Well...

Hello there.

Remember me?

Allow me to re-introduce myself...

I'm CTBaker in the Acres! I'm the mother of three blond little boys and the wife to a rockstar. Not really a rockstar. He's actually better because he tolerates me on a daily basis. God love him. This is "my place" to rant and share. It seems that I have fallen down on the job again. The only way for a blogger to end her hiatus is with BULLETS!

• I last left you with Sambo's birthday. We were celebrating the wonderful 10 year-old that he is. He had a sleepover with few of his best buds. It was loud and it was stinky in my house for about 15 hours. But super fun as The Avengers, A&W Root Beer floats, and pick-up football games kept us all entertained.

• Then there was the fair. I've done many-a-post about my passion for the SC State Fair, so y'all know the drill...

 

• Then my favorite time of the year...HALLOWEEN!!! But this year I was quite glum, as my hubby had to travel the entire week before Halloween and the week of. I had to ZOMBIFY my little football players and go to the annual Pine Island Carnival all by myself with the boys because his flight came in really late. All was well, though. We met up with Nana, Papa, and cousins Kirstin and Madeline. The boys and Kirstin made a pretty spooky zombie squad and had their fill of carnival food, cotton candy, games, rides, and haunted hayrides.

• The weekend before Halloween I tried to suck as much holiday out of Shan as possible. But he rallied on that Sunday before he left town again and helped me and my mom pull off The 2nd Annual Forest Acres Neighborhood Parade {last year}. We had another great turnout this year with lots of new little ghosts and goblins. The boys weren't interested in putting on all their zombie goop, so they just went as the football team and we were naturally the referees.

• After a very busy, birthday and activity packed October, it was time to give thanks! We celebrated at my mom and dad's house. I was particularly thankful for a couple of reasons. My Aunt Laynie, who has been battling cancer, rallied and was able to join us. It just wouldn't be the same without her. And it was the first of many holidays that my mom and dad had all 4 children and 7 grandchildren under one roof. With in-laws and 5 different family schedules, we often can't coordinate a time that suits everyone so we stagger visits. At first, I was fearful that the Mayans may actually be correct in their end-of-time theory!

• The week immediately following Thanksgiving could quite possible be deemed the busiest week of my life. It's the week of the Junior League of Columbia's Holiday Market. This year our theme was "Be Merry and Bright" and my placement was Holiday Market Co-Vice Chair with one of my favorite people on the planet. It is a week filled with TONS of hard work, events, shopping, damage control, and TONS of hard work.

We turn a warehouse-type building into a shopping wonderland with the most festive decorations and close to a hundred vendors from all over the country. My friend Erin has some amazing pictures of the Holiday Market decorations on her blog.  

After 6 years on the committee, next year Misty and I will be graduating to Co-Chairs of the market and we are so thankful for the leadership of Karen and Erica this year, or "Karica" as we call them, they have well-paved the way for us.
 

As usual, I couldn't have pulled that week off without Shan's help. He is the BEST! Any who... here are a few highlights.
 

Here are just a few other tidbits and pics from the by-and by...

•  I turned 3*!

• We duked out a pretty good Gamecock football season

• The Ver-man completed his first soccer season and got a trophy!

• We found lots of things to keep us "occupied" while Shan was traveling for two weeks. Face-Time on my phone became our favorite thing and he was able to join us as we made our Potato-Head Vampire and during Halloween festivities.

• Oliver went on a trip to the farm and pumpkin patch with his buddies from school. I'm not sure who had more fun... him or me.

• We also attended our 3rd and final Thanksgiving feast at the preschool. We received our 3rd Indian Tribe from Mrs. Frannie and my set is now complete. It was a precious, yet tearful moment for this mommy! I've been at that school now for 11 years and Oliver will be off to big-boy school next year. I'm trying to savor every moment in the "Jesus Bubble" that I can!

 

 

 

• As I mentioned earlier, our hearts were full on Thanksgiving as we celebrated with my mom's side of the family. Not only were all my siblings in one place, but my mom's were too! She is one of seven. Her oldest brother and youngest sister passed away when I was a little girl. But we were so very thrilled to have the five of them all together!

 



Well...it's been a pretty busy fall. And we will soon be celebrating Christmas! I can't believe it. Where has this year gone?

I hope to better maintain my blog for my boys and hope too that y'all will stay along for the ride.

XO,

Double Digits

TEN years ago today, I saw the pinkest, most perfect little baby boy I had ever seen. My life changed for the best at that moment. I had become a mom!!! I had never loved so hard or deeply in my life. God blessed us with Samuel Waddell Baker and continues to bless us with him each and every day.

Sam is compassionate and with his heart of gold he is eager to please. He adores his family, has a true passion for the Lord, and he makes me smile every single day. His sense of humor is beyond his years and he gets a huge kick out of corny jokes and any time I get a good "stab" in at his dad.  He loves all things "boy"- riding his bike, playing outside all day long, basketball, baseball, football, and most recently, soccer.

His beautiful big blue eyes are without a doubt a pair of the kindest I've ever looked into. If the eyes truly are "the window to the soul", then he's got a good one for sure! His smile and giggle still melt my heart just like they did the first time! That blond peach-fuzz that was on his head the day he was born is now a thick blond mop, complete with a signature Dennis the Menace cowlick. We disagree weekly on how long/short it should be, as he has grown very particular in how he wears it. I'm unsure of his exact height but...I'm only a head taller than he is and he rubs it in every chance he can get.

He seems to be a pretty good little writer. His art skills are fantastic and he appears to be a natural on his guitar! He is helpful around the house and an excellent big brother to F & O.

Last night, when I tucked him in, I said, "OK bud! It's your last night in the single digits. Tomorrow we'll welcome you to the double digits. How does that feel?"
He just grinned and said, "Good."

Yes, Sambo! It is good. You are an amazing gift that has forever stolen the hearts of many, many people. I feel sure God has lots of greatness in store for you in this next decade of this life.

Happy 10th Birthday! We love you!!!

Let's see...

Where was I?
Here I am. Back again after almost a month. I'll spare you the mumbo-jumbo about how crazy my life has been with Shan traveling, Holiday Market obligations, Sunday School prep, soccer x3, 4th grade chaos, etc.

If I had to dedicate this post to someone other than my children...it'd be Beth. I get frequent reminders from her to update my blog. So this one's for you, Beffrey!!! Thanks for following me!

I'm going to back up about 5 weeks ago and highlight my precious Fu-bird's 7th birthday. All I have to say is...

Move over American Girl Store! This is how boy-moms do it!

It was "A Very Lego Birthday". In lieu of a party, Fulton wanted to make a trip to LEGOLAND in Atlanta. Since parties can be kinda "spancy", it was a pretty good trade off on our end. If you have a Lego-crazed child, you MUST go. It's very affordable and great entertainment for the whole family. We made it an overnight trip only because my boys and I have a sick fascination with hotels, but it can totally be done in a day trip.

Any who...here are the highlights in pics.

 My sweet boy was all smiles. He really enjoyed himself as he was completely surrounded by EVERYTHING LEGO! There was a Lego 4D theatre, a Lego Master Builder Academy, Lego City which was amazing, and a Lego Cafe with a pit of rubber bricks to build life-size creations and so many more exciting things to do.

Sam and Oliver didn't have any complaints either. They got to take advantage of all the fabulous attractions too. We were all in complete awe of Lego City with their perfect replicas of all the hot spots in ATL. The possibilities were endless for everyone to be creative and have a fantastic time.

On his actual birthday we continued the Lego madness. One of his new favorite things is Lego Ninjago. I don't get it, but all that matters is that he does. We had a Ninjago-style dinner at one of his fave Japanese restaurants. It seemed like the perfect spot! Muzzy, Boppa, Nana, and Papa joined us and we topped our awesome weekend off just right!

Monday following his birthday we had his celebration of life at school. That darn thing gets this sappy momma every time! To say it's flying by sounds so cliche...but it really is. We all enjoyed celebrating sweet Fulton. He is growing into such a fine handsome boy and we love him TONS!

I'm so far behind with this post and can't believe that we will be celebrating Sambo's TENTH birthday on Monday. So stay tuned for more catch up posts and Sam's bday!