The "eyes" have it

Pink eye, that is! Josh was blessed to wake up this morning to a full blown case of pink eye in both eyes. What a lovely way to start off a Wednesday morning.

Our wonderful doctor gave us an extra big bottle of medicine... just in case! I'm hoping he is the only sickie, but I also know that it would be just my luck to have it pass through everyone... especially when I am trying to get some things done around here. Never fails, does it?

On the bright side of things, my to-do list is shrinking slightly. This has been my week to get all the phone calls/visits made to get water, electricity, insurance, etc. taken care of before the move. Next week is the week we actually start packing, then we start moving in on the 8th. All the small, non-essential things will be moved in during the week, then the big stuff goes on Saturday. I just can't wait. We are all getting pretty danged excited around here... and trying not to let pink-eye ruin our fun!

Looky, looky!

As I am sure that most of you have heard by now, we are moving! We found a cute house, and we are so excited to move in. And... we have tons of stuff to weed through and pack which we are not looking forward to!

I've had lots of decorating thoughts running through my head, and I can't wait to post pictures of everything when it is done. Until then, here are some pictures of my "blank canvas"... :)


This is the entrance way. I will be replacing the fake-o flowers with real ones, and I've been thinking of all kinds of things to do with this entrance each season.


This is the view from the front entrance into the dining room/living room. The front entrance is awesome hardwood flooring, and will be the perfect place for my table (see this post to see my table).


This is the view from the dining room into the living room/entrance/utility closet.


This is the beautiful wood-burning fireplace. I see trips to the farm for loads of wood ahead! :) I'm so excited, as well, to have a mantel to decorate!


Looking into the kitchen from the living room. I love the black appliances. I am going to have TONS of cabinet space, and a pantry!!


And this is the bathtub in the master bathroom. If this tub had jets, I may never get out of it on the weekends! Guess it's a good thing it doesn't then, huh?! ;)


The only fault we could really find with the house was the backyard, or lack thereof. It is pretty small, but we were told that we could put in a garden, so that will be fun. I see an herb garden right in the small patch here by the "back porch". We may have to do some raised-beds since the entire backyard appears to be red Alabama clay.

Well... there you have the nutshell tour. There are actually 4 bedrooms in this house. The kids are going to be sharing rooms again, and we are using the extra bedroom as an office/craft/game room. Once we are all moved in, unpacked and decorated I will be posting lots of pictures! Stay tuned...

22 years

Since my lunch with Sharon the other day, I have been thinking a lot about myself, and how I have changed over the past 22 years. I no longer have to perm my hair to get this curl... it just decided on it's own to become curly. I am not "high school skinny" anymore. Having kids will do that to you... and too many sweets and fast food dinners didn't help too much, either! My worries have certainly changed since high school. Back then I was worried over who I would date/marry... now I worry over the children that I have been blessed with and their happiness and well-being in this world. I always wanted kids. In high school I thought I wanted at least 6... now I am very happy with my 4. I remember thinking back then how old 40 sounded... now it feels so young! The older I get, the less older each age sounds. I really don't feel that I should be any older than 18, and it floors me to think that my oldest daughter will soon be 18.

I will admit to being a pretty vain person in high school - I think most teen-age girls are. I wouldn't step out of the house without my hair and make-up just so. I got over that being a mother. I still want to be presentable, and look my best, but I have discovered that there are more important things.

I used to get teased a lot by my family when I was younger for being a wimp. After seeing me give birth naturally to my oldest child, my mother told me that I could never be called a wimp again. I'm a stonger person, emotionally, as well. I still break down and cry over silly things sometimes, but I know that I am capable of dealing with hard things.

I have a much stronger testimony of the gospel now. I know that my Heavenly Father is always there for me... something that I wasn't alway sure about when I was younger. I have felt His presence and guidance more in my life. I have a deeper appreciation for Him.

I also appreciate my earthly parents now more than I did then. I didn't have the best relationship with my dad growing up. He and I just didn't relate to each other very well. Not too long after we moved back to Tennessee, my dad's job required him to travel a lot. He would be gone all week, then come home on the weekends. All he wanted to do when he was home was spend time with us. I had been home all week, and all I wanted to do on the weekend was get out of the house. I now regret that I didn't spend more time with him. I used to think my mother had very old-fashioned ideas and was out of touch with things. I didn't want her to try to give me advice... now I am so thankful for her words of wisdom. I have learned more about both of my parents and come to appreciate their ideals and opinions more. I am so thankful that they are both still here on earth and they are never more than a phone call away.

I have also been thinking a lot about the future, and what the next 22 years may hold. I am looking forward to seeing each of my children graduate high school and move on to college. I am looking forward to my sons serving missions for the church. I am looking forward to seeing each of my children married to wonderful spouses. I am looking forward to becoming a grandma... NOT that it should happen for a while... but I will be ready for it when it happens. I am looking forward to Barry and I growing together. We have come a long way in the past 18 1/2 years, and I know that we still have a lot of growing to do. I know that both good times and bad are on the way, and while I don't look forward to the bad, I know that I can handle them.

I sat down a while back and started making out my own "bucket-list". I am looking forward to crossing some things off that list in the next 22 years, and maybe adding a few more things to it.

I recently remarked on my facebook profile that I am content... and I am. I am thankful for my life, and all the craziness that comes with it. I am grateful for all the experiences that have made me who I am, and all the future experiences that will help to shape who I will become.

So... here is to the next 22+ years! I'm looking forward to it all!

Bestest

This is a picture of me and my best friend from high school, Sharon.


We were the bestest of best friends. We met when I was 12 and had just moved back to Tennessee after living in Idaho for 8 years. I was the very scared new kid, and she and I just seemed to click. We could always be found at one or the other's house. We spent hours together on the phone. We laughed and cried over stupid boys together. We even made up nicknames for boys we liked so no one else would know who we were talking about! You name it, and we pretty much did it together: beauty pagents, cheerleading, BETA club, Student Council, Yearbook, had almost all of our classes together and we were pretty much inseperable. That is, until our senior year of high school when we started to drift apart. I will accept full responsibility for that, as I let a boy come between us. After graduation we lost touch completely... until 22 years later when we found each other on facebook! We chatted up a storm and made a lunch date. It was so much fun seeing each other again. She lives about an 1 1/2 hour away, and we plan on keeping in touch, both through facebook and trying to get together more often.

As I was cleaning up some stuff today, I came across several more pictures of us together. I thought that I would share some... others are just too embarrassing! :)


This is us in the 7th grade. The kid between us is Stacey... not really sure what he was doing here in this picture! Megan was laughing at me over my suspenders... hey, they were in fashion in the 80's!


Us again in 7th grade. This is the Jr. High Cheerleaders Homecoming "float". We got to ride on the firetruck when we got into high school, but I don't really have a good picture of us then.


We are Juniors in this picture... on the pep bus on the way to a football game. Don't you love those glasses?! A few months later I finally got contacts, and wished that I had them much earlier.


This is a newspaper clipping of us. Ha!


And last, but not least, a picture of us together from yearbook staff.

I wish that I had taken my camera with me when we met for lunch. She is still just as beautiful, and I would love to have an updated picture of us together. Next time!!

... and a Happy New Year!

It's been a busy week...

We had a wonderful Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with our dear friends, the Sparkman's. Barry looks forward to Momma S's Italian Sausage on white bread all year long! Christmas morning was spent at home with the kiddos, and enjoyed lazily opening presents. After a yummy breakfast, we went out to the movies (The Princess and the Frog... very cute, BTW!), then over to the Callahan's for Christmas Dinner. Dawn hosts this event every year, and we enjoyed spending the day with family. The day after Christmas the kids and I packed up and headed out to the farm to visit my family for a few days. We had a great time... even staying an extra day to go bowling together.


We came home on Tuesday (except for Meg... she is spending the week with her grandparents) and spent the rest of the week running errands and working around the house. We have enjoyed sleeping in, and staying up late. Kayti and I made a run to downtown to a fun antique shop and Harrison Bro. on the square. The boys have played tons of video games (and I have actually let them without giving them grief about it). Last night we celebrated New Year's Eve... and we we able to have Barry home with us. He usually has to work, but this year he was able to work from home, and party with us. We had a big buffet of finger foods: buffalo chicken nuggets, cheesy tater tots, steak/chicken fajita quesadillas, chips and dips, chocolate chip cookies. We took all the Christmas ornaments off the tree, and replaced them with New Year's wares. We ate, watched movies, and stayed up to ring in the new year. Today has been a really lazy day... we have pretty much stayed in our pj's all day. We did take down the tree and clean up the living room. It's always bums me out every year to take the tree down.


We have truly been blessed this year, and we are so very thankful to Heavenly Father for those blessings. We are looking forward to an exciting 2010, and wish the very best to you and yours as well. Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas to All...

First of all... let me apologize for my lameness. This is the first time in 20 years that I have not sent out Christmas cards, and the first time in 18 years that I have not made my Christmas cards. It was just something that did not get done this year. This is what they would have looked like. Please accept this as my card to all of you.

For the past couple of years I have also included in my cards a link to this blog, where I post our family newsletter. So, in keeping with that tradition, here is what our family has been up to this year...

We have had a very busy and full year this year. We have also been blessed, and we are truly thankful for all of our blessings. Our kids are all strong and healthy, we have plenty of food on our table, clothes to wear, a roof over our heads. While many around us have suffered because of job cuts and lay-offs, we have mercifully been able to escape that. Not that Barry's job has not produced plenty of stress this year (especially with them undergoing a major software conversion), but we are still thankful for it.

Megan started 2009 off with a bang... at the stroke of Midnight on New Year's Eve to be exact... she sliced up her arm on a plate of glass and ended up in the Emergency Room, 50 miles from home (not a fun trip for mom to make in the middle of the night by myself as daddy was at work). She needed 13 stitches to close up her arm, and now has bragging rights to having more stitches than anyone else in the family. Megan turned 12 this year, and started middle school. She is doing very well in school, and works hard to make all A's. She is growing taller every minute, and is almost as tall as I am. She loves to cook and isn't afraid to experiment in the kitchen. She played goalie again this year on her soccer team, and despite the fact that she didn't have the best year, she played her hardest. She has had a few illnesses this year that have caused us concern... bronchitis bordering on pneumonia, hearing loss due to non-draining sinuses, and flare ups with her asthma. We are thankful that each of these were able to be treated fairly easily, though, and she is a strong and healthy kid. She has developed a real love of photography this year, and thinks that just maybe she will continue to study it and develop her talent.


Kyle just turned 14. He has had a great year, too. He started the 8th grade this fall, taking several honor's courses. He is almost as tall as his brother, and is down-right giddy about that fact! This year he has made lots of new friends at school... most of the girls. He still enjoys playing soccer, and his team came in 2nd place in their regional tournament. He was able to play several different positions, and (much to my relief) has decided that he likes playing out in the field rather than in the goalie box. Kyle has had the opportunity to serve in leadership positions in his church youth group. He has had to learn to extend himself at times when he would rather not, and that has been really good for him. He is working hard to get finished up with all his scouting requirements so he can earn his Eagle. He is a very goal-oriented kid, and I love that about him. We have had lots of hair issues this past year... he has wanted to grow it longer, I want it shorter. We found a bit of a compromise... he grows it longer during the winter, and then buzzes it pretty short in the summer.


Josh just turned 16, and can't wait to get his license. He has to, though, because he first has to take Driver's Ed at school next semester. Josh is almost as tall as his dad now, and reminds him of that every chance he gets. I'm sure it won't be too much longer before he is eye-to-eye with him. Josh did very well in school this past year, and was moved up to the high school in August. He was really nervous about heading into such a big school, but he has adjusted well. He has made lots of new friends as well... and just like his brother, lost of them are girls. He has yet to go on his first date, but he has a list of the girls he wants to ask out. Josh's soccer team did very well this year, winning the state championship... the first hometown team to do so. He has also served in leadership positions in his youth group at church. One of Josh's favorite school subjects is Drama, and he was able to take that class this past semester. He participated in a local drama competition, and won a superior rating, allowing him to travel on to state competition. He earned an excellent rating there... one point away from a superior, and came home feeling very proud of his accomplishment. He loves acting, and he is really very good at it. We tease him a lot because he is a "mumbler" at home, but when he is on the stage he is a completely different kid.


Kayti turned 17 this year, and started her senior year of high school. I CAN'T stand it!! How did I get old enough to have a senior? She is a great student, and ranked in the top 1/3rd of her class (there are over 700 seniors in her high school). She is busy making college plans, and dreaming of leaving home. Actually, she is going to stay local to get her GE's out of the way, then when she has saved up enough money she will strike out on her own. Her chosen profession has somewhat changed over the past few months. She still, first and foremost, wants to be a writer, but how she plans on supporting herself until she is making her millions being published has changed. She thought she wanted to be a high school English teacher, but lately has decided that she wants to be a book editor. I have informed her that there is NO way under the Sun that she is moving to New York City to do that, and as long as she can find a job no more than 4 hours away from me, I can live with that! ;)


Our family has had a fun time this year playing together. We have made several day trips to North Carolina and the beach, and had outings to greenways, bowling, and the farm. We also made a big trip to Idaho this year. Barry drove out with us, then flew home. Then my sister and her son made the return trip with me and the kids. We had so much fun! We made several stops along the way home, including Temple Square in Salt Lake City, and Church History sites in Missouri.

We've cheered for each other at soccer games and drama productions. We have encouraged each other in scouting and YW projects. We just generally have thoroughly enjoyed being together, and we are looking forward to what the new year brings.


We hope that each of you have had a wonderful year as well, and wish you a happy and prosperous new year!

Much love ~

The Mayfield Family

Happy Birthday, Kyle

Today is Kyle's birthday. I can't believe that he is already 14 years old. Where did the time go? He entered our family a few weeks early, and we were blessed to be able to bring him home from the hospital on Christmas Eve. I've always called him my "angel baby"... partly because he was our Christmas baby, and partly because he was such an angel as a baby. Here are some fun things to know about Kyle:

He is a very mild mannered kid. He really only gets really upset about 2 things: Losing video games, and his brother tormenting him.

He is a great soccer player, and loves to play all over the field. He was once only a "goalie" man, but he had the opportunity this year to play several different positions, including forward. He almost scored a left-footed goal twice (which is a big accomplishment!).

He loves his younger sister. His first real word was "baby" and he repeated it over and over the night that Megan came home from the hospital.

He is a brainiac. He is a smart kid, and able to think things through and come up with conclusions that sometimes blow you away.

Since he was a little kid, he has always had more girl friends than guy-friends. If there was a group of girls and a group of guys in the same place, he could always be found in the middle of the girls. He is a real "ladies man"... oh heaven help me!

He is one of the most tender-hearted kids I know.

He has a desire to be a good listener, and be able to help his friends through their trials, and he is always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

He is a wonderful poet.

He is very loyal... he is a good keeper of secrets.

He is a die-hard Atlanta Falcon's football fan! I thought he was going to pass out with pure excitement the day we surprised him with a tour of the Georgia Dome.

He loves to play basketball.

He enjoys cooking... and eating! His favorite foods are pb&j, tacos and hotdogs. (There is a new restaurant in town that serves burgers and tacos. He commented the other day that if they served hotdogs and tacos it would be his all time favorite place... even though he has never eaten there!) Oh yeah... and steak... he LOVES steak!

If there is any kind of gadget in the house, expect him to have it figured out before anyone else. He is our gadget guru.

He loves music... Lincoln Park is his favorite band at the moment, and he would love to learn to play guitar.

He gives the best hugs around. He was always my snuggler as a baby, and even though he is now taller than I am, he loves to come and give me big hugs.

When he was little we used to call him "mini-me" because he looked just like his Uncle James... same crooked smile and all. Nowadays people tell me that he looks just like me... poor kid!

I love this kid! I'm very thankful that I was chosen to be his mother. I can't imagine a life without him in it.


Happy birthday, Munster!!