The Denson Family

Things that make you go....Hummm??

2009-04-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

It is very chaotic around our house in the mornings.....as most of you know I'm not a very organized person. So this morning was no different than most except we were a little later getting up therefore we were rushed. While I was changing Zander's diaper and fixing him a bottle, I told Tori and Zak to get the stuff for their lunches. I usually fix their lunches while they are getting themselves ready(thank goodness for that). I walked into the kitchen and found sitting on the counter...bread, turkey, mayo, and GRAPE JELLY, yep I said grape jelly. You are probably thinking the same thing I was....what the heck?? Obviously, I think someone was in a hurry and grabbed it by mistake so I put it back in the refrigerator, big mistake....Zak comes in and starts freaking out, "where is the jelly"? I am a little confused because we have never eaten grape jelly on a sandwich other than pb&j...so, I said OK you want peanut butter and jelly? His reply was No, mom I want it on my turkey sandwich! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? There was no time to argue so for the first time ever I made a turkey and grape jelly sandwich. I can only imagine what the teachers will be saying about me at lunch, I just hope he likes it!! My thoughts are......if Brad can eat a mayonnaise and banana sandwich then I guess Zak can eat a turkey and grape jelly sandwich. Hummmm......."Like Father, Like Son"!

Boys will be BOYS...

2009-04-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Zak loves to come home and play his computer video games, after a long hard day at school-- yesterday was no exception. Tori finished her homework and decided she wanted to watch so she pulled up a chair beside him. She became bored real quick, after a few minutes she slid the chair back, got up and was playing with Zander in the living rm. Zak was too caught up in his game to realize that Tori had moved the chair. So, when Zander let a big scream, Zak leaned over into the chair that he thought was there but wasn't to see what was going on and fell. Apparently there is a very SMALL...very SHARP piece of metal on the leg of the chair, on the way down Zak's ear caught on the leg of the chair and it slit his earlobe into. I was in my room and all of a sudden I hear Zak screaming, I run into the kitchen to find Zak holding his ear and blood everywhere. Tori was freaking, Zak was freaking there was no time for Me to freak. I was able to get everyone calmed down and we finally made it to the bathroom where I was able to clean it up with a wet wash cloth. It was split from the bottom up. I automatically think "stitches" because there is a V slit into his earlobe. So I call Brad and he meets me at the MEA clinic. Zak held the wash cloth to his ear all the way there. When we get there, Brad looks at it and laughs, I'm like "what is so funny, this is not funny". Brad says , he doesn't need stitches....I looked at it and it was back together, I couldn't even pull it apart. It just looked like he had a cut. I couldn't believe it but I was so glad that we didn't have to get stitches. I know Brad thought I was crazy, I promise it was slit into. On the way home I was thinking about all the times Zak has had stitches and all of the times we thought we were going to need stitches.....now we can add one more to the list. I am sure there will be many many more to come.
What can I say....BOYS will be BOYS and I have 2!!

Spring Break 2009...."off the bomb"

2009-03-23T13:14:00.001-07:00

Ok...I realize that I'm not an actual "blogger", I am going to try to do better and post more often. So, we just got back from our fabulous Spring Break vacation. We left last Wednesday and drove to Panama City and took the kids to the beach Thursday morning before we met Brad's parents in Tallahassee. The water was beautiful. We usually go to Destin but I think we have found a new place for our beach vacations..Panama City. Then we drove to Orlando where we spent 2 long fun days at Disney World. Justin and Marli drove down from Georgia and met us there. Friday morning we were up at 6am, ate breakfast and we were off to Magic Kingdom where we spent the entire day..we were there from 9am till 10:30pm. Zak and Tori had a great time, their favorite ride was Splash Mountain and Buzz the Lightyear. The "wishes" firework spectacular was amazing, as always. We had a blast but we were all wore out from the long day. Saturday same routine but not as long...we went to the Animal Kingdom. Zak loved Dinoland and the Dinosaur ride, it was alot of fun. He rode Mt Everest, his first roller coaster and loved every minute of it. I have to admit being a lover of roller coasters, it was SCARY. His exact words were that was "AWESOME COOL", can we do it again?? Tori is not a big fan of roller coasters, she didn't ride Mt Everest but she did ride the Dinosaur ride which was pretty intense for a beginner, I was so proud of her. The Kali rapids was the other ride that we liked and I got soaked, mamaw and papaw rode this one with us and they got pretty wet too....needless to say they weren't too happy about getting WET but it was fun watching them dry out. Zak loved seeing all of the animals, it was fun! We left Animal Kingdom about 4, went to the hotel to rest for a few minutes and then took the kids to play putt putt golf and ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. It was so much fun, they loved the rainforest cafe. I was so mad because I forgot the camera and didn't get any pics. We stopped at Goofy's candy shoppe on the way out for dessert...YUMMY. Imagine this--- marshmallows, gingerbread cookie, pretzel sticks or rice crispy treats dipped in milk, dark or white chocolate rolled in any topping you want and drizzled with white chocolate, dark chocolate or caramel. Can you say HEAVEN....it was so good, Tori and I went with the marshmallows and Brad had the rice crispy treat. Zak didn't want anything...he is our little healthy foods freak( I don't know where he gets that from). So after a fun filled day we made it back to the hotel about 11pm and went straight to bed so we could get up and drive home yesterday. On the way home we were asking the kids if they had a good time and Tori said that it was "OFF THE BOMB", we laughed so hard...so that's our new saying, haha!! It took us 12 long hours, we made it home about 7:30pm. My mom and dad had a nice big dinner and a clean house waiting on us, it was so nice. It was wonderful to get away for a few days and enjoy the"MAGIC" of Disney World!

Change..Change..Change

2009-03-05T13:51:00.001-08:00

Well, I have been putting off this post but I guess its time to let everyone know.... we will be moving to Starkville, MS in May. FritoLay is opening a new district in Starkville and Brad will be running it. We are excited for the change...but will miss all of the wonderful friends that we have made here. There are pros and cons just like with anything but I prefer to focus on the pros...1.We will be closer to family 2. Not far from our friends here 3. Brad will have less stress and we will see him alot more 4. It is Brad's favorite place on earth...if he could pick anywhere to live it would be Starkville 5. All the money we spend on season tickets won't be wasted b/c we can go to all the games, haha. Brad is excited and ready for a change. I love him so much and I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished. I don't know what the future holds but I am so glad I have him to share it with. He is my world..my everything and I am so thankful to have him in my life. I love you Bradley Shane!!

Happy New Year......

2009-01-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's Eve eating junk food(not so good for my diet), downloading songs to the kids i-pods, singing/dancing and playing the Wii. This is the first year that we let the kids stay up, they had so much fun and we were able to bring in the New Year as a family with the exception of Zander--I don't know how he slept through all the madness!! 2008 was GREAT.....we are looking forward to 2009 and all that it brings!! From our family to yours, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

My new living room......

2008-12-29T16:59:00.000-08:00

We still aren't quite finished but thought I would put up a few pics.......I love it!!

I can't believe it's OVER

2008-12-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

Wow......I can't believe Christmas is already over. It was just last week I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get presents at the last minute(as usual). I finally finished up last Tuesday night at 10. When I got home, Brad and I had our annual conversation of me telling him... please do not let me do this next year but no matter how many times I tell myself I'm not going to do it....I always do, I must enjoy the STRESS because that is exactly what it was. So I started wrapping presents about 11pm and finished up at 1am. We got up Wednesday morning and packed while Brad was at work. We headed to Booneville at 1 and got there just in time for Christmas dinner at Brad's parents house with Maw Denson, Justin and Marli. We had everything you could imagine and it was so good....turkey, ham, dressing, vegetable casserole, cranberry salad, green beans, cowboy crock pot beans, hashbrown casserole, sweet potato casserole and of course rolls. Oh and let's not forget the SWEETS... pecan pie, coconut cake, fudge, peanut brittle, and a honey bun cake (no its not made out of honey buns). After we all were stuffed we opened presents and played our Christmas edition of Deal or No Deal for some CASH(we do this every year and it is so much fun)!! The kids got so much stuff..toys, books and clothes. As if that wasn't enough......Santa brought more. The kids got a Wii and i-pod shuffles!! Its like having twins even though there is a 4yr age difference--whatever one gets the other has to have. It's pretty easy though to just buy 2 of everything but what does a 5yr old do with an i-pod...whatever his sister does, I guess. Zander got toys and a walker.
After playing the Wii all morning we went and visited the Byrd Family(Arthur,Euvon,Sharon,Stevie,Beth,Laura,Michael and Steven) for a little bit--it was so good to see them!! Friday, we packed everything that we could possibly pack into the Buick La Sabre with 3 kids and headed home--needless to say everything did not make it back!! On the way out we saw Ann, Dustin, Ashley and Brandon. It is so hard to see everyone when you only have a few days. What time we do have is always rushed. To top it off we have been home now for 2 days and I still haven't unpacked everything....Brad and I have been fighting a stomach virus, YUCK!! I think we are finally over it so I can spend the next few days unpacking, washing clothes and cleaning getting ready for the new year.
I can't believe this year is almost over, its been a wonderful year for our family especially with the new addition of little Zander, we have been so blessed and are so grateful for everything that we have.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2008-12-15T15:13:00.001-08:00

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while so you get 2 blogs today!!
Our Christmas Tree has been up for 2 weeks, this is the first year that we have had a "real" tree. I have always done the fake, pre-lit tree where the lights are already perfectly placed on the tree because that's the part I hate the most is putting the lights on. This year we decided to do a real tree---the kids love it and so do I, Brad says its the prettiest tree we've ever had.
Well, the tree is up.....now I need to get some presents to go under it!! I still have a week left, right(hahaha)??

Its time for an....UPGRADE!!

2008-12-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

For the past year I have been ragging Brad about wanting a new(bigger) house..... I finally realized that its not going to happen at least not in the next year so I decided to compromise. Here is the deal...I wait on a new house in exchange for some upgrades to this one. Don't get me wrong I love my "little house" but with 3 kids 1500sq feet isn't big enough. I'm not wanting a "huge" house just one with a little more room.

So, 2 weeks ago we went and bought new furniture, it was not in stock so they had to order it! It is suppose to be here the end of this week. We are having the living rm and hallway painted on Wednesday and Brad's wonderful parents are coming down Friday to help lay the wood floor just in time for our new furniture!! Yay...I am so excited and can't wait for my new living room! I told Brad he is spoiling me.....it's so fun to go into a store and pick out whatever I want. I am enjoying it.......maybe a litte too much(hahaha)!!
I can definately see how redecorating can be addictive, I am already thinking of what I want to do next..."the kitchen".

Future President

2008-11-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have to share this because I think its the sweetest thing ever! Tori brought home an assignment they did at school today.....it was a writing assigment called "Future President". They were asked to draw a picture of a person and tell why they think they would make a good president, here is what Tori wrote: My Dad would make a good president, he is smart, kind and he helps people too. He would make a good president because he is a great Dad. Nothing compares to the love between a father and a daughter and seeing him through her eyes is so special.

Family Update....continued

2008-11-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Everything went as planned, Zander was born at 4:30 pm weighing 7lbs 9oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. My gall bladder surgery was a success and I had a beautiful baby boy. It was a very emotional day for me --just like the births of my other children but this one was bittersweet because this was the last time that I would ever have this experience. You moms know what I am talking about--the wonderful feeling of bringing a child into this world. This was not a decision we took lightly and after alot of prayer, we knew for sure that little Zander would complete our family. We feel so blessed to have 3 healthy beautiful children that bring so much joy into our lives!!
It has been 6 months and Zander is getting so big...he is rolling, sitting up, holding his bottle and smiles and giggles all the time. We love him so much!!

Family Update

2008-11-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

I thought this would be a good way to keep everyone updated on our family. I have always gotten newsletters from our friends at Christmas keeping us updated on what's going on in their lives and I always tell myself ..." I am going to do that next year" and then for some reason it never gets done, its much easier to take a picture and mail it. Since I am all about EASY I am going to give this blogging thing a try......guess we will see how easy it is if I can keep it up(hahaha)!

Its so crazy how time flies....Brad and I will celebrate our 11yr anniversary this December. You would think after being with someone for 15yrs(we dated for 4) it would seem like such along time but it doesn't. I am so thankful that I have him to share the joys/happiness and the not so great moments that life brings to us all...I can't imagine sharing it with anyone else. We have lived in Madison, MS for the last 4yrs, we love it here and have some great friends. Brad works for Frito Lay, Inc. he just passed his 6yr mark(yayyy), he is the ZBM(zone business manager) for the Jackson Zone. So, needless to say...we are never without chips in our house.
I am a stay at home MOM.......the greatest job in the world!

We are the proud parents of 3 beautiful children:

Victoria Paige (Tori) just celebrated her 9th birthday in September. She is in the 3rd grade and loves it! She is such a great example to her friends and her brother, we are so proud of her. Tori loves sports--definitely not a girlie girl. When she was little I had her in ballet/gymnastics but she out grew that pretty quickly. No more tutu's and cartwheels......its cleats and softballs. This past summer she played on a traveling team....kept us busy but it was fun!!

Then there is Zakary Shane (Zak), he turned 5 in June. Zak is 100% all BOY, he loves playing outside looking for lizards and any other bugs or insects he can find. He started kindergarten this year...he loves to draw and make up stories, he has a wild imagination and loves to look at books, he is fascinated with snakes and dinosaurs. He loves playing with his brother and sister.

April 22, 2008 we completed our little family with baby#3 Zander Hayes Denson. I had Zander 3 weeks early thanks to my gall bladder. I will never forget that day...Zak was in Booneville with Brad's parents and Me,Brad and Tori went out to eat at our favorite pizza place "Soul Shine" but I didn't eat pizza, which was unusual for me-I ate a salad instead and I ate a few cheese sticks. As we were waiting to get our check I started feeling this horrible pain in the top of my abdomen. I went to the car and by the time Brad and Tori got there I was in so much pain, I was crying and having trouble breathing so we went straight to the hospital. They admitted me and hooked me up to all the monitors--I was contracting but after several hours they came to the conclusion that my pain was not related to the pregnancy. I was having a gall bladder attack--the Dr told me there was a good chance that I would have to have an emergency c-section and they would have to remove my gall bladder. My biggest fear was that my Mom(who lives in Utah) wouldn't be there for the birth of my last child. My other fear was that I wouldn't be awake to see Zander when he was born or hear his first cry but the Dr on call reassured me that they could do the c-section with me awake and then put me to sleep for the gall bladder surgery. So I was happy and content with that. Brad called my mom and told her what was happening. My Mom flew out the next morning. Brad was suppose to pick her up at 4. I hadn't seen or heard from my Dr all day so I had no idea what the plan was. She came in at 3 and told me that I was going to have a baby in 1 1/2 hrs. She also informed me that the anesthesiologist wanted to put me to sleep. As soon as she left the room, I lost it! I have never been put to sleep before I was so scared and upset....I called Brad and was finally able to calm down after talking to him--he assured me that everything was going to be ok. So as soon as they(Brad-Mom-Tori) got there, they prepped me for surgery and off we went.