The newest member is officially here....

"GUNNER" made his appearance Christmas morning! I hope to have the video of it soon. It was too cute. The Christmas surprise did come with some drama. I mean, how could it not in the Gilbert house, right?

So here's the story...

On Christmas Eve Eve (Tuesday), Matt was to go to West Monroe to get the dog right after work. So on Monday night, I asked him to go get the dog crate out of the storage building. He went to the Greenhouse (where all of the Santa stuff is locked up with a padlock....I know my son, he's too much like his momma.) first and couldn't find it. He came in to ask me and I told him it was in the storage building. Tuesday during the day Mason's little friends from next door , two precious little girls, came over to play. I saw them playing in the storage building so I asked them to not play in there...never went outside just saw them from the back porch.

Matt had a little time to spare Tuesday evening before he had to go get the dog so he came home. I told him that I wanted to go out and get the leash and collar so that he could take it to Bruce and Cindy's (our wonderful neighbors who were keeping the dog until Christmas morning). Mason had gone to the neighbor's house for a couple of minutes and it was perfect timing so that he didn't see it. I ran out to the greenhouse...it was pouring down rain by the way....and when I got out there the door was not only unlocked, it was standing WIDE OPEN!! I FROZE! My first thought was that someone had broken in. Then I saw the stuff and one of the boxes (Marleigh's trike) that was in a trashbag had been opened. Then I was MAD...I KNEW what had happend and WHO had done it! I was thinking "how can we afford to go buy all new Santa stuff?" I took off running back to the house...did I mention it was raining....oh and did I also mention that I was wearing Crocs? Rain, Mud, crocs and BEING LIVID.....not a great combination. I rounded the fence post at a dead run and WHOOP...my feet (yes both of them) went right out from under me. I fell on my left shoulder and I guess my left knee. I walked into the house squalling....Matt looked at me like I had two heads and then saw my left side covered in mud. He ran over to me and asked if I was hurt and I said "That's NOT what I'm crying about! Did you leave the Greenhouse unlocked?" You know that look that kids get when they've been caught with a cigarette, or a porn magazine? I mean the top of the line "HOLY ....." and the adam's apple bobs up and down with the swallowing of those "Holy....." words? Yeah, you get the picture. He didn't admit it then.....I don't blame him...it was TOTAL self defense and he was smart. It's funny now and I can laugh about it b/c I found out from the girls next door's mom that they only saw the tricycle. We'd decided already that we were going to save it for her birthday in April anyway. Oh and since I can laugh about it now...imagine Matt's thoughts knowing that I was running b/c of what happened and this is what my knee looked like...

It's kinda hard to tell but this is my left knee and the scrape and knot are on the outside of the knee. The knot was literally the size of a small orange! It's gone down a lot and I can also raise my left arm over my head now.... :-)

So you can see....we had the typical Christmas drama but all is well. The puppy is a huge hit! Marleigh got a motorized four wheeler (small) and loves terrorizing the puppy. I think she considers it payback...the puppy likes to chase her and bite her hiney! He's taken lessons from the Coppertone dog I guess!

We had a wonderful time with our families. We are so fortunate to have such great families and treasure them beyond words. From our family to yours....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Nine Years Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is mine and Matt's 9th anniversary! I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday!

I remember when the doors opened at the church and I started down the aisle toward Matt, the look on his face was what I'd always hoped for. Ever girl should feel so loved at that moment. Fortunately for me, I see that look often.

I've told many people that I thought I was marrying a really great guy. I mean I KNOW I have great taste! (hee hee) But the Matt I married is not a drop in the bucket to the Matt that I'm married to now. I know this is becoming a broken record but I don't feel like I can say it enough. I have a wonderful husband. He could not be a better daddy to our children. The Lord has blessed me beyond belief. My soulmate, my love and my best friend....Happy Anniversary!

Update of the Fox...

The fox is now named Rocky and is getting a nice new cage at the zoo. He's a bit fiesty having only bonded to one handler! We had a great time seeing him! He has changed so much!

ChRiStMaS is in the AiR!

It's beginning to look....er...um....Feel a lot like Christmas! I've voiced opinions to any who would listen about Black Friday! I'm not a fan. I won't bore you with my rant but let's just say I'm protective of my Christmas Spirit and don't want to see the worst in humanity on the first day I allow myself to get excited about Christmas! That being said...my Christmas spirit is firmly in place! Some might say that it is clouding my judgement and I'm pulling Matt down with me...namely Matt!

We are giving Mason a dog for Christmas! Isn't he adorable? He's a golden retriever and we aren't getting him until Christmas morning! He'll be from us not Santa....Santa gets to have all the fun and we are stealing some thunder this year! I showed Mason the pics and told a *Christmas Lie* (yep makes me feel better to call it that)...that it was a friend of mine's dog. He said "That's exactly what I want!" Whew! Matt asked him what he would name it? (I mean...we don't want to burden this dog with a bad name so some "tweaking" might be necessary) To our surprise he busted out with Frazier or Gunner! Not bad! We could take either of those....we left it alone! Watch...he'll reconsider in his own mind between now and then and we'll be stuck with a "Sponge Bob" or "SpiderMan"....the minds of 6 and a half year olds are precarious!

Last night was our local Christmas Parade and it was COLD! We had a great time with some good friends and the pizza place we all 5 or 6 families went afterwards will never be the same! Thanks to our wonderful photographer extraordinaire...Sarah....seeing as how I left my camera at home!

My how quickly things can change...

Thursday was a big day....Marleigh's class had their Thanksgiving feast. Can't you just see all of those little bitties all sitting at the table giving thanks eating their turkey and dressing? I wish I had been able to be there. We made sure we dressed for the occassion! It's so funny, she KNOWS when she is all slicked up and acts accordingly....

dare we say more like a little girly girl?

Thursday was also Mason's Thanksgiving feast at school. Since his school is the lab school for the University. They had their "Feast" at the cafeteria on campus. Have I said how much I LOVE that he is on campus? The kids were so cute! I just love seeing him with his little friends. He loves his teacher Mrs. Roberson. Karen (Roberson) and I were friends in college and she also knew Matt in High School. She often tells me that she sees "a lot of Mason's Daddy in Mason"...go figure! Does she know Matt or what? She gets a kick out of him. This is Mason and Mrs. Roberson.

So at noon on Thursday, I'm thinking "Wow, what a great day this is!" I was also looking forward to Friday. Since the local High School made the playoffs (we take our football serious in the South) Mason's school had the day off. So Mason and I were planning to go see the baby fox (that's not so much a baby anymore) he found back in the Spring in our back yard. The Zoo had adopted him as part of their educational division and they told us that we could come see him anytime. Mason couldn't wait to go see him! This is a pic of him the day Mason found him.

And then I got the phone call! Ms. Misty, Marleigh's "teacher" called and said that she had fever. By the time I got her to the doctor's office, it was 104. We gave her a tepid bath and did blood tests, flu tests, RSV test and a chest xray. We found out that she has Pnuemonia. We got a shot that afternoon and the following morning. Today, Saturday, she is doing much better. We are continuing antibiotics and breathing treatments but we feel that we really dodged a bullet. She's a tough little girl! Her big brother has been doing a great job entertaining her...after all...he has his own private audience!
Needless to say, the Zoo trip has been postponed...we hope to go next week! We'll post pics of "our" baby fox!

Life Is A Precious Gift...

Never before have I been so aware of being thankful for every day gifted to us by God. Cancer, that awful, painful, senseless monster has been waging war against families that i know.

A young mother of two precious little girls (8 and 3) lost her battle just weeks ago. I see her daughters, who carry her smile, almost like a badge of honor, and my heart breaks. The woman's mother, with the same smile, has become "mother" again. Her grief, it seems is hidden away for private times away from the girls. She appears to be the pillar of strength. I only hope that pillar has a brace of her own.

Yet another pillar, a classmate from High School, lost the love of her life. He too, is a classmate from High School. They only just began their lives together a short time ago. Her three children share her loss. This pillar lost her brace.

Both of these families are in my daily prayers and will remain in my prayers for many, many nights to come.

Below is a picture of my co-workers and I sporting the shirt sold to raise money for medical expenses for the young mother.

Halloween Fun!

We had a great halloween filled with lots of sugar highs, sugar lows (aka meltdowns), and moderate costume malfunction. Our costume malfunctions were all "G" rated, I am glad to report!

Marleigh was our little lady bug and she thought she was something! She twirled and pranced around for all to see!

Mason was a black Ninja. Ugh...I'm so sad we've outgrown cute! This is a pic of he and his buddies Cooper (Spidey) and Davis (Batty)!

The Walsworths came over to watch the LSU/Alabama football game on Saturday. We had a repeat performance of the 3 super heros doing some down and dirty wrestling. (Substitute one "Batty" for a Blue Power Ranger)

The girls, Rubye Ann and Marleigh didn't see what all the fuss was about but they sure were loud! A good time was had by all! The following is one of the family photos we took last weekend for our Christmas Cards. My friend, Addie took over 500 pics! I can't wait to see them! I'll be posting more when we get them!

October is almost over? Are you sure?

I know this is said all to often but ....boy, time flies! It feels as though I was taking Mason to his first day of school just last week! With the falling leaves (okay so few are falling so far)...comes hunting season. Matt took Mason out on our land this weekend for the opening weekend of deer season. This is the first hunting season in our new house in the country and Matt is a proud poppa! Below is a pic of the Great Hunters...notice Marleigh in the foreground getting into the mix. She was less than pleased that she wasn't invited on the adventure....so we stayed home and made cookies....teaching her early that chocolate chip cookies solve anything that ails you!

Little sister is a "ham!" She is like Mason in that "cheese" (and not the food) is one of her first words! She is saying so much. She is starting to repeat everything but her favorite one thus far is "NO!" She says it with some attitude too, I can assure you! We video-ed (? is that a word?) the kids this weekend and hopefully I will edit a clip and put it on here soon. They were dancing to some good 80's music! I hope to have some Halloween costume pics up soon as well. Happy Halloween!

Don't hate me because......I DON'T UPDATE MY BLOG!

This was a recent IM discussion with one of my closest friends, Sarah! Sarah, aka Chihuahau by her close friends can be a little FIESTY! We were discussing on IM that I wanted to carve pumpkins with Mason this weekend and she said "Take pictures!" I said, "I know, I know and put them on my blog!" The rest of the converstation went something like this...
Chihuahua: "Don't hate me because blah, blah, blah....I hate you because you won't update your blog!"
Me: "That is my new blog post!"
Taco Bell Dog: "Great Adventures my !!"
Me: "They are so great that I don't have time to BLOG about them!!!"
Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell: "You are not going to put this on your BLOG!"
Me: OH yes, I am...you just wait!!
So, here it is....the next installment of Stacy Gilbert...blogging extraordinaire! But, just remember the disclaimer on the first entry.....I knew I would not keep this up on a daily basis. I'm working at a monthly basis so at least I am leaving myself open for improvement!
Okay, and now since I'm on a roll....and have another blogging moment!
Today Mason had a 50's day at school. Blue jean, white t-shirt...slicked hair. It was cute. I'm posting a small video....So there Chihuahua.....I'm posting video!!!!!! Who's the BLOGGING QUEEN now? Stay tuned for the pumpkin carving pics to come soon!

Don't hate me because I'm....

Married to the greatest man ever! I am finally on the road to recovery. I have had a stomach virus for the last three days. Not fun. But, it is times like these that I know just how blessed I am to have the husband that I do. Don't get me wrong. I am reminded daily and am appreciative hourly of my better half. But during these times it's just such a blessing to have a partner take up slack. I have literally been in the bed since 9:30 Tuesday morning. Matt has been, his typical wonderful, very involved dad-self, but he's also been "mommy." The homework duty, the nighttime bath duty, the preparation for the next day...all of it.
In my last post I lamented over being a working mom. I know that if it weren't for my husband, I couldn't be the working mom that I am. My children are my life, and their daddy is the love of my life.

Mommy Guilt...

Okay, so this morning, after working this weekend at a football game and an alumni event, I am experiencing some serious "Mommy Guilt." I get to work and I realize that I didn't look into beautiful blue eyes enough, nor did I smell that sweet baby smell enough, nor did I listen to that silly little boy tell his ramblings of importance in the world of a six year old...enough. Nope, not near enough. Yes, I did a good job for my school, my University. I washed and put away (mostly) six loads of clothes, did the grocery shopping, straightened the house, raked a neglected flower bed, planted roses in desperate need of a home and cleaned up from cutting trees. Yep, it was a busy weekend. The same things that all moms do everyweekend...working or not. . Yep, for most of it the kids were right there. But as I sit at my desk on a Monday morning and stare at pictures of those precious babies, I realize that I didn't enjoy my children near enough. I keep hearing from my friends that have children older than mine that I should enjoy these days. That they slip away all too quickly. In my head and heart I know this is true but LIFE just seems to get in the way.
I often wonder if it all stems from that decision to be a working mom? My mom worked from home but she was for all practical purposes a stay-at-home mom. She could schedule around any ball game, school activity, sleepover that I had...and usually did. Is this what I am experiencing. The guilt of not being able to do the same for my children? Are the weekends just not enough time to enjoy being a mom. Do their needs not get met. I often feel like I don't know how to be a working mom. That I expect to be able to do for my children the way I was "done for." Is it realistic. Probably not. Is it something I will ever stop striving to be? Absolutely not.

Am I crazy?

Okay. So I am attempting to join the world of blogging. I can't even seem to commit to a family scrapbook but I think that I will be able to keep a blog going...well, we'll see won't we?

I just enjoy reading other's blogs so much that I thought,
"I should do this." I also thought "You can't make some of this stuff up that goes on in this house so LET'S share the comedic experiences!" (I AM A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT!) So this is the first blog entry...yes, it is also a sleepless night, induced by a migraine treated with Excedrine which has caffeine...and yep, you guessed it...keeps me awake! So, I'm not publishing this until the morning to make sure that I am not hallucinating! Let's start off with a pic of our family...