Thanksgiving Around the Corner

Well I am sitting here WAITING patiently for Thanksgiving to roll around. For me Thanksgiving will begin Saturday! The Duckworth family (my dad's family) will be having Thanksgiving at my parent's house. This will be the first time the entire Duckworth family (minus my uncle's wife, Marcia) has been together for Thanksgiving in 8 or 9 years! So it will be an exciting day.

I can't decide if I am looking forward to seeing my family more or the food!?!?! Just kidding! It will be nice to see everyone, and enjoy the food and fellowship with my family.

As I said this kicks off our Holiday season and I just can't wait. My plan is to put up our Christmas decorations Saturday evening and finish them Sunday night. I am also anxious to see how long our Christmas tree will stay standing up. I am thinking that once the bright lights, and shinny ornaments adorn the tree....Parker may start crawling after all!! I can't say that I won't be a little excited, but hopefully my tree can wish stand a 25 pound little boy pulling on it.

And yes, I promise to post pictures soon!

Crazy Few Weeks

I have not done a good job of posting lately....but as I warned everyone in the beginning, no promise of posting every week.

This is a busy time for everyone with the holidays beginning, but things are even crazier because this is a busy season for me at work. How busy? Let's just say that the last 2 weeks I have had a headache EVERY DAY!!! But I am making it and I will survive. Once Monday, December 15th hits, my stress level will go from 150% to about 50%.

Last weekend was a little busy. Friday night we were in Huntsville for Gavin's 4th birthday. Hard to believe he is 4! It was at my home church. Parker was not feeling the best, but he survived for at least 3 hours. Saturday morning I drove back to Gardendale for a hair cut/color....it could not wait any longer! Braxton stayed in Huntsville for the morning to take Parker to the doctor. We thought he had an ear infection, but Dr. Laue saw nothing! That afternoon we went to Brayden's 1st birthday. It is amazing to see Brayden and Parker sitting beside each other. 4 months apart and Parker (the younger of the two) is 4 pounds heavier! Parker was definitely making a list of all the toys he wanted for Christmas and his birthday in March. That evening we sat around the house and just took it easy. Sunday was another day at the house. Sometimes it is just nice to get stuff done on the weekends.

This past weekend we took it easy. Friday night me, Braxton and Parker went to eat at Habaneros. It was Parker's first experience with all of the bright lights and bold color. Parker spent most of the night leaning back looking at the ceiling. And we did find a new love....refried beans (no cheese). Saturday we slept until almost 8am. I cleaned house during the morning while Braxton ran into town to run a few errands. The afternoon we spent hanging out and playing with Parker. Then we watched the football game. ROLL TIDE! It was a nice laid back, no makeup day!! Sunday we had church and then that afternoon we had our Choir Social at the Stardome Comedy Club. We ate lunch/dinner and heard Mickey Dean a stand up comedian. It was a great time of laughter and it was a nice chance to have some adult time.

I hope to post a few pictures of Parker from the last few weeks. One of my particular favorites is him trying to eat spaghetti noddles! TOO CUTE!

Hopefully everyone will have a great week!

Socks - Parker's New Friend

Promised picture of "Socks" and Parker.....too sweet!

Halloween Weekend

Friday evening we stayed with my parents. Saturday morning we got up and had a wonderful pancake breakfast thanks to Nana! Then we got ready and drove to Tennessee just south of Nashville. Braxton has a great uncle and great aunt (Uncle Mike and Aunt Pat) that live in a beautiful area of Tennessee. Other than pictures they had not had the opportunity to meet or see Parker. We ate lunch with them and stayed to watch the Alabama vs. Arkansas State football game. Uncle Mike played for Bear Bryant in the 60s. I actually got to see the letter that Bear Bryant wrote to him telling him that had received a scholarship to play football for the University of Alabama. It was pretty cool!! We had a some great food and wonderful fellowship. Parker fell in love with Aunt Pat. He actually let her rock him to sleep and before long, they were both asleep in the chair together. It was SO SWEET! Thanks Uncle Mike and Aunt Pat!

Sunday was church. We actually had a pretty smooth morning of getting ready for church. No ruffled feathers today! Sunday was Pastor Appreciation. We had a guest speaker from the Alabama Church of God State Office, Stan Holder. I had only heard him speak one time while Braxton and I were completing the MIP program. Wow did he do an amazing job. I think I pretty much cried last 15 minutes of his sermon when he was talking about how God completely healed his son and then we he talked about the mental healing he had experienced after he accidentally shot his brother in the face at the age of 8. If God can heal both of those situations, then there is nothing to big for GOD!!! After the sermon we had a wonderful time in the altar of God's reassurance that He is in control and an opportunity to just worship Him.

After church Parker, Braxton and myself went to eat lunch at Chili's and then to Target to pick up a few birthday presents. I think this was the first time that Parker had ever been down the toy isle. Boy were his eyes opened wide! As we were walking down one isle we saw a SOCK MONKEY stuffed animal. We showed it to Parker and his eyes lit up and a big smile came across his face. When Braxton put it back on the shelf Parker's eyes followed it. Well it was our first experience of being a SUCKER in the toy isle. We bought it. But to watch his face light up, it was worth every penny! I will try and post a picture of Parker with his new friend Socks.

Hope everyone had a GREAT week!

Happy Halloween!!!

It is Parker's FIRST HALLOWEEN!!!!! I worked from home on Halloween. Parker was such a good boy. He is so good about playing while Mommy works. I was so proud of him that I had to stop and take a picture! He is so content. Sometimes he will try to "move" towards me and the computer. He isn't always successful. When he starts to get real fussy, I move him closer to me and he will sit beside the shinny trash can (paper only!) and look at himself...he loves it!!

I hope Parker doesn't always think that every Halloween will be like this years! We had a wonderful Halloween. We loaded up and went to Huntsville for Parker's first Halloween. Two of our great friends, Tish and Jamie Engel hosted a hayride and Halloween party. We all (about 25 of us) met at Hampton Cove and had a hayride through the community. We stopped a few times and let the kids (and adults) trick-or-treat. See Parker's first house? Picture is not great, but it is what I got! Parker was so good. He didn't cry once, but he did try and eat the hay. I guess Sock Monkeys and hay don't go together. At the end of the ride he leaned his head over and was out!

After the hayride we stopped by to see my boss, Candy and her husband John. It was a nice surprise on Halloween. Parker never woke up while we were talking with them. After a short visit, we went on to the Halloween party. It was crazy! Some of the grandparents had also come by to see their grandchildren all dressed up for Halloween. We had Peter and Lucy from Narnia (Gavin and Dakota), a skeleton, 2 princesses, Peter Pan, a cowgirl, Indian Jones, a knight, one of the stars from High School Musical 3 and an octopus. It was GREAT! We ended up not leaving the Engel's house until 11pm. Thankfully Nana and Papa took Parker home around 10pm. It was a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Week in Review

It has been awhile since I posted anything, but we have been a busy family. Last week was just a busy day-to-day week. Parker was fighting an ear infection last week. I worked from my parent's house one day. When the work day ended I took Parker outside to grass (which we don't have at home) and took a few pictures in his "First Halloween" shirt. I think he was more interested in the grass than smiling for the camera.

Last weekend we just hung around the house. I wanted to get a few pictures hung up and I actually had the opportunity to go through all of Parker's (aka Gavin's old clothes) and hang up his clothes. It is hard to believe that he will be wearing 12 months in just a month or so!! Parker is actually slimming up....not to much weight gain, but of course his belly is still there.


We were just hoping that is 0-9 month Halloween outfit was going to fit!

Liz Hurley Ribbon Run

Is it Sunday yet????? So this is probably the BUSIEST week at Huntsville Hospital Foundation. For those who might not know...I work for HHF. We are the fundraising arm of Huntsville Hospital. We have 12 employees in our organization. This week is our largest event, the Liz Hurley Ribbon run. It is a 5k run that benefits the breast cancer fund at Huntsville Hospital. Last year we had about 2,500 runners registered. This year as of Wednesday night we had over 2,800 registered...and when I left work (at 6:45) we had over 3,000! WOW!

Needless to say, I am tired and worn out. Tomorrow will begin at 8:00am (well probably 5:30 because that is when Parker usually wakes up) and I won't get home until after 9:00pm. Then I have to be at "work" at 6:00am and I will work until 1:00pm. And then Parker and I will finally go home to Birmingham since Monday morning to see Braxton/Daddy.

If you have a free moment, pray for sanity, patience and a strong back to lift all the heavy boxes! Signing out and going to bed....Crystal

Slow Weekend Preparing for a Busy Week!

This weekend was a family weekend. Friday night was a low key evening. We cooked dinner and watched a movie in our PJs!

Saturday we tried to sleep a little late, but because Parker went to bed at 7:30pm on Friday night he wanted to get up at 7:30 Saturday morning. I cooked breakfast (which I don't always do Saturday) and we started the day watching football. It is amazing how Alabama can not be playing football yet we have to watch football....ALL DAY LONG!!! After breakfast we got ready to go in to town. Parker needed new shoes! I must say that infant/toddler shoe designers could do a little better! How can you get a wide foot in a narrow opening???? Doesn't work! ANYWOO....we got some cute New Balance tennis shoes in a large size of 4! It was nice having Braxton with us shopping. We walked up and down the store front pushing Parker in the stroller. It was a nice afternoon. Saturday evening we spent at the house playing with Parker and "picking up" the house and of course watching football! Parker also had his first taste of Baby Mum-Mum aka a teething biscuit. Wow, he had fun with that!

Sunday we got up and went to church. We had an amazing service. Bishop Nassan Ibrahim from Africa preached a powerful message on prayer. This was the 5th or 6th time I had the opportunity to hear Bishop Nassan. He really opened my eyes to my prayer life and how I want to change things. The first point of his message was "Jesus prayed". He talked about how Jesus had no problems, nothing to pull him down, nothing to weight him down, yet he PRAYED! After an awesome message we had an unbelievable altar service. I really feel like the congregation at Christway needed to hear and see the move of God.

Sunday night was preparation for the week to come. At work we have our largest event of the year, the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run. Parker and I will be staying in Huntsville all week long because of me having to work late and of course the weekend is the event. Nana and Papa will be a big help this week! While I was packing, I put Parker in his Johnny Jump....what fun!!!

Hopefully this will be a good week. I PRAY that it will be as calm as possible and that I will have patience with myself and with work. HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

Promised Pictures

I have been meaning to post some new pictures...here they are. Some are older, but thought everyone might enjoy them.

Gavin, Dakota, "Spot" & Parker

Parker and his friend Brayden

Parker at his sweetest....that is his friend, Sparky.

Bath Time at the Lake....the sink is now too small for Parker!

Catching Up

I have been a little behind and have not blogged in awhile. So here is what has been going on. Last Thursday, Parker was sick. He had his 6 month check up on Wednesday. Everything was good. He weighs almost 23 pounds and is 29.5 inches long. Big boy....ready to play football! Dr. Laue saw a little fluid in his right ear so he wrote him a prescription for an antibiotic just in case. WELL....Thursday morning he woke up with a 100.4 degree temperature. I took him with me to work and my dad came to pick him up. He kept him until I could leave after lunch. Parker is feeling much better. Now we have moved on to cutting our top 2 teeth....tough times!

Friday night Braxton and I were supposed to go to a movie with couples from the new ministry we are working with "One Love" to see Fireproof. After some unfortunate circumstances when we walked up to the counter to buy tickets, they were sold out! We were supposed to leading other couples to this movie! Talk about a bad night. Braxton and I left the movie theater and grabbed a bite to eat....we might as well take advantage of having a babysitter. By the way, thanks Brandie for keeping Parker. After dinner we called Brandie and she was willing to keep Parker overnight. So, we went to the 9:45pm Fireproof movie in Cullman. WHAT A GREAT MOVIE!!! Braxton and I cried - pretty much through the entire movie. It puts your life into prospective and made us realize that although we have a strong marriage, there are still things we can work on to improve our marriage. We are a work in progress!

Saturday, Braxton went to the Kentucky vs. Alabama game. Parker and I ran errands in the morning. We bought his Halloween costume - Sock Monkey and picked up a few groceries. My parents called after lunch and asked if we (Parker and I) wanted company. They came to the house and watched the football game with us. Parker was a little shocked to wake up from his nap and see his Papa and Nana. Thanks Mom and Dad for the company and for helping with Parker. AND....ROLL TIDE! It might not have been pretty, but it is still a win. Braxton made it home about 9:00 and I was off to bed!

Sunday we went to church. We had a great service and it was nice to be back at church after missing last week. We (B, P & Me) went to eat lunch. Parker had mashed potatoes for the first time....yummy! We took a nap at the house. I love my Sunday naps. Then I had a meeting for church to go to. How the weekend flies by!