This is why you NEVER leave your child unattended!

Note to self:
Do not allow my child to take a nap in my room without putting away all of the contents of my luggage first. Lipstick and babies do not mix!




I could not believe my eyes when I went in to check on Brooker who was supposed to be napping and found this! He still seemed half-asleep while performing this little act. The sheets did not come clean but the comforter and shams did...thank goodness! These pictures do not do justice to the mess but it's all okay now and gives me a good laugh!

Stay tuned for pictures from our vacation!

Going on Vacation!

Jared and I are leaving tomorrow morning to go to the Dominican Republic for 5 days! I earned this trip through my job, Southern Living at Home. All expense paid! Needless to say, we are really looking forward to our vacation as it comes at a much needed time. Brooker man doesn't get to join us...but I know he will be in good hands while we're away. We will also be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary on Saturday while we are there. We've already got our annual traditional massage scheduled! Will post pictures when we return....

Nicole & Brian's Couple's Shower

Well, I didn't manage to get any pictures of Nicole opening gifts or other shower festivities, but I did get a great group photo of the girls, and a few other nice ones! Kristin & Ronnie opened up their beautiful home to everyone and all the hostesses put on a very nice shower in honor of Ashlyn Payte's upcoming arrival. I can't wait to meet the little doll. Nicole is such an adorable prego girl!



The expecting mommy & I


Amy & I


Jared & Eric

Gideon's 1st Birthday

Today we were invited to Gideon's 1st birthday party. His mommy, Kristin & I have been friends for a very long time and I was so glad they invited us to be a part of the celebration. Brooker enjoyed himself greatly. He especially LOVED the kiddie car raft that he could float around in. He would make pretend car noises and even say "beep beep" for the horn. He made friends with several of the other kids there.

Brooker floating around the pool in the car!


The birthday boy...Gideon!


Brooker, Hayden, & Gideon


Hayden being very sweet to Brooker to be sure he wouldn't fall backwards off his seat.


Carly, Gideon, Hayden, & Brooker

Sip & See for Baxlee

In honor of Bo & Leslie's new little girl, Baxlee Josephine, Laci & I hosted a "Sip and See" shower so that everyone could meet her! It was wonderful. Baxlee was the perfect little honoree. The company was great and the food was scrumptious. I just love entertaining and today was no different!

The Hostesses (Laci & Bonny) and Leslie


Leslie with her two sweet girls.


Group Shot! There are two pregnant mommies in the group...Samantha & Nicole


Samantha & Nicole...Both pregnant and beautiful!



Leslie opening the baby "Emily Ray" pearl bracelet from Mammy.


Kristin holding Baxlee and Leslie holding Tripp...Adorable!


Mammy & Baxlee


Laci & Baxlee

Dress or T-Shirt?

Today Brooker spent the day with his "Papa" in Wauchula. He was only supposed to go for a visit but when daddy tried to bring him home he told Jared "bye bye" as if to mean, "you go daddy, I'm staying with my Papa." They had quite a day eating chicken nuggets, playing on Papa's desk, running around the barn...but the highlight of the day was when Papa made him a mud pile all his own! I think his Aunt Jamie had something to do with that too! I have no doubt he was quite a mess from head to toe. On the drive back to Sebring, Papa called and told us that Brooker had a great time and that he got a "little" dirty (I'm sure that was an understatement), but his Aunt Jamie had given him a bath and he was all clean. When they got to our house we went outside to greet our little man and when he got out of the carseat and onto the ground, this is what we saw! I guess there were no extra clothes in his diaper bag and Aunt Jamie had to let him borrow one of her t-shirts. So funny!

Dinner & The Pier with Friends

Tonight Mammy & Pappy watched Brooker so that Jared and I could go on a double date with Amy & Eric. The plan was to eat an early dinner and make it to a 7:15 movie. Well, we started out at Charlie's (on the circle). It was a good meal but it took a very long time. Needless to say, we missed our movie. When we left Eric wanted to go to the site where the Heartland Triathalon will be held. While there we decided to venture down to the pier. We had somewhat of a photo shoot which was a little difficult to accomplish when trying to get all 4 of us in the picture (see the 2nd picture below). We did manage to find someone down there to take our picture (see the 1st picture below). It was a beautiful sunset. We feel so lucky to have Amy & Eric as our friends. They are always there no matter what! Thanks you guys. We love you!

Fun with Papa

This morning "Papa" (Jared's dad) picked up Brooker to take him to work with him. Jerry has been laying sod at our new house this week. By the way, the grass is beautiful! Brooker was very excited to go to work with Papa. I didn't realize they would be together ALL day. However, it was a very nice break for me and I got caught up on many things I needed to do. Around 3 p.m. I was sitting at my desk and heard a loud noise coming down the street. I looked out the window and saw Jerry and Brooker riding the front-end loader through the neighborhood. It was quite a sight. When I went outside to take the picture, Brooker didn't even look at me. He didn't want me to "notice" him because he didn't want me to take him away from all the fun. They were only visiting because they kept on going...They had to get back to the job site!

Play Date

This morning, Leslie and her two girls, Emily and her two girls, and Brooker & I went to the pool for a little play date at the kiddie pool. Once again, Brooker was surrounded by girls! He loves it though. We had a nice time getting together.

Brooker & Edy running around in their swim diapers!


Look at his wild hair! (Don't look at the fact that he's eating a bottle of sunscreen.)


All the babies lined up for a pictures. Lucy Grace (2 years old today), Rylie Jean (18 months), Brooker Lee (almost 15 months), Edy Mae (almost 11 months), and Baxlee Josephine (1 month).


Rylie has two obsessions...Dora and "Chomp" the Florida Gators Emblem. She can spot "Chomp" anywhere! She found our "Chomp" flag and decided he needed a kiss.


The whole crew (minus Baxlee) on the golf cart. We were determined to make it work! I bet we were a sight going down the road.

New Breakfast Favorite

There was a point a few weeks ago that I thought Brooker might actually turn into a blueberry! He was eating blueberries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He would turn down everything offered to him but blueberries. His "Pappy" (my dad) got him a couple gallon sized ziploc bags full of fresh blueberries. Brooker seemed to prefer those over the storebought kind. However, when we could no longer get those fresh blueberries and when I was tired of changing blueberry diapers (sorry, but what goes in must come out) I decided we'd have to change up the diet a little. It was breakfast foods that we were struggling with the most. So, I was at the store the other day and came across the yogurt smoothie drinks. I bought some strawberry/kiwi flavored drinks. Well, Brooker LOVES them. I put one of his little straws in and he drinks it up. He really doesn't stop drinking until you hear the yogurt running out in the bottom and it makes that slurping sound. Then when he's finished he puts his hands together and says, "Mo" (more). I think it's too cute. I got a picture of him drinking his yogurt smoothie this morning. Yum Yum!

I just realized that the story above was a really long way of saying that Brooker's new favorite breakfast item is his danimals yogurt smoothies!

Puddles of Fun!

A very heavy rain came on the afternoon of Janie's funeral. Most of our company was gone and only a few family members were left at the house. Jared and our friend Eric took Brooker outside to see the cows. Brooker discovered that the ground was very wet! I'm sure he was thinking, "Perfect time to play in the puddles!" At least that's what I would've been thinking! He had the best time splashing and stomping in the water (his Aunt Jamie taught him the stomp!). The other cousins joined in and fun was had by all. I know Janie was grinning from ear to ear at the sight of those kids having such a fun time in her beautiful yard!








My very best friend in the whole wide world...Don't know what I would ever do with out this girl. Love you Amy!


My wonderful parents!


I love this picture of our family!

Mary Jane Revell - 8/1/55 - 6/28/08

Jared's mom, Janie Revell went home to be with Jesus on Saturday, June 28. She was 52 years old and a woman who truly lived life to the fullest. In March of 2007 she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She had gone misdiagnosed since September of 2006. Dealing with Janie's illness has been very, very hard on the entire family. It's so tough to see a beautiful woman, so young, go through such an awful time. After putting up a great fight, Janie finally let go. The whole family was there with Janie as she took her last breath...a moment I know each of us will never forget. An immediate moment of peace came over each of us when she passed because we knew she was finally "well" again. Janie will be missed by many, many people. We often say how happy we are that she was able to know her first grandchild, even if only for a short time. Here is a picture that was taken of Janie and Brooker when he was only a few days old. We LOVE this picture....we'll treasure that moment forever.