We've had quite a weekend!  My Favorite Boy celebrated his 10th birthday (how is that possible?), and then his sister got a stomach virus.  She was sick for about 36 hours, but was able to go back to school this morning (Wednesday).  I'll share the details of the birthday party, but I'll spare you the rest. :)

My Favorite Boy enjoyed a fun afternoon with his buddies at the local skating rink. They spent time playing the arcade games, eating pizza and cake, and skating. I love to skate, so I enjoy watching my kids having fun at the skating rink like I did as a child.

(Not sure why he has become a Ravens fan, but he wasn't happy that they lost on his birthday!)

Grandma deserves a special shout-out for coming to help at the party.  She endured over two hours of very loud music and was almost taken out by a teenage girl on wobbly wheels. (Grandma was standing by the wall, but you're not safe anywhere in a rink full of kids!)


My Favorite Boy came home to enjoy his presents and mail that had arrived.  He had a great 10th birthday.  I can't believe he's ten, but I am so thankful that I have had the past decade with him, and I pray I will be blessed with many more!

Happy 2012! The new year is going well at the Baseballs and Bows house. Just thought I would post an update on some of the current issues and events.

Basketball: Both kids are playing basketball. Our school has a great league. A large percentage of the students participate, and it is such a fun community activity. My Favorite Boy is having a rough season in the 4th/5th grade league. They haven't won a game, and this is very frustrating to him.  Learning to lose is never easy, but it's an important life lesson.  Saturday was their best game yet, so we still have hope that there could be a win in the future. My Best Girl is in the kindergarten/first grade training league. They don't play competitive games, but she loves the drills and skill stations. It will be fun to watch her next year when she starts playing games! (She is getting SO tall!)


Baseball/Gymnastics: My Favorite Boy started indoor baseball practice for the spring season. We are with a new team this year, and we are very excited about it. My husband played baseball in college, and the son of one of his former teammates is on the team as well. It has been fun catching up with old friends, and we look forward to spending lots of time with them in the coming months! My Best Girl will start softball in a few months, but for now, she is enjoying gymnastics. Her favorite part is trampoline, but she likes the bars, too. The gymnastics facility is next-door to the indoor baseball facility, so with both kids doing baseball and gymnastics at the same time on the same night, scheduling and transportation are easy!

My Exercise: Alas, my back problem (which we think is a bulging disc) is not a lot better. I haven't run in almost nine months!  I am going to commit to doing my physical therapy exercises daily for the next month, and if I don't see improvement, I will have to go back for an MRI. I really miss running, and I hope I will be able to return to it some day. Just when I started loving it, I had to stop. I am going to be so disappointed if I am never able to return to doing races. I'm praying for my back to heal!

My Eating: In other areas, my health has improved so dramatically! I am following the GAPS diet, and I have seen amazing results with my reflux (which was causing me pain every. single. day.) and also my anxiety, eczema, sinus infections, etc... I am about to take another major step and start the introduction part of the diet, which is even more extreme than what I have been following. This will be for a short period of time, but it will speed the healing process even more. It is going to be one of my toughest challenges yet because for a week or two, I won't be able to have any fruit. This may not sound like much, but fruit is the only sugar I eat. Eating an apple for a snack or a banana for dessert is a treat for me, so going without is going to be so hard. I've developed a very strong will when it comes to food, so I believe I can do it. I'll update with my progress! For any of you dealing with chronic health issues, I encourage you to consider diet as a solution. I am more and more convinced that many of our current health problems are related to our food. I know many think this is crazy, but I have drastically improved my own health by changing my diet, and read about amazing healing of many others, and I believe it works! So many of the medicines we take only mask the symptoms. With determination and hard work, we can fix the problems and improve the quality of our lives!

Okay, I'll stop my infomercial now. :)

My Favorite Boy's birthday is coming up this weekend, so I'll be back soon to tell all about it. I can't believe I've been a mom for TEN years!

We enjoyed our final Christmas celebration over New Year's weekend. My brother and his beautiful family flew to Tennessee for the week. We all met up at Grammy and Papa's house for a few days.

We started by opening presents and had five happy children (only four were willing to pose--one was too busy playing with his trains). :)

Then, Aunt Rucha took my Best Girl to Wal-Mart. Aunt Rucha even bought my Best Girl some BBQ chips in the checkout aisle. This was a special treat!

We spent the afternoon playing at the park (it was a gorgeous day) and playing games at Grammy and Papa's. The kids had so much fun together!

On Sunday morning, we all went to worship together and then came back to Grammy and Papa's for the afternoon. My uncle and his family came as well.

My sweet niece was my buddy for the weekend!

Grammy, Papa, and All Their Kids!

My Uncle and His Family Came to Visit from Georgia

Cousin Fun

We returned home Sunday evening, but on Monday, my brother and his two oldest came to Nashville for some more fun with us. We visited a local bowling alley/fun center. The kids enjoyed it so much. We look forward to visiting them in New Mexico this summer!

Labels: Family and Friends, My Best Girl, My Favorite Boy

Santa visited us a day early, so we woke up on the official Christmas Day and readied for worship. On Sunday afternoon, we headed to Lewisburg. First, we went to evening worship services with Grandma and Papa Don, and then we headed to their house for dinner and presents. My husband's sister and her family were there as well, and we enjoyed the few hours that we had to spend together. (We decided we need to have longer periods of time for the kids to hang out, so we are hoping to visit them in Atlanta some time soon.) Grandma is so nice that she let the kids open presents before eating. She figured that would keep them from asking "When can we open presents?" Of course, then they just said, "When can we eat? We're starving!"

Another Video Game!  Hooray!

A New Coat!

An Auburn Shirt from Toomer's Corner!

Another Auburn Shirt from Toomer's Corner!

My Sweet Girl (Who Was Very Tired)

The Annual Cousins on the Couch Picture

Aunt Adrienne and Uncle David

On the morning of the 26th, Oreo got a present. The owners of her best friend, Trigger, were leaving to go out of town. The lady who boards our dogs opened late that morning, so Trigger got to come over for a playdate. The dogs had SO much fun. They played nonstop for 2 hours.



We spent most of the day playing games and enjoying time at home together. Dad takes off two weeks at Christmas. Because he travels so much during the year, these two weeks are our favorite time (if only it could be 80 degrees--that would be perfection!).


We got to spend more time with my husband's extended family on Monday evening. There are close to forty family members, so this get-together is never boring! The kids had a great time playing Apples to Apples, air hockey, video games, and other fun things. The grown-ups enjoyed catching up.

Mother and Son

Wow!  I got a picture of the two of us together!

Brother and Sisters

Three Generations

Granny Harris loves her new robe from Chris and LeAnn!

My Flower Girls All Grown Up

My Best Girl and Grandma

My Best Girl and Papa Don

My Favorite Boy and Papa Don

Grandma and My Favorite Boy

We have one more Christmas celebration remaining.  We'll spend New Year's weekend at my parents' with my brother and his family.  We are looking to more family fun!

Labels: Family and Friends, My Best Girl, My Favorite Boy

I'm taking a break from my December posts to show you what's currently on my nightstand.

Right now, I am reading Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey's new book, Chasing Mona Lisa. It's fast-paced Christian fiction set at the end of the German occupation of Paris during World War II. With all the Christmas festivities, I'm having to read this in bits and pieces, but I am enjoying it and look forward to finishing it in the next few days.

Up next is All the Flowers in Shanghai, which is set in China in the 1930's. I have read a few books about China in the last year, and the historical context of this novel fascinates me.

Beyond Molasses Creek is the third book in my pile. It is the contemporary story of a flight attendant who returns home to bury her father and face her past. I'm looking forward to it as well.

I will review all of these books at 5 Minutes for Books in the near future. Be sure to click over there today to see what others are reading!

Labels: Books