Russ, Rachel, Rusty, & Ruby McDonald

Hey, God.

2010-11-19T23:02:00.004-05:00

Busy, Busy, Busy. This is the story of our lives. I actually enjoy being busy, but sometimes we miss out on so much happening at "this" moment because we are preparing for the next ball game, school day, church service etc.

Anyhow, tonight Beau was just barking and howling in the backyard. Not really sure why--there were some cats running behind the fence and that may have set our ferocious watch dog off. :o) Honestly, though, I think it was just God's way of getting us outside for a little bit. I keep telling Russ that I want a firepit in the backyard and I said it again tonight when I took Ruby out to talk to Beau for a minute.

Russ went outside and took an old grill we had and made it into a firepit of sorts. It's perfect, actually, because he put it beside the porch and on top of some stepping stones we had. Made it the perfect height to sit on the porch and enjoy.

I had laid Ruby down and Rusty and I grabbed a couple of marshmallows and joined Russ outside. The night sky was very pretty. Moon was almost full and there were patches of clouds here and there. Honestly, I was more interested in the marshmallows at the time, but then Rusty just very calmly looked up to the sky, waved and said, "Hey, God." Just like He was sitting right there with us.

It took me by surprise at first and my first reaction was to tell him to not be disrespectful, but he wasn't at all. He just knew God was there and could here us and see us and he told him hello. He then said, "Tell God, 'hey', Daddy." and Russ did. He said the same thing to me....If only I could always be so aware of God's presence.

I see more and more of why God says for us to "Come as a child."

We had a sweet night and made a sweet memory. One of those nights I want to bottle up forever. So I just blogged it up. :o)

Good Intentions

2010-11-11T22:17:00.003-05:00

So it has been two years since I've blogged. I love reading blogs--I love pretending that I'm blogging in my head even! I guess I first fell off the blogging bandwagon when I became very facebook active.

It also fell by the wayside when our internet quit working properly. "Our" internet would not be the correct term anyways. Whoever's signal we were using was not strong enough for me to upload pictures to and the school's internet blocks all blogs. Period. And it's a good thing because I do love to read them.

So, here I am resolving to pick up this hobby once again. One, because I love having a journal of the happenings in my little family. Two, I find it a nice outlet for sharing my thoughts. I will not, however, post as my status that I have returned to blogging, until I'm sure that I have really returned to blogging. Makes sense to me.

Been a While

2008-11-29T08:12:00.007-05:00

Well let me first say how ashamed I am that I let this go unattended for so long. I was having problems with my connection at home and they have blocked the web sites that host blogs in the computer lab so I didn't have a chance to update it.
I know that everyone is busy and that is especially so this time of year, but we have kicked into high gear and we aren't stopping until Christmas! We have now made it through the school Christmas program and we are about to begin the Church Cantata. I direct the Drama and Russ is one of the characters in it this year. We love doing it, but it can be quite the time sucker. Everything was going smoothly until this past weekend when Rusty caught the stomach bug and now Russ has fallen victim as well. Makes me a little nervous, but I'm praying for his quick healing since our first presentation is TOMORROW night!
I loaded a few pics of Rusty

This is the "Sader" monkey that I tried posting about but none of it loaded. We had a costume party with our Sunday School class and Rusty was Curious George and Russ was the "Man in the Yellow Hat." It just so happened that Halloween fell on a ballgame night so I let Rusty dress up in his monkey suit and I put this jersey on him that I made. It was such a blast and soooo many people said they just loved watching him!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. My sister, Hannah, has been in England this semester so I was able to talk Mom and Dad into coming down since she wouldn't be coming home. We had such a great time and I loved having Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in our home!
Papa and Granny Jones spoiled Rusty real good while they were here.

My small but cozy dining area. We had to get a seperate table to hold the food!

Papa and Rusty had a blast playing in the back yard...
Yes, he stands it up and kicks it. All the time. Inside or outside. :o)

We do have a special prayer request. Mimi (Russ' mom) was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. She has started chemo and the prognosis looks good, but we will be going through a tough time while we help her fight this. She has a great spirit and is trusting God for healing.

There is typically a knot on the little man's head. Poor thing. Anyhow, I know it was brief, but now I have made my grand return to the world of blogging. Thanks for checking in on us!

The Sader Monkey!

2008-11-04T10:58:00.009-05:00

2008-10-16T09:41:00.003-04:00

Fun Time With Cousin Madison

2008-10-05T14:56:00.003-04:00

My Wheel of Fortune Good Fortune!

2008-09-27T20:32:00.005-04:00

So what an exciting day I have had today!!! If you have known me and if we have ever talked about things that we want to do you would know that I want to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. I even tell my students this every year. While I was expecting Rusty the Wheel Mobile came to Orlando, but we didn't go and I have regretted it ever since. So....last month we heard that they were coming to Seaworld and I said right away that I just absolutely had to go.

So this morning we took off...

There were going to be three shows. We ran a little late and missed the first one. This was the holding area where we waited to get into the show.

The show was housed in one of the huge pavilions at Seaworld. We think there was between 400 and 500 people there. This was when we first got in. The news people were interviewing the travel hosts. They were not Pat and Vanna. Their names were Marty and Heidi...

So they called people up in groups of 5. They did this 6 times. They would then introduce the people, ask them what they enjoyed, and then they would do a puzzle round. They told the audience that if their name was called that their audition started right then. They wanted to see enthusiastic, energized people that could speak clearly. After about the 4th group I couldn't believe it when they said "Rachel...(I held my breath)...McDonald" I screamed and then went and ran to the table to go up on stage!! (These pics aren't the best quality. We were really tight and Russ was just holding the camera up in the air and it was kind of dark.)

I get up on stage and Marty says, "What's your name?" To this I reply, "Rachel". "Rachel, what do you do?" I say, "I am a high school computer and drama teacher." Marty asks, "What do you do for fun?" I say, "I enjoy spending time with my husband, Russ, and our toddler, Rusty." Marty says, "Russ and Rusty!! I like that." I said, "Yes, and I coach Varsity Cheerleading and we love to watch football (not sure why that came to mind.)" Marty says, "Did you say you coach cheerleading??! Would you like to lead the crowd in a cheer today?!" I say, "Well sure!" And I then break out into "Let's Get Fired Up (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)" And everyone actually cheered with me!!!!! It was an embarrassing, but surreal out of body experience. Absolutely wonderful!! Here I am in the middle of my cheer...
This was after the cheer. Notice the lady's hand in the air. Russ said everyone who was standing where we were was cheering for me!
This is Marty spinning the wheel to see what we would win. We all won t-shirts and a Wheel of Fortune sippy cup! Perfect for Rusty. Notice the Pat cutout in the bottom right hand corner.

After the puzzle...I didn't solve it, but both of my letters were there that I called!
Anyhow, so I received a letter after I left stage inviting me to a call back audition tomorrow. These are apparently a little more intense. So wish me luck!!! (Any advice on what to wear???)

This was just a really fun day and to top it all off Alabama is currently beating Georgia 31-0 at halftime. Roll Tide!!!!

Special Delivery!

2008-09-26T23:10:00.008-04:00

My brother Josh and Hannah celebrated the birth of their second daughter on September 3rd which also happens to be my sister Hannah's birthday as well. Her name is Morgan Grace...

Proud Papa.

Both cousin Rebecca and Gracie also have birthdays in September.

Great Granny Jackson and baby Morgan

Happy Grannies!!

We Love Our Saders!

2008-09-18T21:36:00.007-04:00

Thought I would put up a few pics of our teams.

Russ JV football team. (6th-8th grade)

My Varsity girls in their extension prep at the football game. We have been able to do some pretty neat stuff this year.

This was at the end of a long Friday! Notice Rusty still has his foot ball :o)

JV and Varisty girls together.

Special thanks to Ashley Sturgis (11th grade) for the awesome pictures she has been taking for me this year! It is especially a big help since my yearbook staff consists of only one student!

I think one of the great things about our school is that we are big enough to offer several sports programs and that we are small enough for any student to participate in any sport they please to. I love the atmosphere when we are in the stands cheering for kids that we know and love!

Please continue to pray for Rusty. We had to take him to the hospital for a breathing treatment. He is doing a little better. He is crawling on me right now so I'm going to finish this up. Have a great week!

2008-09-17T08:02:00.006-04:00

Hi Everyone! I've been having trouble with my internet connection. I did a great post for Grandparent's Day, but I never could get it to upload. We are busy again and going here and there. Our school year is going extremely well much to our pleasure.

We have all been a little under the weather. Rusty was up last night with a fever that he finally sweated around 6 this morning. So I've stayed home with him today. Rusty is feeding himself very well now. He is talking a little more each day. Most of the time when you see him he will be carrying some type of ball. Some kids carry stuffed animals, some carry soft and fuzzy blankets, but my son has to carry ugly balls--and it's usually a football. He LOVES going to the ballgames, but now when he throws the ball at home he throws himself down on the ground and says "touchdown!"

We went to an open house at Papa Dale's church last weekend. They had one of those moonwalk bouncy things and Rusty and Russ had fun in there for a little bit.

Well, I'm going to try to post a video of him jumping. We'll see how it goes. Love to everyone!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Hannah!

2008-09-02T20:22:00.002-04:00

I would like to use this post to wish my little sister a very happy birthday! As usual, I procrastinated with getting the card in the mail and it doesn't help that she is in England so it will take at least a week to get there. Not to mention that it is already her birthday in England while it is still the day before here. (This is going to mess with the time/space continuum!!--My husband loves Back to the Future)

All of the siblings
A little time travel....Hannah was definetly the cutest here! I do remember thinking I was something else in this sailor dress. How sad...
Good times at the dinner table.
Happy Birthday, Aunt Hannah!!!

Preparing for Tropical Storm Fay!

2008-08-19T10:28:00.007-04:00

So we had a busy week last week getting our classrooms ready and lesson plans done. We worked all weekend to be ready for the first day of school which went off great! Now, though, we find ourselves with two days out of school because Tropical Storm Fay is coming for a visit. Talk about anticlimatic...

We're stocked up with water, beanie weanies, and peanut butter and bananas--that is what I call survival food! Rusty decided to pull out each bottle of water that was beside the table. Even as I'm doing this post he got into the cabinet and has stacked a can of chili, two cans of vienna sausage, and topped it off with a bottle of mustard! What an artist, right?

Rusty admiring his hard work.

His teeth are still bothering him, but I sure do hope that this is the end of it.

My classroom which is ready and waiting!

We're going to just weather the storm and stay put! Russ' mom has a generator so if we lose power we will go over there. Keep everyone in Florida in your prayers.

2008-08-07T10:46:00.004-04:00

So here we are at the end of summer. I have thought to myself, "where did the summer go?" but I can honestly say that I know exactly where it went! God has blessed us and we enjoyed our summer to the fullest. We had days to just spend at home together and work on the house, but we also took two trips out of state as well as a short trip to the beach. We made many wonderful memories and I wouldn't trade them for anything! (Now I might have traded some of the 10 hour car trips, but you take the good with the bad, right?)

I am thankful for the way God provided for us over and over. Russ was able to do a few paint jobs which allowed some extra money for the trips, but on the same hand he was able to stay at home with us mostly and enjoy our summer together. Even if he did spend much of his time in the yard and repairing the house. :o)

I want to thank God for some prayers that He answered for us this week:

1. God provided good insurance for Rusty and we will have his cyst removed in the next few weeks.

2. My mother got a good job with great benefits and we have been praying for that for several months now.

3. God provided Hannah with the finances she needed to spend this next semester in England. (Also, Mom's insurance came in just in time to keep Hannah from having to buy the school's insurance. Isn't God's timing perfect?)

With school starting back, we will be paying for babysitting again, but I know God will provide and I am thankful for the boost in my faith with these answered prayers.

We've had a chance to get together with several of our friends at church this summer and become closer with many of them. We love our church family and it is refreshing to have good Christian friends to have fun with.

Every single one of Rusty's grandparents (Which includes 6 great-grandparents, 4 grandparents, 1 step-great grandparent, and 2 step-grandparents), aunts, and uncles got to see him and how he has grown. Rusty was at a very enjoyable age and loved to show off for all of them! He made best friends with his papa and still talks about him and holds his picture.

So here I am working on bulletin boards now and getting ready to start the new school year. I am sad about having to be away from Rusty, but I refuse to dread what God has called me to do! (Just pray that I can keep this attitude :o)

Some shots I took around the house...

Mimi brought Rusty over a Push Pop last night! He loved every drop of it, even though this picture sort of betrays that thought.

"oooooooooh"

Thank you, Mimi!

Daddy and Rusty are enjoying a book that Rusty's friend, Clay, let him borrow.

Sporting his new outfit!

Daddy and Rusty making beautiful music together!

Look out, Jared, I see a new Subway spokesman on the rise!

Rusty to the rescue! Obviously this was right after supper and right before the bath.

Thanks for stopping by for a brief look at our lives!

Sader Spirit

2008-07-30T14:42:00.007-04:00

Wow, so after spending 2 and a half very hot and sweaty days inside our school gym with the girls--I am PUMPED about cheerleading this year. We have some new cheers, new stunts, new cheerleaders--I love it!! I feel like I am a new coach, too. We did have one girl take a pretty good blow to the nose, but besides that we all had a great time. I have an awesome group of girls and I am looking forward to this being our best year yet.
I wanted to get these up this afternoon because three of my cheerleaders are heading to Missouri on a missions trip for the next 10 days. Please say a quick prayer for them when you read this.

Working on our high "V". This was obviously before perfection was reached. :o)

Hmm...Katie is pondering.

My favorite new motion :o)

The one split-second that we had Billye in a one-legged stunt. Should that stray hand up there disturb me a little?

"Please, don't let me break my nose..."

And of course what is a post without some of Rusty? Thought I would show you how we are coming in the process of learning to feed ourselves. Russ and Rusty have suddenly taken a liking to "Cup-O-Noodles."

Having his daily dose of oatmeal.

Love to all, especially my girls! I will be praying for you.

Catching Some Waves!

2008-07-24T16:34:00.012-04:00

We had a special treat this week. Mimi and Papa Dale (Russ' Mom and stepdad) had rented a condo at Daytona Beach Shores (which is just a little south of Daytona Beach) and we went over there after church Sunday night and stayed until Wednesday morning. We had such a fun and relaxing time. Russ and I found 9 sanddollars! I am working on a way to clean and preserve them. Rusty especially loved the waves and the sand. We even came up with a "going to the beach" dance which he is still doing!

Rusty was very good about leaving his hat in place.

He wasn't quite sure what to think about the sand moving under his feet.

Running to the ocean!

Rusty understands that vacation is all about the food!

Russ was a good sport to let us bury him!

A picture of our setup. It was so nice and spread out. Papa Dale was enjoying himself here and we were definitly on our way to break his solitude!

Little Word Game

2008-07-19T22:36:00.005-04:00

Sending a little love...

Browsing through a friend's blog list and saw this and thought I would give it a try, too. You're suppose to answer the following using the first letter of your first name (like Scattegories). Give it a shot!

What is your name? Rachel
4-Letter Word - rock
TV Show - Regis and Kelly
City - Raleigh, NC
Country - Russia
Boy Name - Rusty
Girl Name - Ruby
Occupation - Roto Rooter
Something You Wear - Ring
Food - Raspberry
Something Found In A Bathroom - Razor
Vehicle - Rav4 (What I drive :o)
Something You Shout - ROLL TIDE!

Mountain Vacation

2008-07-16T21:06:00.011-04:00

So while we were in Tennessee I had more than one person say to me, "Hey, I see that little guy (talking about Rusty) on your blog!" First of all, I think that is great and wonderful. I use my blog as sort of a virtual "brag book". However, my dad is always quick to point out my numerous typos (even as I typed that I'm not sure it is spelled right) and I justify it by saying, "Well, it's only family that looks at it, anyways." So now I'm going to be second-guessing everything I post.

However, I don't have a special talent at writing so if you look at my blog please feel free to just skip down to the pictures.

So we began our week in the mountains by taking in Cades Cove...

Our tour-guides were very capable and charming as well!

Russ and Rusty hiking through the trail behind the cabin.

We floated gloriously on innertubes down the river (until we were stuck on the occasional rock, of course)

Rusty had a blast playing with Papa!

Then we were off to the wedding...

Congratulations to my good friends Jason and Haley Zimmerman!

Playing with friends

2008-07-05T22:51:00.003-04:00

Well, we are getting ready to pack up and head to the hills of Tennessee! I'm excited to see many friends and to get Haley and Jason married, but the thought of traveling just takes the life out of me.

We did have a great evening tonight! Some friends from church, Chase and Mary, came over and they have two kids. Their son Clay is just two months older than Rusty and they had a good time together. Rusty needs a few lessons in sharing I'm afraid. I would welcome some advice on that. (Having another baby is not an option at the present time. :o)

Anyhow, thought I would ask everyone when they see this to pray for us, and to pray that there is no rain on Haley's wedding day. (next Saturday)

Love to all!

Having Fun!

2008-07-02T18:14:00.006-04:00

Well, everything is just "hunky-dorey" here in sunny Florida! Our garden is growing and we will soon have tomatoes coming out the wazoo :o)

We had neighborhood Bible time last week at church and had a great time there. I helped in the kitchen and we actually had callouses on our hands from dipping ice cream for all the teenagers one night! (It was much like trying to dip out dried concrete. )Then last weekend we had a cook-out and invited some friends over. We also bought Rusty a pool and he has been having fun with his outside "bath" as he calls it.

Russ and I celebrated our anniversary on Tuesday and we went to our favorite Japenese restaurant "Kotobuki." It was fun and kind of neat because we were the only ones at the tapenyaki table to watch our food get cooked. Like a private show. Russ' birthday is coming up on Monday. I know many of you probably know this, but Russ was born on 7/7/77. Pretty neato, huh?

I helped Russ with a painting job this week to make a little extra money before we head for the mountains next week to get Haley and Jason married. So much excitement going on around here!

Rusty has taken his "where's the ball? game to a new level"

"I know I left that bat around here somewhere!"

"I guess the light saber will have to do"

Always time for a "yum"!

These are just a few improvements we've done this week. I finally finished painting my bedroom and put my new bedding on (thanks to Granny). I still need to hang curtains and pictures so this is a bed-only shot.

Our new piece!

I was taking a picture of the finished music room when Rusty tripped over the chair.
My lamp that my dad bought for me.

Rusty's got the keys! I think he must be ready to head up to the mountains! Happy 4th everyone!

Cousins, Cousins, and more Cousins!

2008-06-18T21:31:00.016-04:00

So many things I want to show you from our trip to Alabama. We are so blessed with our families. Rusty has 6 great-grandparents in Alabama as well as Russ' Dad and my parents so that makes a total of 9, and even Mimi (Russ' mom) was in Alabama this weekend for Father's Day so Rusty had 10 "Grannies and Papas" to spoil him rotten and I think they were successful!

Rusty enjoyed playing with his cousins and riding the tractor with Papa Jones.

Rusty and Madison watching Barney. This was by far the stillest they sat all day!

This is the best picture I got of cousin Tyson. He and Rusty both shared the same desire to go outside EVERY chance they got.

Rusty with his 3rd cousins. Carroline and Jeremiah (on the right) belong to Amanda and Gracie Mae is Tonya's little girl. Gracie sings a rousing rendition of "You Are My Sunshine."

Madison and Rusty playing on Aunt Hannah's bed.

Carroline celebrated her first birthday while we were there. Aren't those the most beautiful brown eyes you've ever seen?

Laughing with Grandma!
This would have been a cute picture, but Rusty was more concerned about the balloons that were stuck to the wall for Neighborhood Bible Time at Mom and Dad's church.

The main reason we went up last week (and not waiting until the end of summer) was because Russ' Dad was being inducted into the local Sports Hall of Fame. He coached for 30 years in the public schools up there as well as was on the State Championship team in '65. He's also a local golf champion of sorts. Pretty neat and quite an honor. They had a banquet and Sonny Smith was the emcee. Sonny Smith coached at Auburn I think at the same time Wimp Sanderson coached at Alabama. Anyways, he was HILARIOUS and quite a good story teller.

Clay (Russ' brother) and Tiffany came over for the banquet, too.

The great thing about going home is you can just relax and enjoy being with family. It is a rule that we have to eat until we are miserable, but I think it's a plot to get us to just sit on our fanny and visit with each other. Granny Jackson and I went shopping one day and that brought back lots of memories, too.

I just thought this was cute.

Riding in the back of the truck to the garden. Notice the little black dot on the road--that's Max trying to catch up.

Papa showing off his cucumbers.

Rusty decides to give the green beans a taste test.

Hanging out with Papa Bowles.

I got a new do while I was up there. :o)

Russ and I went down to the University and looked around. Russ graduated from Alabama in '99. It was fun stopping in the shops. I got a Alabama Santa ornament and Rusty got a t-shirt.

Rusty helping Papa preach on Sunday.

Here are just a few short clips, too.

Carroline inhaling her first birthday cake!

Papa's tractor ride!

Papa and Granny come to Visit!

2008-05-30T10:11:00.007-04:00

"Hey, Granny, we're getting ready for your visit to my house!"

"I'm getting all cleaned up and trying to get my hair to lay down!"

"Here you are in front of my house."

"I love my Aunt Hannah!"
"Papa, I loved to listen to you play the guitar and to make you laugh when I dance!"

"Granny, you give the best lovin' in the whole world!"

"I think we all favor a little, too."

"We had fun eating together!"
"Chuck E Cheese was very new to me, but I had fun!"

"You and Granny helped me discover that I like black olives even though my mommy hates them and would never give them to me."

"We are two cool dudes!"

As you can see we had a very good and relaxing week. While Mom and Dad were here Russ and I went to see "The Music Man" at the Civic Theatre. It was sooo good and we had a good time. I'm excited about the summer to just unwind and spend lots of time with family. My parents left this morning (Rusty has been looking for them, too) and Russ' brother Clay and his family is on their way today. Good times. If I can just hold on to my diet...

Mother's Day Love

2008-05-09T21:36:00.006-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!!!!
I have several pictures that I want to share, but not many words are coming to mind tonight. We've all been a little under the weather this week, but it's just a mix of allergies and exhaustion. We are looking forward to seeing all of our family soon. Rusty has lots of tricks to show off!

This was last Sunday. There was no hope of that shirt staying tucked in.

Tying his tie :o)

A little puppeteer

The outside of the house is really starting to look nice. We are going to paint it this summer. Every time we go down the road I'm scouting houses to see what color we should paint it.
This is the front of the house now.

Russ in the process of moving the stepping stones. Isn't he amazing?

This is the best before picture I had. Russ dug out all of those thick shrubs and dug up the stepping stones. Looks better don't you think?

Our first sign of home-grown vegetation!!!

These are some shots from the Spring Play--which was a blast as always!
I wish the curtain was open so you could see the set. Russ made an incredible steering wheel for the steamboat. (The name of the play was "Showtime On The Showboat") He used a wagon wheel and screwed in table legs for handles. Patch the Pirate would have been envious!

Working on Captain Lucy.

Samir was a ventriloquist.

Rufus Bilge - the villian!

Backstage--the girls are watching the people come in.

I love this picture because this sums up what the last few minutes before a production are like. Some students have a MILLION last minute questions, (the girls standing up--the Flower Sisters) some are looking over their lines, and some just don't care -- those usually do surprisingly well.

2008-04-27T21:39:00.003-04:00

Hi there! I don't have long to post (I'm actually finishing this in the morning before we go to school.) I wanted to share the clip of Rusty swinging and I had a few other shots I thought ya'll might enjoy. The Spring Play is tonight and I'm excited but running down a mental list constantly to make sure that everything is done. Hope everyone has a happy weekend!

Still enjoying the bunny, but after this time it was laid to rest.

Rusty sportin his new hair cut. Dad, I think he looks just like you here.

(Mom, this is the dress I bought with that gift card.) Notice the rabbit ears--we still haven't had the cable hooked up. We actually do just fine with 3 channels--especially this busy part of the year plus it saves us money. I also can't decide where to put that shelf that is next to the fireplace. In fact, I still haven't hung my pictures and things on the walls. When is summer coming?

Rusty loves his new yard swing!

Rusty says for everyone to come and play with him. He will let you push him until your arms fall off!

Lots of Chocolate!

2008-04-23T21:04:00.006-04:00

So Rusty grows a little more every day and is turning into quite the little boy. He LOVES to sing, dance, talk, play outside, get dirty and EAT! He is so sweet--he will give kisses, and he is trying to blow kisses. Yesterday, Russ cut up some banana and put it on his plate. Rusty looked at it, bowed his head, and jabbered very softly, then he raised his head and immediately started eating. Russ goes, "He just prayed!" We were so shocked, but it was absolutely precious. It amazes me what they pick up on, and it also challenges me to make sure we are teaching him the right things.

On the same hand, his mischievous side is coming alive. (Even as I type this, he just picked up Daddy's cup and spilled it all over him while thinking he could drink it. Russ is letting him play with the ice, too.) He likes to get into the toilet paper and rip it into itty bitty pieces. And whatever you do, don't leave anything containing cookies anywhere near him!

He is fun and an absolute joy. I wouldn't trade him for anything.

On the school side of things we are getting closer to the end. Our piano competition was last week and our recital was last night. Those are two big checkmarks on the calendar. Next is my Spring Play next Friday. The week of that play my stress level rises to the very top (!), but it is one of my favorite nights. At the end we all go out and bow and the students are so proud and happy and it is just one of the neatest things to see all of our work come to fruition. I say that to help remind myself, too.

Can't you see how Rusty has grown?...

The bunny is about to meet his doom...

I let him play with it awhile, then he got a taste and it was all over...

I believe this was after an Oreo. He eats his veggies real well, too--chocolate just makes better pictures!

Enjoying Spring Break in St. Augustine

2008-04-11T11:02:00.008-04:00

We did have a good time on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week in St. Augustine, though things didn't work out exactly as we had planned. The weather didn't cooperate with us as well as we hoped. It was very windy both days, but at least it wasn't intolerably hot.

St. Augustine is less than two hours away. It's a neat city with many historical sites. (Including where Russ and I got engaged. :o) It is actually the city where Ponce De Leon found what he thought was the "Fountain of Youth." We didn't make it to see that, but we did visit the fort (There is a Spanish name for the fort, but I've already forgotten it.) which we all enjoyed.

I love driving by this lighthouse. I want to go inside it someday. I was proud of this picture, I got it from the car while going down the road.

The gate entering the fort.

This is from the top of the fort. (I loved the way the clouds looked, too.)

This was the outside of the fort.

This is apparently the oldest schoolhouse in North America.

All we could handle of the beach was about a half hour picnic lunch. It was soooo windy.

Fortunately, we all did get to relax in the hotel some. Russ still hasn't stopped going with the house. Today he is rearranging the walkway that leads to the front door and we are planting some new plants tomorrow to replace the ones he dug up earlier this week.

I'm not necessarily ready for school next Monday, but I am mentally ready to just finish out the year. This is a good time of the year for me. The yearbooks will be coming in a couple of weeks and the Spring Play is 3 weeks away (Yikes!) It means busy times, but it is very fulfilling to see all of this come together at the end of the year.

Oh, yes, I told Mom I would post Rusty listening to me sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." It's something only a mother would love...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANNY JONES!

2008-04-09T17:48:00.005-04:00

Well, Granny, our video turned out darker than we meant for it to. Rusty woke up at about 5:30 this morning and we were in the hotel room at St. Augustine when we made this video clip. I just used my little camera. In case you can't see, he did in fact give you a big smile at the end.

We also wanted to post some other pictures that show how wonderful of a granny, mother, sister, friend you are...

We miss you very much, but hope your birthday was very special.

I will post pictures from our trip tomorrow or Friday. Love you!

A Growing Boy

2008-04-01T13:41:00.004-04:00

Russ' parents did a good job of saving mementos from Russ' childhood. My mother saved some blankets, but since I had a baby sister, I imagine she took all of my clothes. (How early that started...) Anyhow, for Easter this year Rusty wore a pair of Russ' shoes and they fit him perfectly! They were precious and even matched his outfit.

I was unpacking more the other day and I came across this little pair of Wrangler blue jeans that Russ' dad had given me. I remember thinking at Christmas that he wouldn't be into them for awhile yet and I sort of put that at the back of my mind. Well, since Christmas Rusty's belly has been expanding rapidly! I panicked when I found them and I knew I had to put them on him and take pictures right away. It was a good thing, because they may have not fit him the next morning! I wish you could have seen Rusty's face. He looked at me like, "Mom, why are squeezing me into these very uncomfortable pants." I knew a shirt was out of the question. :o) He did look adorable.

I have enjoyed having the washer and dryer in the garage more than I could ever tell you. I'm sure the "new" will wear out soon enough, but right now I just love to put clothes in my washing machine. Rusty loves to play with the baskets.

We are gearing up for a great Spring Break and maybe the house will be all set up by the end of it. I don't think Russ has sat down in two weeks. He's constantly painting, changing out light switches, and digging up bushes. So, I promise to post pictures of it at the end of Spring Break. Take care, everyone!

Easter Weekend

2008-03-26T14:55:00.002-04:00

Tangerine Pickin'

2008-03-21T20:04:00.004-04:00

We are enjoying our back yard so very much. I took these pictures today of Rusty picking tangerines (which he thinks are "balls) and I wanted to share them because I'm sure our next post will consist of many cute Easter pictures.

We have a fun weekend planned with a Sunday School Easter egg hunt and a family dinner on Sunday.

I know the Rusty clips are a favorite so I took one of him playing with the "balls."

We especially wish all of our families could be here this weekend. We love you!

A Quick Update

2008-03-20T13:35:00.008-04:00

Okay, I have about half an hour to do something with so I thought I would catch everyone up.

We are in the house and it is going very well. We are up to our necks in boxes, but we have finished painting the living room/kitchen/hallway. We used this golden yellow that took us by surprise at first, but now that we have the furniture in I really like it. I will send pictures, but I want everything to look nice before I do. :o)

Rusty has slept all through the night every night since last Friday and we are sooooo glad that this adjustment has finally been made! He is growing again and Miss Laura bought him a new ball last week that is about twice his size, but I really like it because it doesn't fit in the toilet.

This morning Russ was taking his eggs out of the refrigerator and Rusty pointed and said, "Ball!" Russ said "No, these aren't balls." So he let Rusty watch him crack the eggs and cook them. Apparently Rusty wasn't convinced because he had a fit when Russ put the eggshells in the trashcan...

Drinking out of a big cup and getting it all over him. Oh, well.

Rusty loves the almost-empty cabinets.

A clip of Rusty...

We have finished up the third quarter and are on our last nine weeks at school--YIPPEE!! The last day of the third quarter was our Junior Auction Day where the Juniors get auctioned off and you get to buy them and then dress and torture them however you wish. The cheerleaders got Billye and we had a good time with her. Thought you might enjoy seeing some of these.

Eddie was my favorite. He was a good sport as Aunt Jemima. Though, he made me think of Mammie from Gone With the Wind.

Billye was my work of art. Isn't she lovely??

Packing Up

2008-03-03T22:12:00.000-05:00

If everything goes as planned we will be closing on our house on Tuesday, March 11th. This is great and exciting and stressing at the same time! We've been picking out blinds and paint colors (which I must say is the hardest decision ever) and collecting boxes. It's amazing how valuable a card board box is when you're getting ready to move.

Rusty gets funnier every day. If you look at him and smile real cheesy and say, "Big smile, Rusty!" He will give you the sweetest face back. I love it! He cries every time we open the door because he wants to go outside. I can't wait until we have the back yard. (The back yard, the in-house washer and dryer, the list goes on and on) We were at Wal-Mart Saturday and Russ stopped to get a coffee at McDonald's and Rusty took it upon himself to be the Wal-Mart greeter. He just sat in the buggy and waved at everybody that went by. He's a cutie. :-)

Come see us and next week and we will put you to work!

Rusty really enjoys brushing his teeth.

Getting ready for the move!

Rusty is taking his lunch to go!

Since Rusty started walking his sleeping schedule has been messed up. He fights his nap a little more, but at night he's ready to go to sleep at 7:30 which is way too early for him. We were keeping him up the other night when he just laid down and went to sleep.

Supper was a bore, too, I guess.

Couch potato in training! This was the couch we bought with his birthday money. He loves it!

Love to all. Come and see us soon! We won't MAKE you move boxes :-)

The End of a Season

2008-02-24T21:51:00.001-05:00

The basketball season has now finally come to an end! We had a great season, and our JV team ending up winning the state championship. They were playing the only team that had beat them and that team was undefeated. Our boys played well and they won 36-30. It was a great game and completely worth the trip to Clearwater.

After three years of coaching cheerleading, the squad I had this year was head and shoulders above the other ones. While I won't argue that cheerleading is a sport, it is HARD WORK and all too often these girls and their effort are overlooked . Keeping a crowd alive when the team is losing can be a difficult task, but these girls did a great job through all of the different circumstances. At the end of last year I was thinking, "I just don't think I'm going to do this next year." and at the end of this year I am already excited about next year! We are going to have a camp this summer and I want to do more stuff with the girls when we have a house and a yard.

These are my girls. Dede, the girl on the top row 2nd from the right, was my captain. She is a senior this year and will be so very missed. Katie who is to the right of Dede, is a Sophomore (woo-hoo!) and I call her my "4th quarter beast." I have no idea where it came from, but at the end of every game this wonderful monster would come out and keep everything moving (and LOUD!).

The girls after cheering for the JV championship.

Billy, the girl in the air, was so wonderful to let us just throw her around any way we wanted to! This was our favorite stunt. She would twist and fall and the girls in front would catch her. Pretty neato.

The girls keeping the crowd alive.

The FCC JV Boys Basketball Champions!

After the championship game we drove to the beach in Clearwater. Rain was forecasted so we weren't prepared to go to the beach. So I just took Rusty's shirt off and rolled up his pantslegs. Turned out pretty cute. Like Tom Sawyer on the beach.

This was Sunday afternoon outside. His knot looks better every day. Just going down on its own.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Post to Catch Up

2008-02-19T11:00:00.001-05:00

I know everyone is busy. Almost no one can use the excuse of being busy anymore because EVERYBODY is BUSY. However, basketball season is winding down and that will be a bit of a break for us. Our Junior Varsity boys have only had one loss this season and it was in a non-conference game. We are going to the state championship this Saturday at Clearwater Christian College.

Well, we got the house!! I'll post a slideshow of the house later. I don't want those pictures to take up my whole blog when I have so many cute pictures of Rusty.:o)

We had a wonderful weekend in Alabama, but I caught the flu and I still feel a little yucky. Almost all of our families were there to celebrate Rusty's birthday and we are so thankful to everyone for making it special. Rusty had a great time. He especially loved seeing Beau and Max (the dogs) and he says his new favorite phrase -- "Git dog!"--over and over and over.

The house!

Rusty loves to watch the games with Mrs. Twigg through this window from the second-floor hospitality room. It is scarey to see him up there, but maybe he won't have a fear of heights. That's good, right?

Rusty is enthralled in the game--actually they were just warming up or he wouldn't be that close. It's still cute, though.

Getting lovin' from the Grannies.
Mmmm....cake!

My sis and brothers. Everyone is looking pretty good I must say. I love you guys!

Madison Faith

My future is so bright I gotta wear shades!

Rusty got his momma's country feet!

My Alabama boys at home in the country.

The First 1st Birthday Party

2008-02-03T20:59:00.000-05:00

We are currently watching the Super Bowl. Last year we watched the Super Bowl from the hospital room after Rusty was born at 3:22. That was a day never to be forgotten...

Tomorrow is Rusty's birthday. We are also going to hear something back on if we got the house or not. (We are in a bidding war with another buyer.) Since we have a basketball game tomorrow night we had a small party today at Mimi's and Papa Dale's house. President's Day weekend we are heading up to Alabama for a great big birthday bash with all of the family.

Here are some pics of the day and a super short clip of Rusty taking a few steps.

We were having one of our special "tickle hugs."

Good thing Momma learned how to make sugar-free cupcakes!

I think this must be why they call it a "birthday suit."

2008-01-30T22:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't get to post last weekend and I don't have much time tonight, but Papa and Granny Jones are expecting some pictures, so I thought I would put up a few.

We are in revival this week and we hardly have time to breathe! We have had wonderful, challenging services and we have enjoyed them thoroughly.

In the midst of the business, Rusty started taking steps, Russ got Laryngitis, and we put an offer in on a house! (We should know something on that by Friday.)

I promise to get a video of Rusty walking up soon and maybe some pictures of the house as well. Until then, enjoy these...

Taking the tractor for a stroll around the block.

Getting ready for church and of course getting milk all over himself.

No caption necessary. Love this face, though.
Might as well enjoy :o)

Standing and Talking

2008-01-20T14:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Weekend to everyone! We are in the middle of a three day weekend and that is a nice treat. My piano student said with a puzzled look on Friday, "Aren't we out for Martial Arts (slight pause) Arthur Day??" I thought that was cute. As my dad will be quick to point out it is, "King-Lee" Day (For Robert E. Lee, too). I did some reading on that and it is only in some states that it is actually for both of them. In fact, I think it was Virginia where it is actually, "King-Lee-Jackson" Day (For Stonewall Jackson). Anyhow, I'm glad for the day off to catch up on some things.

We had Rusty's Dr's appointment Thursday and they sent us to have an ultrasound done on his head on Friday. Thankfully, they were able to get a good look at the knot and he won't have to have a CAT scan. (That would have involved putting him to sleep.) We haven't heard an official word from the doctor, but the girl who did the ultrasound said it looked cystic. We will probably go to a surgeon next to have it removed. It would be an outpatient procedure, but they would still have to put him to sleep. So just pray that all goes well and that the timing would be right. I know it's not that unusual, but I still don't like it.

Rusty is standing on his own now and talking, well jabbering I guess. His favorite word is "throw!" After he says it he will raise whatever is in his hand and do just that. Pretty cute. He's getting so big and boyish. He still eats and eats. I used to feed him before we ate, but now I feed him before and he still wants whatever we're eating, too! Comes by it honestly I'm afraid...

Well, we love you all! (I think :o)

Rusty watching out the window. He was like this when I came home yesterday from a baby shower. I just laughed and ran for the camera!

Playing with his car down the hallway.

How we all feel on Saturday mornings!

Back on Track

2008-01-13T14:37:00.000-05:00

So here we are back into the routine of everything. What a week we had, too! Busy as always, but a good week. Rusty was happy to see Mrs. Dawn again and he slept very well. He is still eating everything he can! We have an appointment this coming week to get this knot seen about on his head. They have told us not to worry about it, but he is coming up on his first birthday and it is still there so we are going to just see about having it removed. Pray for us. I don't like to think about it very much :o(.
We've had a restful weekend. We took Rusty outside yesterday and played with him for awhile. He enjoyed it, but he still doesn't know what to do when we put him on the grass. It was beautiful yesterday! Temperature was in the mid 70's with a nice breeeze. I would love to see snow, but I will settle for this I guess :o)

Rusty's favorite time --meal time! He eats his green beans, then very secretly starts throwing them on the floor. I never notice until at least 10 are on the floor. :o)

Rusty wouldn't move in the grass at first, but he seemed to like it still.

Standing ever so briefly.

Already climbing trees!

Now What Do We Do?

2008-01-05T20:27:00.000-05:00

So it's Saturday and I think I woke up just a little sad this morning. Our beautiful week of vacation is past and we need to start thinking about the upcoming week. Monday starts another school week filled with yearbook deadlines, spelling lists, and 2 basketball games (Not to mention two cheerleading practices.) We have enjoyed this week of staying up too late and doing whatever we want, but I will appreciate being on a schedule again.

Rusty has come off his bottle completely now, and he is doing great with his cup. He still isn't standing by himself, but he gets closer all the time. He does dance and clap constantly!

I have decided to try my hand at selling Avon. I did some online training and such with that this week and I set up a website where customers can shop online. Take a look if you want at www.youravon.com/rachelmcdonald.

Russ has enjoyed doing some reading and cleaning. He has been tearing out tests, too and getting ready with a little reluctancy I think. We hope you all have a wonderful week!
Rusty's new favorite place is his baby bed! He loves to listen to his turtle.

Riding his little rocking horse. At least we can push him on this and stay in one place. It takes a little more effort to push him on his tractor.

This was the armoire that Russ and I got for Christmas. It has knobs that go on the bottom, too, but we left them off for now, for Rusty's sake.

The armoire with the doors open. (Obviously :o)
Rusty can't get these off his feet!!

The empty cheerio bowl.
Rusty with his turtle. Fun times.

Happy Memories

2007-12-31T20:13:00.001-05:00

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2007-12-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

Well, we certainly hope everybody had as wonderful of a Christmas as we did. We were blessed to see all of our family on both sides. Russ' family lives a little over half of an hour away from mine. That is nice at Christmas, but it makes our Christmas very busy! Rusty saw many new faces, but he did very well. Aside from the time that I dressed him in the Santa suit and his little cousin stole his passy. Rusty is shy and I think that the Santa suit brought much unwanted attention. I had trouble picking out which pictures I wanted to post, but here are a few. Maybe I will figure out how to put one of those slide shows on the blog.

Rusty is trying out his new tractor. Aren't the overalls fitting?

This picture is one of my favorite of all time!! Granny bought us ALL matching PJ's. And when I say ALL I mean about 15 of us. The girls received Hello Kitty and the boys received these Big Slugger pants. We took this back at my mom and dad's, but how I wish we would have all put them on at Granny's for a picture.

This is our niece Madison. These bloomers match a dress that she got, but Josh told her to put them on her head, so she did!

Rusty is directing Mom and Dad here. Whenever he hears music he starts beating that hand up and down. (Dad, I must say these pants are quite flattering!)

Rusty with Grandpa Bowles.

Rusty loved watching Santa through the window.

Opening presents on Christmas morning.

Daddy working on the eggs and stirring the gravy!

Rusty and Madison trying out their presents from Papa and Granny Jones. They both need to grow into them a little.

We are home now and trying to get settled in. Rusty's schedule is messed up as you can imagine. On top of that he did get his two front teeth for Christmas and he is cutting two on the bottom. Some people say their kids never had trouble, but Rusty is miserable with his. However, we have this week off to get things back in order and ready for the second half of the school year. Hope everyone has a good week!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2007-12-15T22:34:00.001-05:00

So each night this week has held some sort of obligation for the McDonald family. Our Christmas Cantata began Thursday night with performances also on Friday and Sunday night. Russ and I are in charge of the Drama. So we've been rehearsing and Russ has been building and poor little Rusty has went from person to person to person. He loves the attention, but I miss the little guy.
So to make up for the missed time we went to the Emergency Room Friday night. Rusty woke up wheezing and it just seemed like he was struggling for breath. They took some X-rays and checked his ears and said there was just a little something in his right lung, so we spent the weekend with a vaporizer and Vick's Vapor Rub. Rusty seemed to like it actually. He is doing okay now, just coughing some.
We are getting ready for exam week. This is a great week for me. Since I'm considered a "Special" teacher I don't give exams. (I teach Computer, Yearbook, and Drama.) However I have a HUGE yearbook deadline that is looming over my head. I really want to get that completed before the break.
Come Friday, though, we will be heading to Alabama for a glorious week! So there is a great big light at the end of this busy tunnel.

Our drama cast and half of the set. This is the car and house that Russ built. Jason helped him paint it. Jason is the guy in the green shirt. This is the guy Haley is dating. :o)

Rusty is wearing his Christmas outfit his cousin Rebecca sent. It was precious!

Rusty was demonstrating a dramatic pose!

I know it's weird but you have to admit that it's pretty cute. It's amazing how many people have never seen a kid cut his eye teeth before his middle teeth. (I hadn't either until now.)

He's getting ready to let go!

I can't keep bows on the presents this year! I love it, though. We just let him walk around with this bow on his cute little bottom for awhile.

Enjoying a snack with Daddy!

Thanks to Mimi

2007-12-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

God has blessed us with a very good friend that also loves to spoil us with handmade gifts. Her name is Barbara, but we call her Mimi. She brought Rusty in a hat this week to keep his head warm and it is so precious. Thank you, Mimi!!

Mimi was one of Rusty's first visitors in the hospital.

Here Rusty is sporting a sweater from Mimi.

This was the softest blanket ever!

Rusty sporting his new hat! Maybe soon it will be cool enough for a coat, too!

Shortly after this picture he bumped his noggin. It was great protective wear, too!

You can see his goofy teeth in this picture here. They are hard to see, but he was laughing hard. The top teeth are about to pop through any day. Thankfully, they are coming!

A Good Break

2007-11-25T14:17:00.001-05:00

So we have had a wonderful weekend! It helped that it was 4 days long, of course. We have the house decorated for Christmas, and we've started our shopping.
Rusty has been eating some table food and he is a bottomless pit! I let him feed himself some beans last night and what a mess! He loved it, though. He loves anything. The other night he wanted something off my plate and Russ told me to give him a piece of an onion. Well, I did and he even wanted more of that!
He was so sweet this weekend. He woke up Friday night with a low-grade fever and he is about to chew his hand off so I think maybe those top teeth are coming through.

Sweet, happy boy!

Santa Claus was mine and Rusty's favorite Black Friday purchase.

The almost finished front porch. We still have some icicle lights that are going up. I love it!

Our little Christmas tree

Rusty checked out Santa's sled.

Helping Mimi in the kitchen.

Looking for leftovers.

Found them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T10:55:00.000-05:00

It was so nice to wake up this morning and just be able to stay home for awhile. We ALL slept until 7:30! I got up and started cooking a few things. My kitchen smells like a mixture of pumpkin, green bean casserole, and chocolate cookies. We are going over to Phillis' (Russ' mom) to eat around 1:00. We watched the parade and Rusty is now taking a nap.

I was talking to the kids yesterday and we went around and mentioned something we were thankful for. A couple of the kids had two or three things to say, but I came to this one boy and he said, "My parents are divorcing and I'm not thankful for anything." I pushed him a little and he went on to say that he was thankful for a friend that had been helpful to him. I am sad that my entire family isn't together for Thanksgiving, but I am sooo thankful for our family. I've already talked to mom twice this morning while making the banana pudding. I am thankful that they are only a phone call away. I am thankful that we have Rusty this year. He makes the holidays much more fun. God has given us a wonderful babysitter for him and that is a huge blessing. I am thankful for Russ. I have never met anyone more willing to help out than him. In fact, it's hard to keep him from volunteering for everything he can. Most of all I am thankful for God's mercy. He has been merciful to us to give us a loving family, a wonderful church family and a place to work, and He has given us eternal life. So Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some snapshots from the past week...

Rusty has learned to take his cup "to go"

Bundled up for a walk to Walgreens. (There is a Walgreens about 4 blocks down. Walking there is a family favorite.)

Rusty was helping pull out the Christmas decorations.

Ready for church on Sunday.

Rusty loved his Thanksgiving card from Granny and Papa Jones!

OCA Drama

2007-11-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

My drama class did a presentation of Lady Jane Grey in chapel yesterday. This was the first time we tried our hand at a full length drama of a serious nature. We do great at melodramas and comedies, but I wanted to push the bounds a little and I was pleasantly surprised! I have some real talent this year. Maiya, the girl who played Jane, was amazing! She even had me in tears and I've watched them practice for the last 2 months. It's so neat to think back to when we first read it and then see it come together (even though I always have my doubts!). Here are some pictures. I took these AFTER the play, so it was hard to get them back into character. Oh, well!

And would a post be complete without a picture of Rusty?

Happy Faces

2007-11-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

Rusty has started making the funniest looking faces at the camera. It's like he is squinting at the light. So I hope that I haven't done damage to his eyes with all of the camera flashing!

Basketball season is in swing now with our first home game tomorrow night. Rusty helped keep the concession stand with us Friday at the "Meet the Saders Night." He was great for business!

He's working on his mean look!
Sleepy-head here. He loves that little monkey.

Rusty was laughing so hard tonight. It's precious when he gets like this.

One last thing, Russ held Rusty up while he was laughing so we could show you his teeth. You can only see it if you pull his lip up or raise him over your head. It's so funny looking, but I love it!

Why Didn't I Invent This?

2007-11-07T22:55:00.001-05:00

This is my new favorite thing. A man invented this after his daughter died from choking. (That's what someone told me anyhow.) Rusty holds it like a rattle, but it opens up and you can put any kind of food in. He chews the food through the net so nothing to big for him to swallow goes through. I've only put fruit in it. His favorite thing to eat right now is apples and I think it must feel good to his teeth. By the way, he is still a vampire child. I will try to get a picture of that up soon.He is very generous and you can see that he wanted to share with Haley. What a sweet boy!

.

Round 'Em Up!

2007-11-07T22:31:00.000-05:00

This Sunday was a Round Up Sunday at church. Rusty was decked out in his sheriff's outfit with some cowboy boots. I got a few pictures, but he won't hardley look at the camera when we take him outside. Just the cars driving by. His new thing is clapping, can you tell?

How's the Family?

2007-11-02T23:47:00.001-04:00

My sister is home from college this weekend and all of my side of the family is getting together. All but us, of course. I love Florida and where God has brought us, but I miss my family terribly.
Dad is the interim pastor at a church in Tuscaloosa, AL. If all goes as planned, they will be taking that church full time shortly. I am excited about Mom and Dad being there and I believe they are as well. For those of you who don't know, Tuscaloosa is where the University of Alabama is. It is about an hour south of Carbon Hill.
Mom and Dad are loving being grandparents. They were down here a couple of weeks ago and Rusty had the time of his life. These are from this summer, though...

Hannah is doing well. She is a Sophomore at Crown this year. She is working for Mr. Dustman at the college there. We still favor a little...
Everyone knows Granny, for sure! Granny still works the night shift at the nursing home. I won't say exactly, but Granny is past 70 and she needs to SLOW DOWN! This is Granny and Gracie...(Gracie is my cousin Tonya's daughter.)
This is me with Gracie. She is such a cutie pie...So, I couldn't find a picture of just Ben. I need to remember to get one of those. One of the kids was talking about the Transformers movie and I remember Josh and Ben having these pajamas. I laughed when I saw it on here. I forgot Russ had scanned some of my old photos. Anyhow, Bubba is helping Mom and Dad out in that church in Tuscaloosa and he is also still working at Chic-fil-a.

Josh and Hannah are working in a church in Hartselle, AL. Josh is helping them get a daycare up and running. This is his daughter Madison. She is so funny!

Madison kept checking on Rusty for us when he was taking his nap at Mom and Dad's house. Rusty loved her to pieces, too!

God has blessed me with such a great family. I cannot imagine how Mom did it when we were all so young. I love Rusty, but I don't think I could manage 4 of him! It does inspire me to want to have more children after I think of all the fun we have had and are still having. Christmas and Thanksgiving are never boring!

A year in review

2007-10-29T22:01:00.001-04:00

For those who I'm just now getting back in touch with, I thought I would back up to the first of the year and show you what has been happening. God has done great things for us and I am so thankful. We are trully blessed.

Well, I suppose I should begin at the beginning. This is me and Robert last year at Christmas at Granny's. I was literally pregnant from my neck to my feet!

Rusty was born on February 4, 2007 at 3:22 p.m. It was Super Bowl Sunday. A good thing to know-- If you're ever 9 months pregnant and ready to have a baby, eat some southwest eggrolls before going to bed. Believe me, I woke up with more than heartburn!

Our precious son...

He has had a big personality from the beginning. He has always been little, but extremely active...

I believe he was about 3 months here-

These next two were both around 6 months-

What a big guy, huh? I loved putting that tie on him.

Please go to sleep!

2007-10-28T20:25:00.000-04:00

So while my parents were here last weekend, my son decided that he could live without sleep. This whole week, getting this child to sleep has been an absolute nightmare. We have had good luck with him being a good sleeper, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

I was in the office at school on Tuesday of this week and Kim and Robin were talking about a little baby who cut his eye teeth first(before his top middle teeth) and how cute it was. I thought, "I bet that baby was funny looking. I hope Rusty doesn't do that."

Well, Friday night Rusty got sleepy and started pulling at his ears, and just fighting sleep more than usual, I stuck my finger on his gums to see if those top middle teeth were coming in...Nope, nothing there, but to the side I felt something sharp, I looked, "OH NO!" Both of his eye teeth are cutting right now, and one was cutting through. So, I'm going to have a vampire child, and just in time for Halloween, too! (I've warmed up to it now. Everything about this kid is cute.)

So, Russ is right now getting him to sleep. I couldn't do a thing with him. Maybe these teeth will be in soon and everything will be better. I just hope he has middle teeth...