♥ Celebrating Colt ♥

There's about a 4 week span that begins February 2nd and runs through March 4th that marks a marathon month of birthdays for our family.  Joy's kicks it off on Groundhog's Day (February 2nd), then comes my dad's on February 15th, then Luke's on February 25th, and just one week later comes Colt's (March 4th).  Whew!  And before that, we have my mom's and my niece's in January (the 8th and the 21st).  We're done for a few months now.

So, we celebrated Colt's birthday this past Monday evening.  He chose a Japanese restaurant, Osaka, for his birthday dinner.  My mother was a little worried when we walked in and saw we were going to be seated on the floor......worried she wouldn't be able to get up afterwards.  But there was a hole in the floor for our legs, so it wasn't entirely Japanese style.  :)

Colt doesn't necessarily care for birthday cake, so his request was for buttermilk pie, so I made two of those and took them along for the celebration.  Celebrating was our family, my mom and dad, Amber, and Colt's friend and roommate, Josh.

He turned 24!  I can't believe that my Colt is 24!  I know we all say that, but truly it has flown by!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Colt and I just happened to be the one to capture it.  :)  So, Monday night I asked him to recreate that pose for me.  It so captures Colt's personality.  Of course, he had to slick the hair over for a side do and strike a pose.

He wasn't so thrilled about being sung to by not only us, but the entire serving crew there, also to the beat of a huge drum!  I won't be saying who told them it was his birthday.  But hey, he got a great dessert because he endured it!  :)

His big gift came from Amber (his girlfriend).......a new guitar.  Not that he is guitar poor mind you....he has an entire wall of them in his bedroom of his apartment. 

Along with money from Grandmama and Pop and his daddy and me, and a cool shirt from Joy......

......he also received some targets for shooting (from Luke).......along with a piece of gum wrapped in tissue paper by Luke himself (which Colt split and shared with him)............  :)

Oh, and Joy, Luke and I surprised him with freshly baked brownies at work too.  I think it was a good birthday.  :)   

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ Catch-Up ♥

Have you ever visited an Amish community? If you haven’t and you get the chance, you should go! We were able to visit an Amish community in Tennessee when we went to my brother’s house for an extended weekend vacation last week. It was a very cool crisp day for the buggy ride through the Amish community. The driver was very informative and stopped at several of the Amish homes for us to visit their shops and purchase wares if we desired.

We watched them make sorghum molasses. We bought delicious peanut brittle that never made it out of the buggy. It was gone before we ever returned to our car! I saw the most adorable little Amish boy in his straw hat that I would have loved to scoop up and hug. I saw a little Amish girl cracking walnuts with her bare feet on her front porch, and eat them. And I had to buy this basket. I have a weakness for baskets in the first place, but this one was made by Amelia, a 12 year Amish girl.

On the bottom of the basket:  Can you see the handwriting -  Made by Amelia age 12

Monday night, we celebrated Jason’s 52nd birthday.

 

And we’re still enjoying the ice cream bar cake. It needs to be gone because it calls to me from the freezer.

 

You don’t get to see Colt (our oldest) very often. I was so glad to have him home for awhile last night, along with Amber. He told Amber he couldn’t believe I only took ONE picture of them. He knows me all too well. :)

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For Sandra’s 31 Days of Fall Challenge, here’s another photo by Joy. She’s keeping me stocked, isn’t she? Mums definitely say fall.

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And last of all, but definitely not least, I hope you’ll join me tomorrow on the sunporch for a chat with Lois of Walking on Sunshine. I’m pretty sure that Lois and I began blogging the same year. She’s a long time blogging friend and I know you’ll enjoy getting to know her a little more! Come join us!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day! :)

The Masked Musician

Going through photos on my computer this weekend, I came across these two pictures, both taken within the past two years.

They call Colt (our 23 year old son) guitar ninja at church because they say he’s awesome on guitar. (I agree with them....am I allowed to say that since I'm his mom)?  The guitar is the instrument he’s playing on the praise team right now.

However, he has also played the drums on the praise team as well…..he was masked again….this time…..as Spiderman. :)

He really does play without a mask (most of the time).

He has now been living on his own in his apartment for nine months and I sure do miss him around here.  I miss hearing him on his guitar late nights in his room.  And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I even miss those LOUD drums upstairs.  We've always encouraged his music though, no matter what how loud.  :)

Music is Colt’s passion and gift. I’m so glad (and thankful) that he uses his musical talent for the Lord!  :)

Have You Ever Been This Tired?

Have you ever been SO tired you just wanted to fall over right then and there?

Well I believe that all three of my kids are experts at it. They could go to sleep anywhere anytime. (And I have the pictures to prove it). Forget the noise or anything else that was going on, they just stop and sleep. Except Colt did have this thing about not letting me sleep at night, but that’s another story.

Most of these pictures today are of Luke, but it’s only because I had all these pictures on my computer and the photos of Colt and Joy are in albums (that require scanning and my scanner isn’t working right now). But suffice it to say that I have pics of them standing up sleeping as well.

I also have the cutest video of Colt eating a lollipop and falling asleep (when he was a little under two). In his sleep, he remembers he must have been eating something and his tongue is constantly searching for his lollipop. I should have entered it in America’s Funniest Videos, because it is hilarious……and precious to me!

Luke goes and goes until he can’t go anymore. Then he just stops to sleep.

He hasn’t taken a planned nap in a few months now. That’s mostly because I just don’t enforce it anymore. He really just seemed to be requiring naps less and less during the day. I remember when Joy hit four years old, she was done with naps too (although she was my best sleeper at night..going to bed the same time and getting up the same time).  She slept all night the first night home from the hospital and unless she was sick, she always had that routine.   Colt took naps until he was older I believe, but it was probably because I laid down with him and took one too!  :)

However, when evening gets here, Luke just goes to sleep anywhere he wants if he doesn’t make it to the bed first, and in any position, I might add.

Usually he gets somewhere near one of us, whether that’s on the chair or couch......

 Or in this case, under the dining room table.

However, Luke can’t resist a nap in the car. Driving puts him to sleep usually while he’s absorbed in all the 18-wheelers on the interstate. Actually the drive from our house to town is just long enough to put all our kids out for a nap. There were many days after church (especially when Colt was little) that we’d pull up at the house and he was napping, so we would recline our seats and finish up a little nap because if we turned off the car, his eyes popped open. We grabbed our sleep whenever we could with that boy!

Luke sleeps like a rock all night long. Now mind you, arms and legs are all over the place owning the bed, but he sleeps well and all night long!

So……are you sleepy yet? :)

Happy (23rd) Birthday, Colt!

Okay, I know I’ve said this for each of my kids’ birthdays, but this one really seems unreal to me.

Today, Colt is 23 years old. Those years have passed so quickly. It seems impossible that so many years have slipped by since he was the little smiley boy that came home to us! Boy could he turn the charm on (and off) when he wanted!

As a little guy, he was quite the character. Well actually he still is, just in a more grown up kind of way.

Of course, I had to have him dressed to the T, which he didn’t always embrace. And he was a little booger when I wanted to get pictures. And to this day, he still acts up in pictures. I remember every Easter especially, or for Christmas pictures, it would be an ordeal just to get a decent cooperative photo. We would eventually get a picture, and no one (but us) ever knew what went down in order to get that photo!

He hated to take medicine. Oh boy, did he despise taking medicine. I am not exaggerating when I say it always took at least Jason and me to get medicine down him. But many times, my mom or dad (whom live next door) would come over to help......one (or two) to hold him, one to hold his nose, and one to give the meds. And then he still might not keep it down.  (I think he loved watching me clean up spewed out medicine).  :)

He was the little boy in preschool that found multiple uses of his diploma at graduation. Did you know a diploma makes a perfect telescope and a weapon for konking your buddy over the head?

One of my very favorite pics of Colt!

When he was in an uncomfortable position, or one that made him nervous, he went into silly mode. This meant he never wanted to perform in front of a group at all, to his mother’s dismay.

Colt couldn’t be still, period. Homeschooling Colt took a lot of creativity. He hung off the couch upside down as I read to him, or he jumped around. Whatever I could teach him with a game and movement, I did. But he got it. He always got it. He was a boy that needed to move. But if he could move, both of our lives were easier. He still does a lot of multi-tasking to this day.

I tell you all of this to say that he was strong-willed, and sometimes resistant and didn’t want to be in the public eye performing anything. Jason and I discussed this many times. We knew God made Colt to be Colt and that God would use his qualities to his glory, if we taught him to use them for Him. You know God can really use a strong-willed person to do great things for Him!

Okay, so this pic shows how old my couch is.....don't you think it's time for a new one?

Now fast forward. Let me tell you a little bit about Colt today. Since he was about 8 years old, he has been singing, playing the drums, or playing the guitar in church. He serves the Lord with his talents. This is the same little boy that never wanted to be in front of people. That’s what God does!

He still acts silly in pictures, but this is also the same young man that asked me the other night if I would take some pictures of him and Amber. He’s asking me to take pictures!

He is responsible. As a matter of fact, until about a year or so before he moved out into his apartment, he was the one that did most of our family’s laundry. It was a job we gave him at the age of 13, I believe. He is definitely a worker, and a good one at that.

We are so very proud of the young man he has become. He does serve the Lord. He is a responsible young man. Everyone tells us he is mannerly. I’m always glad to hear it! 

He will still always be the Colt that can turn the charm on and off and is a cut-up. That’s the way God made him and that’s just the way he rolls. But I wouldn’t want him any different.

Colt, I just wanted you to know that dad and I are proud of you. We see you making the transition into manhood, not always the easiest way, but with honor. We are so happy that you have chosen to live striving to please the Lord. Our prayer is always that you continue to live your life for God. That’s the one thing we desire for you above all else.

We love you! Happy (23rd) birthday!
~ Mom & Dad ~

A Most Fashionable Dog

Koda might just be the best dressed puppy around, thanks to Amber’s touch.  :)

My Boys - Superheroes?

Give these guys a pair of 3D glasses and they become superheroes.

And Luke?

Evidently, adding a pair of mom’s old swimsuit bottoms completed his superhero ensemble.

Moral:  Colt + Luke = Mischief.

Meet Koda.......

Colt gave himself (and Amber) an early Christmas present, compliments of one of his customers from work.

Since he is living in town in an apartment now with his friend and coworker, Tony, Colt drove out here and he and Amber were waiting on us next door at Grandmama and Pop’s house Saturday night when we came home from grocery shopping. We didn’t even notice his little surprise for a few minutes because she is SO tiny that she was hiding under Colt’s baseball cap. It was a few minutes before I noticed the cap moving on his lap. At first I thought he had mama’s little dog, Stinker, under there. Colt and Amber were trying hard to hold back the grins and snickers. He removed the cap and introduced us to Koda. She is a chihuahua and is supposed to be 6 weeks old, but we are doubting she is really that old. She is the cutest little thing. She actually reminds me more of a little wolf in the face.

Boy has she been fussed over. Her feet haven’t touched the floor too much because somebody is always holding her!

Colt told us Sunday at church that she woke him up every hour. Guess he’s getting practice for little ones one day (and pay back for all those nights he kept me awake).  :)   She is eating fairly well, but he's been giving her water and a little milk with a dropper. She’s already doing well with potty training for him too. He did look a little tired on Sunday though. :)

Colt and Amber came out for dinner Sunday night and brought Koda along. Of course, she was passed around again. She is just darling. Despite Colt insiting that she would NOT wear a sweater (after suggestions from Amber, Grandmama, and me), Koda arrived in a (very fashionable) sweater, compliments of Amber. She created it from the sleeve of fuzzy footy baby pajamas! Guess Colt was out voted!

Koda is quite the puppy super model too, except when she was just too cozy and sleepy to cooperate.

Just watching her is enough to make you sleepy!

He’s calling himself daddy to Koda, so does this mean we have a grand-dog? :)

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I just couldn’t wait any longer…….my next post will be a Christmas giveaway! I'm finishing up some crafting tonight and getting it ready to go! I'm hoping for tomorrow evening, but for sure by Thursday! Be sure and stop by! :)