Remembering Romeo and a Movie Review

My mother and I went to the movies last night to see Marley and Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston. I've been looking forward to it b/c I've read the book (b/c I read all books HA) and I like both the actors a lot, so I talked mother into going with me before Ben comes home. If you've ever had a dog living in your house or a baby that didn't sleep at night, you need to see this movie. I have actually had both.



Ben and I had a French Bulldog named Romeo (Romey) for the first three years of our marriage. We drove all the way to the Texas/Oklahoma line to get this dog, b/c if we were going to have one, this was the only one my husband wanted! We LOVED him and he was our first baby. He was not very well behaved but he loved us FULL FORCE! He was great with Jack too. Jack could pull on him and bite him or whatever and Romey would just lick him to death. He also had this way about him. We could never trust him alone in the house. Even in the utility room, he would destroy SOMETHING. We would think we had dog proofed the room and come home to find the door torn up. I would be soooo frustrated with him, but he would look at me with those sad eyes and you just knew he wanted you to be happy with him! That was always the way when he did something wrong. It was SO hard to discipline him and be mad at him.


We pampered that dog!! The vet knew us WELL!! Romey had to have special food, special medicine, special everything!! He cost us about the same thing as our child does and since we have medical insurance for our child, maybe a little more. Let me just say that the vet was talking to us about getting pet insurance for him! And since (as far as we or the vet knew) he was the only Frenchie in town, everyone knew Romey too! The UPS guy would say to the vet, "I saw the weirdest looking dog today. His ears stuck straight up." and the vet would say, "Oh, that's Romey!" Everyone who met him loved him. We actually had neighbors that would come to the house just to play with Romey. We would answer the door and they would say, "We're here to visit Romey." So, they would keep him outside with them for a while and then let him back in the house. He was just that kind of dog. Far from perfect and have I mentioned he behaved horribly?! But you just had to love him, he was too sweet and funny not to!



Romey had many unique characteristics and I won't bore you with all of them. I'll just say that he was my favorite dog EVER and always will be. Unfortunately, Ben and I made the decision to give him away b/c he got very depressed after Jack was born and started losing weight and just wasn't himself, so we contacted the French Bulldog Rescue Network and drove him to Auburn to a foster family until they could place him with a family that could better meet his needs. (Don't worry, the family was from Atlanta, they just met us in Auburn, we wouldn't leave him THERE! HA) It was a horrible week for me. I just never knew how attached you could become to an animal, but it happened with us.



Anyway, Romey is very similar to Marley in the movie. He was NEVER the easiest dog but I really believe he helped to prepare us for Jack (who continues to not be the easiest child HA)! That's okay, though, I think people and dogs are much more interesting when they don't act just the way we think they should. It could be that I think that to keep from going insane while I raise my son, but we change our thinking to survive sometimes, right?! I will say that as much as I loved Romey and enjoyed our time with him, there will never be another dog who lives in my house!! Too much work, but that's okay too b/c it justs makes Romey that much more special!



So, I recommend the movie to anyone, espcially dog lovers. WARNING: If you haven't read the book, expect a somewhat sad ending!! If you watch you can get a small glimpse into our life with Romey. I've posted the few pictures that I had available to me right now of our first baby. We have hundreds of them but these were the only ones I could get my hands on right now!


As a puppy, when we brought him home.

He LOVED Hannah Grace and all children really.

The ears went up when he was about six months old and they never came down again!

He's just distinguished looking I think!

Happy New Year from the Foremans!

A Little More Merry Christmas

We had a few more get togethers over the holiday that I wanted to share with everyone! Our closest friends are Jason and Carrie Fore. Carrie, as most of you know, is my first cousin. It worked out wonderfully that she and I married friends. Jason and Ben went to school together and now we are all able to hang out all the time and somehow manage not to kill each other. HA Anyway, we had Christmas with the Fores and Uncle Charles (aka Uncle Tractor) and Aunt Judy - these are Carrie's parents - on Sunday, the 22nd. The four of them got Jack a John Deere Tractor with a trailer. For those of you who know my son, you understand that this was a HUGE deal!!

Jack on his new tractor (I know, the clothes are awful, but it was nap time, ya know?)

Jack and Uncle Tractor - For clarification b/c people have asked, the nickname arrived b/c Uncle Charles has a tractor that normally stays at my parent's house. We went from saying that it was Uncle's tractor to calling him Uncle Tractor, which of course is adorable. Not we say the tractor is Uncle Tractor's tractor! HA

Jack and Aunt Judy

I didn't get a picture of Jack with Uncle Jay Jay and Aunt Dee Dee so I just put these two up. I took them and I like them!!

That night, we got to spend some time with our close friends Timmy and Tara and their BEAUTIFUL baby girl, Piper (aka Jack's girlfriend)! We got to exchange gifts with them. The kids did not care ANYTHING about them as they were clothes (Tara and I go nuts at Pottery Barn and Crewcuts!!), but the moms really liked them a lot!! Can't wait until we're in our house and can have you guys over more. We love you Bulger Family!!

Jack and Piper (Aren't they going to make such pretty babies one day - both of them with those blue eyes and everything!!)

Another great treat over the holidays was getting to see one of my favorite familys - the Chandlers!! Sunny and Kevin used to be such a huge part of my every day life (Sunny and I lived together in Mobile) and I take MUCH credit in furthering their relationship! HA However, they had the audacity to move all the way to Florence, AL and I never get to see them anymore, but I digress! We didn't get to see Katy and Aubry as they could not be pulled away from Nana and Papa Jim, but we did get to see Lydia! She, like all the Chandler children, acted PERFECTLY while they visited. My child, however, became possessed by some horribly awful child and did not act anywhere in the vicinity of perfect or even GOOD!! So sorry Chandler family!! I promise he's not always THAT BAD! HA Anyway, we love you guys and anytime you would like to move closer to us so that we can actually see you sometimes, that would be marvelous!! So glad you could come by!! Kevin, we're waiting on our CD (for those of you who don't know, Kevin is a very talented musician and his band, Hello August will be releasing their first CD in January so look for it!!)

Aren't they the cutest family?!

Lydia and Jack

AND A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA....

I just couldn't NOT post this though I should be embarassed by it!! Unfortunately for my son, I'm not --

Can you BELIEVE I let my child wear this?!

This is what I really wanted to share. He's reading a book to his friends!! Too cute for mommy not to share!

Birthday Shout Out

Just a quick Happy Birthday to my husband who turned 28 yesterday (the 23rd). He was supposed to go back to work on his birthday, but unfortunately had a few medical problems that kept him home for one more day. I won't elaborate, but we are really glad that he's a "little" better and very sad that he has to drive back to work on Christmas Eve. However, he got a really good present for his birthday. I started a tradition when we married and I give him a Daniel Moore Alabama print for his birthday every year (we are about to run out of wall space LOL). This year, he got "The Blackout."




Isn't that a thing of beauty?! My son looks at it and says "JUUUUULIO!!" By the way, I heard that D. Moore was going to make a print from the Auburn game this year, but he couldn't decide which of the MANY MANY Alabama touchdowns to use!! LOL (Sorry to all my Auburn fan friends, but I couldn't resist and this is for my husband and my husband will like that!!)

Anyway, Happy, Happy Birthday to Ben. My wonderful husband and Jack's amazing father!! We are so thankful to have you in our lives and we are forever grateful for all the sacrifices you make for our family! (Those hot good looks don't hurt a bit either!) We love you!

Christmas Day... the 20th?

Today was Christmas Day for our family... Ben leaves the 23rd (his birthday - yeah I know) to go back offshore. This will be the third year in a row that he has not been home for Christmas and for me that is the hardest thing about living the offshore life. He was supposed to be home this year, but right after Christmas last year, he got a promotion (Yea!) and then found out that he would be on the exact opposite crew and would miss Christmas again (Boo Hoo!) Anyway, we are thankful for his job and we have found that we can celebrate Jesus' birthday any day, so today was our day. We had Christmas, Christmas, and more Christmas. This will be a long post b/c there is much to document, but here we go!

First, Santa Claus made a visit to our house last night (because Santa only comes when BOTH parents are home of course). So, Jack gets up and finds his tricycle and robot which is what he has asked for for several months. Here is what Santa's treasure looked like!

When Jack woke up, he wasn't really interested in the fact that Santa had come. We first talked about Jesus' birthday which I was determined to do. But Jack is not at his best in the morning so he walks down the hall crying and whining but when he FINALLY acknowledged his Winnie the Pooh tricycle, it was all over then. He sat on that thing forever!

We finally got him to open the rest of his presents and then he discovered how much fun that was. He did NOT want to stop. Fortunately for him, there were many, many more coming his way!

Grandaddy and Granny San (my parents) came over at lunch to open presents. I need to clarify that when I say they "came over", they are coming to THEIR house. My parents are the most servant minded, giving people I have ever met. I know that I am biased but my husband feels the same way (as do many people that they minister to all the time!) My mother really believes that her ministry is being a servant to others and they both live this out all the time. A good example of this is the fact that while we have been building our house, my parents leave their home for two weeks each month (while Ben is home) and go stay at our family's trailer at Point A so that the three of us can have time alone! Ben, Jack and I started staying there but the moving back and forth was hard on the baby so they just traded with us. They leave their nice, comfortable home and stay in a little trailer way out of their way for half of each month. So, point made, right?

Anyway, they "came over" and gave Jack a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and several other things. (Ben and I got several too).

Here is the money shot from their visit.

Granny San, Jack, Eeyore (a present from them), and Grandaddy

THEN, we went to Nana's (Ben's grandmother) house for some yummy lasanga. Nana is BY FAR the best cook in our family so anytime we eat at her house (which is a lot), it's a good day. Papa and CeCe (Ben's stepdad and mom) were there and Uncle John (Ben's uncle). I must say that this is the side of the family that goes NUTS in Toys R' Us. CeCe always goes way overboard with the toys and Papa, Nana, and Uncle John aren't far behind her.

We are so blessed to have so many amazing grandparents for our baby. Jack feels just as comfortable at Papa and CeCe's, Grandaddy and San's, and Nana's as he does at our house. I love the fact that we have so many people that we can trust to care for our child as much and as WELL as we do.

Here is the family shot from the Kimbro Christmas.

Nana, Ben, Jack, CeCe, Papa, Uncle John

This is Jack's crane that was a present from Papa and CeCe.

Uncle John and Jack reading a new book. Jack LOVES books - more than any TV show or DVD we have found. He is constantly saying "read book" and Uncle John was happy to comply.

I think Papa liked the crane as much as Jack did!

Here is Jack on his tricycle from CeCe and Papa. If anyone is counting, this is the second tricycle of the day (can you say "spoiled rotten"?) but this one will stay at CeCe's house, so I GUESS that makes sense. LOL

And now the basketball goal. Uncle John and Daddy liked this one about as much as Jack did. Can you see now that CeCe goes CRAZY in Toys R Us? I don't know if there were any toys left!!

And finally, here is our family Christmas shot.

We had an amazing day as you can probably tell. As sad as I am that my husband will not be here on the actual day, the good part of that (if there is a good part) is that we are done with the gift giving part of the holiday (well except for Aunt Dee Dee, Uncle Jay, Uncle Tractor, and Aunt Judy, but that will be another post). And as much as we try to get away from that, it is ingrained in our culture and it's just FUN!! But, we're done with that and I am hoping to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day reflecting on the incredible and unbelievable gift that God sent to us so many years ago! It still blows me away at his goodness and his desire to create any type of relationship with me at all, especially when I act in ways that are horrible in His sight. I hope to be able to spend some time alone with Him in thankfulness and surrender in order to draw closer to Him.

I feel that my family is starting a new phase of our life with the new year. We will soon move into a new home and Jack is really beginning to understand things and converse in more adult ways. I greatly desire that this new year start with me in right relationship with my Savior. I hope that this following week finds me in humbleness before Him allowing Him to work in my life in ways that I have only begun to imagine!!

So, from my family to yours, I wish you a Merry Christmas and hope this holiday finds you in a place where God can speak and touch your life in such a way that you will never be the same (and mine too!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And We're Off....

Ben, Jack, and I are very blessed to have lots of family. This means, of course, that we have lots of people to help us celebrate the birth of Jesus! The first of many family fun times was tonight with Papa Ben and Gramme Sandra (Ben's dad and stepmom). The three of us traveled to their house in Opp and had a great time with them. We have started a tradition with them of having crab legs each year at Christmas. This is GREAT with me b/c it's my absolute favorite food! It was loads of fun and we are so thankful that Jack has these amazing people in his life to love him!! Ben and Sandra are wonderfully adventurous and "outside the box" people (something I greatly admire about them). You just never know where they might be. This trip we saw pictures from Colorado and Rome (not to mention the AL v. LSU game - for anyone who may have forgotten, this was one of Alabama's many wins this year). It's always an experience to spend time with them. I think we can learn a lot from people who dare to be different and really LIVE life!! We feel extremely blessed that they are such an important part of our family. Here are a few pictures from our first family Christmas this year!

Jack, Papa Ben, and Gramme

Jack's new Batman pajamas... another present from Papa Ben and Gramme! He actually looks like he's posing for me, but he was really doing something he wasn't supposed to be and he knew letting me take a picture would probably get him out of trouble... smart kid!

Playing with his new John Deer tractor, trailer, and front end loader. He also got a rocking horse that makes noise and everything, but I don't have a picture of it yet!

We thought the crab meat, corn, and potatos might be too spicy for Jack, but we were so wrong. He ate his fair share. We finally made him stop eating the hot corn and Gramme made his some more b/c he would eat it and grab his tounge and scream and then go back for more. That is him being his father's child!!

Here are Papa Ben and Gramme's babies....

Max the Good Old Boy

And Abby the Sweet but Sneaky One!

One More Thing....Picture with Santa!
Like Lynn, I took a picture of a picture to be able to put Jack's picture with Santa on here. I actually do have a scanner but didn't feel like dealing with it tonight... I'm so glad he's not scared of Santa so we can get a cute picture. This one is so funny to me b/c Jack NEVER smiles so sweet like this, but for Santa, anything....

No More Curls.... Well, Not Really

Well, we finally cut Jack's hair!! I wasn't going to do it for a whileyet, but we were really getting to look a little (or a lot) scruffy, so I thought a trim was finally in order. My great friend, Tara, cut it for us (sorry Tara that we didn't get you in a picture). This was good b/c Jack got to look at pictures of his "girlfriend" Piper to distract him from the fact that someone was cuting his hair. Truthfully, Jack likes his long hair almost as much as his mother does! I MAY have influenced this feeling just a little!! We only trimmed it an inch or so hoping that this will help it to grow THICKER!! Anyway, for those of you who told me it was too long, this isn't what you were looking for (it's still pretty long) but it's a start!!

With the help of pictures of Piper and some chicken McNuggets, Jack did pretty good!

Although, he wasn't always happy...

Just a "little" off the back please!

The finished product!! Man, that's one cute kid~LOL Thanks Tara!!

Wow! What A Day!

Well, it was a very FULL day!! We were go, go, go all day. It started this morning at "Brunch with Santa." Aunt Dee Dee, Joseph, and Jonathan went with us and we saw Tara and Piper there. I thought Jack might be scared of Santa this year, but he would have sat with him all day I think! He told him he wanted a robot and a tricycle (which is good since that's what he's getting). Here are a few pics...

Jack and Piper in front of the Go Bama tree!

Aunt Dee Dee and Jack

Mommy, Jack, Mickey and Pluto on their motorcycle (which was a big hit with Jack!)

Joseph, Jonathan, Jack, and Piper

THEN, we went to Cade's birthday party and guess who was there?! MICKEY MOUSE! Again, I thought Jack would be a little scared, but he was the first child to see him and he RAN to him and gave him a hug, so nope, not scared! Here are a few pics of Jack and Mickey Mouse!

And FINALLY, a heartbreaking game against the Florida Gators this afternoon. We didn't have quite enough today, but what a great year for such a young Alabama team!! Bama did more than they were supposed to this year and it's been great! Here are our gameday pics from this game.


Like I said, what a great year!! Feels like Alabama football again! So, a big ROLL TIDE to all my Bama friends out there. To all my other friends, I'll just wish you an early Merry Christmas. Hope everyone had a great first weekend in December. We did!!

Story Time

Well, Hannah Grace and her brother, Joel are some of our closest friends. Jack absolutely LOVES for them both to come and stay with us which they get to do sometimes. On this particular night, it was just Hannah Grace and I thought this was too cute!! Here are a couple of pictures of her reading a book to Jack!! She's like the big sister for him and we are so thankful that she and Joel love him and are willing to let him play with them when they come over.