Halloween 2012

We had so much fun this year! Tradition at our house is that Aunt P (my sister) picks out and buys the costumes for the boys. Unfortunately she got trumped this year on the picking part because both boys were determined to be what they wanted and not what she wanted, ha! So we have a red Samurai Power Ranger and Dale Earnhardt Jr. They both looked so cute and had the best time trick or treating.

Hope you had a great time too!

Fall!

I am so excited that it is finally feeling like Fall in Alabama! We woke up this morning to chilly temps and they are supposed to be like this for a while. Bring on the cool, crisp air and the yummy food that I love to cook this time of year. I have been so busy lately that I have not had much time to sit down and blog. I have finally gotten into a routine now that I am working part-time somewhere and still sewing during my free time. It has been an adjustment be we are finally used to the "new normal" around our house. Here are a few pictures of the last few weeks, enjoy!

My sweet boys!

A prize from Aunt P came in the mail this morning! They thought it was awesome :)

dotMom 2012 & a mini getaway

I was so very fortunate to get away this past weekend and go to dotMom, an event hosted by Lifeway. Last year was the first time they held the event and I also attended it. It was so refreshing for me and my soul to get away from everything and focus on me for a bit. To give a little recap dotMom is for Mom's of any age and has speakers and breakout sessions that you get to choose from. I loved all of the speakers but my most favorite was Esther Burroughs. She is truly a godly woman that I could sit and listen too for hours. I love how she calls her husband "my man" and when she talk about God she refers to him as "papa". She is just one of those women that radiates her faith.

The very first friend I made when we moved to Anniston almost 5 years ago went with me and it was so much fun to hang out with her. She is someone that I can be myself with and understand what its like to be a mom that goes thru things like I do. We talked about lots of stuff and made plans to go to dotMom again next year in Chattanooga!

My boys were so excited to see me when I got back Saturday night and I felt like I was ready to tackle some new things with them and for them. Change does not always come easy but once it gets into a routine I think we will all be happier. If you need a getaway check this event out, you will not be disappointed!

Now on to the mini getaway...

The hubby travels some for work and we earn points that can be turned into free hotel nights. We had one getting ready to expire so I planned for us to use it this weekend and do something fun with the boys. Well, things change and I was just convicted over the weekend that we needed to do something for just the two of us. So, with the help of my awesome sister, we went "away" to dinner and a night in a hotel in our own town! It may sound crazy but it was well worth the uninterrupted time to just talk and hangout with each other. I really think all couples need to do this a few times during the year. We will probably do this again but may venture an hour or so away if time allows. (and the boys love any time with Aunt P they can get!)

First Day of Pre-K3

It seems like yesterday that I was bringing this sweet baby boy home.....

and now he has started Pre-K3! 

He had a rough first week. I have started back working 2 and a half days a week. For the last 2 weeks I have worked 8-5 and his whole little world has been upside down. I am hoping that next week will be better because I will be able to drop him off and pick him up 3 out of the 5 days he goes. He has a really good teacher and some of his friends are in his class as well. We are looking forward to all he will learn this year!

War Eagle and a Birthday

We are headed to Atlanta tomorrow to watch the Auburn Tigers play in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. It, as well as other games, officially kick-off the college football season. I am so excited that we are going. We usually go away for our anniversary but for reason we can not control it just did not work out this year. We decided to go to the game and take the boys with us. They have no clue what we are doing tomorrow and I can not wait to surprise them!

After the game we are headed home to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday (it was actually the 30th). We met my parents for dinner on Thursday and gave him part if his gift - 60 letters, one for each year of his life. My sister and I have had so much fun getting these in the mail the last few months but seeing his expressions while reading them was the best! We have another surprise too but you will have to wait until we get back (can't spoil it!)

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

War Eagle!

First Day of School - Connor

Connor started school on August 20th! I cannot believe that I have a First Grader! He has changed so much over the summer and is acting more grown-up everyday. Here are a few pictures of his first day!

Connor and Daddy (Ronnie's eyes are always weird in pictures for some reason. his surgery went well and we are so thankful for that!)

Connor and Mommy

Not So Great Days

I have been a stay at home Mom now for about 6 months. I have had great days with the boys and not so great days. On the days everything is great we are all happy campers, but on the days they are not so great it seems like everyone has their grumpy pants on. This Mommy would not change anything (so please dont think I am complaining). I love my boys with all my heart and soul and I know for a fact I am not the only Mommy that goes through these times. I read other blogs and think to myself, "Boy she has it all together," but I know that not everything is always shared. So that is why I decided to blog about the not so great days. They seem to come at not so great times and they cause not so great things to happen and they cause not so great attitudes to come out! So the next time you find yourself or someone you know having one of these days take a minute to say a prayer for yourself or that person. You never know what your little prayer might do!

Time flies by and these two little boys I have now will not be little one day! We had open house tonight for Cooper's 3-year old preschool and I just cannot believe he is 3! Connor's open house is Monday night and he starts 1st Grade on August 20th! It seems like yesterday that these boys were tiny and sleeping on my chest, I miss those days. We have a fun-filled week and a half before we get back in a groove of school! Where did the summer go?

One Month

It has been one whole month since I last blogged. Shame on me! It has just been so busy that one thing after another has popped up and I have not taken the time to sit down and write. I think the easiest way is to catch up with a few bullet points and then start over again....

• I am loving my new oven that I blogged about last. It has been wonderful to get back in the groove of cooking meals without the use of a crock pot or small convection oven.
• July 4th was great. It was low-key because Ronnie had to work but we did enjoy pizza and fireworks!
• Cooper's new favorite TV show is Curious George and he loves to walk around and say "Hhhuuuhhhhhhh!" just like George. It is the cutest thing!
• My sister and I made the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and they were awesome!
• We got a new puppy and her name is Aubie (War Eagle!) So far she has been great and the boys love her.
• Connor spent 8 days with my parents! He had a blast and got to do lots of fun things. He also stayed with my Mom's mom and my Dad's parents during the week. I am so blessed that my boys have grandparents and great-grandparents that are a huge part of their lives. 
• We went to the museum one day and the boys had fun.
• We have been swimming a lot and reading a lot!
• We visited with one of my greatest friends and her children this past week. The kids had fun and I was so glad we could catch up.
• Ronnie is surprising Connor this week with a day trip to Six Flags! He has asked all summer to go and it is finally working out that they can. I can not wait for Connor to wake up Weds morning and have to get dressed and go!

I think this pretty much sums up the past month, now on to what is going on now...

• Ronnie had a follow-up visit for his cornea transplant from October 2010. He has a cataract that has developed as a side effect from the steroid he has to take everyday. Needless to say we are concerned. He has surgery on August 14th to remove the cataract and we pray that it goes smoothly. There is a risk that it could jeopardize the transplant. Would you remember to say a prayer for us? We know that God is in control!
• Connor starts 1st grade in 3 weeks and Cooper starts Pre K3 in 5 weeks! I can not believe the summer is almost over and that my boys are growing up. 
• I am gearing up to sew/embroider a little more! 

Happy Sunday!

Blog Commenting Challenge - Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of the 3rd Annual Blog Commenting Challenge!

If you would like to participate hop on over to Jenna's Journey for all the details!

Here is today's topic - Tell us about your hobbies! What do you do in your free time? What are 

your favorite books, movies, music etc?

I love being with my hubby and my boys, they are my life! I love to read and bake. I also love to appliqué/monogram and am teaching myself how to sew.

Reading has always been a passion of mine. My mom took my sister and I to the library all the time when we were little and it is something that I continue to do for myself and am now teaching my boys how wonderful books are. Connor loves to read by himself ever since he learned to actually read, but he has always loved to be read too. Cooper loves to get books too, especially when he is fixated on a certain thing which lately has been volcanoes - he is three!

I have recently become a stay at home mom and my hubby gifted me with a really nice sewing/embroidery machine. I am trying to build up a small home business, check it out here, so that we are able to always do extra things with and for the boys. It is so fun to create things and even more fun to do it for others. I monogram/applique and I also make custom camera straps. I am also "teaching" myself how to sew clothes, especially little boys shorts. It can be tedious at times but I enjoy it.

I also LOVE to bake! My all time favorite place to get recipes from is....The Pioneer Woman. Unfortunately I haven't been doing much lately because my gold ole electric range broke. But yesterday I got my new one and I am so excited! Out with the old and in with the new.....

Old and broken. See no glass on the front, it shattered when Cooper was 18 months old while it was on and he was standing next to it! I called and got the runaround and we never did get it replaced.  Then back in March it started giving an error code it would heat up to over 550-600 degrees! So I waited patiently, not really, to find a great deal.....

This was after they removed it. It was gross underneath but the nice guy's from Lowe's let me clean it. (They also looked at me funny while I was taking pictures!)

Here is the new one. It is a convection electric range which means you can cook normal or with the convection part on. I have used it twice since I got it and I love it. I have always wanted to make the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and next week I think I will!

I hope you've enjoyed getting to know about the things I like!

Blog Commenting Challenge - Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of the 3rd Annual Blog Commenting Challenge!

If you would like to participate hop on over to Jenna's Journey for all the details!

Here is today's topic: Tell us about your social media! Where can we find you? Link to your twitter, pinterest, Facebook, instagram, or google +. If you don't use those sites, then tell us why not!

Also, what are your favorite websites? Are there any that you check daily? What do you like about them?

My social media consists of twitter, facebook and pinterest. Sometimes I use instagram but keep it private because a lot of pictures are of my boys and I just like it that way!  I don't post that often on twitter but love to follow people and I do frequent Facebook often. However I only friend people on FB that I know in real life. I do have a fan page for the work I currently do from home, you can go here to like Sugar & Snails! I love to applique and am learning to sew, it is fun to create things for people!

Pinterest is an addiction! It is so fun to get ideas and recipes, you can follow me here!

I of course check FB, my blog and some news sites daily. I love to browse on etsy, as well as sites related to appliques and sewing. 

Day in Prattville

We went home last Thursday to prepare for my Mamaw's 80th surprise party and my sister and I spent the day in Prattville, AL. Cooper went with us but he got to spend the day with Maw and Stokes (really Papa but that is what Cooper has been calling him) which he loved! Here is a picture recap of what we did!

We started with lunch!

Yummy!

Then we went to a few shops downtown. 

This one had giant marshmallows with all sorts of things on them!

A park leading to the creek. It was gorgeous!

Pretty flowers

The creek, which my boys love to go to and play in. 

The bridge over the creek.

Prattville's Pratt Park is also in the running for a $100,000 grant from Coca-Cola. They would use the money to build a Splash Pad. You can go here to help them win!

Blog Commenting Challenge - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the 3rd Annual Blog Commenting Challenge!

If you would like to participate hop on over to Jenna's Journey for all the details!

Here is today's topic - Tell us about your blog. What do you blog about? Why do you blog? How did you start blogging? What kinds of things do you/are you willing to share with the world? Where do you find your topic inspiration?

My blog was created as a way for me to document what is going on in my life and especially the lives of my boys. I never was a "document things in a baby book" mom and I have tried scrapbooking but it is so time-consuming so I thought I would give blogging a try. I have not been great about blogging in the past, but now that I am home I find it easier too.

I enjoyed reading some other blogs and decided that I needed one for myself. It is fun to read about other people and see that they go through similar things in life that I do.

As far as what I blog about I am trying to be pretty open. I blog about my hubby and children, my faith, normal day to day things and sometimes struggles. There are things that I will keep private as I am sure that other's do the same. 

Topics are hard to come by(this challenge has been great!) I try to incorporate my children as much as I can because one day I hope to have my blog made into a book for each of them. I want them to see what was going on in our lives as they grew-up. I also look for link-ups because honestly there are days I may not have much to "talk" about and the link helps me get started.

Blog Commenting Challenge on Jenna's Journey

Jenna over at Jenna's Journey is hosting her 3rd Annual Blog Commenting Challenge this week and I decided to participate! If you want to join the fun click on the picture below and get all the details on how to participate.

I am so glad she is giving topics each day because I am not sure I could come up with a topic five days in a row, Ha! Today's topic is Tell Us About YOU! So here we go...

I am Morgan! I live in Alabama with my husband Ronnie and our two boys, Connor and Cooper. I also have a stepson named Jack. We have a Dauschand named Zoe and will soon have a Jack Russell, who has yet to be named, added to our bunch (yes, I am crazy to get another dog but it is for the boys!).

I became a stay-at-home Mom in February of this year. Before I stayed home I worked for a credit union in e-commerce/marketing and when we moved to our current city I worked for a MDO for 4 years that my boys both went to. It has been the most rewarding decision for us that I am now home. I would not trade anything for the time I am getting with my boys.

My hubby and I got married on August 28, 2004. Connor was born on January 4, 2006 and Cooper was born on April 28, 2009. My stepson Jack is 13.  The hubby would like to try one more time for a girl but I love only having boys! 

Sunday Social - Week 3

What is your all-time favorite song?


"I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin

What is your favorite singer/band?


This one is hard because there a so many. But all-time would be Reba.

What is your theme song/song that best describes your life?

Right now it is "Learning To Be The Light" by Newworldson

What songs put you in a good mood?


Funky Jesus Music

What is your favorite road-trip music?


I love to ride in the quite! Especially when I am all alone with no kiddos :)

What song are you embarrassed to admit you love?

I love music from the 80's!

I hope that everyone has a great week!

Happy Birthday Mamaw!

We have traveled home this weekend to celebrate my grandmothers 80th birthday with a surprise party on Saturday! She is one of my most favorite and I am so lucky that I still have her in my life and that my boys have developed a bond with her too. She has always been there for me no matter what. She is one of those special women that I think everyone should have in there life. I am pretty sure she has no idea what we have pulled together and especially no idea that all of her daughters (4 total), grandchildren, great-grandchildren along with tons of other family and friends will be there to help her celebrate. To me it is truly a milestone to make it to 80 and I hope and pray she makes it another 20+ years!

Happy Birthday Mamaw!

Sunday Social - Week 2

I am linking up again with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social. Here are the questions and answers for this weel. I hope you enjoy!

Favorite movie of all time?

The Little Mermaid 

Favorite movie quote?

"there's no crying in baseball" I just love how this is said in the movie!

Best movie to watch for a girls night in?


I am a sucker for anything on lifetime: or anything that has come from a Nicholas Sparks book

Best breakup movie?


Can't really think of one!

Favorite celeb eye candy?


Matthew McConuaghey

Which movie stars closet would you want to raid?


Katie Holmes or Reese Witherspoon




I hope that you all have a wonderful Sunday!


p.s. Please remember to keep my sweet friend Mina and her children in your prayers. She lost her husband in a tragic accident on Thursday. The visitation is tonight and the funeral is Monday morning. She is a wonderful person inside and out and I know that God is with her and will always be with her. I cannot imagine what she has gone through since Thursday and what all she will endure in the days to come. 


Isaiah 41:10  fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Happy Father's Day

I am so very lucky to have an amazing husband that is an even more amazing father and a Dad that was  and still is an amazing Dad! I am also still blessed to have a grandfather in my life that has always been an important part of my life.

Me and the hubby!

My grandfather (on the left) with my Dad.

Amazing Wonders Aviation and Prayers

We have had an awesome week of VBS! We have had 500+ workers and children this past week at church and God has done AWESOME things in the lives of some of the children. I have left my camera at home everyday so there are not any pictures to post right now. Hopefully I can get some from friends and post another time. VBS has always been a huge part of my life and I am so fortunate to get to experience it as a Mom now.

On a sad note, a sweet friend of mine lost her husband this morning in an accident. He rides his bicycle to work everyday and this morning was struck and killed. Would you keep her and there three children in your prayers. I have had the privilege of having their daughter in Sunday School the past year and their middle son in VBS this week. The baby is too sweet and has the same name as one of my boys. I cannot imagine the pain she is going through losing her husband and father to her children.

Sunday Social - Week 1

How did you come up with your blog name?

We really live on Easy Street! 

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Going back and reading about things that have happened, milestones we have reached and memories we are making.

What is one thing you have discovered because of blogging and now cant live without?

If I don't blog for a long time I am always anxious about getting something up. I have also discovered tons of people who are ordinary just like me and struggle with similar things. It has been nice to relate to others and receive the encouragement by what they post.

Facebook or Twitter? and why?

Facebook; My Dad, grandmothers and other family are on there and it is easy to keep up with them. We live 2+ hours away and it makes them still feel like a part of what we do.

If one celeb read your blog who would you want it to be?

Julia Roberts

What is something you want people to know about your blog?

My blog will one day be a book for my boys. Even though I may only post a few times a month I want to be able to show them one day what I was doing late at night when I could not sleep!

Go here to link up your Sunday Social!

T-Ball All Stars 2012

Just when you think you are going to start summer which consists of lazy days, spending lots of time at the pool, going to the library, staying in jammies all day and just relaxing when you get a phone call, "Would Connor like to play All Stars?" My first reaction was, "Yes!", then I thought about the time and money it would cost.....we gave Connor the choice and explained what it would mean and he said he wanted to. So here we are in Round 2 of All Stars. We played 7 games in 8 days! And these are not big boys, these are 5-7 year olds playing their hearts out every game. Tonight we play game number 8 and possibly number 9! It has been fun and the experience has been great but I am looking forward to the days I mentioned above starting! Here are a few pictures of my All Star!

Ronnie and Connor.....I love this picture! 

Connor

Getting their eye black (a must have, Ha!)

Me and Connor