Ski Alabama?

Well, the next day we got up and headed out to the slopes again. This time it was a winter wonderland...of man made snow that is! Look at all the fun we had! I'll post some video later.Here the girls and Jay are with their gear getting ready to hit the slope! It was so cold...I think it was only about 19 degrees that morning!

This was just after Ski School. They learned how to fall, get up, and to snowplow. Then they headed down to see us and show off their stuff!

Since I was unable to help, Jay was on his own with both girls. It was amazing to see how well they did and how great Jay was at teaching them. He would take them to the bunny slope and they would ski down and then take off their skis and walk up to the top again. This hill was the perfect size and they really loved it...though they fell a lot at first.

Sassy, Pal, and Julian enjoyed watching everyone ski...but it was so cold they had to go back to the little lodge and get warmed by the wonderful fire there.

Here Anli goes! She did great and really got the hang of it after a while. I learned with poles, but obviously that is quite a hazzard here on this little slope.

Virginia was the speed girl! I couldn't get a shot of her fast enough. She was turning and she would go all the way until the snow ran out! I was really excited to see her so confident.

After a while the girls need a break for hot chocolate and snacks. They warmed up with me in the little lodge while Leslie and Jay hit the slope. They did really well! This was just Leslies' 2nd time to ski so she did great! Jay was always easy to spot in his yellow jacket!

Look at Dad go! He picked right back up...even though it's been a while since either one of us had been skiing.

Go Virginia!

Go Anli!

This was our spot to watch the skiing. Just so you get the right picture of what true Alabama skiing is like! We are some of the few who can say that we have skiied Alabama!

Hiking Fun!

On Saturday, we woke up and headed over to the ski slope about a mile from the cabin. Yes, there is one ski resort in Alabama if you can even imagine it! We headed over there to check on the progress of making snow. They weren't making any then, but the temps plunged into the teens that night and we were able to ski on Sunday.

Here is a glimpse at the only Alabama ski slope! The next day is was really a transformation when they began making the snow.

It may have not been cold enough to make snow...but it was cold to us! Virginia decided to improvise!

The three cousins stop rock climbing just long enough for a photo...aren't they adorable!

Since we couldn't ski that day, we spent the afternoon hiking and rock climbing. It was a little slower with my broken toe, but it was so much fun! Here the girls put their climbing classes to good use. They were amazing climbing those rocks.

Virginia makes her way to the very top!

Anli takes on a very challenging rock...even Leslie couldn't get up this one! And as you can see she's crazy because she took off her shoes to get a better grip...talk about cold feet!

We saw this cool tree and had to stop for a picture! Can you tell it's cold...I have on like 4 coats! Jay even has on ear muffs. It was very chilly!

Sassy and Pal enjoy a photo with the grandkids.

Here's Leslie and Julian at the top of one of the rocks...he loved climbing too!

As you can see...I had to be the designated spectator, cheerleader, videographer, and photographer on this trip! But, it made things a lot easier when you get these kinds of hugs! What a sweetie!

We went home that evening and just relaxed by a raging fire and celebrated the birthday girls. We had wonderful homemade pizzas and cupcakes...and presents of course!

What a perfect end to a perfect day!

Christmas in Mentone!

The day after Virginia's birthday, Jay took off work and we headed to a cabin we had rented in Mentone, Alabama. It was on the "brow" side of Lookout Mountain, which means it was literally hanging off the side of the mountain where you could see for miles! It was gorgeous!

We had invited my family since we hadn't celebrated Christmas with them. My grandmother has been in and out of the hospital, so we hadn't had a weekend where we could do presents and just relax together. Also, both of my sisters' birthdays are in January along with Virginia's. Holly, my youngest sister couldn't come since she is in college but the rest of us had a BLAST!

We spent Friday just relaxing at the cabin and opening Christmas presents. It was so relaxed we thought we might wait until after Christmas to do this every year. It was so much better than the rush of the holidays!

The girls got wonderful personalized luggage from my parents! They loved having their names embroidered on them...and my mom likes that she can tell their clothes a part now!

My mom is a pajama fanatic...so am I! My friends laugh because even when we go away for a retreat or a girls' weekend I get my jammies on at like 8pm and jump in the bed. So, Christmas is never complete without wonderful new pajamas!

The girls gave Julian a pirate set and that was the hit of the weekend! They played pirate's treasure all day every day. It was so cute to see them all three playing so well together. I don't think we had a cross word from any of them once all weekend. Isn't he cute?

We gave my mom a platter we made at All Fired Up. It was so sweet because we used the girls' hands to make the farm animals my parents have on their 11 acres. Mom loved it and we had fun making it too!

We had a great Christmas celebration together that first night...but more fun is to come...stay tuned!

Virginia's Birthday!

Virginia's birthday was 11 days ago and we had such a wonderful time celebrating her 7th birthday. Every other year the girls get a big party with friends, but this year was Virginia's home party year. We have just as much fun, but we try to go or do something just as a family to celebrate.

This year we spent her actual birthday at the mall. She loves to go and eat Chick-fil-a and ride the carousel. So, we headed over there after Jay got off work and we had a blast!

Here she is enjoying the carousel...and the furberry that Anli gave her. They had so much fun!

Now it's time for the presents! Anli gave her a little stuffed animal she wanted called a Furberry. She was very excited. And we have her...

...a big gift card from GameStop. This was her biggest wish because just like her daddy she loves video games. She got a DS for Christmas so she was able to get some games for it today!

For her cake she wanted a cookie cake with icing...wow did they pile on the icing! And, no there are not candles on the cake...but we pretended there were anyway!

We had a great time and went home to pack for the cabin. We also rented a cabin for my whole family to celebrate Virginia and Leslie's' birthday together! I'll post on the cabin tomorrow. I can't believe that my baby is 7 years old. What a joy she has been and we're excited that this year will hold her baptism! We are so blessed that she has accepted Jesus Christ! That a year this will be!

I'm working on my post...

I worked yesterday on a long post...but blogger freaked out and it was gone! I just didn't have the energy to do it all over again. But, I will be posting this afternoon about it...so check back soon!

Snow, Birthdays, and Broken Toes...

Due to a broken toe and a wonderful trip to a cabin in the mountains, I haven't been able to blog this past weekend. I'll post this week on all the fun we had over the past week!

Happy Birthday Virginia Grace! Thursday January 17th my baby was 7 years old! I can't believe how big she is getting. I'll post more photos of her birthday tomorrow...they are still on my camera!

Last Wednesday was an eventful day in our house! At about 10:30am I got up from the computer and was running into the other room (who knows why!) and hit my toe on the table leg in our sunroom. I knew it wasn't a good thing. I felt my toe through my sock and it was so broken I didn't even want to take off my sock to look. But, I had to see how bad it was...and it was bad! I have never broken a single bone in my body...so this was all a little new to me.

It was painful...but no tears! So, I called Jay and he came home to help me get to the doctor. I knew there wasn't much to be done for a broken toe...but it just looked so yucky! They said for me to come in immediately since I could "see" that it was broken. We had xrays and they said I had to visit the orthopedist today. All is well and I have a beautiful new shoe to wear for a few weeks while the break heals. It broke all the way through the bone and it is bent in the wrong direction. They have to check me in 4 weeks and evaluate how it is healing and if they will have to correct it with surgery...if it is still angled the wrong way.

But, the wonderful part of that day was the amazing SNOW that we had! I mean it was gorgeous. And Jay carried me down 3 flights of stairs to go enjoy the night with the girls. We had a great time making snowmen, snow angles, snow fights, and catching snoflakes on our tongues. It was amazing...a wonderful present for Virginia's birthday!

This was when it first began snowing...the girls were eating snowflakes. Little did we know that the snow would just keep on coming!

This is our snowman...Frosty. They made him a wife, but it was too dark to get her.

The girls enjoy the beautiful snow!

No snow is complete without snowangels! It was a blast!

Anli took this picture of my sweetie and me! Perhaps I have an aspiring assistant!

I will be posting the rest of the week about our time in the mountains with my family. It was such a wonderful time and we are so grateful that God allows us these precious moments together!

Yes, we are those organic kind of people...

So many people have asked me about eating organic that I thought I would post about it! About 3-4 years ago, Anli was enrolled in public school. She was having some attention issues and so we began looking into some options that would help her. At the time we were not ready to place her on medication, so we looked into natural things we could do to help her nutritionally.

We were very blessed to have a Harry's Whole Foods store near us and I began to shop there for our food. It was in order to get products without refined sugars, red food dyes, etc. We were hooked! We loved the quality and the taste too.

Well, on many things Jay was excited and on board...but there were others that took a little coaxing. He was really scared of Organic Milk, Organic Mayonnaise, and Cuties (Ice cream sandwiches made with Tofu!). But, I must say that everyone in our family is now so used to the healthier eating that they don't even notice the difference.

Then we moved...away from my precious Harry's! But, I want to let everyone know that Kroger has the most amazing amount of organic food that I have seen ever in a local grocery store. I am able to almost ALL of my shopping there without having to sacrifice the quality!

Do we eat out? YES! We LOVE to eat out...but when we are home we eat almost strictly organic. It's just a small way to ensure that what goes into their little bodies is free from hormones, pesticides, refined sugars, dyes, and sludge (yummy huh?). It does cost a bit more at first...but then you just kind of maintain and only buy what you run out of. It took a while to find products that I love so I thought I would share my MOST favorite things:

Diet Steaze: Organic Green tea and black cherry soft drink sweetened with Stevia instead of any artificial sweeteners (Stevia is from a plant 300x sweeter than sugar and all natural with no calories...another favorite thing!)

Applegate Chicken Nuggets: My kids go crazy over these...and it's hard to find chicken nuggets from organic meat

Stonyfield yogurt: Organic yogurt that is found everywhere! Walmart even carries it.

Horizon products: This is a line of organic dairy products. They have the milk that we drink, chocolate and strawberry milks, cream cheese, shredded cheeses, mozzarella string cheese, sour cream, and sliced cheeses. Kroger carries all of these...at least mine does. They are awesome and kid tested!

Celestial Seasoning Zingers: On the go teas for your water bottles...sweetened with Stevia with no calories.

Annie's Products: Excellent line of snack foods my kids love! They have lots of goodies that are all natural and wonderful tasting.

Kashi: We love them! We eat their cereals, pizzas, protein bars, snack crackers, etc. Not all their products are organic...but they are all from very natural ingredients. A very good company.

Animal Parade Vitamins: I find these at my local nutrition store. They are from whole food concentrates which is very important. I use the multivitamin and the "greenz" which is a combination of tons of greens (like kelp!). This boost immunity, but also gets the greens I can't get into them!


Amy's products: This is an organic line of pizzas we love and they carry lots of other things like burritos, quick meals, etc.

Bolthouse Farms: OK, this is one that is not organic...but it is a great quality product that does contain organic ingredients. They have a wonderful drink called "Green Goodness" that my friend Michael introduced me to. It's green(you gotta get over that) and it contains TONS of veggies that you need each day...but tastes so wonderfully sweet from the fruit that is also in it. There is not any sugar added so everything is natural. But, I LOVE the Hazelnut latte and Cappuccino protein drinks...watch out Starbucks I might have a new love!

Holy Cow cleaning products: These are organic cleaning products that are great and get the job done without lots of artificial stuff around your house!

I could go on and on (and most of you would say I have already!) about the products that I love. Because, you see, you can eat organic and not give up the things that you love. It's just something that I do and so many people have asked me about what products I love and why we eat organically that I just wanted to share it with you!