Us Lately (Via I-Phone)

I've been Sick....but after some Good Campbell's Soup, I'm feeling better:

John Michael Loves His Daddy:

John Michael Loves His "Dado": John Michael Loves to Help Mommy Shop for the Best Deals: John Michael Definitely Knows How to Pull Up!

"Please Mom Stop With The Pictures!"

John Michael discovering (and quickly loving) MY "Security Blanket" as a Kid:

9 Month Update Coming Soon!!!

(Yes, JM is 9 Months Old!!)

Thankful For....

So you see, I (Allison) have been sick, so I fell off the "Thankful for" Wagon.

So....I'm just going to do one big list of "Thankful for" for This year.

I am Thankful for......

* Jesus and his Ultimate Sacrifice
* The Bible
* My Wonderful Husband and our Awesome Marriage
* My Amazing, Healthy Son
* My Parent's and Ben's Parent's Guidance and Listening Ears
* My Mama Pat and her wonderful E-mails and DVDs
* Mama Georgia and her wonderful Letters
* Papaw Calvin and Mawmaw Anna and how hilarious they are (even when they don't mean to be!)
* MawMaw and Pawpaw Carroll and their sweet Love and Encouragement
* Our Siblings (Jennifer, Jason, John, Ashley, Lance, Jenny and Wes)
* Our Perfect and Funny Nieces (Esther, Millie, and Bri) and Nephews (Riley and Wesley Adam) * A Warm place to call Home
* Modern Medicine and Awesome Doctors (Especially this year....Dr. Rainwater and Dr. Chris)
* Gravy, the Dog
* Ben and I's Jobs
* John Michael's Sweet Teachers at Central Presbyterian
* Our Church, 1st Baptist, and our Freedom to Worship
* My Work Friends who Keep me Sane! (Emmy, Lauren, and Debbie)
* My "Mommy" Friends who Keep me from Freaking Out Multiple Times (Erin D, Lindsey K, & Jennifer K)
* My Friends who Have Known me Forever and Keep me In Check (Kara M, Taylor C, and Mary Y)
* Food! Candy! Caffeine!
* My Freedom and the right to Vote
* Awesome Photographers (Beaty Photography and Lauren Walker Freelancing!)

I know that I am Thankful for MUCH MUCH more, but here is at least a start of the list!

Hope everyone has an Awesome, Wonderful, Very Full of Turkey THANKSGIVING!

Christmas Cards (and any card for that fact!)

If any of you have had a birthday within the last oh three months, you probably noticed that our family has started sending a new kind of card to you! One with at least one cutie pootie picture of John Michael wishing you to have a great day!
Some of you have asked how the heck I do it (I would love to take credit, but hey, I'm human!), well it is with Shutterfly's new card feature.
It is super cute, super easy, and super inexpensive--usually for less than what you would pay for a card at the store. (Now, if you have received a card from us or if you receive a card from us in the future...please disregard all the super easy super inexpensive talk! :))
This year they have rolled out some AWESOME Christmas Cards and honestly there is a hot debate (between Ben and I) on which one to choose...so more than likely we will order both of them! I cannot share which ones we are debating because that would ruin all the fun.

The moral of the story is that Shutterfly has some GREAT deals this year on Christmas Cards......so check them out!!

If you want to try a card out for free, they are offering 1 Free 5x7 card with using the promotion Code "CARD4U".

Hope everyone is getting into the MERRY CHRISTMAS mood!!!

Disclaimer: This is my shameless plug for www.Shutterfly.com. I must be honest that they are offering 50 free Christmas Cards to anyone who blogs about them. I do REALLY love their products though!

Amazon's Response

Thanks for listening to my rant from the earlier post.

At 4 AM this morning, I received an e-mail from Amazon.com stating "This book has been taken off our site and is no longer for sale."

THANK THE LORD!!!

I am SICK Tonight

Sorry folks, but I'm on my soap box tonight.

What has our world come to!?!?!

One of my most favorite websites, www.amazon.com, has decided to place a book for sale on their website called "Pedophile's Guide".

I am SHAKING i'm so upset about.

To learn more about the story, click here.

The whole idea around the book is a How-to guide on how to molest children without getting caught.

Now if you are like me, a new mom, you have received e-mail after e-mail, about joining Amazon's new "Amazon Mom" program where they can provide all kinds of baby products.

I loved the program, bought from them at least once a week.....and then they pull something like this!??!?

How can you ETHICALLY think it is ok to bombard me with advertisements about products for babies when you are selling a book (and defending it no less when questioned about it) on how to molest my child!?!?!?

THIS HOUSEHOLD will NOT be using Amazon for ANY purchases until this TRASH is taken off their site.

I know they are a huge company, and I know they could care less if I quit using them (Don't worry, I've already contacted customer service)...but if all the moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, etc etc out there quit using them, they will be forced to take down their $4.95 guide to molestation.

Thank you for letting me vent....I'm just SICK over it tonight.

Thankful for....(Day 5)

An Extra Hour!!!

What a difference an hour makes!!

John Michael didn't appericate the extra hour of sleep....but it is still an extra hour with our little family!!

So....today I'm thankful that God gives it an extra hour today!

1st Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

We have been enjoying such beautiful cool weather in Fort Smith....I just knew that John Michael's costume was going to be PERFECT since it was warm! Guess the weather man knew my thoughts because we woke up Halloween morning and it was HOT! So, this perfect warm costume I picked out didn't go very well!

We did make it to 3 stops:

* 1st Stop was in NWA (We had stayed at the Atkinson's after the game Saturday night) Cousin Riley and John Michael looked very cute and trick-or-treated their Nini and Dado. John Michael got one of his favorite treats..."mum mum" bars!

* 2nd Stop was to the Keifer's. We are great friends with the Keifer's and it just so happens that our boys are best friends at daycare together!! Neither John Michael nor Noah seemed too excited about their costumes.....

* 3rd Stop was to Nana and Ops. As always, Nana and Ops spoiled John Michael with a great book and lots of candy (too bad he is too young for it....guess Ben and I will just have to eat it!).

We were planning on making one more stop to our good friends the Dickinson's....but John Michael gave out and was throwing a fit in the back seat of the car....so we re-routed and went back to our house.

John Michael did a great job handing out treats at our house and loved having people come to the door!

Overall....it was a great Halloween! Next year, I plan on getting a "layering" costume so no matter the weather, we will be happy!!

Thankful for.....(Day 4)

This little guy......


Do I really need to say more?



When you have a child, your life TRULY changes. But change is SUCH a good thing.


John Michael has brought SO much joy into our lives.



I cannot imagine life without this silly little man. I cannot wait to see the man he becomes!


So....today I'm thankful that God blessed Ben and I with an amazing child.

Thankful for......(Day 3)

This guy......

My husband, my best friend, my partner in crime......Ben!

Ben is an amazing husband and father.

The moment he held John Michael (he was the first one to hold him), the love and devotion I saw immediatly, I fell in love all over again.

He is SO helpful and hands-on with John Michael, I couldn't have prayed for a better half!

So, today I'm thankful that God gave me a wonderful, Christian man who is the best father and husband a woman could ever ask for.

Thankful for.......(Day 2)

Jesus.

The older I get.....the more and more I understand God's amazing love.

It baffles me when I hear someone say that they "don't believe in God" or that "Jesus was a good man, but that's it."

Seriously!???! Have you heard of Jesus? Have you heard of his amazing sacrifice!?!?!

" For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. " John 3:16-17

Without God and Jesus....there is zero hope. No hope to see my grandfather again. No hope for John Michael to act silly with his couisn (Wesley Adam). No hope of anything good or pure. NO HOPE.

Sometimes it just hits you in the face how much Jesus loves you.

The other night, I was reading to John Michael from an awesome book (I recommend!) that we were given called "The Jesus Storybook Bible". It is so amazing because it breaks down so many stories in a way a child can understand yet shows how even stories in the Old Testament tie to Jesus in the New Testament. I was reading the story from Genesis 22 about Abraham and Issac. God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only and beloved son, Issac. Abraham followed God's instructions perfectly....putting him on the table and as he lift the knife, (Genesis 22:12) God Shouted "Do Not Lay a Hand on that Boy!". (WOW. Do I have faith like that???) However, the story in the "Jesus Storybook Bible" tells that although Abraham did not sacrifice his son, God did just that. Sacrifice his son for all his children that he loved so much.
I'm rocking John Michael and I'm almost in tears thinking about how much of a sacrifice that was for God to watch His Son, the perfect man, die on a awful cross.

So, this holiday season, I am praying that 1) we keep the meaning of the holidays and teach John Michael of them, 2) that I have the faith of Abraham, and 3)that I share this amazing blessing of Jesus' love with everyone I come in contact with.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

November

I love love love love love the holiday season!
Thanksgiving and Christmas are by far my favorite Holidays!
Fellowship, days off, and all that food....what more could you ask for!
For the month of November and in spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm going to try to blog daily about what I (Allison) am thankful for.
(I'm stealing the idea from Lindsey Kennedy and her blog: http://thekennedytrio.blogspot.com/)
So...without further ado.....

What I Am Thankful For Today (November 2nd):
The Right the Vote

Yesterday I did the mundane (at least in America, right?) task of voting.
In Arkansas, some of the races are hot and even making national news.
As I have "grown up", I see how important voting is.
It is the one time of the year that I truly can make a difference in our real-life issues.
Primarily: Marriage (Sanctity of), Children (the right to life), Taxes, Health care, and on and on

When you think about it, it is a great blessing to have the freedom to have the Choice of who will represent your family in our governmental decisions.

Being the fascinating people we are (he he), Ben and I love election night.
Like Superbowl for politicians....see who wins, loses, and the upsets!

Today I'm thankful for God allowing us to vote (and I hope you did too!).