sean.

First day of school 2011

Lily - first grade and Sean - second grade
I am one proud mama. We moved back to STJ from MA. The kids are adjusting well. This is an old and much overdue post. But, since I am on a roll here catching up my blog, I thought I would keep going.

Sean has really taken off acedemically. He is reading like a pro and has such confidence in his work. He rarly makes anything other than A's. As for Lily, she is doing great for the past year she has had. She is playing "catch up" a little. Since her innitial recovery from the accident, she has had five surgeries. I think she has done quite well considering. She is starting to read and her writting is getting better. I am starting to see confidence in her work and her eagerness to learn. I think we are about to see her make great strides.

Modeling clothes

Would it be safe to say that this girl LOVES what she does??? She has modeled clothes for Julia, owner and designer of (Frogbelliesandblossoms) clothing line since she was about two or three. She pretty much runs the show now. :-)

Daddy's boy!

Sean has always been a "mama's boy". So, I can't tell you how thrilled I am that I have noticed him drifting closer to his daddy over the past year. I don't feel threatned at all. I know we have a special bond. I also know how important it is for a son to have that special and close daddy relationship. I remember when I was pregnant with Sean and being very serious about this "raising a boy thing". I took a class at Frazer called "Bringing up Boys". The book we were reading spoke about boys naturally being closer to mothers in the beginning. But, there should be a period when a boy would start to draw closer to daddy. It warms my heart to see how close they are becoming. In the past year they have gone on several adventures together. Beach trips, helicopter rides, Football games, camping trips to the mountains. Sean is loving these moments and I am positive Buddy is too. I know they are making memories that will last a lifetime.

My babies

This is JUST how I want to remember them when they are grown. I LOVE this picture because it captures and pretty much sums up their distinct personalities in a single click. Lily is carefree (always) and brave as ever. Sean is always thinking, somewhat tenative and ALWAYS in character mode. I assure you, every aspect of this outfit was thought out with careful planning. Right down to making the blue jean knee hole a bit bigger just before I snapped the picture. He was all about me taking this picture while Lily could care less. She probaby had no idea I was even standing there with the camera. I want time to slow down - it's fleeting and my babies are growing up way too fast.

Baptism reception for Dylan

Our sweet God Daughter, Kenisha and (Husband Steve) allowed us to share in their special day. Last Sunday precious Dylan was dedicated to Christ until the day comes when he can choose for himself. I was so thrilled about this that I thought we needed to celebrate. After church, we had a small reception/luncheon at out home. Dylan's "Nana", Marylew and I put out heads together to arrange some good food and sweet treats. Of course, Dylan was the sweetest treat there.

Hard to believe this precious angel will be SEVEN in eight weeks

Lily's last surgery

Friday was Lily's final procedure for tracheal stenosis. We are thrilled beyond words. The precious baby has endured so much since her accident and always smiles and goes on her way. She is my little hero. Tomorrow is her first full day of first grade.
Will update my blog soon (seriously, I will) I am way behind and have much to share.
Heidi

NINE years of wedded bliss.....

Buddy and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on March 16th. We were, or course, in NYC with the kiddos. For the last several years, we have taken our annual family vacation on Spring Break week. Incidentally it falls on our anniversary. Since Buddy was still teaching high school at the time, we married the weekend just before Spring Break so we could take our honeymoon on his week off. It seemed like a great idea at the time. However, it now means that we have to share it with our kids. We were able to steal some sweet moments alone though. Thanks to our precious Niece agreeing to keep the kids for us, we were able to get an evening alone. She took the kids out for deserts and back to the hotel while we had diner and saw the off Broadway show "Cactus Flower". I loved walking the streets of New York once again with my love.

My idea of a romantic setting - a kiss on top of the Rockafeller building with the Empire State Building behind us. Don't worry, we also made it to the top of the Empire State Building as well.

Thank you for nine amazing years sweetheart. I look forward to many more with you.

The Murphys in NYC!

We took the kids to the "Big Apple" for Spring Break this year. It was quite a change for them. We have taken them to Disney World every year since they were infants. Buddy and I went alone for a few days this past December. We fell in love with it and thought it would be a great place to take the kids. We brought our Niece Bailey along with us. I can say without reservation that it was honestly the BEST family vacation we have ever had. The weather was nice (a bit cold), the kids were well behaved and there were NO LONG LINES.

Lily's Hero

Really, "Lily's Hero" does not adequately express what I feel about this......umm, how I feel about this amazing lady. "Tara" as we now know her. Funny, we did not even know her until the day of Lily's accident and yet she has become so special to us. Our girls are even in the same kindergarten class this year. This is the mother who stepped up and performed CPR on our daughter the day she nearly lost her life in a drowning accident. She did not give up. Even when I thought it was surely over. One day I will find the right words I want to say to her. For now though, isn't this picture precious?