Little Lumberjack

My boy was busy today...

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Whitt...

Last weekend, we traveled over to south Georgia for Julia and Matthew's wedding. The ceremony was beautiful (as was the bride), the party was a blast and we had a great time visiting with everyone. With Brandon's help, I juggled my responsibilities as both the Matron of Honor and the mother of the cutest Flower Girl and Ring Bearer in the history of marriage ceremonies. Madeline and Eli did a pretty good job, I must say. Eli refused to wear his boutonniere (He's a man's man.), but he and Madeline walked down the aisle with me and seated themselves beside Mama Kaye, where they sat happily through the ceremony munching on Junior Mints and coloring on the offering envelopes. The reception was a lot of fun. I danced the night away with M&E. At one point I asked Madeline if she needed to go potty and she answered, "No, Mommy. I dancin' now."

We're so happy for the new Mr. and Mrs. and are so excited to welcome Matthew to the family!

Bring On The (Not So) Lazy Days

Today was M&E's last day of preschool. I can honestly say that they LOVED going to school. Not a tear was shed over it (unless they were sick and unable to go). We look forward to the next school year, but in the meantime, we plan to thoroughly enjoy our favorite season of the year.

Here's how we jump-started summer...

We don't do a lot of sitting around in the summer. Nothing wears out a couple of toddlers like a day spent playing outside. To us, summertime means mornings at the pool, outdoor meals, the smell of Banana Boat, bare feet, water hose showers and good long naps. And the livin' is easy!

5 Years

This past Friday, Brandon and I celebrated five years of marriage. To commemorate this momentous occasion, we enjoyed a romantic dinner... at Outback Steakhouse... with our children. That's how we roll these days.

Death by Pollen

Stay away from pollen. It's bad stuff. Before you know it, you could overdose and end up like this...



After being cooped up all winter, we soon found ourselves cooped up once again due to the inch of pollen covering every bit of every playground, yard, deck, etc. I never had problems with allergies until I moved to Alabama, but this month we sure have been through our fair share of tissues. It's just gross. But thankfully, it rained since that bee met its demise, so we're back outside...



I may have said this before but this little boy is SUCH A BOY! He cracks me up. If there is mud or dirt around, he's into it. Today he was loading big rocks into the bucket of his tractor and moving pipes around under the deck. Maybe I ought to have Brandon make sure there's no dangerous stuff down there?



On the other hand, Madeline has taken to several outfit changes a day, and she wears at least 3 different pairs of shoes every day. Last night, Brandon went in to tuck her in before we went to bed and she was wearing a pair of sandals underneath her sheets. It's always a surprise what we're going to find when we go to tuck her in. The other night I removed the following items from her bed (she was sound asleep): a babydoll stroller, a babydoll highchair, 4 babydolls, one stuffed monkey, one stuffed dog, two pairs of pants, one pair of shorts and one pair of dress shoes. It's a good thing she's a skinny mini or I'm not sure how she would fit in that bed!

It's Official...

I am a blog slacker. One post a month? Ridiculous. I'll try to be better from now on.

Brandon has a new job. Praise God! He'll be traveling quite a bit. Currently he is in Oklahoma for 3 days. Last year, I probably would have been leery of frequent travel. Now, I just wave goodbye and thank God for the paycheck that comes along with it. Also helping me accept him hopping on an airplane every now and then is the fact that his part-time job is over. Brandon worked at a local grocery store for the past 3 months - every single night and weekend. While I am very grateful to have a husband who is willing to work 2 jobs to support his family, I've been a single mom lately. I believe it was God's way of preparing me for a job that required my husband to travel. Now I can certainly handle a few days here and there.

To celebrate Brandon's first weekend home in quite a while, we took M&E to the farm to go fishing. I'm not much for touching worms or fish, so I let Daddy run the show while I stayed behind the camera.

It is also official that as of a month ago, Eli is potty trained! He had been waking up dry for a while and after making him wear the same pull-up over and over for 3 weeks (we're on a budget here), I finally decided it was time to throw it out. He threw a fit when I suggested he wear one of Madeline's pink princess pull-ups so I let him wear underwear... and we haven't looked back. Miss Madeline naps in underwear but still wakes up with a wet pull-up every morning. We're getting close!

Since We've Been Gone...

It's been over a month since my last post, so here is a peek into the recent happenings in the Rooks household:


-- Madeline had a HORRIBLE ear infection. Seriously, the worst I've ever seen. After several sleepless nights and much feeling of helplessness, a trip to the ENT, a couple of different antibiotics, drops, one dose of Lortab elixir and many, many Tylenol, the drainage has cleared up and Little Miss is finally feeling better.

-- It snowed in Birmingham. 4 inches. Eat your heart out, Virginia.




-- M&E and I have been suffering from cabin fever and decided the cure would be a trip to Mama Kaye's. It was complete with a stroll through the cemetery (a favorite activity) and Madeline's first haircut.






-- On Friday, Brandon was laid off from his job as a Project Manager with a local commercial construction company. While the future is unsure and this time is very scary, we are clinging to our faith in God Almighty and His unending love and provision for us. We covet your prayers, words of encouragement and job leads!