Christmas

Well, from the last blog you can tell already that Christmas was not what we had hoped. I was sick and had to go to the clinic Christmas Eve. When we got back that morning Asher started having terrible ear pain again. No doctor in Eupora would see him so our doctor in Chattanooga called in some medicine for him. It was a rough couple of days. I don't want to sound too negative though. We did have some wonderful moments. We spent most of the time with Mark's family but drove to my family's for a little while Christmas day. Asher was not hurting for gifts thats for for sure! Mark and I got to go on a "date" Friday night, and Asher got to play with his cousin Landon and Annelise. It made me so happy to watch how much fun he can have with them now.

A lot of our pictures are on our camcorder, but here are a few...

Asher in his little Christmas PJ's "playing" piano. Looks like he may take after his grandmother:)

The loot Santa left.

Digging in

Mamaw

We have just got back from our holiday in MS last night. We left Tuesday to head to Mark's parent's, but we left a little faster than planned. Mark's grandmother has been suffering from COPD for several years now, and she took a turn for the worse Monday night. We were barely out of Chattanooga when we got the call she had already left to be with Jesus. Our holiday definitely took a bittersweet turn. Mark was close to his grandmother, and the family will miss her more than words can say.
Mamaw was such an inspiration because she talked very openly about her faith and being ready to go to heaven. She wasn't shy or avoidant about the topic at all. She loved Jesus! Because of that she's got new lungs and wings to soar!

Don't Hold Your Breath!

If you're waiting on the Lott Family Christmas card in your mailbox you'll be very disapointed this year. Well, I'm sure you won't be nearly as disapointed as me for not getting them done. I feel so inadequate as a mom. Shame on me I didn't get the cutest custom photo cards on the face of the planet that somehow reflects my superior mothering skills. Just kidding. It's stupid I know, but it's something I enjoy doing right down from taking the pictures to picking out the cutest custom photo cards on the face of the planet to addressing all bazillion of them flooding me with memories of each individual in my address book. Not to mention, I've received so many stinkin' cute cards. I just love it, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that likes to get them too!
It started with the fact we couldn't get pictures done until the last minute because Asher had been sick. I got a couple good pics afterall. Then, I went to Hobby Lobby to get the kind of cards you insert a 4X6 print into, but silly me signed all of them with a gel pen. The ink smeared on just about all of them. So, I rushed to Wal-Mart on my day off to just get some regular ole folded cards to stick the 45 prints I've ordered. I got the envelopes addressed and ready. Then, all I had to do was pick up the pictures, insert, and poof! Finished! NOPE! When I went to pick them up the order did not process online (although it showed on my banking). There were no pictures! That was Thursday. I finally surrendered. No cards this year. Sorry!
I must add to my ranting (and change the tone a bit) that even though there are no cards this year please know how important you as my family and friends are to us. No matter how far the people we care for are or how long of time there is between our conversations there has been a part of our lives that have been changed. The Lord has blessed us with so many wonderful people. Mark jokes all the time that I have more "best friends" than anyone he's ever known. I'll take that as a compliment! Thank you for making our year and our lives richer! God bless!

Be Still My Heart

I've expressed sadness over this before, but I was looking through old pictures. THIS was my baby a year ago! Here he was on Christmas morning. So precious!

Congratulations!

I am happy to announce the birth of Tim and Erin's baby girl. Everyone is doing well, but I have't gotten the update on what Jake thinks yet!

Shelby Claire Norman

Born 9:40 AM December 16,2008

6lbs, 2 ounces

19 1/2 inches

It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year!

As we get into the season there are things you have to do. You know like decorate, get holiday outifits, do Christmas cards, etc. etc. We FINALLY got some pics made today. Taking Christmas card pictures has been an ordeal this year. Asher has been very sick with allergies, teething, and now an ear infection. There have been very few oppurtunities to take his picture. Poor guy has had a runny nose and eyes and dark circles under his puffy little eyes. So, this year instead of custom printed cards there will be box cards with 4x6's inserted. I kind of like that anyway. That way folks can save the picture if they choose. Seriously though, Christmas cards have turned into a way to say "hey, we're still alive, and look how cute our kids is", right? It's terrible really. Nevertheless, I'm praying that with the economy being so bad and so many people suffering in the pocketbook that we can all just prioritize and realize the deepest meaning of the season. It's the ultimate joy through Christ's birth that has been offered to us!

Here are a few pictures as we gear up for Christmas...

Asher being VERY excited that Daddy and Mommy like to online shop!

This is Asher sitting with Daddy after a meltdown. The pictures almost didn't happen today either.

One of the better shots. I promise he could be a professional. He's just cheezin'. You'd never know he had been upset.

Another good one. Many of you will see some version of this one in your mailboxes I'd bet.

Aaaaand...Last but not least--Little shepard boy Asher. Here he's sitting very still and quiet, waiting on his cue to go up and be in the nativity scene at church. So sweet!!!

Ah HA! Found it!

My sweet husband (...and handsome might I add) had the cord. I'm still not sure why. Anyway, here is a wrap up of our fall.

Asher finding out what Halloween is really all about...Candy!

Erin's last Halloween with one kiddo. Here she's enjoying some treats with Jake.

Jakey standing in Pop's store front window.

My precious boy enjoying the fall leaves.

This is my husband's craftsmanship. He made these for our Sunday School Class with no plans, nothing! He's so good:) Congrats Andrew and Wendy!

Asher being Asher

Asher at the indoor playground.

I had to work Thanksgiving Day, and Mark couldn't go to MS with us the weekend so I made a little mini Thanksgiving Dinner for us the Tuesday before. It wasn't the same though. Thanksgiving Dinner should not be cooked in an hour!
Turkey tenderloin, Cornbread Dressing with gravy and cranberry sauce, green beans, and sweet potato casserole.

Asher enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma's. We don't like for him to wear the cap when he eats. However, we picked our battles here. He loves that hat!

What in the world?

Ok, just when I'm getting a few extra minutes these days to write on my blog, I can't find my USB cord to download pics. Really, how does a cord like that just disapear? It never leaves the computer.
I've got SO many pictures I haven't posted lately. So when the little elves bring back my cord I'll get everyone caught up!

Here We Are!

Life has been very busy lately. We've gone to MS 3 times over the last 6 or so. I was sick and in the E.R. one of the few weekends we've been home. I started my new job at the nursing home. I like it so far, but it's very tough work. They've been without a steady speech therapist for a while, and we're playing catch up. I'm almost working a full time job in 3 days. Plus, I still have one home health care patient in my neighborhood I'm seeing. As if that's not enough I start orientation for a PRN job. I think I'm going to have to start saying no which is so hard for me.
As for the little man...Asher is great! He still loves Elmo and asks to watch "Lala" (meaning Elmo because of the theme song) or "Boo" aka Blue's Clue's almost everyday. He understands so much, and his vocabulary is growing. "No" is officially his favorite word, but I hope it's not because that's the word he hears the most:) He loves to give Momma Eskimo kisses, and he "fixes" my hair. One of his favorite things is a "bunga" or pen or crayon or any other writing utensil. He usually has one handy with a piece of paper. Maybe that means he'll be artistic like his Daddy. That brings us to another Asher favorite...his Daddy. They wrestle and do all that rough play boys do with their Dads. He likes to mimic Mark and hammer and work on the house too.
Well, that's about it for now. I'm off tomorrow and Friday so I can get the house cleaned and decorated for Christmas. We're also waiting on word of whether Erin's sweet baby girl will be making her debut soon.

Halloween '08

For Halloween we had lots of fun things to do. We hosted a trunk at our church's Trunk or Treat. The theme was Elmo's World since Asher was Elmo. Then, we had a Halloween party at a friend's house. Finally, for actual Halloween day we went to the Boo Parade and trick or treating in downtown Columbus, MS with our good buddy Jake (We'll get those pictures downloaded soon:).

Way cuter than the real Elmo!

Our friend Stone at Trunk or Treat. How fitting is his name?

Feeding our new "Dorothy" we got for a Trunk or Treat prop

Asher waiting on the fun to start

Lili Kay at the Halloween party

Asher's other Halloween outfit

One Year Ago

We lost my sweet Daddy to a horrible disease last October 28th. Before he was even given a chance to fight he lost his battle with cancer. He had only been diagnosed 11 days! Most people don't know it, but this yellow ribbon stands for more than support for our troops. It's the symbol for liver cancer awareness. When you see one think of Jimmie, and pray for more cures and treatments!

We miss him more than words can express.

One of my Best Friends

A New Friend

Asher is a lot like his dad--easy going. He's been a wonderful and even easy child thus far. However, I'm worried about the pacifier situation. He's grown quite fond of that thing. Ironic, really coming from a child of a mother/speech pathologist that said her baby would never have one. Well, just write it in the books of one of the MANY words I've eaten. At least, he doesn't have it much during the day anymore.

Now, we've got a new friend to accompany Asher and Pacifier. It's his blanket. I typically don't let him sleep with his bedding quilt so for no good reason I started grabbing this particular green blanket that a coworker gave us. That's the one he usually uses at night. For about a week he'd wake up at 6:00 am standing in his crib waiting for me to come and get him to put him in bed with us for another hour or so. EVERY morning waiting holding that blankie. We've gotten out of the habit of coming to Daddy and Momma's bed, but we still want to carry our blanket around after we get up. It's really sweet actually. I don't mind it, but I don't want it to become an issue like I'm afraid the pacifier is about to become. So far he's ok when I tell him we need to put the blanket up, and he watches me put it in his bed.

Just see how precious Asher is with his blankie!

Another Life Change

About 8 short months ago I wrote a similar post about job change. It's happening again. As much as I hate leaving a job after such a short duration, I've been given another great opportunity. Every experience is a stepping stone into the next, right?
When I started doing home health care it worked at the time. It paid well which got us closer to our get out of debt goal. It was flexible for Asher's sake, but that season has passed. The travel has increased, and the paperwork I have to do at home is just not practical anymore.
However, I've been blessed again as I sit on the see saw of mom and career woman. I have accepted a position in a skilled nursing/rehab facility 3 days a week. Since there are no benefits I'll have to supplement myself for professional dues, license, continueing ed, etc. with some occasional prn work. I've already gotten that lined up too. There is a hospital here that'll I'll help out when their speech therapist takes a day off here and there. It'll be an on-call type situation.
Even after my last day full time with the home care agency, I'll be covering a few patients for them until either the plans of care run out or they replace me. I don't want to leave my patients hanging. So, the part time gig will take a little time to transition into. It's just awesome to see it in sight though. My ultimate goal was to work part time by the time Asher was two, and now it's about to come true. God is so good to provide for us the way he has!
Please keep us in your prayers 1. We've made the right decision and 2. The employer I'm leaving will replace me quickly. Speech pathologist are VERY hard to find in this area.

Reunion revisited

Here are a few more pictures I stole from Katy's blog of our reunion. It was so much fun!

Shaking our Bon bons! The leis were given out to the winners of different awards like newest parents (way to go, Betsy!), honeymooners, most fashionable, etc, etc. Well, my sweet friend Crystal gave me hers because she said I deserved it for the category she won. Thanks, friend!

Still fabulous after all this time!!!
One of my favorite couples of all time--Cliff and Katy

Fall Fun

I love living in Chattanooga because it's like once October comes there is so much to do until the end of the winter holidays. Every weekend we can do something different. It makes it even more exciting for me now that we have a child. Although, sometimes he isn't as excited as me! Yesterday, we went to the Rock City Enchanted Maize. I had my camera ready to go, but Asher wasn't in the mood. He generally is a VERY happy little boy, but it was hot. Plus, he was a little unsure of the loud tractors. The bouncers were the only real hit. He always loves those!!!
I guess we have discovered early on he is definitely not a country boy!

Asher not really into the whole country scene

Daddy trying to boost morale

Over it!

Goofy Haircut #2

A couple of weeks ago I took Asher to get another haircut. I figured this one would redeem the mishap of last time. I was sure to explain very clearly what it was I wanted to my stylist. In the end, it was worse than ever! It was way short in the front! Not to mention, it was crooked. I was so mad because that was the week before my reunion. I felt bad for her because she knew right off that I was disapointed. In her defense, he's really squirmy during his haircuts. I love the way she does my hair, but I think we're going to shop around for someone more comfortable with toddlers. Luckily, not even a bad haircut can hold my kid down. He's just too darn cute!!!

10 years!

Last weeked Mark and I went back to Tupelo for my 10th high school reunion. There was a family picnic that Saturday with a great party that night. It was so much fun to catch up and dance the night away. I'm just now getting feeling back in my pinkie toe!
It was amazing how fast 10 years passed. A lot has happened in that time, but some friends are just so dear and loyal. Here I am with my wonderful friends Melissa and Katy. I'm sad I didn't get more pictures. We actually forgot our camera in TN though.
The coolest part of it all was how enjoyable a time it was with some of the people I didn't even like way back when. It just goes to show it was just as much me as it was them. We've definitely grown up! It was a fun time as well as a learning time. I'm looking forward to 20 years now!

New Background

Ok, so I knew that the last one was bad, but I wasn't sure how to fix it. I did a little self education tonight. Ta-dah! The season's newest blog template:) You can actually see my pictures now!

Just look at this...

It's depressing really. I was going through some recently downloaded pictures, and this is what I found...A big boy! 18 months old! What happend to my baby?

We had our check up 2 weeks ago, and the doctor said everything looked great. He's still in about the 15th percentile for weight, but that seems to be his norm.

This was taken on perhaps one of the best days of his life thus far. They had a dog day at the park. Dogs were everywhere! That's heaven for Asher!

Just one year ago. Mommas hold on to your baby blobs! They'll be running around begging for Elmo before you know it. I know, I know. They'll be going to college too!

Some funnies!

To give everyone their Asher-fix here are some recent funny pictures of him. He is hysterical!

Asher walking the dog in his underwear. We had left MS coming home VERY early in the AM, and he was still halfway in his pj's.
Asher huffing a cupcake!

So pitiful, but so cute! Mommy wouldn't give him the camera.

Where's Asher? Asher hiding in the closet.

Daddy's Boy

Here are some blogs covering the last few weeks. One Sunday after church Mark wanted to go to the driving range and take Asher. Asher loved it with all the open space and balls! Well, he loved it until it got REALLY hot:) Then, Momma and Asher went inside and sat with the nice golf pro man.