Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mother's birthday. Yes, she shares her birthday with Ground Hog Day. We celebrated last Friday night over at my brother and sister in law's house. We had alot of fun, eating, having cake and playing the Wii. We played tennis (of course) and bowling. It was so much fun and I am trying to get SLH to get me one, but I think he is worried that I will be on it too much. :)

My mom is a very special person. She cares for her family and is ALWAYS here for us. She will drop anything to come and be with us and help us out. We've kidded and said this alot throughout the years "we could not pay her what she is worth"! AEH and EMH are so lucky to have JuJu and she LOVES being their grandmother!

Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for all you are and all you do. We love you and we pray that God will bless you and be with you throughout this next year!

The Star Family Circus

My mom, AEH, EMH and I went to a little family circus Friday afternoon in Brandon, MS. It was no Barnum and Bailey Circus but AEH and EMH didn't know the difference and enjoyed it just as much. My mom and I just laughed the whole time at how small town and primitive it was. We all had a great time, though... it was so tacky, it was cute. They had everything from clowns, monkeys,a boxing kangaroo, balancing acts, a juggler and several ladies who did high wire stunts. It was definitely a family circus because the members each had several different acts. The juggler might juggle at one point and then you would see him selling concessions at intermission. AEH's favorite act was not the lady who hung from a high cable by her hair, but was when the daddy clown spanked the little boy clown when he misbehaved. It really is the simple things that they like the most.

They also knew how to get you to spend your money. At one point during the show they were selling coloring books, and some of the coloring books had a sticker in them and if you got one with a sticker then you could come pick out a toy in the middle of the arena...how fun is that, going into the arena. :) Well, we didn't get one with a sticker so not only did they get that 2 dollars but also the 7 dollars that we had to spend to buy a toy. We could have bought 3 of these toys at Walmart for our 9 dollars on that gimic. Then of course they come around with goodies and we ended up with popcorn, cotton candy and a drink. Then they came out during the 15 min. intermission with some ballons on a stick...we got away with not getting this. Anyway, we had fun and it was an experience we won't forget. I think my mom and I laughed more and had more fun than AEH. EMH slept through half of it but he did get to see some of it.

Isn't that what it's all about...building memories and having fun. It sure beats the laundry and cleaning that I would have been doing at home that day.

Jumping High

We went to the mall the other night to take some shoes back to Stride Rite and while we were in the store, AEH spotted out in the mall, this jumping thing (not sure what it's called). Well, she said she wanted to try it. Then she didn't, and went back in forth several times before she decided to give it a go. She loved it!! The lady that was running it was really nice and let her jump longer than the allotted time since nobody was waiting to get on it and she said that AEH was good advertisement. Brother enjoyed watching too. I think I may give it a try next time. :)

Baby Dedication

We dedicated EMH this past Sunday at church. Oh, how honered we felt to walk down the isle as EMH's parents and dedicate him to the Lord. We committed ourselves to the christian nurture of EMH who was entrusted to our care. We are so thankful and blessed to have this little boy in our life and as a our guest speaker, Evangelist David Ring said a few weeks ago " we don't deserve that either".

EMH did so good. He made a little cry during the prayer but that was all (it was getting time for his next bottle). He enjoyed listening to the solo which was sung by a father that was dedicating his son. It was a great song and he sang it very well. I caught myself singing it throughout the rest of the day.

Our pastor preached a great sermon on God's plan for human life. With all that is going on in our world regarding abortion, it is our duty as christians to stand up and fight for the life of these babies. He said when debating the abortion issue, if you put God in the equation then it just doesn't work. He told a story about a young woman whose mother tried to abort her 3 times but all three attempts failed and now when she is asked whether or not she would rather have been aborted or to live the life she is living, she says that she would choose life. How powerful this story speaks for the rights of the unborn. How grateful we are that AEH's and EMH's birthparents chose life for them.

We were so happy to have my family there with us Sunday. We were also glad that SLH's Aunt Kip was able to come but the rest of his family was not able to be there. Our nephew was being baptized at his church in Auburn, AL and we obviously felt that being there for him, was more important. We are so proud of his decision and are praying for him as he begins his walk with the Lord.

Some pictures from EMH's special Day

My brother, sister in law, AEH, my mom and dad, me, EMH, and SLH

First Trip To The Dentist

We finally got AEH to the dentist. We talked about it for a while and she just wasn't sure about it. I have put it off because I would check them at home on occasion. I debated on taking her to a Pediatric Dentist but decided that I would try it at my office first since mommy is a dental hygienst. Well, I thought for a little bit that I was going to have to take her somewhere else but after I told her "either mommy can clean your teeth or we can go somewhere else and let somebody else do it". She finally surrendered and once I polished that first tooth then she was okay. She got her teeth polished and flossed, x-rays taken and flouride applied. She even let Dr. Stewart come in and check and count her teeth. She did great and is already ready to go again.

We don't see children under 10 at our office and after she left I told Dr. Stewart how glad I was that we didn't. I just don't have the patience for that and you really have to stay in that frame of mind all the time to be able to relate and help the kids through their visit.

Here are a few helpful tips for you to help keep your kids in good dental health.

Brush teeth atleast 2 times a day, a.m. and p.m. P.M. is the most important. You don't want them going to bed with dirty teeth. Let them do it and then you follow up or vice versa. Go behind them until you are sure they are cleaning and removing plaque off of every tooth properly. You may want to let them brush before they go to the dentist and then ask the dentist or dental hygienst how they are brushing and judge it like that.

Floss their teeth, atleast everyother day if not everyday. We tell patients this " you don't leave dirt inbetween your toes and you shouldn't leave bacteria inbetween your teeth". They have some cute little floss piks out there that make this fun. When you are flossing their teeth for them it is easiest to do if you lay them down.

They should go to have a check up and cleaning every 6 months and should start around the age of 3. If you see something or suspect something is wrong then they can definitely go earlier. I strongly recommend a pediatric dentist. They are better equipped and are focused on kids. you want their first experiences to the dentist to be good.

Try to limit sugar drinks and candy. If they are going to have a drink that contains sugar then let it be for a meal. They can rinse with water or brush their teeth afterwards. Sipping on anything with sugar through out the day is bad. That constant exposure is what causes decay. Try to buy sugarless gum and candy and if they do have the sugared candy then let them eat it within a few minutes and be done with it. Be careful because things you think are good and healthy can still have alot of sugar in them (apple juice, orange juice, milk etc..). Soft drinks with sugar are not good. A regular can coke has 6 tsps. of sugar in it. Mountain Dew is one of the worst. The sugar and acid combine together and can be very harmful.

Here are a few pictures of AEH's visit.

Not quite sure about this????

She had her hand ready, just in case.

Australian Open

I don't think any of my blogging friends are tennis fans but I wanted to tell you what my TV will be tuned into this week and next week when I am at home and am able to watch it. The Australian Open. I think I enjoy watching tennis as much as playing tennis.

Fourteen years ago at my first job out of hygiene school, some co-workers and I stopped by Parham Bridges Tennis Center on our lunch break to get some info about tennis lessons. Well, it was history from there. I began taking lessons and eventually joined a beginner's team. I started out as a 2.5 and I am now a 4.0. I have also developed some special friendships through tennis. Some of you know how competitive I am. Even on our spa trip, I was taking that scattegories game pretty seriously. I play on a day league that plays on Tuesday mornings(which doesn't take up family time at night) and a night league that plays on Thurs. night. I am fortunate to have a husband that will come home after a long day at work and take care of the kids so that I can go play. He likes for me to play and if I haven't played in a while he always encourages me to get back out there. I am happy to say that he will actually be playing this spring too. He hasn't played in the last couple of years and I am glad that he will be getting back out there as well. You are probably wondering if we sometimes play together and the answer is no. We tried that a few years ago and we didn't leave the court very happy and yes, I was the problem. :) You won't see many married couples playing together. It usually just doesn't work. I am not a big fan of mixed doubles anyway.

I say all this to say. I enjoy getting out and away to do something that I enjoy and that is just for me. I think we all need that. If we take care of ourselves then it helps us better take care of our family. It may not be tennis or anything sports related but if you don't already have something that you do for yourself then I encourage you to find something.

Even our pups Belle and Bonnie are sporting their tennis bandannas this week.

Oh So Tired and Poor Brother

This is the way we found AEH the other day. She had missed her nap which happens a lot now and by late afternoon she was just too tired. She had her Fancy Nancy doll and she was dressed in her Fancy Nancy look alike dress. Notice the lips. I wasn't home and daddy was in charge :) Hmm, it looks like she got into mommy's makeup drawer.

This is what brother has to look forward too with having a big sister. This crown has been stepped on and bent in so many directions, but I guess right now he doesn't care.

Attempting the Blogging World

Okay, I am going to try this. I enjoying reading all my friends blogs and hearing what is going on in their lives. Not sure how good I will be but here it goes.

Everything is great at our house. No one is sick and we have had a pretty laid back weekend. I played tennis this morning ( indoors that is) and AEH went to her MeMe and Ampy's and daddy had to go into work. He is busy right now doing end of the year stuff. EMH and I had a relaxing afternoon just taking naps :) (yes me too) and hanging out.


EMH goes for his 4 month check up next week. Oh, how time flies. We are just trying to step back and enjoy every moment with our little boy before he is not a baby anymore :( Our best gift this year for Christmas was EMH and we thank God and EMH's birthmother for choosing to bless us with this sweet little boy that we adore so much. Little did we know how special this Christmas would be having EMH join our family. It is more wonderful than we could have ever imagined. He has brought so much more love to our family and we are amazed every day how perfect God’s timing is and how much he loves us.

AEH loves her little brother and still has made no negative comments about him. She loves on him all the time. In fact, maybe a little too much at times according to his reactions. :) AEH is enjoying being back in school from the Christmas break. Miss. Personality really missed not being with her friends and teachers over the holidays.

Well there goes the first post. Now let's see if I can set this thing up and running :) It will be really simple for now.

Our Blessings