Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We kicked it off Christmas Eve with a Christmas program at church where my niece, Sadie, sang a solo/duet. She did a fabulous job. I would be so nervous, but it doesn't bother her a bit to sing in front of a crowd. Afterwards we ate supper at James and Stephanie's house. We watched the kids make Santa's snack, almond bark pretzels...yum, and then headed home to wrap up a few more Christmas items.

Santa was very good to Gracen. I'm not exactly sure why he wrapped everything because she didn't unwrap one single present, but she did enjoy them once they were open.

She really enjoyed writing on her magnidoodle. Whenever she sees a pen she lets you know that she needs it (right now)...and a piece of paper, so Santa thought this would be a less messy present.

Santa also learned that some things should be put together and untangled BEFORE Christmas morning.Gracen definitely enjoyed her whales from Gigi.

Gracen also likes to help her Daddy film. When she looks at the viewing screen of the camera, she always says, "Cheese."

After opening presents, we headed over to James and Stephanie's house to see what Santa brought their kids. Gracen had a blast checking out all their new toys.

Lillie Kate and Gracen having a tea party. I know it's hard to see their faces, but I just thought this was so precious. Gracen's cousins are soo good to play with her and love on her all the time!
After a much needed nap, we headed over to Mimi and Pawpaw's house. Here's the youngest cousins: Lillie Kate, Cole, & GracenWhat teamwork! Headed to the back yard for more pictures.

All 6 Thornton grandchildren: Cole-7, Jase-12, Kade-11, Sadie-10, Lillie Kate-7, Gracen-15 mon

We headed to Searcy on the 26th for Christmas with my family and my mom's side. I left my camera in Arkansas, so I'll have to finish that post later.

We had a great Christmas and are reminded once again by how blessed we truly are. We have great family, friends, and a great God! May we all remember the true reason for the season!

Gracen's Newest Tricks

This past weekend, Gracen started showing us her tongue when asked and blowing kisses. I was really very impressed at how quickly she picked up on blowing kisses. We did it one day with a friend and the next time I asked her to do it without showing her, she did. What can I say, she's smart! ;) And yes, the noise accompanies the showing of the tongue every time. Yesterday as I was putting her on shirt, her thumb got stuck. I asked her "Where's your thumb?" She stuck out her tongue. I guess they do sound kind of similar. I thought it was pretty cute.

I Can See the Light

Gracen finally rounded the corner tonight. We laughed and played like we normally do. After 2 weeks of a runny nose, occasional fever, new teeth, cough, purring like a kitten when she breathes, many sleepless nights, hardly eating anything, 3 trips to the doctor, 3 shots, 1 breathing treatment, one chest X-ray, and one fussy little girl, she has finally started feeling better. Can I get an Amen? I'm singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" myself! I can't say how happy I am that she's feeling better.

Here's a few pictures from bath time tonight.

Something I said must've been pretty funny!

Can you tell she hasn't had many popsicles?

Ooo, this end tastes much better!

I don't know what the duck said, but it looks like Gracen straightened her out.

Almost Survived

Well, I've almost survived another day. I say almost because she's in bed crying, not wanting to let it go and go to sleep. Normally we just lay her in bed and off she goes to dreamland, but the last few days she's been fighting sleep so badly. She has had a runny nose since yesterday, so I don't know if she's just feeling bad, teething, getting ready to drop down to one nap or what. Most of the day was filled with fussiness, crying, and frustration on both of our parts. We're also in the phase where she know exactly what she wants but can't use the words to tell me, which is very frustrating for both of us. I know that we'll get through this, but sometimes it's hard when I don't know where the end is.

Family Day in Jackson

This past Saturday, Jeffrey, Gracen, & I headed out to Jackson to Mistletoe Market Place. The Junior League puts this shopping extravaganza on every year with booths from all over the country selling all kinds of stuff I didn't know I couldn't live without. I didn't get quite as much Christmas decorations as I would've liked because I kept reminding myself that Christmas present buying time is just around the corner. So I only got one thing for myself, a sundress and bathing suit for Gracen that was on clearance from Orient Expressed (love their stuff!), and a few Christmas presents. Jeffrey was so great to completely take care of Gracen so I could shop nearly uninterrupted. He was great. He went wherever I asked him to go without complaining.

Afterwards, we went to this incredible Italian restaurant, Amerigos. It had the best Alfredo sauce I've ever tasted, even better than Olive Garden. We ordered it on angel hair pasta for Gracen, but Jeffrey and I helped her out with it a little. It's always so funny to me the things that will entertain her. She spent about 5 minutes playing with a couple straws and a cup. She would put a straw in the lid with her right hand, switch the straw in her left hand to her right, take the straw out of the cup with her left, and repeat, and repeat. I'm sensing some serious right-handed tendencies.

Later she was gracious enough to let us eat while she stirred my salad with her spoon, licking off any salad dressing she could. This went on for about 10 to 15 minutes. She had so much fun with it. On the way home she "talked" on my cell phone for quite awhile. And apparently the person she was talking to made a joke because she laughed and kept on talking. That really tickled us! She had a couple moments throughout the day, but over-all she was great...better than can be expected from a one-year old. We had a great family day!

What's up with Gracen at 13 & 1/2 Months?

• BUSY - walking everywhere.


• She loves to drink anything with a straw.


• She's starting to want to feed herself with a spoon. Can we say messy? I usually let her scoop with a spoon and I feed her with another, otherwise the girl would starve.


• I think she would eat club crackers for every meal if allowed. I usually save them for "dessert".


• When she decides to take a drink, or take a bite of something else, she will push the food that is in her mouth out with her tongue.


• When she's finished eating, she doesn't move her head to the side or push away the food. She takes the bite and pushes the food out with her tongue. Or she will drop her food, one bite at a time on the floor.


• She's getting close to dropping down to 1 nap a day, which I am not ready for. She slept for 4 hours on Monday and then slept another 45 minutes later. I think I checked on her 3 or 4 times to make sure she was still breathing.


• She goes to bed around 8 and sleeps to around 8 sometimes a little later.


• Her preferences about how she would like to be put to bed change weekly. This week she wants you to walk right in the room, lay her down, and walk out. Last week, she wanted to be rocked for a little while. Who knows what next week has in store.


• She loves toothbrushes and brushing her teeth.
  
• She talks all the time...just not in English, yet.

Halloween Pics

I know this is really late, but I still wanted to get these up. These are from trunk-or-treating at our church. This outfit was my Halloween costume that my mom made for me when I was 1. We somehow misplaced the ruffle around the neck, but I think it still turned out pretty cute. She would have nothing to do with the hat, pulling it off the second I got in on her head until we rounded the corner of the church. As soon as she saw all the kids in their costumes, she was mesmerized. I was able to put the hat on her without a problem. She kept it on for most of the night despite it slipping and me constantly fixing it. She was so in awe of everyone that she was expressionless most of the night. This was one of her smiles, so I had to include it.

Jack and Gracen

Lillie Kate, Gracen, & Sadie

Gracen enjoyed her sucker
And then decided to blow bubbles the rest of the night.

Dancing and Laughing Videos

I love Gracen's face at the end of this video when Jeffrey starts singing. She just looks at him like "What do you think you are doing?" I think she has inherited her Daddy's dance moves. And for those of you who have never been privileged to watch Jeffrey dance. . . you're missing out!




I've tried so hard to get Gracen to hold up one finger when I ask her how old she is, but she puts my finger in her mouth every time I try. We had a little fun with it the other night.

Very Convicting Article

I don't typically talk politics on here, but this article is too right and too convicting to not pass along. Most of you who read this blog probably already agree with what Randy Alcorn has to say... here's a snippet of his well-written article...

"I'm not Voting for a Man, I'm Voting for Generations of Children and their Right to Live"

Believing what I do that the unborn are human beings in the fullest sense, to be pro-legalized-abortion is exactly equivalent to being pro-legalized-killing-of-three-year-olds. Or pro-legalized-killing-of-teenagers. Or pro-legalized-killing-of-women. Or pro-legalized-killing-of-Jews.

What would you think if a politician said "I'm not pro-rape, I'm simply prochoice about rape. And though I would not choose to rape a woman, I believe that every man should be free to rape a woman if that is his personal choice." And what would you do if that politician promised the rape lobby that if he is elected president, the "first thing I would do" is to sign legislation that would invalidate all the state laws that restrict rape in any way?

Well, I think I would say that man is pro-rape, wouldn't you? But technically, no, he is simply prochoice about rape. Well, okay. Be prochoice about whether someone should eat Mexican food or Chinese food, or cheer for the Phillies or the Rays. But don't be prochoice about whether men rape women or kill children. Because that is to be pro-rape and pro-killing.

Now, no doubt Obama supporters will think this is an outrageous analogy. And those who don't believe unborn children are really human beings would understandably feel that way. (Though, both scientifically and biblically, they are absolutely wrong.) But what about all the people who keep insisting they are prolife, that they really DO believe the unborn children are precious human beings created in God's image? If that's what you really believe, then you must accept the analogy as valid. (On what basis is it invalid unless it's because the unborn aren't really human and therefore don't have human rights?)

Is rape, despicable as it is, really worse than overpowering and tearing apart an innocent child in his mother's womb? If you are REALLY prolife, not just if you say the words "I am prolife, but there are many other issues," but I mean if you REALLY believe these are children, then the analogy to rape, kidnapping, or killing teenagers or women or Jews or African Americans is perfectly legitimate. How could it not be? Don't skim over this—seriously, I want to hear your answer.

so please pass his message on...

Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed. (Deuteronomy 19:10)

A little catching up

I know that I've not been very good about blogging lately, but it's been a busy few weeks. And Gracen makes it very difficult to get on the computer while she's awake. I either have to ignore her screaming beside me (which I can only handle for about 30 seconds, max) or let her sit in my lap. Which then leads to "typing", scrolling around with the mouse, pushing buttons on the monitor and printer and making the computer do things I've never seen it do before. Anyways, here's a rundown of my last few weekends.

Sept 26 - Gracen's birthday and party weekend. I'll post pictures later.
Stephanie burned a CD for me, and I just have to pick it up.
Oct 4 - My 10-year high school reunion.
Oct 11 - My friend Carey's baby shower at my house.
Oct 18 - My mom and sister came down for the weekend.
Oct 25 - HU homecoming. (And my birthday is Friday!)
Nov 1 - Nothing planned as of now! Woohoo!

And for those of you who don't know me very well, I'm not what most people would call a skilled multi-tasker. I will say that I have gotten a little better since Gracen was born, but I still prefer focusing on one project at a time. I don't mind being crazy busy for a little while, but then I need some down time. But a couple day's before Gracen's birthday, I was offered a job at a local independant pharmacy. This may not seem like that big of a deal, but I struggled, stressed, prayed, and cried a lot over this decision. So while everything else was going on, I had this decision hanging over my head. Oh, I forgot to throw in that Gracen was extremely difficult the entire week before the shower. I don't know if she didn't feel good, was working on some teeth, or was picking up on my feelings. Whatever it was, she was not much fun!

I took her to Wal-mart the night before the shower to get some last minute items, and seriously thought about calling Jeffrey to drive 20 minutes to Wal-mart and get her. She only lasted from the front door to the bathroom section in the front of the cart. She kept trying to stand, so I put her in the big basket to ride. After about 2 minutes she begins dragging everything out of the diaper bag, fussing because her cup is stuck. A few minutes later I hear a "crunch crunch". I discovered I was stepping on the Cherios that she has dumped. A nice man went to get an employee with a broom, and we keep walking. A little while later she's playing with the items in the buggy and "crash", she shatters a jar of baby food. Luckily a manager appears and mans the station until cleanup arrived. (I went back to Wal-mart 2 days later, and the orange cone was still there. Must have been a bad mess!) A few more minutes pass, she's trying to throw her leg over the buggy to get out. At this point I'm carrying her and dragging the buggy. Then I see my friend with her 11 month old calmly sitting in her cart. I then proceed to look all over the store, ask 3 employees for help and never find the round cookie cutters that we needed for the shower the next morning. I have never been so ready to get in my car and drive home!

Saturday morning of the shower, Gracen woke up at 7:30 which is very early for her. I was expecting and hoping she would sleep until 9, so I could get ready and she could enjoy the entire shower. I tried to get a baby sitter, but that's another long story that I won't bore you with. She was extremely whiny and clingy all morning long. Right when I finished getting dressed, with her help, "crash" she drops my bottle of fingernail polish on the floor, luckily it was tile. I couldn't deal with it at the moment, so I left it. I have all but one square cleaned. I don't even know how many hours I've spent rubbing that floor with fingernail polish remover. That's what this picture is of. The mess actually went a little farther out, but this was the heart of the disaster.

I think that will be all of my rantings for now. I'll just leave you with some random pictures of Gracen from the last few weeks.

This was Gracen watching football and eating supper. She would barely look at her tray to grab a bite before focusing back on the game.

Gracen so thirsty after helping me pull up and replant some pansies.

One night I was washing dishes and heard a "glub glub glub..." I finally realized that Gracen had turned a gallon of water on it's side and taken the cap off. She had lots of fun splashing in the water!
Ooo, Mama. This water is getting cold.
Don't even think about taking my Dr. Pepper!

The Perfect Hairbrush

There are several things that warm my heart: new socks, new underwear, and the perfect hairbrush. And I found it. This Conair gel grip hairbrush is awesome. If feels great in my grip and heavenly in my hair. Just thought I would share my new find.

Cherios, Cherios Good for the Heart. . .

What's that smell?
Oops, It's just me!
The other night Gracen was extremely tired and just couldn't sit through supper, so I told Jeffrey he could eat and I would start her bath. I ran the water and put her in which made the tears magically disappear. Jeffrey came a few minutes later to relieve me so I could eat.

We were talking when he looked down at her and said, "What's that between her legs? Is that poop?"

To which I replied, "Yep! It's your turn!" and darted out the door.

I had a hard time eating because of the tears of laughter pouring down my face thinking of him cleaning the mess up by himself. So I peeked back in the bathroom to see how it was going. Gracen had finished her business in the corner of the bathroom and had it all over her bottom. I held her so Jeffrey could clean her off and get everything else cleaned up. He did it all without complaining or gagging once. I was very impressed. Gracen enjoyed the rest of her bath and then dove for the bed.

10-Year High School Reunion

This weekend I had my 10-year High School Reunion from Harding Academy. It's really crazy that 10 years have passed so quickly. I really don't feel old enough to be having a reunion. I'll just go with "you're only as old as you feel." And I don't feel that old. I had 56 people in my Senior Class and 23 of those came. Some people thought this was a pretty good turn-out, but I was a little disappointed. So if you're reading this and you didn't come, I hope you had a very good excuse because we missed you. Otherwise, shame on you!

Gracen and her Gigi at the game.

We went to the Wildcat game Friday night where Paige London, a girl I babysat when she was in 3rd & 4th grade, was crowned Homecoming Queen. I never made it to the bleachers during the game for talking to so many of my friends.

I knew Ali would kill me for this picture, so I had to add it.

Ali & JameyAfter the game we migrated over to the High School for refreshments and some more visiting.

Elizabeth, Jenny, Chris Ann, AngAli, Chad "Chicks", Jamey, & Stacey

Me & Ali - "Bathroom Buddies" since 1st grade. When I came to the Academy in 1st grade, my teacher sent a girl with me to show me the bathroom, but she didn't wait on me. The next day Ali went with me to the bathroom (because you know girls can't go alone), and she waited to walk back to the classroom with me. I remember thinking, "Now that's a true friend." And 22 years later, still friends. Corey, Hope, John, Ang, Jamey, & ChadAng, Hope, Ali, me, Cara, Jenny, Jessica, & Chris AnnMe, Ali, & Ang - with the all red lockers. What's up with that. They used to be red, blue, and yellow. I guess red does make sense since it's one of the school colors. I guess I'm just not a big fan of change. The 3 of us along with Leigh, who was unable to come, have had many adventures and fun times together in high school and throughout the last 10 years.We met again Saturday for lunch catered by Grandpa's Bar-B-Q. It was so good. A few more people came to the lunch and we all got to visit some more. It was so much fun to get to reminisce about "old" times with so many friends. There were some classmates that I don't think I'd seen since graduation.

What did Gracen do? Played in the grass,

Played peek-a-boo, and played with the other kids.
Gracen loved rocking, talking to, and touching Conor, Kristen's 4 month old. I couldn't get the camera out fast enough. It was soo sweet!

She also played with Riley, Chad S.'s little boy. He's 2 weeks older than Gracen. Riley apparently has walked several times in the grass, but because of our mosquito problem, Gracen hasn't gotten to walk in it much. Riley was walking very quickly and was unable to stop. He turned around and knocked Gracen down. Then he sat on her. They were both laughing and having a great time. I think Jake was the only one who was able to get a picture on his phone before they were gone again. Jeffrey was so sweet. He completely took "Gracen duty" so I could enjoy my friends without having to watch after her.

Jeffrey, me, & Gracen

From left to right (minus kids): Chris Ann, Rachel, Jennifer, Cara, Lynn, David, Elizabeth, Hope, Ali, Steve, Marcus, Kristen, Ang, Chad H., Jenny, Taylor, me, Brad, Jacod, Chad S.

I really enjoyed the weekend and was so glad Jeffrey got to come with us. I think he realized he might pay for it for a while if he didn't make it happen. We walked the halls of the high school and elementary schools after everyone left. The elementary side has tripled in size since I was in school. It is amazing. I think the school Gracen will go to is a great school, but it makes me so sad to think that Gracen will not get to go to "my" school. The halls were lined with scripture on the bulletin boards and painted on the walls. It is such a wonderful place for children to be raised, constantly reminded of our Lord and how we should walk for Him. I am so thankful that I was privileged enough to attend and graduate from such a great school. I loved my school, my teachers, and my classmates. I wouldn't have changed a thing.