I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus!

No mistletoe needed here! Leave it to Arline to capture these moments! Ha! Ha!

Holiday Fun with Ine & Unk

Ine and Unk came to visit for several days. Other than Gracie being sick a couple of days, it was a great visit. We went to the Fort Worth Parade of Lights, the kiddos baked cookies with Unk, we celebrated Jackson's birthday and the girls went Christmas shopping just to name of a few of the fun things we did together. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them. Thanks for the memories Ine & Unk!

Jenn and Bella

These are a few pictures that Arline took of me and my "other girl".

So proud of our Watch Dog Dad!

Jason is a part of a group of Dads at Granger. We call them the Watch Dog Dads. These extra special Dads take time off from their jobs to work at the school on various days throughout the year. Jase & Jackson LOVE it when their Daddy come to work at their school. Jackson's birthday was one of the days that Jason volunteered to work this year. He was one tired Watch Dog at the end of the day. I think he had a full days work! Unk (Uncle Alex) was in town on this day so we had his background check cleared just in time for him to be a Watch Dog too! It was a great days for all of them!

Thanksgiving at Granger 2009

Another tradition for Granger.....Thanksgiving lunch with your kiddos. Jason, Gracie and I joined the boys for Thanksgiving lunch at school. We had a great time! Gracie LOVES going to "the brothers" school. I think Jase and Jackson like having us there too! We shared our table with some good friends....Katie and Christy. It was a great day! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Halloween 2009

Here are our trick or treaters. Jase went as a Mississippi State Basketball player. Jackson went as Superman for the third year in a row! And Gracie dressed as a fairy princess. The kiddos had a really great time. Jason tried to take Bella with us, but no such luck. That girl just refuses to be on her best behavior!!! Oh well....maybe we will try again next year. After getting lots of candy, we hung out with a few of our neighbors and handed out candy together. We roasted some yummy marshmallows...thanks to Kimmie and Justine. It was a fun night!

Our Granger Wrangler

Look at our little Granger Wrangler! Jason and I are so proud of this little guy. Jackson was the recipient of Mrs. Washington's Granger Wrangler Award for the first six weeks. Jackson was just as trilled and we were! Way to go, Jackson!

Happy Birthday to Mom!

This is the birthday cake that my girl picked out for me! Her Daddy took her to the ice cream cake shop and let her chose any cake she wanted. She said she liked this one because it had sprinkles and ribbon on it. Of course Daddy liked it.....ice cream cake is his all time favorite! It was delicious! Thanks Daddy and Grace Girl!

Here I am....the birthday girl! I turned 34 this year. Jason told Gracie that I was getting old and her response was, 'No! She is not old, my whole family is brand new!'. I like to think of myself as still being brand new. Jase likes to tease me about being older than Jason. Jackson on the other hand doesn't think it's so funny.

This last year had been a 'growing up' year for me. I have learned so much about myself and who I want to be. I have learned about what is important in my life and what is not. I have experienced true love and what true love is not. This past year, I have really learned what it means to be blessed. I figured out how to trust God and how to give my everything to Him! And I have been truly humbled to understand just how much He loves me. Minus a few bumps in the road...this has been the best year of my life. I am beyond thankful..... I have the BEST husband ever and three little hearts that live outside of my body! My prayer is that I continually grow in the years to come.

Cowboys Game ~ Sept 20,2009

Here are the lucky ducks! Jason and Jase went to the Cowboys' first game in the new stadium. They had the best time! Jase said the stadium was amazing! I think he really liked the cheerleaders this time too! He showed me some pictures that he took on his phone and they we not all of the players and stadium. I caught a glimpse of some long blonde headed girls with skimpy outfits on! Oh no! Believe it or not.....I didn't over-react. I just said "Hmmmm....looks like you got some good pictures.". They both were exhausted when they got home, but they agreed that it was well worth it all!

Our Little Ballerina

Here she is....our little ballerina. Gracie began taking dance lessons yesterday. It was a joyful day in her little life and mine too! She and I have been long awaiting this day. She had the best time picking out leotards, tights, ballet and tap shoes. She could not wait to get home and model all of her dance get-up for her Daddy and brothers! It was so sweet to watch.... Jason and the boys too, smiled from ear to ear. They were all so proud of that little girl! She had the best time in class and can't wait for next week! She's had so much fun! And I did too! Oh the joys of being a mommy!

Tiny Dancers

Gracie, Katie and Lilly....Such Sweet, Sweet Little Girls!

First Day of School

Here they are...ready for another fun-filled year at Granger. Jase and Jackson were up early, ready for their big day. However, Gracie was not so excited. Her partners in crime were about to be gone for the whole day. What's a girl to do? I was able to get a few pictures. Jase informed me that this year things would be different with me and my camera. Boo Hoo! I knew this day was coming...but hoping not so soon! No cameras allowed in his classroom. I did sneak one picture of him from the hallway(he never knew I was there). HeHe! The following post contains picures from the first day of school. Hope you enjoy!

First Day of School

Such a Sad Girl....

This is the first day of school. Gracie was so sad that Jase and Jackson had to go to school. No matter what she says, she really loves her brothers.

Go Dawgs! - MSU Baseball Camp

In July, Jase went to Mississippi State Baseball camp. He had a great week. It was a week filled with hard work and Mississippi humidity...but he said it was well worth it.

Batting practice......

Batting practice.....

These are all of the campers ages 10-11. They are receiving instructions for the next set of drills.

Overall this was a wonderful learning experience for Jase. He is already looking forward to next year.

Splish Splash!

These are a hodge podge of pictures taken at the pool. We practically lived there this summer. The kids loved swimming with all of their friends from the neighborhood/school. As you probably see in one of the pictures, Gracie wore a ballerina tutu to the pool everyday. At first Jase was so embarrassed of her, but by mid summer he was okay with her tutu! Of course, Jackson could of cared less. It was so funny!

Sweet Little Girls

This is Gracie and Molly. Gracie had her very first sleep over this summer with Molly. Molly came and stayed at our house and Gracie went and stayed at Molly's. Gracie had the BEST time ever! Our little girl is growing up way too fast!

We're Divin' In......

Last night was the kickoff of our Summer Bible Spectacular (aka VBS). The theme this year is I'm Divin' in. It's all about stories from the Bible that have to do with Jesus and water! This week is going to be filled with lots of fun! This year Jason and I are leaders for Jase's age group. Jackson is in a great group too! His leaders are some friends from our ABF class. Gracie is still hanging in there with her pre-school friends! We all had a great time last night and looking forward to the rest of the week!

Take me out to the ballgame....

We went to another Rangers game this weekend. This time I remembered my camera. We had lots of fun, even though we went 2 1/2 hours early to stand in line, in the blazing sun to get free jerseys for the kids. We met some friends there and we enjoyed our time with them too! Of course the boys love going to the games, but so does Gracie. Her favorite line is, "Momma, I LOVE this BIG ballgame!". I think it is safe to say that The Tatums love The Rangers!

Love, Love, Love

These are just a few pics that Jason took of me lovin' on our kids! I love, love, love these little people so much and I just wanted them to know it!

Happy Father's Day 2009

Jason had to work on Father's Day weekend. So, on Saturday before Father's Day the kids and I made a sign for him and we stuck it in the front yard. The sign said....The BEST Dad lives here! When he got home from work that afternoon he was pleasantly surprised! We had so much fun making the sign for him. We could only leave the sign up for a day or two out of fear of getting a letter from the HOA. Oh well....we were able to leave it up long enough for all the neighbors to know that we think Jase, Jackson & Gracie have the best dad!

Jase's Last Day of 4th Grade

On the last day of school Jase's class had their class party. Before going outside for some water fun, they enjoyed nuggets from Chick fil A, fruit and a cookie cake. Gracie is usually so shy, but she made herself right at home with Jase and all of his friends. Of course she was still very quite, but just leaving my side was a huge milestone for her! I think Jase enjoyed having her too! He is really proud of her! It was a very fun day!