...and he's sick :) Evidently, no one told him!

baking :)

Click here for the recipe!

Click here for this recipe

Let the Christmas baking begin!! More to come, I'm sure :) Merry Christmas!

It's been too long...

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get on here! So much has happened since I blogged last. The photography business picked up big time this last month for people wanting to make Christmas cards. If I was on the computer, I was editing photos or making cards - some days I was in front of this thing for 9 hours or more, so I was rarely up to sitting here even longer to blog! I have added a few blogs below, though, to catch you up, picture-wise, on what we've been up to. The Blogger uploader is not friendly, and often super-slow, so on the last few entries you'll see I got smart! I photoshopped a collage together so I only had one file to upload. It's finicky and I figured out a way to beat the system! :)

We have had a wonderful time settling in at home. LJ LOVES his school - he goes 4-5 days a week, half-a-day. He now recognizes all of his letters, can write his name, draws people and football fields...he's growing so much! I had no idea he was ready for that stuff, but evidently they start early now. Home is wonderful - Christmas decor is up now, and some days all we want to do is stay in our sweats and hang out by the tree. Because it's the off-season, we've been known to indulge that desire a bit :)

We had a wonderful visit with Nana and Pops one weekend. It was great! We went to a football game, toured the university because the weather was so beautiful, and just enjoyed some family time. There's a few pictures of the weekend in a post below. On Thanksgiving, we went to see my side of the family. Kacy, Tomy & April even let me take some photos of them...you wouldn't believe how grown up they are. They are turning into little ladies. Check out some pics of their "Photo Session" in a post below.

On Dec. 2nd, The Rays declined their contract option on Lance, so he's looking for a job. He's had a great few years in the AL East, and we're confident God will place us wonderfully...the way He has so many times before. We have seen His hand work multiple times, so we are standing on that again. A new adventure awaits! LJ's super-excited...mostly about getting some new jerseys :) I'll keep you posted on where we end up, but it could take a while. A lot of other trades and signings have to happen first before they fill Lance's role on teams. We know we'll end up where God wants us and where we can do the most for Him! Jeremiah 29:11!

One last thing - we just got back from vacation! We went to Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos and had an amazing time! There are lots of pictures below, so check them out. It was just what we needed. So, now, we're awaiting Christmas, finishing the little things that need to be done before then, and working off the vacation weight so we can eat all that great holiday food and do it all over again!

We hope you are doing great and we think about each of you often, even if we don't get to talk or see you as much as we'd like!

Love,

Jamie

LJ'S FAVORITE SLIDE

TACKLE DUMMY HOW TO'S:

TURKS & CAICOS!

THUMBS UP!! This vacation is just what we needed!

There is only rough play with this one ;)

Most nights, there was a GREAT Sesame Street show with all the characters :) It was one of our favorite parts of the day.

LIttle family kiss ;)

LJ got to go and play with some of the characters, so mom and dad even got some alone time!

Don't forget the marshmallows and chocolate fondue. We are NEVER too full for that! We actually were born with an extra stomach JUST for that :)

Proof that you don't even need to speak the same language to make buddies. LJ & his Italian friend.

We loved the beach ...so blue and clear!

NOW THAT's a vacation!

Nana and Pops' visit!

A few weeks ago, Nana and Pops came to visit for the weekend. We had an awesome visit that was all about family time and Alabama football. I was in the midst of taking pictures for our church of the campus, so we just made it an Alabama weekend. It was WONDERFUL because we hadn't seen them in so long! There aren't many pictures, but don't worry - we will take lots over Christmas!

With their buddy at the foot of Denny chimes :)

LJ LOVES these statues :)

Bryant Denny

The only picture of our little family in a while. It's hard to get in the picture without a tripod ;)

Precious family Portraits

Here are my precious nieces and sister. There are so many more to share, but the Blogger uploader is horrible!!! I have to upload them almost one at a time, and it's taking forever. :) I wanted to share some of the sweetest ones, though - they are growing so much! LJ makes an appearance in one or two, but mostly, this was all about the GIRLS! :)

hop scotch!

Can you believe those yes?

and that sweet face?!

sisters!

Oh, the complexities of a 4-year old. He can go through all of these emotions in the minute before you head out for school :)

Oops! I forgot!!!

I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't post the Halloween Pics! Well, here they are. First, they started with some dinner to fill the little trick-or-treater's belly :)

White beans and rice with little "googly eye" oreo balls!

Our little IRONMAN out trick or treating. He has no idea who Ironman is - He just likes his costume :) He said repeatedly that he wanted to be Ironman and never wavered. I was shocked!

Gotta check and make sure all of the candy is "safe"...(AKA check and see what Mom and Dad really want :) GREAT Day! It's so fun because he is really enjoying it. We're not walking around having to convince him, "LJ, Isn't this fun!?!" He keeps telling us that it is, and we can see from his face that he is loving it!

Happy Birthday, LJ!

Our little boy is 4!!!! Above, Lance is praying with him, a long prayer about how thankful we are for him, that God would continue to bless him and our family...LJ, however, has one eye on his breakfast. Why?...

Because you get icing on your plate for your Birthday!!! Even his breakfast was happy to see him :) He dug right in to the icing before everything else :)

We didn't have it in us to plan a party this year. We just got back in town, had to unpack and wouldn't know one of LJ's classmate's parents' if they showed up at our door. Because of this, we just invited his friends - the ones we KNEW the parents well enough to call them, (without them saying, "Who is this again?"...) We were surrounded by friends we love and who love LJ. LJ is opening his football pads from Nana and Pops, wearing his jersey from Me-Maw...are you sensing a theme? These really are the things he asked for this year. In a little bag behind him is his mouthpiece. You can't make this up!

LJ is usually TERRIFIED of any mascot. He even took a wide berth around Chuck E on his way to the bathroom. When he saw Cole run up and hug him, though, he decided it was o.k. He said, "I'm 4 now. I can't be scared". Those two also convinced Chuck E to get in the photo booth with them for a picture...all by themselves. I'll post that later. I also got to do the Heinze's portraits while they were in town. Click HERE to see a few of those!

Happy 4th Birthday, LJ!!! We couldn't be more blessed to call you ours!

LJ enjoying a coke on Pe-Paw's bench. He would love this, and as much as I miss him, I will treasure these photos forever!

It looks like he's saving his spot here. So thankful.

The same pictures are individually shown below so you can see them better. LOVE!

He doesn't get coke often -look at those eyes! He's savoring every drop!

LJ had his fall festival last night at school. He dressed as an Alabama Football Player, (I told him I liked his costume, and he said, "It's not a costume, it's my uniform.") :) Below is a video of his class singing a song. The teacher said, " LOUD AND CLEAR" LJ certainly did that! His teacher came and told him he did such a good job after. We thought he was the best one... ;) Sorry the quality is so bad - it was taken with my regular camera. You will no doubt know which one he is, though!

waiting his turn for the "jumpy thing"....(moon bounce)

The most handsome man there :)

My personal favorite, "Snickers" the Donkey

I just wanted to upload a few quick pics from our Saturday at home. We didn't go anywhere, (aside from Publix, twice :)) but stayed at home, received our new washer/dryer combo, and played hard while unpacking, settling in a bit. Hope your day was wonderful, too!!!