WOW!! What a Christmas!

We had an absolutely WONDERFUL Christmas! We had to change things up a little bit this year do to the fact that I have been sooo "baby sick". I just didn't have the energy to prepare the house for guests this year, so when Dale's mother graciously offered for us to come to the lake and do Santa, I swallowed my pride and took her up on the offer.

Everything turned out great! The boys had an awesome Christmas and so did we! We have so much to be thankful for this year! To top off an already wonderful day, it began to snow! It has never snowed on Christmas during our lives and now our kids will have a Christmas to remember for the rest of theirs!

Hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!

It is a Christmas tradition in our house for Dale to read "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Sunrise on the lake Christmas morning

MiMi and Pops tree with some of the loot! We couldn't fit it all so the rest was in the kitchen

Britt



Jackson



Clete on his 4-wheeler!!



Clete riding the 4-wheeler in the snow

Clete's Last Pre-school Christmas Program

I can't believe that this is Clete's last year of pre-school! Time has flown by! I am really going to miss all the teachers and staff of Bright Beginnings FBCO. They have always been so good with the kids. Next year it's on to "Big Boy" school, not sure if Momma is ready to throw her baby boy into that mix yet!

Introducing...............

Yes, that is what you think it is! We are very surprised and very excited to announce that Baby Cook is on the way in July!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Britt's Birth Week!

On Friday, November 19, 2010, my blued eyed angel will turn 18 years old! I cannot believe that it has been 18 years since he came into my life. Yeah, I know, "Birth Week", well he deserves a whole week! There is no good reason that Britt is still walking around here on Earth with us today, other than that God wasn't finished with him yet. Britt has gone through so much and we are so proud to have him.

I loved him from the minute I knew he existed and from the first time I saw his tiny face, knew I never wanted to let him go! Britt, along with his brothers, are my entire world! It is so hard to entertain the fact that soon he will be leaving me to start a life of his own. People often talk of "giving the bride way", well let me tell you it will be just as hard when the time comes, to give my son away. I can only hope and pray that the girl he chooses someday will take care of him as I have!

I have very high expectations, this sometimes makes me very hard to live with! However, my expectations are only as high as I know their capabilities to be! I also love fiercely and hope that I have instilled the same in Britt. As everyone knows, you mess with my boys and your taking the bull by the horns! I hope that he will carry the same loyalty with him throughout his life.

It is indeed hard to comprehend: my funny little blue eyed angel is about to be a handsome blue eyed man. Love you Britt.

Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween!!!

Tailgate 2010

Saturday, Dale and I went to Auburn for a little tailgate fun!

Me and Dale

Me and Suzanne

Suzanne and Marc

Another Great Weekend!

Clete has crossed a milestone: swimming without his life jacket!! We had another great weekend at the pool and took the opportunity to shed the life jacket and start teaching him to swim without it. He did great!

Clete jumping off the diving board!

Ummm got your goggles on upside down bud!

Me and April


Clete playing on the steps

Swimming with Daddy

Swimming without his life jacket on!

Swimming underwater

Yep, our little buddy will soon be swimming just like the big boys! Thank you Suzanne for inviting us to the pool again!

Fun in the Sun with ALL my guys!

Well, we finally had the opportunity to have a NORMAL family weekend. It was wonderful not having to schedule all of our activities around baseball games, baseball practices or coaches meetings. My awesome boss Suzanne, invited us to spend the afternoon at her pool! The boys, as well as Dale and myself, loved it! Thank you Suzanne!

Bubba relaxing in the pool. I can't believe that in a few days he will begin his SENIOR YEAR!

Clete playing in the pool. He had a great time and by the end of the afternoon was jumping off the diving board!



Daddy and Jackson hanging out under the diving board. Jackson tried really hard to get Dale to jump off the diving board. Finally he DID! Too bad I didn't have the camera ready!



Jackson doing flips off the diving board. He is definitely the most limber of the 3!

Our boys! Trying to figure out what trick to do next!

Britt coming down the slide. Clete wouldn't go down it unless Bubba went too!

Clete making a SPLASH coming down the slide!

Clete and his Bubba about to go down again!


I am so glad to have days like this with my family! It is days like these that make the best memories! I LOVE you guys! YOU are what make MY life worth it!

Pokin' Right Along!!!

Well, baseball season for the Opelika Dixie Boys 13 year old all stars is over. These boys represented Opelika in the state tournament and did an excellent job. Dale you are a wonderful coach, both on the field and off! This group of young men have no reason to hang their heads! Hold your heads high and be PROUD of your accomplishment.

On the home front:

Dale is back home with us for the rest of the summer!!! YAY!!!! He loves baseball so much, but we are so glad to have him back with us now!

MiMi is on "sabbatical" for the next couple of weeks, she is visiting my brother Peter and his wife Joan in Cullman. Momma hasn't been feeling very well since she had the fall that almost broke her nose. She suffers from high blood pressure and has had a hard time getting it back under control since the accident.

Since MiMi is away, Clete has been staying with his cousins, Tiffany and Taylor during the day while I work. They have done an excellent job with him and he has had a blast with them. They take him swimming at the Sportsplex and go to the parks to play! He has also had a great time hanging out with Uncle Jeff when he gets home. Clete loves it when Uncle Jeff gives him bag of chips off the potato chip truck!

Recently, I was asked to fill in for a friend at PC Dr. in Opelika while her daughter had the District swim meet. After a week this "fill-in" turned into a permanent position!!! I am absolutely loving my new job and the chick I work for! Not only am I learning all about how to "fix" computers but, we have a pretty good time in between! Oh, by the way, the friend that I was filling in for is Leah and McCall placed in several of the events she competed in at the swim meet, she is on her way to State!!! Way to go Princess Sassy Pants!!! We love you and are so proud!

So here we are pokin' right along in this unbearable heat!!! Life is great! Hope everybody is having as great a summer as the Cook family! Love to all!

All Star Update!!

Congratulations Opelika Dixie Boys 13 yr All Stars District 5 Champs!!!

Dale and the boys are headed to Scottsboro to play for the State Championship! Congratulations Dale, you have done a great job coaching these boys! We love you and can't wait to see you guys win the State Title!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

It's been soooooo long since my last post!! We have been so busy over the last couple of months! Dale, of course, was once again asked to coach the 13 year old Opelika Dixie Boys Allstar team. So far they are undefeated!!! Mark Mitchell, our league director, named Dale "Coach of the Year"! Even though it cuts into our family time, I am so proud that my husband loves to be out there helping these young men. He gives so much of his time to them and always makes sure that each child realizes some hidden talent! Good luck with the rest of the tournament, let's go all the way to the show!!

Other than baseball, we pretty much have been working, working, working! Not everyone has the ability to say that they go to work everyday with their best friend. I do have that blessing, for right now anyway!! I love being out there with Dale, being productive. Clete has been able to spend ALOT of time with MiMi since both of us are working. Clete loves my mother so much and it means so much to me that he is able to spend this quality time with her just as the other kids did with my grandparents. I completely believe that he would move in with her if we let him! Britt has been working at the ball fields in the concession stand and press box. He really enjoys being able to be at the park doing something since he is now too OLD to play in the league! He loves baseball sooooo much. He also has been getting all kinds of info together for school. I am so proud that he is officially a senior, he has been given an awesome gift and I hope that he runs with it! Jackson has been at the beach most of the summer. He went for a week with his mom only to return for 1 day then go back for another week with Dale's parents.

So here we are 4th of July!! Tomorrow will be an awesome day of fun in the sun and great food! I forgot my camera of course, so I will try to get some picks downloaded from someone. Hope everyone has a great holiday! Love to all!!!!

Congratulations Taylor!

My "Taterbug" graduated tonight! We are so proud of you Taylor, and love you very much! We hope that you achieve everything in life that you set your mind to. Always remember that no matter where you are or what you are doing, we are always here for you. Live life with a fresh perspective everyday, you never know what each day will bring. Most of all have fun and don't let anyone bring you down! Love you Taterbug!!!!

Taylor and Chloe


Wanda and her girls


Jeff and Wanda with their family


Momma "MiMi" and Grandmomma Helen(Wanda's mother)


Taylor, Momma and Daddy


Taylor with the aunts and uncles: Doug and Natalie(Wanda's brother and sister in law)Damaris and Brian(my sister and brother in law), Peter ans Joan(my brother and sister in law), me and Dale


Dale, Taylor and myself

The cousins: Tori and her hubby Paul, Taylor, Britt, Tiffany and Clete

Taylor's graduation cake and cupcakes