Fun with the kids

Last night at church I was volunteering in the nursery again, so I took my camera and got some great pictures of the kids playing. Two of their best buddies weren't there, so they had a couple big friends come by to play for a little while. Here we go!

I said, "Kensi! Smile for the camera!" and this is what she did.
She played hide and seek with me. In her little head this is a GREAT hiding place!
Camden just wants some juice.
Where did she get this idea? I guess her Daddy must talk on the phone and eat at the same time because I know absolutely nothing of it! Now where's that Little Debbie??
Brooke stops in to play on the slide with the twins and provide some much needed entertainment.

This is so much fun for Kensi!

They stop on the slide to pose for a picture.

Blake shows how cool he looks in his cowboy boots.

Camden laughs as Brooke slides down backwards!

Kensi and Blake play cars together.

Then Paw Paw stops by the nursery to give the twins hugs and kisses.
Camden and Kensi are learning the art of using a spoon and actually getting the spoon to their mouths. And trust me, we have made a LOT of progress here!
Kensi tried drinking her pudding, but obviously it didn't work. So she wipes her hands off on a paper towel.

I have added two quick videos to round out our blog post for the day. I really like adding videos, because they are fun. But the platform I use has gotten extremely slow; Ridiculously slow. Plus, my iMac is still in the shop for repairs. (I tried to download a CD to my iTunes and the disc got stuck.) I am going to explore my options and perhaps find a new system to make this blog run faster. So, when my computer is back, there are lots of wonderful things to come. Until then, here are two videos to keep you going!

This last video is of Brooke & Blake joining us in the nursery for a couple minutes of playtime. The kids LOVED IT!! They had so much fun!

Snow Day!

For those of you who have never lived in the south, down in these parts of Alabama a snow day means something entirely different from those in other parts of the country. If there is even a possibility of snow, schools and businesses will close; and everyone rushes to the grocery store and buys all the bread and milk off the shelves. In actuality we only got about half an inch of snow, but it felt like a blizzard. (this was our first "snow" since 2000). So we decided to take advantage of it. We loaded on our winter clothes and headed outdoors to play in the new white fluff all over the grass. Lots of pictures!

The hubby gives Camden his first feel of snow.

Is that the sweetest little boy ever?

Can you say "snow princess?"

Camden waves to the camera.

Taking a walk through the snow...

Oh my goodness! The sweetest little lips and pink nose!

cruising down the sidewalk checking out the snow.

Are you having fun Kensi? Yeah, this is pretty neat!

The snow was coming down pretty heavy; You can see some points of accumulation in the Hubby's hair.

They ran all the way to the fence in the backyard. Hey little babies! Come back!

The Hagin's came over to play with us in the snow. Haley gives Kensi a big hug.

Trent takes care of Camden and shows him how to make snowballs.

Camden's ready to catch the snowball Trent is about to throw.

Haley tickles Kensi and she loves it!

Kensington & Camden making a snowman.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

*Jane Austen fans take note!!!!!*

Sunday nights on PBS, Masterpiece theater is doing the Complete Jane Austen series from January through March. You simply cannot miss this! It is quite diverting, really, and every Austen fan must employ the use of their Tivo; otherwise it would be too shocking and you could not be known to any good society. They have already aired brand new versions (or at least never before seen in the US) of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. There will also be brand new adaptations of Mansfield Park and Sense & Sensibility; Then a fabulous version of Emma, and then the most wonderful movie of all time: the 1995 Pride and Prejudice.

You simply must make every effort to see these! Otherwise, I shall be quite put out!

New Pictures of the kids

Well, I got a new iMac for Christmas and it is fabulous. Quite a new adjustment, going from a PC to a Mac, but the hubby and I are up for new challenges, and we are learning our way quite nicely. I made a slide show that I have not been able to upload to this blog for some reason, so I will keep working on that. But until then, let's look at some new pictures. And since my Mother-in-Law is really wanting to see baby pics, lets see what we can come up with:

Who does this look like?

Now these kids love some orange juice!

Camden doesn't want to wait for his turn. He wants it NOW!

Ah! Thanks for the turn, Daddy!

Uncle David got the kids the coolest bath toys! They glow!

Camden LOVES bath time. He gets upset when he has to get out.

Kensi is perplexed by this strange nose aspirator apparatus.

Big and buff Camden tries to help me load the dishwasher.

I do hope I can get this whole software stuff figured out and get that slide show uploaded. It is really pretty good. Technology is amazing. You can find out a lot using simple technology. I have a specialized stat tracker on my blog so that I can see who is visiting my website, where they are, how many times they visit, and what comments they leave. It truly is amazing. Nothing is a secret nowadays, right? So to all of my kind, loyal readers: Thank you for visiting this blog and sharing this small part of my life with me!

Happy Birthday Tara!!!

Happy BIG Birthday to our dear friend Tara! We celebrated her landmark birthday in style...a pajama party. Oh yeah. You're never too old to outgrow pajama parties. Plus, you know you're in good company when you can chill with the girls in your PJ's, right? Well, I know you are all wondering,  how old IS Tara? Good question. She is OLD!! But I don't want to embarrass anyone so I will not reveal her age. I will just say that she is older than me.

But enough about me! We were thrilled, and you don't know how thrilled we really were, to get to spend some time with Tara. She is such an amazing, beautiful, smart, special person. She is one of those people who is beautiful on the outside and on the inside; and if pride isn't an issue for you...you can admit that deep down part of you wants to be like her. (Plus, she has great cheekbones and the cutest haircut.) So we laughed and talked and told lots of stories about our kids. I am still laughing about some of the things our kids say and do. So, lets check out some of the pictures from the night:

Tara blows out the 3 candles on her "cake." I am still not telling how old she is. (although the 3 candles could be a hint. That is, if I were hinting. And I'm not.)

Yeah Baby! This is birthday cake Simeons Protocol Style! Yeahhhh--eeewwwww.

Erica says, "you really expect me to eat this? What exactly is it?"

Tara, Erica, & Leigh chat with Shannon & Kim while I have my face behind the lens.

Tara finishes opening her presents and cards and we prepare to have tea!
Oh my goodness. We trashed Kim's perfectly clean kitchen! Look at this mess! And there were no kids around to blame for this one. 

And our last video for this post is a re-enactment of Tara's Birthday song. (No animals were injured during the making of this film.) Special thanks to the cameo appearance from Conner, and thanks to Shannon for the fancy camerawork, too.

We had a wonderful time with Tara. We hope there are many more times like this ahead! We love you and your sweet husband and kids, VERY VERY MUCH!!!! 

Happy Birthday Kim!!

I enjoyed a night of fun with the girls earlier this week as we got together to celebrate Kim's birthday. Oh, how much fun we had! I just can't even tell you. There is just something therapeutic about being with people who you can trust. People who are on the same page as you; people who you can be yourself around. And when you leave, you leave better. Not "high maintenance" friendships. Just steady, normal, consistent people. Who encourage each other and help each other. And these girls are just that. They are a group of truly awesome women, all successful in their own right. Isn't it great to get to have some free time away from the house and the kids just to laugh? (shout out to the husbands here!) Well I assure you there was plenty of laughing going on. Here are a few of our pictures:

Kim with her birthday cheesecake. Doesn't she look great for 42?
Shannon & Kim pose for a picture.
Me and Erica smiling for the camera.I'm sorry. I don't know how this picture made it on the blog! Oops! This is me, Kim, Shannon and the neighbor boy on his golf cart acting silly. Erica is not in this picture but that is probably a good thing; Erica and I have a history of knocking off the roofs of golf carts. (but that's a whole other story altogether!)

Okay, I was kidding earlier when I said Kim was 42. She's really just 40. Okay, kidding again. She is still a youngin' in her early 30's. I added this last video reluctantly because you can't see anything. Literally, the screen is almost black. (And yes, this is a first for Southern Housewife. I typically don't add videos unless you can see something. Isn't that the point of a video?) However, I added it anyway because you can hear the one thing Kim says in this video and its pretty funny to me. Check it out:

I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Southern Housewife!

Time in the Nursery

Our kids love the nursery at church. It's a time for them to play with other kids their age, and it's a big room full of new toys. Doesn't that sound great to you? Well, we drop our kids off and pick them up, but how many of us really know what happens in the nursery? Well, my mother and I are now working in the one year old class with the twins once a month, so I got some video footage that you are going to love. Yes, you are going to love it. They are all so stinkin cute you may not be able to stand it. Okay, here goes:


This first video is of Kensi & Camden playing ring around the rosie. Their friend Roman comes over and joins in and Camden and Roman end up in a pile on the floor and Kensi just laughs at them:

Our next clip is from snack time. Kensi, Camden, & Roman are at one table, and Tanner and Hailey are at the other. Wow, these kids love their goldfish!

So, that's what it's like in the nursery with the kids. They all have such a good time. How funny will it be to look back at these videos when they are 18 years old? I have lots of pictures for you to see as well. Take a look:

Kensington, Roman, and Camden discuss politics over their goldfish and apple juice.
Roman says, "You're absolutely right Kensi. We must have immigration policy reform!"
Tanner and Hailey enjoy snack time.
Kensi & Roman hanging out.

Group shot. This is what happens in the one year old class.

Camden & Kensi practice ring around the rosie some more, while Hailey chews on Romans boot.
Here are the kids playing together.

Here's the boyz from the south side rockin' it old school in the nursery.