Funny pics

So I'm taking a break from "the house". Thought I'd put up some pictures from the past week. Bo LOVES his ball pit, he goes right to it when we put him down on the floor. Bo's new thing is he loves to try and stand on his head, this isn't just in the ball pit either. He'll do it on the floor, his crib, while we're holding him, etc...I think it all started because Jarrod will play with Bo and hold him upside down and of course Bo loves it so I think this is as close as he can get to it on his own. He puts his head down on the floor then straightens his legs to form an upside down "V". When he does it in the ball pit he gets crazy static electricity so of course I had to get some pictures. I'll try to get one of the "V" next time!

Just playing... big smile for the camera!

The Boys

I forgot to post this a while back. This was from a playdate we had at our house right before Christmas. Bo and RJ are best buds and they always have fun when they get together...they have even started their own "language". They went back and forth like this for the longest time! Such little boys!

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Storage

So at this point I'm really wondering what is going to be left for our movers to do. Today we rented a truck and loaded all of our "clutter" as they say in the real estate world, and delivered it to it's new home...a storage unit. We still have more to take, but Jarrod got most of the large items today. While Jarrod was unloading everything, I was at home with Bo trying to clean and pack up what I could. Basically if it's not a necessity it's off to storage. We need to try and make this house look as large as possible. We have no storage in our hous... 3 closets, 2 small linen closets, and a pantry...that's it. So we packed up a lot of things we had just shoved in the closets and kitchen cabinets.

By the end of the day bath things were in boxes with cookbooks, Bo's toys were in with winter clothes, shoes were in boxes with pictures...isn't that the way it always goes. I'm a pretty organized person, but after hours of this I tend to get very lazy. Don't we all do this...we start with nice, new cardboard boxes, a marker, and a tape gun, because we all swear to ourselves that THIS move we are going to do it right and have everything organized! All of the boxes are labeled...the contents and the room in which it belongs, I really get excited about this!! By box number 15 you're lucky if it even gets labeled, because you have such a hodge podge of stuff you don't even know what to call it! I just tell myself I'm keeping it fun...unpacking will be like Christmas...not knowing what's in each box til you open it!

Getting Ready...

So the fun has started (do you sense the sarcasm?)!! Cleaning, organizing, decluttering, donating, throwing away, trying to look at our house through the eyes of others. Normally this would be something I enjoy (I know I'm a very sick person and I like this kind of stuff), however...it's a little sad because I know this is the start of our move.

Yesterday Jarrod and I tackled the garage. Anyone who has seen our garage you know what a MESS it was, you couldn't walk in there without risking your life or at least a limb! This is the only place in our house that I never got around to organizing. We moved when I was pregnant and then a newborn...forget the garage! We pulled everything out and made piles in the yard and driveway of "keep, donate, garbage". We had to force ourselves to throw things away but at the end of the day (which I don't have a picture because it was time for Bo to eat dinner) we knew exactly what was staying and what was going. This weekend we will be renting a truck to move everything to a storage unit. I'm sure you are wondering what Bo did all day since we were busy...he did remarkably well in his pack and play outside. I think he was just happy to be outside! I promise to keep the blog updated as much as I can these next few weeks. Today...I am tackling the kitchen, while Jarrod handles a lot of the phone calls and emails that come along with beginning the relocation process!

Midway through pulling things out.

a close up of our mess

Having fun on a sunny day of about 70 degrees!

What is going on here?

Ummm, we need to talk those are MY things!!!

ALL Boy!!

So here is an example of how boys are just "born that way". Over Christmas Bo got a big Tonka dump truck from his Uncle Barney & Emily. This is by far his favorite toy. While we were in MS my dad taught Bo how to make "truck noises". I still can't do this, I've tried! Even since we've been home he goes around making these noises with the dump truck and all of his little trucks. I just love this video as it shows Pop and Bo just being boys! (you will want to pause the music at the bottom of the page first).

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Change!

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Big things are happening for the Lawson family these days! Jarrod has accepted a new job and we will soon be relocating to Atlanta, Ga.

We have known for some time that this was a possibility, as his current company just sold and while he does still have a job, his current position could eventually mean a move to Minneapolis, and this southern girl is NOT going up there!! So after many days, weeks, months of trying to make some difficult decisions and LOTS of prayer, God has opened a door for him. This will be a wonderful career opportunity for him. The bad news...it's 14 hours away!

I won't lie...when Jarrod called to tell me an offer was coming I swallowed a large lump in my throat and gave a secretly, tearful "congratulations, I'm so proud of you". Once he got home I wouldn't talk about it much, because I knew I would break down in tears. However, I knew as a wife I needed to show my support and encouragement. As soon as I opened my mouth the water works began...I tried hard to hold them back, but I am not someone who can put on a happy face when I'm upset. I have never been one to hide my emotions (this is not always a good thing). We were a little unsure what the offer would be...there were many parts that would have to fall into place for us to be able to make this move. We prayed very hard and agreed that if all things came together then we would know it was the right move.

He officially accepted the offer the day after Christmas. I was actually fine at the time, I think because we weren't in Austin. As soon as we got home from MS I went to put Bo to bed and it hit me all over again and once again Jarrod had to handle a wife full of tears. This is a very emotional move for me. For the first time since I have lived back home in MS, I feel "at home" and would be perfectly fine staying here forever. This was our very first house, where we brought our first child home from the hospital, we have made MANY wonderful friends, Bo has his friends, we have found a wonderful church, I'm involved in playgroups, MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), library babytime, I was about to start a new Bible study this month, not to mention what a great city Austin is. We love Austin dearly and hate to move, however Atlanta is apparently where we are supposed to be.

I could easily make Jarrod drag me there kicking and screaming, however I am his wife and it is my job to support, encourage, love, and lift him up. As hard as this is on me, I know it's just as hard if not harder on him. He has a family to support and he spent countless hours debating the best thing to do for Bo and I. We will soon be putting our house on the market, which means we will be VERY busy the next few weeks getting ready. Jarrod begins his new job January 19th (i know, only 2 weeks away). With that said, please pray for us as we embark on this long, emotional, and stressful journey!

Happy New Year!

I am finally getting a chance to get caught up on our blog. I could tell you that I've been busy organizing, cleaning, exercising, all the things you do at the first of the year, but I haven't done any of those things. Nope...I have been relaxing and spending time with Jarrod and Bo.

We had a wonderful Christmas, it couldn't have been more perfect! We spent a week in MS where Bo had his first Christmas. Santa didn't have to do much this year becaue between Pop, Bebe, Great-Grandmother Nini, Uncle Barney, and Emily, Bo racked up on gifts. He loved every second of it and actually paid more attention to opening gifts than I thought he would. Some of his favorite gifts include a large tonka dump truck from Barney and Emily, he pushes it around ALL day. He also loves the musical activity table which he stands at and bounces up and down when the music plays! Another favorite is his Little People Car Garage. The best part of his gifts was having Pop teach him how to make "truck noises" while pushing the dump truck around...I have video and will definitely post so you can see, it is absolutely adorable.

It was a very busy trip...in addition to just the busy holiday, we also took a day and drove up to Grenada to meet some of our friends from Memphis, Jarrod and I took a night and went down to New Orleans for some much needed time alone, we visited with old friends in Jackson, Bo had his first trip to a Fire Station to see Uncle Barney at work, and the most exciting thing that happened...my little brother got engaged!! It was fun, wonderful, exciting, and memorable.