2 Years Ago......

On December 18, 2006 I married the greatest man I have ever encountered. Jason and I have known each other since we were 14 years old. After graduation, we only saw each other two times in 9 years. I was at my parent's house in July for Timberly's soccer party and I heard someone call my name. As I stood there with no make-up, my hair in a bun and a t-shirt covering my bathingsuit, I saw him looking over the privacy fence with that million dollar smile. We picked up right where we had left off several years before. Jason and I were always great friends but we had both changed in many ways. These ways brought us closer than ever.

He was stationed on a boat that patrolled the Caribbean. We planned to meet up when he came home before attending school in VA in November. On September 1, 2006 we had our first "date." Neither of us planned on what that night would lead to, but it lead to the greatest feeling I had ever felt in my soul. I had dated before and never thought twice about friendly dates but this one was different. I could not shake the boy that I once knew and the man he had become. He completely captured my heart and soul. I was puzzled by the feelings I had sooooo quickly.
Eventhough I had ben married twice for the wrong reasons, this feeling was different. It felt "real."
I returned to TN and finally he called. I was consumed with nerves and happiness. I took off work the following Friday and I drove to MS to see Jason for one night before he set sail into the ocean for his final tour on the Decisive. After a few weeks I found myself missing him more and more. My best friend Misti and I picked Jason up from the airport in Birmingham when he returned from the deep blue sea a few weeks later. I knew it was true love from that moment on.......

We spent as much time together over the next 2 weeks as possible. Jason left for VA to attend MST school. I felt like half of my heart was gone. Of course, I had my babies and family but he filled a part of me that had been empty for so long. We talked for hours at a time while he was gone and one night decided to make it official. We were going to get married. I was excited and nervous at the same time. What would his parents think? I knew my parents would not surprised because I had left no stone uncovered throughout the course of my 27 years. What if I did not know how to be a wife? I had failed twice before, but I quickly let those thoughts go.

Jason graduated on December 15, 2006 and officially became a MST in the United States Coast Guard. I attended the ceremony in VA and then we headed home to Bama. I quit my job and grasped the fact that I would be moving 10 hours away from my family. This was hard, but I wanted to be with the man I was truly in love with. On December 17 we had a "meet and greet" with our parents over dinner so they could atleast meet before we became husband and wife. On December 18, 2006 I became Mrs. Jason Screws. This was also my dad's birthday so there were 2 celebrations in one day.

It was then that I felt complete.

We left the next day traveling to Houston to find a home. We found what we thought was perfect for us. Within 3 days we found a home in Houston, traveled back to AL for Christmas and to move our things to TX. After 3 weeks of living here, I was forced to move back to TN due to circumstances beyond my control with Lakelyn's biological father. It was devestating for all of us. My baby was confused and Jason and I were at a loss for words. We knew this would be hard.

Over the course of the next ten, yes, ten months we were apart from one another. 750 miles or 10 hours. Either way we looked at it it was too far. We had many fights, concerns and misunderstandings! We saw each other only 4 times during these months. It was so hard being away from one another and trying to have a marriage over the phone was almost impossible. Jason had to move out of our house and move into an apartment. We almost gave up several times but when the end looked like the best solution for our heartache, we reminded each other that our love for one another was too strong and we refused to let this obsticle ruin the future we had planned.

FINALLY, in October 2007, I was granted permission through the court system to move back home and I was awarded FULL and COMPLETE custody of Lakelyn. We would only have to take her to attend a supervised visit one week of the month until she began school in the fall. Jason is truly a great man. He stepped right back into taking care of our family and being a positive male role model for Lakelyn which she had never had before. He traveled with concern and support for me and Lake. He missed her as much as I did while she was gone.Times were truly tough because we had to get re-aquainted in so many ways while dealing with these issues. Although we had been married for almost one year, we were like strangers in so many ways.

After a few long months of traveling for Lake's supervised visitations with her father, they were eliminated due to bad choices on his part. In many ways this has been and was the best thing for Lake. Jason quickly became Lakelyn's DADDY. Jason had been there for her and she loved him very much. They made the choice together to be daddy and daughter. Their bond is very special. As I watched them become closer I knew that I had married the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

Jason and I found a new home and we moved our things in March 2008. Once again we had created a home together and things were looking up. Not only did Lakelyn have a happy home to thrive in, but we were expecting a son in September. Throughout my entire pregnancy Jason was very attentive to my needs. I am a hand full most of the time and his patience was tested on a regular basis. He managed to survive the hormones and become a father again on August 31 :) He has always loved my girls like his own and this has not changed with the arrival of Bear.

Our first anniversary was not a big deal because we were trying to get reacquainted. Birthdays and other holidays have always been hard because we were away from each other could not celebrate. This year was different. Jason had planned something special for us.

It had been over a year since we had really had Mommy / Daddy time. It was long overdue. Jason arranged a sitter and the reservations to the restaurant. I had no idea what was in store for me, but I knew I was thrilled for it to be happening! After I changed clothes about 6 times we finally left the house. We arrived at the Aquarium for dinner. YAY! One of my favorite places!

As we sat at our table the waiter was teaching us about the different fish and a diver came down into the tank. I looked at him and he was holding a sign that said "Happy Anniversary Jamie..." I teared up and then I was presented with the most beautiful necklace. I cried tears of joy because after all we had been through we had made it another year and I knew there would be many more. We feasted on shrimp cocktail, brushetta, crab dip and calamari. We sat and talked which is something we have not been able to do without a baby crying or a little girl yelling "mommy" or "daddy" I truly felt like I had fell in love all over again. that night. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. I am so smitten.

I look forward to raising our children together and continuing to become closer as we grow older. Jason is the only man for me. He provides for our family and he has the most loving and understanding heart I have ever known. I am so lucky to have him in my life and to be his wife.

I look forward to many more Anniversaries and memories with my loving husband!

He Speaks

I had to add this video, too. We swear Bear can say "Hey".... :)

We think he's a genius.......But then again we are a little bias :)

Neglect

I have been neglecting our blog so I wanted to atleast post a few new pics of the kids.

I am never in any pictures because I am always the photographer.

Guess that is the way it goes....

Snow in Texas

This may never happen again while we live here so I had to run in and let everyone know.....


IT'S SNOWING IN TEXAS!





Too bad Lake and Bear are sleeping but Jason and I ran out to enjoy a few snowflakes on our tongue!




Happy Holidays!

This Is My Family......

I have come to realize that every family has a bit of dysfunction. Whether it be seen by all or seen by few.....it's there.

This Thanksgiving we went to the Neches River Bottoms with my mom and Step-dad whom I adore.....He has to be the most patient man on Earth. He tolerates my mom and me at the same time and that is quite a chore. Not to take anything away from my charming and patient husband, but Terry gets most of the credit on these trips to the river......Jason pretty much sticks close to Terry and learns by watching :)

Lunch was to begin at noon but at 1:45 the dressing was still not there. While waiting for Terry's mom, we got a little worried so a few took off to look for her. Grandpa came in his own car so he was a little upset too. Not because she was not there, but because he wanted to eat. So we settled him by making him a plate. While the search party was out "searching", Jason had a flat tire on his truck.....Bless Him......

Little Mrs. Lamon finally made it but the dressing was not cooked when it arrived. I looked at my mom and she had that look in her eye. After a few drinks of Crown and Seven, I think she got over it........

After we finally ate, Jason and I slipped off upstairs with Bear and drifted into a Turkey Coma. When we woke, everyone was gone. We watched some of the ballgame and then went right back to bed. Overall we had a great trip. It is always fun to see everyone and to have stories to remember afterward.

We will be in Bama for 10 days during Christmas. Another holiday. Another Story.........

Most Talkative

When Lakelyn started school, I knew there would be days that she got in trouble. It is her first year of big school and there are rules that have to be followed. Well, I almost had a heart attack when she got her first "squishy" face on the 3rd day of school. I thought that maybe it would take her a bit to get warmed up. But then I remembered that I was dealing with my daughter who looks nothing like me but acts JUST like me. Too Much Talking......

So after the first "squishy" face, I had a little talk with her and tried to make her understand that she had to follow the rules that were given to her. As I am doing this, Jason is trying to keep a straight face because I was voted Most Talkative in Middle and High School. However, I did not think that a 5 year old should have that much to say.

So we carried on for about one and a half weeks and low and behold another one of those squished up faces for talking. Dang It! What to do?!?! So this time the punishment was no computer games ( Webkinz, Disney or Dress Up Dolls are her favorites) for the night. She was completely OK with this because in her room there is cable, toys, books, etc. so she really could have cared less.

Next, Hurricane Ike ended school for about 2 weeks so Lakelyn felt like she had completed Kindergarten and was off to the First Grade. Trying to explain that she had to go back to Kindergarten was tough but she finally understood........

I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt when the next face came in for talking about 2 days after school reopened. School had been out so really it was like starting over. Two days after this face arrived in her folder, I was waiting in the dreadful car rider line and I saw Lakelyn crying on the sidewalk. I knew immediately that she had done something.......Oh Yeah, TALKING!

I decided to get a little tougher this time. She had been warned, talked to and given the benefit of the doubt too many times. After the tears were dried up, I made Lakelyn go without computer, Jason had a "Come To Jesus Meeting" with her and she had to go to time out for about 10 minutes.......This was obviously not harsh enough. So yes, she gets more faces for too much talking.

After several more squishy faces, early bedtimes, no computer and finally a spanking I thought we had the problem under control. We had several weeks with nothing but green smileys. Lakelyn was rewarded and praised constantly for her good behavior. We had a meeting with her teacher at the end of the first nine weeks and she said she was doing great. her report card was just wonderful! All sights set on green..........Until today.

I leave the office and get to the baby sitter's house. When I see Lakelyn she looks at me and wants to "tell me a secret." Squishy Face, Too Much Talking. When Jason got home he asked how her day went and the tears started pouring. The punishment tonight was no T.V. , No Pretty ( her favorite baby doll ) in bed tonight, no computer and early bedtime. You would have thought we were killing her........ The tears lasted for about 15 minutes then she realized we were not going to budge so just accepted her punishment and all is quiet in our house now.

I guess my point to this entire blurb of talking madness is that now I really see that Lakelyn truly does have a lot of me in her........Looks like she inherited the talkative gene :)

Soccer and Football

Soccer season is almost over. Two more games and we will have successfully completed our first organized sport with Lake. This past Saturday for the first time EVER, we were at the field first. I was so excited that we had arrived not only on

time but first!

I had to take a picture to remember this remarkable accomplishment for our family.........

I even got my chair on the center field line! YAY!

Lake played a great game. She seems to be the star of the team. Some of the kids are younger than her and quite frankly they stay in outer space most of the game........ But our Lake truly is a great team player with the other kids that actually know there is a game going on! Not one goal made it past her this week!

After the soccer game, it was time to head home for the big event.It is a good thing we have never been very quiet around the kids while they were sleeping because this weekend was one of the loudest at our home. Bama and LSU played. No other explaination needed.

Our neighbors are big LSU fans so we invited them over for a day of food and football. The game was VERY exciting and close! If you know my husband, you know how dedicated he is to Alabama Football. Geez, we even named our son Bear.....

A few times I had to take Bear because I was afraid he was going to be deaf. Jason wanted his "Good Luck Charm" close but I also want him to be able to hear in the future...... I'm sure that Bear will be yelling with Daddy in the next few years.

Jason was near heart failure by the time the game went into OT.

LUCKILY, Bama pulled through and we accomplished another victory. Eventhough Angie and Kike are LSU fans, I think they were rooting for Bama a little just to calm Jason down!

Everyone still had on their victory smiles last night. Hopefully we will be all smiles next week!

White Hair

Ok, so we all know that the political race has been pretty exhausting. So many variables to weigh out and decide who was best fit to run our nation. It is finally over and the next 4 years are in the hands of our new President. History was written. Done.

Sooooo........Lakelyn came home from school on election day with a paper that had a picture of McCain and Obama. She said they had an election in her class.

Jason pulls her into his lap and asks "Well, who did you vote for baby?" Lakelyn points to McCain.

Jason then asks "Well, why did you vote for him Sweetheart?" The greatest most innocent response followed.......

"Because he has white hair Daddy"

Pure Innocence.

A Hot Dog, Cowgirl and Candy Corn Witch

I love Halloween! We decorate with spiderwebs, pumpkins, and gravestones. I have always loved handing out candy and getting to see how all of the kids dress up.

This year we had a Hot Dog.......

A Cowgirl.........

And a Candy Corn Witch.........

Bear did not participate in the trip through the neighborhood. He really was not cooperating, so he stayed at home with Jason. He did not want his costume on so we did not get any pictures of him and Lake together. Oh Well! Maybe next year...........

After Lake and I went Trick-Or-Treating, we all sat out in the yard and handed out candy. Then we headed to our neighbor's house where we cooked and just enjoyed hanging out. Bear stayed in his Snugli Baby Sling and slept the whole time! Thank the Lord for that thing :)

We visited for a LONG time so we were pretty tired the next morning.

Now we are on the final countdown to Christmas..........It will be here before we know it!

TAG

OK. So I was tagged by my friend "Busy Momma" and told I needed to post the 6th pic in the 6th file on my computer. Here it is.......

A pic of little Bear on his birthday. All wrapped up like a burrito looking kinda squishy. So now I am supposed to tag others to do this.

I only have 2 other blogs listed so.... Rosenmonkeys and Crazy, Hectic it is up to you now.........

And to update on our day, Lake had an allergic reaction last night to somehting and woke up this morning with the hives. She looked terrible but felt great besides the itching. After Jason saved the day and met me at the doctor for moral support we had her prescriptions filled and ate at CiCi's Pizza. She LOVES that place and it is perfect for a family on a budget! :)

XOXO

Babysitters, Bus Rides, and Work

This past week was a busy one! I started back to work in the office a few days a week. Lake started riding the bus to the sitter's house and Bear also stayed with her. Lakelyn LOVES the bus. Honestly, I was not ready to let her ride the bus.

She is still a baby......Well, a five year old baby.


Anyway, Jason convinced me that it would be good for her so off to the bus she went. I must admit, not having to sit in the car rider line is pretty nice. Bear stayed while I went to the office. It was hard to leave him but once I was gone I realized that it would be good for both of us. Work was good. It was nice to get out of my PJs and wear scrubs again.



Lakelyn has been doing GREAT at soccer. She loves being outside playing witht he other kids. She scored three goals Saturday at her game. Jason did a fabulous job coaching too!

I finally got in gear and even made it to church this week. I have really missed being there on Sundays. Sometimes the time slips up on us and we skip but I am going to make an effort not to let that happen too much!

This week is busy again. Soccer, work, Red Ribbon Week at Lake's school, the book fair, and of course Halloween. We are looking forward to Friday!

Hopefully Bama will continue to win this weekend too.


It makes things very peaceful in our home..... :)

My Angel

Yesterday was the day that my Timber got baptized. I can not express how full my heart and soul has been since she began this journey. My mama made sure I got to see the entire thing through pics and video. This also included many joyful tears as I watched........



She looked absolutely beautiful when she arrived at church.


This is a decision that Timberly has made on her own. I believe she is one of the Lord's Elite :)



Not only did I get to see all of the beautiful pictures but my "Saved" blog was also read aloud during the service. I was so glad that I was included on this glorious day. I had no idea it would be read, and neither did my mama. It had been shared with the preacher and he decided to include it. How exciting!


Timberly was so ready for this day. My mom said before she entered the water she exclaimed with that little sparkle in her eye, "I'm an Angel!" And that she is........




Timberly has touched all of us in so many ways throughout the years. She has taught me so many things about myself and about life. Especially over the past 4 1/2 years. I thank God everyday that she has my mom and dad to guide her through life and they are doing a great job! I had many questions for her after the big event. I wanted to know what it felt like to be in the water. I asked if she was nervous before hand and of course she said, "No Mommy." She is so brave and true. Lakelyn was very interested in exactly what she had done at church. She asked me many questions and I did not know some of the answers. I am sure when we get to Alabama in December Timberly can let her sister know all about her baptism.

Way To Go T-Bear!