The Books

Over Thanksgiving I did a lot of reading! A LOT. I am friends with some English teachers and on my way out of the building on Friday (possibly the worst day of my teaching career) they said, "Hey over the break lets go see the Twilight movie. Carrie you'll have to read the book first. You shouldn't have any trouble, its a quick read." Well I love movies. And I love to go see them with friends. And I love to read. My sister Emily had read the books at the beach so I knew she had the first one to lend me. I was a little wary. Vampire books??? Really? But I wanted to go to the movies. So after the birthday party I began reading Twilight. And then I read the other three. That's close to 2800 pages. And then I read the online partial draft of the fifth book. I don't have time to read!!! But I did and now there is the void. Its over. I've read all there is to read about Bella and Edward. When I read a lot all of the thoughts in my head narrate my every move. "and now the young tired mother took the top off the sippy cup and lovingly poured mixed fruit juice into her son's cup knowing full well he would throw it on the floor." Does that happen to you?? And then there is the desire to write my own book. Its always like that after one of my reading binges. I just don't have anything to write about! So instead you get a random post about the Twilight Seris and how I don't have anything else to read. Except essays, tests, projects and lesson plans on WWII. I really should go get on that!

The Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year Nana and Puddin went to Texas to visit Robin and Chris. We missed our traditional Friday Jones Thanksgiving. The Key's and this Jones family went to Delta to spend Thanksgiving at Granny's. We left Wednesday night after Adam got home from work. We stopped in McCalla to get gas and our battery died! Adam called Jason for help. Jason came and helped get us back on the road. We got to Granny's around 11. Noah was confused and frustrated and let us all know about it until he fell asleep. Thursday was a beautiful day! We played outside and Mimi took some amazing photos. Charlie loved being outside too. We caught up with Uncle Harold and Aunt Joyce. In the afternoon Michael and Freedom arrived. I loved getting to spend time with them playing games and dicussing things iun the world and how we would fix them. I won't even mention how much we ate! I am so grateful that Granny is back in her own home and we could celebrate Thanksgiving again in the place that embodies my childhood!

I am thankful for:
Hope- That God grants us hope in all situations whether it be a football game or an uncertain future, I could not live without hope

Love- the love of my husband so undeserved, the unconditional and patient love of my family and friends, the love found in the eyes of my son, the love I have for others, the love God uses me to give to others, the love Chirst saved me with

Happiness- found in simple things like baby kisses, green lights, peppermint mochas, good books, embraces , sunshine, clean sheets, new blog posts, Christmas decorations, a favorite song, gas for 1.73 a gallon

Kindness- that I don't deserve, from strangers, when I can find a way to share it, when I see it in Noah

Grace- that God doesn't doll it out in measurements deserved by our actions

Wisdom- that no matter how messed up the world's circumstances look or how confused I am about my personal circumstances, God is at work and He knows best

I hope that all of you had a great Thankgiving as well!

The Gratitude

This month we focused on the quality of gratitude. Of putting thankfulness into action. It was very fitting for Thanksgiving. Noah is a champ at showing you gratitude through his responses to you. His grateful smiles and laughs melt hearts. We talked about the things Noah is thankful for. Here is a little list:
1. Charlie
2. Spots
3. Mandarin Oranges
4. Stories
5. Cheese Cubes
6. People's faces
7. and his adoring family
8. Mirrors

As he gets older I know this list will expand to include the love and grace of Christ and many more serious things!

I have my own list of things that I am grateful for concerning Noah:
1. health
2. happiness and joy in his laughter and babbling
3. a daycare I feel safe and comfortable with
4. sweet spirit
5. growth and development
6. love and support from his extended family
7. curiosity
8. love of reading

I pray daily for the guidance to foster Noah to grow into a man who is grateful for not only the blessings in his life but for the trials as well, so he may learn what God is teaching him through both. I may not always be the best at modeling this for him but I hope through prayer and perseverance I can get better at it.

Next month we are going to focus on Joy. Easy enough for the Christmas season. I hope that Noah will be a joyful man who finds joy in the big and small things and moments in life. And that he takes his joy which is rooted in Christ and spreads it to others. If you have any ideas for the month of Joy please let me know!

The Party

Noah's birthday party was fantastic! He had so much fun and reveled in the attention. He loved playing with his friends! Adam and I loved that our friends and family came to celebrate with us the past year! One of my favorite parts was looking at all of our children playing together. How amazing to see them grow and then remember it doesn't seem so long ago that we were catching rides to the mall! Thank you so much to our parents for helping us pull off the party and making such sweet memories. Noah may not remember it but I'll never forget!




Eric and Hays. I think a little bit alike :)
Cake is good mom!
Laudan and Rebecca!
It's really hard to get this many kids on a couch and look at several cameras! They did pretty well. We were missing Cohen though. The kids had fun eating snacks off each others plates! It has hard to keep them a part. It was really cute though!

The Auburn Family

A few weeks ago we went with my family to Auburn's homecoming game. This was not Noah's first time to go to Auburn but it was his first time into a game. We had so much fun! This may have not been the best season in Auburn's history but we loved going to the games with Adam's parents and sharing Auburn with my family and Noah!

Rolling Toomer's Corners after victories is one of my favorite Auburn traditions! I remeber my junior year walking there in the deluge after beating #1 Floridia. I can't wait for Noah to be old enough to throw his own roll!

Tailgating with Jason and Michael!
Playing with Auntie Em's sunglasses.
Skipping naptime.




I grew up an Alabama fan. I remember having red and white pom poms and a little red and white purse. I was really a fan of my father. Watching football on Saturdays with him, watching the World Series, going to UAB basketball games, high school football games, Pittsburgh Penguin games, these memories of sharing an interest with him are precious to me. And I was a fan of whatever would grant me more time with my daddy. As I grew older I had two dreams I felt God had laid on my heart. To be a teacher and to be a wife and mother. I was confident that God would reveal to me my husband to me and write our love story with each other in whatever univesrsity I choose. In high school I struggled with really discerning God's voice. I begged Him to make his choice evident to me. I stepped on to Auburn's campus for the first time during a choir competition trip. There was something about the feeling I had that weekend that never left me. Cheesy I know, but true. And over the next year it became clearer that Auburn is where God wanted me to be. Auburn was wonderful to me. It strenthened my friendships, my love for my family, my love for God, my faith, my confidence. And it was where I met and fell in love for Adam. Even though the campus changes almost on a daily basis every inch of it contains some memory. Rolling down the hill at the library at midnight while cramming for exams, planning my route to class hoping to run into Adam, singing on the concourse, playing frisbee golf, hide and seek. Football season brings me back to Auburn and all the things I love it for. Auburn is more than a record or a coach. For me it is about faith, family, and love and hope. I know you are about to gag. But you know how there are some places that you walk into where you just feel at peace? Maybe its your own home or the house you grew up in. For me Auburn is one of those places. That is why I was thankful to marry into an Auburn family who goes to games and are passionate about Auburn. I am thankful I get to share Auburn with my little sister. And now I am thankful to share it with Noah. A couple of weeks ago we took Noah into his first game. We got into our seats just in time to see the band leak out onto the field. He loved the charges atmosphere and all the people. He really loved the little girl's hairbow in the row in front of us. I was overcome with happiness in standing in that stadium next to Adam and holding on to Noah. I hope you can share that same joy wherever you find it with your family!

The Birthday Festivities

Today we had a small family celebration for sweet Noah! He is having a birthday party with his friends next Saturday. After Adam and I got back from the Auburn Georgia game I made an ice cream cake to share with grandparents and Aunt Jenny and Michael. We had a yummy lunch and then cake. Noah tasted the top covered in icing. He wasn't much interested in the cake. He was really tired and needed a nap. He opened some presents (with help of course). And then we had to get back to Tuscaloosa so Adam could be back at work. It was a sweet start to birthday celebrations!

Building tall towers with Daddy!

Reading our new Elmo book!

Sharing icing with Michael.

Enjoying the bottle a little longer.

Big birthday hugs!

Cake for me?

This is how you unwrap presents.

You eat it mommy.

The Great Cupcake.

Party hat!

Beautiful Birthday Boy!

The First Year

Today Noah turned one! What a year it has been. The past few days I have been reflecting on the whole birth process and how scared I really was underneath. Not about the physical dangers I was facing with the kidney failure and blood pressure issues but about whether or not I was ready to be a mother. And if I could really do it. And then he was there, tiny, beautiful, perfect. Our whole family just fell in love. Noah is a wonderful baby. He has a sweet laid back temperament and boundless joy. He is a good sleeper and loves to laugh. We couldn't have asked for a better start to parenthood. Not only have we fallen in love with Noah over the past year but we have fallen deeper in love with God. We see His hand more and more as He guides and protects our little family. We learn to trust and lean on Him more than ever before. We have also fallen deeper in love with each other. God created Adam to be the perfect complement to me as a person, wife and mother.Noah has brought us closer together. We both have enjoyed this year so much and look for many more firsts to come!

The Translation Please

Noah has his own language he speaks. He gets way excited and flips around crazy and just starts babbling. If anyone can understand what he is saying, a translation would be helpful!

The New Car

We have a new car at our house! It's a 2008 Coupe. It's red. And blue. And yellow. It is very fuel economy minded. In fact it doesn't use gasoline at all. That's because it is completely plastic and doesn't have an engine. It may not get you any further than around the block and it has a 35 pound weight limit. But Noah sure thinks its fun!

The New President

On election day we had a philosophical debate over lunch about whether or not my grandfather could be mad at me in heaven. The general consensus was no but that he could be disappointed which in book is worse! My grandfather was a WWII Veteran and an amazing godly man who loved me and wanted the best for me. I think I love history and storytelling because of him. He was incredibly wise and once told me to pursue a degree in Library Sciences. At seventeen I thought he was crazy. At 27 I wish about every other day I had a Masters in Library Science. "Carrie these days librarians do more than shelve books. You'd be great at it." I though he was trying to discourage me from being a teacher because when I was four I locked him in my closet while we were playing school because he refused to do his work. If only I could do that now. I got a little sidetracked... The reason I was so concerned about whether my grandfather could be mad at me was because I didn't vote! I know, I know I am history teacher and everything. Due to procrastination on my part and a day that got too busy on Adam's part my voter registration under Jones and in Tuscaloosa was never filed. The idea of driving to the Homewood Library with a hungry and tired one year old did overpower my patriotic sense of civic duty. To be honest I wasn't sold on either candidate or the three other names on the ballot. I would have voted for McCain simply for his views on life. I believe life begins at fertilization and after giving birth I do not think that late term abortions are in any way acceptable. And Obama voted against a late term abortion ban. But now he is in office and all I can do about the issue of life is pray. My philosphy is that when the nation decides who our leader is I support him. Wholeheartedly. The President is under scrutiny, pressure , and unbelievable stress. He needs my support and prayer no matter who he is. I applaud Obama for his accomplishment and look forward to see what he does in office. He represents hope to so many voiceless people, I really hope he can deliver. I will always remember his victory speech. It was amazing. I hope the change he brings is positive. So far the stock market does not think it is!I hope that his election brings healing to the racial divides in our nation. And inspires children of all backgrounds to reach for their goals.
Anyway I just wanted to add my two cents on this election. This is a link to a great article for Christian parents and educators. I really liked the six things he said we should be doing! http://christianschooljournal.blogspot.com/2008/11/is-that-bad-man-election-2008.html

The New Project

Many of you know my mom. And even if you don't you know her photography. It is all over this blog! (I've included some of my favorite photos she has taken of Noah above. The beach pictures are hers as well. Well about 60% of the pictures on here are hers! ) My mom is an amazing woman of God. She has modeled His love for me my entire life. I owe so much to her example and wisdom. I have her to thank for my patience, tolerance, and love for other people. She taught me to love others not with my own love but with God's love. She has modeled forgiveness, mercy and grace. Her devotion to His Word and prayer have dug me out of holes, saved me, and brought me hope. Well she has started a new project. Many people love her photos and would love to hire her to take family shots for Christmas cards and such. She enjoys these family shoots. Lately she has developed a passion for Integrity Worldwide. It is an international aid organization that provides relief for those living in poverty. This is a great organization who focuses on Christ's instructions to love and serve others. While reading the parable about buried talents she came to the realization that she should use her talent to serve others. She has created In His Light Photography to use her talent and love for photography to raise support for Integrity Worldwide. She will take family photos and give the family a CD of the digital images in exchange for a donation made through her to Integrity Worldwide. I love the idea and her heart behind it! I encourage you to visit her blog, www.inhislightphotography.blogspot.com to read more about her story and learn more about Integrity Worldwide!!