Ode to Bullseye

O my dear dear Bullseye, I will miss you so.

I think of all the fun times we had,

And it makes me sad to see you go.

You survived SO very much!

We got stuck in the mud.

We went many miles.

We were never duds.

We caused many smiles.

I love the way you squeal and embarass me so.

I love the way your gas pedal sticks when I try to go.

I love how you smell,

Especially when the window doesn't stop water so well.

I love every one of your spots and dings and scratches and things.

I will miss you so.

Please be good and faithful wherever you go.

O my dear, dear Bullseye!

*sniff* I promised I wouldn't cry! *sniff*

The time has come to depart with my beloved Bullseye and get a larger vehicle. God totally arranged this, because we thought it would be years before we could afford this. But we got a great deal from my grandparents and we're going to buy their mini-van! So now I will be a Mini-Van drivin' Mamma!!! Woooohooooo! Praise God for this great and very unexpected blessing!

Playing Catch Up

WARNING: TONS OF PICTURES OF JACK!!!!

I've been majorly slacking when it comes to taking and posting pictures lately, but now I have batteries for my camera and a little time, so...here are a million trillion pictures of Jack.

This was taken about a month, or month and a half, ago when Jack was just starting to really walk. He started out with his arms up in the air like he was holding on to someone's hands. What's cool to me is that when Brian started walking he did the same thing! Awwwww!

Here he is a couple of days later in his next stage of learning to balance. He figured out that he could put his hands on his chest/belly and stay up. He looked like an old man walking around.

And here he is now--yes he looks a little off-balance--but he's actually going full-speed, so this is him really walking. He will do laps around the house, going full-throttle and "talking" like crazy!

ATTENTION ART LOVERS: This is the premier work of art from the world's newest art prodigy: Introducing Jack Chisholm ladies and gentleman!

Ok, for real--this is Jack's first crayon drawing and I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! I made this matte for it and put it on our fridge. :) I'm such a mommy!

He likes to get behind the table and shout/talk. Then I pretend to be looking for him and he squeals and laughs like crazy!

He still loves playing in his cabinet. He has acquired/stolen lots more of my kitchen stuff.

Jack LOVES books!!! We read allll day together and he reads on his own a lot too. He's so sweet!

My men are INCREDIBLE! Brian drove to Pine Bluff, bought two weeks worth of groceries, and then made dinner for us tonight--yummy fried catfish and fried okra! And Jack helped Mommy unpack the groceries! They are so good to me! :)

Jack had fun playing on the paper towels. A couple minutes after this picture he threw up all over the package and the floor. I think he got too excited jumping on it until he made himself sick.

Walkin' Man.

OOps!

Silly boy!

Hanging out with Mommy watching Daddy work in the garden.

Playing in the loft of his swing set.

Jack and Brian put these on thinking they were funny hats, they're actually basket liners, but whatever works! They had FUN with it!

So, do you have enough pictures of Jack to look at now Dad???? :) I love you!

Our Neck of the Woods

Sorry no pictures today, my camera is dead and we haven't gotten any batteries, so....

We're doing really good. Just hanging around and having lots of fun! Jack is at such a fun age! He is hilarious! He makes me die laughing at least once a day! Plus, he's the cutest thing ever...so that's great too.

Some of his favorites right now:
~Walking around and around and around the house while talking and waving his hands in the air
~Bringing me books and sitting in my lap while we read them
~Singing "The wheels on the bus" about 50 times a day! So cute!
~Putting his abc magnets and block in his pots and stirring them up (alphabet soup)
~Running to the window to wave when he hears Brian's truck pull up, and then running to the door to greet him!
~Waving bye-bye to daddy when he goes to work
~Sitting on my lap and leaning back against the belly
~Eating fruit and pancakes

Some of his not-favorites:
~Having to come to us when we say "Come here"--he's getting very sassy
~Eating his vegetables
~Sitting still when we pray before bed
~When mommy is cooking and won't hold him
~Having his teeth brushed

Baby Chisholm is great! I had a check-up last week and everything was fine, the heartbeat was strong and there were no problems. She (I say it's a girl now, but who knows) is moving around like crazy! My stomach is constantly jumping up and down morning, noon, and night! I think this one's gonna be fiesty! This pregnancy has flown by! I'm like 25 or 26 weeks, which is crazy! September will be here before we know it! I am so exctied that we haven't found out what we're having. I cannot wait for the surprise of it, it's going to be so much fun!

Brian and I are good too. He is working hard and has been having a great time taking care of the yard and our vegetable garden. I've helped a little bit--I helped him pull up a ton of grass the other night and now the garden looks great! We had our first crop of two banana peppers, one of which was bad--but we still have one! And we have some little bitty tomatoes starting and some squash too! I can't wait to start seeing the veggies coming out! I get really really excited about it! I will definitely be putting pics of our crops on here when they arrive!

Jack and I are getting over bad colds and I'm looking forward to getting out again. We tend to quarentine ourselves--no church, no playing outside, no errands--when we're sick, so I haven't been out at all in the past week. It's a good thing my son and husband are so entertaining, otherwise I'd be coo-coo by now! :) We may go play outside this afternoon depending on how Jack is feeling. Yeah!

Other than that we don't have a lot going on. We're taking it pretty easy this month b/c next month we're planning on doing a bunch of travelling. We want to get in some visits and stuff before I can't travel in mid-August. So that's what going on in our neck of the woods--what's going on where you are?

I AM funny, I really AM!

Funiness is highly valued in my family, both immediate and extended, as it is in most of my circles of friends. Is this a universally valued personality trait? Or is it just us? Personally, I think it's pretty widespread, what with the comedies on TV, the "I'm looking for a man with a sense of humor" comments, the stand-up comedians, etc... And that's OK, but what about those of us that are comically-challenged? Where do we fit in?

Now, I think that I am a very funny/witty/clever person, but I have been informed by my husband that I am "SOMETIMES funny"--emphasis on the sometimes. This is a long-standing joke with us, but it has truth at it's root. Brian claims (in a not-so-exact way as I'm about to put it) that there are several signs that someone is a "SOMETIMES funny" person. They include:
#1: You can name several very specific times that you were funny in detail, and you thrive off of these glowing moments of laughter, #2: You tend to laugh more at your own jokes than other people do, #3: You insist that you are "ALWAYS funny"--emphasis on the always, and most obvious, #4: You write a post like this on blogger.

I must admit, I do fit into every single one of the above criteria, so here I am stuck in this "SOMETIMES funny" pigeon-hole. I'm trying to accept it and move on, but sometimes its hard. I do not resent my husband for his funiness--because he is very funny/witty/clever, and comes up with things that I could never, ever produce. Plus he's cute, and he keeps me laughing ALWAYS! However, I have come to HATE the word "SOMETIMES"!!!!!

5 Things Quiz

Kim and Crystal both tagged me, so I'm reluctantly and begrudgingly doing this silly quiz.
(Not really, I actually like this sort of stuff.) :)

5 things under $5 I couldn't live without:
a legal pad {for all of my lists}
toilet paper {for the obvious reasons and to entertain Jack}
chapstick
water
ponytail holders

5 fave movies:
Sense and Sensibilty
Pride and Predjudice
Harry Potter Series
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Notting Hill

5 baby names I love:
Jack, of course
Ali Grace
David
James
Anna or Anne

5 songs I could listen to over and over:
Baby I love your way
?????? Sadly, I CANNOT think of any more! I'm not that into music, so.... please forgive me.

5 people who have influenced me in a positive way:
(in chronological order, not order of importance--Brian)
Crystal
Brian
Butch
The Phillips family
Jack

5 things that are always in my purse:
keys
wallet
assorted scraps of paper with lists on them--groceries, to do's, projects....
several pens
chapstick
loose change

5 moments that have changed my life forever:
getting saved
meeting real friends at State: Coop, Meg, Crystal, Amy, Katey
meeting/dating/marrying Brian
seeing the life of the Phillips family
having Jack
moving to Rison
(yes, that's 6, I'm making up for the music one)

5 obsessions I have right now:
thepioneerwoman.com----LOVE LOVE LOVE her
my friends' blogs--you people really should update like every day, if not more, you know like I do.....hahahahahahaha NOT! just kidding! but i do love reading all about what you're up to!
figuring out how to best teach Jack
making lists, as usual
Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC

5 places I would like to go:
Ireland
Hawaii
Savannah, GA
Pioneer woman's ranch
Montana

5 appliances/kitchen tools I can't live without:
dishwasher--i do a load at least every other day
microwave
paper towels--HAVE TO HAVE THESE OR WE WILL DIE
bleach wipes
rubber bands--might sound weird, but we use these to keep Jack out of the cabinets, they work great, are low cost, low tech, and not permanent

5 people who should do this too:
Meg
Holly Thompson
Meredith Horn
Ashley Norwood
Brandy Verwiel
Pioneer woman--I told you i am obsessed, but she doesn't count, b/c whe has no clue who little bitty tiny me is, SAD! :( :) But I still love her!

Trip to the LR Zoo

This weekend my parents, brotherMichael, and sister Elizabeth all came to Rison to see us! Saturday we went to the zoo for Jack's first time! I think he had a great time, and so did we. It was HOT HOT HOT, and humid, which it hasn't been much in AR, so we only stayed for a couple hours, but Jack got to see lots of fun stuff! Some of our favorites were the lions, tigers, giraffes, and monkeys. Jack liked the "big cats" as we called them a lot!

Sweaty Boy!

Brian showing Jack one of the animals. I think they're looking at the lions, which Jack loved!

Jack is fascinated!

Hey baby boy!

Here I am actin glike a spaz "pretending" to walk! By the end of the trip my walk had definitely turned into a waddle! haha

After the zoo we came home and Nana and Papa gave Jack a much needed bath. Then we let him run around naked for a while which he LOVES!!!! How cute is he!!!!!!!!!

Introducing Baby Chisholm!!!

Above picture is the baby's profile. You can see the forhead, nose, mouth, chin, chest and stomach. He/she was moving around like crazy!
This one is a little harder to see. It is the side of his/her head, the ear, and the baby's fist is balled up over his/her face. The baby kept on hiding it's face from us. But finally we got a couple good shots.
After wiggling around and hiding it's face, the baby finally showed us what he/she looks like. HOW CUTE!!! My mom thinks the baby has my pointy chin.

These were taken about 3 weeks ago, sorry it took so long to get them up. Our blog was messed up and my Mom figured out how to fix it, so now we can post pictures again.

Now I'm about 24 weeks and doing great! Baby Chisholm has been moving like crazy! I love it. Jack will sit on my lap and lean back on my belly and the baby will be kicking him in the back. It's so sweet!