2010 Christmas Letter

Christmas Letter 2010: We have loved and cared for a wide range of animals and reptiles over the years but have really committed most of our time to Kenyan Sand Boa snakes the last couple of years. This year we produced hundreds of baby Kenyan Sand Boas and we took the opportunity to travel the reptile and amphibian trade show circuit across the Southeast and East Coast to sell our snakes. The entire family has a hand in the hobby with Braxton being the resident ‘snake wrangler’ and feeder, Asher loves the mice (snake dinner) and gets weekly pardons for his favorites, Tennyson will hold anything you put in her hands which comes in handy when you are fooling around with snakes, Jennifer is involved in the sales and marketing of the snakes and takes some of the best pictures you’ll ever see of Kenyan Sand Boas (www.sandboamorphs.blogspot.com). My role is more of an overseer with the kids and wife doing the bulk of the dirty work. In 2010 we traveled to Reptile Shows as far as Anaheim-California, New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta, Hamburg-Pennsylvania, Birmingham, Cullman, and Bessemer Alabama. We have plans to add a few more destinations in 2011 along with maybe a couple other reptile projects like the Crested Geckos. This year we also added Sulcata Tortoises, pot bellied pigs and a rabbit to our growing collection at home. Jenn and I feel like we’ve found a hobby for the entire family and while we realize it is not the ‘main stream,’ we love it and have found the money isn’t bad either.

Tennyson our 2 ½ year old has followed in the ways of her rough and tumble brothers and finds riding the tricycle at full speed into the wall the most fun of all. We have a long chained swing in our barn that she loves to ride as she yells ‘Bump! Bump!’ which means push me so hard the swing bangs into the wall of the barn. So, when she amputated a portion of her finger this year while riding an old style school desk chair combination to the ground, it wasn’t too surprising when she stopped crying after a few minutes and started asking about dinner. She truly is a blessing with a real love for life and she has complete control over her brothers and daddy. Recently, she has taken to dressing me, so I now allow extra time in the morning for her to thread my belt and have a say in my outfit.

Asher, our five year old son, has grown up quite a bit while caring for his little sister. Tennyson and Asher are the best of friends. Asher helps with her counting and ABC’s and five minutes later teaches her how to jump off the porch. He is fiercely independent one moment and the next moment he can’t brush his own teeth. It is not uncommon to wake up in the morning and find him cooking scrambled eggs and bacon for the family breakfast or pouring his old dad a cup of joe. He has a very creative mind and regularly builds train sets, creatioins out of magformers or wood shapes that I could not do myself. He played soccer this last Spring for the first time and really enjoyed the camaraderie and giving Coach Michael a hard time. We didn’t start him in Kindergarten this year for a multitude of reasons (special relationship with his sister, he’s small for his age, & his personality is more conducive to one-on-one learning) We plan to enroll next Fall at Chilton Christian Academy with Braxton.

Braxton is seven going on 50. He is a stickler for the rules and will correct anyone who breaks one, whether he knows the person or not. He has such an outgoing personality and has made friends across the reptile world at the shows we’ve attended. I can’t tell you how many times the first question I’m asked when we arrive is, “Where’s Braxton?” He played his second season of soccer this Spring and was consistently one of the fastest kids on the field which translated into a lot of goals. Braxton, Asher and I look forward to 2011 Spring Soccer when we hope to attempt to make a pass to another teammate who then successfully makes a goal. Braxton has started his own collection of snakes and expects to have some really nice litters of expensive babies in 2011. We regularly leave him in charge of household projects which fits his leadership personality. He will work with us on a project for the entire day without complaining or work independently to complete an adult project on a Saturday. However, he often disappears on his bike to ride up and down the hills and play with fire ants, Jenn constantly has to remind me that he is only seven. He does really well in school and is a daddy’s boy. We spend a lot of time together just doing stuff.

Jennifer has her hands full caring for the boys, Tenny and myself. She enjoys the children and will sit down and teach & play for hours with them. While her mobility and stamina have greatly improved, the pain in her back has gotten worse over the year. She is still upbeat and positive and very thankful just to walk but, afternoons and evenings are very difficult after a long day. Keep her in your prayers that the nerves regenerate and pain will go away. Jenn surprised me this last year with her ability to sell snakes, tortoises & power bracelets. She’s quite a saleswoman. She has greatly enjoyed getting out of Clanton and seeing more of the South and East Coast with her family. Jenn graduated from Birmingham School of Photography last year and enjoys taking pictures of the children and dreaming up new ideas for photo-shoots.

I have had a difficult time this year being away from California. After 11 ½ years of living in Alabama and being away from my family, we flew in September to San Diego for the first time in many years. We spent a week ‘at home’ while sandwiching, in a reptile show in Anaheim. It was good to see my family and old stomping grounds. By luck, my Cousin, Madison had a water polo tournament in Houston the following month and we drove out to get to see the family a second time while vacationing in Houston which was a lot of fun. I am lucky enough to get to spend most of my time either at work or at home with the family. I thoroughly enjoyed coaching my second season of soccer this Spring and look forward to the coming year. You can catch up on the rest of our exciting year through Jenn’s blog at www.jennifersjpegs.blogspot.com where you can see what we’ve been up to.

Here’s a few funny things that happened this year with the kids….

*The night before we flew to San Diego for a weeks vacation, Jennifer asked Braxton to put some batteries into a toy for Tennyson. When Jennifer asked Braxton if it worked, Braxton responded, “You didn’t say anything about if it worked, you asked me to put batteries in. I put batteries in it.” It didn’t work.

*Braxton walked out of his room about 8:30 one stormy night and said he couldn’t sleep. Then he asked when the lightning would stop. We told him to go to bed and lay down and close his eyes and count sheep jumping over the fence. He responded “Well, can I count the cows they seem to be running through our pasture scared of the lightning.” We have a real problem with our neighbors’ cows.

*Braxton has gotten into wrestling, no not the one on TV that all of our mullet wearing brethren love, but the no holds barred daddy and son type. After some serious Indian burns, rug burns, bruises and a possible neck injury requiring a doctor visit with ongoing visits, we have decided it was all worth it and now Tenny and Asher join us. By the way, when you talk to Asher he says you should speak into his right ear, (his good ear) A tip from me to you: when doing airplane spins (the act of grabbing one arm and leg on the same side of the body of a willing or unwilling child and spinning), avoid applying hand lotion.

Kids will say the funniest things….

*Asher, “I look good,” Daddy “You going to tell all the girls?” Asher, “No, they’ll know.”

*Braxton to Daddy, “Since you are from California, does that make me ½ Californian and ½ American?” Daddy, “Yes, son.”

*In October, Braxton discovered a hole in his blanket. Tennyson was nearby when he got upset and as she started to run out of the room yelling, “Not me!”

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank You

The kids came to me this morning and asked if we could please write thank you notes.  It made me proud to have them ask to do this kind act.  It seems these days as if it is a gesture that gets past by the wayside.  I believe and we have tried to teach the kids to be grateful for the things God has blessed us with and to take care of them and to be thankful for those who are willing to share with us.  To me one of the greatest feelings in the world is giving to others....it makes everyone happy.
Here is a thank you from Braxton, Asher & Tennyson for making our holiday season special!

Christmas Afternoon

Christmas afternoon was special because my parents came over and we go to see a white Christmas! We had a delicious and easy meal provided by Omaha Steaks. Here are a few images of our fun together.
Mother made this delicious peppermint cheesecake with an Oreo crust..seriously you can't go wrong with it!

One of our favoite gifts from Santa were the NERF Laser Guns.  Adults to our two year old daughter have already learned and enjoyed the game.  Last night we turned out all the lights and divided into teams and had a great time ambushing each other.  Here is my daddy getting in on some action.  If you have never palyed we encourage you to try it sometime! 

Tennyson got some new clothes from our favorite store...Janie and Jack.  She was so excited and as she was opening them she said "let's go dress up."

With two older brothers Tennyson is pretty good at remote controlled items..so this girly version of a my little pony remote car was real exciting for her.

Every year my mother gives all her grandchildren Hallmark oranaments to put on our Christmas tree.  It is a real exciting time each year to unwrap, play and hang them...a fun tradition.

Braxton had outgrown  his coveralls and was super excited to get a new pair to keep hiim warm while palying outside.  He got right to work the next morning cutting trees for a new trail to our bottom pasture. He and his brother organized all the trees they cut by size and have plans to build a house.

And a matching beanie! 

Granddaddy and Asher laughed and laughed as they played with Flarp noise putty...compliments from Santa!

The last time we were visiting San Diego we saw a billboard of 'Asher's Chocolates'...mother and daddy found some and gave them to our lil' chocolate lover.

Mrs. Melanie gave the boys the new Karate Kid movie.  They were so excited and have been dressing up in their Great Uncle Ed's Karate uniform and putting on their own version of karate shows for us.

The kids got new pillows and Tennyson and I were trying it out. They have actually been sleeping better!

A rare pic of me...I am usually behind the camera

Daddy got us a battery tester. A wonderul and much needed gift.

We were blessed to get two new Wii games and controls.  We like to have Family Fun Night and play board games or the Wii. We look forward to trying out Wii Party from my mother and Daddy and Family Game night 3 from Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Mike.  We are always amazed how technologically advanced Braxton is than we are...how they figure stuff out is facinating.

Here are Mother and Daddy looking at their annual calendar

Uncle Mike and Aunt Marilyn came over to celebrate Christmas with us. We had a fun time playing with Christmas gifts and eating French Onion Soup.



Christmas Morning!

This Christmas was so very special with our kids being 7, 5 & 2 years of age.  We enjoyed being together and just relaxing in our PJ's most of the day.  Here are some pictures from the kids opening gifts Chrismas morning...most of them from our CA family....We miss you guys!
Aunt Linda and Aunt Deb got the boys the trilogy of Toy Story...what great movies!

Braxton, Asher & Tennyson got Mark a lighted non-fog shaving mirror.

Great Aunt Vonnette got the kids wooden 3-D puzzles, divided plates, glow sticks, candy and foam builiding sets! The plates have since been used at every meal and the chilly weather prevented their mid-night glow stick hike.

Nana Susan got Braxton & Asher new magformers to add to their collection...one of our favorite toys...it travels with us everywhere.  They build the neatest objects with these magnetic toys.

Their cousin Maddy got Tennyson this Playdough set.  We have never had Playdough before ever but all the kids have really enjoyed it.

Aunt Vonnette gave the kids the foam building sets.  While I was putting Tennyson down for her nap Braxton put his together with SUPER GLUE on our wood floor...yikes!

Mark's mom gave us albums our our visits to CA and TX and large prints for us to frame!

Tennyson was dressing & playing with Oliva (the pig) dress set that Aunt Deb got Tennyson

Here is a copy of my annual calendar that I make for many of our family members that enjoy looking at our kids throughout the year.  It includes monthly information such as birthdays, anniversaries, and other pertinent information for extended family members and close friends. 

Christmas with Brother's Fmaily

My brother and his family invited us and my parents to celebrate Christmas at their home.  We enjoyed a nice chili and chicken dinner with Christmas treats for dessert.  The kids had  SOOO much fun being with their cousins.  Here are a few images from our evening with them.  Lisa makes delicious lemon poppyseed bread everyear and I have been enjoying it all week...Thank you Lisa!
Granddaddy with Piper and Emmie

L-R: Sutton, Piper, Tennyson, Braxton, Emmie, Asher

Grandmommy with Sutton, Emmie & Piper

Sutton shared one of her barbie dolls with Tennyson.  She really liked it.  We have more tractors and cars than dolls at our house. 

The girls gave the boys hot wheels...a big hit!

Piper & Emmie gave me a pop quiz on all the Disney princesses...I really need to learn those!

Meet our new bunny!

I must say that reptiles are by far MUCH easier to care for than mammals.  I had a weak moment at the reptile show last Saturday and somehow came home with a lionhead baby bunny.  Her name is Sophie.  She is all fluff and has a great personality.  She loves to be held...even by the children!  She loves her new home in the chicken coupe/run.  She and the tortoise have similar diets so it makes feeding easy.

Making Memories

 This year we decided to go to one of our favorite places near Granddaddy's and Mana's house...Mr. Cooper's.  In the Summer we are frequent flyers to check on the figs, apples, and pears trees.  This time the kids had a blast rolling an old tin garbage can and of coarse  juming on hay bails.  I grew up making memories at Mr. Cooper's and now it is fun to see my children making such sweet memories of their own.

And we played and played until sunset