New Phone

I had a Motorola Razor phone for YEARS and YEARS. I loved that phone. It was small and sleek and did just what I needed. I could receive and send phone calls with the push of a button. Then as the years went by, I started to text. Just one here and there - nothing major. My techno savvy husband got an IPhone as a gift from his loving wife one year and he loved it. I thought it was ridiculous to have a phone that could do so many things. Why would you need all that? And he was ALWAYS on his phone. So when I needed an upgrade on my phone and saw that they no longer offered my beloved Razor I switched to a Pantech Slide phone called the DUO. It slid up and down and also had a slide keyboard. Pretty fancy for me! I became an avid texter after that but I still mocked my hubby's phone with all it's bells and whistles I didn't need. THEN I dropped my phone in the toilet and it was Dead. I needed a new one and I wanted something modern. So Ben convinced me to get a "real" phone this time.

I've had my HTC Aria for a few weeks now and I am in love. I can check my emails as they come in. I can check my facebook. I can have the Internet at my finger tips. It even flashes a little light when I have something new to look at. But the best thing is that I can send and receive pictures! That is the one thing I always hated about my simple phones. So thank you Ben for bringing me up to date and for getting me such a cool phone! And I apologize in advance if you find me always on my phone ;)

Talent Show 2010

I was in charge of the church Talent Show again this year. Once again we had a great group of kids perform things from hula hoops to telling jokes. It was a great night. The theme was based on "America's Got Talent!" and boy do my two kids have some talent!! I actually got Matthew to participate this year. Initially I was going to just have him do his dinosaur impression but then decided to try to get him to sing. He sang his favorite song "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" and was so proud of himself. I was so very proud too!

Emma of course was born ready to perform. She decided to sing HER favorite song from her favorite singer - Justin Bieber. I bought her a Justin shirt for the performance and she did the rest, hair and all. She looked like she stepped out of the 80's. Last year she couldn't decide to sing or dance so this year I told her she could do both. I was having some trouble with the music in the begining and I think it threw off her singing but she did an incredible job dancing! When you watch the video you want to skip to about 45 seconds where she starts.

Once again, I don't know where these outgoing children get their courage. Definitely not from their SHY Mama!

The Beach and the Tooth

An old friend of Ben's got married in September. She was getting married at the Beach in North Carolina. We took this as an opportunity for another family vacation. It was the kid's first trip to the beach and the first time for Ben and I to go to the beach since our Honeymoon. It was an amazing trip. The kids loved every minute of it. We started in North Carolina and ended up at Myrtle Beach. We spent some time at a civil war museum and at a battleship (the USS North Carolina), but their favorite part was the sand! I think we spent hours and hours building walls, castles and holes. The weather could not have been better. It was sunny but cool and the water was just right. Matthew was more of a water baby than Emma was. He would go into the water with Ben and let the waves splash over him. I could only get Emma up to her shins before she would want to run back to the sand.

All was absolutely perfect until our last day. It started normal and exciting. We had checked into a fancy hotel for the last part of our trip and were extremely content in their comfy beds and 10 swimming pools. We decided to start out at the beach for the day. Unfortunately I had a run-in with a jelly fish - Ouch!! It was pretty painful but I tried to tough it out for the kids. I didn't want them to be afraid of getting into the ocean. So all was well after that....until we headed toward the pool. Emma had asked to be wrapped up all tight in her towel and then began dancing around and being too silly. She tripped over her feet and since her arms were restrained she fell face first on the concrete. Blood everywhere, a busted lip, and when she looked up her tooth was knocked inward. I was already drained from the jellyfish and seeing her like this made me sick to my stomach. But once again as a Mom, I stayed as calm as I could. It turned out her lip wasn't so bad and the bleeding quickly stopped. Since it was her baby tooth we didn't feel it necessary to rush her to the hospital although her tooth was obviously out of place. I didn't know what to do with her so we ended up going for ice cream. I couldn't think of anything else she could eat! She thought it was fantastic - "this is the best night ever" she told us as she ate her ice cream dinner. Then later that night as I was getting Matthew in his pajamas I heard her squeal "OUCH!". I turned to see what happened and she said "Mommy! I put my tooth back into place all by myself!" And she grinned a big bloody grin! She was right though, her teeth looked straight once again.

We spent one extra day at the beach and it truly was perfect. It was so hard to leave but we had school days and work waiting for us in Georgia. I think we might do this beach thing again next year - minus the bloody tooth and jelly fish of course.

(Ben took lots of pictures but hasn't sent them to me yet- I will post as soon as I can)

Shadow Baby Jett

Not much time before I was married I was attacked by a dog. After that experience, although I still had a huge love for dogs I was a bit nervous around them. So after I got married I KNEW I wanted a dog but told Ben that I needed a small one that I didn't have to be afraid of.

So my wonderful new husband picked out a puppy for me for my birthday. The first thing I noticed was his PAWS!!! They were massive and I knew enough about dogs to know that big paws meant a big grown up dog in the future. But Ben assured me that it would be fine - and it really was. Shadow was the most gentle dog in the entire world.The vet believed he may have had some German Shepard or Great Dane in him since he was so tall. He was spoiled as a puppy and grew up to believe he was a lap dog, even when he hit 100 pounds. As newlyweds we took him everywhere and after the kids were born he became the protector of the house.

I knew he was special when we got him. We got him from the Rockmart Pound. They told us he was born the day after September 11, 2001. He was found alone under a porch and they named him "Trooper". He was an amazing dog. He let the kids pull on him and climb over him and I never had to worry about him hurting anyone. He was afraid of thunder and fireworks. He rarely ever left the yard. He always listened to us. He made me feel extrememly safe when Ben was gone. He looked big and scary when he barked but he was so sweet we gave him the middle name "Baby". We loved him dearly and he will forever be missed. R.I.P to my dear Shadow Baby.

Dan's Wedding

The last Jett brother got married the first week in September. We were so glad we got to share the special day with Dan and Andrea. The wedding was beautiful from start to finish! They had it in one of the gorgeous Utah canyons and the weather was just perfect. Unfortunately poor Natalie got sick right before the wedding and ended up spending the day laying down. Emma had to step in to take Natalie's place as flower girl in the ceremony. She was so nervous but did a wonderful job. She looked so beautiful in the dress that Grandma Jett picked out for her. I am thankful to Elisa who picked out my skirt so we could match the wedding party colors. I had so much fun shopping with her and Jeneca at the Shade warehouse looking for a top to match. I also need to thank Elisa for making Matthew's vest! She did such an awesome job. All of the little nephews looked so handsome.

I was grateful to take some time away from work and spend it with Ben and the kids. My husband is the greatest and I know it is because he comes from such a great family!

Below are just a few pictures. Ben posted over 100 on his Facebook if you want to see more.

A wedding wouldn't be complete without dancing and of course Emma performed her best moves for everyone to see! She was a big hit dancing with Dan's friend Mike who was also the wedding DJ.

Kindergarten

I knew that I didn't have to worry about Emma's first day of school. If anyone could handle it - SHE could. She is always so ready for things and so mature about things. I laughed at stories of Mom's saying that they were going to be bawling their eyes out on the first day of school. Not me. I had nothing to worry about and would not be one of those silly crying mothers. Or so I thought! For some reason as I saw the bus driving away with my little baby girl inside, my eyes just teared up and I couldn't control it. Was it pride or worry or both, I don't know. But I know that I love my daughter with all my heart.

She is at Bascomb Elementary school in Mrs. Scherholz's class. The teacher seems wonderful. She even called us after school to make sure our "sweet little girl" did not have any problems or questions on her first day. She is riding the bus to and from school. On the way home she was so busy making friends on the bus that the driver had to walk back and let her know it was her stop! She had a fantastic first day and has made a friend in our new neighbor - Ashton. He is also in Kindergarten but not in her class. He gets a ride home from his mom but on the first day he waited for Emma to come home so he could give her a flower. Such a little gentleman!

She was so excited about school and ready to go back. You can see her excitement (and exhaustion) from her first day on the YouTube videos Ben took.

Emma's First Day