Bringing Color Into My Life

I've been asked to give an update on the house by a few friends so here goes. It seems like we've made lots of progress lately, but when I went to take pictures, there's still not a lot of "pretty" to capture. But we do have a few tangible things to show.

view from the back with our new patio and steps.

The fire pit is in the far corner of our patio. (One of my favorite things so far!)

I know that a garage is not very exciting to most people, but I LOVE how white and clean it looks and all that storage space!!

the bonus room (taken from the top of the stairs)

Now for some color!! Steven Salter has been painting all week (we would recommend him to anyone - he's done a GREAT job!) and he has a first coat on everything already. This won't show much about the rooms themselves, but will at least show the color. I will start with the most important...

...the Bama room (aka the computer room) Lovin' that crimson!

This is Jack's playroom and it's going to have a lot of green accents in it.

So that's two red rooms, but never fear Auburn fans, I actually have THREE blue rooms in my house. Can you believe it?! I'm in this crazy blue phase right now, but search all you want and you will never find one orange item in ANY of these:)

This was taken from the front doorway looking into the living room

taken from the living room looking into the dining room

Jack's room is also blue right now but I'm going to save it for a later post b/c we're going to do some fun painting with it when Steven comes back for finishing coats. I"m crazy about painting. In our old house, Ben would go to work and when he would come home, a room would have changed colors or have stripes on it or something. It has been sooo nice to have someone else doing it just this once. I'm not sure how excited Steven is about all my ideas though:)

See, three blue rooms. It's unbelievable even to me. (So no worries Shonna, you can come over ALL the TIME! I have plenty of rooms for you to enjoy. You'll just want to steer clear of the computer! LOL)

View of the master bedroom from the doorway. The middle door is the bathroom and each side doorway are closets. The color is silent yellow - don't know if you can tell from the picture.

one last picture of the house - a side view

That's about it. The kitchen is just white and I didn't think anyone would care about the utility rooms and bathrooms. They should start putting our trim and doors in next week and then maybe some flooring soon! I'll keep everyone updated.

For Real This Time

I finally got Jack's hair cut (and you can actually tell it this time)! It was really hard for me but the mullet had to go!! We didn't get it too short, but it's a big boy haircut for sure. I forgot to take my camera, but here are a few before and after shots...


These were actually taken a few weeks ago and I've posted these or some similar on the blog before. Remember this look....



And now today's new and improved "big boy" look...


It seems really short to me, but others have said that it's not. Either way, we like it. Thanks again Tara (aka TayTay)!


While I'm on the subject of "real", let me keep it real for a minute. I understand that some of my friends were blessed with very sweet, well adjusted, and easygoing children and if you were, I envy you greatly:) I, however, got Jack!! Don't get me wrong - I LOVE his exciting and different personality. I can even appreciate the fact that he has a mind of his own and knows what he wants. I actually prayed for a child that was interesting and not boring... well, God answers prayers!! Nothing boring at ALL about my man! On the other hand, nothing is easy either. He and I have to determine who's in charge all over again every day! He will fight me on battles that he knows he will lose. I, in turn, have learned to "let it go" sometimes b/c I would collapse if I didn't. The term "choose your battles" has taken on new meaning for me!


Anyway, all that to show you his newest attempt to get what he wants - pitching a fit. Yep, he lays in the floor and kicks and cries. Now, we normally just leave the room or put him in another room when he does this (b/c who has time to listen to that? - not Mommy), but I took some pictures this afternoon since I already had the camera out. He did NOT like for me to take his picture.

Thankfully, these don't normally last more than a few seconds since it does not get him the results he wants, but surely they will stop altogether soon, right?! I think we've started the "terrible twos" a little early! Needless to say, if we have another child, I will not be praying for him/her to not be boring!!


All of that and then I look at this face and I think, "Well, you're so cute, I could listen to you cry and scream all day!" It's the calm after the storm and even a little smile...


Wouldn't take a thing for my strong willed man. Who wants easy?! Nothing fun about easy:)

Hannah Grace's Blog

This is Hannah Grace. Ree (Lori) let me make a post on her blog. I am seven years old and I have a brother named Joel. We like to act silly!


I also love Webkinz... I had a birthday on January 22nd and a Barkyardigans Birthday Party on January 24th. It was lots of fun. I got these two Webkinz for my birthday...

"Bully" the Bulldog


and "Hippy" the Hippo


Jack and San got Joel and Jack Benjamin gifts for my birthday too. We enjoyed opening them together. I also got $20 and a bow with my hippo!!

Thanks Ree for letting me post on your blog. I love Ree!!

All Clean!

The Artist In My House

So, I saw this animal art in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog that I thought would be cute in Jack's playroom when we move into the house. My husband has always been able to look at a picture and draw it so I thought, "If he can draw it, surely he can paint it." He said he would give it a shot and I wanted to share with all of you the finished product.

This is the picture in the catalog...

And a closer one of the tiger...

Here is Ben's artwork...

I know... it's really close right?! I was very impressed and had to brag on my husband a little bit. I'm sure several of you arty people could do this, but it is far beyond me. Now, he only has a giraffe and a dog to go! I told him he shouldn't have done it so well b/c now I'm going to want him to do all kinds of art for me!!

We decided to make it a family fun day since I was home from work and Jack and I painted too.
This is mine...

It's a sad little piece isn't it? I do NOT profess to be an artist and there's a VERY good chance this piece of art will not find a place on my walls!

Here is Jack's piece...

He's a little more abstract than Ben and me!

So, who needs Pottery Barn? I have Ben Foreman originals!!

Shakespeare and Bear Bryant?!

In the words of our pastor, Barry Wilkinson, "Shakespeare and Bear Bryant in the same sentence - something strange is afoot!" But it's true. I got Ben tickets to see "Bear Country" at the Shakespeare Festival for Christmas. It was a play about the life of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. We also got Jason a ticket for Christmas (and Carrie got one too) so we all went to see it this past weekend.

We enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to any Alabama fans. There were only four actors in the whole play. It took place on Coach Bryant's last day before he retired. He is cleaning out his office the entire time and he is remembering things from his life. Very entertaining!! We really enjoyed ourselves. The actor that plays old Coach Bryant was WONDERFUL!! Here are a few pictures from our night.

We also stopped by to see John and Kelly Wells before the play. We were so excited to see Anna Reese in person for the first time. I know a lot of you have seen pictures of her on Kelly's blog, but they really don't do her justice. She's just adorable and the most relaxed and easygoing baby ever!! She just laid her head down and went to sleep while we were there (which was unbelievable to a mom like me who continues to have to fight like crazy to get my child to go to sleep!) Kelly, I can't wait for her to meet Jack (maybe he won't teach her all of his bad tricks)!! We hope to see you all again soon!

I Got Tagged

So, Carrie tagged me. Here's a little about me and my hubby!

1.What is his name? John Benjamin Foreman (Ben)

2. Who eats more? Probably him, but I hold my own pretty well.

3. Who said, "I love you" first? He did. I'm a big believer in the theory that there's always one person in the relationship who loves the other more. He loved me more when we were dating, but I love him more now. Ben disagrees with this idea, but....

4. Who is taller? Ben, but just by a bit~

5. Who is more sensitive? Neither of us are very sensitive, but when it comes to our relationship, I definately takes things more personally than he does. So, I guess it would be me.

6. Who does the laundry? Mostly me and I prefer it that way. I have forbidden him to touch my clothes!! I'm also a big believer in family roles and women are just normally better at laundry.

7. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Right now, things are so crazy I'm not sure. But normally, if you're looking at the bed, Ben does.

8. Who pays the bills? I write the check, but he makes the money. I prefer it that way too! (HA)

9. Who cooks more? I do, but he grills the best steak I've ever had.

10. Who is more stubborn? No question, ME!! Ben is VERY easygoing! It's so funny b/c Jack looks just like Ben, but most of the time he does and says things in a way that we both know he gets the personality straight from Momma!

11. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? No question again, my sweet husband.

12. Who has more siblings? We're actually both only children, but Ben has two stepbrothers.

13. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I have the more dominate personality, and he's normally fine with me making a lot of the decisions. Because of that, when he feels strongly about something, I give in.

14. What do you like to do together? We love to travel together more than anything. We also like to watch movies and compete with each other in ANYTHING! We love Alabama football too!
15. Who eats more sweets? I don't eat sweets and he loves them, so....

16. Guilty Pleasures? Ben stays on the computer with Bama Online in bad weather and on the golf course in nice weather. I love to read, read, read!

17. How did you meet? We had a lot of the same friends in high school and knew of each other. As adults, we met over at Carrie and Jason's house.

18. Who asked whom out first? I think Carrie just sort of set it up.

19. Who kissed who first? He kissed me.

20. Who proposed? He did - on the beach. It was more funny than romantic but very memorable. I like to say, "We Forest Gumped our way right through the whole thing." (That's a line from a movie. Anybody know which one? My husband would!!)

21. His best features and qualities? Well, there are those good looks of course. But other than that, he's thoughtful, works hard, and is the best daddy ever! My favorite thing about him is that he's very original and funny. He sings and dances too, but that's just for me and Jack!

22. Tag you’re it. Who do you tag? Emily Fidler, Lynn Castleberry, Tina Rogers, Meredith Beck, and Mandi Morris

A New Way to Communicate

Jack's a little tired of all the talking we try to get him to do. Instead, he's been making a statement with his clothes lately!

Cold, puffy eyes, runny nose and all, he's still pretty confident!

Well, If Everyone Else is Doing It...

I'm thrilled with this. I didn't think Jack looked like me AT ALL, so I'll take this for sure!!

2008: A Year in Review

2008 was a great year for our family! I thought I would recap the high points. Month by month, this is how our year played out....

January is when Jack got to enjoy all the toys he got for Christmas. He loved his red wagon and his tricycle. Plus, I just think he looks cute in his cold weather clothes!

We also went to our cousin Leslie's 4th birthday party.

February brought sickness. We had ear infection after ear infection and we were TIRED of it!


March is cold weather and last year, cold weather meant more ear infection. No fun at all and this month, we got ear tubes!! I have to tell you, that kid was the cutest thing ever in the hospital gown with the little bears on it!! I hated to see him be in the hospital for anything, but cute is cute. The surgery went off great (we recommend Dr. Gannon in Dothan) and Jack has done much better since then. Only one ear infection to date!

April came and Jack turned 1! We had a Candyland birthday party and I'm proud to say that I made his first birthday cake. I was worried about how it would taste b/c I'm not Betty Crocker, but my mom said, "Lori, nobody is going to eat that cake with all that awful candy on it anyway - just make it look good." So, I tried... and amazingly some people DID eat it!

We had a fun party with lots of family and friends! Jack got a sandbox and an Adirondack chair from Mommy and Daddy.

Easter also came in April. A great time of celebration and Jack ceretainly looked handsome in his Easter clothes.

Jack's Easter basket!

May brings mission trips! My dad, Uncle Tractor (aka Uncle Charles), and Uncle Jay Jay (aka Jason) all went on a mission trip to Nicaragua with a group of 12 from our church. They were going to build a church and do some other construction work. Everyone had a great experience and it was a wonderful time of testimony when they came home!

Uncle Tractor and Grandaddy brought Jack home shirts from Nicaragua! Aren't they adorable?!

June was easily the most hectic and busiest month of our year! I went on a misson trip to Ecuador. That was a fantastic experience that I cannot wait to do again. My heart is leaning towards the Ukraine for my next mission trip but I'll wait and let God lead me somewhere. It is amazing how obeying God in this way brought so many blessings to me. You're trying to reach out to others and it feels as though God is pouring His love out to you! We had a group of five women from Hopewell along with two men from other churches in the area make up our mission team.

Our mission team: Jan Gager, me, Heather Cross, Billy Barnes, Eugene Meadows, Carrie Fore, and Jennifer Luckey

It was wonderful to get a glimpse of God in His creation there. This is one of the many volcanoes in Ecuador.

In June, we also sold our house and had to move. We loved our little house and have so many wonderful memories there. My biggest life changes occurred in that house. It's where Ben and I first lived and where we brought Jack home. It was sad for me, but just part of our journey I guess!

Vacation Bible School came at the end of June. As one of the directors, this can be kind of hectic as well, but we have so many wonderul people in our church who help in this ministry, it came together wonderfully and we had a GREAT time!

July holds one of our favorite holidays. It's a favorite for many reasons; what it stands for, the weather, fireworks, swimming and boats, but mainly, BEN IS HOME FOR IT!! We really enjoy July 4th and always have a great time. We spent the day at Ben's parents this year and I ended the day with a virus, but before that, it was a blast! HA

August ALWAYS means the beach for our family! We love beach trips and actually spend most of the summer down there. Day trips, weekend trips, week long trips, you name it and we're in!! Here are some of our photos from this summer.



They also started building our house this month. I've shown some pictures of the house in progress. Here is an update - they've completed the vinyl and brick and are working on some inside walls now.

September gave us a new family friend and then took her away. We had decided to get a dog for Jack and I wanted a St. Bernard. We were able to get one, but she got sick soon after we brought her home and we had to put her down. Her name was Abby and we enjoyed her for a short while. It was very sad and we've decided "no more dogs" for a while b/c Mommy can't handle the heartbreak!

October brought the fair and the Fall Festival! Jack enjoyed both immensely! Our litte girafe was cute as ever!

November means football for our family just as it does for many of you. This is the month for the BIG GAME! It went well for us this year and we enjoyed the season (like lots of Alabama fans) better than we have in several years. For Ben and me, this was a really good year b/c this is the first Iron Bowl win since we've been together. Wow! That's sounds awful!! HA ROLL TIDE!

December always brings Christmas! This was our first one with Jack really understanding what was going on. It was a great time and even though Ben wasn't home on the actual day, we were able to enjoy it together as a family and really meditate on what Christ did for us!

So, with a big new year's kiss.....

...from our family to yours, we wish you all a very Happy New Year!!